I made two photography trips to the Dry Tortugas this July, shooting both underwater and top-side photos and video. Both trips were done aboard the 100 ft liveaboard "Ultimate Getaway" out of Ft. Myers.
The first trip was July 1-4, 2005. This was my 13th trip to the Tortugas since 2000. Overall, the conditions (weather, seas, current, visibility) were among the best I've experienced there. I don't think I saw a wave higher than 6 inches the whole time. It was sunny and unusually dry with the exception of one shortlived tropical rain shower. Visibility was 70 feet through most of the western Tortugas Ecological Reserve. I made 13 dives shooting mostly wide angle to take advantage of the great vis. Who could imagine Categorty 4 Hurricane Dennis was going to rake this area in less than 6 days.
Interesting to see a half dozen or so Cuban refugee boats ("chuggers") stored on Garden Key at Ft. Jefferson. First time I've seen this. Supposedly, a record number of Cuban's have made it ashore in the Tortugas this year. The improvised boats made for some interesting photos. There were still clothes in some of them.
My second trip was July 21-24, 2005. This was "post" Hurricane Dennis. Dennis plowed right through west of Garden Key, putting the Tortugas in the destructive right-front quandrant of it's path. The storm cut a path about 100 ft wide between Garden Key and Bush Key. So these two islands are now completely separated by water a few feet deep. You won't be walking from the fort to watch birds on Bush Key anytime soon. The damage to the palms trees showed evidence of a beating from strong SE winds.
I was suprised by the underwater impact of the storm. Ironically, the Windjammer wreck site within the park boundaries showed the least amount of damage. I'm guessing the water currents and wave action was greatly reduced by the surrounding shallow reef. However, out west in deeper water, around the "Sherwood Forest", the impact is quite amazing. In depths of 60+ feet, it looks like 4 to 12 inches of sand was removed from the bottom. You can see old bleached dead coral and limestone that was once burried in sand protruding from the bottom. This type of impact is most evident in the wide sand patches between patch reefs, where the moving water was channelled. Limestone boulders 3 to 4 feet wide were flipped over, with the sea fans, plants, and coral growth that once adorned their tops now crushed beneath them. I found it amazing what damage a storm could do at these depths, and feel fortunate that I was able to witness the "before" and "after" conditions of the area within a few weeks.
The resulting sandy setiment from the turbid storm waters blanketed the reef like a dusting of snow, and the vis below average. This is typical after a storm in the Gulf of Mexico, and the vis will probably remain below average until the next storm likely moves through during peak hurricane season in a few weeks. With current raging due to a full moon, most of our dives were drift dives. This is one reason I was able to witness the effects of Dennis over such a wide area of bottom. I made 11 dives this trip, and focused mostly on macro work.
Brian Dombrowski
SubSurfaceMedia.com
