Inshore Paddlewheeler

Got out again today, 2nd time in a week! I almost didn't go out today because I am really busy with work and have lots going on with the kids, but my daughter told me I should go so, off I went. You only live once right?

I went on the Atlantus to the Inshore Paddlewheeler and we lucked out and hooked the wreck and not the subway cars. It was a small group today, myself, Randy Moore, RichVenuti from East Coast Diving and Ken along with Brian and Andrew Larsen. On my fist dive I headed out in the sand to the remnants of the paddlewheel and looked around for some scallops. There was none to be found. So I then spent time taking photos and touring the wreck. There was a lot of plankton in the water so I knew photos wouldn't be perfect today (vis was about 30') but, since it was a shallower (about 107') wreck and it was bright on the bottom, the pictures came out much better than I expected. I took some pictures of the multiple lobster traps that had lots of bergols swimming around them and some sea anenomes too. I looked under some ribbings for lobster but did not sea any. There were a few sea bass and a few flounder. It was warmer on this wreck, I got 50 degrees on the bottom and as a result, I managed 30 minutes on the bottom before the chill set in.

Once I was on the surface the smorgasborg of fish came up with the other divers. We had sea bass, flounder, ling cod, trigger fish and even an eel pout. There was one large taug that no one could spear so they set up a plan to try and corner him and spear him on the second dive. Needless to say this did not work.

On my second dive I toured the debris field and found some areas that appear as if someone has been "digging" in. The hole was quite deep in a linear fashion and definitely was not natural. I shot some photos of this area and I also poked around looking for some artifacts. This took up the better part of my dive. I got some pictures of a toad fish that I almost missed, he was perfectly camouflaged (see the picture of him, he's hard to pick out). He didn't like the flash so he did not stick around long. I ventured out in the sand in search of scallops again but I guess someone else bagged them or they moved out to cooler water. I spent some time taking photos of the other set of paddlewheels and before I knew it I was down 28 minutes, time to head up.

I am glad my daughter gave me the push to go diving today. It was a great day and also nice to be out in the ocean away from the heat on land! Next dive is on the 22nd unless I scoot out sooner!

Southern Lilian

On Saturday, August 8th we went with Atlantus Charters to the Southern Lilian. I knew it would be a great day when we ran into an old friend on the dock. His name is Paxton Holden. He used to dive a lot with us and shared some great adventures with us in the past (including the infamous trip to Nova Scotia). Paxton was heading out on the high roller fishing boat docked next to the Atlantus. He shared a few memories with us and of course one of his "clean" jokes. As we pulled away from the dock he said "have a safe dive".

It was a long ride from Atlantic City to the Southern Lilian but the conditions were great 1'-2' seas. Today we had a great bunch of divers, Geoff Grahamn, John Priestly, Jeff Heim, Katie Ondrasik, Matt, Bill and myself, Captain Brian Larsen and first mate Shaner. Once we arrived, it was no time at all and the pool was open. I was performing some objectives for my class first and then I was free to do my own dive. I dove the Southern Lilian a few times before and as soon as I descended I vividly remembered it because of the prominent boilers and engines. The boilers stand tall on the bottom and are not in any kind of debris field so that look like someone just dropped them in the sand. I did my first dive around the boilers and engines and some of the pipes. The visibility was a good 30'-40'. The wreck was loaded with fish (even one lonely cod fish) and other bottom dwelling creatures.

On my second dive we headed off in a different direction to the debris field that has lots of metal plates and pipes. This section was really interesting to look at. It appears that these steel sheets of metal were stacked upright and now are covered in soft coral and sponges. This is a great section of the wreck for hunting for fish and lobsters. I don't like to brag but we had a banner day for lobsters!

I took some photos on these dives, there were some monster starfish and the pictures don't do them justice. I also got a picture of a flounder on the bottom. This was hard to do since they are hard to spot and always scurry away so quickly.

