With A Little Help From My Friends

Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends
Mm, I get high with a little help from my friends
Mm, gonna try with a little help from my friends

Beatles ~ John Lennon and Paul McCartney

I have been quiet lately….maybe you noticed….hey….maybe not….. As some of you know, I fractured my back and things have been…….less than fun.

Well, guess what……..I’m baaack….kinda…..with a little help from my friends.

My doctor told me I couldn’t lay around, it is problematic for me, take my brace and move around he tells me. What do you expect me to do, I ask? His response….Walk…..ride a bike, you won’t be graceful so don’t fall off…swim…swimming is good, it takes the pressure off your spine, you don’t even have to wear the brace to swim. Hmmmmm……. With a little help from my friends….

Frnak knew what he was in for, but he volunteered anyway. He deserves a medal.

We were meeting at Dutch this morning, down by the peninsula and as I drove down with my gear, I ran into…and nearly over our own Grand Master E. I backed up traffic a bit as we talked, but a quick hug and good luck and I was off. Frank had set up along the fence, close to the dock. Shortest walk for both of us.

As Frank helps me unload my car, I noted that I came in an SUV with both seats down and the car filled front and back, only brought one tank mind you, and still looked like a bomb went off and 3 divers exploded. I had to open three doors and the lift gate to get everything out. Frank, on the other hand, comes in a sedan, with 2 sets of doubles and all his gear and he still has room for a family of 4. This always amazes me.

He moves my rig down to the water and floats it and I walk down. This isn’t bad, I can do this, this can work. As Frank returns with his gear, I step off the platform and slip into my harness midwater. When I first took open water and we did all those don and doffs in the pool, I thought, when on gods earth will I ever need to do this…..little did I know.

I was quickly buckled in and the time had come to descend. As we slowly slipped beneath the surface I was a little nervous and had to remember not to hold my breath. But…..but…..nothing….absolutely nothing….it felt good….really good……this was going to work!

We turned and headed out for the old plane. As we finned along I looked down and the algae covering the sand formed a tan and green argyle carpet below us. I looked for some fish to poke but none were around. We came to the kitchen sink and Frnak stopped to wash his hands before moving along past the crane, or maybe it was the tanker and then telephone pole and then the trees, this time covered in a veil of flowing yellow algae making them look like something out of a scary movie. They are always my favorite part. And then we were up at the old plane. But the viz was horrific here and we turned to move on, under and around the helicopter and over the bus and a then a boat and a lone ten pound gold fish swam by at the bottom. I was feeling good but it was cold and I was diving wet and we headed in. On our hang Frank searched diligently for crayfish to entice some of the locals hanging under the platform over but none were to be found.

At the platform I slipped out of my rig and Frank snagged it and still wearing his gear he carried it up to the tables. I was sure he would be singing soprano with all that weight but he was a trooper.

We had a pleasant surface interval talking diving, as divers often do. And then…...the rain came…with the thunder…..and more rain……but it was quick and the skies dried up and the sun came out…..and we were ready to dive again.

My tanks were floating at the dock when I arrived. I could get used to this. I was geared up and ready when Frnak and his gear arrived. Hmmmm….First one ready again…..just like old times : )

This time we were going fish poking and headed out to the island. Here among the lake grass the blue gills nest and they are very territorial. These fish form bowl like indentations in the thick plants on the bottom and each bowl contained a huge fish or two “protecting” his space. Fish pokey heaven. Frank sent me in first to see if the fish “were biting”. They were and we amused ourselves for a while playing tag with the neighborhood tough guys and looking about.

We then moved on to the helicopter again, with a quick swim through and past the bus and around the plane and onto the wall. We were going to check out what was over this way at the wall between the student side and the peninsula. In case you are curious….. the answer is……nada. But it was a nice relaxing swim, though a little on the chilly side and so we headed on up.

Apparently, Mr. Ernie had a little talk with Frnak before I arrived this morning and tried to get him to “make my retractors disappear”. Thanks to my plight, Frank took pity on me and left them alone. He figured I already had enough problems. Thank you Frank. And Rookman…..I am getting 3 more for my birthday….just for your class.

The quote of the day may turn out to be…..”Don’t squeeze me, my name isn’t Charmin”, but that is another story.

I can do this again….this is good…..good dive buddies are good. Thanks Frank.

Changes at the Inlet

Because things are the way they are, things will not stay the way they are. ~ Bertold Brecht

What a difference a day makes….but I digress.

It’s 9PM and I am tucked nicely into bed when my phone rings. “Tide is at 11. You coming?” Benny must have hit his head. I am done for the day. It’s late. It’s a school night. I am in my PJs… Are PJs warm enough under your drysuit?.... Do I have a single tank with air?..... Do I have fresh batteries for my flashlight?... and so it begins.

We suit up at the inlet and Benny discovers his tank is “ less than” filled so we are again hiking down the jetty, trying to get in closer to the area we want to be to get the most out of his fill.

