Astra, June 22, 2012

I spent the last two days at the beach with my friends in this awful heat, looking out at the flat calm sea conditions and admiring the schools of dolphin that played in the waves.  This made me so antsy to go diving.  My dive this past weekend to the N. Lilian was cancelled due to the rough sea conditions and I do not have a planned dive scheduled for several weeks.  Capt. Brian of the Atlantus had called earlier in the week to ask if I wanted to go diving on Friday and I considered it but, knew I had too much work to do so I was destined to do the responsible thing and skip diving and go to work.  But the desire to dive grew and grew and I decided last night to call Capt. Brian and take him up on his offer.  On my early morning drive down to Atlantic City, I knew I made the right decision, you only live once always comes to mind.

There were five of us divers on board today and we voted on hitting the Astra.  The Astra was a freighter that sunk in a collision with another freighter, Steel Inventor, on March 30, 1951.  The wreck sits on a sandy bottom in 85 feet of water.

The ride out was short as we caught up on our hunting and skiing stories from this past winter.  After we were tied in I splashed first since I was planning on a long run time.  The surface vis was not so hot, the recent nor'easter brought in the green water and it was loaded with that cloudy algae.  I kept hoping it would clear up below the thermocline but, that did not happen.  I suppose the vis was 10', not the best but workable.  I tied off my wreck reel and began swimming.  I found some portions of wreckage that rose about 20-30' off of the bottom and decided to try and shoot some macro on these since it was up higher out of the cloudier water that plagued the bottom.  As I was taking photos, the bergols were coming up and kissing my lens and I was trying to get them to stay still long enough to take some macro shots of them, easier said than done...One thing I did notice is the water is very warm and as a result, 35 minutes went by and I still did not have the slightest chill.  I could not make out where I was on the wreck but, I really did not care, I was underwater and happy!

I thought this was a concrete block but now I am not so sure...

Closer view of the unknown block..

Back up on the surface the other divers speared some nice fluke...  Mike found a cool jar that was probably used for cold cream.  I was not planning on a second dive but it was so hot on the boat I decided it is better on the bottom than sweating on the surface.  After a short surface interval I was in for dive #2.  I basically swam around and tried to recognize where I was on the wreck.  I never figured that out but, I had fun exploring.  We were back at the dock by l pm  and Capt. Brian was gracious enough to give me some fluke for dinner.  I fried it up and made a homemade peach salsa to put on top of it and it was delicious.

I used to dive this wreck quite often on the dive boat Horizon in the early 90's.  Diving it again today brought back fond memories of the divers that I used to dive with in those days and the good times I had on that boat.  I looked in my log book for some reports and found my first dive to this wreck was on August 26, 1990 (22 years ago, gosh I feel old).   I had gotten a small lobster and I sent up my first lift bag as part of my Wreck Diving objective.  I wrote that it was difficult to send up my lift bag and took a long time because I got all tangled up in fishing line.  I also sent the bag up far from the boat and wrote how tiring the swim back to the boat on the surface was.  Well some things never change after all these years, I still cannot perfect sending up a lift bag.

Well there will be no diving for me this weekend because my daughter is finally going to learn to scuba dive! I will be at her class for the next 4 or 5 Sundays.  My daughter has wanted to learn to dive for quite some time now but, I kept advising her as the "cautious mom" to wait a few years.  I finally gave in..  We all know that diving in the N. Atlantic is not for everyone but, I hope when I bring her down to her first NJ wreck she will absorb the passion to dive wrecks that I have had for so many years.  It appears to me that there are many children of divers that learn to dive but do not have that passion and drive to excel much beyond learning to dive.   I hope that is not the case with my children but, again, I am aware that this sport is not for everyone.  This will be quite the journey for me...

Dutch Springs 6-6-12 & The Resor 6-9-12

Dutch Springs June 6, 2012

Everyone knows how much I dislike going to Dutch Springs but, there are times when I simply have no choice...  We went to Dutch on Wednesday, June 6 to complete some skills for a NAUI Trimix course that I am currently enrolled in.  Choosing a Wednesday was a great choice because we hit no traffic and there was only one other group of divers besides us at the quarry which was real nice.  The skills were pretty basic and were all things that I have done before but, it had been a real long time since I practiced them.  I had trouble with two of them so to speak...One was swimming around the wreck with no mask on.  I forgot how cold the water at Dutch can be and when I took my mask off, it gave me the most unbelievable ice cream head ache.  All I could do was over my face with my mitts and work through the pain.  Boy was it painfully cold!!!  The other skill was deploying a lift bag while in mid water column and lets just say that there was a lot of laughing at my expense.  I am the first to admit that I am not coordinated but in the end, I stayed calm and did not give up and eventually completed everything just fine, although it was not graceful by any means!  Now that the skills are out of the way its time to go diving which I am confident that I can do without any trepidation.  My old instructor once told me I am self sufficient and capable, I will never forget that compliment!  I hope by the end of this course that my Trimix instructor feels then same way about my capabilities although I am pretty sure he already does.

