Kim Dixon's Wreck Diving Blog: 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!!