The NOAA forecast was for 5-10 knot winds, and 6-8 seas. Something is wrong there. Obviously there was something stirring off shore. (We now know it as Andrea.) When we got to the boat, there was no wind, and the bay was mirror flat. The captain wanted to take a look and see what Mother nature had in store for us. Good Call. Swells were causing huge waves just at the end of the inlet, and it was slow going out. Once clear, there was just a 3-4 swell. Captain Dan made a run for it.
It was a 60 mile trip to the Oregon. After tying down all the gear, we hit the racks for the long trip. As we neared the wreck, the swells seemed to settle down a bit, and the surface water was very clear. There was now a slight breeze, but nothing to speak of. Richie gave us all a briefing on the layout of the wreck. Complete with digging recommendations. As this was my first time on the Oregon, I was more interested in a quick tour. With a water temp of 42 and a depth of 130, this was not going to be a long dive.
Divers geared up and rolled in. By the time the last on hit the water, our crew was back up with a condition report. No current on the bottom, a slight surge, and 20 ft of vis. Richie held up his bag with a few scallops, one 2 lb lobster, and one in the 8 lb range. Nice catch.
When I hit the bottom, I could see a strobe off in the distance. Shortly, John went by with something on a lift bag. I started looking around, but my tour of the wreck was cut short by images of large lobster in my bag (Damn Richie). While there was enough light to sea clearly, I turned on my light and wend searching in each hole. I covered a lot of wreck, but was not having much luck until I noticed a solitary scallop. Hummmm. Off I go into the sand! One more. Maybe two. Where are they? Inflatable Water Slide After a hundred feet, I gave up, and headed back at an angle. I ran into a few piles of debris out there, and checked them out. Just before reaching the wreck there was a hull plate with tell tale antenna. After putting him in my bag, I continued back. My hands were getting cold now and it was time to head for the line. Three scallops, and a lobster. Not great, not bad. As I hit the wreck, I hit pay dirt. A group of scallops laying in a washout. OKay, don’t crush the lobster. Something is wrong here. I go out into the sand and get lobster, I come back to the wreck and get scallops. That’s just not right!
By now my hands were really cold. I headed for the line, untied my reel, and headed up. The water temp reached 48 at the 20 ft hang, and it felt warm by comparison. Dry gloves, got to get out the dry gloves!
The rest of the divers opted for one long dive rather than two short ones, we pulled anchor and headed in. John’s find turned out to be bottles. I hope he shares some pictures once they are cleaned up. We had following seas on the ride back. Another great day to dive!
Tags: dive, SCUBA, scuba nj, scuba training, wreck diving