“Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one.” dr suess
Princesses are a flexible group. And today we needed all sorts of “flexibility”. First off, let me say that our dive sherpas, (yes, due to an incident involving both a backplate and a wing ..... the dive slaves were elevated to sherpas) were the best. And I thank everyone for their patience.
There were a few missing faces for the much anticipated Princess Dive and I attribute that to the fog and thunder that highlighted much of the area during the early morning hours. We were 9 divers strong with myself, Sunny, Clare, Cindy and our dive cohorts Bill, Sean, Frank, Mark (not that Mark, another one) and Mike. And our fearless captain and crew of the Stingray rounding out our ensemble. We headed out at a leisurely hour (don’t laugh guys), with some fog and the cutest little ripples in the otherwise flat waters of the Atlantic.
Our destination was the Mohawk, a 387 X54 ft ocean liner, sunk in a collision with the Norwegian freighter Talisman. 44 passengers and crew perished and the captain, unable to beach the ship stood on the bridge and went down with the ship. In 80 fsw and a bottom temperature of 52F, this wreck would offer a little bit of something for everyone.
We enjoyed the ride out lounging about in our Princess tiaras and chatting. The air was thick with humidity and temperatures already in the 80’s. Suiting up early was just not an option.
On arrival Jim tied us in and we were free to dive. Sunny was at the rail, gave a big smile, waved and rolled in aaaaaaaaaaand promptly climbed the ladder back into the boat. Yes she had a leak .... A good sized tear actually and was soaked. She considered going wet for about 3 seconds (ok maybe less) and called it a day. She would spend the rest of the trip enjoying the onboard activities and back at home add dry suit repair to her growing arsenal of dive related skills.
As usual, I was just about the last to splash in and down I went. Visibility on the line was not encouraging but at the bottom there was a hazy 10 foot. We were tied in to a large high piece of the wreck, with scattered debris laying about. My last trip to the Mohawk, we were on low lying walls and rubble piles, and I did not get to see this part of the wreck .
Everyone’s wreck reel lines were already tied in and extending out into the sand, but since this section was new to me I started to nose about. The wreckage extended about 20 feet upwards and was covered in an assortment of sponges, hydroids and anemones just gently fluttering and waving in the mild current. What was also noticeable was the more mature fish that were about (read some nice sized ones for a change) and they must have heard about me because they did not stand still to be poked. In the center of the structure was a large swim through and on the sand in there were two abandoned traps. I swam in to check them out and the lids were removed and the contents an assortment of empty shells and seaweed and algae. I took a large clam shell and put it in my pocket for a souvenir. Continuing on I came across Clare intently photographing some of the locals. I watched for a few minutes but she was so engrossed I didn’t want to interrupt her so I went on my way.
I was beginning to feel the water in my boots I was dreading. The right one was definitely slowly leaking and I did my best to ignore it.
While I had my reel with me there was such a maze of string already laid that I decided to follow one of these out and began swimming and looking about. I eventually ran into Bill who was winding his reel back in and so I turned and followed him back. Back at the tie in Cindy posed wearing her Princess tiara and I snapped a picture and then continued on my way.
There were several large plates in the sand and I occupied myself looking about and under them for a crustacean thingy to bring home. I didn’t find anything of interest and I had a definite slosh going in my right boot so I decided to head up and find myself some duct tape before dive #2.
When I arrived on deck there was only one other diver still in the water and Jim lit the grill while we waited for him to come up.
As we were looking out over the water we spotted the days special guests, a pair of mahi mahi. They are such beautiful fish, as they glided around the boat their fins had a neon blue coloring framing the rainbow of beautiful colors that make up their body. Captain Henrik grabbed his fishing pole and cast out to give his luck a try. In no time he had one hooked and we all stood at the rail watching the fish swim out and back and jumping from the water as he reeled him in. After some time he was at the stern and the plan was to net him, take a picture and toss him back but he had other plans and in one grand effort, the fish breached the water and spit out the hook and swam out. Truly amazing. The pair stayed with us all through the surface interval, the bright colors of their bodies moving up and down in the water.
Speaking of the SI.... We feasted on Chicken, sausage and kielbasa kabobs, watermelon and, of course, Jims signature burgers. Life is good.
As the divers suited up and started dropping back in for the second dive the weather quickly became suspect. By the time the 4th diver was in the water the skies had darkened and with diver #6 we heard the thunder in the distance. I looked at Clare and she at me and we both said “One and run works for me” Our dive gear was quickly stowed and we went to get a drink.
As we waited for the divers to surface the weather quickly turned and with the last diver onboard the hook was pulled and we headed in. Unfortunately, the mate Jim, unknowingly, dropped his ScubaPro spear gun on the way up the line. If anyone should find it (black old school style with a brass clip on the butt) he is offering a reward for its return. But on the bright side this dive produced several lobster, a blackfish and one beauty of a flounder.
While the Princesses (Frank is one of us now) sat in the cabin having a well earned cocktail, the gear was stowed and tied down. We were in for a bit of a wet trip in..... But on a brighter note our gear would rinsed!
Lets just say that we had an assortment of sipping drinks for the ride in. And with the addition of some music we toasted and sang the ride home.
As we passed the bridge the rain let up and the sun came out and we loaded up our cars and headed on home. There is talk of another dive at Dutch next month...... I saved some tiaras and tickle sticks just in case.