Texel Dive Report 7-25-15

I have been looking forward to diving out of Atlantic City all summer and what a great start we had!. I typically go to North Carolina this week and had initially planned to take both my kids down for a week of diving the wrecks in NC but, work schedules and Equestrian training got in the way.  This left me open to go diving on the Independence II to some wrecks that I have never been to.  The wrecks included the Texel, Varanger, Offshore Paddlewheeler, Carolina, and Winnecone.

First up was the Texel..we left under Lake Atlantic conditions, in the dark highlighted by the lights of Atlantic City  and a million stars in the sky for the 60 mile run out to Texel which is one of the Black Sunday Wrecks.  The Texel was a 330' long tanker that was sunk by the U-151 on June 2, 1918.  The wreck now sits in 220' of water on a sandy bottom.

Beautiful Sunrise on our way offshore!

We had a really full boat today, 14 divers.  Everyone was excited on the ride out as we all chatted, joked and slept to occupy the 3.5 hour run.  The tie into the wreck was effortless and in no time the pool was open.  I hung back and was diving in the next to last group of divers to splash.  It was not long before out tie-in crew, Brandon and Joe sent up of a lift bag.  They each found a port hole which is pretty exciting!  Once they surfaced it was reported that the viz was forever and that there was absolutely no current.

Joe & Brandon with their portholes.

  It was time for me to gear up and go in and I was quite nervous.  I am always nervous at these depths.  The guys were great at reminding me that diving in the deep mudhole is very challenging and since I dive the mudhole a lot, this dive would be no problem at all for me.  It helped hearing that but, I still was nervous.

Thanks Brandon for capturing me jumping in to dive the Texel!!!

 Capt. Dan splashed before me and in I went  to the beautiful blue water and unlimited viz.  As I descended, around 70' the water turned very cold and got colder and colder..I think it was 40 degrees on the bottom and felt even colder than that.  I remember looking at my depth gauge at 148' and then seeing Capt. Dan on the bottom.  Boy this viz was great!!  I believe we were tied into the bow because we were at the very end of the wreck and you could swim to the boilers but I did not see a prop shaft so therefore, assume we were in the bow.  The wreck is low lying other than the piece we were tied into.  There were not many fish on the wreck other than large ling cod but, there were nice lobsters.  I also noticed that there was garbage on the wreck, plastic bottles,  a YoHoo can etc. which I typically do not see.  I stayed within sight of the strobe and did not travel too far.   This wreck is pretty broken up but the boilers of course were still standing tall and recognizable.  I more or less just poked around on this wreck and tried to get a feel of the layout in case I should return someday.  It was not long before I was shaking  like a leaf from being so cold..I planned on a 20 minute dive but, headed up after 16 minutes, I could not take the cold and knowing my deco stops started at 130' and it would not be until 70' before I hit the warmer water.  The deco was long but, since there was 0 current it was relaxing.  We saw some really cool tropicals that I never saw before which kept me entertained.,they were swimming in mini schools around the back of Capt. Dan's unit.  I also saw a very immature file fish that looked to be only about 2" in size even with my mask magnification.  He swam up to my mask and I help out my finger and it would poke at it...sooo cool!

After I surfaced I was so proud of myself, this was a deeper dive for me and it went smoothly.  On top of that I got to dive a wreck that few have been too!!

Day 2 of our week of diving was blown out, it was too rough to head to the Varanger so, we took a few of the crew fishing for a few hours and then went to the Oyster Creek Inn via boat for some sushi.  It was a nice way to spend a windy day!

Immaculata 7-19-15

I was on the fence as to whether or not to go diving today.  I had a minor surgery between my last dive and today and still was a little sore but, was cleared to dive.  I decided to go the night before and I am glad I did.  We were destined for the Immaculata on the Independence II and I was planning on only 1 dive.

I was the last group to go in and dive and heard reports of great viz and lobstermania...I did not bring my camera out today since this is a wreck for digging and hunting. After I splashed the viz on the top was horrible but started opening up after the thermocline.  I estimate the viz to be about 25'-30', I could clearly see the wreck at 68' and divers on the bottom.  This is really great for this wreck which is a garbage barge sunk on top of another garbage barge.  There was no need for a wreck reel this dive (yeah) and immediately once I reach the bottom I saw bottles.  I grabbed a few bottles and started seeing lobsters.  I was pointing them out for my buddies to grab them.  During the lobster grabbing battles the wreck silted up pretty good which is typical, this wreck is very silty.  I decided to leave the silted in area and head out on my own in the opposite direction.  I found some pieces of china and another bottle and then I saw it...Giant eyes staring at me, it appeared to be a giant flounder staring at me.  I was yelling in my regulator look at that hugggeee flounder..Of course I was alone and no spear.  I contemplated stabbing it with my knife but, I did not want to risk missing it.  Then out of no where came Nick whom had a spear.  I was trying to show him where the flounder was but, he had so many lobsters in his hand he could not bag them all so he grabbed my bag to put some lobsters in it.  He then speared the flounder for me and it took three of us to get it in my bag since my bag was not big enough for it.  I was so excited...bottles, lobster and flounder all in one dive.