As we slide down into the water it is noticeably cooler than Saturday (54F) and definitely not as clear, things have changed.

With only 3-5 ft visibility we are sticking close. We head east and the current is back with a vengence. While I don’t need to pull myself along, I know I am struggling to make headway and occaisionally pull on a rock to scoot myself along.

Things have changed… A lot… With the current picking up and the water temps dropping, the fish apparently are in hiding. As I swept the sand with my light, crabs of every variety moved about and the ever present starfish were hunkered down at the base of the rocks. The only thing moving in the sand were hermit crabs, large and small.

With the limited visability, I had to pay closer attention to the rocks looming up ahead of me and the beam of my light cut only a short narrow path through the dark murky water.

There were several graduates from the “Fillet and Release School of Fishing” lying on the bottom and it is a little unnerving when someone, who I will not name, picks them up and launches them into the dark and they appear in front of you as a fishy head followed by bones and a tail, before falling to the sand. Actually, kind of comical as I reflect on it.

Rounding out the scant sealife were 2 small rays and a short fluke swimming about.

As expected, Benny began to run short on air and we returned to the rock stairs by the bridge and climbed out.

Things change so quickly in the ocean, from tide to tide as well as day by day. You never know what the next dive will bring. The tide is at midnight tomorrow….Benny and Tom swear we aren’t diving it. Hmmmm…. We will see.

Shark River Inlet

Man [has] always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much - the wheel, New York, wars and so on - while all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man - for precisely the same reason… ~Douglas Adams

I am pretty sure I am dehydrating. I don’t get wet nearly enough lately. If I don’t poke the fish….who will?

High tide was at 9:51PM. It was debated….at length….several times…..and it still was at 9:51PM…. I like night dives. Benny wanted fish, Tom wanted lobsters, and I wanted to poke something.

There were quite a few fishermen when we first started gearing up, but they thinned out as the last of the days light faded. There were still several there, catching what light they could from the street, and flanking our usual entry point as we readied to go in. We walked past the fishermen and down the jetty looking for another way in. Hiked would be a better word but we did finally find our entry at a group of rocks, somewhat steep but manageable. I sat down, tossed the dive flag in, reached out for the first rock and proceeded to pick my way on down, putting on my fins before entering the water. Visibility was excellent at 10 feet or more and we quietly slipped beneath the water.

Three lights signaled OK and off we went. Crabs and starfish dominated the area, and as I swam past a rock I noticed what looked like a clam with arms. A starfish was sitting inside a large ocean clam finishing up a late dinner. Benny immediately found a keeper lobster. Quick check for eggs and in his bag it went. The horseshoe crabs are still abundant and under one ledge, just hanging out, was one that qualified for “mother ship” status.

We swam almost to the end of the jetty before turning to come back and along the way noted some above average sized sea robbins lolling about. I took care of that with great pleasure, sending them on their way. Several tiny flounder were half buried in the sand (they aren’t any more) and hermit crabs scurried along keeping one eye on me to be sure I behaved. I looked under and about but did not spot any more lobster, but I did see quite a few rays tucked in around the rocks. Tom had picked up 2 lobsters and was on the hunt for more.

Benny spotted a nicely proportioned fluke and wasted no time in spearing him and while I lit up the scene, he placed it in his bag. As we prepared to move on I noticed something on the bag and signaled Benny to stop. In a minute I think he would have anyway. He was caught by a brand new leader and 4 oz. weight. I tried to simply unhook him but it was snagged and he cut the line as I held it before the fisherman started to try to reel him in.

Again on the way back we passed through the congregation of sea robbins and I caught one by the tail. He was NOT happy. At one point a small curious ray swam with us for a short while, following along directly underneath me across the sand and up and over a rock before leaving for other adventures. That was really neat. We occasionally came across several really small bass and other fish and I occupied myself with chasing after them to no avail.

The water remained clear but the 57F temperature was starting to feel chilly after more than 40 minutes in the water, so we picked up the dive flag and swam down to our usual exit, leaving the water with 3 lobsters, a summer flounder and a respectable number of fish poked. Not bad for one evening.

Magical Mystery Wreck

Neque est ullum certius amicitiae vinculum, quam consensus et societas consiliorum et voluntatum ~ There is no more sure tie between friends than when they are united in their objects and wishes. ~ Marcus Tullius Cicero

One of our own is leaving for 400 days of sun and fun in Iraq on Sunday. We have been trying to get as many dive days in with him as we can and today we did a private charter on the Stingray.

He got to pick the wreck and carry his own tanks, we got to spend some time with him diving, talking, telling stories, old and new, eating and drinking a beer or two. And of course laughing, with him and at him.

There were 7 of us this morning. It was 78F at 6AM and would near 100F before the day was over. The guys had finished my neck seal in record time, since its untimely demise on Friday, but I had my wet gear with me just in case there was a problem. Long story short….there was not…woo hoo!! They are the best.

