Oregon 7-16-13

I have been wanting to dive the Oregon ever since I dove the San Diego in the late 1980's.  Therefore, when the Capt. Dan of the Independence II asked the crew if they wanted to go to the Oregon on one of their crew days, I knew I wanted to be part of it.

The Oregon is a steamer built in 1881 and was 518 feet long.  It was one of the biggest and fastest ships of her time.  On March 6, 1886 while on a voyage from Liverpool to New York, the Oregon was struck by a three masted schooner.  The Oregon stayed afloat long enough for all of her passengers and crew to be rescued..  The unknown schooner sank that night with all of its crew and the schooner has never been found.  The Oregon now sits in 125' of water and over the years divers have brought up portholes, chandeliers, china, dead eyes, bottles and other artifacts.  Given its close proximity to Fire Island it is a common dive destination.

Today we were fortunate enough after such a  rough spring and early summer to have 0-1' seas the entire trip out and back.  This made for a quick 60 mile trip filled with lots of rest and relaxation.  We anchored in the bow section of the wreck and the visibility on the surface was incredible.  Here is that beautiful clear water that I have been waiting for...

Lake Atlantic 60 miles offshore..

  I took my camera in knowing fully that everyone else was bringing in scooters to do their digging but I figured I'd  swim away from the diggers and find somewhere to take photos.  The visibility was about 30' on the bottom which quickly disappeared once the scooters were going.  The bottom temperature was a balmy 51 degrees and the surface was 68 degrees.  I shot a few pictures right away and I decided to look for china or bottles (I really like the torpedo shaped bottles divers have found from this wreck).  I of course found nothing but, I did absolutely loved exploring this wreck.  I know this wreck is dived non-stop but, there is still so much to find and to look at...  As I found my way back to the anchor I saw some of the brass sitting on the hull waiting for other divers to come back and lift it to the surface.

 There is a lot of wood decking that is breaking down and you can just lift the pieces up and see the lower decks below them.  There has to be lots of goodies on those lower decks buried  below the surface.

During the surface interval we all shared what we found and discussed what sections we should focus on.  It was hot even 60 miles out and the black flies carried us away.  We tried everything to ward off the flies including bounce dryer sheets...They will certainly drive you crazy!  There was a lonely whale that swam by during our surface interval.  On my second dive I lingered waiting for the digging crew ahead of me to be on their way back up so that the water would clear a little for my dive.  There was little or no current which caused the silt to linger on the wreck.  When I got to the bottom it was clear but I only had about 10 minutes and the next crew of scooters were at it again.  This time I swam towards the boilers and noticed a ton of yellow sponges growing on this wreck, it was like a field of yellow.  I found some chards of china and that was about it.  Other divers brought up more brass and pieces of china and window glass.  This wreck is spectacular and huge. There was an abundance of eel pouts, flounder, scallops, and ling cod on the wreck.  I even landed on an Oyster Cracker by accident...There were some lobsters harvested and a few loads of scallops.  If I had the scooter today I would have like to tour the entire wreck and see the stern area, there just never seems to be be enough time to see it all which is part of the lure to go back to wrecks over and over.

Oyster Cracker

 I told Capt. Dan lets head out to the Oregon again this summer and hopefully we will, although I know there area lots of other wrecks we all want to get to this year.  I had a great time out diving the Oregon and now I look forward to my next adventure to the Tolten this weekend with my daughter.

Capt. Dan of the Independence II

Moonstone 7-13-13

I have been trying to go out diving on the RV  for quite some time and after several obstacles, I was successful in diving on the RV yesterday.  I really miss diving the wrecks off of southern NJ  which is why I have wanted to get out on the RV to dive those wrecks that I have not dove in a long time.  It was a very, very foggy morning that made for a tricky ride out of Cape May Inlet but once we were far out in the ocean the fog began to lift and out came the sunshine.  At the dock we voted between several wrecks and agreed upon the Moonstone.  As you all know, I have always enjoyed diving the Moonstone and it has been 3 years since I've dove it last (see my trip report from 8-2-10 for a brief history of the Moonstone).  On board today was  a nice group of guys that I have never met before with the exception of  Bart.  They were very welcoming and laid back which set the scene for a relaxing day at sea.

On my first dive I splashed to clear blue water with visibility on the bottom of about 25-30'.  We were anchored mid wreck not too far behind the gun turret.  The hurricane last fall had an effect on this wreck because, the bow is no longer located in the same area as it had been.  It appears that the bow was turned or mangled upside down.  This wreck is a perfect example of a wreck that has deteriorated a lot since I first dove it in the 1990's.  The wreck is breaking down and sinking into the sand.  There was only a few small lobsters and a couple of ling and flounder.  This wreck still does not have much in terms of marine life and thus there are not many fish.  The dive was cold, 49 degrees on the bottom and 52 degrees on my hang.  Where is that warm water???

During the surface we ate hot roast beef sandwiches with lots of horseradish and we tried to figure out what exactly happened to the bow of the wreck.  Since the conditions were good we decided to stay and  do a second dive on the Moonstone.

During my second dive I spent time looking around the mid-ship and stern.  There certainly is a lot of sand that moved into this wreck. 

We had a real nice ride home with a following sea.  Today was a great day and I hope to dive off of the RV  again someday.  Great boat with a nice and friendly group of guys!

Heading in from the Moonstone on the Down Deep (1990)

 I am off diving again on Tuesday, heading offshore to the Oregon..I actually never dove this wreck so I am pretty excited!!

Me on the Moonstone (1990)