Trip to North Carolina

Self Portrait of me, I was actually trying to make sure my strobes were both firing!

This is my third year of making the trek to North Carolina to dive wrecks and this year was a Very Special one.  As you all know my daughter, Rebecca became a certified diver last summer and I had promised her that I would take her to North Carolina this year if she was ready.  The wrecks here tend to be a bit deeper and I wanted to make sure she was up to the challenge.  Geoff Graham offered to teach her NAUI Advanced and Nitrox during this trip which was a deciding factor.  The dive season in NJ had been a little rough in the spring and early summer so the two days we had scheduled to take Rebecca diving in NJ to re-familiarize her with her skills did not happen so, a trip to the quarry was in order.  She did great at the quarry and learned about Nitrox and how to analyze your mix. Therefore, I decided to take her along with me to North Carolina for a little mom and daughter diving getaway.

Rebecca on her hang.

Shurz 7-29-13

Our first wreck this week was going to be the Shurz. which is one of my favorites so I was excited to bring Rebecca here.  The ride out was not as forecasted and was a solid 3-5' seas which resulted in Rebecca getting very, very seasick.  The poor girl was sick from the minute we left the inlet until we returned.  Geoff was going to take her in and do a Nitrox dive with her, and since this wreck is about 110-115' deep I was a nervous mom especially given how sick she was.  I splashed with Jill Graham and wanted to do some photography including some video and photos of Rebecca.  She is a trooper and once she hit the water she was awesome.  Everyone on board could not stop saying what a great diver she is which made me so proud of her.  She is excellent in the water no matter how bad she feels on a boat.

I only saw Rebecca for a few minutes at the end of my dive but she ended up seeing a sting ray and lots of tropical fish.  I later explained to her that the anchor was tied into a cannon and how cool it is to dive a wreck with cannons on it.  The visibility on the wreck was about 40' and I've had much better during other trips to this wreck but the water was a toasty 77 degrees which suited me just fine.  I didn't cover much of the wreck during my dive, I guess I was just to nervous about Rebecca to fully enjoy myself but after this dive, I knew I had nothing to worry about.  Geoff took great care of her and she would be fine.

Indra 7-29-13

Given the rough seas that just kept on building we opted to relocate closer inshore to a wreck called the Indra.  The Indra is a 300' ship repair freighter that sits in 65' of water.  It was sunk as an artificial reef on 8/4/92 off of Emerald Isle.  Rebecca had said during the surface interval that she could not make another dive but, some how she gathered up the strength to head back in with Geoff.  On this wreck we had about 40' of visibility and had a couple of sharks.  Since it was quite a bit shallower I had a nice and long dive and got to explore the entire wreck.  This wreck is easy to penetrate because when they sunk it they cut large holes in the hull making for lots areas to get into and out of the wreck.  This wreck is known for octopus and I found one small one on the deck that I could not convince to come fully out of its hiding place.

 As I enjoyed this wreck, Geoff had other plans with Rebecca, he took her inside the wreck and toured the decks.  She said she had to turn on her light to see on the inside and thought it was cool....First a deeper dive and now wreck penetration and this is only her second time in the Atlantic...what next?  This wreck rose up to about 40' so during your hang you could see the entire wreck and watch other divers exploring.  I am not fond of artificial reefs but sometimes they are fun and I really liked this dive.  After this dive, Rebecca continued to feed the fish on the way in and I was thinking how in the world am I going to convince her to get back on the boat tomorrow.  There was no convincing, she wanted to head back out and thought positive thoughts..as quoted from Rebecca, "it can't get any worse than today".  I think the encouragement of Divemaster's Budd and Gavin helped too..

Caribsea 7-30-13

Today we had beautiful calm 1-2' seas and we were destined for the Caribsea (see my August 2012 post for details on the wreck).  This wreck is known to have hundreds of sharks and here I am again, the nervous mom about to allow her daughter to dive with all these sharks.  Today, we switched seasick medications and what a difference, Rebecca made it all day without feeding the fish!!  On the first dive I splashed after Rebecca and Geoff to find sharks right there along the hang line.  They were huge and of course just sitting there watching you.  We were anchored into a piece right next to the two giant boilers and I descended into a debris field next to the boilers.  I found a spotted eel and spent some time photographing it and then started to swim towards the stern.

There was a bit of current which made it hard to swim too far.  I ran into Rebecca and Geoff and followed them out into the sand to watch some of the sharks.  There were quite a few flounder on the wreck that were not scared off  by divers.  If I only had a bag I could have easily grabbed them with my hands.  I have to say that it is unnerving to watch your daughter with a 12' shark right next to her but, she was not as scared as I and, really liked watching them.  Geoff had mounted his Gopro onto an extendable pole and was putting the video camera right up to the sharks so I can't wait to see how it came out.

The conditions were great,  50' of vis, warm water, flat seas...so we opted to stay for two.  During the surface interval the crew and the teenagers on board spent their time jumping off the boat and snorkeling with the baracuda.  They all had a blast.

On dive #2 we swam up to the bow to watch the sharks since they tend to hang in this area.  There seemed to be a little less current so we swam around most of the wreck collecting seashells.  There was a small brass artifact found by another diver whom in the end left if on the bottom so I took a picture of it only to find out later that another diver brought it up.  This was a fun day with a lot of laughs on board and I think after this day I have Rebecca hooked on wreck diving.

Brass!!