During the ride home we spoke about a variety of topics but, one in particular was ironic to me. We spoke about how lucky I was to have dove so many wrecks back before they were so popular, how I was able to obtain lots of artifacts and also to dive on newly found wrecks. The newer generation isn't always as fortunate and it is harder to find wrecks that aren't dove often. This newer generation was wishing they were around in the earlier days. Well the reason it was ironic that we had this conversation, is because when I was younger, I felt the same way. Seeing my old friend Paxton earlier in the day reminded me of that and also made me sad in another way because he is now retired and no longer dives. I know those retired from diving days aren't too far off for me too. It really tugs at your heart to pull away from the dock knowing that your old friend wishes he could come along and knowing what a great diver he was in his day. This is why I try to dive as much as I can now. In fact I am heading out again tomorrow to the inshore paddlewheeler.

Catamount???

Well, I had a bit of a hiatus from diving due to weather and my new addition to the family. I have wanted a new puppy for a while and now I am very busy taking care of Moose, my yellow lab pup.










I was able to scoot out yesterday for a well deserved day to myself and joined Diversion Group on the Gypsy Blood to the "Catamount". We had a full boat, 14 divers, plus 3 crew and Captain Jim. I met so many wonderful people that made me feel like part of the Diversion Group, especially Helen Bilinski.

No one really knows where the true Catamount is located but the wreck that divers typicaly call the Catamount is located at a water depth of approximately 125' with a huge engine and 50' of wreckage. One quart liquor bottles are typically found and some divers call it the Rum Runner.

The wreck we dove today sits in water depths of about 122' to 146'. Therefore, it is not the site typically known as the "Catamount". This wreck scatters along an area of a about 100' long and has parts of the hull that are still intact. The wreck is thickly covered in sea anenomes and you can make out some cargo hold areas. There were large fish in the hold areas. The visibility was not at its best yesterday, so typical for this area near the mud hole. We had about 5'-10' vis and it was dark. Actually, the surface vis was really bad then it cleared up for quite a distance and just before you hit the bottom it silted up. Therefore, it was difficult to get a full view of the wreck and for me to explore too far away from the anchor line. The bottom temp was extremely cold, it was 48 degrees. For some reason it felt even colder than that. I was diving with one of those wet/dry suits so that could have contributed to me being so cold. One of the divers I splashed with, Michael Young found two bottles, a Borden's Milk bottle and an Elixer bottle. No liquor bottles found during this trip. Since the visibility was so poor, no photos on this trip, only surface shots. However, I am entrigued as to what this wreck actually is? Artificial Reef wreck? Unknown New Wreck? Another Unknown Wreck frequented by divers? Or the missing Catamount? I'd like to go back someday with better visibility to explore further.

During the surface interval we were treated to Nathan's Hot Dogs, Kielbasa, fruit, home grown tomatoes an vegetables. It was feast, thanks to Helen. Due to the lack of visibility and a storm approaching we decided to relocate inshore to Jim's Secret Spot. A wooden barge that sits about 15' up from the sand in about 85' of water. A good lobster and hunting dive. I sat this dive out, was not feeling up to par. Other divers said the visibility was better on this dive. Everyone seemed to enjoy this dive. Just as divers were exiting the water, the storm blew in and we drove home in rain, wind and lightning. The good thing was the air conditioned cabin kept us dry and cool. When we got back to the dock the rain let up for us to unload.

I had a nice day out in the ocean and met some really nice people. Mark Hennessey, Jenn Wasko and I discussed so diving to be done in the future off of Cape May. Anne Dashevsky whom was supposed to be my dive buddy but, we ended up only passing on the anchor line (both of us had the queezy stomachs today), has a rebreather and told me all about how much she enjoys it. She trained with Dan Crowell whom my better half has been talking to also about rebreathers. I've been trying to save up money for one but with the kids the money always seems to go to them. Someday...





Helen Bilinski









Mark Henessey & JennWasko







Rich Langbein






I have a lot to do to prepare for my next dive on Saturday, Aug. 8th to the Southern Lilian. I have to dry out my wet/dry suit, fix my leaky next seal, fill my tanks and find time to play with Moose. I have 4 more dives scheduled this month if the weather cooperates. I can't wait!!