With every one on board we headed out on perfectly flat seas for the Pinta. I was excited since I have never been on this classic wreck and I understand it is quickly deteriorating. But it was not to be. As we arrived there was another boat on the site and we were not destined to share, so we moved on to the “Secret Magical Mystery Wreck”. That is all I know… I believe that if Captain Henrik told us more he would have to kill us…so it will have to suffice.
We geared up as we waited for the mate to tie in and Mark and I were the second group over the side. The water was a cool 46F and that old familiar Jersey green in color as we went down the line.

90 fsw later, at the bottom, the green remained with us but the visibility was respectable and we headed out to explore. There was a tangle of wreckage and hull plates and wood and it seems the tautog know they are out of season and therefore abounded, swimming all around us. We swam the length of the wreck over the top getting a look about and noted hydroids, anemones and sponges were everywhere and an assortment of fish in every size swam past us. As we peered about we could see fish and divers bustling in every direction and streams of bubbles rising from the wreckage gave notice of the path of each group as they swam along.

Monofilament was everywhere and I was tangled on more than one occasion, starting at the tie in and grabbing Marks fin to get his attention as I pulled free. I am sure he thought I was crazy….OK, crazier than usual….as each time I got caught, I would grab some piece of equipment or other of his and when he looked at me I would signal OK and swim on. Weights and lures dangled about like fruit on a tree. Obviously this place was not a secret among the fishing crowd. If I didn’t know better, I might guess this ship sank from the weight of all the lead sinkers attached to her.

As we turned to go back to the tie in, we came across two of our divers tangled between the fishing line and their wreck line, and stopped to help out before heading up.

Once back onboard, we lounged about the front deck of the boat just talking and soaking up some of the days sunshine while the crew stoked up the grill. The rest for the surface interval was spent eating burgers and shish kebobs and snacking on pretzels and fruit while we exchanged stories and information from our first dive and readied for round two.

Again we headed down and, while the temperature was the same as earlier, it felt slightly colder in the water. There was a definite thermo cline this time at about 30 ft.

For this dive we headed southwest and in the sand following the curve of the wreckage. Immediately upon reaching the sand I picked up a few pieces of wood half buried in the sand, but couldn't tell if they were charred or not. This was definitely a wooden ship and from this side you could make out whole pieces of the hull still intact rising up from the sand, the railings in place at the top. There was a slight bit of a current here and I took advantage of it, letting it take me slowly along as I laid at the sand peering in amongst the tangle of debris for whatever life was hiding there. I found a shell in the sand here, suitable as a souvenir of the dive and placed it in my pocket for later.

Again the fish were swimming all about and I poked one or two and grabbed for tails along the way, actually catching one only to have it immediately wiggle from my fingers. Oh well.

From this side you could make out the fallen masts and wood planking amid the rubble of the wreckage and it was interesting to try and imagine where it all fit in.

It was quickly time to head up once more and we slowly made our way up the line.
On deck, as each group exited the water, they described the different parts of the wreck they had seen and what was there. Everyone had something to add from the description of portions of wreckage to the bull nosed eels lurking in the shadows.

Once our gear was stowed and we were on our way back in, the Captain let me steer the boat a bit. While there may not have been much for me to hit, I still had to steer towards the inlet and home, and I am happy to report I did not get us lost.

We all gathered on the deck, chatting and talking diving and gear, pictures and trips, sipping some cold ones, and taking pictures of us all together and making a memory to keep until we get Josh back to dive with us again.

Stay safe buddy and hurry back. We have fish to poke ya know.

Shark River Inlet

“Here lies the body of Jonathan Ground, Who was lost at sea and never found” ~ Anonymous

We were hitting the Shark River Inlet for a night dive, a 10 o’clock at night dive. Josh, Benny, Tom and myself, or at least that is how it started out.

Benny was excited, he called me from the inlet proclaiming at least 15 feet of visibility and a decent tide coming in. Sweet! The inlet dive is just east of the A Street dive. You enter east side of the Avon Bridge, where again, the rocks of the jetty form a sort of natural staircase for entry and exits.

As we were gearing up Scott pulled in to check what was going on and kept us company until we hit the water. Tom, unfortunately, did not make the dive but like the 3 Musketeers, or maybe the Stooges, Josh, Ben and I were jumping in.

I forgot my glow stick for my tank, as someone reminded me on my ride there, and so I packed on an extra flashlight just in case. My last words as we locked our cars and walked towards the jetty? “Guys…..just don’t loose me”. My two companions, in unison, assured me they would not….no….never…not them.

