End of the Season

The 2008 season of diving is coming to a close for me. I was scheduled to go diving on Nov. 16th to finish up the dives for my Advanced Nitrox course and that was blown out and re-scheduled for Nov. 22. Thanks to the smart thinking of my instructor, Geoff Graham, that too was cancelled since it is supposed to be too cold out. Therefore, this dive will have to wait to the Spring of 2009.

I am very proud of my accomplishments this year. I began the season with the goal of completing 1 dive safely and ended up completing about 15 dives. As many of you know, due to my health I did not think I was capable of diving again. Things in your life happen for a reason and I know that one thing that I have learned over the past few years is that you need to appreciate every dive no matter how good or bad it is. Each dive is a gift and it can be taken away in an instant. This past year and the year before has also been very trying on me and my diving capabilities because of personal issues. There are people whom misunderstand you, betray you and attack you quite unexpectantly. The fact that you care deeply about them is lost in the difficulties of the feelings they ensue. I am accepting the fact that I needed to learn these things in life... After this dive season I feel confident in saying that my spirit has not been broken and I am starting to find joy in diving again. There is still some concerns for my health and I am doing the best that I can with these concerns. Just as other divers have inspired me, I in turn, am pretty sure that I have at least inspired a few divers this year and I know I made a lot of new dive friends.

As I look back at this year I would have to say my best dive was on the Varanger, I always loved this wreck and I had a great time being able to dive it again. The vision of the beautiful sea anenomes is still fresh in my mind.

In looking onto the 2009 season, I hope to get to some of my favorite wrecks like the Arundo, Varanger, Moonstone, Offshore Paddlewheeler and N. Pacific. So someone pleeeaaase put it on your schedule!!! I also just heard about a trip to the Galapogas Islands being organized for 2011 and I am seriously thinking of signing up for it. I always wanted to go there.

Over the long winter I will be keeping up on my dive education by taking Decompression Techniques. Perhaps this course will lead me to some exciting dives next year! There are no dive trips planned for the winter, perhaps a little skiing in Maine if we can swing it.



I hope everyone has a safe winter and I hope Santa brings everyone lots of diving toys. I know my Santa's list includes a rebreather, new light, drysuit...I can dream can't I??? Oh yeah and a new wreck reel! I had an awful time trying to deploy a lift bag from mid water column with my current reel. It went up ok but trying to maintain your buoyancy mid water column and reel it back in...lets just say I had some major spidered nylon line. Good thing this was in the quarry and not on some wreck in the ocean. Therefore, I'd like one of those new reels with the plastic case that helps to prevent the line from spidering.

During these tough economic times we should all try and support our local dive shops so that they will be there to educate and support us in the future. I have always been a strong believer in purchasing all of my dive equipment from the local dive shop even if it costs a little more money than on the internet. Without them, all those joyfull days out diving on a wreck would not be possible!

I would like to wish a Special Merry Christmas to all the past, present and future diving companions, they all hold a special place for our shared love of wreck diving!

Safe Diving! Kim

11-4-08 Double East

Given the great fall weather we've had and the trip reports of great visibility, we decided to try and get out on our boat one more time. They were forecasting fog and 2-4' seas for this morning but we awoke to no fog and a steady 3' sea. We each only had one set of tanks full of air so we were going to do one long dive and then head in for a little striper fishing. Bill jumped in first and tied the hook in and came back with a trigger fish and some mussels. He reported about 30' of visibility. I wish I had my camera but one of the stobes is at Sea Life for a repair so this dive is purely sightseeing. I am not particularly fond of this wreck because when I was in my early 20's and diving on it with Triton Divers, it was loaded with sand tiger sharks and I could never shake that memory. In particular, Bill had a bag of speared fish and was doing his hang while these sharks circled us. They were swimming all around us on the bottom and on the hang. This is my second trip to this wreck this year and I was glad to find that I did not see any sharks on either trip. I did sea lots of black fish, sea bass and a few trigger fish. This wreck is actually quite fun to investigate with all of the giant concrete slabs. It creates lots of nooks and cranies to look in. The water temp was about 57 degrees on the bottom and I had a safe and relaxing dive. I guess in looking back it was a privilege to see those sharks way back then because I have not seen any since.

We didn't have much luck catching any stripers on our way in, but maybe next time. I will be off on another camping/backpacking adventure in Shenandoah, Virginia this weekend. The weather looks excellent for camping and it should be lots of fun. I have one more dive scheduled for November 16th and hope very much to get out for one more dive.

10-19-08 Dutch Springs

Yesterday Bill & I ventured to Dutch Springs to perform drills for the Advanced Nitrox course I am taking with Geoff Grahmn of East Coast Diving. I almost did not get out of bed this morning because I've been fighting a cold and I could not shake the chills. It was in the 30's this morning and I did not know if I could manage to find the strength to get into that cold quarry water. Once we got there it was not as cold as I thought it would be and the water actually was quite warm as far as the quarry goes. Lets say that I made it through the day but it was not pretty. I was very tired and it took a lot out of me. I was not very graceful and actually quite clumsy. I didn't give up and I made it through my two dives and the objectives. I learned that I have a few things I need to practice more in the future. I hope that when we go out in the ocean in two weeks that I will be back to myself and able to feel more conifdent and proud of my accomplishment.

