Intro
This will be my fourth Top 10 Dive list since I started the tradition in 2020.
I honestly thought I would never top 2022 which included wreck diving trips to Croatia & Malta and discovering numerous new wrecks here in Southern California. Happily, I was wrong. 🙂
I’ll say it again this year: I don’t think I will ever top 2023.
I only had about half of the number of dives compared to last year. But, it was an absolutely epic year with trips to some of the most remote places on earth (Antarctica & Bikini Atoll) and finally achieving my dream of diving the HMHS Britannic which is, in my opinion, the absolute pinnacle of wreck diving.
Previous Years
For those interested, below are links to the Top 10 from previous years. I can honestly say that most divers would be happy to achieve half of the dives in these years in an entire lifetime. I have been really fortunate to be able to follow my passion.
2020 Top 10 List | The year Covid hit. Highlights include meeting a lot of the local tech diving community, making friends, and diving such epic local wrecks such as the F-4 Phantom, the New Saturnia, the TBM Avenger deep off Point Loma, Osborne Bank caves, and of course, the UB88 WW 1 German Sub. Tyler, Lora & I had a fantastic three day trip in Dana Point discovering new wrecks.
2021 Top 10 List | Tyler and I were on the hunt for new wrecks and we killed it. This was the year I got my “MOD 3” deep rebreather certification with Mel Clark in Eagles Nest — knowing I would need it for the Britannic. We found the Border Yacht (still on the project list to identify), identified the Nightingale, completed the UB88 photogrammetry model, had an epic trip to the Great Lakes, and then in a feat that will probably never be repeated, Kevin Bond and I dove the USS Vammen (340 fsw) and the USS Burns (270 fsw) in the same day.
2022 Top 10 List | We discovered even more new wrecks in 2022. Another great year with Covid finally letting up and I had trips to Palau (twice), Croatia, and Malta (but I got Covid after a few days in Malta). My photogrammetry skills really increased. We discovered the “Full Stall Landing” TBF, the Fairchild PT-19, the Sea Dancer, the Boys Club, and the amazing F8F Bearcat.
I ended 2022 with trips planned to Antarctica, Bikini Atoll, and Greece for the Britannic in 2023. Would it actually be possible?
Runner Ups
As with the past few years, I have the fortunate (but challenging) task of deciding what NOT to include in the Top 10.
A few of the great dives and projects that did not make the list are below. One of my guidelines for making these tough decisions is: is the dive or project really unique and/or groundbreaking. For example, the IJN Nagato didn’t make the cut. It is such an epic wreck and has a unique place in the history of WW II. However, there have been plenty of other people who have dove the wreck and documented it.
Below are a couple cool projects from 2023 that didn’t quite make the Top 10.
- Torrey Pines P-38 Photogrammetry Model – This is well known wreck and I wanted to make a good photogrammetry model of it. It exceeded my expectations. The level of detail is amazing, the colors are fantastic, and you can see a wolf eel hiding in the port side super turbocharger.
- SH-3A Sea King Photogrammetry Model– This the wreck that Tyler and I identified back in 2021. I had a long-standing “to-do” project to build a photogrammetry model of the entire debris field. The model came out very well.
- IJN Nagato – This wreck should be on any serious wreck diver’s “must do” list. Admiral Yamamoto gave the order to attack Pearl Harbor from the bridge of this ship. It is massive. The guns on the Nagato are 16″ in diameter (you can easily fit your head inside) and over 50 feet long!
- USS Lamson – This was one of my favorite wrecks in Bikini Atoll. I love diving destroyers and this is a really nice one. So many cool guns, torpedos, depth charges, etc. It would be really fun to spend a bunch of time and build a photogrammetry model of this wreck.
Stats
As with previous years, a look at some overall stats for this year are below.
It was a fantastic year, but I actually only dove about half as many days and as much time as I did last year. The dives were more “extreme” but fewer. I equate this mainly to the poor dive conditions here locally in Southern California. It was a pretty dismal dive year locally.