The Resor, June 9, 2012

  The R.P. Resor was torpedoed by the U-578 on February 28, 1942 with a terrible loss of life. It burned for days before finally sinking. The U-578 then went on to torpedo the destroyer USS Jacob Jones as it searched for survivors.

On a beautiful June morning I ventured out on a very full Independence II dive boat to the Resor.  The Resor continues to be one of my most favored dives because it has so much to offer between, photography, scallops, lobsters, and artifacts.  I believe we have a  backing plate or two from the Resor somewhere in my garage from years ago.  Since we had such a full boat, I let most of the divers splash before me.  There is one thing that I have found over the years is that I do not like to be on a crowded line while decompressing so, going in last typically leaves me alone for the hang..which is very peaceful. We were tied into a familiar spot closer to the bow than the stern where the wreck rises high off of the ocean floor.  There was little or no current today which made for much nicer conditions than when I last visited this wreck under high current conditions last year.  The visibility was about 30-40' with plenty of ambient light and the bottom temperature was 50 degrees.  I went to work shooting some photos and started following some beams out towards the stern.  I never quite made it to the gun or the stern but I had fun trying to take photos.  There was a lot of bioluminescence in the water column that caused a lot of back scatter in my photos.  Towards the end of the dive I notices that the marine life was real pristine inside the wreck so I went in to shoot a few photos and of course those photos did not come out the way I had hoped. In addition to the bioluminesence, I was  having a problem taking pictures because the Bergall's were so abundant that every time I took a picture they would be on my lens and hence in the middle of the photos.  So many pictures did not come out do to these pesty little fish!

As I ascended, I came upon one diver hanging on the line whom came at me with a regulator in their hand.  I signaled are you ok and they said no and was coming at me holding out their regulator.  I immediately backed away for a second to assess the situation because I was afraid they were going to grab at me and grab my regulator.  In looking at the diver I realized they were breathing on a rebreather but was holding out their regulator for their bailout/deco bottle.  I then noticed the problem was that their mouthpiece was missing from the regulator on their bailout bottle.  I was in deco myself and needed my deco bottle to safely complete my deco and I did not know what mix the diver required so, I signaled to the diver that I had a short hang and I will go up and send someone down to help.  Once I was on the surface we sent someone in with the same mix bailout as the diver was using and eventually found out that this diver had plenty of back gas to complete the deco but without the bailout or deco bottle, their hang would have been much, much longer due to the long time they spent on the bottom.  All was well and it reminded me of last year when a similar problem happened to me when my regulator on my deco bottle would not stop free flowing and therefore was unusable.  It is very important to plan your dive so that you can complete your deco on your back gas just in case there is a problem with your deco bottle.  Lesson learned twice:))

On the surface the bags of scallops began coming up on lift bags along with some very nice sized lobsters.  Everyone was happy with the good visibility and warm water.

I splashed for my second dive to find the visibility to be better and brighter since the sun finally came out.  Once on the bottom I went for the long swim to the gun to take some photos of it given the good conditions.  I shot a few photos on the way and when I got there all of a sudden my memory card was full.  Boy was I upset...I had forgotten to delete old photos off of it from last year.  So I spent the rest of my dive swimming around looking for scallops and I did not find any but I did find and oyster cracker and some big Tautog which were pretty skittish.  I thoroughly enjoyed my dives but my time was up.  This time when I ascended it was just me and Captain Dan, peaceful and relaxing.  On the ride in we all talked about the awesome dives planned for this summer...I am really looking forward to it.  If you have not looked at the Indy schedule, check it out, they really do have a great schedule for wrecks set up for this year.

It was a long day that ended with a few Summer Shanty's on the dock....being a scuba diver is a tough life! Next week I'm off to the Northern Lilian...

Arundo, May 12, 2012

As I awoke to a brisk clear morning, I am fully aware how lucky I am to be able to go out and dive the Arundo today.  Like many other divers, I work-out at the gym several days a week over the winter trying to maintain good health and physical condition with the hopes that I am blessed with the capability to enjoy another summer of wreck diving in the North Atlantic.

Today I decided to do only 1 dive and the objective was to be safe and gather some scallops for my graduation party that I was hosting with my dearest friends after the dive.  My friends have put up with my countless hours of studying on the beach for the past few years, helped out with juggling my kids when it conflicted with my grad school classes and the least I could do is get them some fresh scallops.