After all that excitement I swam around looking for more bottles.  I noted that the bottom temp was warm...60 degrees, it was 72 on my hang.  I checked my time and I was into deco and didn't want to hang forever so I headed up.  I did my hang in the terrible no viz area, although it was toasty warm.  I completed my required deco and was doing my personal extra safety hang when BANG, I heard a loud POP and air was flowing out of my tank.  I did not know exactly what blew and there was no one else hanging with me to help.  I was in 20' of water and thought I may have seconds before I ran out of air so I surfaced.  Turns out my low pressure regulator hose blew!  Thank God this happened after my deco and in only 20 of water.  I typically close my center valve on my manifold and today I did this which, is why I was still able to breathe during my ascent, the hose that blew was on the other tank and regulator that I was not breathing on.  If this happened on the bottom, I still would have had a separate source of air and regulator to get me to the surface.  I knew there was a reason for my dive today...I am planning on diving the Texcel, Varanger, and other deeper wrecks next week, good thing this did not happen on one of those dives!!!  This low pressure hose blow gives me time to make repair and to check all my other hoses prior to next week.  It also was a reminder to make sure I keep my center valve on the manifold closed on those deeper dives in case something like this were to happen.  I can undo my harness strap and close my valves but when this happens, those tanks empty much quicker than I could close a valve.

There was a lot of lobsters boated today and I am sorry that we did not take photos along with all the bottles found.  I did take a photo of our bottles ..

I was kind of in a rush after I got in since today was also Christmas in July at the sandbar with all my friends.  I wanted to get home drop off my dive stuff and hop on my boat to head out to the sandbar for our big barbeque.  Given how hot it was, it sure was a nice way to end the day out there relaxing with my best friends!  The sunset was beautiful too!!!

The tide coming in on our Christmas in July party!

Looking forward to diving this week off  Atlantic City!!!

The Resor 7-11-15

Today I went out on the Independence II which was charted by DiveSeekers and destined for the famed Resor.  One can never tire of this wreck and today was definitely one of those adventurous days that will surely be remembered!

The Resor was a tanker carrying crude oil when she was torpedoed by the U578 on February 27, 1942. There were only 2 survivors...Today the wreck sits in 125' of water and it has quite a bit of relief.  It is known for scallops, large lobsters, and artifacts.

The parking lot at Hoffman's Marina was packed to the gill, aahhh it was Mako Mania weekend, how do I manage to pick this weekend to dive every year??  As we approached the wreck we saw several fishing boats in the area and upon arrival there was one boat anchored on the wreck.  However, the Capt. of that fishing boat radioed over and said he was pulling anchor and that we can move in.  He advised us that the current was extremely strong and it hindered their fishing.  Hmmm...this was our first clue to the adventure that lied ahead.  We dropped the ball and noticed that the current was making waves over the ball, not a good sign.   We timed the current and it was running about 2 knots. It was time for the "dream team" to try and tie us into the wreck.  The plan was to try and get them in the water ahead of the ball in a location that would allow the current to bring them to the ball.  If the current was as bad on the bottom as it was on the surface, there would be no diving the Resor today.  The "dream team" was successful at tying the boat into the wreck.   When they came up they advised that the current dropped off at about 40' and there was no current on the bottom.  The pool was open but due to the surface current, we all were splashing in with a line in out hand that was tied to the boat, and the crew would be pulling the divers to the carolina line and then it would be a hand over hand pull until you got under the current.  The current was similar to what is typically found diving the Andrea Doria.

