Tolten July 10, 2011

Today I went diving on the wreck of the Tolten via the Independence II dive boat.  On board was the Diversion Group so I knew I would at the very least, I would eat well today.  As we arrived, there was absolutely no wind, this is a good sign,  I have not been to this wreck in a very long time and used to dive it quite often.  In fact I tried to get to this wreck earlier this year but the conditions were not favorable so we went to the Pinta instead.  It had been at least 10 years since I dove it so I was looking forward to it!

Me hanging on a Tolten dive long ago.  I had a lobster in my bag and still had a rental pony bottle!

Me on the Tolten probably in the late 80's, prior to owning a drysuit.

 The Tolten was a Chilean steamer.  On March 13, 1942 the Tolten was struck by German torpedoes fired from the U-404.  At the time of her sinking, Chile was  neutral country and had been assured by Germany that none of he ships would be attacked as long as they traveled with their running lights on.  The Tolten had been stooped prior to her attack by a US Navy patrol boat and had been warned to be on the lookout for submarines and to travel "Blacked Out".  Much to her demise, the Tolten took the patrol boat's advice.  Today the wreck sits in about 95' of water and a lot of the superstructure still remains.


My goal today was to take photos and figure out some new settings that produce better photo quality than I've been achieving.  I also was going to shoot some video in different modes.  On the way to the wreck I was advised that the visibility was only about 10' the previous day and there had been some upwelling bringing in some very cold water. Therefore, I was re-evaluating my dive plan and thinking of leaving the camera on board.  I took my time getting in the water as Capt. Dan said "I am procrastinating".  I just felt really tired today and could absolutely use more sleep.  I've been working way too many hours and it is taking a toll on me....  Eventually I got my act together and splashed along with my camera.  Well conditions definitely improved from the previous day because the vis was a solid 30'-40'.  We were anchored in the bow and for my first dive I swam around the bow, which still has quite a bit of relief, and I took some photos.  One of my strobes was not firing properly so I switched to video and shot some video while I explored this portion of the wreck.  even thought the bottom temp was 51 degrees I got cold so I only did a 30 minute dive.  There was tons of fish on this wreck.  I saw sea bass, bergols, ling cod, and taug.  There were a lot of divers looking to spear fish on this trip but most of the fish were not large in size.

On the surface, there were an abundance of lobster caught and even some cod speared.   I actually forgot what a cod looked like since they are not as abundant as they used to be.  On my next dive I was going to try and find some cod to photograph.   Diane Weibel found a porthole dog just laying on the wreck.  Of course she didn't think to dig where she found it but, was going to dig a little in that area on the second dive and try to find the porthole that it came from. 

As I was taking off my dry suit I tore my next seal (of course I still did not find time to order my new drysuit).  I was a little upset since conditions were so outstanding.  I used some wetsuit cement and tried to repair it the best I could.  While the cement dried, Capt. Bill was gracious enough to cook cheeseburgers and hot dogs for everyone for lunch.

There was an abundance of sold water coral on this wreck

On the second dive I was going to attempt to swim to the stern to photograph the props.  I swam all the way to the boilers and just beyond them I spotted some cod.  I tried to get a photo and/or video of them but they kept swimming in and out of some plates and I could not get a photo of them.  I continued on and found the prop shaft and as I was following that towards the prop, my next seal repair gave in.  I was taking on lots of water.  I wanted to continue on but I figured I had better be safe and turn around and head back towards the anchor line.  I filled up quite a bit with water and got quite cold quickly.  I did manage to shoot more video around the anchor line and ended up with another 30 minute dive.  This wreck is just so cool with so much area to check out.  I remember it being much more intact years ago and now it has definitely broken down like so many other wrecks.  I will be trying to get back to this wreck again someday, its one of the good ones.

