Archive for the ‘Instruction’ Category

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Drama on the High seas.

Saturday, July 25th, 2009
The Lockness stopped by

Saturday, Divers Den North had a charter to the Stolt. Everybody loves this wreck. The drive out was spent weaving and dodging the flotilla of recreational boats. Apparently there was a fluke tournament, and the masses had turned out.

When we reached the Stolt, Terry jumped in to set the hook.  Watching him descend, it was obvious that surface vis looked much better than the week before.  However, when we pulled up a dragger had passed very close to the wreck.  This raised concerns about the piscina gonfiabile con scivolo vis on the bottom. Terry had us tied in quickly, and the pool was open.  As divers were rolling in, the Lockness arrived from Long Island, and asked to join us.  Before long they were tied in, with their boat just off our stern.  Captain Dan seems to know everyone.  We were soon exchanging stories of dives, trips, and artifacts.

Divers started returning with bags of scallops, bugs and mussels. A couple of nice tog came up also. From the reports the temperatures jumping castle had not changed much, but the visibility was just the opposite. of last week. It was clear on the surface, and only 10 feet or so on the wreck.

I rolled in with a student, and we headed for the bottom right along the break. The reports were accurate, the vis was bad, with some surge at the top of the wreck, and current past the hull. We did a quick tour of the break, then headed slowly up the super structure. We poked our heads in a few holes, but the vis was just as bad inside. One interesting observation was the number of scallops on top of the wreck, and on the flat surface of the superstructure.

The Coast Guard takes over the escort

While we were in the water, a boat in distress was reported in our area. We got underway quickly, and sped off to assist. Upon arrival, we could see that the boat was low in the water, but they had stopped taking on water. We escorted them toward shore until the Coast Guard arrived on scene. Nothing like a little drama on the high seas.

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Monkfish on the Stolt

Saturday, June 13th, 2009
Nice Set of Teeth

We had another great trip to the Stolt this Saturday. Once we cleared the inlet, the seas were flat with just a slight breeze from the north. Reaching the top of the wreck we easily had 40-50 ft of visibility. Again the top was quite warm with the thermocline starting a 70. On the bottom the conditions drop to 30 ft of visibility, and about 44 degrees. On the first dive, I headed out in the sand in search of scallops. While I ran into lots of skates, winter flounder, and a number of small bugs, there were no large scallops in range of my reel. I made a sweeping arc back to the wreck, but still no scallop encounters. Not even a moon snail to be found. After spotting a few small lobster, and many more flounder, I started back up to the line.

Back on board, someone mentioned seeing a large monkfish along the side of the wreck. With tog out of season, and my first jumping castle scallop run coming up empty, I opted to have a go with another monkfish aka goosefish. I dropped down the line and started hunting the creature. The usual flounder, ling, eelpout, and small lobster were readily seen. No Monkfish in sight. Doubling back, to the break, I soon spotted him. A battle soon ensued, and the creature was stuffed into my large catch bag. He did not seem happy about the situation. He barely fit in, and may have been cramped. On the way up the line I made sure to keep my hands away from his gaping maw, and keep his slimy flesh away from my drysuit.

We were soon back at the dock, and I had the unenviable task of cleaning this beast. Many people stopped by to inquire about the creature. Most passers by had no idea what it was. The process of cleaning took a while, and made quite a smelly mess. Still the flesh is quite good, and this guy was large enough for a few meals.

If you see a monkfish on the bottom remember two things: they fight back, someone will have to clean him.

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Scallops, Lobster, and Training on the Lillian.

Tuesday, June 9th, 2009

The Scuba Connection had a charter to the Lillian this week.  Wayne was out with a class. With a few of the usual suspects in tow, the Independence got underway.   NOAA was calling for thunder storms in the afternoon.  The drive out of the inlet was in heavy fog.  Once that open up, we could see on the radar that the rain was following us out (a bit early).  The worst of it hit before we got to the wreck, and mostly cleared by the time Richie had us tied in.