I planned to shoot photos but, Brandon advised that the viz was only about 15' so due to the lower viz and the current, the camera was staying on board.  Several divers went in and some aborted since they could not get under with the current.  I decided to dive in a threesome with Bill and Capt. Dan.  Our plan was to run a line out and get scallops or flatties for dinner with a bottom time of about 30 minutes.   Sounds like a great plan for 3 experienced divers right???  Capt. Dan splashed first, then me, and Bill last.  I had no problem getting to the carolina line with my tow from Joe up on the boat and got under relatively easily to find Capt. Dan waiting for me and then we moved on. It was hand over hand and my arms were burning along with breathing hard.  I kept stopping to rest and catch my breath and moved on again until I got below the current and could relax.  There were a few moments when I thought I couldn't hang on but I kept saying to myself, you made it this far..not much further and it will let up.  This was bringing back memories of a similar dive I had on the Varanger many years ago (see my Varanger post on  10-23-10).  Once we were on the the bottom, the viz didn't seem too bad, more like 20' and bright enough that I didn't need a light.  We tied off the wreck reel and headed off.  We were on a section of the wreck with lots of pipes strewn about and a really, really high wall like piece that came up to about 105'.  I believe we were mid-ship and most of the wreck was pretty broken up.  As we headed towards the sand we did not see many scallops but, we did start to see lots of flounder.  Capt. Dan and I would shine our lights on the flatties and Bill was spearing and bagging up.  A few scallops were found but not the usual quantity.. Where are the scallops???  I signaled to Capt. Dan that I was turning around and heading back towards the anchor.  Thoughts of the tough hang in current was on my mind so I went up at 23 minutes instead of the planned 30 minutes.  They continued on spearing flounder and ended up with quite a few, and some lobsters too.

Most of the "guys" were only doing 1 dive today because they were diving the U869 the next day.  I planned on only one dive too since I was exhausted from the current but, all of a sudden the current let up.  I decided to go in an do a second dive and this time I took my camera and just hung around the anchor line.  Terry had told me where to find a pipe with a huge lobster in it so that I could photograph it.  There were a ton on pipes down there and everyone I looked in did not reveal the lobster that I was looking for.  I shot a few photos and had a calm dive since I was down alone with no grand "dive plan".  I saw some huge tautog and the bottom was littered with ling, ocean pouts, and tons of bergals pecking at my mask.    Parts of the wreckage are covered in small mussels, it is kind o neat to see how cyclic mussels are..I almost forgot...right before I splashed for my 2nd dive a large shark swam around the boat (remember mako mania)..made me more than a little nervous given the abundance of chum slicks in the area.. Well during my hang I though Kevin was tapping me and I couldn't understand what he was trying to say and then I thought...he is trying to tell me the shark is around...I was wrong and Kevin was just trying to find out if I wanted to pass him...the mind sure does mess with you when it comes to sharks!!

The bottom temp was about 48 degrees and 70 on the hang..not bad at all!  The viz was a solid 20' on the 2nd dive too.

Love Brittle Stars!

There were lobsters, plenty of flatties and a few scallops bought up today which made for a nice dinner for all the guys diving the next day off shore..I headed home and had cold pizza...how did that happen?  I would like to have dove the U869 but, I just did not feel ready for it.  Once I was home I thought I took a hit in my arm since it  it was hurting but, I think it was strained from pulling my self down the anchor line and today it is fine..  So...some days, this thing called diving is an ADVENTURE...

On a side note...I was told Sunday when the Indy returned from the U869 that it was the best conditions they ever had on the wreck and that I should have gone.  It was over 70' of visibility, Lake Atlantic, little or no current although they said it was very, very cold.

Cornelius Hargraves 7-3-15

What better way to celebrate Independence Day and our Freedoms than to go diving all weekend.  My dive weekend kicked off with a dive to the Cornelius Hargraves on the Dina Dee.  On my way to the boat I saw the most beautiful red sunrise that had me in such awe that I quickly parked and ran up to the beach to take in it for a few minutes.  What a tranquil moment it was for me and it filled me with such peace.  I arrived at the dock to a fully loaded boat, Ahh Haaa...here are all the divers, it has been a long time since I was on such a loaded boat and it was nice to see.  We were destined to the Viscaya but when we arrived there was a fishing boat on it so we went next door to the Cornelius Hargraves which sits in 80' of water.

                                         
 The Cornelius Hargraves was a four mastered schooner that collided with the Viscaya on October 30, 1890.  Schooners are one of my favorite types of wrecks to dive and I am always on the lookout for  a dead eye..the one artifact that I yearn to find.

Since the boat was loaded, I opted to wait it out, let all the divers go in, and I would go in last so that it would be less crowded on the bottom.  Once I splashed the ever present pea soup green water with limited visibility remained on top but it opened up nicely to about 20' of visibility on the bottom.  We were tied into the stern at the highest piece of the wreckage.  I swam around the high piece and noted the abundance of sand dollars.  This year seems to be a year where they are in abundance for some reason.  Then I chose a line of ribbing to swim down in search of anything that resembles a dead eye. This wreck however, is mostly filled in with sand so without some major digging, there would be no dead eyes for me.  I swam down three different sections of ribbing and saw a ton of sea bass, tautog, and a lone lobster claw.  I did not see a single flounder.