Safe Diving

I just heard about another diving fatality in the area. Although I don't personally know this diver, my heart goes out to her family and friends.

It is always in the back of my mind when I head out for another dive that something could happen that would result in an injury or even a fatality. However, I have been diving for a very long time and I contribute my diving safety to various things but one of them is they way I was taught to dive.

A majority of my training was taught by Gene Peterson whom is one of most experienced divers I know. He taught me to dive "clean" and not to carry too much unnecessary equipment that could get in the way in the event an emergency happened. He also taught me to stop, slow down and think before I act. I often stop on descent or as soon as I get to the bottom to regroup, calm myself and to rethink of my objectives for the dive. I am the first person that if I don't feel comfortable before a dive or on descent I will turn around and get back on the boat and try it again another day. You don't always feel 100% every day and there are always other days to revisit a wreck. Gene also taught me to take my time at reaching my goals, you should work up to a really deep dive and get lots of practice in on shallow dives. For these things that he taught me among many other things, I believe have kept me diving safely all of these years.

I therefore, dedicate my recent accomplishments to Gene for teaching me to dive safely. I will carry these lessons with me as my diving progresses into the future! I will also continue to look for new ways to dive safer so that I will have many many more dives. Please be safe!!

Offshore Paddlewheeler

I don't know where to begin but "Dreams Do Come True"! I have been trying to get to the Offshore Paddlewheeler for quite some time but was having a hard time trying to find a boat to take me there. In steps the Atlantus! They were more than willing to bring us to this amazing wreck.

As we headed out into the ocean at 6:30 am from Atlantic City we watched a beautiful sunrise and chatted about the upcoming dive. Once we were anchored on the wreck, I splashed to find the surface visibility to be only about 20' which was less than I expected, but once we got to about 95' down I could see the wreck come into view. The visibility cleared up to a good 30'-40' and it was bright. The water temp on the bottom was 48 degrees and the maximum depth I got was 146'. The Atlantus anchored us right between the two paddles which couldn't be more perfect. I quickly got busy taking photos as I toured the wreck and Bill spent his time gathering scallops and lobster. Just like a few weeks ago on the Varanger, this wreck was loaded with Ling cod and I took a picture to show how many there were. There were also lots of bergols and one large tautog circling the paddle (He knew he had 2 more days till open season). There are lots of artifacts on this wreck lying around and I'm sure great things could be found if you spent some time digging on this wreck. The hang was a little rough since the seas were churning, a john line was definitely called for.



Eel Pout and an artifact.









Lots of Ling Cod out in the sand








One of the spectacular Paddles





As I said earlier, I dreamed of diving this wreck for a long time and not only did my dream come true, but I was fortunate enough to be on the wreck with Stephan McAllister whom was videoing the wreck. Well he took some video of the entire wreck and also videoed me! Once we were on the surface he downloaded the video onto a CD for me to have. Now I have a video of myself living my dream. This was the nicest thing anyone has done for me and I don't even think he realized what a gift this was for me.

During the surface interval we were treated to some ballad's of Sam Magee, which are some old folklore stories from Alaska. Stephan kept us entertained with his stories.

During my second dive, I took some more photos of eel pouts and I also looked around under the decks. This is probably one of the most unique and pretty wrecks I have ever been on. The way the paddles so profoundly rise up off of the decks, and to think they have been there since the civil war era. There is also a scallop dredge sitting in the wreck that got hung up and abandoned.














On my way up the anchor line after my second dive I passed Stephan. Once we were back on the surface Stephan told me that I had the biggest smile on my face as I passed him. He said there are not many girls whom dive and it was nice to meet me whom loves it so much. If he only had any idea of what I have been through to get to the Offshore Paddlewheeler and to even still be diving he'd be amazed even more. He is right, there are not many girls that dive deep and love it to the extent that I do.




Brian Larsen








Stephan McAllister










On the ride out ...