The forecast was for 2-3' seas and I think it was a solid 1-2', just beautiful for the ride out to the Arundo.   Since Bill was doing the tie-in, I took my time suiting up and splashed quite a while after he went in...I passed him as he was doing his hang.  I asked how the vis was in "sign language" and he gave me the thumbs up.  I went down nice and slow and noticed there was no thermocline and it was cold but not that bad, I was comfortable and dry.  There was a fishing boat anchored on the wreck when we arrived so we anchored in a section of the wreck that I am not familiar with.  It was a high piece and there seemed to be about 25-30' of relief in this portion of the wreck.  Once on the bottom I  did a quick check of my equipment and noticed my computer was not showing that I was diving, good thing I always carry two.  I tied off my wreck reel and headed down into the sand to search for those scallops.  The visibility was a solid 30', it was nice and clear..  The first thing I came across besides empty scallop shells was a Northern Red Anemone.  I have never seen one of these before.  It was all alone in the sand and I was so upset that I did not have my camera with me.  It had such vibrant shades of red, and was simply stunning.  Next time I am on the Arundo I will go in search of another one.    I swam pretty far out into the sand and did not see a single living scallop.  I decided to reel in and to head in the opposite direction.  I ended up in an area with lots of wheel axels and a large cargo hold area.  I spent the remainder of my dive exploring this area.

Northern Red Anemone

Before long about 20 minutes went by and I decided to head up, I did not want to have a long hang since the ocean is not warm and balmy as of yet, although I had 48 degrees on the bottom and 51 degrees on my hang which is not bad for mid May.

Once on the surface, I found out that there were scallops and lobsters to be had, I just did not venture far enough off the wreck to find them.  Everyone on board agreed that the calm sea conditions, lack of current and great visibility is rare for this wreck on the edge of the mudhole.   Everyone did a second dive to take advantage of the great conditions.  More scallops and lobster were boated on the second dive and the visibility improved to 30-35'.  Also during the surface interval, the guys had fun teasing me, Bill put a brittle star on my leg without me knowing and Capt. Dan said "Kim, what is that on your leg?"  I looked down and screamed so loud thinking it was some large spider creature.  They all got a kick out of my reaction,  and had some laughs...Ha Ha the jokes on me!!

Now that one dive is under my belt, I can at least say that I dove once in 2012!  I unfortunately will not be able to dive for sometime due to personal reasons so, I am extremely thankful for this great day out on the Arundo.  To all fellow divers and friends, please post trip reports and photos because I fully enjoy hearing how everyone's dive was.  With good luck on my side, I am hoping to be back in the water in a month or two...until then..BE SAFE!

Shurz Video from North Carolina

I thought I would have had time to edit and post this video months ago but, I have had a very busy winter.  I went on a fun ski trip to Sugarloaf,  Maine (with fellow divers), I took my last two graduate courses and finally graduated with my Masters in Business Administration, and for some reason my business is extremely busy (I'm not complaining!!), so I've been working long hours.  This video was taken last summer on the Shurz Wreck in North Carolina and it was my favorite dive of all the wrecks I dove that week (see my earlier blog post on the Shurz for information about the wreck).  As you can see, there was so much marine life that it actually gets in the way of the video and there were canons on this wreck to boot!  I remember feeling so happy and at peace on this dive in addition to being enthralled with the history of the wreck.

I have not ventured on a lot of week long or extended dive trips for various reasons mostly because they tend to be more arduous and eventually tire me out.  However, the few that I have been on are experiences that I am grateful for being able to have had, they all enriched my diving capabilities.  This trip to North Carolina was very relaxing for me and was not as arduous as I expected, it gave me a chance to branch out on my own and meet some new divers, and to dive an area I have never dove before.  I am working out my summer dive trips now and hope to get back to North Carolina in 2012.  In the meantime, enjoy the video...






Press here to view the Shurz video on You Tube

My 2012 dive season will kick off this weekend when I head out on the Independence II to the Arundo.  Funny, the Arundo is the same wreck that I went to on my first dive of the 2011 dive season.  The conditions are looking favorable for this weekend and I'm anxious to get to my happy place...under the Great Atlantic!

Have a Safe 2012 Dive Season :)

Planning for 2012 Dive Season has begun!!!

Well, 2011 was a year of diving I will certainly never forget and now its onward to 2012! Last week I went to a crew meeting for the Independence II and they have some unique and exciting trips planned for this year that has me smiling from ear to ear:):)  Wrecks such as the Bacardi, Virginia, Resor, and Oil Wreck are on my schedule amongst many other wrecks to be disclosed in the upcoming months. My spring, summer and fall is quickly filing with lots of diving expeditions including another week in North Carolina.

