“Animals living in the waters, especially the sea waters . . .are protected from the destruction of their species by man. Their multiplication is so rapid and their means of evading pursuit or traps is so great, that there is no likelihood of his being able to destroy the entire species of any of these animals.”
-- Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, 1809
It was a Friday afternoon, the sun was out, a perfect day to get wet…..and I had dive buddy…..Woo Hoo!! Dr Steve was heading down for his first time diving this area and he also was hoping to get some pictures, so we were going to hit the railroad bridge.
We met at the park and took a look at the water, it was clear and calm, with tons of small clear egg casings floating about, and you could still see the current out in the center and under the bridge. We went back to our cars and geared up.
Down at the water I let the flag out to check the current and it had slowed. We put on our fins and dropped down. The visibility was about 5 foot and the ride under the bridge was quick. We headed for the rocks along the train tracks to see who was out and about. Some conger eels had been spotted resting there previously and I was hoping to see one.
We poked about in the rocks, moving high and low, and peeking in all around. We were rewarded with several butterfly fish of varying sizes and an assortment of the regular tenants. Small bass and blennies abounded along with many crabs and our never ending assortment of starfish. There is some question as to whether we found a small eel in one of the dens or not. The pictures will tell and we will know more later.
After about 20 minutes we headed back, but the current under the bridge was still going strong. I maneuvered the flag around all the pilings and pulled it along, finding a handhold and pulling the flag up to that spot before moving on. This worked well all the way under the bridge and out to the far side….almost. On one of my pulls the slackened rope had caught on something under water and the flag was stuck. Dang!! So close. I tried to free it and got caught in the current and rode it back through the bridge once more , making the mistake of trying to swim for the far shore instead of the bridge side. I didn’t make it and was now at the docks. Steve joined me, he had seen me go by and followed…he will learn.
I hung on to the dock deciding my next move and exchanging pleasantries with a gentleman on his boat in the next slip. This apparently is a common occurrence at these docks and the boaters are quite used to seeing divers in their slips. Steve was in the next slip down with another boater and next I saw him he was up on the dock. So, I guessed we were getting out here. I handed up my gear and the two reached down and pulled me aboard. We put on our tanks and walked back over to the park. Never dull.
We dropped our gear behind our cars and were contemplating going up to the Back Bay for a second dive or even checking the inlet to see if we were off on the tides when the car in the next space pulled out cutting dangerously close to mine. Ut Ohhh. A diver across from us called to me “He hit your gear!” Dang again!!!
And sure enough, upon a quick check, my regulator was in pieces, and the offending car was gone. This was turning into a not fun thing…..
Well, I had 2 choices, head for the shop and see if it could be repaired or put my pony reg on in its place and do a second dive. Hmmmm….what would my Mother say to do? Who cares…I put my pony reg on in its place and we headed back for the water.
As we descended for the bottom, I could still feel the current from the bridge nearby, but we were staying east of the bridge this dive and seeing some other sights. We headed to the far side and the grass, passing over a large winter flounder in the process. Once up in the silt an
d shallows we came across numerous hermit crabs skittering about and several crabs dug into the soft silty sand. There were also the most concentrated amounts of egg casings here and they were driving me crazy. We headed out towards the middle and deeper water.
We were greeted by the continuous bed of mussels and small fish. I pulled out my compass and took a heading…..LOL….we all know that didn’t happen….I used it to smash open a mussel and quietly waited….. They were a bit timid at first, but they soon got over it. Sea bass, stripers, cunners….they all started milling around. The more brazen of the bunch nudging closer, urging me to smash open more. After opening 2 or 3 and setting them down for fishie snacking, I started to hold them out. You could see their little fish brains turning…”ohhh….I want it..should I…no..ohhhh” then you could almost hear them whispering…”you go…
no you go…chicken of the sea…brawwwk braawwwkk….” It didn’t take long and the larger braver fish started darting in and out for a bite. Soon they all joined in and I couldn’t open the mussels fast enough!!
We headed out again, looking about and came across one of the party boats fillet and release projects and I knew it was time to turn around but Steve was on the chase for a picture. We went a little farther and I signaled to turn but when I looked back he was gone. I surfaced and looked for his bubbles. I knew the boats were in for the day, the last of them, the Queen Mary, coming in just before our dive, but I w
as being cautious. Steve soon surfaced with a big grin,
he had gotten some great pictures of a large pink rimmed jellyfish before turning back.
Heading back towards the bulkhead I again swam over a large winter flounder and as I hovered over him I swear he tried to blink. There was this “Oh Sh** she sees” me look on his face and he tried to stare me down. I poked him and off he went. You know I didn’t go the whole day without poking anything…come on.
As we hit the slope towards the wall we came across some small sea robbins darting about and several of those doubled up crabs carrying each other about. Then, inside of an abandoned piece of tubing we saw an odd little fish…he looked like a sea robbin with a little dangly growth on his head like an angler fish. I looked it up and think it is a feather blenny, Steve got several pictures and he thinks he may have seen it before and I believe he thought the same. We headed back up. We had just about sucked our tanks dry and it was not a bad day.... minus an incident in the parking lot which I now had to take care of.