Such vibrant colors!

The bottom temperature was 52 degree and towards the end of my dive I got quite a chill.  So happy I had my heated vest to warm me up!!  I ended up with a 45 minute bottom time and shot quite a few pictures.  Since there was particulate matter in the water, a lot of the pictures were not crisp.  I spent time taking pictures of the wooden structure of the wreck, I think that it is sooo cool to see the wood still intact even though its been under the ocean since 1890 (125 years)!  That is a long time.  There was quite a few sea  bass speared, one flounder, and lobsters too.  Captain Roger got a real nice lobster!!!

I decided not to do a second dive since I knew I was going offshore on the 4th to dive a deeper wreck. I do like these Friday dives...nothing like leaving at 7AM and being back in by 12 ish...It leaves plenty of time to still get some work done after the dive!!

The weather kicked up and blew out my 4th of July dive but, there is always next weekend!!

Happy 4th of July!!!

Chaparra 6-19-15

Last week I intended to dive the 56 mile wreck and I basically made the wrong decision and did not go.  Of course I missed flat seas, great visibility, and a plethora of wildlife.  I deeply regretted not going.  Therefore, when I saw calm seas predicted for today, I took the day off of work and went diving.  I went out on the Dina Dee out of Barnegat Inlet and it ended up being a beautiful day.

There were a few divers on board that wanted to spear fish so, we were destined for the Yellow Flag which is always good for flounder.  Upon arrival, a fishing boat was already occupying the wreck so we diverted to the Chaparra.  It has been a very long time since I have dove the Chaparra, could be as long as 15 years...  The Chaparra is a freighter that was sunk on October 27, 1918 when it struck a mine laid by a U-boat.  The wreck lies on its port side and is broken up quite a bit and it sits in 80 feet of water.  Capt. Roger drew me a quick map of the wreck so that I could see how I can easily swim from piece to piece.

My buddy for my first dive was Kyle Chud and our plan was for me to shoot photos and he was going to spear fish.  The upper 40' of the water column consisted of that pea soup green water that has such horrible viz but, on the bottom there was a good 25' of viz.  We were anchored into the extreme stern of the wreck so when we got on the bottom Kyle tied off his wreck reel and we were off.  Of course one of my strobes was not firing so my pictures were not coming out that great but, there was a ton of sea bass down there and I enjoyed watching them flea from Kyle.  He was  trying to spear them and they all would swim right to me...  I floated in and around the boilers and then onto the higher pieces of wreckage.  I forgot what a nice wreck this was.. I actually looked back in my log book and I dove this wreck on July 7,1991 and I wrote that the wreck was covered in huge starfish and that the water was so clear that you could see way into the insides of the wreck.    Well there are a few starfish on the wreck today but, they were few and far between, and were not large at all.  After about 30 minutes I brought Kyle back to the anchor and sent him up and I remained down another 10 minutes taking photos in the stern.  The water temp on the bottom was about 52 degrees and on my hang it was 58 degrees.  I had my heated vest on so I was toasty the entire dive.

These days as I age, I typically only do one dive.  However, the conditions were great so I chose to do a second dive today.  I went in a little after Kyle and his Dad, John and more or less swam along the edge of the wreck and ventured a few times out in the sand to find some flounder to photograph.  I did not find any flounder in the sand but ended up finding one near the boilers.  I harassed him for a while trying to get real close to him for a close up shot.  I did not spot any lobsters although other divers did find some.  In addition to the abundant sea bass were tau tog, ling cod, cunners, and ocean pouts.. definitely a wreck for fish.

We had a new diver, Brian, from Lake George on the boat for his first ocean dive and he did great.  I think he is hooked!  Thanks to Capt. Roger and Mate Gary for such a great day of diving.  I could get used to these Friday dives all summer!!

Tolten 6-6-15

Well I have been kept at the dock the past two weekends while the wind blew and blew.  However, it gave me some free time to go fishing and enjoy the sandbar with my friends..

My favorite sandbar, many great days here.

I thought for sure that today was going to be an addition to the string of blow-out weekends but, was happy that Capt. Dan  of the Independence II decided to persevere and try to at least dive something inshore.  My son Matt, whom is an avid semi-pro surfer has been telling me all week how crystal clear the water is and I was hoping that the clear water was around today for my dive.  As everyone knows...I am the optimist so I brought my camera along for good luck...

We were all pleasantly surprised that NOAA was wrong again with their forecast, instead of the predicted NE 3'-5' going to 4'-6' seas we had some 1'-2' rollers that eventually laid down as the day went on.  After following the SailFlow App for the past two years, it seems to be a much better predictor of wind and seas and was accurate for today's weather .  Captain Dan headed to the planned destination of the Tolten.  I always liked this Chilean freighter that sits in 95' of water and today I would not be disappointed.  The Tolten was a World War II casualty and was torpedoed by a German  U-boat on March 13, 1942.