This past weekend I attended a presentation by Mike Boring on the Wilhelm Gustloff at the NJ Maritime Museum and I have to say it was one of the best shipwreck presentations I have been to. It was filled with lots of history from World War II, coupled with an amazing expedition where it seemed like everything was against them but, in the end, was pulled off in incredible diving conditions and then to see the images and video of the wreck to wrap it up was just incredible. This was the largest maritime disaster with the greatest loss of life (between 7,500-9,000 perished) and after seeing this presentation you can feel chills at how so many suffered in the icy Baltic waters to their death. It is one of those presentations that you need to see to get the full effect but, in the end I have the utmost respect for Mike Boring and his quest to follow his passion to dive the Wilhelm Gustloff. I am very grateful for opportunity to see a glimpse of this expedition that I'm sure was life changing for all involved. Here is a link for more information on this wreck:

Wilhelm-Gustloff Wreck

Once the presentation was over Mike, told more stories about the numerous dives he has made in the UK and off of Ireland. Perhaps I should plan on taking a trip to wreck dive in that area?  I have heard from several divers that the wreck diving in the UK is outstanding.

I just finished editing a video of the USGC Spar which is actually 3 separate dives that I combined into one video. I have two more videos to finish editing from North Carolina and it is in my opinion, they are the best ones. I should have them up shortly.

Press here for a link to the USCG Video on You Tube

Have a Safe 2012 Year Wreck Diving!

End of my 25th year as a North Atlantic Wreck Diver

A few weeks ago when I was diving the Resor I kind of knew that it would be my last dive of the season.  Just like skiing when you try to get that last run of the day in and you end up hurting yourself, I figured the Resor was a great dive to have as my last one for the season and why push my good luck that I had this year.

One of the oldest photos of me diving, still in a wetsuit & some rental gear (1989 ish)

Well, I safely completed my 25th year as a scuba diver!  I do believe that the number of divers that have dove consecutively every year for 25 years or more is limited in the North Altantic.  I am not in the geriatric club yet but, I am in the 25 year and over scuba diver club, if there is such a thing..In addition, just as I predicted, it was a banner year...I ended up making about 44 dives on wrecks such as the Arundo, Oil Wreck, San Jose, Tolten, Resor, Maurice Tracey, Pinta, $25 Wreck, Sea Hag, Sea Girt Wreck, Gulftrade, Flour, Gloria, Immaculata, U-352, Aeolus, Pappose, USCG Spar and Shurz.   As in every year there were other trips that did not happen due to weather conditions and other obstacles like the St. Lawrence River trip but, there is always next year!

 I think the highlight of my year was finally being able to tackle the Oil Wreck.  I was recently reading a  technical diving book and it was talking about knowing your "comfort zone".  I have always known my personal "comfort zone" but, when it came to this particular wreck, I always felt that I wasn't quite ready for it.  I had been on boats destined for this wreck numerous times over the years but, never made it there and in the back of my mind I knew that there was a reason why I never made it there.  I remember one time in particular when my instructor said he'd be my buddy for the Oil Wreck which gave me a lot of confidence but, then that day never came...I was again left thinking perhaps this is one wreck that I will never dive.  In the end, I got there sort of by accident when we were supposed to be diving the Somerstad and ended up at the Oil Wreck due to weather offshore.  I know Captain Dan and others on board the Indy that day knew how hard I've tried to tackle this wreck and realize that defeating this was a huge accomplishment for me. I now hope to dive it again someday..

As you all know this blog is meant to inspire current divers and perhaps others that may aspire to learn to dive.  Its my small contribution to the diving community and my way of leaving my mark in this great underwater world we all share.  I want to be remembered as someone who lived life to the fullest, I didn't spend my weekends watching TV or cleaning the house I went out and experienced life.  If nothing else, my children will have this blog to look back on someday and be able to feel what I felt diving each dive.

I don't have any real plans yet for the 2012 dive season other than I know I will be going to North Carolina again, I went with a great bunch of divers and look forward to exploring new wrecks in that area.  I have 4 more videos to edit and post from this years trip to North Carolina so check back over the winter and I'll post them.  I also really missed diving the Varanger and Offshore Paddlewheeler this year so I will make it a priority to get out there in 2012.  One of the things about wreck diving in NJ is that you can plan out what wrecks you'd like to dive each year but given the weather and other events out of your control you never know where you actually end up diving.  Its always that excitement of the unknown destination that keeps me coming back time and time again.  Especially when you board a dive boat and hear the Captain say, lets go check out some new numbers...you never know what you will find.  This year alone there were several new wrecks discovered and while I was not on the boat those particular days, I was so excited and happy for those that stepped out of the box into the unknown and made a grand historic discovery for all. Perhaps next year I will be able to dive these newly discovered wrecks myself...the opportunities are endless! 

I see my path, but I don't know where it leads. Not knowing where I am going is what inspires me to travel it. --Rosalia de Castro

I want to thank all of the divers in my 25 year journey whom was there to share diving with me.  My life is richer for having all of you in my life!!  Looking forward to many more safe years of wreck diving...