We said our good byes and I headed for the shop, hoping they were still open. They were, and after having to explain twice why pieces were coming out of my regulator in his hand, I was assured it was repairable and given a loaner til the parts come in…. Thank you Pro Divers. Now it was a good day of diving.
We met at the park and took a look at the water, it was clear and calm, with tons of small clear egg casings floating about, and you could still see the current out in the center and under the bridge. We went back to our cars and geared up.
Down at the water I let the flag out to check the current and it had slowed. We put on our fins and dropped down. The visibility was about 5 foot and the ride under the bridge was quick. We headed for the rocks along the train tracks to see who was out and about. Some conger eels had been spotted resting there previously and I was hoping to see one.
We poked about in the rocks, moving high and low, and peeking in all around. We were rewarded with several butterfly fish of varying sizes and an assortment of the regular tenants. Small bass and blennies abounded along with many crabs and our never ending assortment of starfish. There is some question as to whether we found a small eel in one of the dens or not. The pictures will tell and we will know more later.
After about 20 minutes we headed back, but the current under the bridge was still going strong. I maneuvered the flag around all the pilings and pulled it along, finding a handhold and pulling the flag up to that spot before moving on. This worked well all the way under the bridge and out to the far side….almost. On one of my pulls the slackened rope had caught on something under water and the flag was stuck. Dang!! So close. I tried to free it and got caught in the current and rode it back through the bridge once more , making the mistake of trying to swim for the far shore instead of the bridge side. I didn’t make it and was now at the docks. Steve joined me, he had seen me go by and followed…he will learn.
I hung on to the dock deciding my next move and exchanging pleasantries with a gentleman on his boat in the next slip. This apparently is a common occurrence at these docks and the boaters are quite used to seeing divers in their slips. Steve was in the next slip down with another boater and next I saw him he was up on the dock. So, I guessed we were getting out here. I handed up my gear and the two reached down and pulled me aboard. We put on our tanks and walked back over to the park. Never dull.
We dropped our gear behind our cars and were contemplating going up to the Back Bay for a second dive or even checking the inlet to see if we were off on the tides when the car in the next space pulled out cutting dangerously close to mine. Ut Ohhh. A diver across from us called to me “He hit your gear!” Dang again!!!
And sure enough, upon a quick check, my regulator was in pieces, and the offending car was gone. This was turning into a not fun thing…..
Well, I had 2 choices, head for the shop and see if it could be repaired or put my pony reg on in its place and do a second dive. Hmmmm….what would my Mother say to do? Who cares…I put my pony reg on in its place and we headed back for the water.
As we descended for the bottom, I could still feel the current from the bridge nearby, but we were staying east of the bridge this dive and seeing some other sights. We headed to the far side and the grass, passing over a large winter flounder in the process. Once up in the silt an
d shallows we came across numerous hermit crabs skittering about and several crabs dug into the soft silty sand. There were also the most concentrated amounts of egg casings here and they were driving me crazy. We headed out towards the middle and deeper water.We were greeted by the continuous bed of mussels and small fish. I pulled out my compass and took a heading…..LOL….we all know that didn’t happen….I used it to smash open a mussel and quietly waited….. They were a bit timid at first, but they soon got over it. Sea bass, stripers, cunners….they all started milling around. The more brazen of the bunch nudging closer, urging me to smash open more. After opening 2 or 3 and setting them down for fishie snacking, I started to hold them out. You could see their little fish brains turning…”ohhh….I want it..should I…no..ohhhh” then you could almost hear them whispering…”you go…
no you go…chicken of the sea…brawwwk braawwwkk….” It didn’t take long and the larger braver fish started darting in and out for a bite. Soon they all joined in and I couldn’t open the mussels fast enough!!We headed out again, looking about and came across one of the party boats fillet and release projects and I knew it was time to turn around but Steve was on the chase for a picture. We went a little farther and I signaled to turn but when I looked back he was gone. I surfaced and looked for his bubbles. I knew the boats were in for the day, the last of them, the Queen Mary, coming in just before our dive, but I w
as being cautious. Steve soon surfaced with a big grin,he had gotten some great pictures of a large pink rimmed jellyfish before turning back.
Heading back towards the bulkhead I again swam over a large winter flounder and as I hovered over him I swear he tried to blink. There was this “Oh Sh** she sees” me look on his face and he tried to stare me down. I poked him and off he went. You know I didn’t go the whole day without poking anything…come on.
As we hit the slope towards the wall we came across some small sea robbins darting about and several of those doubled up crabs carrying each other about. Then, inside of an abandoned piece of tubing we saw an odd little fish…he looked like a sea robbin with a little dangly growth on his head like an angler fish. I looked it up and think it is a feather blenny, Steve got several pictures and he thinks he may have seen it before and I believe he thought the same. We headed back up. We had just about sucked our tanks dry and it was not a bad day.... minus an incident in the parking lot which I now had to take care of.
We said our good byes and I headed for the shop, hoping they were still open. They were, and after having to explain twice why pieces were coming out of my regulator in his hand, I was assured it was repairable and given a loaner til the parts come in…. Thank you Pro Divers. Now it was a good day of diving.