I am an avid NJ Wreck Diver and I set up this blog to share my adventures with anyone whom is interested and to hopefully inspire someone else to take up the great sport of scuba diving.
Every Dive is a Gift so enjoy the moment!
The Magnolia is the stern section of the San Saba consisting of the boilers, shaft, and propeller. The San Saba was an iron hulled freighter sunk in October 1918. This wreck is known for artifacts such as .22 caliber bullets, jelly jars, bone toothbrushes, and brass screws. It is also a great wreck for seafood and today there was plenty.
I first dove the San Saba on 7/6/1987 which is almost 29 years ago to the day. It also was my very first wreck dive in NJ. I actually came home with jelly jars on that very first wreck dive and I was hooked on wreck diving ever since. Every summer I take off of work and sneak out to dive on a Friday aboard the Dina Dee and I always enjoy myself. I typically only know one or two of the divers and find its a great opportunity to meet new divers. Today was no exception, I only knew Capt Roger and Trisha and therefore, got to meet some really nice divers.
I was the last diver to splash today and as the wreck came into view I was pleasantly surprised to find 25-30' of visibility. As soon as I was reached the bottom my BC inflator started spewing out a ton of air and I could not fix it so I had to disconnect it. I tried my best to disconnect it by myself but, just could not do it. Thankfully, the mate Dennis was nearby and I was able to have him disconnect it for me. He saved my dive!!! When I returned home it was the inflator post that became unscrewed a bit so it was an easy fix.
I am inside the boiler looking out
Comb Jelly
We were tied into the shaft close to the boilers. I swam towards the boilers and actually swam into one of the them since all of the sea bass were gathering in there to hide from the spear fishermen. There were giant sea anemones inside the boiler and just tons of fish, great for pictures. After quite a spending quite a bit of time there, I swam along the debris field adjacent to the shaft to the end of the wreck. There were plenty of nice black fish and I saw a few flounder too. I was wondering if divers are still finding the jelly jars on the wreck or are those days long gone. If I had not found a jelly jar all those years ago diving the San Saba, I wonder if I would still be diving wrecks. It is what first inspired me to go back out and dive another wreck...
The bottom temperature was 50 degrees and there was a noticeable thermocline to where it warmed to 68 degrees at 20' or so hang. I also saw my first red jellyfish of the year, a sign of warmer waters moving in.
There were quite a few lobsters and sea bass boated and a few flounder too. It is so much better to spend my day out diving than working...I think I will be up for a few more Friday dives this year. Thanks to Capt. Roger, Trisha, Mate Dennis and the best helper Tommy for a fun and safe day!
After a blown out dive to the Resor last week, I was looking forward to getting wet today and the weather forecast was calling for a beautiful day. We headed out of the inlet on the Independence II for the Granite wreck which is known for lobsters. After arriving at the wreck, there was a large fishing boat anchored to the wreck. There was no room for us to squeeze in and share the wreck so we headed over to the Stolt Dagali. I like to dive a variety of wrecks and while I just dove the Stolt a few weeks ago, I was more than happy to dive the wreck again. I honestly just love to dive and generally do not care where we dive as long as the company is fun and I end up in my underwater world.
Once I was on the bottom, there was no way that you could not notice how much life has grown on the wreck in just a few weeks. The wreck was covered with bergols, and the sea anemones have grown to cover more of the wreckage. There were some large black fish hanging on top of the wreck and also some large winter flounder on the bottom. I also noticed a few comb jellies which is a sign of warmer water coming in. The visibility was great again at a steady 30' and the water was a bit warmer, about 50 on the bottom but, a warm 65 on the hang. I did head to the bottom for a few minutes but, for photography, the light was much better at around 60-80' so I hung in this area and shot some photos. I had a nice relaxing dive that lasted about 40 minutes and I called it a day. On the surface there were a lobster or two and some fish speared too along with some mussels harvested.
I tried my hardest to locate some nudibranch's while on my dive but could not find any with my naked eye. However, just like my dive on the Tolten a few weeks ago, I did capture a few in my photos. I am curious as to why they have not moved onto colder waters since the water is warming but, I suspect this was my last chance to photograph them.