Pappose (W.E. Hutton) 7-31-13

Today was another day of 1-2' seas, so we headed out to the W.E. Hutton which is another dive that I could dive a bunch of times and not get bored.  Rebecca again was diving with Geoff so I was splashing with Jill.  As soon as I splashed my inflator jammed and I could not inflate my wings.  I decided to go down anyways. Once on the bottom, I could not get it to work so I was left to inflate my wings the old fashioned way, orally which is not fun at 120' but, I managed.  This wreck is turtled but, there is a break and debris field in the bow. At the break there is a tremendous opening into the wreck and this is where the sharks circle into and out of the wreck.  I love just sitting in the white sand and watching them.  The vis on this wreck was 80' and the water was still 77 degrees at 120', it was simply beautiful.  I noticed some really big lion fish, larger than I had ever seen and I again found some spotted eels.

This lionfish was HUGE!

 

 I never saw my daughter on this dive, but she told me that she too loved this wreck.  We saw some dolphins on this wreck prior to jumping in and I was sad to not see them while in the water.  There were schools of jacks that swam around this wreck and I tried my hardest to photograph them, they sure are fast.  This was a great dive and I would have been happy staying for two but, we moved inshore.

Aeolis 7-31-13

This wreck too is known for hundreds of sharks that hang inside the wreck.  Evidently these sharks are used to divers being inside the wreck with them and we were advised that its ok to be in a room with them just don't grab them.  I don't think that I want to be in closed quarters with a shark larger than I..Staying on the outside of the wreck looking in seemed like a better option to me. Geoff was shooting video and would shine his light on the sharks which make a cool effect.  The vis was not the best here, maybe 30'.  Prior to jumping in, Geoff had told Rebecca he was going to do something special with her and advised her to bring her light. I was curious but, went on to explore the wreck with Jill.  Well Geoff again took Rebecca inside the wreck (you know where the sharks are) and showed her how to get an artifact. He got a large sink faucet.  I think this now qualifies her as a true wreck diver and she is now trained in artifact removal.  Of course we all teased Geoff all afternoon for binging up such a fine artifact.  I wonder what he will make of this faucet when it is cleaned up???  Rebecca thought is was fun and had not problems going in the wreck with the sharks or learning how to get an artifact.  She certainly is learning  lot so quickly on this trip.  This brings me back to to the first dive of the week, she truly is a great diver and you would never know how few dives she has under her belt which is why I feel so confident in letting go and having her be Geoff's buddy.

The fine artifact in the goodie bag..

Look carefully and there is a shrimp

Mr. Crab hiding in the backround.

Rebecca and I took our fourth day off to go to Fort Macon and the North Carolina Maritime Museum since it was absolutely pouring out.  We had a great day and learned a lot about the Graveyard of the Atlantic and Blackbeard.   Our final day was blown out so in hind sight I guess we should not have taken a day off.  Rebecca is now a  NAUI certified Advanced Diver And Nitrox I Diver.  Thanks to Geoff for teaching her the courses and for teaching her much more about wreck diving!

All Smiles!!

Rebecca and Geoff coming up from the Shurz.

I have way too many photos to post so I will eventually make a slide show of the highlights but that will have to wait till winter when I have more time.  Well now its back to that colder N. Atlantic water and drysuits. The R.P. Resor is calling my name for this weekend..  As for Rebecca, she is anxious to get out diving again before school starts!

Oregon 7-16-13

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

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

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

Lake Atlantic 60 miles offshore..

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

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

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

Oyster Cracker

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

Capt. Dan of the Independence II

Moonstone 7-13-13

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Me on the Moonstone (1990)

Stolt Dagali 6-22-13

Wow it has been over a month since my last dive, it seems that every dive I was on was blown out. Thankfully today worked out and I was able to get wet.  We were destined for the Algol via the Independence II, which is not my favorite wreck but, luckily other divers on board felt the same way and we modified our destination to the Stolt Dagali.  Today was Mako Mania so there was a lot of boats out chumming for those elusive sharks, I was quite relieved to see that there were no boats anywhere near the Stolt trying to lure in their catch.  The ocean was flat calm today and you could feel the early summer heat beginning to build.  I brought my camera in today as I splashed and was glad I brought it along.  As  descended I noticed the water on the surface to about 50' had warmed to about 56 degrees and it was that familiar shade of green.  The visibility on the bottom was about 20-25' with plenty of light.  Once on the superstructure of the wreck I saw a school of massive blackfish and coming up behind them were two Dolphin Fish.  So cool to see at the beginning of your dive.  One of the blackfish was so huge it looked to be 1/2 the size of me and it was extremely thick.  I continued down to about 80-90' and realized boy, it is still real cold down here, my gauge read 44 degrees.  The wreck this year is absolutely covered in mussels and a plethora of sea anemones and hydroids (everyone described this as that yellowish grassy stuff).  Last year there was minimal growth on the wreck and what a difference a winter makes.  This explains why the wreck was supporting so many fish from the packs of blackfish, flounder carpeting the bottom of the wreck, and tons of bergalls or cunners on the shallower portions of the wreck.

Pink Hearted Hydroids carpeting the wreck.