Still at it after 25 years! (2011)

 

Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.   --Hellen Keller

Pappose Video- August 2011

  Press Here for the Link to Pappose Video on You Tube 

I have always been timid of diving with sharks. One of the reasons I went to North Carolina to wreck dive was because the wrecks are known to have an abundance of sharks.  It was so thrilling to see so many sharks and to be so close to them.  One even bumped me..which is scary but, nothing happened other than it scaring me to death.  I cannot wait to go back next year and dive with them again.  I did not get too many photos of the sharks because I was too busy watching them in awe.  This wreck looks like a good wreck for artifacts, you can easily get inside the wreck since there is a tremendous break in the wreck.  However, there is a ton of sharks in the break and I would not want to go inside and be in close quarters with them...I'm not quite ready for that yet!

This video is two separate dives, dive #2 has more sharks in it but they are tough to see through all the schools of bait fish.  Since these are my first videos I have a lot to learn...Next year I should be able to shoot with a more steady hand and angle.

I have not given up on trying to go diving one more time for the season although my window of opportunity is narrowing quickly.  Perhaps I'll get out this weekend, I hear the water is still warm and the visibility has been good.

The Resor 10-23-11

Capt. Bill  of the Independence II called us to see if we wanted to go to the Resor and given the poor visibility everywhere, I knew if there was going to be good visibility anywhere it would be at the Resor.   I was originally thinking of diving the City of Athens but, given the conditions I thought the Resor would be a better choice and I believe I made the right decision.  Once its late October..early November days of diving start to thin out due to the increasing winds which goes hand in hand with rougher seas.  Yesterday, however, it was a beautiful day to be out diving, a little chill in the air, warm water (53 degrees on the bottom and 62 on the hang) and calm seas.

The Resor is one of those wrecks that has a large amount of relief and provides something for everyone from lobsters, scallops, fish to artifacts and photography.  I have many fond memories of diving this wreck and the abundance of cod everyone used to spear on it.

We had a full boat of some of the best divers in the Northeast aboard along with some of the next generation of divers that you can just sense what they will achieve in terms of going "out of the box" and finding new wrecks, achieving greater depths to areas never discovered before.  There was also 4 female divers on board which simply does not happen often.  In addition, of the 14 divers on board, I could not help to notice that almost the entire boat was rebreather divers, there was only 3 of us on open circuit...times are changing.

I ended up attempting to be buddies with Anne Dashevsky...We tried to be buddies a year or two ago on the Gypsy Blood and ended up passing each other on the anchor line, I was going up as she was finally heading down..that day she had problems with her rebreather.  This time, she splashed ahead of me and waited at 20' for me to do a bubble check for her and I saw bubbles so she went back up to the surface and I went down alone again..  As I descended there was a little current that was carrying that algae in the water column...I hoped that the water would clear up on the bottom.  Once on the bottom the current was pretty strong on top of the stern where we were anchored and the vis was only about 15' which in my opinion is not that great for the Resor.  It was darker but, it was also early in the morning and the sun was not fully up to give us that ambient light.  I brought my camera and tried to stay on top of the wreck where there was the best natural light and shot some photos.  I could not help to notice the enormous taugue that were on top of  the wreck and they were not afraid to swim right up to me.  After being down for about 10 minutes, my buddy Anne showed up and she was going to head down to the sand to look for scallops, I headed down into the wreck a bit but continued to shoot photos.  I swam along the wreck and found the gun and I also noticed lots of spots where portholes once were.  I also noticed a backing plate still there hidden amongst the marine growth,  Bill later told me that there are quite a few backing plates left on the Resor because they are really hard to get off.  It did not appear that any of the divers today were artifact hunting, everyone was looking for scallops and lobsters.  I ended my dive after about 30 minutes because I was cold.  The water is warm but, the surface air was cooler today so I was cold before I even splashed thus, I didn't last long before I was shivering...

Yellow Boring Sponge

The sea anemone is wrapped around the mussel.

Since the boat was full of rebreathers that also means that they spend a lot more time on the bottom so when they came up there was bag after bag after bag filled with scallops and lobsters.  Some of the lobsters were really NICE in terms of size.  Then the shucking began..It was definitely a productive day in terms of scallops.

I splashed ahead of Anne for dive #2 and she found me half way into my dive.  The visibility improved quite a bit and I'd say it was now about 30', it seems the current helped to move out some of the algae, plus now the sun was out.  We went down to the sand and I was going to take more pictures and she was going to gather scallops...I shot two photos and my low battery sign came on and my camera was done, I was not happy to say the least...oh well... I  helped Anne look for scallops but, just for a few minutes because I didn't want to end up with a long deco...I was too cold to handle a long hang.  I headed up ahead of Anne and still had a 20 minute hang which would have been shorter but my O2 regulator was free-flowing badly so I didn't get to hang on O2 deco gas.  I tried to turn the knob on my Diverite regulator to get the free flowing to slow down to no avail... At times like this I am glad that I am a conservative diver because you never know what piece of equipment may not work properly and luckily for me I had plenty of Nitrox to decompress on and the only compromise is I had to hang longer...I could have used my O2 regulator but I don't like breathing on a regulator that forces air down your throat..  During my hang I was thinking about the fact that this algae bloom is still in full swing and the fact that there were tons of cunners on this wreck and some large taugue but, they were mostly located on top of the wreck.  I wonder if this is a sign that the dissolved oxygen level is dropping on the bottom and as a result it drives the fish up higher??? I'll have to pay more attention to this on my next dive.

