"Going to the Ocean and not diving, is like going to the Circus and not looking inside the big top..." Anonymous
John had never dove the inlets…..I promised to take him….he is a brave soul…..who was going to take me?......
Not everyone remembered about Daylight Savings…me …..I was all over it, snuggled into the covers for that extra hour of sleep before heading up to Shark River to dive.
I hadn’t left the house yet when my phone rang, I knew I was on time today, what was up now? John was already at the inlet and doom and gloom was the word of the day. There were 5-6 footers breaking in the surf, waves were breaking over the jetty, and white caps were in the inlet and bay. He had put his hat in the car for safety with the howling winds and he just wasn’t sure he wanted to make this his first inlet dive. Chicken…… just kidding.
You cant get to the water and just not dive…..it just isn’t right.
I was up and I was packed….I was diving. I told him to hold on as the trees in my yard were not even moving….I was going to check the Railroad Bridge. As I neared the water, the breeze picked up a little but being so far back in the inlet the bridge was protected and the water practically flat. I made the call for John and Anthony to meet me there and went to grab a coffee as I waited.
As I watched the water and drank my coffee people began to arrive, and then the Pt Pleasant Rescue Team arrived and a few dozen pumpkins with them. I had forgotten all about the pumpkin carving! It looked like they had a good group together for the fun and I watched them ready as I waited for my guys to arrive.
John arrived in full force, carrying on and complaining and generally teasing the heck out of me as I explained about tossing pieces of shell and waiting to see the current slow down instead of trusting the tide charts.
The center of the channel was still running a bit fast as the pumpkin carvers took to the water and you could see the flashes of pumpkin and full out half torsos of flailing kicking legs breaching the water as the participants struggled with their tasks. We watched a bit before suiting up and making our way into the water for our own dive.
We swam all around, hitting the far north shore looking for mussels and going east to the pilings checking for fillet and release projects. We grazed the rocks near the bridge but held off our timing underneath hoping to be there for the train. Not much was about, but then there was quite a bit of thrashing about going on with the carvers spread out in the area so I should not have been surprised. We did see a lot of crabs burying themselves in the sand and just as many large and small huddled together doing whatever it is they do like that. Starfish were still in attendance and stone crabs have not all gone south for the winter yet. Schools of shiners swam past us and tiny flat fish tried their best to blend into the bottom.
We surfaced near the bridge and within seconds the train whistles sounded. We dropped back down and headed on under the bridge. There we were met with the usual bergalls and other inhabitants who were still hiding from all the commotion in the channel. Small fish swam all about us and an eel about 18 inches slithered below us. Yes I had to poke him, no he was not happy about it. But the cement bridge is just not the same. I could hear some commotion but nothing loud and the vibrations just didn’t reach the water. I guess you have to hug a stanchion to get that. We played here for a few more minutes and headed on back in.
The air is getting that winter chill in it and Spikes looked very inviting…….lobster bisque all around was in order and we warmed ourselves over soup and good conversation.
You cant get to the water and just not dive…..it just isn’t right. And a day in the water….it just isn’t wrong.
John had never dove the inlets…..I promised to take him….he is a brave soul…..who was going to take me?......
Not everyone remembered about Daylight Savings…me …..I was all over it, snuggled into the covers for that extra hour of sleep before heading up to Shark River to dive.
I hadn’t left the house yet when my phone rang, I knew I was on time today, what was up now? John was already at the inlet and doom and gloom was the word of the day. There were 5-6 footers breaking in the surf, waves were breaking over the jetty, and white caps were in the inlet and bay. He had put his hat in the car for safety with the howling winds and he just wasn’t sure he wanted to make this his first inlet dive. Chicken…… just kidding.
You cant get to the water and just not dive…..it just isn’t right.
I was up and I was packed….I was diving. I told him to hold on as the trees in my yard were not even moving….I was going to check the Railroad Bridge. As I neared the water, the breeze picked up a little but being so far back in the inlet the bridge was protected and the water practically flat. I made the call for John and Anthony to meet me there and went to grab a coffee as I waited.
As I watched the water and drank my coffee people began to arrive, and then the Pt Pleasant Rescue Team arrived and a few dozen pumpkins with them. I had forgotten all about the pumpkin carving! It looked like they had a good group together for the fun and I watched them ready as I waited for my guys to arrive.
John arrived in full force, carrying on and complaining and generally teasing the heck out of me as I explained about tossing pieces of shell and waiting to see the current slow down instead of trusting the tide charts.
The center of the channel was still running a bit fast as the pumpkin carvers took to the water and you could see the flashes of pumpkin and full out half torsos of flailing kicking legs breaching the water as the participants struggled with their tasks. We watched a bit before suiting up and making our way into the water for our own dive.
We swam all around, hitting the far north shore looking for mussels and going east to the pilings checking for fillet and release projects. We grazed the rocks near the bridge but held off our timing underneath hoping to be there for the train. Not much was about, but then there was quite a bit of thrashing about going on with the carvers spread out in the area so I should not have been surprised. We did see a lot of crabs burying themselves in the sand and just as many large and small huddled together doing whatever it is they do like that. Starfish were still in attendance and stone crabs have not all gone south for the winter yet. Schools of shiners swam past us and tiny flat fish tried their best to blend into the bottom.
We surfaced near the bridge and within seconds the train whistles sounded. We dropped back down and headed on under the bridge. There we were met with the usual bergalls and other inhabitants who were still hiding from all the commotion in the channel. Small fish swam all about us and an eel about 18 inches slithered below us. Yes I had to poke him, no he was not happy about it. But the cement bridge is just not the same. I could hear some commotion but nothing loud and the vibrations just didn’t reach the water. I guess you have to hug a stanchion to get that. We played here for a few more minutes and headed on back in.
The air is getting that winter chill in it and Spikes looked very inviting…….lobster bisque all around was in order and we warmed ourselves over soup and good conversation.
You cant get to the water and just not dive…..it just isn’t right. And a day in the water….it just isn’t wrong.