One of my strobes was not firing properly so I spent most of my dive on the shallower portions of the wreck where there was more ambient light for photos.  Since the visibility was not the best it was a day for macro.  I kept noticing that quite a bit of water was leaking into my drysuit from my neck seal and I started to think...I hope I don't get jolted as a result of this water coming into contact with my heated vest.  I ended up fine and even in a wet drysuit this vest made such a difference, I had 41 minutes on the bottom and was toasty warm the whole time.  It seems so weird to actually be warm while diving.  During my hang I was alone and could not see very far so I tried not to think of all those sharks that are out there today.  I have to tell you about my son Matt.  He is a big surfer and surfs all winter long.  This year in early spring he was surfing in Holgate when the surfboard came back at him and hit him in the face.  He came out of the water and was extremely swollen on his face and eye.  The waves were good so he wanted to go back in even though he should have stayed out due to his injury.  Well after he went back in and when he was waiting for a wave a Great White Shark surfaced right next to him and his friends.  It was about 15' long and very dark in color.  It scared them all enough that they all came out as fast as possible.  There were schools of bluefish swimming underneath them as they surfed which is what may have brought the Great White so close to shore.  The next few weeks there were several sitings of this Great White in the area.  I told Matt that when he was injured, God was telling him to get out of the water so next time heed the warning...This story was on my mind as I hung alone  today...  In the end there were no sharks at all seen by anyone, not even dogfish.

My second dive was going to be quick since my Fourth Element underwear was dripping wet.  I wanted to go down and grab some mussels for dinner.  I made sure that my neck seal was perfect and this time my suit did not leak.  Having longer hair is always a problem with neck seals..  I scanned the wreck to find some mussels that were nice and clean and filled my bag.  I tried to creep up on this massive blackfish because I was in awe of their size, it had been a long, long time since I saw such huge blackfish.  This dive was only about 20 minutes on the bottom and I headed up.  On the surface we had a few lobsters, mussels and lots of fish speared.  It was a productive day and we had a great time.  I hope my pattern for blowouts has ended and I am able to dive every weekend... Till my next adventure, be safe!

Welcome 2013 Dive Season, Maurice Tracey 5-18-13

I have been anticipating my opening dive for the 2013 for a quite a while...  It seems I live all winter long with visions of how great it will feel to be back underwater and today that vision came true.  It was a beautiful spring morning with a spectacular red-ish pink sunrise that brightened to a bright orange-yellow hue as I drove up the parkway and loaded my dive gear upon the Independence II.  It was great to see familiar faces again and I was excited for what adventure lay ahead for my first dive of the season to the Maurice Tracey.  I was especially excited to use my new Santi Heated Vest with hopes of taking a little bit of the chill out of the 46 degree water.

It was lake Atlantic today as we all chatted about everyone's new dive gear for the 2013 season, we had new drysuits, Hollis Prism 2 rebreathers, lights, cameras, camera housings, and of course my Santi Heated Vest.  I splashed right after Capt. Dan, Wayne Fisch and his newest rebreather student.  I instantly felt that ice cream headache as the cold water hit my face but it quickly disappeared as I focused on the wreck below.  As I approached the bottom I turned on my vest and was impressed with how quickly it warmed me up and I was thinking, boy I should have purchased this years ago...  The visibility was 20' maybe more in some spots and it was relatively light with no surge or current.  This wreck has two large boilers and then a debris field behind the boilers.  There are several pieces that are out in the sand but, overall it is not a very big wreck. There was no need for a wreck reel on this easy to navigate wreck.   I headed out to some pieces in the sand keeping the large boilers within vision.  This wreck did not seem to have been effected by the hurricane, perhaps a little more sand but nothing really noticeable.  What was really evident was the lack of fish.  I saw a few sea bass and tautog but, they were not in abundance.  I also did not see many lobsters.  I did spot a rather large sea bass in the debris field and I wished that I had my camera, it was the most brilliant blue and was not frightened by scuba divers.  I could have gotten some awesome photos of it.  I left my camera on the boat since it was my first dive of the season and I figured I should focus on just diving for the first dive.  In looking back at my trip report from 6/12/11, I wrote about the hydroids that blanketed the wreck giving it its grayish color.  I did not notice that the wreck was covered by this hydroid today, perhaps it was removed by the hurricane or perhaps it is cyclic.  There were a few pink-hearted hydroids on the higher pieces of the wreck but overall, not much marine life, hence maybe the reason for a lack of fish...

Two pictures from 2011 trip to Maurice Tracey.

Before long I headed up, I ended up with a 44 minute runtime which I know I could not have done without the heated vest, it made a huge difference at least for me.  My hands were numb but that was manageable.  Once I was up and on the boat, I was actually colder than when I was in the water.  It was a raw day on the surface, no sun, and just plain old damp.  I could not get warm enough to splash for a second dive.  There were some lobsters and fish boated by the other divers.

It was a nice day out on the Atlantic Ocean, catching up with friends that I have not seen all winter and meeting a few new divers.  I am thoroughly relaxed and thankful for such a nice fist dive of 2013. Till my next adventure... Be Safe!!!

Great to see everyone at The Scuba Flea Market

I really enjoyed getting out to the Scuba Flea Market to socialize with fellow divers and start to plan for the 2013 dive season.  In talking to so many divers today, it seems that the general consensus is that this summer should be great for wreck diving since the Hurricane most likely uncovered lots of wreckage.  I generally do not start diving until May because it is not quite warm enough for me but, this year I may try to get out early with hopes of finding the newly uncovered artifacts.

I am already planning on hitting the Tolten, Resor, Arundo, Gulftrade, Pinta, Durley Chine, Somerstadt, N. Lilian and hopefully some southern favorites like the Varanger, N. Pacific, and Offshore Paddlewheeler.  In recent years I have not been spending a lot of time digging for artifacts since I have been devoted to photography but, I am realizing that I will never find that dead eye unless I take the time to search for it.  Therefore, this year I will have to spend more time digging.  Time to break out the scooter!

