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