The catch from the Tolten!

The surface visibility looked great and I almost did not take in my camera but, Sue said...its the days you leave it on the boat that you are blessed with good viz for photos.  So, I quickly put it together and brought it with me which was a great decision because we had a good 20-30' of viz.  The ocean is starting to warm up too, we had 54 degrees on the bottom and 59 degrees on my hang.

I did not travel far from the tie-in, I just swam around and shot a ton of photos.  I believe we were in the bow section since there was a lot of relief to the structure.  The wreck was covered in fish and lobster pots from last year..they were strung all over the wreck along with the ropes stinging them together.  There were some sea bass and cunners but, I did not see any larger fish.  A diver spotted a cod in one of the fish traps and there was a lot of lobsters brought up now that the lobster season is open!!
Everyone thoroughly enjoyed today's dive and has us all excited for the upcoming dives of the summer.

One of the many fish pots abandoned on the wreck.

Not sure if many of you know this but, I paint watercolors for a hobby.   I enjoy diving on the Independence II so much, that I added the dive boat to the view outside of the window in my painting that I did last year.  I am working on some underwater paintings now of some ocean pouts and lobsters, boy are they difficult to paint!

The "guys" are trying to convince me to go and dive the 56 mile wreck next weekend, I am hesitating because of the cold water temps, I find it difficult to safely off gas when the water in the top 40' is still so cold.  I have never dove that wreck and really want to dive it so we will see in a few days what I decide to do...I am leaning towards going for it!

Lessons learned that saved my life...

We all hear about tragic scuba diving accidents that so deeply effects our small community of wreck divers.  We do not hear a lot about the scuba accidents that did not result in another death but, resulted in a life saved.  I have pondered for quite a while over whether or not to tell the story of my diving tragedy that took place over 2 years ago.  Part of me wanted to keep it private and yet it is so profoundly affecting me that I feel telling other divers may help me to get through this and possibly help to save another divers' life someday.

This tragedy started to unfold in 2012 when I started to do more frequent deeper dives and dives utilizing Trimix.  I was conducting dives according to the tables that I prepared for the particular mix and depth I was diving and I always added extra safety factors.  Safety factors included hanging longer at my last decompression stop even though my computer cleared me.  However, I would surface and within 1/2 hour I'd have a case of the skin bends which would go away after breathing on O2.  I know this is common among divers that routinely dive deep but, in my past this never occurred to me.  I started to think that diving on Trimix was what was leading to this repeated skin bends.  The addition of Helium (thus Trimix) would make me even colder than on air or nitrox so, I thought being so cold was preventing me from off-gassing particularly at the deeper and colder decompression stops.  Therefore, I purchased a Santi heated vest to help alleviate the cold and hopefully eliminate the skin bends.

In 2013 my deeper Trimix dives that I planned were cancelled due to weather so I never got to try out the heated vest while diving Trimix.  However, I started getting skin bends on shallower dives.  Some of the cases were in no decompression recreational dives that I even hung on O2 at 15' just for added safety.  This frightened me and it would not happen on every dive so I could not figure out why it was happening.  I took the worst hit on a dive that was only 65' deep and my bottom time was only 30 minutes on 28% Nitrox.  I even did a safety stop on O2 at 15' for about 15 minutes.  In this case the skin bends went from a rash to pain to tingling down my leg.  I breathed on O2 for a long time before the symptoms ceased.  I could not figure out what was causing this and now my original theory of breathing Trimix coupled with being cold went out the window.