I have to say what drove me to the flea market today was to pick up a copy of Brandon's new poster of NJ Wrecks since he was so gracious to put the picture of me descending onto the Durley Chine in it.  I think the poster is a great idea to promote NJ Wreck Diving.

Photos by Brandon McWilliams

Everyone has different goals and ambitions in terms of diving but, the passion of wreck diving itself bonds us all together and it was so nice to share part of today with those divers that share the passion.

Stolt, Sept. 2012

“Everyone has their own destiny.  Not everyone makes the choice to pursue it.”

Book Reviews

I am a little impartial to the book "Inferno at Sea"  by Gretchen Coyle and Deborah Whitcraft since I volunteer at the NJ Maritime Museum and have spent a lot of time in the room dedicated to the SS Morro Castle .  The Morro Castle room has a very large collection of official records, documents, photographs,  newspaper clippings, personal effects of passengers and crew.  I  have also heard all the stories of the creation of this book such as Deb's adventure to Cuba to gather more interviews and pieces to the mystery that surrounds the fatal sinking of the Morro Castle.  In addition, I am acknowledged in this book for providing surveys of the wreck off of the beach.

This book focuses on the human side of the SS Morro Castle disaster, the personal accounts of the passengers and crew.  It is a well written book that honors all those whom died on Sept. 8, 1934, the most tragic New Jersey shipwreck, also known as New Jersey's Titanic.  The book also lays out all the facts and theories that surround the fire that bought the Morro Castle to its demise.  I highly recommend this book!!



One afternoon while volunteering at my favorite NJ Maritime Museum, I spotted "The Hungry Ocean" by Linda Greenlaw. What grabbed my attention was that it was about a female sword fishing Captain and it was also written by her.  This book has nothing to do with wreck diving but, everything to do with spending time and surviving on the Northern Atlantic Ocean.  There is a wealth of  knowledge in this book that can be utilized by anyone whom loves to spend their days, weeks, or months on the ocean.

The Hungry Ocean describes one particular thirty-day commercial swordfishing trip aboard the Hannah Boden from her homeport of Gloucester, Massachusetts to the fishing grounds of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland approximately one thousand miles to the east.  Running  a swordboat is a complicated business.  Preparing a one hundred-foot fishing boat with crew of six for thirty days at sea is the easy part for experienced captains like Linda.  The fifty boxes of groceries doesn't change much each trip, nor do the twelve thousand pounds of squid, three thousand hooks, eight thousand chemical lightsticks and other tackle necessary to rig a forty-mile fishing line.  The challenge is in those things that you forget to buy before the trip and end up being vital to the success of the trip.

Linda writes that "finding a productive piece of water and protecting it from encroachers is absolutely the toughest and most critical part of a swordfish captain's job."   She faces the same problems as any male CEO dealing with cutthroat competitors and employees and partners who don't always share the boss's view.

I learned about the nickname for a fisherman's coffee break, Mug-ups, and most importantly how obtaining a higher education is so vital to everyone even a fishing boat Captain.  Linda Greenlaw obtained her Bachelors degree from Colby College before she became Captain of the Hannah Boden.  While it may not have been evident in the beginning, having this degree paid off in the end when it enabled her the expertise to both be the Captain of a sword fishing boat and to write this book that provided income during her retirement from offshore fishing.  So you never quite know when that higher education will come in handy, of course this is my interpretation, and I am impartial to it since I hold my Master's Degree and will eventually continue on for my PH.D.



I also picked up Shipwrecks and Legends 'Round Cape May from the museum, and I never expected the legends to be written about the wrecks I have actually dove on. This book is an easy read and I found it enjoyable...I particularly like the legends about..the pirates of Cape May which includes Captain Kidd, Blackbeard, and Stede Bonnet. One  chapter in this book entitled "The Wreck of the Billy Diggs" talks about several wrecks found by divers that are then given frivolous names.  The Billy Diggs is also known as the Green Light Blinker because a buoy with a blinking green light was placed on the wreck. I have dove the Green Light Blinker several times in my past... Other wrecks with interesting names, Crybaby Wreck, Junkie, Bell Wreck, China Wreck and $1.50 Wreck that are discussed in the book and how they were named. There are chapters on the Hoodoo Ship (Northern Pacific) and the unbelievable attempt by the Captain to save the crew on the S-5.  At the end of the book is a lists of other wrecks around Cape May.

I do spend a lot of time reading especially in the winter, there's nothing like curling up in front of a roaring fire with a good book.  Currently I am reading Brain Greene, The Fabric of the Cosmos which has absolutely nothing to do with wreck diving but, I am intrigued by it, so be it!




The 2013 Dive Season is just around the corner, and what a year it will be after Hurricane Sandy.  I can't get wait to get out there and see what artifacts were uncovered by the storm, hopefully this year I will find that Dead Eye that I have been searching for...

End of the 2012 Dive Season

Once December rolls around every year I like to look back at my dive season and note my accomplishments as well as gather ideas for how the upcoming year can be even better than the last.  This year I had planned to do a lot more diving but  I ended up with only about 30 dives to wrecks such as the Resor, Astra, Baleana, Flour Wreck, Arundo,  N. Lilian, Durley Chine, Somerstadt, Stolt Dagali, Granite Wreck, Sea Girt Wreck, Caribsea, Shurz, Atlas, Pappose an several dives to that well know quarry in PA.  Most of my dives were on deeper wrecks since I had the itch to dive those wrecks that are not dove very often.  I think the best two dives of the season were on the Durley Chine and Somerstadt, I hope to get back to these two wrecks again someday.  Thanks to the Independence II for creating such an exciting dive schedule this year and for encouragement by various crew to reach for the stars.  I did, achieve two great milestones that will no doubt go down in my log book...