The passengers soon rolled in, and Richie returned with a nice bag of scallops and bugs.   He had us tied into a large pipe next to the engine.  This section of the wreck stood some 20 ft off the silty bottom.  The surface temp was 58.  Bottom temp was 43-48, depending on who you asked, and visibility was a dark 40.  If the sun came out, this would be a fantastic dive.  As it was, it was just great.

The Lillian was a freighter that sunk back in 1939 with a cargo of sugar. It sank in 150 ft of water after a collision in the fog.   The wreck is on the edge of the mud hole, so the conditions can vary depending on the tide.

After seeing all the scallops coming up, I figured I’d have to go out bounce house for sale in the sand to find any.  This proved futile, as the scallops were on the wreck itself.  Once I figured this out, I bagged my share just as my reel decided it did not want to go any further. Flounder were all over this wreck.  Some were so large, I had to check twice.  Many were still buried in the sand.  Those I checked three times.   Ling cod were also about, along with a few Eel Pouts.  One unusual item was the large sponges lodged about the wreck.  These seemed out of place here.  Some were close to 3 feet across, just laying in the sand.  Captain Dan told us to keep an eye out for portholes, so I looked closely as I reeled my line back in.

I headed back to the boilers, and was soon comforted by the sight of the strobe in the distance.  These were great conditions for this wreck.    Back on the boat, we all took turns cleaning scallops.  Several of the passengers had bagged their first scallops, and were learning how to clean them under Captain Dan’s tutelage.

We headed home just as the sun broke through the clouds.  Oh well, it was still a great dive!  The scallop dinner was good too!

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Opening day at Dutch

Sunday, April 5th, 2009
The Silver Comet

With all the rain and storms in March, we were not able to get out on the water.   A few of us broke down and headed to Dutch Springs for opening day.  It was great to see everyone, and finally get wet.  I expected the water to be around 38 degrees, but instead it was more like 43.  Not bad for early April.

Vis was good, and like everyone else, I was checking out some gear modifications.   There was a new reel, patches on eastyl the drysuit (I finally found all the holes), and a new dome port for the camera.   Shooting a bag worked well, and I was able to get a few shots in before the camera started complaining about a leak.   Better fresh water than salt water.

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A new skill for the toolkit

Sunday, August 3rd, 2008

Given the events of this week, I decided to add a new skill to our class. Sherwood, John and I practiced the infamous “use a lift bag as backup buoyancy”. The plan was to find a platform at the end of our dive then dump our BCs and inflate a lift bag to execute a controlled ascent (with simulated deco).

The plan started to fall apart when someone moved the platform. Either that or my navigation on the east side of the lake leaves a lot to be desired. After an hour of dragging the guys around to places and attractions we will never find again, we just picked a spot in about 70ft of water and tried the drill. Let’s just say, it takes some practice, and we have no idea who silted up the bottom.

Had we started from a platform kneeling, it may have been much simpler. Sherwood probably had the best idea of dumping the air from the wing into the bag (there by remaining neutral). While a great idea, he later admitted the execution needs a little practice.

My attempt was nearly thwarted by the anemic performance of my second stage purge. While the reg delivers copious amounts of air on demand, the purge only generates a trickle. After dumping my BC, I had to lay on the purge waiting for enough lift to stop my downward plummet.Inflatable Water Slide Fortunately this occurred just feet from the bottom. I was just a few feet from the indignity of a full face plant in the silt. Clearly I could have added air back into my BC, but for some reason, that thought never entered my mind.

After a few moments we gained control of our buoyancy, and began our ascent. We were able to execute our simulated deco, and surface with surprising control over ascent rates. We did all this in a free ascent with no visual reference.

Many of us discuss this skill as an option in the event of BC failure, but how many times do we actually practice it. The next time you’re at Dutch I suggest giving it a try, and add another skill to your tool kit. I just wanted to add some thoughts to keep in mind. A 100 lb lift bag is not designed for the minute buoyancy adjustment we make with our BC. Be very careful with the dump. It can release a lot of gas quickly, and you’ll be headed back down again. When practicing, do NOT attach the bag to yourself. Just hold it. If you lose control of the ascent, you can let go of the bag, and add air back into your BC.

Kudos to John and Sherwood for pulling off this impromptu skill.

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