Back up on the boat, another load of scallops was bought up by those divers that did two dives.  Anne said we did two partial dives together this time and perhaps next time we will do at least one complete dive together.. On the way home Terry shared some great stories of equipment lost and found and his great find of a bunch of $20 bills while diving.  He had us all laughing and having a good time. Capt. Jim of the Gypsy Blood was at the dock when we arrived and we all hung out for a while having a few beers and sharing stories of dive adventures.  I hope to get out a few more times this season...thinking of that Arundo trip in 2 weeks!

Almirante (Flour Wreck) & Gloria 10-10-11

Tina & I between dives

We decided to take advantage of the lake Atlantic conditions and head out diving today.  We had an old dive friend, Tina Held, join us today.  After much debate over which wreck to go to we decided on the Almirante (Flour Wreck).  Since it was so calm, it was  a quick ride out and I was told to get suited up for the tie-in.  There has been chatter that the vis down south has not been too good so the plan was to tie us in if it was good otherwise we would move to another wreck.

Doesn't get much flatter than this

As soon as I splashed I yelled up to Tina, it looks really dark.  I went down to see if it would open up on the bottom.  The water column was filled with brown phytoplankton and it just got darker and darker till I hit the wreck.  I sat for  a few minutes to let my eyes adjust and decided, no way lets go to another wreck.  I tried to unsnarl the anchor but needed some slack.  So I went up and told them the vis was horrible and I needed some slack to get the anchor out of the wreck.  Back down into the darkness I went...it actually is spooky down there when its that dark.  They gave me slack for about a minute but not long enough for me to get the anchor and chain out of the hole and off the wreck.  The biggest problem was the vis was so bad that I could not see how to get the anchor out and where to actually drag it to.  Well like I said the slack was for a only a minute and they started pulling the anchor up.. I pulled back on the line trying to signal to them that I need more slack but they were oblivious.  I went up again and this time I was not happy and started yelling at Bill only to find it was Tina that was pulling the anchor up, not Bill...oops!  Back down for a third time...this really is not fun...This time they gave me lots of slack and I was able to get the anchor out drag it across the wreck and into the sand and anti-fowl it.  By now I blew 30 minutes underwater just fighting with the anchor.  Boy was I tired but I got the job done.

2011 was a great year for diving!!!

 We decided to head north to the Gloria wreck.  Upon arrival, the viz looked much better on the surface.  We sent Bill in this time to tie in and told him to send a bottle up if the vis is good.  Tina and I waited and waited and finally up came the bottle.  Tina suited up and went in.  Once Bill was back on the boat I splashed.  Turns out the surface vis was good but, it was only about 5' on the bottom.  We all did our dives anyway and good thing because Tina found a great artifact.  It was piece of a door with a brass keyhole lock on it.  She said she spotted the green in the wreck and grabbed it and it came loose.

Bill opted out of the second dive, so I went in for my dive #3 with Tina.  We were going to head back to where she found her artifact and look for the key to it.  Lots of times people left the keys in those types of locks and maybe we could find it.  We looked and looked but did not find it.  I however, found some sort of large wheel with spokes and could not budge it.  I will need to go back with a scooter and tools to try and break it free.  It was rather large and  it is partially buried.  Hmmm what could it be?  I was again given the duty of pulling the anchor.  I unsnarled the anchor and tried to fill the lift bag to lift up the anchor.  As fast as I filled the lift bag it was emptying and sinking.  AGGHHH!!  Bill gave me a lift bag with a hole in it.  Tina attached her sausage to it and it was enough to get the anchor off the wreck. 

We had a beautiful day out there topped off with a few beers back at the house.  As I am typing this I cannot begin to tell you how sore my shoulders and back are from dragging that anchor around.  What a workout!!

Tina and her door with keyhole lock.

I have been privileged to be dive buddies or underwater diving with lots of divers whom have recovered great artifacts from portholes, bells, china, binacles, binacle balls, running and cage lights, and now a piece of a door.  I do not have a good knack for finding artifacts.  I have found a few in my time but, they are not in abundance.  I do however, always seem to be with others when they find their prized artifact and often I do have my camera either underwater or on the surface to memorialize their finds.  For this, I am grateful.  I was not the one who found these great artifacts but, I was there to share in the whole experience.  Pictures mean a lot to me and they bring great memories of special dives and divers.  This is why I love to dive so much!!!

Looking forward to diving again next weekend...