Nudibranch to the upper right of the mussel.
Three nudibranchs in the lower right of this photo.
I will be taking the next two weekends off from diving unless I can squeeze in a Friday dive out on the Dina Dee. I plan to dive the Resor on July 9th and then it will be almost time for Deep Week!
Every dive season I always find myself diving the Chilean freighter known as the Tolten. Given its hard sandy bottom it never disappoints in terms of visibility and today would be no exception. This is my second trip out in the North Atlantic this year aboard the Independence II and we were again greeted with flat calm seas. We all joked about how the boat charges extra for the guaranteed flat sea days. Once we were tied to the wreck I splashed right away as today I wanted to do two dives. I could see the wreck coming into view at about 60' and it was nice and bright on the bottom. The wreck seemed to be loaded with sea bass today but, they were skittish for some reason. I do have to say that I saw some very, very large sea bass and there were quite a few speared today. We were tied into the bow and it has been a long time since I dove this portion of the wreck. It is easy to navigate and is great for photography and for spearing fish. Today was one of those days when taking photos came easy, there was plenty of ambient light, the water was clear and the wreck was full of color.
Immature Conger Eel
I saw some immature scallops and took a photo of one, this is always a good sign that scallops will be abundant again someday. I also found an immature conger eel that watched me then came out of his hiding spot and swam right by me allowing for a procession of photos. I swam towards the boilers but did not quite make it there as I was very distracted taking photos. I lasted about 30 minutes on the bottom on my first dive and I became cold, the bottom was much warmer this week at 49-50 degrees and the surface was 56 degrees. During the surface interval the sun was warm which warmed me up for dive #2.
Immature Scallop
On my second dive, I tried to photograph one of the large anchors on the wreck but, my camera is not the best at wide angle.
One of the Tolten's Anchors
The viz today was about 25' which is great in my opinion! I again lasted about 30 minutes and had to surface to warm up. As much as I want a rebreather, I seriously I doubt I can stay down for hours since I just get so cold, but that constant PO2, that is something I still will greatly benefit from.
Once I was home and started editing my photos I noticed within the Hydroids that there was something pink scattered about. As I zoomed in I realized they were Nudibranchs. I have never seen Nudibranchs on any of my dives on wrecks off of NJ. I was so excited!! They appeared in so many of my photos all over the wreck. Had I noticed this on the bottom or during my surface interval, I could have gone back to them and shot a bunch of macro shots of them. At least I got a few good shots! It was my big excitement for the weekend!!! I did a little research on the Nudibranch and their scientific name is Aeolidia papillosa and they are of the species sea slug. Nudibranchs feed on sea anemones which explains why they were so abundant on the sea anemone covered Tolten.
Nudibranchs within the hydroid!
Nudibranch - Aeolidia papillosa
You can see more Nudibranchs within these hydroids too!
I am not sure whom wrote this quote but it was so fitting for this weekends dive. "Keep the explorer in you alive. It will take you to your destination." I believe, that I was destined to be on the Tolten to capture part of the wonderful marine life that exists on the wreck to share with others.
Next weekend is the Resor, another one of my favorite dives. I can never dive the Resor too often!
Everyone whom dives with me knows that I have wanted to cross over to a rebreather for a very long time but, two kids in college has made it cost prohibitive. Over recent years it has become increasingly apparent to me that I personally would benefit greatly from having a constant PO2. Therefore, I am beginning the process of demoing a few rebreather units and then I will decide which unit is best for me. Since I dive predominantly on a rebreather dive boat, I have observed and learned a lot over the years and the Megaladon is definitely well liked and reliable. So, I left the shore on Memorial Day weekend for Dutch Springs, PA to demo a Meg with Leon of ISC and Becky Schott whom is a Meg Instructor. I have to admit I am definitely partial to the Meg and after the rebreather overview discussion and diving the unit it has definitely swayed me. However, everyone has advised to try other units for comparison purposes and so that you are confident on your decision. I will take definitely take this advice as any wise consumer would do and intend to demo the Revo and possibly the JJ-CCR too.
