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| Photo of me on the Pinta taken by Alek Peterson |
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| So many baby mussels! |
Today the forecast was for 2'-3' seas and I was scheduled to go on the Independence II to the wreck of the Tolten. I have fond memories of past dives to this wreck and was really excited to go back to it especially with my newer camera. When we headed out of the inlet we were not greeted by 2'-3' seas but rather 4' seas with close periods and as we headed towards the Tolten the seas grew larger. After a lengthy discussion and vote by those who were warranted as having voting rights, we changed the destination first to the Gulftrade Stern then, we completely switched directions and went to the Pinta. I tried to dive this wreck at the end of last year and ended up going for a boat ride to the wreck because when I jumped in my regulator would not stop free flowing therefore, I never made it to the bottom. I have heard from a lot of people that this is a great wreck to dive.
The Pinta was a Dutch freighter carrying teak lumber on May 8, 1963 when it was struck broadside by a British freighter, SS City of Perth. Today the Pinta remains partially intact and it is very easy to navigate. Once we arrived at the Pinta I lagged behind the other divers so I that I could get a visibility report and it was reported that there was great vis. I was planning on only doing one longer dive since it was pretty rough and I felt pretty beat up from the ride out there. This wreck is in about 80 feet of water so I figured I could stay until I got cold. As soon as I splashed I could see that the vis was just incredible. I cruised around the wreck for a few minutes to orient myself and then settled in to take some photos. This wreck is so full of marine life and it is just beautiful to look at. Alek Petersen and I were both taking photos so I took a few of him and he took a few of me and then we parted to focus on shooting the wreck. Since the vis was about 25'-30' my pictures appeared to be coming out well. The bottom temp was 43 degrees so my plan of doing a longer dive was not going to work out because after 20 minutes I could no longer feel my fingers. I do wish the North Atlantic would warm up just a few degrees. Once I was back on the boat most of us came back with issues of frozen fingers. As you can see by my photos, this is a pretty wreck!
Since the conditions on the bottom were so awesome and the surface conditions were awful, I decided to go ahead and do a second dive. The vis improved even more...I was at a depth of 46' and I could see Alek on the wreck. I spent the second dive taking more photos and exploring this interesting wreck. This is definitely a wreck that I'd like to visit again..There are both low lying areas and areas of high relief. It is just a neat wreck and I like it a lot. The ride home was smoother sailing and I am now pumped for my dive out of Atlantic City tomorrow!!!! There will also be a lot more photos posted on my facebook..
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| Alek Petersenhh |
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| Alek & Igor |
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