The Resor was a tanker carrying crude oil when she was torpedoed by the U578 on February 27, 1942. There were only 2 survivors...Today the wreck sits in 125' of water and it has quite a bit of relief. It is known for scallops, large lobsters, and artifacts.
The parking lot at Hoffman's Marina was packed to the gill, aahhh it was Mako Mania weekend, how do I manage to pick this weekend to dive every year?? As we approached the wreck we saw several fishing boats in the area and upon arrival there was one boat anchored on the wreck. However, the Capt. of that fishing boat radioed over and said he was pulling anchor and that we can move in. He advised us that the current was extremely strong and it hindered their fishing. Hmmm...this was our first clue to the adventure that lied ahead. We dropped the ball and noticed that the current was making waves over the ball, not a good sign. We timed the current and it was running about 2 knots. It was time for the "dream team" to try and tie us into the wreck. The plan was to try and get them in the water ahead of the ball in a location that would allow the current to bring them to the ball. If the current was as bad on the bottom as it was on the surface, there would be no diving the Resor today. The "dream team" was successful at tying the boat into the wreck. When they came up they advised that the current dropped off at about 40' and there was no current on the bottom. The pool was open but due to the surface current, we all were splashing in with a line in out hand that was tied to the boat, and the crew would be pulling the divers to the carolina line and then it would be a hand over hand pull until you got under the current. The current was similar to what is typically found diving the Andrea Doria.
I planned to shoot photos but, Brandon advised that the viz was only about 15' so due to the lower viz and the current, the camera was staying on board. Several divers went in and some aborted since they could not get under with the current. I decided to dive in a threesome with Bill and Capt. Dan. Our plan was to run a line out and get scallops or flatties for dinner with a bottom time of about 30 minutes. Sounds like a great plan for 3 experienced divers right??? Capt. Dan splashed first, then me, and Bill last. I had no problem getting to the carolina line with my tow from Joe up on the boat and got under relatively easily to find Capt. Dan waiting for me and then we moved on. It was hand over hand and my arms were burning along with breathing hard. I kept stopping to rest and catch my breath and moved on again until I got below the current and could relax. There were a few moments when I thought I couldn't hang on but I kept saying to myself, you made it this far..not much further and it will let up. This was bringing back memories of a similar dive I had on the Varanger many years ago (see my Varanger post on 10-23-10). Once we were on the the bottom, the viz didn't seem too bad, more like 20' and bright enough that I didn't need a light. We tied off the wreck reel and headed off. We were on a section of the wreck with lots of pipes strewn about and a really, really high wall like piece that came up to about 105'. I believe we were mid-ship and most of the wreck was pretty broken up. As we headed towards the sand we did not see many scallops but, we did start to see lots of flounder. Capt. Dan and I would shine our lights on the flatties and Bill was spearing and bagging up. A few scallops were found but not the usual quantity.. Where are the scallops??? I signaled to Capt. Dan that I was turning around and heading back towards the anchor. Thoughts of the tough hang in current was on my mind so I went up at 23 minutes instead of the planned 30 minutes. They continued on spearing flounder and ended up with quite a few, and some lobsters too.
Most of the "guys" were only doing 1 dive today because they were diving the U869 the next day. I planned on only one dive too since I was exhausted from the current but, all of a sudden the current let up. I decided to go in an do a second dive and this time I took my camera and just hung around the anchor line. Terry had told me where to find a pipe with a huge lobster in it so that I could photograph it. There were a ton on pipes down there and everyone I looked in did not reveal the lobster that I was looking for. I shot a few photos and had a calm dive since I was down alone with no grand "dive plan". I saw some huge tautog and the bottom was littered with ling, ocean pouts, and tons of bergals pecking at my mask. Parts of the wreckage are covered in small mussels, it is kind o neat to see how cyclic mussels are..I almost forgot...right before I splashed for my 2nd dive a large shark swam around the boat (remember mako mania)..made me more than a little nervous given the abundance of chum slicks in the area.. Well during my hang I though Kevin was tapping me and I couldn't understand what he was trying to say and then I thought...he is trying to tell me the shark is around...I was wrong and Kevin was just trying to find out if I wanted to pass him...the mind sure does mess with you when it comes to sharks!!
The bottom temp was about 48 degrees and 70 on the hang..not bad at all! The viz was a solid 20' on the 2nd dive too.
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There were lobsters, plenty of flatties and a few scallops bought up today which made for a nice dinner for all the guys diving the next day off shore..I headed home and had cold pizza...how did that happen? I would like to have dove the U869 but, I just did not feel ready for it. Once I was home I thought I took a hit in my arm since it it was hurting but, I think it was strained from pulling my self down the anchor line and today it is fine.. So...some days, this thing called diving is an ADVENTURE...
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