We decided to make this weekend a long weekend and go for 3 days of diving--the weather was looking great and we had a fantastic line up of diving planned.  On Friday, we headed out to the sanctuary to finish up the installation work on the mooring that is being placed on the Unknown Trawler shipwreck in Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary.

This mooring is part of an initiative to expand diving in Stellwagen and facilitate easier access while still protecting the shipwreck--and was funded through a PADI Project Aware grant. The mooring was installed by the sanctuary's research vessel RV Auk and we were out to make the final adjustments on it to make it completely ready to use. Stay tuned for more details on how to use this mooring.

Anyway, we finished our work quickly and had the rest of the time available to enjoy the wreck. The Unknown Trawler is a modern era fishing vessel. It appears to be a western rig dragger, but we've been unable to determine it's identity thus far. It's turning out to be a challenging one. In any case, this wreck was chosen as the first site for the pilot mooring program and it's a perfect wreck for it--100 feet deep and it's a fantastic dive with abundant marine life and some really cool features--like an upright pilot house sitting in the sand, detached from the rest of the wreck.  It is becoming one of my favorite sanctuary wrecks.  You'll even see some artifacts here, like a partially intact helm wheel and portholes in the sand. This wreck is protected and we ask that you respect this site and the artifacts you'll see there. This site is not only a pilot for the mooring, but also the ability for the dive community to be stewards of sanctuary resources.

The visibility wasn't very good--which is unusual for Stellwagen--but we still had a great dive and got a few pictures:

From left to right: Frank Panaccio on top of the hull next to the keel; Jessica Morrison rounds the corner on the broken off end of the stern hull section; a view into the pilot house from the starboard side; portholes in the sand; Jessica next to the pilot house.

On Saturday, we had another great day of weather. We opted for the Quoddy Bay instead of the YF-415--everyone was game for something different. I'm still trying to get some decent pictures of this wreck, so I was looking forward to trying another round. The Quoddy Bay is a Canadian seiner in ~215' of water, so you never have enough time to do everything you want in a dive.  Anyway, Roman and I were diving together today.

We splashed in and dropped down. There was a pretty annoying current in the water column.  Visibility was so-so near the surface, and then became a very dark, but clear 15-20' for most of the way down. On the wreck it was an OK, dark 10-15' of visibility. Not ideal for "good" pictures, but I went at it anyway.  We did a good lap of the wreck, which is fairly small at ~90' in length.  Our deco was uneventful--except for the constant stream of open circuit diver bubbles that was blowing at us the entire time. The current was enough that it was pushing the bubbles past us even before we could see divers. It was trying, very, very trying... :-)

Anyway, here are a few pictures from the Quoddy Bay... not as many good ones as I was hoping for:

From left to right: Looking back at the front of the pilot house--note the intact glass windows; swimming down the portside looking at the rail along the top of the wheelhouse, lots of nets here; Roman swimming towards the aft hatch.

For Sunday, I was hoping to cap off the weekend with 2 more wrecks, making it a 4 wrecks in 3 days weekend, but the weather wasn't cooperating. The nice weather of the past few days was gone.  We had a kind of gray day with constant light rain and some ESE wind making things a little choppy.  We opted to drop the Winsor and head straight for the Pinthis where we had a mooring, which would make things a little easier in choppy conditions.

We shared the wreck with the Marisa T--they were kind enough to contact us ahead of time and work out a plan to share the wreck. They ended up trying off to our stern, and we ran an extra line down to the wreck to give us a fallback line in case the strain of 2 boats broke the mooring. Everything was fine though and they did their dives with no problems. When Dave was back, he got the BBQ fired up while John and I went in for our dive. I had my scooter with me--mainly to get it in the water since I haven't used it much recently. The visibility wasn't very good though, so I left the camera behind and took the scooter just play around with it.

We dropped in and headed down. John gave the scooter a try and we tooled around by the line for a few minutes before parking the scooter and swimming the wreck. We did tours inside and outside. Visibility was about 10-15' at best, gloomy and kind of dark--not the usual great Pinthis conditions we see.  There was a lot of mono on the wreck in the stern section and it was hard to see in the poor visibility. In any case, we had a great dive and headed up in time to still grab a little food--diving last means you might not get any BBQ ribs, but they saved some for us.

