Barracuda by Mike Monahan Read Free Book Online

to ensure that
the live, unstable ammo on board these graveyard ships remained
undisturbed.
    Steve was a Canadian with all the necessary
credentials. Besides being the head dive master, he was a licensed
PADI dive master, TDI Trimix diver, TDI gas blender, TDI Trimix
blender, TDI decompression producers instructor, and advanced wreck
instructor.
    A group of divers had arrived at the Majestic
that afternoon for a week of diving. Ten had signed up for the
initial checkout dive, and they were clambering aboard the dive
boat Lily I , jockeying for position. The Lily I was a
Hammerhead front-loading dive boat with a length of twenty-five
feet and a beam of ten feet. It had an aluminum deep-V with a drop
front gate and a side ladder. Its benches accommodated twelve
divers.
    “It’s only a ten minute ride to the USS Saratoga ,” Steve instructed. “The Lily I will tie up
to the bow mooring line. When Captain Jonas gives us the okay, we
will gear up. Dive Master Carol and I will check your air and gear
before we enter the water. When we enter the water, we will all
remain on the surface until I give the signal to descend.” He
paused to make sure everyone understood and saw nods all
around.
    “I will lead the way down the mooring line to
the deck of the Saratoga and Carol will follow last. Once on
the Saratoga deck, I will motion to each of you to make sure
you are okay. I want you each to signal back to me. If there is a
problem with any divers, Carol will escort them back to the Lily
I . When I am convinced that everyone is okay, we will drop over
the side of the Saratoga and float down to the lower decks.
I will lead the dive and Carol will follow.
    “I don’t want any diver going below me, leaving
the group, or picking anything up. We will follow my dive profile
according to my computer. When the first diver gets down to fifteen
hundred psi of air in their tank, let either Carol or me know. We
will begin our slow decompression ascent at that time. Captain
Jonas will have air tanks hanging at various stages of ascent
should they be needed. Any questions?”
    “How deep will we be going?” a young lady
asked.
    “I’ll decide that based on the visibility and
how tight a group you swim in. Safety is my number one concern
here.”
    “Can we penetrate the wreck?” another diver
queried.
    “Not this wreck,” Steve answered.
“Unfortunately, the carrier collapsed in on itself many years ago,
probably due to its enormous weight. All the previously open areas
have become crushed, so they’re too tight for divers to safely
enter and exit. It’s really a shame because there are loads of
fighter planes and tanks on the lower levels. We hope in the future
to get some acetylene torches and cut holes in the side of one of
the lower cargo holds so we can see if it is safe to explore the
interior. Since the ship has been here for more than fifty years,
we suspect that it might still be too dangerous to penetrate
because of fear of falling debris and shifting machinery that is
not bolted down. Penetrating large shipwrecks is inherently
dangerous under ideal conditions, so today we will just explore the
exterior.”
    Captain Jonas started the engines, and soon the Lily I was crossing the atoll headed toward the final
resting place of the heroic USS Saratoga . Carol helped tie
the dive boat to the mooring ball, and Steve told the divers to
gear up.
    Billy and Bob, two Australian brothers, were the
first to put on their gear. As they did so, Billy muttered to his
brother, “Shit! I thought we might get to see some old World War
Two planes.”
    “Well, maybe we will,” Bob replied quietly.
    “How? You heard what Steve said.”
    “They can’t keep an eye on ten divers all the
time. If there’s a hole big enough to fit through, I’m going in.
This Canadian girlie man isn’t going to stop me.”
    “I don’t know, Bobby. You heard what he said
about stuff falling and shifting all the time.”
    “C’mon, Billy, we didn’t