1st Dive of my 25th Year as a Diver- "The Arundo"

After diving so many wrecks over the past 25 years, I still get quite nervous in the days leading up to my 1st dive of the season.  I guess in a way it is a good thing, because it makes me think through my dive and all the what- ifs and also to take a good look at my equipment and modify things that did not work well the year before.  This year is no different as I sat at my sons' baseball game on Saturday, I was thinking through my dive plan.  I had planned to splash earlier in the season on some shallower dives to work out the kinks but, the weather did not cooperate with my plans.  So here we are, my 1st dive of the year to the Arundo.  Last year I had a fantastic dive on this wreck and I was confident that today would be another great dive to this historic wreck.  I planned to buddy up with Susan Martini  and Aaron Snow and also planned to do a nice and easy short dive, no camera, just go down breath, look at some fish and come back safe.

Well, as we broke the inlet it was not the 2'-3' seas as predicted in the weather forecast, it was rough and we were taking large waves over the bow.  Captain Dan was determined to make it to the Arundo so we continued on and it actually got calmer as we were further offshore.  Captain Dan made a good call because once we were anchored up it was not bad at all.  Reports of the first few divers in said the vis was decent so I was excited for my dive.  I splashed ahead of Sue and Aaron and took it nice an slow going down.  It got pretty cold once I was below 50' and my darn drysuit was leaking in my back zipper and also in my boots...this is not good.  I quickly remembered the end of last season that I determined it is time for a new drysuit, well I am shopping for one now, for sure.  Once I was on the bottom I couldn't believe how good the vis was (20' or better) and what great ambient light there was for this early in the year.  This put me at ease and I actually did not travel too far from the anchor line, sticking to my plan to just check out my equipment, breathe and look at the fish.  However, there were little or no fish, I saw one large taugue and that was it.  I did not recognize where we were on the wreck, it appears we were at the extreme end of the wreck and there was large links of chain so I assume it was the bow but, I am not sure.  There were lots of pieces that rose quite high off the bottom and also some piping that looked like a prop-shaft so, maybe we were in the stern, I don't know it remains is a mystery to me.  My dive buddies went out into the sand to gather scallops and I chose to hang out in my peaceful environment.  I didn't last long, after about 15 minutes in 43 degree water, I was freezing and wet so up I went.  My hang was uneventful but it was warm, 54 degrees.  Others reported large dogfish swimming all around them but, I did not see any.

As I surfaced Brandon, crew member extraordinaire, was there too take my bag and swing bottle as I climbed the ladder with ease.  I became really cold on the surface and was soaked, I opted to skip the second dive.  This is a habit on mine in the early season, do just one dive.  However, I really do regret not going back in today because it is not often that you have good conditions on this wreck since it is in the mudhole.

The boat was packed full today and most of the divers came back with bags full of scallops and some of Anthony's students came back with some bottles.  This wreck was carrying 5,000 cases of beer bottles so there are lots of  bottles to be found and it is a great momento from your dive.   This was a truly great day to be out diving.  Here is a great video that Brandon McWilliams shot which shows the beautiful conditions we had out there:
Video of the Arundo 5/22/11 by Brandon McWilliams

I must, at this point talk about the Independence II, their Captain's, and crew.  I have been diving on this boat over the years and there have been numerous improvements made each year and I think now, they nearly have it perfect!  The carolina line system is the best I've ever used and all boats should incorporate a set up like theirs.  It sure beats swimming on the surface to the anchor line in rough seas, to be able to jump in and have the line right next to your entry bringing you down 25' is wonderful.  It also makes for a very pleasant decompression hang.  There is always someone on this boat to help you suit up or get out of the water plus they keep very consistent and accurate track of everyone's run-time, time in and out and they check to make sure no one has exceeded their due back time.  Its one thing to keep track of everyone's run-times which lots of boats do but, it is even more important that you follow each divers schedule so that if someone is over due even by a minute or two you are ready to jump in and check on the delayed diver.  This can help to save lives!!  I also like the safety sausage requirement where as everyone must have one and send it up only if you need help, they will then send a diver in for assistance.  This boat is very roomy and clean, even the bathroom is clean which is hard to find out there on dive boats.  Thanks to everyone that worked this trip today with such professionalism,  Sean and Sue Martini, Brandon McWilliams (aka Purple, Pink and Lime Green dude), Aaron Snow (professional Rain-ex window cleaner), Capt. Bill Trent and of course Capt. Dan Bartone.  Looking forward to many trips out this year on the Independence II.

I still cannot believe all the diving that I have done over the past 25 years and quite often wonder why I continue to dive year after year.  I think the excitement that leads up to the dive and the curiosity of what I will find or see on each dive drives me to continue. Its also the people that I have met along the way that inevitably end up enriching my life which continues each year. I need intellectual stimulation in my life and I find that divers are typically on the same intellectual wavelength as I.  I usually learn a lot of interesting things from simple conversing amoung divers.  I hope that all of my instructors over the years realize that what they have taught me is carried through each and every dive and I will always be grateful for the things they have taught me and also their inspiration.  I have lost touch with most of my instructors over the years but, perhaps they will find this blog and be proud of my accomplishments that began with them.

I have so much planned for this special year, a week of North Carolina wreck diving, diving wrecks in the St. Lawrence seaway, and also being able to spend time photographing my favorite local wrecks off of NJ such as the Northern Pacific, Varanger, Cayru, Max's Wreck, Tolten, Maurice Tracey, S-5 and many more to be added.  Sooo, Let's go Wreck Diving 2011!!

Be Safe and Happy!

Happy Dive Birthday to Me!!!

Today is my birthday and I was excited to get a pair of Diving Concepts dive mitts as a gift from the kids. They are the old fashioned 3 finger lobster claw type that I swear is the only thing that keeps my hands marginally warm. I have been looking for a new pair of these for a few years and they found them!!! This gift is motivating me to get ready to do some diving in the near future. This is going to be a great year in terms of diving for me and I can't wait for that first dive!

Cool Change

This is a little off topic but, definitely related to my wreck diving adventures. I work a second job in the winter as a corporate tax accountant which involves long tedious hours and is mentally exhaustive. I do it because it provides funds for my diving adventures throughout the year. Well today, when I was so worn out and questioning why I keep this tiring job, the song Cool Change came on the radio. It immediately reminded me why I am working so hard...to be able to spend more time diving under the sea. This song gave me the strength to get through another tough day at work and dream of dive adventures to come. The words to this song are very meaningful to me and it also happens to be one of those songs that is often in my mind during a dive. I don't think it was a coincidence that this song came on the radio when I needed to hear it.