We entered the water and dropped down to a whole different world than last dive. The viz was excellent and all our little play friends were out. We started finning and Josh immediately grabbed my fin and pulled me back. His fins were tangled in fishing line and he was stuck. I pulled out my sheers and freed him and we were on our way. The current was exceptionally strong, so much so that ducking in behind the rocks really wasn’t helping and occasionally we had to pull ourselves along. We passed by mounds of starfish and droves of teeny blue claw crabs. The spider crabs were well represented and of course the horseshoe crabs are still mating and everywhere you look. At one point I swam over what appeared to be two horseshoe crabs in need of a room, and did a double take as I shone my light over him and realized it was just one lone crab. Godzilla sized, but one just the same.

There were small flounder which we rousted and some juvenile sea bass which I poked, prodded and chased. Then our lights hit on a lone king fish of shooting size. Benny took aim and as I illuminated the process, he removed it from his spear and put him in his bag. By the end of the night Benny’s shopping bag would include another king fish and a 19 inch flounder. Not bad for June.

We continued along, working against the current and lighting up the nooks and crannies and panning about the sandy bottom next to the rocks. This really was not too bad as I registered 26 feet and 54 degree bottom temps. There were little bitty flounder hiding in the sand which we scooted along, sea robbins of varying size and the obligatory sponges, algae and other growth on the rocks. Two lone antennae were spotted and Ben lunged for them as we watched. As it turns out…..there was one huge claw…..attached to a runt of a body…..covered in eggs…….and back she went. Oh well.

As we swam along, Josh’s light panned over a monster sized blowfish. He prodded him with his light but this was one stubborn son of a gun and he held his ground refusing to move. Unlike this fish, the current was dictating our positioning and we moved on to see what else was out.

We soon started to feel the shift in the water and at about 22 minutes, the signal to turn was passed about. Benny made a quick stop to free a young sea bass that was hooked and caught on the rocks, not unlike Josh earlier. He would have to grow a bit before he was of hunting interest to anyone and he was sent on his way.

As I made the turn, the current caught under me and I started to loose my buoyancy and grabbed onto Josh’s tank to catch myself, but I was too late and I started to float up. I signaled Josh with my light and he looked up at me. That was the last I saw of him or Benny until they exited the water at the bridge. Unbelievable.

I dropped back down and shown my light all around, but I was alone. Procedure says, up to the surface, in towards the rocks and signal with your light til you find your buddy. I was halfway back at the exit point before I saw the signaling lights of my two, never in a million years would they loose me, dive buddies. I was holding my fins and had already scrambled on up the rocks to the beach when they arrived at the exit and wanted me to come back in and head west under the bridge with them for a while. I think not. As they dropped down I realized my keys were in Bens truck….Doh! So I sat on the steps and awaited their return.

Fifteen minutes later they were back and we were on our way up to the street discussing our little misadventure of lost and found. As the story goes……Josh saw my light and saw me floating up and then he didn’t see me, and he immediately went to tell Benny who was still following our little hooked sea bass buddy. INSTEAD OF FOLLOWING ME TO SEE WHAT WAS WRONG!!!!!! Do you remember how many times I saved Josh’s butt in Rescue Diver Class? Now….does he return the favor? Noooo…..instead he goes and tells Benny they are in trouble cause they lost me. They swam into the rocks and then surfaced, but by that time the tide had put several clusters of rocks between us. We must have looked like a whack-a-mole game with heads popping up and down in the water as we swam back in, popping up to signal and then dropping down a foot or two to grip some rocks to pull along. The trip back was actually quite quick and as soon as we found each other, although some distance apart, everyone had relaxed.

We were loading our gear back into our cars and discussing our upcoming boat dive for Sunday as I took hold of my neck seal to pull it over my head……and it happened…..my heart sank and I stood there in disbelief. My neck seal, my one year old neck seal, had split completely down the middle and now looked more like an oversized Nehru collar than a watertight stretch seal. Dang!

I had a family obligation in north Jersey in the morning and I really really didn’t want to dive wet on Sunday. Good dive buddies make all the difference. Benny dropped my suit off at the shop first thing in the morning and both Ben and Josh stopped by and helped Tom get a new neck seal on my suit in record time. I am diving dry on Sunday. Thank you to everyone……all is forgiven. Really…and see you Sunday.

No Viz at A Street

Dive- verb\ dived \ or dove \ dived also dove; div·ing
1 a: to plunge into water intentionally and especially headfirst; also : to execute a dive b: submerge 2 a: to come or drop down precipitously b: to plunge : to descend in a dive Usage - Dive, which was originally a weak verb, developed a past tense dove, probably by analogy with verbs like drive, drove. Dove exists in some British dialects and has become the standard past tense especially in speech in some parts of Canada. In the United States dived and dove are both widespread in speech as past tense and past participle, with dove less common than dived in the south Midland area, and dived less common than dove in the Northern and north Midland areas. In writing, the past tense dived is usual in British English and somewhat more common in American English. Dove seems relatively rare as a past participle in writing.

The tides were timed nicely at 6PM, it was 89F and sunny and Tom was taking a student to Belmar and Benny “the Indiana Jones of diving” and I were joining them.

