Opening day on the Stingray or the saga of Dylan and Ed?
I love being back in NJ. 8AM boat call 20 minutes away, could have been warmer, but I wont complain.
It was “cool” this morning but still warmer than the weather forecast had promised. 46F at 7 AM, a spritz or two and not a drop more, we were going diving!! I pulled up to Belmar Marina and grabbed my gear and headed for the Stingray. This was not the sight I wanted to see, the engine compartment open and three men holding 4 parts and scratching their heads.
My apologies and compliments gentlemen, we were a bit late getting out but she ran like a champ, you did it.
We were in high spirits, heading for the Rockland County Tugboat, built in 1960 it was the first pusher-type tugboat ( or "towboat" ) in the northeast. A towboat differs from the more common type of tugboat in having a flat bottom and a square bow with large vertical frames. Instead of pulling its barges behind it, a towboat pushes the barges ahead. Usually, many barges are lashed together into a large raft ( ironically called a "tow" ) which is pushed and steered as a unit.
The remains of the Rockland County, 105 X 24 ft, lie upright on a muddy bottom in 80 feet of water. On April 1, 2007 it was in 80 feet of cold water.
This was to be my maiden dive in my new dry suit. Of course still using the bungee wings of death and my brandy new, weight harness and jet fins. A lot of new gear to manage you say? Pshaw!! Tons of new gear to manage, oodles even. TheRookman was to be my wingman (pun intended) was he up to the task? Lets see.
As we approached the wreck Ernie was to set the hook while the gang geared up. My apologies to the names I have forgotten, but this gang included Nick and Ann, Frank (Darth Lobster) , Kevin, Jim, Ernie and myself . The bottle came up and Ernie came up and in they went. Ernie and I had a little issue to deal with first. He was wet up to the shoulder due to several tears in his glove. We wrung him out and dried his unmentionables over the heater in the cabin.
The “boys” came back up with bags of mussels, one of the tiniest cutest little lobsters you ever did see and big smiles. The lobster went over the side and the musseIs and smiles stayed. It was dark at the surface but it had opened up to 30 ft viz and low 40’s water temps below. Not a bad opening dive.
Now it was our turn. Into my gear, with a little help from my friends, aaaaannnndddd couldn’t get off the bench, was I bungeed in still? No, just couldn’t get up. Some days it is just tuff , some days you just dont have the ease of motion due to the thickness of your undergarments (BTW I would highly recommend the Fourth Element Artic Wear), and some days it is both.
Up I go, over to the side, hold the mask, hold the reg, and ROLL!! This works very well if you have burped your suit before you roll into the water otherwise you blow up like the Michellin Tire Man. When you dont. Do that...... Your feet go up, you tuck and roll and you pop up to the surface......head first? No...... Feet first? No...... Butt first? I’m not telling.
Lift your arm, empty your suit, lift the inflator, empty the wing, down you go, in theory.... unless you are light and need a few more pounds of lead, but after that it works, kinda.
We go down the line but I am still feeling “light” and the whole dive have buoyancy problems and keep trying to float away.
There was not a great deal of marine life around, lots of starfish, a small crab or two under the stern and....one..... Gi-normous.....bigger than a breadbox..... bigger than Lobzilla.......no questions about it being a keeper...... Lobster. Chase, grab, smack with your wreck reel, fight for your life and watch where you put your fingers, smack once more with your wreck reel and stuff it in your goodybag... Kind of lobster. This dive wasnt all bad. First dive of the season and I had Dennis one of those $3000.00 lobsters he talks about. Life is good.
I learned several things that dive and made mental notes as to some adjustments I wanted to make and then it happened, feet went up, didnt tuck and roll quick enough and my foot came completely out of the boot and was in the leg of the suit and now finning with one foot in the boot and fin and one foot out, kind of a one legged, lopsided kick dragging one fin behind me. That was it, time to go up. Gave Ernie the thumb up and we headed for the line......... Where I learned why you dont want to ascend up the line feet first. And not having control of both fins I was not making good progress righting myself. Thanks to my good dive buddy who hopefully was not laughing the entire time I was righted and hit the surface right end first.
I was able to use the rung of the ladder to push my foot back in the boot and start to climb, until Gi-normo lobster grabs my leg. Many thanks to the strong hands that hauled me up and over. And I was greeted by the sounds and smells of burgers and sausage on the grill. Cant beat a Jersey dive.
After removing my gear I introduced everyone to my trophy quality lobster whom I promptly named Dylan. After insuring he was indeed a Dylan and not a Donna, I rewarded him with some of my string cheese which he promptly latched onto and would not let go.
I think it was Darthlobster that pointed out string cheese was not good for him. As in it would shorten his life span not good for him? Helloooo, its not like he is making it past Tuesday anyway...let him live a little.
And now, dive two. 6 more lbs, some discussion as to the thickness of my gloves and another helping hand and I am in the water. Flawlessly and down the line we go.. Although I was overly cautious after the first dive, we had a great second dive, a little hip heavy on the buoyancy but not a single foot or fin emergency.
We toured the length of the tug and back, taking some time to swim through the upper portion of the structure and check back under the bow And stern for some of Dylans friends. Up the line and onto the boat. Well everyone but me, the 30# in my harness was killing me. Thanks again to a little help from my friends pulled up and over by my D rings. Works every time.
But what is this? Here comes Nick...bowed at the knees from the weight he is carrying. What is that? I know I am not good with Fish ID but is that what I think it is? A whale shark? A whaleshark promptly named....Clyde? Everytime it opens its mouth I can see these teeth, they look like the special effects from Jaws. Nick has a vice like grip on him and several times has to wrestle it to the ground and subdue him to keep the rest of us from harm. With one snap of its jaws this monster can devour the measly barely legal lobster I have from dive two. Nick... You are da man!!!
But Cheryl.....2 lobsters (#2 named Ed as is Therm-ED-dor , I am sure the story of his capture included a man eating octopus and a tattoo of a giant squid) . Not too shabby. Dennis will be pleased.
Like the surface interval, the ride home was pleasant and filled with lively conversations and stories and we were towing 3 full bags of mussels behind us. We arrived back at the dock at about 5PM and headed on home.
54 minutes on the dives, 39 degrees water tiemps @ 77 FT. If you want your own stories to tell I think the Stingray is going out to the Mohawk on Saturday, you never know. But I definitely think it is time to get diving again and this was not a bad start.
Thats my story and I’m sticking to it.
Love
Cheryl