While we all share diving together, when you are underwater you are truly alone with nothing but your thoughts and breathing..it brings me such peace. I know when I go diving for the first time this year I'll be humming this song and thinking, I'm glad I worked all those hours so I can be here right now, enjoying another amazing NJ Wreck Dive!

Diving Social Events and More Old Dive Logs

It was a busy weekend in terms of socializing with other divers. I attended Women of Northeast Wreck Diving presented by Steve and Maureen Langevan at the NJ Maritime Museum on Friday night. They presented their documentary about the women wreck divers such as Evelyn Dudas, Sally Wharman, Janet Kieser and Deb Whitcraft whom paved the way so to speak for other women divers. I think the fact that sticks in my mind the most is that Evelyn Dudas dove the Andrea Doria with no pressure gauge. I cannot even fathom that.. There was a common thread among theses women divers in which they were all inspired to get involved with diving because of a special man in in their lives. Yet it is the "men" that created so many obstacles for these women. I could totally relate to that because there are special people whom inspired me to continue to dive all these years and yet they also have compromised my diving at times. The presentation was well done and had a great sense of humor about it. It was a nice night out and I finally got Bill to the museum to see our artifacts on display. We have a light and porthole from the Sea Girt Wreck, swing plate from the Brian C and china from the SS Mohawk on display. I am working on getting some more artifacts and photos to the museum, I'd rather have them there for many to enjoy than sitting in my garage or attic.




I also attended Ocean Wreck Divers Flea Market on Sunday in an attempt to sell some of our older gear. We sold a UK light but then ended up spending more money than we made. We got two small up-line spools and another pair of mitts. It was more of an excuse to get out and see some dive friends in the middle of the winter. Helen Bilinski and I were noticing that the crowd did not consist of divers from the younger generation which is bothersome. Who will the next wreck diving adventurists be, if we don't get younger divers involved in diving? I think its is mostly a result of the economy coupled with the inflated prices of dive gear. It seems to be much more expensive to start out diving than it did when I was a teenager. Which is exactly why I expected to see younger divers at the flea market trying to get a bargain. I hope this industry re-cooperates and the days of boats full of divers returns!

I decided to add a few more dive logs for fun:

First Lady (Horizon Dive Boat) 7/1/90
Depth 100', 23 minutes of Bottom time
"In-tack clamer, artificial reef, tons of mussels and large black fish, real nice wreck"

San Jose (Horizon Dive Boat) 7/1/90
Depth 112', 32 minutes of Bottom time
"wreck was in a circular shape, good visibility and lots of bugs"
I don't know what I was looking at back then to think it is was circular???

A.C.Wescott Barge-Artificial Reef (Horizon Dive Boat) 7/22/90
Depth 71', 29 minutes of Bottom time
"Square barge, sea squirts an anemones. I got my first bug in a tire (6lbs). Good photography wreck."
My dive buddy was Dave Keller (Killer) and he helped me to get this large lobster. I know there is a picture out there somewhere of "Dave and I" holding the lobster together. I sure would love to have a copy, if anyone comes across it. I remember this day fondly because Dave was and still is such a nice guy and he wasted his dive helping me tackle this lobster. I was proud of myself for getting that bug...I am not talented at harvesting lobsters and that was my largest one.




SS Mohawk (Sea Lion) 9/18/90
Depth 79', 39 minutes of Bottom time
"I circled around the entire wreck and then dug for china. I got pieces of china, a leather shoe sole, pieces of a toilet. I couldn't find the anchor so I did my Deep Diver objective: ascent using my spool tied off to the bottom. It wasn't difficult but the seas were calm and there was no current." On my second dive to this wreck I found a piece of a serving dish, piece of china with a flag on it (there was a "C" inside the flag), and pieces of crystal. During this dive I ended up going into decompression and ended up hanging extra long because I was cold.

Arundo (Sea Lion) 7/10/91
Depth 130', Bottom time-20 minutes, 22 minute safety stop
"Lots of flounder and poison fish on the wreck and portholes. I got my first case of nitrogen narcosis and felt like I was going to pass out and go to sleep. It occurred half way through the dive".
2nd dive on Arundo:
Bottom time 20 minutes
"I went inside a large piece of wreckage and found 2 portholes near the anchor line. Bill didn't have enough time to get all the bolts off, it'll wait till we return another day".

Sea Hag (Robin dive boat) 7/14/91
Depth 90', Bottom time-27 minutes, 15 minute safety stop
30-40' visibility
"Great visibility, we were in the bow where a room caved in. Lots of beautiful sea anemones, fish and mussels. easy wreck to navigate and I liked it a lot".

Resor (Robin dive boat) 8/11/91
Depth 130', Bottom time-22 minutes, 30' visibility
Dive buddy: Barb Mortenson
"Hooked into stern where there was plenty of places to penetrate the wreck. There were 3 backing plates near the big entrance"
2nd Dive: "My buddy Barb got stuck in a lobster hole and thank God I was swimming by. I saved her life, it took a lot to get her out of the hole and it put me over my time limit and into a long decompression. We also had to pull the anchor...The hang was hard and I was very low on air".

I still think of this dive a lot and I am so thankful that I swam by and noticed that Barb needed help. If I was not there and alert, Barb would not be here today. I was forever shaken up by this dive and I hope that someone would do the same for me if I needed help. We never really expressed fully to other divers exactly what happened because both of us were so scared, instead we joked about it but, in reality, it was very serious. Barb has not been diving in recent years but, we keep in touch and we both know I was her guardian angel that day. This event also changed the way I dove, I realized that I must be self sufficient because I may not be so lucky to have someone swim by and help me out if I was in trouble. I became very aware of staying away from areas that I could get hung up on and made sure I was proficient in using my equipment to save myself if need be. It gives me chills to think about this day especially knowing it could have turned out very differently. We were very, very fortunate..