10-15-08 Unknown Wreck

I have been really bogged down with lots and lots of homework (about 20 hours a week) from the Individual Taxation Course I am taking at Richard Stockton College as part of the MBA Degree that I have been working on. If anyone has ever taken a tax course before, they will know how I feel, especially since I have my BS in Chemistry and accounting is like a foreign language to me. Therefore, today I played hookey from all of my responsibilities and went diving. We took our favorite private boat out to check out some numbers that Bill had. Just think deadeyes, brass spikes and ballast stone. The water temps were 65 degrees all the way to the bottom and the vis was about 10-15'. Not many fish and no lobsters seen. It was a great day and the weather was beautiful.

9-21-08 Algol

Today we were scheduled to head out with Diversion Club on the Independence II to the Resor. Due to the weather forecast we all decided to change our destination to the Algol. We delayed leaving the dock until 8am to allow the seas some time to calm down. This was a good decision because as we broke the inlet, there were some large rollers coming in. As the day went on the seas layed down and it ended up being a perfect day to be out diving.

The Algol is an artificial reef and I have never been on it. After hearing a report of 60' and greater visibility from the Gypsy Blood whom was nearby on the Stolt, I opted to take my camera in on the 1st dive. When I splashed I couldn't believe the visibility, it was easily 50'-60'. I could see other divers swimming on the wreck as soon as I hit the water. I spent this dive photographing on 3 different levels of the wreck. There were some huge starfish sprawled on the walls of the wreck that were cool. I even saw a lobster walking down the deck (not legal size of course). There was an abundance of fish and there were quite a few large blackfish on this wreck. I have not seen large blackfish like that in a while. There were some mussels on the upper deck and boy were they good for dinner. During my hang I photographed the jellyfish and illuminesence. I also tried to photograph the divers on the wreck from my hang so everyone would believe what incredible visibility we had.

This was my first dive with the Diversion Club and during the surface interval there were lots of fattening treats like Lisa's butterscotch fudge brownies and Helen's Perogies.

During my second dive I penetrated the wreck on the 2nd level and took some photos inside the wreck. The visibility inside the wreck was fantastic too! The bottom temperature was in the 60's and the surface temp. was 73. Helen speared some fish and others brought up some lobsters. There were 2 or 3 incidences of divers being bit by the bergols. They were everywhere and were pecking at all of us divers. Given the gloomy weather forecast, this turned out to be a great day to be out diving.

Thanks to Helen of the Diversion Club and the other members for inviting us to join them. We had a great time! Also special thanks to Capt. Dan Bartone, Bill, Brandon, and Charlie for making everything onboard the Independence comfortable and relaxing. Kim Dixon

9-13-08 Gloria

I came back from an excellent week of backpacking in the White Mountains, NH to have my scheduled dive to the Offshore Paddlewheeler blown out by Huricane Hanna. I was really looking forward to that dive but there will be another time for it. On Saturday we woke up to sunshine and no rain and as a result, we made a last minute decision to head out for a dive on the Gloria. We didn't even leave the dock till 10 am and we had no babysitter so the kids came with us. The Gloria is a short run for us(about 30 min. from the dock) and it is a great wreck that I always enjoy. My plan for today was to practice with different swing bottles to prepare for my upcoming class this week at East Coast Divers. We arrived at the Gloria to find a boat fishing on it but they didn't mind sharing the wreck with us. I jumped in first to tie the anchor in. When I got to the bottom the anchor was neatly wrapped around a piece of the bow hull plate as is someone did it for me. I reinforced it with some sisal and I was off on my dive. Since we had the kids with us we were doing 1 long dive instead of 2 dives. The water temperature on the bottom was a balmy 60 degrees. The water was sooo comfortable that I did a 30 minute dive without even a chill. I swam to the very tip fo the bow where the two anchors were, one up high on the wreck and one below it near the sand. Then I swam into the debris field for a little digging. The visibility was only 15'-20' and it silted up easily. I didn't find any artifacts but I found some sand dollars and shells for the kids. The wreck had lots of sea bass and they were real skiddish and seemed to hang inside the bow. I really spent a lot of time just swimming around and exploring the wreck since there was no current on the bottom. I've dove this wreck many times and I feel like now I know the layout pretty well. Bill spent his dive spearing some sea bass for dinner and trying to find a legal size lobster. All of the lobsters were small. All in all, I had an awesome dive and feel prepared for my class this week. Kim Dixon