Pre-demo briefing
Today I dove the Meg 15 with Leon Scamahorn and I could not have asked for a better experience. Leon is thorough, patient and takes it very slow. I had some mask fogging issues and then a piece of hair caught in my mask that lead to a steady leak but, Leon stuck with me until I got those minor things sorted. Both Leon and Becky stressed the importance of weighting yourself correctly as to have neutral buoyancy which definitely added to the having a comfortable rebreather experience. It is known that your buoyancy is difficult to maintain when you are a new rebreather diver but, at least today, I did not feel as if I had much of an issue with that. In fact I thought it was easier to maintain buoyancy than on open circuit especially on ascent. Leon encourages you to turn upside down, lay on your back etc., so that you can see with the front bladders you achieve a constant ability to breathe freely. I did not do these things on my dive but, I can now see how that is very important it is not to have your air delivery compromised due to diver positioning. I did feel comfortable in the unit and the ability to easily reach my O2 and diluent. I have always been leary of trusting a computer with my life but the Meg has several "brains" so that if one fails the unit will still function. This is definitely assuring since electronics seem to always fail at one time or another. Both Becky and Leon travel a lot and also dive the units in all types of conditions and depths and for them as well as myself it is very important to have a rebreather that will be reliable.
I am glad that today I spent my time making new friends and enjoying a new experience with other wonderful people. Thanks Becky and Leon for making today another great day for me! I am very grateful for demoing the Meg with both of you, I think I am hooked...
Today was my best 1st dive of any given dive season ever!!! The early spring is noted for rough seas, cold water, and bad visibility. Today we had glass for seas, at least 25' of visibility on the bottom and probably closer to 30' on the top of the wreck, the water was a tad warm for this early at 47 degrees top to bottom, and little or no current. I have never had such awesome conditions this early in the year and I loved it!!
We were originally destined for the Arundo but, afternoon storms and winds predicted lead us to the Stolt. I used to not really enjoy diving the Stolt because I never had decent visibility on her and with the wreck lying on an angle I was always left disoriented and could never easily navigate the wreck. In the past 10 years however, I have had several great dives on the wreck and more or less memorized the layout so that I know where I am in all conditions. For a history on the wreck and a video, see my post from 9-16-12.
Some old Stolt photos from 2012.
Today was everyone's virgin dive for the 2016 season. As we anchored up to the wreck we were accompanied by the Tenacious dive boat. The Stolt is pretty big and can easily accommodate two dive boats. As I was shuffling to the ladder to splash today, I tripped on the rubber mat and fell (I never said I was a graceful diver!!!). On my way down to the deck, my camera hit the rail and the ball joints of the strobes popped out. I should have sat back down and spent the 10-20 minutes it would have taken to fix it but, I figured that it was wishful thinking to have good viz and opted to just leave my camera topside. As soon as I was under I could see pretty far and it was not long and I could see the wreck. I was very upset that I did not have my camera. Not only could I see as far as I wanted to see, there was no green layer blocking the sun so it was bright on the bottom which would simply make the photos that much better. Oh well, I swam the entire wreck, checked out areas that I had not noticed before and marveled at how pretty the wreck looked this year with less mussels on it and more sea anemones, I even saw a lone medium size star fish and some microscopic ones on the wreck which makes me hopeful that they will make a comeback this year.
I did not see a lot of life in terms of fish, scallops or lobsters. I did see lots of bergols pecking at the mussels and swarming around a single mussel hoping for a piece of the meat and I saw a small school of Atlantic Pollock which I do not usually see in the summer. Up on the surface, there was one flounder taken and a few scallops too. All of us were thankful for such a great dive with awesome visibility. If this is a sample of what the year will bring, I will be one happy diver!!!
I think this is Capt. Dan from a few years ago on the Stolt.
This next weekend is the new wreck that the Indy located last year, given the great conditions this weekend I may just head back out again... I have to close with one more sea lion photo, miss the fun of these awesome creatures!