The A Street dive is off a short lane between a house and an apartment complex, just a block west of the bridge to Avon. There is a rock bulkhead along the water with the rocks on the left forming a natural staircase into the water. The parking is very limited, and although it looks like there should be no traffic on this road, it is in constant use due to the parking lot behind the apartments.

When I arrived Benny was having a conversation with the parrot that lives in the house on the west side of the lane. Apparently they had been speaking for some time and every time Benny spoke the parrot answered…..Hello!….Woo Hoo!….Hello!…and Benny would answer….hmmmm.

A look at the water proved less than promising, but Tom deemed visibility in the 3 foot range. Who were we to argue….we were going diving. We had decided to forego the dry suit for our wetsuits since they were easier to climb up the rocks with, and I won’t say which of us was harder to squeeze into their suit. It must have been something in the air since the car next to us was also a diver and we had to do some tugging and stretching to help him along also.

Once suited up we weren’t lasting long in the heat and headed down to the water to jump in. There was a young Hispanic man fishing on the rocks who did not speak English and we had a bit of a time trying to explain that we needed the egress he was standing on…..and he needed to pull his line in. When he finally moved over, with his line still in the water, we had 7 divers lined up ready to drop in. This was going to take a while. Jeesh!

Benny and I climbed in first (note once again I had kitted up at the speed of light) and floated about with the dive flag waiting for Tom and his student. “Someone” had forgotten their dive flag and the Coast Guard has been handing out tickets so we were going to all gather round the same flag. The water seemed a little cool….and dark. A little cool and a lot dark.

We dropped down with visibility at about 3 inches. This was not good…..but maybe we had stirred things up with so many divers entering. We headed out with both of us keeping a hand on the flag line to keep from getting lost. Tom and his charge may have been on our heels but we couldn’t see them and did not again until they exited the water.

We swam along poking a finger in the sand just to know where the bottom was and several times I banged off of the rocks as we happened on them so quickly. Then it seemed we lost the edge of the rocks and were getting into some deeper water. We were turned around and heading out into the channel.

I pulled out my compass. Don’t laugh, I actually figured out we were heading North! Benny in the mean time was tapping me and trying to point in the direction he wanted to swim and so we turned, but we were really struggling trying to see the compass to follow it. Using the current, compass and bloodhound like homing skills, Benny brought us back to the rocks and the exit at A Street. Good Job!

We decided to see if things were any better heading west and dropped down once more. Looking down I could not see sand and looking up the light was blocked as Benny dropped down on my head and I scrambled to get out of the way. We were in a pile on the bottom and sorting out the flag line and signaling OK to each other with our lights. Then in the haze of the beams of our dive lights you could see two divers simultaneously signaling “up“ …. this was crazy….this dive was officially over.

We climbed up the rocks, squeezing past our fishing friend once more, immediately followed by a second dive team. About a minute later, our solo diver scrambled on up, and last but not least…..Tom and our student diver, now thoroughly schooled in low viz Jersey diving.

There could have been crabs and starfish….and lobster and conger eels…….and 3 foot stripers and platter sized summer flounder….and dolphins and sharks and humbolt squid! There could have been……really!!! We just couldn’t see them…..or anything else. I kept shining my light in my face just to make sure it was on. It was pretty much the only thing I saw the whole time.

As we all packed up our gear, and Benny continued his repartee with his parrot buddy, we discussed the conditions and the dive and looking at our computers Benny and I had a dilemma …. His computer said we dove 11 minutes in 48F water at a max depth of 13 feet….and mine……well my dive was 17 minutes in 10 feet of 47F water.

Was viz so bad we didn’t dive together and didn’t realize it? Or just two different brand computers not quite in sync? Or it just could be that "someone" was a little light on weight and had some trouble getting down? Or maybe both. But fitting all this stuff into one 11-17 minute dive? I am sure we had to work at that.

Railroad Bridge in May

“The boat isn’t going out…..what do you want to do….” This was the message on my cell phone on Sunday night….

What do I want to do…..hmmmmm…..I want to go diving, that‘s what.

The tide was at a leisurely 1PM…..the sky was a practically cloudless blue…..the sun shone down brightly with the first hints of summer warmth. A beautiful day to go diving. We arrived at the railroad bridge with time to spare and checked out the water and it was not looking bad at all. We both had our priorities. Mark walked along the bulkhead dropping pieces of shell in the water watching the current and the visibility while I grabbed an ice cream cone from across the street. As we sat talking about the dive and how there should be a permanent mooring so we didn’t have to pull a dive flag……dive flag…..dive flag……like the one at home in the hallway dive flag…….Jeesh……

Lets just say that it is remarkable how quickly you can get from Point Pleasant to Brick and back again…….