- Total Dives = 68 (this was about half of last year @ 134 dives)
- Rebreather Dives = 61
- Deepest Dive = 360 feet (HMHS Britannic)
- Ave Max Depth = 159 feet
- Longest Dive = 4 hours, 3 minutes (HMHS Britannic)
- Total Dive Time = 3 days, 18 hours (last year was 6 days, 7 hours)
- I’m guessing more than half of that time was decompression
Top 10 of 2023
I’m pretty sure every diver would love to have this many great experiences in any period of time — much less all in a single year. It was hard to get down to only 10, but here they in reverse order.
10. Expedition Unknown TV Show Filming + New F8F-2 Bearcat Wreck
Tyler and I worked with Expedition Unknown to try to find the missing XP5Y off the coast of Point Loma, California. Filming took place during May 2023. We used Lora’s boat (the Marissa) during the filming and dove a new F8F-2 Bearcat wreck that Tyler found and identified. Unfortunately, Tyler did not receive proper credit. 🙁
The episode first aired on January 3, 2024.
9. Burdigala (Kea, Greece — 250 fsw)
In any other setting, the Burdigala would be the showpiece wreck. However, it lies just a few miles from the HMHS Britannic. Amazing dive. I wish i would have had more than one dive on her.
She is an amazing wreck. Another luxury liner that was likely sunk by underwater mines planted by the same sub as the mine that sunk the Britannic. She is 600 feet long and sits straight up and down.
8. Iceberg Dive (Fournier Bay, Antarctica)
This was a very unique experience. It is pretty amazing to dive next to an iceberg. The iceberg itself is moving and then you also have a salt/fresh-water divide that changes your buoyancy noticeably. The dimples, ridges, and formations make every iceberg unique — and they disappear as the iceberg melts. A very dynamic environment.
This is my photo of Becky Kagan Schott on the iceberg.
7. SBD Dauntless Photogrammetry (San Diego — 200 fsw)
This was a wreck initially found and identified by Tyler Stalter & Dan Jackson. We had always wanted to build a high fidelity model of the wreck site. We did that and released it on the day of the 80th anniversary of the crash.
Adding to the story, we were contacted by family members immediately prior to the release of the story and model. We have offered to take them to the wreck site.
6. Brewster Buccaneer (San Diego — 280 fsw)
We didn’t find and identify as many new wrecks this year as we did in 2023. However, this one was a really great find.
It involved quite a bit of detective work to narrow it down; however, we still don’t know the exact Bureau Number.
The plane itself is relatively intact and is covered in beautiful white metridiums. I made a nice photogrammetry model.
5. Close Call on the IJN Sata (Palau — 120 fsw)
This would have definitely made the list last year when I actually conducted the dive.
We agreed as a dive team to wait until we were ready before we publicly discussed the incident. We first reported the incident details and lessons learned at the DEMA conference in November this year.
I posted my blog entry the next day. It is a hair-raising and very close call.
4. Underwater Photographer of the Year
It was an honor to win the Wreck Category for my model of the F8F Bearcat. It was even more rewarding since it was the first time ever that a photogrammetry model won the award. The UPY contest is the premier underwater photo contest in the world.
It is also a wreck that we were the first to dive and, to date, there have still only been two divers on it AFAIK.
3. USS Saratoga Airplanes (Bikini Atoll)
This was a really fun and rewarding project.
Most divers spend time diving the Saratoga itself (which offers amazing dives), but I wanted to document all of the airplanes around the wreck. I built photogrammetry models of ALL of them (except one fragment).
2. USS Moray (San Clemente Island — 190 fsw)
In any other year, this would have been my #1 dive. We were only the second dive team EVER to dive it. I spent four dives taking 4,000 pictures to build a really nice photogrammetry model. Click on the photo below to see it and the photo to the right for the trip report.