Wow! What and experience, I do not even know how to begin to describe what it feels like to dive with Steller Sea Lions!! It was so thrilling, exciting, intimate, and FUN!!! When I first saw this trip advertised back in January by Becky of Liquid Productions Inc., I immediately felt the desire to go on this once in a lifetime adventure but, responsibilities and other obligations quickly put the idea on the back burner. However, it kept rumbling inside of me and two weeks before the trip was about the embark, I received an influx of funds that enabled me to decide to spend my 50th Birthday Diving with these amazing sea lions!
The journey to get to Quadra Island, British Columbia involved driving, three flights, and a boat ride all while lugging along my dive gear alone.. Once I finally arrive, Becky graciously greeted me and made me feel at home. Diving in the Northwest is all about the tides and making sure you are in the water at slack tide, therefore our first day of diving after my long journey would begin at 7:30 am. I could not sleep due to the time change and arrived at the dive boat on a dreary morning to be simply exhausted. I was trying to remain optimistic and even though it was cold and dreary, my first dive to Steep Wall was spectacular! The colors along the walls were festooning in pinks, purple, yellows and orange. There were so many species of sea stars, sea cucumbers, sea anemones, and small fish. Becky had advised to drop down to about 70-80' along the wall to see these enormous tube worms that were fluffy and colored in vibrant hues of blue and red, they were impressive. This was a drift dive and it was so relaxing, the just the perfect entry to diving this area. Our next dive was on a wreck called the Columbia...
The Columbia sits in about 110' of water and was sunk in 1996 as an artificial reef. Prior to its demise it was a destroyer that served in the Royal Canadian Navy from 1959-1974. The wreck is marked by three buoys which makes for easy and selective access to different parts of the wreck. We decided on the stern section which comes up to about 70'. As I descended, it was cold and dark but the visibility was still at least 30-40'. There was not a lot of growth on the wreck and it was very easy to navigate. I did not travel far when I saw the gun turrets and inside one of the turrets was a Greenling. I also noticed that the wreck was not completely stripped and I could easily see lots of artifacts, including lights. I sure wish I was prepared for artifact recovery. I unfortunately terminated this dive after about 30 minutes due to the cold however, upon ascent along the mooring buoy I could not help to notice the abundance of marine line on the buoy line itself. It was covered in kelp, tube worms, nudibranchs, and sea anemones. I would have loved to spend time with my camera hanging around the mooring buoy line!
Mooring Buoy over the Columbia Wreck
The next day and 3 days after we did two dives a day at Vivian Island and Mitlenatch Island with the Steller Sea Lions. We had plans to dive the Calipano and the Gulf Stream Wrecks but, given the fun we had with the sea lions we all decided to skip the other wrecks and hang with the sea lions. My first time in the water with these amazing animals was on my birthday. I have to admit seeing how large they are and how big their teeth were I was a little anxious about jumping in the water with them. The also make loud barking and burping noises that seems ferocious...The water depths in the areas of the sea lions were about 20-40' so you could spend great amounts of time underwater with them. As I settled on the bottom awaiting for them to come, I couldn't help to notice even here on these rocky islands the underwater world was so colorful and abundant. I would take photos and video waiting for the sea lions to come and play. When they would come into the area, they would come in quick, swim all around you and then leave, a few minutes later, they would come back and get a little closer. They are not shy about coming right up to your face, nibbling on your fins, arms, or head. They are best described as puppy dogs that simply want to swim around, play, and use you as a chew toy. I had quite a hard time trying to shoot video or photos of them since they move so quickly and I also was so preoccupied with just observing them. On our way back to the dock from my birthday dives we ran into a school of Orca Whales and Pacific White-Sided Dolphins. I truly felt blessed to have spent my birthday with Steller Sea Lions, Orcas, Dolphins, and lots of Bald Eagles too. All of my new dive friends were saying that my birthday brought us such good luck and an amazing day! We topped off my birthday with a gourmet meal overlooking one of the quaint harbors of Quadra Island.
Orcas!
It turns out after we saw the Orcas they headed over to the sea lions for a meal. We were afraid that the sea lions would be leary of us and of entering the water the next day but, they were not. It is interesting to see how nature plays out. As the days went on, I felt more and more comfortable with the sea lions and we actually started to name some of the larger ones. I think they became accustomed to us divers too as they were not fearful of us.