Since my last post I made the decision to go to the Cook Islands with Pangaea Explorations.
Link: Pangaea Explorations
It was a huge decision for me but, you only live once, and I really wanted to go dive, photograph and experience the pristine reefs of the South Pacific. Yesterday, they contacted me and advised that they were changing up the itinary and were only going to the island of Rarotonga and will not be visiting the other 7 islands as they originally planned. I was crushed to say the least and decided to pass on the trip. They did extend the invitation for me to participate in the portion of the expedition which covers the northern Cook Islands to Christmas Island near Hawaii. I am still contemplating this but, the timing is an issue with my schedule. A diver that inspires my diving advised me a few months ago to go and dive the world. I thought this was my chance...I guess the universe has different plans for me.

The Long Winter

Well its been a while since I wrote about diving and this has been and continues to be a long snowy winter. I actually like the snow and all the fun that it brings like snow shoeing, hiking, skiing, snowmobiling but, this year I've only had the opportunity to snowshoe and hike. I am trying to getaway at least once to ski but so far time has been an issue. A long weekend in Vermont is calling my name..I'll make it happen somehow!

I have been busy planing for the upcoming dive season. Like I said at the end of 2010, so many opportunities are knocking at my door and they just keep on coming. I was wondering why all of sudden these dive opportunities have arrived? Is it because I love to dive so much that I spread this aurora out to the universe and these opportunities find me, is it because I'm at that stage in my life that I have more time to devote to diving and realize what a gift it is to be able to dive, or is it because I've inspired others to learn to dive and this is my gift in return? I don't know but, it certainly makes it hard to pick and choose.

I am very interested in going on the Cook Island expedition with Liquid Productions LLC, given my marine science back round, my love of diving, and photography, this trip would be a dream come true. I of course feel guilty at the thought of going on such an extravagant trip without the kids so, I have been paralyzed on whether or not I should bite the bullet and just go. All of my friends are telling me to go and I really, really want to go but...I have that guilt especially when college tuition is right around the corner for the kids and it would also damper my chance to upgrade to a rebreather. I need to decide soon so stay tuned..

http://www.liquidproductionsllc.com/index.php/home/1-latest/49-the-ultimate-south-pacific-adventure

I have already booked some dives on the Independence II out of Cape May to the N. Pacific and the S-5 and hopefully this year the weather will be more cooperative. I am also on a few of their dives out of Manasquan Inlet to the Tolten, Maurice Tracey, and Resor. I have two separate invites for diving wrecks out of Hatteras, NC and I was personally looking into chartering a boat myself in June. I need to figure out what to do with NC and finalize it. Last year the weather did not allow me to dive when I was in NC so I am determined to go on at least one trip. Lastly, I am taking Trimix and I am trying to plan a trip to the St. Lawrence River to do the dives. Of course in between all of these trips I will continue to dive NJ wrecks such as the Varanger, Arundo, Cayru, Montgomery, Champion, Offshore Paddlewheeler, India Arrow, and many more wrecks or snags that are seldom visited. I know all to well that there will be those secret epic dives that come about so I am envious to see where they will lead me.

This winter I have been volunteering at the NJ Maritime Museum with my son, Matthew and have really enjoyed my time there. It gives me the chance to learn more about so many wrecks and to find new ones to dive. Plus Matt and I have met so many interesting people there that inspire both of us. This museum is a true reflection of Deb Whitcraft's time and dedication to maritime history and is also a reflection of what a remarkable person she is. I only wish I had more time to volunteer!

http://www.museumofnjmh.com/

I have to admit that it is kind of hard to think of diving when there is snow on the ground but, if I don't plan in advance what I intend to dive it won't happen. What can I say, I lead a very busy and exciting life! In fact, as I write this blog, I should be doing my Financial Management homework for Grad school but, I needed a break from number crunching and my thoughts always lead to diving. I have scanned in some old photos and I'll continue to post old photos over the next few months!


American Conger Eel (Conger oceania)


Planehead Filefish (Stephanlepis hispidus)


Me in my old Parkway Drysuit and Dacor Gauge (this gauge worked up until last year, about 21 years, I got my money's worth!)


Brian C


Pink Hearted Hydroid (Tubulaia spp.)


Northern Stony Coral (Astrangia danae)
This coral can survive in low light conditions and temperatures of the N. Atlantic unlike most other corals. It is a filter feeder similar to sea anemones. This photos is with the polyps extended.


Frilled Anemone (Metridium senile)



The Dive Boat in Guanja Honduras, 1993


Trumpetfish (Aulostomus maculatas)
These cute guys often swim vertically to blend in with the coral.





A really healthy reef in Guanja, Honduras 1993


Sea Urchins (Echinoidea) amongst the Staghorn Coral (Acropora cervicornis)

I thought I'd post some old dive trip reports, check it out in the previous post. Be Safe!

Old Dive Logs

I thought it would be fun to look at how I described some of my earlier dives in terms of what I saw, diving techniques, what boats etc. Some of the wrecks are now called different names and I'll try to determine what their recent names if I can. It is apparent in looking back that I dove a lot (2-3 times a week) and slowly progressed to more difficult dives, nothing was rushed. Good lesson to learn. I also dove very conservatively. I am thankful now that I have these dive logs even though I felt it was mundane to fill them out back then, hence why some logs do not have much detail. My memory is not what it was and without these logs, the memories of these dives would be gone.

San Saba (Good Times dive boat via Triton Divers) 7/6/87
This was my first NJ wreck dive!!!
Conditions: VERY cold, calm, good dive, Depth 75 feet
23 minutes bottom time, dive 1 and 20 minutes bottom time,
dive 2
"retrieved artifacts!! Buttons and Jelly Jars"
"extremely cold"

Stern of Gulftrade (Goodtimes dive boat via Triton Divers) 5/30/88
Objective: To get lobsters
First dive in my new Fathom Wetsuit
Conditions: Poor Visibility, Depth 88 feet
25 Minutes bottom time
"lots of mussels, good sightseeing & photography wreck"
"new wetsuit was incredibly warm, good investment"

San Diego (Wahoo with Capt. Steve Bielenda out of Long Island) 7/22/89
Depth 110 feet
"Intact turtled wreck, penetrated wreck, good visibility, Great Dive!"
2nd dive: "1st Decompression dive, long 25 minute hang"

Aqua-artificial reef 8/15/89
Depth 80 feet
Bottom time 25 minutes, 10' visibility
"Wreck was intact, 2 ladders opening to the engine room blown out, Good Dive"

Duane, Islamorada, Florida (Lady Cyana Divers) 4/2/90
Depth 95'
Bottom time 22 minutes, Bottom temp. 75 degrees
"New wreck, not much marine life, intact, water temp was wonderful, lots of barracuda"
I went to the Keys to dive wrecks by myself, pretty courageous for a young 24 year old I might say.

