Cape Hatteras report

June 20-22

This past weekend the gang headed down to Cape Hatteras for three days of diving on some great wrecks in the clear warm Gulf Stream waters with Capt JT on the Under Pressure. Friday we hit the Proteus. This 390' passenger freighter sank in 130 fsw in 1918. Hitting the water the visibility was incredible and continued down to the wreck. I was greeted by large numbers of sand tiger sharks and a sleepy green sea turtle who didn't seem too impressed by my intrusion. Large schools of baitfish swarmed the wreck making wide angle shots difficult and I found myself cursing at them repeatedly into my DSV throughout the dive. I headed off to the stern and found a huge school(?) of sand tigers congregating aft of the majestic rudder and propeller. I crossed paths with Danny who pointed out a porthole and although a little bent up had enough sand blasted shiny brass poking through the growth to seduce us into a second date. Back by the boilers schools of baitfish were swarming between them with schools of hungry jacks on their tails.

After some surface interval fishing Danny and I headed back in to try and get the porthole. It posed a tougher challenge than we originally thought but after 30 minutes of pounding we had it on a bag.

Saturday and Sunday the plan was to dive the E.M Clark. A tanker torpedoed in WWII and (allegedly) one of the best dives off the East coast. Alas as is often the case in Hatteras plans didn't play out as well as they did on paper. Saturday we had good seas and even hooked into the wreck but you could have heard a pin drop as JT announced it was undivable. To prove it to us he dropped a 15 lb weight over the side which was promptly waterskiing horizontally off the stern in the 3kt current. With heavy hearts we headed in to the paddlewheeler where we found the current "better" but still kicking at around 2kts. Eventually we ended up on the Keshena. This small wreck was an ocean going tug that sank during rescue of the torpedoed J.A. Mowinckel during WWII. As the wreck is in only 90 feet of water the open circuit guys weren't too thrilled about blowing an expensive Clark mix (a nice advantage of the rebreather), but JT and Bill were nice enough to lend some doubles so everyone could get a dive in.

The vis on the Keshena wasn't as good as the Proteus but still a nice 30 feet or so. The wreck is pretty broken down except for the bow which rises about 20 feet off the bottom. It is still continuous so navigation is easy. Sand tigers were also present here along with lots of trigger fish.

Sunday the wind was still blowing out of the south and with rougher seas we went with JT's judgment that the current over the Clark would probably still be kicking and decided not to risk being in an area with not many other options and headed for the USS Tarpon.

The Tarpon was a US submarine that sunk in 140 fsw while under tow to the scrapyard in 1957. The seas were a little bouncy on the ride out and we were given the option of stopping at the Dixie Arrow, but we opted to soldier on and give it a go. On site the conditions were again spectacular and most of the sub could be seen laid out before you around 70 feet. We were tied in near the conning tower which has fallen/been pulled into the sand. I wanted to give a go at making a panoramic composite image of the sub and spent most of my dive snapping shots down the hull. Many sand tigers surrounding the wreck along with lots of other life which made for an incredible dive.

We pulled hook and trolled over to the Dixie Arrow for dive 2. Must not have been my day because "I trolled for 2 hours and all I caught was this sunburn". Oh well, it was fun. On the Dixie Arrow the visibility was around 40 feet and i nearly crashed into a sand tiger descending the line which terminated between the boilers and huge engine. Danny and I swam forward towards the bow passing some large barracuda and BIG sand tigers. Most of the mid section is pretty flattened out until you get to the bow which still stands high off the bottom. A great dive and a great way to end out the trip. Can't wait to get back!

Proteus

Keshena

Tarpon

Dixie Arrow

Rhein - ocerous?

Snuck in some time today while packing for Hatteras to clean up some of the stuff I got off the RHEIN a month ago. Here is a cage lamp and some light gimbles that were recovered from inside the foc'sle of the wreck. They came out pretty nice. The brass screws were missing from the one gimble for some reason which is why the rings are laying down, I will have to replace them.

RP Resor

Made it out to the Resor on the Independence II today in glassy flat seas. The conditions were spectacular with over 50 feet of visibility near the surface and 30-40 feet on the wreck. We were tied in at the very stern adjacent to the deck gun which is still holding strong to its mount after 66 years of being submerged on its side. Temperature on the bottom at 120 fsw was 46F with the surface water much warmer in the neighborhood of 60 degrees. I splashed amidst a pile of scallop guts as Jim and crew were busy shucking away at their harvest from dive 1. I was trying out my new camera set up and was very pleased with the results for my first crack at it and with no strobes. At the end of the day it was smiles all around and the cooler was packed to the brim with scallops, lobsters, and a trigger fish that learned the hard way that lingering around the boat ladder is a bad idea.