1. HMHS Britannic (Kea, Greece — 385 fsw)
I have always said that the HMHS Britannic is the pinnacle of open ocean wreck diving.
It took many years of planning, training, and diving to be capable of diving this wreck. It is deep, in a major shipping channel, and subject to big currents. Until recently, it was almost impossible to get the permit required to dive it.
It was a truly epic dive.
Up Next in 2024
It is going to be almost impossible to top 2023.
However, I do have quite a few interesting trips and projects lined up. Right now, I’m planning to dive the epic wrecks of Iron Bottom Sound in the Solomon Islands in Feb 2024 and possibly a trip to Gulen, Norway in fall 2024.
There is also an airplane wreck in Greece close to the same island as the Britannic. Access to the wreck is restricted but I’ve been talking with the Keadivers team in Greece about getting permission from the government to dive it to build a photogrammetry model. We’ll see…
In terms of local SoCal dive projects, I have a number of them to work on. A lot of these are photogrammetry models that are in some state of completion that I really want to wrap up in 2024.
- Finish the HMCS Yukon – My nemesis. I will get this done one way or another.
- ID & Photogrammetry of the Border Yacht – This is a carryover from this past year.
- A Super Secret Wreck – This has been on the “wish list” for 2-3 years now. I have a feeling that 2024 might be the year. Stay tuned, it will be amazing if/when it happens.
- USS Moody – This was also a carryover from this year. I want to make a photogrammetry model of both halves of this wreck. I did most of one section in late 2022 and will hopefully finish in 2024.
- New Saturnia – Another photogrammetry model I want to finish. I built about 1/2 of it on a dive with Steve Lawson and Chris Gilmartin in 2023. I should hopefully finalize in 2024.
- Mexico – Tyler has a few wrecks and targets that are down by the Coronado Islands that could be our next frontier in finding and documenting new wrecks.
In addition, Tyler and I have a “Blue Sky” project that I have been thinking about that we will keep under wraps for now. I’m not even sure if it is possible; however, if it comes to fruition, it would be stunning.
Cover Shot Out-takes
I sometimes struggle with what photo to use for the “cover shot” for the blog post. This year, given how many cool, remote locations I visited and how many epic dives I had, it was doubly tough. For the annual Top 10 post, I also usually try to use a photo of me. I thought it would be fun to include some of the photos that I thought about using but decided not to.
I decided to use the shot of me on the back deck of the Master Liveaboard as we departed Bikini Atoll. It seemed fitting to have a sunset photo as the year comes to an end (and wearing a USS Saratoga t-shirt)!
Thanks To…
First and foremost, a huge amount of gratitude and thanks to my wife. It takes a lot of patience and understanding given my schedule, travel, and incessant talk about wreck diving. She supports me in all my projects and trips.
I’d also like to thank Tyler Stalter for not only being a good “dive buddy” but also research partner and for always coming up with new targets to try and sites to visit. We make a great team and complement each other’s skill sets.
I’ve had the pleasure to dive with numerous amazing divers this year (sorry, I’m sure I forgot a few): Tyler Stalter, Lauren Martin, Ben Lair, Justin Judd, George Vandoros, Drew Wilson, DJ Mansfield, Anton Kozhevnikov, Andy Huber, Richard Kelch, Becky Kagan Schott, and the whole dive team in Bikini Atoll.
Thanks to Steve Lawson and Chris Gilmartin for taking me out on their boat on a few diving adventures this past year. Hopefully we’ll get more in 2024 and work on the New Saturnia & Moody models (and maybe find a few new wrecks)!
Thanks to Lora, Chris, Rod, Captain & Scout at Marissa Charters for all the dives we had together in San Diego. It is always fun & laughs while diving with them.
Thanks to Ray and Kyaa at Sundiver. We didn’t have as many dives this year as I would like, but that is all on me and my schedule. We did have an amazing trip to the USS Moray that I will never forget! Hopefully I’ll get to see them more next year. 🙂