All of the divers onboard went home with lobster, scallops and fish. There was some brass brought up too! It was the general consensus that this wreck is awesome and everyone wants to dive it again someday.

During the ride home we planned our next dive adventures with Brian Larsen. We are hoping to try and get to the Max's Wreck or the Cayru next. It appears that this summer will turn out to be one of my most accomplished summers in terms of diving in a long time. Take a peak at a portion of the video from the wreck below. Dive Safe!!! Kim

Video of Offshore Paddelwheeler 7/14/09

This video was taken by Stephan McAllister. That is me with the camera!!

Varanger 6/27/09

The day couldn't be more perfect aboard the Atlantus and diving one of the best wrecks in NJ, the Varanger. It was a beautiful morning as Bill and I, Brian Roemer, Brian and Andrew Larsen headed out to the Varanger. During my first dive I jumped in without my camera because I just wanted to check out the wreck and try to have a calm and safe dive. As soon as I hit the water I debated whether I should go back and get my camera, the visibility was so spectacular that I don't know if I have ever since vis like this in NJ (at least 100'). The water was such a deep blue that it was like you were in some other place. The wreck quickly came into view and also the thermocline that was at about 130' and boy did it feel cold on the bottom, it was 47 degrees! This wreck is so massive. I have dove it a lot over the years but, I was never in this portion before and I still am not sure where on the wreck we were. The upper decking was as a depth of about 112' and the sand was 149'. This portion of the wreck was large and open so you could go inside of it with ease. There was also a large debris field that was littered with ling cod. If I had my camera I would have taken a picture of the ling stacked up along the sandy bottom perfectly laid out as if each fish had its own assigned spot. There was also quite a few abandoned lobster traps with lobster and fish in them waiting for us to free them. There was no current and the vis on the bottom was easily 40'-50' and it was light. I spent 25 minutes on the bottom and it was way too quick. The hang was warm (68 degrees) with no current at all. As I surfaced and got back on the boat, the reggae music was blasting which made the most perfect dive even better (I'm a huge reggae fan). Brian Roemer got some scallops and Brian Larsen speared some fish.

During the surface interval we all relaxed and did some fishing. Since the Atlantus also does fishing charters they had poles for whomever wanted to fish. We caught a few keeper sea bass for dinner.

The second dive, I was definitely taking my camera. Once we got to the bottom the boat had swung around and we ended up doing our entire dive on the upper portion of the wreck and there were lots of artifacts around for the taking. Bill got some brass (I don't even know what it is) and the others speared more fish and got more scallops. I just shot a bunch of photos and then it seemed like only a few minutes and it was already 15 minutes and time to leave. During the hang I took photos of everyone. This dive is so awesome and I wish I could have stayed longer.





















We had a nice leisurely ride back in and topped it off with some nice cold beers and a great dinner at the Back of the Bay Ale House. What a day, it definitely doesn't get better than this!!! All of us on board want to go to the Offshore Paddlewheeler so we scheduled it for July 14th and I can't wait. Call the Atlantus if anyone wants to join us!

Till My Next Adventure!!!!

1st Dive of the Season- Pauline Marie 6/20/09

I arrived at the dock to sunny skies and no wind. I was really excited about finally get out for my first dive of the year. This dive was planned by Geoff Grahamn as part of our Advanced Nitrox and Decompression Techniques class and I did not know what wreck we were planning to dive. This was also my first time diving on the Atlantus out of Atlantic City Gardiners Basin. Once the boat was loaded and we headed out to flat calm seas, we decided to go to the Atlantic City Artificial Reef and dive the Pauline Marie.

Also along on the dive was Bill (my dive buddy), Jeff Heim, Kathy Ondrasik and her daughter from Dudas Diving completing some of their course objectives; Henry and Dave from East Coast Diving whom were in our class and also John? (the rebreather guy).