I took this at my 50 foot stop

Capt Dan and Capt Frankie at 20 feet

New Toy

Picked up my new toy last night... needless to say I am one happy camper :-)





Thanks Arch!

Pinta and Immaculata

Mark Clark with a nice milk bottle on the Immaculata

Got out to the Pinta (85 fsw) Saturday and the Immaculata (100fsw) today. Great dives and weather both days from the Independence II. Visibility in the 30 foot range on both wrecks with bottom temps around 46F. Blew out my wrist seal on the Pinta so just dropped into the hold and played around with some ambient light shots before calling it short. This was my first time on the Immaculata and it's a great wreck. Bugs and bottles everywhere. Lots of both came up, including some other odds and ends like a nice antique beer stein.

All Pinta pictures are at this link --> Pinta Pics
All Immaculata pictures at this link --> Immaculata Pics

The Pinta was carrying a cargo of lumber when she went down

Arriving on the Immaculata

This bottle is still there

This one is not ;-)

Remember to clean up when you're done

Departing the Immaculata


My bottles

Dykes

Today the Independence II sailed with the group from the Diverision Dive Club to the schooner barge Dykes. The torrential downpour and howling wind through the night at the marina convinced me there was no way we were making it out, but I awoke to sunny skies and light breeze just as NOAA predicted. With a slight swell running the ride was smooth and short. Danny got us tied in quickly to the tip of the bow and divers wasted no time hitting the water.

Inside the Dykes bow

Reports of 20-30 feet of visibility and 46^oF on the bottom came up along with some nice seabass and bags of mussels. With the encouraging report I grabbed my camera and headed in. This was my first time on this wreck so I spent some time poking about. The bow is pretty intact and comes about 20 feet off the white sandy bottom at 65 feet. The vis was indeed quite nice and bright with lots of ambient light but lots of particulate floating about which made my photography challenging (the surge didn’t help either). Towards the end of my dive I had some fun smashing mussels open for the bergalls and getting swarmed by them. Another great day of diving and Capt Dan was even kind enough to save me one of Helen’s famous pierogies, which was delicious as always.

Before

After

A couple more pics

Ayuruoca - May 25, 2008

The pinch of gas prices was evident Sunday as the Independence II was the lone boat leaving the inlet in calm flat seas on a holiday weekend. This made a leisurely 14 mile cruise to the Mudhole where we hooked into the stern section of the Ayuruoca also known locally as the “Oil Wreck”. The Ayuruoca sits perfectly upright on the muddy bottom 170 feet below the Atlantic and if it weren’t for the prevailing poor conditions of the mudhole would be one (if not THE) best wrecks off the Jersey coast. The hook was thrown and Dave and Bill wasted no time getting us tied into a boom right next to the aft mast.

Hitting the water I was tempted to reach for my knife to help getting through the sludge on top which was thick as molasses and limited the visibility to a couple feet. Further down the visibility opened up and was quite clear which gave a nice view as I passed the top of the mast at 80 feet and the crow’s nest at 90 feet. Following the anemone carpeted mast down to the tie in at 140 feet about 10 feet off the main deck where the water was 45^oF. Down on the wreck the visibility dropped again depending on how close you got to the silty deck. High off the wreck it was probably a solid 20 feet but closer to the deck it was a very dark 10 feet. Still not bad for this wreck.

It took me a couple minutes to figure out we were at the aft mast and not the forward mast. I tied off my reel and headed off (turned out I was going forward) and found the dog house on deck and got oriented. I swam back along the port rail at around 150 feet to pay a visit to the beautiful helm at the aft steering station. As the rail started to round off at the fantail, I cut in to the steering station under the gun tub. I was confused for a minute thinking I went the wrong way somehow, but I finally realized I was indeed staring at the 7 foot teak and bronze helm. It has become nearly completely overgrown with colorful anemones with only hints of teak peaking through and the spokes barely discernable through the growth. I popped up to check out the deck gun and was pleased to find it still standing intact and picturesque as ever. I quickly swam over the decaying live shells and headed forward to the main break in the wreck. I took my time heading back and took some time poking my light into some rust holes that have opened up in the deck and noted some spots for future exploration. I got to play Jack and the bean stalk on the ascent as the anchor had wrapped around the mast which made for a cool way to end the dive. After a final goodbye to the lone bergall peeking out of the top of the mast at 80 feet I finished my deco in the pea soup which at least was ~10 degrees warmer than the bottom at a comfortable 55^oF.