This brings me to my tragedy that took place on October 5, 2013.  I was diving on the Immaculata which is in 95' of water and I planned to do a safe no decompression dive. I do not usually utilize a wreck reel but, when I arrived on the bottom it was pretty silted up so I opted to use the reel to get away from the anchor line and into clearer waters.  The dive was calm and uneventful.   I recalled looking at my computer and having 4 minutes left before I was required to decompress.  I was reeling in my wreck reel heading towards the anchor line.  There was only 5-10' of viz on this portion of the wreck due to divers digging for bottles.  All of a sudden this feeling came over me and I was started to lose consciousness, everything went black.  I recalled that I was aware that I was still breathing and that I was 95' underwater.  I realized that I was in the process of losing my life while diving.  I tried to keep breathing and prayed to an angel and asked that I not die here, not yet, and not here on this wreck.  I still had my wreck reel in my hand but, I could not reel it in.  My arms felt heavy and I could not move them.  I was able to kick my fins a little and hold onto the reel line and guide myself blindly towards the anchor line.  I was still breathing and unable to see and my heart was starting to pound out of my chest.  I was aware that panic was setting in...  My body then started to convulse.  I kept praying and I looked up and saw a faint light in the distance and it turned out to be the strobe on the anchor line.  I focused on that light because everything else was still blackness and I somehow got myself to the anchor line. Once I made it to the anchor line, my vision returned but I was extremely dizzy.  As a result of holding my wreck reel line as I tried to make it to the anchor, I was now all tangled in the wreck reel line.  I told myself to calm down I will get out of this. I looked for other divers to help but no one was nearby.  Somehow, I do not know exactly how, I got my fins untangled all the while my heart was still beating strongly.  I sat for a moment knowing that I needed to get my heart rate to slow down prior to my ascent.  I looked at my wreck reel and what a mess, I tried to straighten it out so that other divers did not get tangled in it and then I remembered what my old instructor always said, "no piece of equipment is worth dying over".  I dropped my reel, grabbed the anchor line, and left it on the bottom.  As I started to ascend and the feeling of losing consciousness came over me again.  I wanted to just make it to the boat.  I tried to go as slow as possible.  I recall losing consciousness again around 60' but, it was only briefly.  Once I reached 20' I was now in decompression.  I had to hang.  I somehow switched to O2 and started my decompression.  I kept hoping another diver would come along so I could have them hang with me in case I lost consciousness.  I spotted another diver coming up from the bottom but he was hanging at around 50' and I could not get his attention.  I was not thinking clearly and did not think of shaking the anchor line to get his attention. I also was aware that he had a lot of deco too.  Once my deco was done, I was feeling better and I tried to hang longer for added safety due to what transpired on the bottom.  I hung an extra 16 minutes and I decided to surface.  Up on the boat I felt ok and I had no symptoms of DCS or anything else.  I was however scared to death.  I obviously did not do my 2nd dive and I kept what happened to me on the bottom a secret.  I was trying to be strong and not completely break down emotionally over what had just happened to me.  I was so scared that I simply did no how to handle this and in hindsight I should have spoken up and told someone.

The next day I made an appointment to go see Dr. Alfred Bove and try to figure out why I have been getting skin bends and why I went unconscious on the bottom.  I have thought long and hard about this and I should have died on that wreck.  I do believe some angel or other spiritual being saved me that day.  There simply is no explanation for how I got to the anchor line.  I could not see and could not move my arms but somehow followed my wreck reel line and got to the anchor line.  This is what causes me so much angst to this day...how did I make it to the anchor line???

Dr. Bove tested me for a PFO but, he did say that if I was positive for one, he would advise me to continue to dive but to add a lot more safety factor and to dive more conservatively. I tested negative for the PFO. Therefore,  I went through a battery of other tests to figure out why I am having so many complications while diving.  It was determined that low blood pressure was the culprit for my problems.  The low blood pressure was resulting from some of the medications that I take.  I now need to dive much more conservatively and to monitor my blood pressure on a regular basis.  I know that I cannot dive when my blood pressure drops.  Dr. Bove explained how when your blood pressure is very low and you exercise it will cause it to drop even lower which is why he believes I lost consciousness.  Likewise, the low blood pressure effects circulation and was preventing me from off-gassing properly, thus the skin bends.  In other words, I am getting older even if my mind still thinks I am 20 years old.

I have contemplated what would have happened if I had another diver nearby for assistance.  One of the most important lessons I have learned over the years in diving is to be self reliant.  In knowing myself and my personality, I think having another diver there to try and communicate and ask for help would have raised my level of panic even further and wasted valuable seconds.  I believe that knowing I had to rely on myself helped me to continue to breathe and focus on getting safely to the surface.  If I was not an experienced diver, this plan of mine would most likely have failed.  I have concluded that the instructor that taught me the lesson to be self reliant resulted in me saving my life.  This instructor is Gene Peterson.  I owe him my life.  There are so many skills that he taught me over the years that never seemed that important at the time until this day when I did exactly as he taught and I am still here to talk about it.  We have been estranged for quite some time and I hope that some day I can thank him in person.

One of the reasons it took me so long to write this story of my tragedy is I wanted to make sure that low blood pressure was the only reason this happened.  I dove through the 2014 and 2015 seasons and have not felt like I was going to lose consciousness.  I have had a few minor skin bends and my answer to that is I need to hang longer at 15' for every dive, even no decompression dives.  It is working!!!  I have also changed in that I try to dive with a buddy or at least stay close to other divers on the bottom but, the truth is as I stated before, I am not sure being near a diver or with a buddy would have helped in this situation or even if it happened again. I should interject here that on all deep dives I always have a buddy and one that is aware of my potential problems prior to entering the water.

