“I was up at 4 this morning listening to the NOAA [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration] forecast. We let Mother Nature make the decision for us.” .........Jack Russell quotes
It was October of 1890 and it is said that the collision was avoidable.
It was said that the schooner, the Cornelius Hargraves, didnt have its running lights on. It was said that they had the right of way as a masted schooner under sail. It was said that the Captain of the Hargraves, upon seeing the steamer Vizcaya, ordered hold the course.
It was definite that the steamer Vizcaya, carrying 16 passengers and cargo, did not give way and that the Hargraves rammed her midship, killing the Captain and officers on the bridge. It smashed the lifeboats and breached and flooded the engine rooms and sent her to the bottom in record time. Unable to escape in lifeboats, passengers and crew jumped onto the deck of the Hargraves thinking she was safe, but they were wrong. The Hargraves sunk nearby shortly after.
The Captain of the Hargraves cut loose a lifeboat and abandoned the ship amid all the panic and turmoil, later being called a coward by a crewmember that had survived the wreck by clinging to a gangplank and trying to paddle to shore.
About a dozen shivering and exhausted crew from the Vizcaya survived by clinging to the mast rigging protruding above the water through the night until sighted by a ship the following morning. More had tried to climb to safety but had been knocked from the rigging by the oceans rough swells or fell from the rigging unable to hold on from the numbing cold. A total of 68 lives were lost, including all women and children.
It was said that the day was a blow out. It was said that the seas were too rough. It was said that no one was diving. It was definite that we found ourselves loading onboard the TomKat in the early hours of the morning. (Someone was on time).
That being said.... we headed out, initially for the Mildred but had some trouble tying in to her and headed back in to dive the Vizcaya. Unlike that fateful night in October, the air was warm and the seas slowly laid down to just about flat. A great day for diving.
Remember how the orange didnt work as biodegradable alternative to the Styrofoam cup or bottle? Now I brought a kiwi with me, to test out Big Jims theory. As a matter of fact, a face, with striking a resemblance to him, was painted on this kiwi so we could spot it in the water. I also had a backup pepper just in case.
The Mate, tied into the wreck and the pool was open. The zipper on Jims dry suit came off in his hand so he was relegated to bubble watcher, and Al was going to try his hand at spear fishing. I was dressed, in my gear and had thrown myself into the water before Mark had his mask on! Woo Hoo!! This has never happened before, and it did not happen a second time but I will bask in this little accomplishment for just a moment. OK, I’m done.
We kept glancing at each other as we went down the line. The water was a dark thick green and we could barely keep sight of each other although we were just an arms length apart. There were some jellyfish in the water and they were just about in your face by the time you saw them. This was not good. Then, about 20 feet from the bottom, the water cleared and the wreck came into sight. We were tied into a low lying portion of the wreck near the exposed deck beams and a debris field and had 15-20 foot of visibility and 48 F water temps at 82 feet. We headed out to look around.
Mark found a large encrusted valve but passed on it. Under a broken piece of pipe I found a pair of huge lips and a butt ugly face only a mother could love, an ocean pout. I didnt pass.....I poked it. A little while later I encountered a nice sized flounder but after that there were only juvenile blackfish and sea bass to be seen. We swam out towards the boilers and a little beyond and then my bottom time was ending so up we went.
There were the usual stories ranging from diving to foreign exchange students, plenty of snacks and even a sunbather on the bow. Then it was time to hit the water again.
Again the water was dark and murky on the way down and opened up as we hit the sand. We ran out in another direction looking in and under things. There was plenty of relief to see and nose about but mature fish and other sea life were conspicuously missing. We did see one good sized sea bass in a pipe but even with one of us at each end of the pipe we were unable to reach it or raz it out. And at one point some motion in another pipe was pointed out but after a quick grab it was discovered that it was just some floating sea grass looking conspicuously like antennae . Time was up again and up we went.
Up on deck Al arrived, without his spear. He had inadvertently dropped it on his way up. Luckily the mate, Gary was after him and picked it up on his way up. Al was not able to snag anything in the keeper range but I do believe he had fun trying.
My dry suit leaked profusely in the right boot. A problem since I only got it back from the manufacturer on Thursday. The cold bottom temperatures were still with us and keeping our fishy friends at bay. But the sun was shining, the seas were calm and visibility a solid Jersey 15....... Not a bad day after all.