The Oil Wreck

Ayuruoca pictures including the helm when it wasn't so covered

Dry Tortugas - Diving the Rhein and Araby Maid

May 18-22

Just got back from an excursion to Florida where I had a great time diving the M. S. Rhein (see latest issue of Wreck Diving Magazine) and the Araby Maid.

This was the first time traveling with the Meg and all told it went very smoothly. My overloaded backpack containing the head did decide to bust at the seams revealing the "DANGER this device can render you unconscious without warning" sticker just as the TSA official was carrying it to the inspection table. But other then that and the subsequent sirens and "STAND DOWN!" orders when something in my bag set off the bomb sniffer... all my gear managed to arrive in Florida.

The obligatory shot

The farewell committee

The 3 day trip was aboard the 100' Ultimate Getaway out of Ft. Myers, FL. After loading everyone and their gear we left Sunday and made the 12 hour journey to the Dry Tortugas which lie 100+ miles away and ~70 miles from the closest point of land, Key West. The first wreck we hit was the German freighter Rhein lying in 240 feet of warm clear water. Although the wreck is collapsing in areas it is surprisingly well intact for being down over 60 years. We were tied in midships and seeing the wreck come into view around 130 feet is breathtaking. The anchor line tracked past the kingspost which is still standing as if the wreck is letting you know its defiant heart refuses to fully give up the ghost. The goliath grouper sitting on top at 150 feet only adds to eye candy as we descend to the main deck still 60 feet below. We spent 3 dives exploring this incredible wreck and never made it aft of the engine room. The first two dives we spent exploring the intact bow which rises off the bottom 50+ feet. Around a winch and into the shadows passes a massive tail of a grouper that looks like something Paul Bunyon would have used for a broom letting you know you are not alone. The visibility makes you feel like you are flying along the 5th story of a 10 story building as you round the tip of the bow. We recovered one complete porthole that was laying loose from the interior of the focsle along with a camp lamp and some other brass light fixtures. Other portholes still remained in place on the walls with the storm covers clamped tight. On the last dive I ventured into the cavernous engine room which is now torn open due to the collapsing of the wreck. Water on the bottom was in the low 70s and deco seemed to fly by as we had all kinds of visitors in the 80 degree water near the surface including playful pods of dolphins that we could hear squeaking on nearly every dive, huge schools of barracudas, and on one dive a very interested 8 foot shark of unknown race. 3 dives was merely a teaser and not nearly enough time to fully appreciate the wreck of the Rhein.

Jim and Chris mix gas over the Rhein

Tuesday evening we bid auf wiedersehen to the Rhein and motored the 14 miles to the resting place of the steel hulled bark Araby Maid. The Maid was a change of pace as it was a much smaller and older wreck but spectacular in her own respect. We were greeted with the bow of this old girl and several "small" goliath grouper leaving the wreck in the wake of the bubble blowers. I spent a fair amount of time working my way from bow to stern in between decks. Rows of portholes line the wreck and require a fair amount of work to get which is why at 210 feet the closed ports are still denying the interior residents a cool breeze. I thought for a second I was the first person to get narked on 10/90 when out by the fallen forward mast I thought the wreck was trying to swim away. It turned out to be the biggest turtle I have ever seen giving me dirty looks over his shoulder for waking him up as he slowly picked up speed and disappeared in the distance. On the second dive I was planning on digging around inside. I quickly changed my mind when I saw there was a massive Goliath grouper in the way (along with a couple other "smaller" in his/her entourage). This was literally the biggest fish I have ever seen and decided not to find out the hard way if we could indeed share the somewhat cramped interior of the Araby Maid in harmony.






This was a great trip with great people. The Capt and crew of the Ultimate Getaway run a world class operation. Safety is number one with them and spare bottles were placed on the bottom, at 70 feet, and O2 at 20 feet. They had safety divers in the water to monitor divers and to recover unneeded bottles/gear and were just all around professional guys. Thanks to Jim at Fantasea Scuba for handling logistics of the trip including supplying bailout bottles and onboard gas. And of course thanks to Richie Kohler for running a great trip.

Next time I'll have some underwater shots as it looks like a new toy will be mine very shortly :-)