One milestone was being able to introduce my daughter, Rebecca to the underwater world of NJ Shipwrecks.  I could not have picked a better day or wreck.  I can still visualize the outstanding visibility and the bottom of the ocean as it was covered with huge flounders.  This first dive on NJ wrecks was kind of like the first time your child drives a car, very scary and yet proud!  Rebecca will be furthering her dive education by taking Nitrox and Advanced Diving over the Winter/Spring of 2013.  I hope to have her join me next summer in North Carolina.  We will however, have to figure out what to do about her seasickness problem....

The other major milestone at least for me, was finally completing my NAUI Trimix Certification. This course was a long time in the making... I owe a lot of gratitude to Geoff Graham for taking me through the course and being my dive buddy on all of the dives.  This class of course did not come without complications, I received two undeserved hits of skin bends.  I am still trying to figure out why this is happening on Trimix only.  The two main reasons I have discovered is since I am always cold, I may not be off-gasing properly or sweat is reacting with the Trimix that I breathe causing a skin rash.  I will be spending a lot of time over the winter trying to figure this out because it concerns me greatly.  Even with these issues, I completed all of the required dives and endured.  Who said this diving thing is easy...

I finally finished editing the video and photos from the best dive I ever had, it was like a dream come true..I had sharks, sting rays and dolphins all in one dive on the Shurz Wreck in North Carolina.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did:

Since Christmas is quickly approaching I would like to ask that you all support your local dive shop this year. The Hurricane has effected so many businesses I am sure the local dive shops could use a little extra business to make up for those losses.   I know I have a Santi heated vest and an Aquatica Housing for my new Nikon D7000 on my list. I will be spending Christmas out in Utah skiing, hmmm... maybe I can use that Santi heated vest while skiing to keep me warm.  Wishing all my dive friends a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!  As always Be Safe and Happy!!!

Hurricane Sandy

This is an aerial shot of Tuckerton where so many of my friends lost their homes

I was looking forward to conducting a few final dives for my 2012 season including a dive to the Arundo on November 3rd but, Sandy blew in and what a mess she made.  My family and I made it though the storm and since my house suffered the least damage out of most of my friends, we opened up our doors to a family and other friends that had no where to go.  There were long days of organizing meals for large numbers of people while having no power, finding floor space for sleeping bags, and keeping the kids and animals busy until things calmed enough for the clean-up.  I have spent every day this past week out in the cold weather sifting through remnants of my friend's houses as well as family members while trying to keep on top of insurance claims and finding rental housing for the displaced families.  Its been a long road but, I am happy to say we all are safe and have a roof over our heads.  My business, Kim Dixon Environmental Consultant LLC   (Link to Kim Dixon Environmental Website)  is involved with marine construction and construction of homes within the coastal zone so now, I will be trying to help the communities to re-build as painlessly as possible Due to these events, I am sorry to say that my 2012 dive season is over.

I am thankful for all those that offered help during these trying times, we have had others make meals and bring them to us and divers such as, Dave Oldman whom offered to bring supplies to us.  In times like this you realize how kind and generous people are...

As I type this the nor'easter is bearing down on us..if we make it through this storm, I will look forward to simple things like camping this coming weekend with my daughter (if its not too cold)...somehow hiking in the woods always puts life into perspective, just like diving!.

I will post and "end of the season" review with some photos and video in the upcoming weeks.

Granite & Sea Girt Wrecks 10-23-12

I have not had good luck lately in terms of diving, I have been blown out of dives every week since my last dive on the Baleana.  I saw a window of good weather this week so, I jumped at an invite to go diving on "The Rage" boat.  We were originally thinking of going to the Bonanza but, we voted on going to the Granite wreck instead.  Today there were just  few divers, Gerard, Al, Gene, Tina and I which made for a laid back day off of work for diving.  The seas were flat calm and the sun warmed the cool morning air as we motored out of Manasquan Inlet.

The Granite Wreck is an old wooden sailing ship that was carrying a cargo of granite blocks.  It sits in 115' of water and has lots of wholes for lobster.  I have dove this wreck before under good visibility and it is an impressive wreck.

Gerard and Al whom both recently upgraded to new Revo rebreathers, splashed first to secure the anchor and do their dive.  The surface viz looked good but, when they came up they reported horrible viz on the bottom.  However, they both noted that as they were heading back up the silt was clearing and the viz was opening up so, they told us all to jump in and should give it a shot.  Tina and I splashed next and we were going to hunt for lobsters.  I did not take my camera in but, I took the Gopro along (Not a big fan of GoPro but its better than nothing).  The water column on the way down was loaded with large particulate matter and when we reached the bottom we had only about 10' of viz at best.  So I tied off my wreck reel and we headed off in search of lobsters.  It seemed like no time at all and Tina was signaling that it was time for her to head up. Of course we did not find a single lobster..I went with her back to the anchor line and I planned to stay down a bit longer but when we got back, Gene had already started to pull the anchor, so I too went up.

Granite Wreck Video

During the surface interval and for the remainder of the day we experienced a strange event .  There were these small birds of all different species that were barely flying (I suppose they were heading south for the winter).  Eventually would land in the water and since their wings would get wet they would drown.  It was unnerving to see so many of them die so Tina decided we should try to net them out of the water and save them.  I was of the belief that this is mother nature's way of weeding out the weak and frail thus, we should just let them be...  The two birds that Tina did rescue eventually flew away and committed suicide.  Ironic,  here we are taking lobsters but, rescuing small birds from a watery grave???