Tolten (Robin II) 8/15/90
Depth 95', Bottom time 34 minutes, 30' visibility
"Great visibility, huge wreck, BEST DIVE EVER, definitely go back, lots of small lobsters, tried for 2 but missed them"

Farrel (Sea Lion dive boat with George Hoffman) 9/15/90
Objective: To complete one of my wreck diving objectives for my Wreck Diver class
Conditions: 10' visibility, Depth 50'
"Intact tug, penetrated tug using buddy at the entrance with a light technique. This wreck is the sister tug of the Patrice McAllister"
I believe they now call this the William Farrel.

Cry Baby Clammer (either Horizon or Bob Meimbrese's dive boat) 9/90
Deep Dive Objective
27 Minutes bottom time. Depth 68 feet
"Did a 25 minute free hang at 15'. I saw a brass window but a beam was behind it preventing it from being freed. Lots of Mussels, I dove this wreck the previous year as a second dive to the Jacob Jones."

Sea Girt (Bob Meimbrese's boat out of Brigantine) 9/20/90
70' deep; 45 minute bottom time dive 1 and 30 minute bottom time dive 2
20' visibility
"Intact clammer that sank, Bill tried to get a porthole on dive 1 but failed, he got brass horns and a box. Lots of cables to get hung up on, lots of fish and portholes!" "Got swing plate, light and small bell. Sent up my own lift bag with light and bell" "All together everyone got 7 portholes, 2 swing plates, red lantern, compass and box, cage light, bell; some portholes were small and cute."

 This was a day I will never forget, it was shared with Bob Meimbrese, Bill Dixon, Tina Held, and Dave Keller. In another post, I will someday tell the 20 year twist of fate story about this dive, all I can say is diving really connects people together for life.



Varanger (28 mile wreck) 7/7/91 (Down Deep dive boat)
145' deep, Bottom time 21 minutes, bottom temp. 60 degrees, 40-50' visibility
"My first real deep dive and I found no effects of nitrogen narcosis. This wreck is huge with lots of sea anemones and marine life. Wreck stood up so high it looks like a building"
This is a dive I have never forgotten and every time I dive it I think the same thing, what a massive wreck. This is a wreck that has grown to be one of my favorites. I should try and figure out exactly how many times I have dove this wreck over the years, I know it is a lot and its always an adventure.

End of 2010 Dive Season

Me on the Moonstone this year!

On Sunday, Nov. 28th I planned to do one more peaceful NJ dive before the long winter sets in. I awoke to a 26 degree clear morning and realized it was going to be a cold one! So, I figured it would be better to wait until the sun is up and let it warm up a little before heading out. We went out under breathless seas, so calm... but, it was still very cold (low 40's). The surface water temp was 44 degrees with almost no surface vis. Lots of particulate matter was floating in the water column. At this point I was freezing, I really feel the cold these days. Therefore, there was no way I could get in the water. So when there is no diving what else do you do? Go Striper fishing! I did not catch any fish but, got to watch an amazing show put on by two very large gray seals. They swam around the boat checking us out and played together as if they were wrestling each other. I tried so hard to get a good photo of them but every time I clicked the camera, under they went. So in the end, I did get a last peaceful day out in the ocean, it wasn't diving but, it was still invaluable time spent out on the Atlantic Ocean with marine life.

Two seals in the distance

As another NJ Wreck diving season comes to a close, I am feeling sad that there will be no diving for the long winter. This season was a tough one between constant blown-out dives and when the dives did go, that ever persistent green water with 0 visibility greatly hampered my joy of taking photographs. All in all, I still managed to complete 28 dives to wrecks such as the Varanger, Arundo, Southern Lilian, Max's Wreck (Montgomery), Yellow Flag, Moonstone, Offshore Paddlewheeler, 9 Minute Barge, Dry Dock, Conway, Pinta, Wellington, John Marvin, Patrice McAllister, San Jose, Double East and the Gloria. Some of the epic dives to the Cayru, Northern Pacific, Durley Chine and Oil Wreck were blown out repeated times and the Varanger, well I was blown out 6 times to it but did manage to dive it once this year. I consider myself fortunate to have been able to safely complete so many dives this year!

Just as this year's season was winding down, I was invited to dive on some new dive boats and also some new opportunities in the diving community are opening up for me. I was recently asked to model for a photographer on some NJ wrecks which I am really excited about. I do not have a lot of photos of me diving and always relish at the opportunity to be in some photos or video. It seems I am always the one taking the photos and not the model. I hope things work out and I get some awesome pictures of me on a wreck!

Over the winter I will post some more old photos similar to last year, it brings me a lot of pride looking over the older photos and remembering all that I have accomplished. I think I may also post some old trip reports from the pre-computer era. I am also going to spend time trying out some rebreathers. I've narrowed my choices down to the Meg and Kiss. I am still saving my pennies for a rebreather and since I have such a hard time getting air fills, it seems it will be worth the investment for my kind of diving. There were definitely some missed opportunities resulting in not being able to get fills in time this season. I also will be purchasing a new drysuit. Its time for my Bare drysuit to go to neopreme heaven.

In looking ahead, the 2011 dive season will be my 25th year as a diver! I cannot believe that I have been diving for 25 years!!! I can still remember becoming a certified PADI diver at Diver's Way in Long Island. I did my checkout dives in the Long Island Sound along the north fork in a town called Greenport. I had to lug all my gear down this huge hill, the current was ripping, the water was cold, and you couldn't see a thing. I completed 6 dives in these conditions over a few days and perform drills like buddy breathing, ditch n dong your equipment, remove your mask and put it back on etc. I still don't know why I actually stuck it out but, I did. I guess after this season not much has changed in all these years, the water is still cold, the vis is low, and sometimes the current is ripping. After I became certified I spent 6 months in St. Croix, USVI at college and dove almost every day...I was living the easy leisurely diver lifestyle and enjoyed a lot of 151 Cruzan rum too! It wasn't until July of 1987 that I actually dove on my first NJ wreck, the San Saba, I got jelly jars and buttons on my first dive. It was such a thrill to find artifacts on my first NJ wreck dive. I was hooked and the rest is history!

