I'm horrified of lobsters. And shrimp and lobsters are the cockroaches of the ocean. ~ Brooke Burke
The Yo-153 is a 156 X 30 foot tanker sitting upright in 80 fsw off the coast of Long Beach Island. This WW II refueling tanker was the 134th vessel sank as part of the artificial reef program and renamed the Helis, which is French for propeller, after an adult beluga whale with a propeller shaped scar that wandered into the Delaware River for several days before heading back to sea in 2005. Doesn’t matter...We didn’t dive there.....again..... Someday I would like to.....
5:30 is veeeery early in the morning...thank goodness Mark didn’t pick me up then.....6:30 is very early in the morning also and that is not when we got to the TomKat......this is how the morning started and it was not just us. Due to some “battery issues”....solved with some good old fashioned ingenuity and several sets of jumper cables (which Al would not wet his finger and touch, I personally hid behind Jim...and John...and Pete...)....we were on our way....slightly behind schedule. Myself, Mark, Al S., Jim R., Pete and John. Gary was our Mate and Eric our Captain.... A full boat and we were off.
The call was for 2-4 and building but we were greeted by the lesser waves and plenty of sunshine. Due to our late start, we did not go to the Helis but did opt for the Northwest Barges, another new site for me. This is a group of 6 to 8 barges sunk in a common area in about 70-75 fsw off the coast of Barnegat Light. It is speculated that there once was a mooring here and barges coming from different areas were tied in awaiting their next tow. Due to “inclement” weather several of these barges sunk at various times, and the result is a debris field of low lying ribs and pieces, covered in typical ocean growth and harboring pokable fishes.
We arrived at the sight and Mark made his maiden voyage tying into the wreck on his own. After a few minutes of wrestling with some tangled chain, he had us tied in to the local high spot and the bottle arrived topside inviting me on down to join him. In my usual burst of speed I was the first in. The Carolina line makes life so much easier for those of us who are directionally challenged. I found my way down the line going through some dark murky soup filled with large particulate and an unending supply of small jellies to arrive at the tie in and be greeted by clear green water, a mild current and 20 to 25 foot of viz. I stopped for a moment to admire Marks work (nice job by the way) and tune in my trim and then I immediately dropped down to visit a curious sea bass and then... we were off.
The sets of ribs extending from the sand are covered in sponges and corals, with an abundance of the soft white variety making the area look that much brighter. In among the nooks and crannies were numerous small stripped bass and tog, but I did not see any lobster. In the sand were several pairs of sea robbins, it must be mating season for them, and one small skate swimming about.
While we still ran a wreck reel, with the visibility we easily moved along from barge to barge using my flashlight to peek in holes and looking about. Just before we turned to come back, I looked down and spotted something in the sand.... It was a rather large titanium dive knife. I picked it up and carried it along as Mark reeled the line back in. A little farther along I spotted an oversized hairy looking moonsnail shell and snapped it up for my collection and we continued on back to the tie in. Here we spent a few more minutes checking about, where I found an extremely large fishing weight which I rescued and then headed up...with flashlight, shell, lead weight and extra large dive dagger in tow. A momentous task as the line was jerking about, the seas seemed to be picking up. Mark relieved me of several of my items and we continued on up.
We were followed up by Jim who had a very healthy sized blackfish and a pretty lobster....with eggs and back she went. With everyone else safely onboard we snacked, napped and exchanged stories as only divers can. During the SI the Captain immediately recognized the newly rescued dive knife as one recently lost by a diver on his last trip to the sight. I had him call the diver and ask if he wanted to sell the sheath. OK...while we did get him on the phone, after I had my fun I gave the knife back...but how many opportunities do you get like that?
The waves picked up a bit as we sat but were still manageable and we readied to go in again. Down the line which was dancing about and to the wreck and this time we took off across the sand to another string of barges. Mark noted one lone flounder in the sand which I missed and I picked out another skate and this time the area was dotted with fish the size people like to poke with pole spears. We looked about for the telltale signs of a little pile of sand in front of lobsters den but none were to be seen and then I spotted a set of claws waaaay back in a hole. I played my light back and forth in front of him inviting him out to play but he was really slow coming. A quick grab, a bit too soon, and he was gone and he made it clear he wasn’t going to play with me anymore so I moved on.
We looked around a bit more and it was time to head up. Back at the tie in the line was bucking... And remembering my task loading of the previous trip up I clipped off my light before heading up. Remember how I gave that knife I found back? No good deed goes unpunished. I must have clipped off my light to my SMB clip aaaand off it floated out of reach and rising fast. Yikes!!
We arrived topside and readied for the ride in. Two more keeper lobsters came up this trip and my bag had surfaced ahead of me but too far off the boat to grab and was now heading north at a fast clip......if anyone in Poughkeepsie sees it, please let me know. The ride in was a bit bumpy but not enough to stop several of us from grabbing a little shut eye after a long day. I think we got the best day of the weekend again.