While Mark wrestles his way into his wet suit, thanks to a dry suit issue, I gear up in record time……what can I say….it is a gift. And since I sat in my garage this morning repeating over and over again, BWRF…..Begin With Review……BC, Regulator, Air..…. I had all my equipment….kinda…..

I was short an inflation hose. I could either inflate my dry suit or my wing…but not both……soooo….dry suit it is. This dive is starting to look interesting already.

We wade out into the channel just a few minutes behind the tide and drop on down to see what is going on below the waterline. It takes me a moment to orient myself to controlling my buoyancy with my dry suit and not my wing but I get into a workable rhythm and we are on our way.

Things are looking a little barren at first and the water is a tad cloudy with visibility at 3 to 5 feet in FRONT of Mark…..OK…I will admit it…..it’s 3 to 5 feet behind him too. But it has been worse here.

The water is a cool 53F and as we swim down the slope to the channel I begin to pick out some of the locals. There are several small hermit crabs scurrying about and as we get deeper a small blue claw runs by carrying an even smaller one in its claws. Next we pick out a star fish … or two…or a hundred, all scattered about and piled one atop the other. A field of starfish covers the far slope of the channel, engaged in various acts of resting, eating and unsuitable displays of passion.

There is a crab trap someone snagged on the rocks and lost, and we check inside to see if anything has been captured and needs to be freed. And, from the corner of my eye, I catch a fleeting glimpse of a shadow flying past us low to the sand. If the water were warmer I would say it was a ray, but it has to be something else. I consider this for a moment or two as we head on under the bridge and to the far side. In among the rubble under the bridge are baby sea bass just a few inches long and some small cunner and blenny. I am immediately distracted with the dilemma of whether I should poke or grab the tails of these little guys, and soon we are out into the cove on the far side.

Here among the rocks we come across several horseshoe crabs who are locked in the throes of … of… of whatever it is horseshoe crabs do. I wonder…. Is there some crab dating ritual? Do they go out first….does he buy her dinner…..send flowers? I only have a moment to contemplate this as the tide has changed and we are on our way back under the bridge.

We look around among the rocks and debris and I note several moon snail egg collars strewn about and some spider crabs taking their lead from their horseshoe brethren, a tangled mass of spindly arms and little round bodies.

Further along I sneak up on a 4 oz sinker, swooping it up and dropping it in my bellows pocket. I wonder if there is a minimum size on these, like their fishy neighbors. Should I have left it until it was 6 oz? or maybe 8? Oh well, too late.

As we poke about I feel a tug on my fin and turn to find we have been joined by another diver who I will have to surface to recognize unfortunately. We have seen just about all the bay has to offer us this week. In the coming weeks, more and more of its inhabitants will come out to play and we will come back to dive again.

I have managed to complete the dive with just my dry suit for buoyancy, I wont win any awards for my hovering, but I muddled through. I wont be forgetting my hose again anytime soon I hope. Anthony is the mystery diver we ran into underwater and a few more are topside awaiting a report. The air is still warm and the sun shining and we pack our gear back into the truck contemplating a nice cold beer. Life is good.

April on the Ocean

In days of old
When divers were cold
And before dry suits were invented
The best latrine
Was neoprene
Especially if it was rented

It’s been weeks….seems longer but it has only been weeks since I was last in the ocean and I was truly looking forward to today.

The morning was sunny and the seas were flat…..so different than the last few weekends and as we sat at the dock waiting for the Lady Godiver to arrive we hoped the visibility gods would smile on us as well. We were going diving. Myself, Mark, Jim, Bart, Jack and Francis. Now all we needed was Howard….and the boat.

When you miss a few weeks of diving you should always be prepared for things to have changed. And change they did. Howard arrived on cue for his first day back at his summer dock in Waretown. There was some fresh paint to be viewed. The door to the cabin was clean and white, and as I placed our gear on the cabin benches I noted that the normally slightly tight quarters were a little tighter than usual. Why is that? Must be the new HEAD! I couldn’t believe it, but it’s true. Some changes are good…really good.

This was also to be my maiden boat dive for my doubles and for Mark’s new dry gloves. Can the good news keep on coming? Hmmm…..

We headed out for the Harry Rush. This wreck holds a special place in Jack’s heart as he pulled a huge lobster off of her last summer. This wooden sailing ship sunk on February 17, 1943 in 80 feet of water, in what appears to be a run for shore according to her orientation. What is left of the wreck lies low to the sand and we hooked into the west end at the chain locker. As we went over the side you could see that we were to be content with the warm sunny day and calm seas, as the visibility was less than perfect.

Marks new gloves did not cooperate for him and he was back to his trusty 5mls and my doubles and I arrived in the water at the same time, always a good thing. We were off. There was a slight surface current and particulate in the cloudy green water as we descended. And the water felt colder than the 44 F my computer was registering. As we reached the sand there was a slight surge and the water cleared a bit, we were to have 5-10 ft of viz this dive, and that was being generous.