I have met so many inspiring divers over the years and also lost a few too. I have to tell you that it is not always so easy to keep up with the macho men that find their way onto the many dive boats. Sometimes I have been knocked down pretty hard by the most unsuspected divers and dive leaders. I am a sensitive person but, I somehow gather up the strength to continue on and keep on diving. Many people tell me that I am sooo strong, well, that's just on the outside. Those trips that I was not permitted on because I was a girl, only prepared me for greater dive adventures that eventually came my way. Who knows, maybe being excluded from a dive boat or dive trip was to keep me away from certain people or activities that could have resulted in compromising my safety as a diver. Things in life happen for a reason. In fact, I started this blog as a way to help myself get through some painful events that happened in my diving circle. I thought maybe I could inspire others to dive like so many divers have inspired me over the years and it would help me to heal and move on. I do truly believe that this blog has opened up my diving world and has enabled opportunities that may have never existed for me. I am grateful to all those divers and dive boats that have helped me to achieve my dreams and goals through diving. I am also grateful to those whom knocked me down and forced me to change my course because I would not be where I am today if it was not for them. I hope someday I will be remembered for my small contributions to wreck diving in NJ.

To celebrate 25 years of safe wreck diving I will be looking into diving wrecks in North Carolina for a week in June, so if anyone else wants to go let me know and we can get a small group together. I also hope to dive all of my favorite wrecks in NJ and to spend time out on the Atlantus, Independence and Gypsy Blood dive boats and some private boats too. This will also be a special year because my daughter will be learning to dive...I can't wait to take her on her first wreck dive! Hmmm what wreck will make an impact on her so great that she too wants to dive for a long time to come?

The sun sets on the 2010 season

Keep warm this winter and if your diving throughout the winter, you are more courageous than I. If your bored during the winter, come visit my blog once in a while, I'll try to post some things to keep you entertained.. I am anticipating that my 25th year of diving will be my best year yet!!

Pinta 11/7/10

I was out to dinner celebrating a friend's birthday when I received the call from Mark Hennessey that the dive was a go today. The forecast was for 4'-7' swell and a 25-30 knot NW wind, I said are you sure?? Captain Nick of the Ol' Salty confirmed that we were heading out so, I headed home to load up my dive gear. I have been invited several times over the summer to go out on the Ol' Salty with my friends Mark Hennessey and Jenn Washko so, I was determined to at least go out once this year with them.

I arrived at the dock at 6:15 am and there was no wind (yeah!!), I loaded the spacious boat and off we went. The cabin was so toasty warm and we had only a few divers today so there was tons of room to spread out. Besides Mark and Jenn, there was Alan, Tim Callahan, and Dave Matthews diving today. The seas were not calm but, it was mostly swell so we stuck it out and went to the Pinta. I have never dove the Pinta and knew it was a good wreck to take photos so I was excited. I always like going to a wreck I've never been on.

The Pinta was a Dutch freighter carrying teak lumber. It was sunk in a collision with a British Freighter on May 8, 1963. Today the wreck sits in 90' of water, is mostly intact although, Dave Matthews was saying that parts are collapsing and its tall masts extend out into the sand. It is known for abundant marine life and lots of fish.

Once Dave tied us in, the pool open bell rang and it was time to go in. I will not kid you, it was rough and Jenn and I were contemplating waiting for Dave to come up to get a report on bottom conditions. Dave took his time on the bottom so we took that as a signal that the conditions were ok, so we suited up. Mark and Jenn went in ahead of me and I lagged a little behind. I was having the usually nervousness of how I was going to get back on the boat in rough seas plus for some reason I was definitely feeling a little seasick. The ladder was a small one so I felt I could conquer it. The last two times I went diving my Diverite regulator was free-flowing so I had Bill switch it out for his new Apex to solve the problem. WRONG!!! I jumped in and that regulator started free-flowing. I struggled to get down below the surface to about 20' so that I could try and stop the free-flow but nothing worked. I hit the purge button, swished it around in the water, turned the knob and switch, but still full force flowing. I went back up and climbed on the boat. It continued to free-flow until we shut the air off. Just those few minutes exhausted me. I thought of switching regulators again and going back in but, I was just too tired and also feeling even more seasick. I was done :( On rough days, I get so beat up and the energy it takes me to climb on the boat is overwhelming (those double steel 100's weigh a ton!). I really wanted to go back in and dive but, I was way too tired. I also have not felt seasick in years, I hope this isn't something new...

Jenn, Mark, and Tim completed their dives and had about 10' of vis and said they were amazed at the tons of black fish on the wreck. There was a stiff current on the bottom and there was also a little surge. All in all they said the dive was good but, no one saw any lobsters. I was now feeling let down and should have pushed through my issues and dove. Oh well, maybe next time. The seas were building and since everyone did a longer first dive, we decided to head in. I have to say that with such a nice heated cabin, and the water so warm (55 degrees on the bottom), it actually was not that bad out there. It was just that swell, if it had been a little bit calmer, it would have been a perfect day to be out diving.

Today I kept my promise to go out on a dive boat with Mark and Jenn, they dove and I went for a roller coaster ride. We had some good conversation on the way home about cave diving and women diving with old school NJ wreck divers. Back at the dock Mark was trying to get me to come out again with them this year, I said, only if it is calm.. Once I was as home I looked at the regulator and the purge button was jammed. I should have fixed it and gone back in...Some days, you are meant to be a bubble watcher! However, as I write this I am feeling a little sick, perhaps that is why I felt so weak and seasick. The last few dives have been awful for me, I am going to try and get out and have at least one more decent dive before hanging it up for the winter so stay tuned!!!

Varanger 10-23-10

As I awoke to the alarm at 5:00am, I contemplated staying home because I had a mentally exhausting week and did not know if I should go out diving. BUT....it was the Varanger, one of the greatest wrecks to dive, and fall/winter is knocking at our door. So, I dragged myself out of bed and headed for the Atlantus Dive boat. The drive to the boat was so cool because it was a full moon and the light glistened off the Mullica River in the most mysterious way that it made you thankful for getting up and being able to see it. When I arrived at the boat the moon was just above the Borgota and I took some pictures of it.


The date is incorrect on this photo it should be 10/23/10

The forecast was for 3-6' seas and it was supposed to lay down as the day went on so we all decided to run for the Varanger and if the conditions worsened we'd hit the San Jose. We had 7 divers today including Steph McAllister, John Thomas, Jim, Jason, Ken, Bill and I. Most of the divers on board have never dove the Varanger so, they were very excited. On the way out Steph gave me some camera pointers since he tests Sea Life cameras and it was most helpful to me. I couldn't wait to get in and take some photos. The seas started to grow and about midway to the wreck Captain Andrew came down to insure that we all felt ok with diving in these conditions. It was rough but nothing we all couldn't handle so we pressed on.