The Pauline Marie sits upright in about 80' of water. Since it is an artificial reef wreck it is fully intact. For the first dive we were to practice removing our swing bottles, securing them and then reattaching them to ourselves. We then were free to have fun and just dive. As I splashed I felt a sense of calm and relief as I always do (I am one of those whom would rather be in the water than on the boat), the surface visibility was great and the water felt warm. The visibility on the bottom was about 25' and bright and the bottom water temp was about 55 degrees. I completed my objectives with ease although I am not good at working clips with dive mits. Then I proceed to swim around the wheelhouse and then penetrated into the lower wheelhouse. Since the visibility was good I spent time looking around inside the wreck for some good areas to photograph on my next dive. There were some large tau tag and lots of small sea bass. There were some large mussels but not many, the wreck is covered with lots of baby mussels. After about 27 minutes on the bottom I headed up and was happy that my first dive of the year went really smooth and I felt great.

Once on the surface, I accidentally dropped my goody bag while clipping it to the line on the boat. So if anyone finds a yellow bag with "Dixon" on it along with a light and wreck reel, please contact me. Geoff told me that I looked really good in the water and that added to my confidence of the dive. Then the rain rolled in and did it pour but, you are wet when you dive so it didn't bother me and the seas remained calm.

On my second dive I took my camera along with my two new strobes from SeaLife. To make a long story short, my old SeaLife 960 strobes would never fire underwater, only on the surface. I sent them back and they sent me two brand new Digital Pro Flashes, kudos to SeaLife. On this dive, we lost the brightness and it was dark on the bottom due to the rain on the surface. There was also a little surge on the bottom this time which made it harder to stay still and shoot photos. These strobes are amazing, you can shoot pictures constantly with no waiting for the strobes to recharge. They are however, really bright and even on their lowest setting I was getting photos that were over exposed. I should have thought to turn one of the strobes off but now I know for the next time. I spent only about 20 minutes on the bottom for this dive because I got cold. I shot a few pictures during my hang and was soon back on the boat.


Me on my hang


The Atlantus is an old boat but it has a large cabin which was great to have especially with the rain. The ladder was easy to climb and the mate, Shane was very competent at helping everyone up the ladder and to get their fins off and tanks secure. The Captain of the boat, Brian Larsen was really friendly and made everyone feel at home on the boat. I would recommend diving this boat to other divers and they definitely go that extra mile to make divers comfortable.

Back at the dock we offloaded and headed to the "Back of the Bay Ale House" for a few cold beers. I was glad that I had such a good time diving and can't wait till next week. We are going to the Varanger!


Cold Water Hard Coral


Sea Anenomes




Dave, Henry & John



Oh- yeah... I know the date on my photos is wrong, I forgot to program the date in my camera before hitting the water.

Sylvia Earle Presentation

I've had a real busy week and finally have time to post about the Sylvia Earle Presentation that I went to this past week. Sylvia explained how she started scuba diving and how that eventually lead to spending large amounts of time underwater in labs. She enjoys spending time observing marine life in one location so you can become familiar with the "neighborhood" and really get to know the species and their daily habits. I totally related to this since I often find great joy of sitting on a wreck in one spot and watching what goes on around me. Each species has an area they live in, protect, and feed. Sylvia also talked about how everyone should try to dive and tried to explain how it feels like "flying" underwater. She said her own mother didn't try to dive until she was 81 years old and was regretful that she didn't take the plunge earlier. I remember being anxious about learning to dive and I am so grateful that I had the courage to take the plunge. My life has been forever changed for the better since I learned to scuba dive.

Sylvia spoke a at great lengths about the overfishing and pollution issues effecting all of the oceans and how these effects seem to be speeding up over the past 5-10 years. The populations of large fish (i.e. Tuna, Sharks, Whales) have decreased 90% over the past 10 years. She is trying to bring global attention to the oceans and to work together to reverse the decline of the Ocean's health and to preserve the sea. Sylvia is trying to set up a global network of marine protected areas called "hope spots". These areas will be restored and preserved for future generations to visit similar to the National Park System in the US. I personally think this is a great idea as long as the intent of allowing people to dive and visit these areas holds true. I do not favor protecting areas of the ocean and then prohibiting divers from viewing them.

