Go deep, stay long

Nuidbanch

Too often, I’ve had some fantastic diving experiences but can only share them with words.  California is one of those experiences.  I have sworn to myself that I will never again dive without a camera.

Here on the east coast our shore is composed of white sandy beaches.  Great for sunbathers, but not much to look at for divers.  Other coasts have rocky shores.  On rocky shores, fish have places to hide, plants have places to take root.

The west coast enjoys these rocky shores.  Kelp anchors to the seabed, and a variety of sea life thrives in it’s shelter.  While east coast diving is all about shipwrecks, west coast divers can simply drop in the water and enjoy diving the kelp beds.

Last week I had another opportunity to dive California’s underwater forests.  On my first trip to CA, my 35 mm film camera failed me, and I came home with only memories.  My last trip, I was involved in  some intensive training, and did not bring the camera.  This time, I was taking pictures one way or another.

The reason for the trip revolved around training, again.   This time I was working on an instructor cert on the new KISS GEM pSCR.   After diving the unit for many weeks in our local quarry, I felt comfortable in it’s operation.  Now I had to teach others.  My IT set up the class that involved system operation, buildup, pool and open water.  The first portions went quickly, and we were soon discussing open water.

Point Lobos

In the Monterey area, there are many options for open water dives.  After a few discussions, the decision was on Point Lobos, a small peninsula south of Carmel.  The area is mostly state park with some fantastic vistas.  Shore entry is in a small lagoon with a facility for divers.  Upon arrival we were greeted by local divers, and quickly discussed conditions prior to their second dive.  Our entry was uneventful, and we were soon swimming through the kelp beds.  There is no comparable feeling in Northeast diving.

The next day Alan borrowed a friends boat, and we headed to the Monterey marina breakwater.  I’m sure there are better placed to dive, but on my last visit we saw many Rainbow Nudibranchs close to the breakwater.  We have no such creatures here in the Northeast, so I expressed my fascination, and desire for a picture.

While preparing the boat and gearing up, we observed a number of large red jellyfish floating near the surface.  I gathered as many photos as I could on the surface, and anticipated seeing them in the water.  After a quick boat trip and back roll entry, we headed down to find the anchor a few inches from a line Alan placed a few years earlier.  Over on the breakwater we heard the Sea Lions barking above us and the shrimp crackling in the rocks.  Between drills and sea lion fly byes, Alan helped me snap a few shots of the abundant flora and fauna.

After the class, I spent my preflight surface interval photographing the topside environment.  Seals, sea lions, pelicans, … all posing for the tourist.  It was a great trip with lots of things to learn.  If you ever have the opportunity to visit, I highly recommend getting wet.

Fish on the windlass

Armed with a set of numbers from a befriended fishing boat captain, Captains George and Roger gathered the usual suspects and headed out to investigate.  The forecast was for thunderstorms all day, but the skies were just hazy, with a slight breeze.  The seas were near flat with a small swell.   On the way out we stopped at an old familiar wreck to stock up on lobster, fluke, seabass and sinker (a clear indication of a popular wreck).  Surface conditions were not as clear as last week, but there was still blue water above the standard Northeast green.  The bottom vis dropped to 25 ft, but still bright with clear water above.  We all kept our dives short given the anticipation of the next wreck.

We were quickly underway and headed out on the discovery mission.  Once we arrived on the numbers, Dr, Captain Roger spent some time mapping out the wreck.  Chris splashed and tied in.  George and Roger gave us a brief on what they had seen on the depth finder, and gave instructions to mark larger pieces.

Tied to chain

With great anticipation, we all quickly splashed and found that Chris had us tied into a rather large chain.  It was not a chain pile, but a length of chain stretching along side of wreck.  The wreck itself was a low lying wooded structure, and very old.  While the conditions were calm, Chris was probably correct to pick the large metal chain link rather than a soft wood rib.  It was clear that we were on the side of the ship, so I tied off my reel, and headed out to look for the other side.  The bottom here was not so much sand as gravel.  While hoping to see fluke, there was naught but Sea Robins, and large groups of them at that.  Given the slight surge, this bottom structure helped keep the silt down and the vis clear at about 30+ ft.   It was quickly apparent that I had picked the wrong direction, so I swung back to the spar to find Roger on the other side.  The relief here varied from a few inches to 2-4 ft.  Larger portions were covered with seabass, and lots of ribs with obvious signs of excavation (lobster).   Smaller parts were populated with juveniles and cunners.  We swam along checking holes here an there until the we ran out of wreckage.  Roger turned back, making sure to examine the ribs on the other side.  I continued along on our initial heading to see if the wreckage continued further along.  Nothing ends without reason.  Just out of the range of visibility, the spar continued.  Here again, the relief varied, and now the width of the wreckage started to increase, and I suspected I was approaching the bow.  Off toward the right, movement caught my eye.  A large gill net was snagged on the wreckage wrapped with line, it was swaying in the surge.  I kept my distance, but did notice it was still catching fish.

A few minutes later, a large shadow loomed up ahead.  On approached it was evident that it was a windlass, and a very large one.  It rose off the bottom 5-6 ft, and with the surrounding structure, was about 15-20 ft long.  The structure was covered with fish.  Tog, seabass and Pollock were all swimming about openly.   Unfortunately, I was fishing with my camera, and could only bring back images.  My reel was nearly empty, so I dropped it, and proceeded to take photos and look about.  Before long, my camera’s moisture alarm sounded, so I left the reel for George, and quickly headed back.

The jaunt off the wreck into the “sand” had cost me some line, but the reel is 400 ft, and there were only a few wraps left when I dropped it.  Also, our start point was not at the stern.  Other divers reported more wreckage on the other side of the tie in.  That makes this a big wreck.  That also explains the size of the windlass.  Chris tied us into a chain that had been deployed covering the length of the wreck.  The end of that chain probably includes a large anchor buried out in the sand.