I hope that the worst is over and that I can continue to dive for many more years.  It is a reminder that everyone must monitor their health, the slightest change can cause big issues under water.  I already knew that each dive truly is a gift but now, I cherish each one even more!  Be Safe everyone!

The 2015 Dive Season has begun!!!

I was so ecstatic to go out diving today after this long and cold winter!!!  As you all know I did not dive a lot last summer so, I wanted to get in the water early this year and try to dive a lot.  We were originally destined for the Arundo on the Independence II but, given the weather, we opted to stay inshore and voted on the Rockland County.  This was fine by me because I am "old school" and I like to do at least one shallow dive before I venture into deeper waters.  Of course the weather forecast was inaccurate and there was little or no wind and flat seas instead of the predicted 3-5' seas.

The Rockland County was a 95' tugboat that was sunk in the Sea Girt Artificial Reef on Valentines Day in 1986.  It sits in about 76' of water depth.  I actually had never been on this wreck and it is always nice to check out a wreck that you never dove.

I knew that the water temperature was going to be cold so I came prepared with Cold Gear Under Armour,  Fourth Element  undergarments and my heated Santi vest.  I turned on my heated vest before I hit the water so that the chill would never set in.  I was pleasantly surprised that when I hit the water, it  did not seem all that bad.  The visibility was about 10' and I believe we were tied into the top of the bow section.  This wreck is great for macro photography because it is carpeted with large sea anemones and mussels.  The pushers in the bow that were used for pushing barges are now covered in pretty anemones lined up in perfect rows, I wish I had my camera to photograph it.  My dive was relaxing and uneventful, I hardly saw any fish or lobsters.  I lasted 24 minutes and my fingers started to get numb.  My computer said the bottom temp was 47 degrees but all the other divers said it was 44 degrees, either way its cold!!

It felt great to get in the water and insure that all of my scuba equipment was performing well.  I was impressed with Igor and his 3 hour run time..I asked how he stayed warm so long and he said you have to keep moving, he must have checked out every inch of the wreck with a run time like that!!  All in all everyone onboard today had a nice dive and was happy to get wet.

This spring, I have been busy setting up a rotating display of some of  my underwater photographs and artifacts at the New Jersey Maritime Museum.   http://njmaritimemuseum.org/

 If you are looking for something to do on a day when your dive has been blown out, please visit the museum in Beach Haven. There are some fabulous rotating displays by local divers so you will always see something new.

What Makes a Great Wreck Diver?

I have often thought over the years about What Makes a Great North Atlantic Wreck Diver?  Is it passion?  Is it skill and athletic ability? Is it a thirst for the history of shipwrecks? Or is it something more...  We all know that Wreck Diving in the North Atlantic is not for everyone, just look at the thousands  of divers certified to dive in the local area and how few of them continue on to wreck dive in the North Atlantic for decades.  Why would you chose to dive wrecks in cold water over warm water with pristine visibility in wildly exotic locations???  I can only speak for myself and provide some possible analogies based on what I have seen over my 29 years as a North Atlantic Wreck Diver...

From a very young age I was always drawn to the ocean...my younger years growing up were spent along the Gulf of Mexico with a fascination in the abundance of sharks lurking under the water as I swam.  During my teen years, I spent every minute possible in the Atlantic Ocean off of Fire Island, NY.  If the ocean was unusually rough and most swimmers did not dare enter, I would be out there for hours riding in the waves while my friends simply sat on the beach and sunbathed.  The ocean always soothed me and I was always at peace when I was in and around it.  Was this the precursor to becoming such an avid Wreck Diver?  I do think that those whom wreck dive for a long time do have a relationship with the ocean and as a result, they feel at ease and comfortable diving in it.  Wreck Divers like others whom are in and around the Ocean a lot, also have a enormous respect for the power of the sea.   Is this something that you are simply born with? The natural tendency to be drawn to the water and the sea?