Sylvia was instrumental in the new Google Earth 5.0 in bringing the oceans into Google Earth. You can now see all of the mountains and valleys of the sea through Google Earth. I even see in our area that a few wrecks are identified (Great Isaac, Oregon, Algol). You should all check it out, its pretty cool!

She showed some really neat footage of the Russian's recent exploration of the North Pole, 4000 feet down. The US had been trying to get there to explore the depths of the Artic but the Russians beat us. It is amazing the life at such depths and in waters so cold.

Sylvia being a woman, told a few stories of being the only female on research ships of 70 or more men and the challenges that she faced. She has in the past been prevented from participating in expeditions because she was a female even though she was highly qualified and experienced. I related to this since I am often the only female on all male dive boats in the North Atlantic (I'm not complaining!). Her message was to keep on trying and not to be deterred. Follow your passion and don't give up. I like that advise and I too won't give up.

Sylvia is an inspiration to all divers, the depths and research that she has completed throughout her life benefits us all. I had a great night listening to her and being able to ask questions about he life experiences. Now if only I could get in the water and dive to my favorite places....

Sylvia Earle, PH.D. at SmartTalk, May 11th

I was invited to attend an inspirational talk to be given by Sylvia Earle Ph.D. and would like to extend an invitation to any divers interested in attending. The event will be held on May 11th at 8pm at the State Theatre in New Brunswick, NJ.

As you all probably know, Sylvia Earle is an outspoken advocate for undersea research. She brings awareness to the damage being done to the aquasphere by pollution and environmental degradation. She also has dove to a depth of 1250 feet untethered to a sumbersible, which is deeper than any human has ever been before. She has formed the companies Deep Ocean Engineering and Deep Ocean Technologies. Through these venutres she designs and builds undersea vehicles like Deep Rover.

I am sure that this lecture will be very interesting to any diver that has dreams of diving where no human has been. Tickets are still available and can be purchased for $25 each via pay pal by emailing Tickets@SmartTalkMedia.com with the following code mentioned in the email: New Jersey Earle. You can also visit http://www.smarttalkwomen.com/city.php?id=1&season_id=2009 for more information.

I am really excited about this presentation and hope other NJ divers will attend!

The 2009 Season Beginning Soon!!

"Ron Ostrowski, Joe Zeisweis and myself after a day of diving on the Brian C wreck"


I learned to scuba dive in 1986 because it was a requirement for me to spend a semester at the West Indies Lab in St. Croix, U.S.V.I. While at the lab I worked on cutting edge research on White Bands Coral Disease which has now desimated large areas of coral in the carribean. I also worked on a project which created "manmade blenny condos". These "manmade blenny condos" were placed within a coral reef as habitat for blennies. This is just like sinking ships in the artificial reef to provide habitat for various marine life. Back in the 80's, artificial reefs did not exist as they do today and these projects were conducted to see if a manmade reef could be successful. I spent everyday diving collecting data and observing habitat. This sparked my love and passion for scuba diving.

Today I love to dive for various reasons. I am still an avid marine biologist and thoroughly enjoy watching fish, lobster, sea anenomes, luminescence and other marine life in their habitat. I find diving therapeutic because for whatever reason it completely relaxes me, the weightlessness and the constant sound of yourself breathing must have something to do with that. I really enjoy trying to take that perfect picture so that I can share my underwater world with my friends whom quite frankly think I am crazy for diving. Last but not least I really enjoy the friendships and camaraderie aboard the dive boats.

I recently heard about the passing of Chuck Wine and although I only met him a few times, I can remember the laughter that he brought to the dive boat. There are always pranks and joking around that comes along with being on the dive boat for an afternoon. At any given time you could come up from a dive to find that someone opened your cooler and ate your lunch or left you some strange smelly creature in one of your bags or drysuit for you to find later once you got home. These are the things that I will always remember and bring laughter to a day of diving. The loss of a diver always hits home for me, Franz Dietl, George Hoffman and now Chuck Wine. They all contributed greatly to the comeraderie on a dive boat and made myself and others laugh. All of them had passion for life and diving which I find to be a common thread among divers. Like Chuck Wine, I have struggled with my health. I have searched far and wide for treatments for my illness that will not prevent me from diving. I also had dive friends that gave up on me when they heard I was ill, that too has been a large hurdle for me to overcome but it made me try even harder not to give up this love of shipwrecks and the underwater world. I am an optimistic person and I hope those that gave up on me will reach out, wipe the slate clean and become dive friends again, there is an empty hole in my life without them.