Immaculata 10-8-11

This weekend was like an Indian summer weekend with warms temps and calm seas predicted so I decided to dive as much as I can just in case the weather turns and I don't get out again this year (of course I hope to get out a few more times but you never know what mother nature will bring).  I signed on to go out on the Independence II to the Immaculata.  I have never been on this wreck but, I  heard about the abundance of bottles on this wreck from other divers so, I was going to go and get some bottles.  As we headed out the seas were not quite as calm as predicted but it was by no means rough and as the day went on it laid down nicely.  It was a chilly morning and I had to actually put on the winter coat to stay warm on the ride out.

The Immaculata sits in 95' of water.  They say that it consists of 3 old garbage barges that sunk in the 1920's.  This wreck sits in an area known as the Acid Grounds because it used to be a dumping ground for Industrial Waste.  The wreck is also known for having a large amount of silt on it that can easily be stirred up. I can attest to the fact that it is indeed very silty and since it was an old waste site, I wonder what is in that silt and if I should be diving in it..

Upon arrival at the wreck site, the surface visibility looked great..I decided to leave my camera behind for dive #1 so that I could look for bottles.  Capt. Bill told me that there are rows of ribbing but they all look the same and since this site silts up quickly I should run a wreck reel so I don't get lost.  Once I splashed I noticed the water was that nice n pretty fall blue color...which means the gulfstream is in!!  There was however a lot of particulate matter in the water and lots of jellyfish.  There was no thermocline and the visibility held all the way down to the wreck.  The vis on the wreck was a good 30' but, as soon as anyone dug for bottles it silted up fast.  Luckily there was the slightest current that took the stirred up silt away pretty quickly.  I initially headed down the edge of  the wreck towards the silted area assuming that they must be finding bottles in that area but, quickly I ended up with 0 vis so I turned around and actually swam across the wreck to the opposite side where the vis was back to 30'.  I saw quite a few lobsters, flounder, and tons of crabs but, given the fact that this was the acid dump site, I was not going to eat anything from this wreck.  Even though its has been a long time since they dumped on this site, I know since I am a chemist by trade, that these things still linger around for a long, long time.  So, I left the lobsters and crabs alone.  There also was not a lot of marine growth on this wreck which is another sign that the marine environment is not too healthy.  I picked a spot almost to the area they call the machinery pile and started digging.  All I found was broken bottles and sinkers.  I was down for about 30 minutes and finally realized that it was very warm down here, almost hot..a quick check to my gauge and it was 65 degrees on the bottom.  It felt great!!!

Up on the surface, one diver after the other brought up bags full of bottles.  All different shapes, sizes, colors and from all over the country.  It was really cool checking them out and trying to figure out what they were.  I will hopefully find some on my next dive.

Here we go, dive #2,  I was going to head back over towards the second row of  ribbing near the machinery and start digging.  Well I dug and dug and came up with nothing. All this digging did bring a ton of fish to my side to share in my digging.   I was running low on air so I headed back to dig more near the anchor line and I certainly found lots of broken bottles but nothing intact.  I sometimes don't have the patience or the "eye" to find artifacts or bottles so I naturally was upset that I couldn't find at least one bottle.  But then again, I found two awesome bottles earlier in the season on the Arundo!

Again, lots of bottles (too many to count)  and lobsters too were boated.  We had a nice crowd out today.  There were a few divers on board getting ready for Capt. Dan's expedition to find the third Black Sunday wreck he's been searching for offshore.  I yearned so much to go with them but, 250'-300' is a little deep without a rebreather.  I wish them lots of luck and with the great conditions for this weekend, I am confident that they will find it this time.

When I got home and told Bill how great the conditions were and  we decided to dive the next two days on our boat.  However, after my dive we were invited to a retirement party for a fellow diver, Joe Dobarro and had a few too many drinks so Sunday's dive was scratched.  The party had lots of old dive boat Captain's there such as John Slotnick (Robin II) and  Johnny Pratt (Ursula) and we enjoyed talking about the old diving adventures we shared.  The Ursula was the boat that brought us several times a week to the Varanger in the 1990's when we were working on a clam research project for Rutgers.  I was one lucky diver to get paid to dive the Varanger so often for that project..  It helped me gain valuable experience and confidence for deeper diving.  The Ursula was just sold this past April...another dive boat legacy gone...

Gulftrade 9-25-11

I bought a brand new Bare XCD2 Drysuit about a month ago and have been blown out of all my dives since I purchased it.  I was starting to think that it was cursed or something.  Well, I finally got out today on the Independence II and we went to the Gulftrade Stern.  Now that all the storms have passed, we were hoping for decent visibility and the chance to explore the wreck after so many storms have rolled through.  Our wishes were granted because we got two great dives in plus I was able to christen my new drysuit!