8-17-08 Varanger Dive

We headed out at 7am on the Tuna Seizure to the Varanger. We made it there in only 1.5 hours from the dock. I don't think I've ever got to the Varanger so quick. Dan Martinez jumped in to tie the hook in and the pool was open. I have not been to the Varanger in a long time and I was anxious to get back to a wreck I used to dive a lot. The sruface visibility was awful (pea soup) but it opened up below the thermocline of 40' and the visibility on the botttom was at least 30' of more but, it was dark. We were tied in right next to the boilers in the debirs field at a depth of about 137'. Bill gathered scallops while I took some photos and explored the wreck. The marine life on the wreck was incredible which is what drives me to dive on the deeper, less dove on wrecks. The surface interval was filled with lots of laughs from Mark Dolphin, Kenny, Bill and Rob and they tried their best to be polite with me on board. The second dive was better that the first for me, it seemed like the visibility opened up even more and it was a little brighter. We gathered more scallops and saw some large ling and taug. There was a little more current on this dive which prevented me from swimming too far from the anchor. This wreck proves to still be a fantastic dive well worth the 28 mile ride. I've been wanting to get back to the Varanger for the past 2 years and I want to give a special thanks to Capt. Bill & Kenny of the Tuna Seizure and N.E. Scuba Supply for getting me there. I am sure that everyone onboard had a great time and looking forward to out next trip out!

8-1-08 Patrice McAlister

We headed out to the Patrice McAlister and found calm seas and bright sunshine. I have not dove the Patrice McAlister in many, many years. I forgot what a pretty wreck it is. It is an intact tugboat, sitting upright at a depth of 58', and is covered in soft white coral. The visibility was about 20' and the bottom temperature was 51 degrees. I spent both of my dives taking photos and checking out the interior of the wreck. Funny story about this wreck, my uncle was the Captain of this tug when it was overcome by water and sunk. He lost his favorite coffee mug when it sunk and he always asks me to look around the wheelhouse for it. Needless to say I have never found his mug. Bill collected lobsters during both dives and we totalled 4. There were plenty of taug on this wreck but no flounder. It has been about 1 month since my last dive. I had to endure an unexpected surgery that prevented me from diving for a month. I really appreciated reading everyone's posts it helped to comfort me when I couldn't be out diving with everyone. I was scared that I wouldn't feel up to diving today but then I thought about an old friend whom inspired me to dive and decided I had to go and at least try to dive. What a nice day it was to dive. I often think of that old friend and whether they realize they still inspire me to dive. I have a few dives scheduled for the upcoming weeks as long as there are enough divers to go. So come on everyone, lets spur this economy and GO DIVING!

7-2-08 Gloria

We got out to the Gloria today for 2 dives. We were greeted with a 4'-5' ground swell on the way out which continued until midmorning and then it flattened out. We hooked the wreck in the bow on the first try and the pool was open. The surface vis was about 20'-30' but as we descended it became dark and silty. The vis on the bottom was only 10' at best. It seemed as though some areas were brighter with better vis and others were darker and no vis. The bottom temp was 46 degrees and the temp at 20' was 50 degrees. It was a cold one. Given the ground swell there was little or no swell on the bottom and almost no current. We speared two flounders, one 8lbs and 28" long and one 5.5lbs and 25.5" long and also a few sea bass. There were definately quite a few flounders on this wreck and since the water temp was so cold they were slow to move about and thus easy to spear. There were quite a few lobsters but they were all small. This wreck is quite large and due to the lack of visibility, I utlized my line reel to navigate to the boilers and back to the bow. My line reel got jammed midway back and I spent the rest of my dive collecting the line. I almost never use my reel and navigate based on memory and I think I'll go back to that since these reels waste too much time. All in all it was a great day to take a break from the beach and go out diving. Kim Dixon

5-23-08 Double East

WOW!!! What a great first day of diving for the season. We left the dock at 7am to a choppy 3'-4' seas and headed to the Double East. My first dive of the season was a typical "work out the kinks". I utilized new dry suit underwear and it made me very buoyant so as soon as I jumped in the water, I pulled myself down the anchor line and the first thing I did when I got to the bottom was grab some muscles to add weight. The visibility was about 15'-20' and the bottom temperature was about 50 degrees. There were lots of fish: sea bass, ling cod and large black fish. Once I reached the bouncy surface I had quite a battle with the dive latter and finally made it on board. The seas calmed down considerably during the surface interval. During my second dive, Capt. Bill was gracious enough to lend me his double mini's (45's) to see how comfortable they were. The were great, snug to your body and negatively weighted. This dive was so calming and relaxing, and it is why I love this sport so much. Its just you, the fish, the sound of your breath and weightlessness. I loaded up on muscles during this dive for the weekend barbeque. There were quite a few bugs brought up and of course sea bass. This was my first time diving on the Tuna Seizure and I have to say that their professionalism was outstanding. The boat was beautiful and spacious. The crew was very helpful and friendly. Due to life circumstances I thought that I would not ever be able to dive again. This was a big day for me and I hope to be out diving a lot this summer. Thanks to N.E. Scuba Supply and the Tuna Seizure for a memorable day of diving. I'll post some pictures once I figure out how to do it. Kim Dixon