As spring is approaching I am getting really excited for the upcoming dive season. I just got my feet wet so to speak when I went to a lecture presented by Gary Gentile. Looking at his photographs inspired me to become excited for the dives that I am planning on doing this year. There are some wrecks that I really wanted to get to such as the Offshore Paddlewheeler, Moonstone, N. Pacific and Varanger and no one has it on their schedule. I may have to actually charter a boat myself to get there so if anyone is interested in going to these wrecks let me know! I also have a few dives to do in order to complete my Advanced Nitrox and Decompression Techniques course. The dives last fall were blown out and I am looking foward to completing these dives.

I am planning on taking lots of photographs this season so that my friends and family can share in my experiences. Photos also are a great way to document your accomplishments over the years. I was neglectful in that I did not photograph much in my earlier diving years in the 80's and 90's but I hope to make up for it now. If anyone has any photos of me diving from the early days, I would greatly appreciate a copy.

I also advised Gary Gentile that I thoroughly enjoyed his book "Wilderness Canoeing". He told me that I should go on a canoe trip. I think I may just do that this summer, I am looking into a canoe & camping trip somewhere in Northern Maine. I spent sometime in the area around Baxter State Park and they have a lot of areas where you could canoe streams and camp along the way.

I looking foward to seeing everyone this summer out on the dive boat. Please try to keep me laughing afterall laughing heals everything!!!



Joe Bachofffer, John Moyer, Joe Kelly, Bill Dixon and other divers.






Capt. Bob Meimbrese of the Down Deep, Ken Mason (I think) and Bill Dixon
Typical productive days fo diving!

End of the Season

The 2008 season of diving is coming to a close for me. I was scheduled to go diving on Nov. 16th to finish up the dives for my Advanced Nitrox course and that was blown out and re-scheduled for Nov. 22. Thanks to the smart thinking of my instructor, Geoff Graham, that too was cancelled since it is supposed to be too cold out. Therefore, this dive will have to wait to the Spring of 2009.

I am very proud of my accomplishments this year. I began the season with the goal of completing 1 dive safely and ended up completing about 15 dives. As many of you know, due to my health I did not think I was capable of diving again. Things in your life happen for a reason and I know that one thing that I have learned over the past few years is that you need to appreciate every dive no matter how good or bad it is. Each dive is a gift and it can be taken away in an instant. This past year and the year before has also been very trying on me and my diving capabilities because of personal issues. There are people whom misunderstand you, betray you and attack you quite unexpectantly. The fact that you care deeply about them is lost in the difficulties of the feelings they ensue. I am accepting the fact that I needed to learn these things in life... After this dive season I feel confident in saying that my spirit has not been broken and I am starting to find joy in diving again. There is still some concerns for my health and I am doing the best that I can with these concerns. Just as other divers have inspired me, I in turn, am pretty sure that I have at least inspired a few divers this year and I know I made a lot of new dive friends.

As I look back at this year I would have to say my best dive was on the Varanger, I always loved this wreck and I had a great time being able to dive it again. The vision of the beautiful sea anenomes is still fresh in my mind.

In looking onto the 2009 season, I hope to get to some of my favorite wrecks like the Arundo, Varanger, Moonstone, Offshore Paddlewheeler and N. Pacific. So someone pleeeaaase put it on your schedule!!! I also just heard about a trip to the Galapogas Islands being organized for 2011 and I am seriously thinking of signing up for it. I always wanted to go there.

Over the long winter I will be keeping up on my dive education by taking Decompression Techniques. Perhaps this course will lead me to some exciting dives next year! There are no dive trips planned for the winter, perhaps a little skiing in Maine if we can swing it.