After we arrived at the wreck we threw in the shot line and John Thomas and Ken were going to go down and tie us into the wreck. As soon as they splashed we noticed there was a current. They managed to get down, tie us in, and pool was open. I was splashing next and got held up because Bill's dry suit inflator valve got stuck and wouldn't stop inflating. Capt. Andrew worked on the inflate valve and got it to work better and we decided to head in. The seas were picking up as well as the wind so I decided I was only doing 1 long dive. Capt. Andrew also suggested that I take my tanks off in the water so that I don't get hurt on the ladder. I told him that is what I will plan on doing. After the week I had, I wanted to air on the side of caution. I splashed and immediately noticed the intense current because I had to really struggle to right myself and at the same time my regulator was massively free flowing. I quickly grabbed the granny line and went to pull my self to the anchor line and couldn't make any headway and I took 2 very large waves and I realize this was not safe for me. I am not strong enough mentally or physically to do this. So I aborted. It took all my strength to hold onto the line with one hand, this current was the most intense I've ever been in, and with the other hand take off my tanks and attach it to a line. During this the waves were a good 4-5' and were crashing into me, I'm sure you get the picture. All I knew is if I let go of the line to the boat I'd be out to sea. I managed to get everything off and then I had my tanks in one hand the the line to the boat in the other and was paralyzed, how do I tie off the tanks without letting go of the boat. In comes help, Bill whom never got in the water jumped in and grabbed my tanks and swam them to a line and I got safely on the boat. Even with no tanks I had a tough time getting up that ladder.

The next divers, Jim and Jason were getting ready to splash but after seeing my struggle they were having second thoughts. They nonetheless decided to go for it. Jason jumped in and the same thing happened to him, the current beat him and in no time he was back on the boat. He however noticed that the granny line was now wrapped around the shaft and prop. Jim never made it in the water. Now up comes John Thomas who was very exhausted and said he had to fight the current the whole way down and it was still present on the bottom. He said the vis was good but the current prevented him from making much headway. He also said the hang was unbearable, a two handed hang. I knew after hearing this that I did the wise thing by aborting, I would not have been able to deal with those conditions today. Maybe on another day I could handle it when I am stronger but, not today. Ken came up a while later and he really enjoyed the wreck.

Ken was gracious enough to go under the boat in these rough conditions and cut the granny line from the prop shaft and prop. Now who was going to go in and pop the anchor. Well Steph wanted to but, he got a stomach bug and was spending much of the trip in the head. I advised him that it was not a good idea because he was probably dehydrated and he also was weak. No one else felt it was safe to send another diver in to get the grapnel so we decided to cut the anchor and come back in a week or two and retrieve it. At this point there were some solid 6 footers and it was the wise thing to do plus there were little signs along the way saying not to put anyone else in the water. We all should have known that the current would be ripping with the full moon. If it was just the seas we had to deal with everything would be fine but the combination of the seas and the current is what made it for a miserable day for diving. On this day I got to swim for a short while on top of the Varanger but, no diving :(

Once we were all safe back at the dock, I realized one of the reasons I like diving so much is the adventure. When you leave in the morning you never know what unpredictable adventure lies ahead. However, this day...I should have stayed in bed! We will be heading back out to retrieve the grapnel in the next week or so, and I'll hopefully get to dive then. Always be safe!!

Arundo 10-17-10

As I left my house this morning I looked up into the sky to see so many stars and then, I saw a shooting star! This would be good luck!!! I have not been in the water for 3 weeks because I kept on getting blown out. I knew the wind was going to blow again today but I had faith that we'd get out somewhere. As I was loading the boat Capt. Jim of the Gypsy Blood said "oh know, I saw you were on the list of divers and I hope you don't bring us bad luck since you's been blown out so much!!" Well, we got out and went to the Arundo. This was my best two dives of the year!! Thanks Capt. Jim for not canceling!!!

We were diving with Diversion group today and we had 13 divers aboard. Our leader, Helen Bilinski was not well today and was forced to stay home but she did send her peorogies and salsa dip and chips for us all to enjoy. She was with us in spirit and I hope she gets well soon!

The Arundo is a freighter that was sunk via torpedo in April 1942. She was carrying supplies for the troops in N. Africa. The supplies included Canadian beer bottles, jeeps and 10 wheeled army trucks.

Bart tied us into the wreck after a choppy ride out and the pool was open. Once I splashed, the vis was not very good, lots of particulate matter in the water, but once you got down about 50' it cleared right up and we had an easy 30'-40' of vis. I left my camera on board by mistake, I forgot to grab it when I jumped in and boy was I sorry that I forgot it. We were hooked in the stern right next to the propeller's and rudder gear mechanism. I swam quite a distance away from the anchor to an area with a tall stack and lots of ribbing. It was so cool to see this with such great visibility. I followed along part of the hull with lots of windows and came to an opening and underneath the sheeting was big truck tires. If I had my camera this would have been a great shot. The wreck was loaded with large sea bass and black fish. This dive was so great that I didn't want to leave but all great dives come to an end and up I went. The bottom temp. was 58 degrees and the surface temp was 61, I was nice and warm!.

During the surface there was lots of scallop shucking, there were a ton of scallops brought up. The seagulls were dive bombing the boat to get the scallop guts, it was quite the show. Also, Shawn the mate said he saw a black tipped shark during his dive, he said it was about 5' long. I was definitely bringing my camera in for the second dive in case I see the shark.

During my second dive, the vis seemed to open up even more. I could see the bottom from pretty far up the anchor line. This was my first dive with my new camera so I spent a long time trying to figure out all the menu's and which option was best for the conditions that I had. As a result, I didn't take too many pictures and also didn't travel too far. Bill took off with the scooter and I went in the opposite direction of my first dive. I came to some large pipe like openings that you could swim into and tried to photograph it. They didn't come out too well. I then came upon a toad fish and he was my model for quite a while. 30 minutes went by in a blink and it was time to head for the surface. Bill and Shelly saw two sunfish on the bottom of the wreck. They were not large ones but they were all the way down on the bottom at 120'. Pretty cool, I wish I saw them. I never saw the shark and neither did anyone else.


