The Saga of the Princess Cheryl Wreck Continues

Experience is a wonderful thing. It enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again. ~ Anonymous

It’s my fault, it’s the karma of the wreck, lobsters don’t get that big being stupid ya know, but we will be better prepared next time…..I am sure of it. Swear it isn’t me, some days just go like that, as do some wrecks, but, I am getting ahead of myself.

"Honesty is the best policy, but insanity is a better defense" ~ Anonymous

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I am going to be honest here…and tell you the WHOLE story….. as usual.

Howard moved the boat on me….. again. That’s 3 times this year. Call me crazy….but finding the Lady GoDiver is getting suspiciously like a game of Where’s Waldo. This is a whole new marina and he sent me directions …… and then he sent me his cell, just in case….and then he sent John out to the road to flag me down. Good thing cause I’m quick and John didn’t catch me the first time past. This wasn’t just a 2 cuppa coffee morning, I brought a carafe.

The day held promise of warm sunshine and diving. I put out my chair and sat and finished my coffee while the final preparations for the trip were completed, and then climbed onboard. It was still a little nippy as we headed out and as usual, the conversation turned to where should we dive. Surprisingly, the decision was made rather quickly, and….. I even knew where we were going. The Princess Cheryl Wreck from our numbers dive last fall. Woo Hoo!

You remember the Princess Cheryl Wreck…… low wooden walls with cleats and lots of lobsters in the hidey holes…. Engine block and prop with some copper tubing off to the side and John, I mean, UD (as in Unnamed Diver) had 5 lobsters make a successful break for freedom as he laid claim to a gauge of some sort, leaving me to bring back the only 2 keeper lobsters of all 4 dives that day. That Princess Cheryl Wreck.

After making a few passes and not finding our target it was decided to head a little farther north to the Seaside Schooner and try again on our way back.

We arrived on site in with the sun shining but the air still cool and the fun began. With the grace of a ballerina, almost, I executed a Jersey roll off the starboard side and made my way down. The water was crystal clear the first 5 feet and dark thick green after that. As I made my way down the line I could feel the cold of the water. I had only worn 3ml gloves and was regretting the decision already. As I floated down I could sense the bottom was coming but could see nothing but green water and myriads of the stringy egg casings filling the spaces around me. I had neglected to ask the depth, but welcomed the sight of Francis’s blinking line marker as I approached 70fsw along with a clearing of the water to about 15 feet of visibility at the sand.

Francis was just finishing his tie off and I followed after him as we made our way along a wall of broken down, sanded in, wooden ribs. At the beginning was a huge open hydroid and some anomies and soft corals covering a section of the wood and as we moved along small sea bass filled in the nooks and crannies. I poked and prodded with great care to not to stir things up, as Francis was busy with his camera.

Although my computer claimed 44F here on the bottom, my hands were feeling the cold and I signaled Francis I was heading on back. I peeked all around as I made my way back to the tie in, which was on a large boiler broken in two and laying in the sand. As I arrived at the hook, my poor attention span took hold and I chased fish into the boiler and all about and then, further distracted by shiny objects, I rescued a small herd of 8 oz sinkers and bright silver swivel clips.

By this time, Francis was back and we headed on up the line for the boat and hopefully some warm sunshine.

I am a happy camper now that the post is back on board at the ladder. Giving me that last handhold up high makes my way up the ladder so much easier. Topside we snacked and shared information from our dives as we all went in different directions ……… and since we did not, at the time, know the name of the wreck, (I think these guys name them as we go along), there was discussion of dubbing it the QC2 …... I liked that.With everyone back onboard, we headed back south in search for our errant wreck, and this time, we were right on target. As a matter of fact, we hooked into practically the same spot as last fall.

This little gem was still at about 70 fsw and the water held at a pretty Jersey green, with 15 feet of viz and 44F. I had put on my thicker gloves and was feeling much better as we arrived on the wooden walls and I began my search for treasure.

The wall was filled with small fish and a lone sea crab. As I moved along, I ran my new reel off of the wreck and a short distance away came across a really long and large square timber in the sand. This did not look to be part of the same wreckage, but what do I know. A short distance off of this was a small pile of wood fairly sanded in and inhabited by a big old grumpy eel pout. No sense of humor this guy so I moved along.

Heading out perpendicular, there is decking and boards in the sand and as I lifted them, there were several small lobster that took off like shots. They were just too small to chase after so I moved on to the engine block and prop and some big boiler looking thingy. If I was more mechanically inclined I might actually get the names of these pieces right but I am in it for the fish and so I bear with me here.

Tucked in amongst this mess was a lobster with my name on him. Sweet little tattoo on his crusher claw …. a heart with “Cheryl” written on ribbon across the center….. ahhhh. But he played hard to get and so I headed back to the tie in and made my way up the line.