We moved inshore for the the second dive and went to the Sea Girt Wreck.  The last time I dove this wreck was last summer on a night dive aboard "The Rage" and we had a good time and here I am again on "The Rage" diving the Sea Girt (see my Sea Girt Night Dive post from August 2011).  Tina and I splashed first to tie in the anchor line and I was happy to see that the visibility was much better here, about 15'.  I was the first one down and while I secured the anchor and waited for Tina, I noticed an abundance of sea bass on this wreck.  Tina and I followed one of the walls of the hull out to the massive chain pile.  Tina was on one side of the wall and I was on the other and the two of us looked in every hole for a lobster, Tina got one real nice lobster and we had quite a few that were too small which were left on the bottom.  Once we got to the chain pile I was in awe with how many large sea bass were on the wreck,  it was covered and I wished I had taken my camera along because they seemed to be such a deep blue color that would look nice in a picture.  Before, long it was time again for Tina to go up and this time I followed her because I was freezing cold.  Even though the water was 59 degrees from top to bottom, I felt cold along with the other divers.  We were all so chilled that Gerard cranked up the heat in the cabin so it felt like a nice sauna...it was one of those nice luxuries. 

Today was a nice day out diving especially since none of us had to be at work.  The surface conditions were excellent and although the viz was not the best at the Granite wreck, it was still a good dive and most important, we all came back safe.  Gerard made a point in saying that I bring Good Luck to "The Rage" so I hope that means I'll be invited to dive with them again.!!

It looks like mother nature will not be permitting us to dive again this weekend so, I am planning on Diving the Arundo the first weekend in November...

Balaena 9-30-12

The Balaena is one of those wrecks that still has a lot of unknowns.  It is believed to be a wooden whaling vessel from the late 1700's-early 1800's.  The only item identifying the wreck is the bell that was found with Balaena stamped on it.  It remains in great condition after all these years and is relatively intact.  The water that flushes through the wreck site is from the Hudson River which contains fresh water and has helped to preserve the wood on this wreck.  This wreck is known for its abundance of dead eyes which is why I was anxious to dive it.

Today I splashed with Bryan and Kevin and the plan was for me to run a wreck reel and we'd just get a feel for the wreck since neither of us have dove it before.   As I splashed that crystal clear blue water loaded with jellies and luminesence was all around me.  I could see the wreck from about 128'.  This wreck is in 155' of water.  The visibility was about 30' which is excellent for this mud hole wreck.  I was prepared for the usual deep,dark, and dangerous type of wreck and carried multiple lights, knives etc.  However, we could see quite well and while there was fishing lures and monofilament on the wreck it was not as bad as many other wrecks in this area.  Once on the bottom, I found that the the hull of the vessel came up about 10-15' off the bottom and was intact around the entire wreck.  I headed off in one direction, I think the bow..and immediately noticed the large infestation of Sea Ravens.  They covered the wreck, kind of creepy.  Since this wreck had holds filled with coal, there were piles of coal all over the wreck.  I swam along and picked up every piece that I thought could be a dead eye but, ended up finding nothing but pieces of wood and coal.  There was also some type of soft sponge that looked like coral but it was soft and pliable all over the wreck.  I do not know what type it was and had never seen it before.  The area that I believe was the stern, opened up a bit more with lots of nooks and crannies for the resident lobsters.  Towards the end of the dive I found two lark circular pieces of wreckage that rose up at least 30'-40' that I was later advised were vats used to boil whale blubber.  I thoroughly enjoyed my dive and would like to come back to this wreck next year especially since it simply amazes me that a wreck so old is preserved so well.

On the surface, the coolers were filled with lobster and Ben found a circular piece of wood that would be on a mast to help hoist the sails.  It was a nice find and will look really nice once it is preserved.

Today was a nice Fall Dive with great conditions, we even had zero current under the Harvest Full Moon..I also enjoyed the crew and divers on board today, there was a lot of laughter that just added to an already perfect day out on the Atlantic..I am trying to dive as much as possible in the next few weeks while this warm, blue gulf stream water is in close to NJ.    Be Safe everyone!!!

Stolt Dagali 9-16-12

"Behind every success is effort
 Behind every effort is passion
 Behind every passion is someone with the courage to try"  unknown

As you all know, I have developed and intense passion to wreck dive but most people, other than other wreck divers, are not aware of the courage it takes to "try" to dive a new wreck, deeper wreck, or more challenging wreck.   Sure there are many divers and mentors that may help you to gain the passion to dive but, it takes your own personal courage to take that leap of faith off of the boat into the deep blue Atlantic Ocean to explore another wreck.

Today was no exception, we were destined to the Northern Lilian via the Independence II but, the weather predictions precluded us from reaching that wreck so, we decided to try and get out to the Stolt Dagali.  As we broke the inlet we were greeting with some nice swells but they were far apart and there was no chop.  The further offshore we went the calmer it got and by the time we anchored up it was Lake Atlantic.  Boy was the weather predictions wrong for today, I am glad that Captain Dan was willing to give it a try because what a great summer like day it turned out to be!!

The Stolt Dagali was a tanker that was sunk in a collision on November 26, 1964 with the liner Shalom.  The tanker was sliced in half and there were casualties.  The bow was salvaged and the stern remains on the bottom today at an angle in water ranging from 60-130'.