My Friend the Toad Fish









I think that shooting star this morning definitely brought me good luck and thank god my blow out streak has been broken! Its not often that you have such great conditions on the Arundo since it is in the mud hole. I'll be back out diving next weekend!! Look for me then...

John Marvin, Gloria, & Patrice McAlister

Today we went to the John Marvin, Gloria & Patrice McAllister and had 0 visibility at all 3 wrecks. The water is back to that pea soup color and you can not see a thing. I have been diving long enough to know that when the vis is that bad its not worth the risk and you are better off just going back to the boat. Very frustrating day..not much to say other than I thought diving is supposed to be fun. Today it was hard work with no reward. I didn't even get to use my new camera. I'm slowly losing faith...I am diving the Varanger on Saturday and then an epic secret wreck on Tuesday (this was blown out last week and has been rescheduled). This is usually the best time of the year to dive, I'm just not having much good luck these days :)

Varanger Finally!! wait, no Southern Lilian 9-12-10

After being blown out of 2 Varanger trips and an Arundo trip in the past few weeks, I finally got out today and we were planning on diving the Varanger. However, due to a weather system coming towards us and vis reports from the prior day, we took a vote and opted for the Southern Lilian which is also an awesome wreck. First off, I had a real busy Saturday and didn't get much sleep so as soon as I loaded the boat, I plugged into my ipod and went to sleep for 2 hour trip to the Southern Lilian. When I awoke I felt much better and was happy to see the sea conditions were calm and it wasn't raining yet.

We had a great bunch of divers today, Geoff Graham, John Priestly, Dave Oldman, Rich Venuti, Bill & I, Capt. Brian and Shaner the mate. Once we hooked the wreck, Geoff went in to tie in the anchor. I was being optimistic and I was planning on taking my camera because this wreck always has great vis due to the solid sandy bottom. Once I jumped in my Diverite regulator would not stop free flowing..this reg has given me more trouble...anyways I was doing everything I could think of to get it to stop and Geoff was hanging on the anchor line and and was probably laughing at me fight with my reg... Finally my reg slowed to a trickle of bubbles and I headed down. When I got closer to Geoff he signaled me that the vis sucked down below. I was so bummed on the rest of my decent. At about 70' the vis shut down and I did the usual for this summer, I hit the wreck. Dark and 0-5' vis. This season has been the worst for visibility conditions offshore. I know this wreck pretty well but, I could not figure out where I was. I saw large sheets of metal laying flat on the wreck and I remembered seeing this on other dives but I simply could not see enough to figure out where I was. Therefore, my dive was real short. As I ascended I saw Rich Venuti doing his hang and looking up at him in the great surface vis with the boat shadow behind him, I went to take a picture of him. Before I even turned my camera on I noticed it was flooded. I was looking at the camera and saw no cracks in it but it was definitely filled with water. Now I am thinking what a dive...70' vis on the surface to 5' vis in a matter of feet and now a flooded camera. This is definitely not a good day. One thing that was cool on my ascent was when you crossed from the brown muddy water into the blue water if was like a literal line and it looked so strange and awesome at the same time.

Once up on the surface, I could see no reason that my camera flooded. However, the buttons have been hard to press lately so Dave O. said maybe it flooded through one of the buttons. I guess I'll be on the phone to Sea Life this morning. During the surface interval there was lots of rebreather talk and we are getting closer and closer to taking class and making a major purchase. Capt. Brian is hoping to make the switch soon too. We debated whether or not we were going to move to the Boiler Wreck or stay put and we decided to stay where we were since the Atlantus was on the Flour Wreck and Pauline Marie yesterday and they too had 5' of vis.

On my second dive we were deploying the wreck reel and taking a tour for lobsters. It wasn't long before I saw Bill passing me a lobster or so I thought that was what he was doing. He was basically handing it to me but, he didn't want to give it to me he wanted me to bag it. Anyways in our mis-communication the lobster got away. I took a lot of abuse for this on the surface and as Geoff and Dave said.."It was my fault, its always my fault" "Husbands are never do any wrong". They were of course kidding around. Bill did eventually get another lobster and found another one with eggs. This dive didn't last long for me because my trustworthy drysuit flooded and I had to head for the surface. All in all my dives were terrible but I'd rather be out diving a terrible dive than sitting at home. On the drive home we listened to great stories of diving the St. Lawrence River and Lake Erie. Looks like Geoff is going to set up a trip for all of us to go on to the St. Lawrence next fall. I'm definitely up for it!

This was my 5th attempt to dive the Varanger this season and maybe the vis would have been better there but maybe not, I guess I'll never know. I had a fun day with some nice people! I am actually going to dive the Varanger again in two weeks with Steph McAllister and his friends if weather permits. I also have one more trip to the Arundo in October and I hope that one goes. I have a few more exciting dives coming up on the Independence and also will be trying to get out once a week on my own boat now that the kids are in school. Sooo...if the weather cooperates, there is still plenty of diving for me this Fall. All we need now is for this mucky vis to go away. I almost forgot, the bottom water temp was 54 degrees and the surface was 70 degrees, at least we were warm!! Safe diving!

Max's Wreck/Montgomery 8-20-10

Leaving Atlantic City




I knew today was going to be bittersweet when I ran into our old dive friend, Paxton Holden as we were loading the boat.



Paxton Holden getting ready for a day of fishing




Last summer we ran into Paxton prior to diving the Southern Lilian and he brought us good luck as we captured 9 lobsters that day (see August 2009, Southern Lilian post). Today Paxton was wearing an Atlantic Divers Nova Scotia Expedition T-shirt and it immediately brought back good memories of that trip we shared with Paxton and many other great divers. In fact, this is the time of year that they usually head up to Nova Scotia and it left me yearning to go. Paxton told us a story of spearing 13 huge flounder on the San Diego many years ago and he told us he misses the heck out of diving. He was heading out fishing and I said if he's here when we return I'll give him a lobster. Just like last year, my heart was so sad to leave him behind and my whole ride out I thought of all the trips we shared and wishing I could go back and dive Nova Scotia one more time. Someday I hope!!!