Mark tied in his reel and we set out looking about. The area we were in was a bit small and mounds and lines of chain abounded. We set out doing sweeps looking for another section, coming across small pieces here and there but never really finding what we were looking for. I took this opportunity to work on my buoyancy and trim and can honestly say I never shot to the surface or face planted in the sand. A little more work may still be in order though.

The lack of sea life was blaringly obvious. There was the occasional starfish lying about and one lone hermit crab scurrying along looking like he had missed his bus. There were no other fish and we never found the body of the wreck which had held Jack’s prize lobster last season, so we headed on back to the line and up.

While my doubles and I had exited the boat with some ease, my return was less than triumphant. With a little help from my friends I was back on board. Along with Jack…….who had managed to find the main wreckage and one studly lobster…..and a few not so studly ones too. And while Captain Bart watched the boat, Howard went down and found himself some lobster also. Not a bad haul for dive #1.

We headed over to the San Saba for our second dive and saw a lobster boat over the wreck. We headed over to see if we could share and discovered that the pot lines were caught and could not be hauled in. The lobsterman was stuck.

Jack offered to go down and free them and over the side he went, appearing some time later with lines in hand. Our new friend was very grateful and presented us with a generous lobstery thank you for Jack’s trouble. And we got the skinny on our next dive…..right over the boilers, same water temps and marginally better visibility. Worked for me, and over we went.

The San Saba was a freighter named after a river in Texas which sunk on October 4, 1918 after hitting a mine laid by the U-117. Being a navigational hazard, she was demolished and is now mangled wreckage that lies in 80- ft of water.

The water was only a smidgeon clearer but there was much more life here. Bergall swam all about the wreckage and some small sea bass were hidden back in the boilers. Huge clam shells were strewn about and the usual growth covered the wreckage.

We swam about and I taxed myself as I managed my buoyancy, kept an eye on Mark so as not to get lost, and poked and prodded the fishies…..life is good. As we moved about I saw a single antennae peeking out from under a piece of wreckage and made a grab for what was surely to be my first lobster of the season. But alas…..all I got was a single antennae…..he was wedged in there pretty good and not coming out to play. We looked about a bit more and then headed on up the line.

Again a huge thank you for the assist on climbing aboard and we looked about to see what the others had found. Bart was busy trying to remove the chain from his new anchor and not fairing well. Let it be noted in this dive report that he was less than happy with his progress. I had rescued some sinkers from their fate of being tied to the wreckage and they found a new home in Howards tackle box. One last lobster joined us for the ride in and we set sail for home.

The sun was still shining, the air was warm, the seas were flat and the company outstanding. What a nice day to get out.

Opening Day At Dutch Springs 2008

Don’t wait for extraordinary opportunities. Seize common occasions and make them great….. ~ Orison Swett Marden

Opportunity….

We were supposed to be on a boat on the calm Atlantic, enjoying the gentle breezes and first warm days of spring. Ahhh…….

Unfortunately rain, cold and 35 knot gusts put a damper on our plans. Not to be deterred, we took advantage of the “opportunity” and immediately changed course for opening day at Dutch Springs 2008. Not our planned destination but a great “opportunity” to get wet, meet up with old friends, and dial in the new wing and doubles. Not a bad plan.

In the manner of all diving, we set forth at O’Dark Thirty. Mark, to the minute on time, as usual. It was cold and raining, and the outlook was bleak, but we were getting wet…one way or another. Up the Parkway we headed and met up with Josh and we were on our way, arriving at Dutch Springs at 8AM and the official opening. The weather had cleared some and it was no longer raining…..things were looking up.

We unloaded the truck and set out looking for familiar faces before gearing up. In addition to myself, Mark O and Josh, aka YBLdiver, on the next table over was Nick, aka Puddles and or Bubblehead, who has a brandy new dry suit without a drop of aquaseal on it, I hardly recognized him….and Ann. She has to be a saint to join us in such gray weather and not even be a diver. Catching up, their youngest got married over the winter and they have a new grandchild on the way. Congrats guys!

And then there was Frnak, aka Darthlobster or even sometimes…..Frank. Watching him unload is an event. He pulls up in a little car and pops the trunk and like a clown car in the circus begins to pull out enough dive gear to fill a dump truck. Absolutely amazing job of packing. Sherwood, my apologies for not knowing your name, is on the next table setting up his gear and behind him pulls Terry. Terry is a lurker on Wreck Valley and NJDive and we really should give him a name, although Terrythelurker will do for now. Bill B. was unable to make it due to some family goings on but we did spot Brandon, aka Mcjangles and some others.

In short time we are greeting Jack, aka our own lovable Spratman. He is getting back in the water after a too long and trying dry spell, and sporting his new Weezles, dry suit and doubles! And he is followed by Tony, aka NJdiverTony and his secret stash of Dogbreath Ale, aka Dog Fish Head Ale whatever…..an opening day tradition now.