My camera has not been cooperating lately and I was hopeful that I had repaired the problem that was resulting in both my strobes not firing up.  When I splashed I simply could not believe the visibility.  The water was the prettiest blue and from about 5-10' I could see the wreck.  The visibility had to be at least 70-80', just spectacular.  As I descended I could see the vibrant red growth all over the wreck that just added to the beauty of the dive.  I was so excited to take some pics so that I would always remember this great dive.  Wrong...strobes would not power up at all.  I was however, able to shoot video or pictures with the available ambient light but that was it.  So what else could I do but shoot video.  I am not a fan of shooting a lot of video because the editing is so time consuming.  As I swam along the wreck I saw a few tropical purple fish with yellow stripes, I remember seeing and photographing these in North Carolina earlier in the summer. They are so cool to watch!

My lone photo that someone came out...

I then dropped down to about 100' and was below the thermocline and swam along the wreck and noticed a bunch of winter flounder.  I was able to catch some video on one before I spooked it away.  There was also a lot of taug on this wreck that seemed to be rather large.  Below the thermocline the temp was about 65 degrees but above it I had a balmy 74 degrees.  So after a short visit on the lower part of the wreck I went back up to the warmer water.  This wreck is deteriorating, there are parts of it that are flapping in the current about to break off.  One thing about this wreck as compared to so many other wrecks, it is memorable.  I have only dove this wreck two other times and my last time I dove it was about 6 years ago and it happened to also be on the Independence Dive Boat.  The divemaster at the time buddied me up with a diver that took off on me and on that particular day there was lower viz and it was dark with some current on the top.  I recall losing track of the anchor line and simply not enjoying the dive.  I guess that day sort of stuck with me because I have not gone back to the wreck again until today.  I did remember that the wreck sat on an angle and that is why I think I remember it more than others.  Today, I was able to give myself the grand tour since you could see forever.

Back on the boat, there were large cod and taug speared, lobster and mussels.  I tried to repair my camera between dives to no avail..I used the GoPro as a back up and even that failed.  The GoPro was on when I jumped in and turned itself off...Here is the video taken, not very good but, better than nothing:

Stolt Dagali Video

So, as I began this post, at least I had the courage to try to dive this wreck again and to also take pictures and video. Sometimes nothing works as intended but, I keep on trying and that's all anyone can do. 

Till My Next Adventure in the Atlantic!!

I'm going to be diving the Resor this weekend, so lets go diving while the diving is hot!!

Sommerstad (Viriginia) 8-19-12

After years of trying to get out to the wreck known as the Sommerstad (Virginia) we were finally successful yesterday.  The NOAA forecast for Saturday called for 2-3' and was way off where as conditions yielded 4-7' seas.  With some quick planning by Capt. Dan of the Independence II, he delayed our Sunday departure from 3am till 5am with hopes that the seas would lay down as predicted by NOAA.  As we left in darkness and broke the inlet, the seas had calmed quite a bit..however, as we got further offshore the seas grew and there was a moment that we contemplated turning around.  The general consensus was that we came this far lets push on.  Once we anchored to the wreck, the seas laid down to about 2' and finally 1-2'.  Thus we finally made it to the Sommerstad!

The Sommerstad is a freighter that all literature states as resting in 180' of water but, none of the divers today got over 168' and I personally did not get deeper than 160'.  On August 12. 1918 the Sommerstad was sunk by a torpedo fired by the U-117.   It was reported that the torpedo just missed the bow and then surprisingly turned around and hit the freighter mid-ship.  This wreck very large and today we were tied in adjacent to the large boilers. I will add that the Captain located the wreck within minutes and the crew had us completely tied in within 8 minutes which was outstanding!

Today I was not myself, my health has suffered a lot this year and I was not at my strongest today.  I almost did not even go today but, I did, and I am so happy that I gathered up the strength to go.  Since the ride out was bouncy and we were taking the swell into the beam, I certainly was feeling a little queezy..  We had to wait on the boat until all of the divers were up before we could splash which in the end was a good thing.  It gave my queezy stomach time to calm and we also were able to hear all the reports of visibility, current and water temp. prior to making our dive.  Everyone said this wreck was awesome and had very large lobsters and on top of that the largest cod anyone had seen.  There were multiple cod 4-5' in size laying about the wreck and under the plates of the wreckage.  Reports also advised that the stern section is still intact and has quite a bit of relief.  Everyone also commented that the water temp was very cold and did not warm up until about 20-30' and there it only warmed to about 52 degrees, mind you this came from all the rebreather divers with heated vests.  This meant, it will be a very cold dive for me.