I surfaced to find George getting ready to splash.   Other divers had briefed him on the structure they’d found.  With my camera out danger, I offered to join him, but he agreed that he would follow my reel, taking sisal and a bag to mark the windlass.   From the bow of the boat Dina Dee II, we watched his bubbles head off in the distance.  Soon, we saw his lift bag a good distance off the port bow, and we laid bets on the condition of my reel. When he surface, it was clear that he had made significant dent in the local seabass, lobster and fluke population with one notable exception… No sinkers.  Clearly very few fishermen know about this one.  Apparently George and reels don’t get along, as mine was in his bag, and looked more like a ball of twine than a reel. At this point, we had a serious dilemma, where to put all the fish.  The 56qt  cooler was already over full.  We had to empty out the mask bucket and use it to keep the overflow.

Haul

Chris did another short dive, then pulled the hook.   Once on board, Captain Roger headed over to mark the numbers of the windlass and grab the bag.  As we steamed for home we all exchanged descriptions of where we had gone, and what we had seen.  It was clear that we only saw half of the wreck, and this wreck calls for more investigation.   It may have only been a barge, but it was a big one, and covered with fish and lobster.  As one diver pointed out, even barges can have interesting artifacts. We were there for fun, and everyone had a blast.  There’s much more to see, do, and catch.

Back a the dock George and Roger cleaned fish while the rest of us cleaned gear and boat.  There was plenty of seabass, fluke and lobster for all that wanted it.  We even arranged to ship some down to South Carolina.   After stopping to see my mom in Manahawkin, my gear got the forecasted fresh water rinse as those thunderstorms finally appeared.

Another great day of diving courtesy of the Dina Dee II.

A while back, I spent some time on the CDT Fourcault diving shipwrecks of the North Sea. The trip was a blast, and I met some really wonderful divers. There were groups from Belgium, UK, USA, and Italy (actually only one diver from Italy). All were fine divers, and many great sea stories were told over the dinner table.

Since that time some of us have kept in touch, and exchanged photos and videos of the trip, and other dive events. The latest was a promotional video made for the vessel CDT Fourcault. There are clips from our trip, and even a shots of me.

Flamingo snail

After a few weekends of being snowed in, I had the opportunity to work through my piles of photos and relate some memories (and pictures) of past trips.Val and I visited Bonaire on two separate trips. I’ve attached some shots of resort (Buddy Dive), and added a new gallery.

For those of you unfamiliar with Bonaire, it is 50 miles north of South America (Venezuela to be exact). The island part of the Nether Antilles. This location of the Caribbean is constantly swept by easterly trade winds. The east side of the island is subject to rough waves and the shoreline is rocky. The western side of the island is protected in the lea. Here is some of the best diving of the Caribbean.

Sunset over Kline

The shore diving really is about as easy as it gets. The dock at Buddy Dive is only a few feet from the dive shop, and the reef is only a few fin strokes away. I spent the first day draining tank after tank poking around the reef. I was working with a new still camera, and practicing with the video housing. Surface intervals were only a quick stop for fresh tanks, batteries, or tape. The top of the reef is about 20 ft deep An Al 80 lasts quite a while at this depth, and decompression is impossible, especially on Nitrox. After 6 tanks, my wife dragged me out of the water for dinner.

The next day we got a map of the island and headed out in our pickup truck (provided with the suite). The west side of the island is rimed with a seemingly continuous reef. In some places it is a double reef with sand in between. On the shore, there are areas where you can park a your truck, gear up, and make an entrance. Some areas have docks and with ladders to facilitate access. These entrance sites have names, which are both on the map, and written on yellow stones along the side of the road.

Clearner shrimp on a butterfly

Our package included boat a few boat dives. These were mostly spent visiting Kline Bonaire. This is an uninhabited island to the west of Bonaire, also protected from the trade winds. Many of these dives were deeper as the slope to Kline was much steeper.

Many sections of the reef hold different microcosm and wild life. There are many web sites describing, so I’ll just point out some of the highlights. The Hilma Hooker is a shipwreck in the sand between a double reef. It’s a nice dive, and if you’re one of the first there, you will find a few large Tarpon hiding in the holds.

Salt Pier is where the dried sea salt is loaded onto ships. The structure of the pier seems to attract schools of fish, and event the shallows are full of life.

Fish to look for:

Eels: this is the one of the first times I’ve seen eels out hunting during the day.

Frog Fish: Another first for me. They are hard to spot, as their camouflage is nearly perfect.
Tarpon: They are huge, and will follow you on a night dive.

Sea horses: Ask your Dive Master where to find them.

School of fish: There are so many fish, that sometimes you feel like one of the crowd

Spotted Eagle Rays: These majestic rays swim effortless and leave you breathless if you try to follow.

Dolphins: I’m not sure how often these appear, but on one day we got snorkel with them on the surface interval.

Shooting a bag while maintaining buoyancy

This fall in the Northeast was a bad season for blowouts and poor visibility.  Several hurricanes passed by, stirring up the surf.  Often, this can help the conditions by mixing the surface water with the cooler water below the thermocline.  Unfortunately this fall it cleared out the plankton on the surface, then just stirred up the bottom into soup.  At this point, the surface had over 50 ft of visibility, but the bottom would drop to less than 5.  That’s on the days we could make it out.

On the plus side, this gave me the opportunity to drag some students up to Dutch and finish up classes.  Once most of the drills are done, I dragged the camera along to grab a few shots.   After this fall, I needed the practice or I’d forget how to work the housing.  Also, I’m playing with a new lenses/port combination that takes some getting use to.  For what it’s worth, here are some of the photos that came out well.