Ahhh….social hour is over and its time to dive. I have a new doubles wing to break in and break it does. Upon setting up my tanks Mark immediately asks…..What’s that noise? My inflator is leaking and no amount of coaxing is convincing it to stop. Luckily I brought a single setup just in case and we switch out the inflators and I am ready to go.

Jack still won’t carry my gear, so I set out for the dock on my own and slowly inch into the cold clear water. As we step off the platform and descend I am greeted by 42 F water that for some reason felt much colder and an ice cream headache. I immediately scrunch my eyes and grab my forehead to warm it and upon reaching the bottom and opening my eyes….I am greeted with about 50 foot or more of viz…sweet!

We are taking things slowly, as I want to take this “opportunity” to play with the new wing and Josh is trying out his new dry suit and doubles for the first time and we take a leisurely stroll on the well traveled route to the school bus, honestly seeing all the sights along the way as I never have before. I have never been here with viz like this…I like it, although, according to Mark who was behind me, he only had about 5 foot of viz. Wise a** (wasn’t me…must have been Josh). I had not raised an inch of silt since my ice cream headache landing. We arrive at the bus and except for struggling with the inflator hose which is way too long, the new wing is fine and the doubles are under control.

We continue on out past the new Hellcat, around the boat, over the river and through the woods, around the tanker up the wall and on home in seconds shy of an hour.

We are cold and hungry and some lunch is in order. First though, I give Jack a little assist with some of the more delicate technical parts of his gear…. twice, and he and Tony are now off to run the same circuit and work out the same bugs. Funny how that works out.

Dive two is shorter and involves the trolley and some other sights, along with an exit at the other docks but still a fun little time and it is time for goodbyes and the ride home.

It was great to see everyone and catch up. And there was talk of some shore diving and notes on boat trips and vacations. There are some plans for future weekends and talk of some future trips. I enjoyed the “opportunity” to catch up with everyone and look forward to seeing them again.

Last Jupiter Dive

And the turtles, of course…. All the turtles are free – As turtles and, maybe, all creatures should be. ~ Yertle the Turtle (Dr. Seuss)

Dive two today went much better. My earlier attempt at a 90 foot ledge ended in my sitting on the boat watching the drift flag move along the top of the water. This time I was going to dive whether my computer cooperated or not. And it didn’t…but I dove.

As I giant strided off the back of the boat my finger spool came alive and mad a mad dash for freedom. I “reeled in” the errant line as I descended on a 75 fsw reef called Tunnels. Upon reaching the bottom I had a birds nest of thin braided line and made quick work of securing it in a tight although unusable manner and proceeded to look about. I was searching for shark and I was quickly rewarded with the sight of a caribbean reef shark taking off into the sand. Immediately followed by his best friend. Woo Hoo!

Within minutes my computer proceeded to have its second temper tantrum but this time I was just going to ride it out and see the sights.

Several more reef sharks moved underneath us. The visibility was between 50 and 70 feet and you could look off into the sand as they swam away.

Just off the reef we came across a large hawksbill turtle resting in the sand. These are no small turtles. This one was between 3 and 4 feet in length and just sat watching us as much as we were him. But this is a drift dive and the current was moving along at a good clip so finning against it was tiring and we moved on.

Several large deep ledges appeared on the reefs sides and at times the ledges connected forming short archways which were the inspiration for the reefs name…Tunnels.

We explored under and about and quickly learned to peak before swimming in as several nurse sharks were resting and ultimately rousted from under the ledge by our curiousness. While nurse sharks are the puppy dogs of the shark world….I had been warned top side not to pet them…..does my reputation extend all the way to Jupiter, Florida? Jeesh.
The race of diver and shark to get out of the way did get the heart pumping though and we moved along. But still no lemon shark.

There was a great deal of other life on this reef also. Along with the variety of sponges and soft corals there were goliath grouper and French angel fish along with some hog fish and trigger fish and an assortment of tang, butterfly fish, fairy basselets and other colorful fish I cant yet name.

At 40 some minutes the last diver of the group was heading up and so I slowly followed giving one last look around. A lone nurse shark about 5-6 foot swam lazily in front of me and I finned in place and watched as she gracefully moved about. It was time for me to go though. All the rest of the divers were headed for the surface and I was the last one down. A tap of air out of my wing to start me on my way and as I rose from the sand to the top of the reef I came face to face almost with an enormous.. yellow … shark. I huge deep breath on my part quickly raised me a few feet higher and above my new best friend. This shark was easily 8 or 9 feet long and I was mesmerized by the yellow coloring. They are called lemon sharks for good reason. My friend was not as enamored of me as I of him and slowly swam along ignoring me as I hovered above. When he finally moved off I continued on up to my safety stop and valet pick up by the dive boat.

Gotta love drift diving. Float along…surface….wave and they come to you and pick you up. Think we could get the jersey Captains to do that?