Today it was just Capt. Brain Larsen, myself, and Bill aboard the Atlantus and we were destined for Galimore's Cayru, lets just say $#@$ happens and we ended up at Max's Wreck and/or the Montgomery. This wreck sank in 1877 and it is a wooden steamer. When we arrived, there was a fishing boat on it but he didn't mind us anchoring up as long has he could still fish, we all agreed and the anchor was dropped. Bill and I went in first to tie in the anchor. I was praying that the vis would finally open up offshore and we were blessed. At about 116' I could see the wreck, I could see a good 30'. This wreck is extremely silty so you more or less needed to stay off of the bottom or you'd created massive silt clouds. We were anchored in the extreme bow near the chains. There were scallops and large lobsters everywhere. So, naturally, I got to work taking some photos while Bill speared fish, captured lobsters and scallops. After a while, I stopped taking photos so that I could collect scallops too. The past few dives with Bill as my buddy have not been as fun as they could be, there have been communication issues under water. This is common among husband and wife divers and has been an issue in the past. Anyways, today we decided that we would each do our "own thing" and see each other on the hang. Boy did that make a huge difference, I had no worries except for myself and as a result, I really enjoyed my dive and he did too. During this dive, I didn't explore too far, I was trying to get acclimated to the layout of the wreck. The maximum depth during this dive was 147', a bit shallower than I remember this wreck being. It was very cold, 45 degrees on the bottom and it was a struggle to make 20 minutes on the bottom. The hang was a comfy 77 degrees and seemed to last forever. Once we were back on the boat it was Capt. Brian's turn to dive. It was hot out there today so I spent sometime swimming, Capt. Brian had seen a turtle while we were diving and I was hoping he'd show back up for a photo shoot. Capt. Brian got a bunch of scallops, lobsters and thoroughly enjoyed his dive so we were staying for another dive.

Capt. Brian and his scallops



On my second dive I swam towards the stern and saw a large stack sticking up about 20' from the main wreckage and eventually saw the engines, prop shaft, and propeller. You could even see the remnants of coal from the engines. I tried to take some photos of the wreckage and Bill collected some more lobsters and scallops. I saw two eel pouts sitting in a hole of the wood wreck and I took their picture and they didn't even move when the flashes went off. I also saw some cloth or burlap that was wrapped and tied around part of the wreck and I was wondering why it was tied in that way, I took a picture of it...it was almost as if the burlap was tying two pieces of wood together on the ship...kind of strange I thought. At the end of this dive we had a total of 4 nice lobsters and a bunch of scallops, sea bass, and ling. I guess our old friend Paxton brought us good luck again! Oh yeah...one of the fisherman caught Bill, their lore and weight was being jigged right into Bill's mask on the bottom and finally hooked his glove. It was hysterical to watch Bill trying to figure out what was hitting him in the face. I had seen the lore earlier in my dive so I knew exactly what it was. He was actually lucky the weight didn't break his mask.. They were fishing the whole wreck and they manage to catch a diver..what are the odds!





Burlap or cloth tied on wreck


Eel Pouts

We arrived back in Atlantic City quite late and our friend Paxton was gone, I would really have enjoyed sharing our lobsters with him. Maybe next time. I don't like to think about my diving days being cut short for illness or old age but it is inevitable and Paxton reminds me of this fact. I recently read somewhere that a woman dove the Andrea Doria at 65 years old...it just amazed me. It made me think, maybe I too still have time to dive the Andrea Doria, go back to Nova Scotia, and dive other wrecks that I aspire to dive.

The things that made today so nice was that the seas were calm, we all took our time diving and fishing during the day and the wreck was awesome. I wish every day diving was like this one!

Next Saturday Bill is mating on the Independence and I was invited to dive the Varanger. I am having trouble getting a babysitter, I hope it works out and I am able to go because I love that wreck too.. So many dives, so little time!

Yellow Flag 8-7-10

Cool Jellyfish!







This week started out great with two nice dives on the Moonstone on Monday, and then it went downhill from there. I was blown out of the India Arrow on Wednesday which is a dive I was looking forward to doing all year. With 5'-8' seas it wasn't mean to be. I was really disappointed so, I contemplated diving the S-5 on Friday as a substitute but, for various reasons and my own indecisiveness I did not go. Those that did dive the S-5 said conditions were excellent and they all had a great dive. I was so upset that I gave up a perfectly good opportunity that I contacted Capt. Roger of the Dina Dee and got on their dive today along with South Jersey Dive Club. We were destined for the Magnolia or Chappara but, there were boats already on those wrecks so, we went to the Yellow Flag. I never dove this wreck and it is some sort of schooner that sits in 76' of water.











It has been a long time since I've been on the Dina Dee and it was nice to see Capt. George and First Mate Chris. I ended up meeting a lot of very nice people from South Jersey Dive Club and enjoyed their company.









After Chris tied in the hook, I splashed into horrible murky water that quickly opened up to an easy 30'-40' of vis on the bottom. It was however, cold, 47 degrees on the bottom and 58 degrees on my hang. I managed to stick it out for about 30 minutes before I was cold enough to head back up to the boat. I took a lot of photos since the vis was so good and spent a lot of time chasing the red jellies and taking their pictures. This wreck is pretty scattered and has lots of cross beams for fish and lobster to hide. Chris the mate was spearing fish and at one point he spooked a winter flounder that nearly hit me. Once he settled to the bottom, stunned, I tried to take a picture of it but it got up and took off for the sand. There were 10 divers today and this wreck is not so big so, I swam out to several pieces out in the sand to get away from the "crowd'. There were lots of fish on the out pieces that perhaps were scared off the main wreckage by other divers. I really enjoyed my dive and was glad I came.

Once back on the boat there were several lobsters and a few sea bass speared, including Tricia's barnacled lobster that looked prehistoric. There were some divers in which this was their first ocean dive, it was great to see how much they enjoyed it and they were so enthusiastic, its been a while since I've seen that. It made me feel great to be there and be a part of it.

On my second dive, I swam out to one of the distant pieces of the wreck and took a lot of photos. I took so many photos that my scan disk was full and I couldn't take anymore. I then just spent my time exploring this wreck. Its amazing how you can easily map a wreck in your mind when the vis is so good. I ended up with about 25 minutes for this dive and it was time to head up. At the end of the trip Capt. George was having Tricia and a some others draw out the wreck so that they would remember the layout of it for future dives. Not a bad idea...


Mr. Crabbie






We were back at the dock by noon. Fate brought me to the Yellow Flag and it ended up being an amazing day and I'm glad I decided to go. Thanks to the Dina Dee for a great day of diving!