The Gulftrade was a tanker owned by the Gulf Oil Company.  It was torpedoed on March 10, 1942 by the U-588.  There were 18 casualties.  I have dove this wreck countless times and I even have some old film photos of the wreck from the 1990's, some may be of the bow section, my memory has escaped me..

Cool Artifact from the Gulftrade.

Bill with a cod he speared on the Gulftrade

       Another calm day of diving out on the Gulftrade, 1990's. 

   If you listened to the weather forecast for today, and stayed ashore because of the predicted rain and small craft advisory, you would have missed out on a breathless day of diving. The sun was out and the seas were flat calm like glass.  There was absolutely no wind, just the slightest swell.

Surface shot of Lake Atlantic before I splashed.

The boat was packed full today so I let most of the divers go in ahead of me as I got my camera ready and took my time donning my new drysuit...will it keep me dry and warm??  As I splashed the water column was filled with bioiluminesence and was green and murky but, not as bad as before the Hurricane.  However, once I got closer to the bottom the visibility opened up to about 25'.  I stopped momentarily on my descent at about 50'-60' to gaze at the layout of the wreck.  This always helps me to quickly make a mental note as to where the anchor line is in relation the wreck and eventually helps me a lot with navigation.  We tied into the intact portion of the wreck and due to the good vis, no wreck reel was needed.  I saw Alek Petersen's flash going off in the distance so I headed towards him to join him in taking photos.  One problem, my camera would not turn on.  I could seem the button press down but it was not making contact with the camera in the housing.  I wasted about 5 minutes trying to get it to turn on and gave up.  I set off to check out the wreck. Alek took a few pics of me and hopefully they come out.  There were a lot of clam shells and other shells piled up on the bottom of the wreck that I suspect was pushed into the wreck from the storms.  There were lots of large sea bass that did not appear to be skittish.  I was able to get really close to them and observe them eating and pecking at the wreck.  I saw a lobster in a pipe but you know me, I was too chicken to grab it so its' life was sparred for someone else's dinner in the future.  Too bad may camera was acting up it would have been a great photo.  The bottom temp was a balmy 63 degrees and I spent 40 minutes on the bottom.  Surprisingly there was no surge from the swells and absolutely no current.  You could however see layers of algae and very clear water.  When you looked across the wreck you would see what you thought was a larger portion of the wreck in the distance only to find out it was algae floating like a mirage.  It definitely messed with your mind.

Up on the surface there was quite a few lobsters and fish speared.  Everyone seemed to really enjoy their dives..  On my hang I tried to power up my camera and it came on...go figure..I guess I was meant to just swim around and enjoy my new drysuit and the balmy water conditions.  It did by the way succeed at keeping me warm and dry...

During the surface interval I was busy talking to Capt. Dan when I realized that everyone was in the water..I said oops I better move it or I'll miss out on dive #2.  Turned out to be good that I was the last one in...I enjoy being down when everyone else is hanging or back on the boat.

On the second dive the visibility improved because a little current picked up.  My camera did work on dive #2 so I just spent another 40 minutes swimming around and taking photos.  On the hang there were so many jellyfish I had to keep pushing them away from my face, needless to say, I got stung on my lip.  It looks real attractive but, it was worth the sacrifice because I was so content and happy today during my dives.  This time of year the weather makes it harder to get out as often and therefore, days like today are cherished.  I am ready to do it all over again next weekend...I hope the conditions hold!!!

Today we had Capt. Brandon at the helm and he did a great job of safely driving the Independence II to and from the wreck site plus perfectly docking the boat which is not and easy feat.  Job well done and with ease!!!

Once I got home and uploaded my photos I was pleasantly surprised that so many of them came out really good.  I have shared a few of them but decided I will put together a slide show and post them over the winter so that I can more readily share them all.

That jellyfish sting that I mentioned earlier is still prominent on my lip and I have to give a presentation tomorrow night at Stockton College for one of my graduate courses, I guess I can liven up the audience with the ole story of sacrifices you make to be a North Atlantic Wreck Diver...I  really hope it fades away by then...

Alek Petersen took the following photos of me on the Gulftrade when my camera was malfunctioning.  I figured I should include them in this post after the fact...  Thanks Alek!!!

U-352, First of several videos from North Carolina

This is a real primitive video...After going on this trip I realized how difficult it is to take video and photos on a wreck that you never dove before.  I wanted to enjoy the dive and fully explore the wreck but, at the same time document it.  This is no easy task... it comes down to being very familiar with your camera and video equipment so that you can operate it with ease and at the same time focus on the wreck and the whole experience.  Since this was my first North Carolina dive, time went by very quickly and I clearly did not video or photograph enough.  I have learned a tremendous amount in terms of knowing what to spend time videoing and what to let go....

Please refer to my prior post "Diving North Carolina Wrecks" dated August 12, 2011 for the history and first hand experience of diving the U-352.  I will slowly get around to posting the other wrecks including all the shark videos.  Enjoy!!