This guy didn't even flinch when my flash went off in his face

We had a nice calm ride in that included another nap for me.  Once we were back at the dock and the boat was all cleaned,  I enjoyed hanging out with the crew for a few beers and talking about all the future dive adventures they are planning. The day was finally finished off with a nice fish n chips dinner at Motts Creek Inn overlooking the bay and marsh and listening to some great live music.  The sunset was just beautiful, perfect ending to a day of diving!

Once I uploaded my photos, I noticed that there is some sort of sea creature inside this anemone.  I will have to do a little research to figure out what it is.  I also will be editing the video I shot and will post that as soon as it is complete. 

Well time to order that drysuit before my next dive, Max's Wreck!!

Some tasty Mussels

Helen Bilinski, leader of Diversion Group

Arundo 7-2-11 for the Second Time this summer!

Arundo

 Yesterday I dove the Arundo on the Independence II as a last minute decision and it turned out to be well worthwhile.  I was originally planning on diving the Oil Wreck today (7/3/11) but, the Independence II had to cancel the trip which in the end was a good thing for me.  I have wanted to dive the Oil Wreck for a long time but, it is one of those wreck that for some reason I was always nervous about trying to dive.  I finally made the decision to dive it a few years ago when my diving mentor agreed to be my buddy and basically hold my hand and help me overcome my fear and achieve my goal of diving the Oil Wreck.  That day never came so here I am several years later but, this time I was feeling much more confident in my own capabilities and was going to accomplish the dive on my own.  Since the dive was cancelled, I realized some wrecks are just not meant to be and I am ok with that.  So as an alternative, Capt. Dan invited me to go dive Arundo.

The flat calm Atlantic Ocean

The ocean couldn't get any calmer, flat like a lake. On the way out I was contemplating whether I should take photos during my dive or just dig for artifacts.  I was leaning towards digging for artifacts and/or swimming out in the sand looking for scallops. As I was suiting up, Capt. Dan said I should take my camera in because the surface vis looks fantastic and I may regret leaving it on the boat.  I took his advise and took in my camera.  Since it was so calm, not even a ripple, we had a stern tie-in, simple straight line to the bottom.  As soon as I splashed and looked underwater, the vis was so beautiful, I was so pumped for this dive.  The Arundo has always been one of my favorite dives out of Manasquan Inlet.  The vis held most of the way to the bottom, I only wish the water temperature did.  There was a slight thermocline and the bottom temp was warmer than my last dive to the Arundo at 49 degrees.  We had a full boat today with some students whom typically dive Lake Erie.  Since they all splashed before me, the area around the anchor was a little silted up.  I therefore, swam away from the anchor in search of clearer waters in which I succeeded.  The vis was about 30' on the bottom.  I proceeded to take a few photos but they were not coming out well, they seemed real dark. (I later figured out that my lens was fogging, time for new moisture munchers).  So, I stopped and just swam around looking at the wreck.  At the end on my dive I ran into Alek Petersen whom wanted me to model for his pictures but he too was having issues with lighting.  It is hard to adjust the lighting on these deeper wrecks and I never seem to want to spend the time wasting a dive trying different techniques.  Time is too short on the bottom and I'd rather check out the wreck than waste time fussing with the camera.  I did a 25 minute dive and did not want to go up, these are the times that I again wish I had that rebreather because I would have stayed down longer.  I am still saving my pennies for the rebreather, maybe next year!!! The hang was filled with lots of salps, illuminesence and jellyfish.  There was litterally 0 current which made for a comfortable hang.

Bubbles on the hang

On the surface, everyone started to bring up the bags of lobster, scallops and flounder.  We had a fish jumping off the boat that appeared to be a tuna and that brought some excitement to the surface interval.


