Varanger 6/27/09

The day couldn't be more perfect aboard the Atlantus and diving one of the best wrecks in NJ, the Varanger. It was a beautiful morning as Bill and I, Brian Roemer, Brian and Andrew Larsen headed out to the Varanger. During my first dive I jumped in without my camera because I just wanted to check out the wreck and try to have a calm and safe dive. As soon as I hit the water I debated whether I should go back and get my camera, the visibility was so spectacular that I don't know if I have ever since vis like this in NJ (at least 100'). The water was such a deep blue that it was like you were in some other place. The wreck quickly came into view and also the thermocline that was at about 130' and boy did it feel cold on the bottom, it was 47 degrees! This wreck is so massive. I have dove it a lot over the years but, I was never in this portion before and I still am not sure where on the wreck we were. The upper decking was as a depth of about 112' and the sand was 149'. This portion of the wreck was large and open so you could go inside of it with ease. There was also a large debris field that was littered with ling cod. If I had my camera I would have taken a picture of the ling stacked up along the sandy bottom perfectly laid out as if each fish had its own assigned spot. There was also quite a few abandoned lobster traps with lobster and fish in them waiting for us to free them. There was no current and the vis on the bottom was easily 40'-50' and it was light. I spent 25 minutes on the bottom and it was way too quick. The hang was warm (68 degrees) with no current at all. As I surfaced and got back on the boat, the reggae music was blasting which made the most perfect dive even better (I'm a huge reggae fan). Brian Roemer got some scallops and Brian Larsen speared some fish.

During the surface interval we all relaxed and did some fishing. Since the Atlantus also does fishing charters they had poles for whomever wanted to fish. We caught a few keeper sea bass for dinner.

The second dive, I was definitely taking my camera. Once we got to the bottom the boat had swung around and we ended up doing our entire dive on the upper portion of the wreck and there were lots of artifacts around for the taking. Bill got some brass (I don't even know what it is) and the others speared more fish and got more scallops. I just shot a bunch of photos and then it seemed like only a few minutes and it was already 15 minutes and time to leave. During the hang I took photos of everyone. This dive is so awesome and I wish I could have stayed longer.





















We had a nice leisurely ride back in and topped it off with some nice cold beers and a great dinner at the Back of the Bay Ale House. What a day, it definitely doesn't get better than this!!! All of us on board want to go to the Offshore Paddlewheeler so we scheduled it for July 14th and I can't wait. Call the Atlantus if anyone wants to join us!

Till My Next Adventure!!!!