I hope everyone has a safe winter and I hope Santa brings everyone lots of diving toys. I know my Santa's list includes a rebreather, new light, drysuit...I can dream can't I??? Oh yeah and a new wreck reel! I had an awful time trying to deploy a lift bag from mid water column with my current reel. It went up ok but trying to maintain your buoyancy mid water column and reel it back in...lets just say I had some major spidered nylon line. Good thing this was in the quarry and not on some wreck in the ocean. Therefore, I'd like one of those new reels with the plastic case that helps to prevent the line from spidering.

During these tough economic times we should all try and support our local dive shops so that they will be there to educate and support us in the future. I have always been a strong believer in purchasing all of my dive equipment from the local dive shop even if it costs a little more money than on the internet. Without them, all those joyfull days out diving on a wreck would not be possible!

I would like to wish a Special Merry Christmas to all the past, present and future diving companions, they all hold a special place for our shared love of wreck diving!

Safe Diving! Kim

11-4-08 Double East

Given the great fall weather we've had and the trip reports of great visibility, we decided to try and get out on our boat one more time. They were forecasting fog and 2-4' seas for this morning but we awoke to no fog and a steady 3' sea. We each only had one set of tanks full of air so we were going to do one long dive and then head in for a little striper fishing. Bill jumped in first and tied the hook in and came back with a trigger fish and some mussels. He reported about 30' of visibility. I wish I had my camera but one of the stobes is at Sea Life for a repair so this dive is purely sightseeing. I am not particularly fond of this wreck because when I was in my early 20's and diving on it with Triton Divers, it was loaded with sand tiger sharks and I could never shake that memory. In particular, Bill had a bag of speared fish and was doing his hang while these sharks circled us. They were swimming all around us on the bottom and on the hang. This is my second trip to this wreck this year and I was glad to find that I did not see any sharks on either trip. I did sea lots of black fish, sea bass and a few trigger fish. This wreck is actually quite fun to investigate with all of the giant concrete slabs. It creates lots of nooks and cranies to look in. The water temp was about 57 degrees on the bottom and I had a safe and relaxing dive. I guess in looking back it was a privilege to see those sharks way back then because I have not seen any since.

We didn't have much luck catching any stripers on our way in, but maybe next time. I will be off on another camping/backpacking adventure in Shenandoah, Virginia this weekend. The weather looks excellent for camping and it should be lots of fun. I have one more dive scheduled for November 16th and hope very much to get out for one more dive.

10-19-08 Dutch Springs

Yesterday Bill & I ventured to Dutch Springs to perform drills for the Advanced Nitrox course I am taking with Geoff Grahmn of East Coast Diving. I almost did not get out of bed this morning because I've been fighting a cold and I could not shake the chills. It was in the 30's this morning and I did not know if I could manage to find the strength to get into that cold quarry water. Once we got there it was not as cold as I thought it would be and the water actually was quite warm as far as the quarry goes. Lets say that I made it through the day but it was not pretty. I was very tired and it took a lot out of me. I was not very graceful and actually quite clumsy. I didn't give up and I made it through my two dives and the objectives. I learned that I have a few things I need to practice more in the future. I hope that when we go out in the ocean in two weeks that I will be back to myself and able to feel more conifdent and proud of my accomplishment.

10-15-08 Unknown Wreck

I have been really bogged down with lots and lots of homework (about 20 hours a week) from the Individual Taxation Course I am taking at Richard Stockton College as part of the MBA Degree that I have been working on. If anyone has ever taken a tax course before, they will know how I feel, especially since I have my BS in Chemistry and accounting is like a foreign language to me. Therefore, today I played hookey from all of my responsibilities and went diving. We took our favorite private boat out to check out some numbers that Bill had. Just think deadeyes, brass spikes and ballast stone. The water temps were 65 degrees all the way to the bottom and the vis was about 10-15'. Not many fish and no lobsters seen. It was a great day and the weather was beautiful.