I have complied some of my photos into a slide show and while looking at them I realizes that I did not take as many photos as I typically do because I was so enthralled with the sea lions, I just felt like putting the camera down and living in the moment. I was also fortunate to be diving with a group from all over the US and Canada that were all strangers to myself, and each other and yet, we all meshed and had a great time together. In addition to diving together we enjoyed great barbecues and bonfires at night with Leon being the master chef and fire master!
I would have to say that the experience I had diving around Quadra Island with the Stellar Sea Lions is a definite highlight of all my diving experiences and I would highly recommend that all divers try to experience this once in their diving life...I also cannot say enough thanks to Becky Schott for organizing this trip (Becky worked tirelessly to make sure everyone was happy and content) and to Pacific Pro Dive and Marine Adventures for their top notch dive boat and staff. This trip was out of the box for me, as I traveled a great distance alone but, something inside of me guided me to persevere. Always take a risk and follow your dreams, life is meant to be lived!!!
I will eventually share some underwater and above water video, but for now please enjoy the still shots. I am planning on doing my first dive of the 2016 NJ Wreck diving season next week..can't wait!
Lots of people have told me over the years that I am very intuitive, with that in mind, I knew as I dove on the Maurice Tracy back in October that it would be my last dive of 2015. I have been trying to get out each week since then but, I have finally come to the realization that my chances of getting out diving for the remainder of 2015 is decreasing rapidly. Overall I ended up making about 20 dives to wrecks such as the Rockland County, Tolten, Chappara, Cornelius Hargraves, Resor, Immaculata, Texel, Varanger, Miralfores, Max's Wreck, Northwest Barges, Carfloat, Vizcaya, and Maurice Tracy.
I am blessed to have been one of the few people to have visited some truly historic and amazing wrecks this past year. There was a time a number of years ago that I thought I would never have the opportunity to dive wrecks such as the Texel and Miraflores. I owe everyone on board the Independence II on those two dives a lot of gratitude for enabling me to dive wrecks that were at one time an impossible dream. I am so proud of myself for safely diving these wrecks! Both of these wrecks are not visited by divers often and so few have ever been on these wrecks. I will quote Gary Gentile whom told me "Due to the depth and distance from shore, the Texel is not dived very often, so you are lucky to have seen it. The wreck deserves more exploration than it receives." I would really like to dive this wreck again because I was so nervous that I truly did not get to explore much of the wreck. I believe that the lesson to be learned is to never give up on your dreams!! It may take years to get there but, it will happen if you believe in yourself and your capabilities as a diver. I think I am finally confident enough to say that after diving these two wrecks that I am a good solid diver that comes from great teachers and role models over the years.
After a year like 2015, its hard to think of how next year could possibly be any better but, I know it will be. I find so much joy even from the most mundane dive such as the Stolt or Delaware to the intense complicated dives such as the Oil Wreck. I have learned over the years that if you try to fill your days doing the things that give you joy, it will spill over into all areas of your life and bring abundance to all that you touch from your family and friends, to your career.
I intend to put together a slide show of photos from this year over the winter and I also hope to finally share my story of my dive accident that happened 2 years ago. I have had several divers asking me to share the story so that I can perhaps help another diver save their life from the lessons that I have learned as a result of it.
I wish all my dive friends a Merry Christmas!! Also, don't forget to shop and support your local dive shops through the holidays and upcoming 2016 dive season!
I was certified to dive in 1986 at the age of 19. I became a certified NAUI Wreck Diver, Rescue Diver, Deep Diver, Nitrox and eventually completed my Divemaster certification in 1991. I also have acquired my Technical Diver certification in NAUI Advanced Nitrox, Decompression Techniques and Trimix. I love diving on NJ wrecks but also enjoy the occasional carribean dive. Some of my favorite wrecks are the Arundo, Varanger and Moonstone. My favorite place to dive in the carribean is West Caicos. Scuba Diving will always be a major part of my life. When I am out diving I am always the one with a big smile!