On my second dive, I left the camera on board and was going to look for scallops.  I ran my wreck reel out into the sand and did not have any luck finding scallops.  The current started to pick up on this dive but that also helped to improve the vis to about 35'-40'.  Toward the end on my dive I spotted something that looked like a soda can, I picked it up and it was one of those large Canadian Beer bottles, fully intact with no cracks in it.  I then started to dig around there to search for more but did not find any.  The current picked up quite a bit while I was on the bottom so I had one of those long flag pole hanging type of hangs.  Boy my arms tire when there is current.  I was excited about my find. Perfect end to a perfect day out diving.  It is so rare to have such good conditions on this wreck and this year I have had two great days of diving on this wreck.  I knew my 25th year of diving would be the best but, so far it has far exceeded my wildest expectations.  Looking forward to diving again next weekend out on the Indy II.

Sea Hag on the Dina Dee

After returning from an awesome week of canoeing, camping, and enjoying he abundant wildlife in Algonquin Provincial Park in Canada with the family, I was looking forward to today's dive.  Today was a girl's day of diving.   My friend Jenn Washco and I planned to go and dive a boat and wreck that we do not dive on a lot.  Something new and different. We ended up choosing to go out on the Dina Dee out of Barnegat Light which was an open boat.  When we arrived, it was decided that we would be diving the Sea Hag since it was Chis the Mate's favorite wreck.  It had been a real long time since I dove the Sea Hag and frankly did not remember the wreck itself other than it was a pretty dive.  Chris and  Capt. Roger told me it was impossible to get lost on this wreck since it is "basically a circle in the shape of a boat".

The Sea Hag sits in 87' of water and was a wooden sailing ship.  It remains mostly intact although it is deeply imbedded into the sand.  The bow sits up pretty high with about 15'-20' of relief and is very picturesque.  The stern is broken up a bit but has lots of holds for fish and lobster.

Small Winter Flounder

Spikes on the wreck

The ride out was a little bouncy and therefore, once we anchored up Jenn and I were anxious to get in the water.  The visibility on the surface was endless and the water column was filled with salps and small jellyfish.  At about 60' we passed through a brownish cloud of silt that cleared once you were on the bottom.  The vis was about 25' with decent ambient light.  The bottom temp was real warm...51 degrees.  We were anchored in the extreme stern and decided to follow the edge of the hull as far as we could.  I took photos and Jenn proceeded to locate some lobsters but was scared to grab them for fear of being bitten.  There was schools of sea bass everywhere, lots of winter flounder and some larger fluke too.  I even saw an oyster cracker.  My memory served me well this was a pretty wreck and has a little something for everyone.  My dive lasted about 30 minutes and it was time to head up.  Both Jenn and I had only one set of doubles for the day so we needed to conserve air for our second dive.  I wish I could have stayed down longer, it was too nice to leave and head up so soon!

Jenn Hanging!

The Sea Bass were so vibrant in color

Most of the divers came up with fluke or sea bass and there were a few lobsters boated.  Since the conditions were good we decided to stay for a second dive instead of relocating.  Now let me tell you how classy this boat is...  Jenn and I were busy catching up with each other when Capt. Roger walked over with cheesecake for us on fancy plates and silverware.  Where else can you go diving and have cheesecake delivered to you?? It turns out that most of the guys on board were members of the Wreck Raiders and they always bring good sweets.  It sure was a nice treat!!  We also had a whale breach off the side of the boat which makes the day that much more special.

For my second dive, Capt. Roger told me to take a swim and head up to the bow because it would be nice for photos.  I took his advise and swam all the way to the bow,  I kinda left Jenn in the dust and I knew she wouldn't mind.  The bow was perfect for photos however, by the time I got there it was time for me to turn around and head back so I didn't run out of air.  So, I only took a few pictures of this area. The swim back was against the current and boy did I huff and puff and wear myself out.  I felt like I almost wasn't going to make it back to the anchor but, I did.


Today was the perfect girl's day out diving.  It was topped off with a beer at the dock, fresh fileted fish and Capt. George gave Jenn a lobster to take home.  We decided that us girls will have to do this again sometime this summer.  Thanks to the Dina Dee for a beautiful day!!!

Jenn took this picture of me on our hang!

Me, Capt. Roger & Jenn

Such a fun day!!