Perseverance is another trait that I see over and over in Wreck Divers of the North Atlantic.  Lets face it, diving in the cold and dark waters of this area is not always a walk in the park.  I look back at becoming a certified diver on the eastern end of Long Island in water with extreme currents and such bad visibility that I could not even see my instructor.  I vividly remember wanting to quit and not finish my course but, I persevered.  It was not until several years later, that I dove on my first Wreck out of Barnegat Inlet, NJ and realized how wonderful Wreck Diving can be.  That perseverance however continues every year in different ways such as on the days with arduously rough seas where you wonder if you will ever be able to climb back on the boat, and get safely back to shore.  Its being told you are not ready to dive that deeper wreck so you dive as much as possible to gain the respect and skills needed to achieve the goal of diving that really dark, dangerous and, deep wreck safely. Its being faced with medical issues as you age and trying to stay in the best health and fitness so that you can continue to dive safely. Its working so hard to get out to dive a particular wreck and then having equipment problems that keeps you topside till another day.   I see these things and more in lots of divers but, we all come back another day and try again.  For me this perseverance has resulted in me diving wrecks I never dreamed possible like the Oil Wreck, Durley Chine, and Virginia.  It has also resulted after all these years in respect among fellow wreck divers which is only something that can be achieved over time.

Down Deep on the way home from the Moonstone Wreck.
Wreck diving can bring grown men to exhaustion..Perseverance

Training and skills are monumental in making a Great Wreck Diver in the North Atlantic.  We all know that wreck diving is not as easy as simply taking a wreck diver course and going out there and diving a wreck.  It involves taking all the required courses with the instructor that is gifted in teaching the skills above and beyond the course curriculum and insuring that you are well versed in those skills.   You will never quite realize how important your instructor or skills are until, you are faced with an underwater emergency and automatically recall the lessons taught that end up saving your life or another divers life.  I also firmly believe that Great Wreck Divers never stop learning or perfecting their equipment or skills.  Wreck divers need to keep up with the modern times and technology, learn from more experienced divers, and learn to accept constructive criticism.  The more often you dive wrecks and utilize your training and skills, the better diver you will become which, will lead to decades of  wreck diving.  Wreck Diving in the North Atlantic has a lot of adversity and you need to be prepared to handle a myriad of conditions that can change in an instant. I also believe that some wreck divers have a natural talent or athleticism at becoming a proficient and graceful wreck diver.

Fun and Excitement is part of being a Great Wreck Diver.  Diving is not a job, it is a leisure activity that is supposed to be FUN and ENJOYABLE for all!  The minute that wreck diving doesn't bring you joy, you should move on to another hobby that will bring you joy.  If you are not having fun you most likely will be stressed and uncomfortable that could lead to a dive accident.  Know when to you are out of your comfort zone and don't be afraid to pass on a dive if you are not comfortable.  The camaraderie on dive boats and the laughter that is ever present is one of the things that has drawn me to come back year after year and dive.  A great relief from your stressful work week is going out and having some good ole fun on a dive boat.  It is at times better than going to a stand up comedy show!!  I also love when a diver finds an artifact or gets a great lobster and everyone supports each other with congratulatory compliments.  What is life and wreck diving without laughter...

Sean the happy diver after diving the Oil Wreck

History...we are fortunate enough to be able to dive on local wrecks that have so much history and mystique about them.  I believe there are as many as 4,000 wrecks off of NJ in which each wreck has its own historical story.  Many Great Wreck Divers are drawn to find new wrecks, artifacts or identify an unknown wreck.  This is where a diver either has a natural attribution to locating wrecks and artifacts and/or they spend lots of their free time researching wrecks.  It takes a passionate and intelligent diver to conduct the research needed to locate a wreck or a specific artifact and then to accurately identify a wreck.  It is often like a huge puzzle or maze in which you have little pieces of history and you keep trying to find that one item or piece of knowledge to put it all together and result in identifying a wreck.  I have been on many trips in which we have searched for wrecks and came up empty.  Its those trips where you do find a new wreck and you are fortunate enough to be one of he first divers down on a wreck that was lost for many years, do you realize how special it is to be a Wreck Diver in the North Atlantic.  There is no feeling greater that being in place that no other person has been before.  To be able to see and touch a wreck that was lost is a privilege that definitely draws me back year after year.  I especially enjoy taking photographs a of wrecks and sharing them with friends and interested parties whom would never have the opportunity to see what I have seen unless I photographed it for them to see.

Varanger- One of my favorite wrecks to dive!

As you see there are so many characteristics that contribute to making Great Wreck Divers of the North Atlantic,, I am so fortunate that I still have such passion to dive wrecks and have not tired of it. I hope that this blog and the inspiration of other wreck divers will inspire more divers to continue to dive wrecks for decades... For me, I will continue to wreck dive as long as my health allows...My Wreck Diving goals may change from year to year which makes it interesting but, most of all I am at peace down there on the bottom the ocean.. Looking forward to lots of wreck diving this year!!

Looking for some wreck related social events to attend this winter...come out to the NJ Maritime Museum on Feb. 27th to hear Bart Malone present " Marine Life found while diving shipwrecks off of New Jersey".  Bart has a few of my marine life photos in his presentation.  See the link to the museum on the side bar of my blog for more information.