Lillian report

Independence II trip to the Lillian 9-9-2007

All week the weather was looking like I would miss my second try at getting on the Lillian this year. Capt Dan decided to call it at the dock and we were all glad he did because the seas were nearly flat with only some 2-3 foot long period swells for most of the day.

The visibility below the thermocline at 85 feet was about 25-30 feet and gave me the chance to spot the boilers and engines on the way down the line and get a little orientation. The wreck was wire dragged so the wreckage is very broken down and spread out over a huge area which is what makes this a great lobster wreck. The temp was 47 on the bottom where I hit a max depth of 152fsw. I headed over to the boilers and the huge engine which must come 30 feet off the bottom. There were some semi intact pieces that gave some relief to the otherwise low lying collapsed hull plates. In one of these little cubby holes I found what I think was a porthole (it was brass and round?). I had to take off my deco bottles and other gear to squeeze in but it wasn’t budging easily. I think it was the backside of the backing plate, so it must have still been attached and with not much room to work I pressed on. I found the edge of wreckage and swam up and down checking out the wreck and picking up the scallops that were in the sand. There were large winter flounder everywhere and they were literally bouncing off me as I landed on them while I was picking up scallops. I took a leisurely return route and spent some time poking around the engine and boilers again before heading up at the 40 minute mark.

I caught up with “go long” Rob at 20 feet and spent my hang admiring his catch. He had 2 goodie bags bulging with scallops and some good sized lobsters. Back on the boat it was time for lunch! While the other divers were enjoying their second dive I was enjoying fresh sushi. I am convinced there is nothing better than fresh caught scallops. I took a couple of fresh slices of pineapple and squeezed it into a zip-lock bag with the scallops and let it marinate on ice for some delicious pineapple scallop ceviche.

In addition to the pile of lobsters and scallops that came up Charlie found a nice brass cage lamp. The Lillian is another great NJ wreck and didn’t fail to produce.

Thanks to Mark Clark for all pictures.