Confidence is the feeling you have before you understand the situation. ~ Anonymous

Howard was the next group going down and I explained how to find my brawny friend. 6 pounder at least and just waiting for him I was sure. He was “confident” he was going to snag that lobster I had left behind and threw himself overboard in his hurry to get there.

I packed away my gear as I awaited the return of Howard and my muscular meaty friend. For some reason, my suit is now leaking at the leg, most likely due to my climbing jaunt through the rocks at the jetty 2 weeks ago, and I seemed to have “lost” Tommy’s screw from the reel…. I’m taking the screw off his and putting it on mine, just don’t tell him. Other than that, I am good.

As we scanned the water we could see bubbles some distance off the line and they stayed in place for quite some time. Howard was obviously doing battle with behemoth boy.

After the official and lengthy pulling of the hook I greeted Howard at the ladder and helped him and his goody bag onboard. His goody bag held a story……no lobsters, but a story ..... there were a few lobsters, of keeping size, but they were dwarfs compared to his original target…… and an all too familiar tale of lobster…..on the Princess Cheryl Wreck….. making an all too successful break for freedom.

All eyes fell to me. This is the second time here…. Hmmmmmm.

I think the lobster just unhooked the bag and walked out….. he is waiting for me ….. he wants just me to lovingly wrap my hands around him and pull him close, placing him in my bag at my side and making him my own. Yup that’s what I think…. We will be going back there…… I am sure of it.

A good book has no ending. ~ - R D Cumming

And so the saga of the Princess Cheryl Wreck continues.

Dive Team Training

The shoals are there still, the winds howl loud, the rain beats down, the waves burst strong. Some night, in the chill darkness, someone will make a mistake: The sea will show him no mercy. ~ John T. Cunningham

It was windy…….very windy. And cold. Not that this has ever stopped me before. I met a group from the Point Pleasant Beach Dive Team and we headed for the inlet.

The water was dark and murky. Kind of a brown green and the wind was kicking up quite a chop. It was decided that instead of a dive…..there would be a drill.

“Lost Tourists on the Jetty” ……. Their very own version of Hide and Seek. Two members played victim and while the rest suited up, they went out among the jetty jacks (long concrete pieces used to protect the end of the jetty. The way they are piled looks like a childs toy jacks) to find a place to hide, simulating a tourist or fisherman falling off the jetty and into the rocks.

The rest of us then broke into 3 teams of 3 and went looking. Let me say, this is not the first time they have done this. They are very good at hiding.

Sue was located first. Playing the unconscious victim wedged in the rocks. She had found a cave like section of rock and wedged body parts all around. I was part of the 4 man team down with her as not everyone fit through the opening she had gone in through. It was tight….very tight and we became “close” friends as we climbed over each other lining up.

After stabilizing the head and neck and dislodging the body parts, we proceeded to use the incoming waves to bring her out of her hole and up with us. The tide….the incoming tide…..that with each wave came farther and farther into our little “room”.

As we pulled her up, she was face down and we were attaching her that way to a back board. Upon extricating her we rolled her over and now the fun began. While holding the board we needed to finish strapping her in with straps that were wedged under and around everything and one and now the tide was really coming in and several times we came close to not being able to lift her to safety from the waves rushing in, and water surrounded her face as we worked .

Once getting her in place we now had to get her out. Certainly not through the slit we shimmied in from. We started crawling out toward the water carrying our passenger with us.
Once out to the water, we found an opening large enough to pull her up through and with support from above we stood the backboard straight up and hauled her to the top of the rocks.

I won’t say I wasn’t getting a little nervous as the water was rising and rushing in about us and we still had to get out. I have short legs here and those are some gi-normous rocks. With a little assist we all made it up and now we had to get our cargo to shore. Forming a human chain we passed her along until she was safe on land.

The value of teamwork and the efforts of many make a rescue like this possible in real life. This type of real life/real time practice puts it all in perspective.

Our second “victim” was harder to find. I think he fell asleep waiting for us. I yelled Marco hoping for a Polo as we climbed about looking betwixt and between the rocks for him. He was finally spotted and again in a tight hole. Again they called for me to go in but there just was not enough room in this hidey hole for all of us and I stayed at the opening protecting another member who was half in the hole from hitting his head on the rocks as he worked.

This time the victim could not be brought out on the board as it just didn’t fit back through the only way in or out. And so we went to Plan B. Stabilize and bring out without the back board and then board him up and raise him out.

This job is not easy. It’s like a puzzle to figure out. It’s definitely a group effort. And this is only one of the many things they do. It will be interesting.