It was October of 1890 and it is said that the collision was avoidable.
It was said that the schooner, the Cornelius Hargraves, didnt have its running lights on. It was said that they had the right of way as a masted schooner under sail. It was said that the Captain of the Hargraves, upon seeing the steamer Vizcaya, ordered hold the course.
It was definite that the steamer Vizcaya, carrying 16 passengers and cargo, did not give way and that the Hargraves rammed her midship, killing the Captain and officers on the bridge. It smashed the lifeboats and breached and flooded the engine rooms and sent her to the bottom in record time. Unable to escape in lifeboats, passengers and crew jumped onto the deck of the Hargraves thinking she was safe, but they were wrong. The Hargraves sunk nearby shortly after.
The Captain of the Hargraves cut loose a lifeboat and abandoned the ship amid all the panic and turmoil, later being called a coward by a crewmember that had survived the wreck by clinging to a gangplank and trying to paddle to shore.
About a dozen shivering and exhausted crew from the Vizcaya survived by clinging to the mast rigging protruding above the water through the night until sighted by a ship the following morning. More had tried to climb to safety but had been knocked from the rigging by the oceans rough swells or fell from the rigging unable to hold on from the numbing cold. A total of 68 lives were lost, including all women and children.
It was said that the day was a blow out. It was said that the seas were too rough. It was said that no one was diving. It was definite that we found ourselves loading onboard the TomKat in the early hours of the morning. (Someone was on time).
That being said.... we headed out, initially for the Mildred but had some trouble tying in to her and headed back in to dive the Vizcaya. Unlike that fateful night in October, the air was warm and the seas slowly laid down to just about flat. A great day for diving.
Remember how the orange didnt work as biodegradable alternative to the Styrofoam cup or bottle? Now I brought a kiwi with me, to test out Big Jims theory. As a matter of fact, a face, with striking a resemblance to him, was painted on this kiwi so we could spot it in the water. I also had a backup pepper just in case.
The Mate, tied into the wreck and the pool was open. The zipper on Jims dry suit came off in his hand so he was relegated to bubble watcher, and Al was going to try his hand at spear fishing. I was dressed, in my gear and had thrown myself into the water before Mark had his mask on! Woo Hoo!! This has never happened before, and it did not happen a second time but I will bask in this little accomplishment for just a moment. OK, I’m done.
We kept glancing at each other as we went down the line. The water was a dark thick green and we could barely keep sight of each other although we were just an arms length apart. There were some jellyfish in the water and they were just about in your face by the time you saw them. This was not good. Then, about 20 feet from the bottom, the water cleared and the wreck came into sight. We were tied into a low lying portion of the wreck near the exposed deck beams and a debris field and had 15-20 foot of visibility and 48 F water temps at 82 feet. We headed out to look around.
Mark found a large encrusted valve but passed on it. Under a broken piece of pipe I found a pair of huge lips and a butt ugly face only a mother could love, an ocean pout. I didnt pass.....I poked it. A little while later I encountered a nice sized flounder but after that there were only juvenile blackfish and sea bass to be seen. We swam out towards the boilers and a little beyond and then my bottom time was ending so up we went.
There were the usual stories ranging from diving to foreign exchange students, plenty of snacks and even a sunbather on the bow. Then it was time to hit the water again.
Again the water was dark and murky on the way down and opened up as we hit the sand. We ran out in another direction looking in and under things. There was plenty of relief to see and nose about but mature fish and other sea life were conspicuously missing. We did see one good sized sea bass in a pipe but even with one of us at each end of the pipe we were unable to reach it or raz it out. And at one point some motion in another pipe was pointed out but after a quick grab it was discovered that it was just some floating sea grass looking conspicuously like antennae . Time was up again and up we went.
Up on deck Al arrived, without his spear. He had inadvertently dropped it on his way up. Luckily the mate, Gary was after him and picked it up on his way up. Al was not able to snag anything in the keeper range but I do believe he had fun trying.
My dry suit leaked profusely in the right boot. A problem since I only got it back from the manufacturer on Thursday. The cold bottom temperatures were still with us and keeping our fishy friends at bay. But the sun was shining, the seas were calm and visibility a solid Jersey 15....... Not a bad day after all.