Finally, it was my turn to splash and as I did I was slammed with that current, luckily I grabbed onto the swim platform and was able to pull myself to the carolina rig.  As I descended I got the feeling that I was not comfortable due to the current and just not feeling the best.  I continued on but, kept pausing trying to decide it I should turn around.  My last pause was at about 120' and I could see the wreck, I said I'm here lets do this.  Once on the bottom the visibility was about 50' and it was dark but as your eyes adjusted it was not too dark.  The boilers stood up high and the wreck was scattered about in what seemed to be an endless debris field.  This wreck is heavily fished as shown with the huge amount of of monofilament all over the wreck.  You needed to control your buoyancy on this dive and stay above the wreck to avoid entanglement.  The thought deep, dark, and dangerous come to mind.  Bill headed off hunting for cod and lobster and I settled in to take photos and video.  However, my camera would turn on but, none of the key buttons would work at depth.  It worked fine on the surface but, not on the bottom.  This upsets me because these types of dives can be once in a lifetime adventures never to happen again.  It certainly would be nice to have a few pictures to memorialize it. Oh well not today, and I certainly hoped that the GoPro brought in as a back up was functioning at depth.  I found a lobster tangled in fishing line and showed it to Bill and he tried to free it but was unsuccessful.  I did not see any cod on my dive but I also did not look hard for them.  I spent my dive looking for any kind of artifact.  I thought I saw two portholes but, could not get close enough to confirm that they were indeed portholes.  As far as I know, artifacts have not been brought up from this wreck to positively identify it as the Sommerstad and I know everyone today was looking for something to positively identify it.  Before long I was freezing cold and thinking how miserable the hang is going to be so I started to make my way up.  As I was decompressing in water that was 48 degrees, memories of diving in the cold Nova Scotia waters came back (see my Blog Archive for March 2010).  The water today and on those dives of the past was very cold with little or no relief in the shallower stops.  Today, even the warm up to 52 degrees provided some relief.  I know now that if I am going to continue to dive these deeper dives I need a heated vest so that I can safely off gas.  The hang was not easy due to the current so I was trying to find something to occupy my thoughts and/or do to pass the time and I remembered what Brandon said about his hang...Brandon claimed he saw some seahorses on blades of sea weed that floated by so I was on the lookout for them.  I did not see any sea weed, seahorses or any fish at all during my hang.  Maybe Brandon's gas mix was causing his to hallucinate about dancing sea horses around him...Hmmm you have to wonder lol.

Back on the boat were lots of lobsters and tales of how exciting everyone's dives were.  Captain Dan kept asking if I liked today's dive, I said, "YES"   it was an awesome wreck and we need to come back again next summer!  Most of us only did one dive today including me.  It is better to do one safe dive that push yourself on that second dive is my motto...  The GoPro video of this dive came out but, I do not have time to edit it as of yet, I will post it in the near future.  Here is a link to Wayne Fisch's video that he did of his dive yesterday with his student Ray.  He must of stayed up real late last night to edit this so quickly but he did a great job!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAsnFIHME7U&feature=plcp

I almost forgot that prior to splashing a whale passes by and was jumping out of the water which was awesome to see.  What a summer of diving, stings rays, dolphins, sharks and now whales!!!

I will be taking a two week break from diving as I head this week to Maine for a camping and canoeing vacation with the family.  When I return I am looking at diving the N. Lilian again and the Bidevind..  I do have to admit that this dive season I have had great luck, the weather has been very cooperative, I have only had 1 blow out, lets hope that my good luck continues through the fall!   Be Safe :))

Flour Wreck (Almirante) 8-9-12

Rebecca on the Flour Wreck

Today was a special day for my family because it was my daughter, Rebecca's first day of diving in the Atlantic Ocean.  This blog has brought about so many positive things in my life and today was no exception.  An old dive friend, Eric Newman, found my dive blog on line and called us up to reconnect.  He too has daughters that are certified to dive but have not gone diving in NJ.  Therefore, we decided to get together and charter the Atlantus to take all of us out and show our children what it is like to dive in NJ.  None of us had any idea that the conditions would turn out to be perfect for this entry into NJ Wreck Diving.  The ocean was as calm as I've seen it all season and we decided to go to the Flour Wreck since the Atlantus had been on the wreck yesterday and they had 30' of visibility.  You basically can never go wrong with the Flour, it is a great entry level dive.  Bill and my daughter splashed first followed by Eric and his daughter, Alexis.  I brought up the rear and when I finally got to the bottom, Bill and Rebecca were no where to be found, I have to admit I was not happy that they took off on me already after all I spent the time going to all of the certification classes and quarry and was really looking forward to this day.  On the other hand I was so happy that she felt confident and was off diving somewhere on the wreck with Bill.  The visibility was at least 30'-40' so I hung around the anchor line and shot some photos and kept an eye out for them.  When they came looking for me I saw that they had been quite busy, Bill already speared 5 flounder.  The flounder absolutely carpeted the wreck.  You really did not even need a spear, you could just guide them into your goody bag.  I was able to put my camera lens right on them and they did not move or swim away.

 There was not many lobsters or other fish, a few sea robins and small sea bass but that was about it.

However, Rebecca did find a lobster on her own during the dive and brought me over to see it.  It was in a pipe and I later went back to photograph it.

 One thing that surprised me was that Rebecca's air consumption was really low, we were on the bottom for almost 30 minutes and she still had over 1000 psi when we got back on the boat.  Not bad for a newcomer that I am sure was nervous.  When the dive was over and we got back on the boat the loads of flounder started to come.  Eric and Alexis had a great dive too and we were all having a great time.

Rebecca did not make a second dive because sea sickness overcame her.  It was so calm I was surprised that she got sick but, it was very hot out there today.  I remember  getting sea sick for years when I first started diving so I felt terrible for her.  I therefore did my second dive alone and got some nice pictures of the flounder and sea robins.  The bottom temp was 60 degrees and the surface was 76 degrees, really nice and comfortable.

After we completed our second dives, there were 34 flounder total and 1 lobster between the divers and fisherman topside.  Rebecca felt better on the way home and wanted to go diving again.  She's a trooper!!

Bill, Matt, Me, Daren, Rebecca, Eric & Alexis

We are planning another day out with the Newman's and next time hopefully his whole family will be able to come diving.   Capt. Brian, Shaner and Bill fileted all the fish and we topped it all off with a few beers at the Back Bay Ale House.  Thanks to Captain Brian & Shaner of the Atlantus and our old friend Eric for making this day happen:))  I will always cherish this day!!!