For those who regularly follow the blog, I’ve written previous posts about the USS Spiegel Grove, the 610-foot Navy Ship (LSD Class) that for quite some time was the largest ever ship deliberately deployed as an artificial reef. It’s an amazing dive off Key Largo and brings divers from all over the world. On Sunday, Hubby was on a special dive where a plaque was installed on the ship. He was covering it for the paper although since Horizon Divers provided the boat, he would have been able to go anyway. It was one of those very special moments because everyone on board had either been directly involved in the project or has many, many dives on her.

Last night, May 17th, was a reception with a lot of artifacts on display and quite a few for auction from the History of Diving Museum who has a special exhibit up for the month of May. There was both a film and a slide presentation as well as a panel of seven individuals, who were significantly involved in the project. It was a bit of a long evening at two hours on a weeknight, but good to see so many people turn out. We had a chance to catch up with a few friends during the reception and while I didn’t learn much new from the panel and M.C./moderator, there were some insights I hadn’t heard before.

In my book, Islands in the Sand: An Introduction to Artificial Reefs in the U.S.A., I devoted a chapter to the Spiegel Grove and later, my friend Don Altemus asked me to co-author a photo book with his photos and my writing. Groupers and Gunmounts: Inside the USS Spiegel Grove was where I learned the story of the ship itself and met some more great people during the process. The History of Diving Museum carries the books.