Despite the rain and kind of gloomy finish to the weekend, it was a great day. This was the first crummy weather day we've had all summer--so, we should be grateful for that, even though it's a bummer to see the weather patterns changing, signaling the end of summer.

I hate to say it, but there are already signs that summer is coming to an end. The days are getting shorter--it's still dark in the morning when we get up for dives and the other day I started noticing leaves on the ground... ugh. Summer should be longer! Anyway, we'll enjoy what is left to the fullest no doubt. This weekend we were paying a visit to the Chester Poling, which has not been on our summer schedule much because we tend to dive it plenty during the winter season when we can't get out to the wrecks a little further away.  It was a beautiful day--calm seas and wind, sunny and mild (though not hot...).We loaded up with the gang bright and early. Dan brought cookies, which automatically elevated his status for the day. Frank was back, so Dave and Jessica could take a break from sending nasty text messages, well, at least to Frank.

We got off the dock on time and enjoyed a nice ride up to the wreck. Both moorings were present so we tied off to the stern and got ready for diving.  I was diving first today, so I suited up and hit the water with Dan.  We immediately headed inside the wreck for a tour; it was interesting to see how some silt has moved around. I noticed a few areas that are starting to expose, which should make for some good digging opportunities.  We then headed out to the break where I saw a bright yellow sea raven. I've seen them camouflage themselves plenty, but I can't recall the last time that I saw one that was so yellow. It was cool.

Anyway, Dan headed up and I continued the dive. There are tons of quahog shells on the wreck. I'm not sure if a boat is grabbing one of the moorings to work outside the harbor and dumping everything over the wreck or it's just random that the wreck is in some dump stream from a vessel pitching the shells, but it's annoying. I did notice that the catwalk is really starting to regenerate in terms of growth, for those of you that remember the massive anemone disappearance a few years ago that spawned theories ranging from siltation to massive migration to UFO capture... well, I digress.  I headed up after 40 minutes and did a short deco. The visibility was a very nice 25 feet or so and there were tons of fish on the wreck. All in all it was a nice dive. 

As an aside, the stern mooring needs some serious repair--the chain is not attached to the wreck. It is tied to the wreck with rope. On a rough day, the stern mooring is not the one to be in with it in this condition. We have some spare chain around and will be doing some maintenance here soon.

Sunday, we headed offshore for some deep exploration. Frank and Jessica came along to help out and check out all the fun they will be having once they are ready for the deeper deep stuff. They didn't look too comfortable though riding for 2 hours with blindfolds on. Just kidding. They were in the closet. Just kidding, again. Sunday was a great day, but the wind came up hard in the afternoon and we had a long and rough ride home. We've been spoiled with such nice conditions that I wasn't ready to be dealing with that!

Another fine weekend arrived in time to bring great weather to the diving line-up, which consisted of a trip to the Winsor and Pinthis on Saturday, followed by some exploration diving on Sunday.  Missing from the line-up, however, was our assistant secretary, Frank, who decided to take the weekend off to live up his glory days with a friend visiting from out of town. Dave and Jessica kept themselves busy sending harassing text messages. Unfortunately for Frank, we weren't far enough offshore on Saturday to be out of cell phone signal range!

The Winsor is only a few miles from the Pinthis, so we grouped those together for a two-dive site trip down to Scituate. The Winsor is a not too well known site--a smallish schooner barge sunk in about 100 feet of water. It's a very pretty dive and usually has nice visibility.  Since we weren't putting a mooring in on this wreck, we stopped there first, did a dive and then moved over to the Pinthis for the afternoon.  After wrapping up the dives, we had a great cookout and stuffed ourselves with burgers, sausages, ribs and other assorted food. Unlike previous years, the grill is seeing a lot of action this season.  All in all it was a beautiful day on the water. There were a few other dive boats out and about in the area too, so it seems like lots of people are getting out and taking advantage of a great summer.

On Sunday we were headed offshore for deeper diving, and it was yet another great day. The weekends go by too fast, especially when the weather is nice. Let's hope it holds out a little longer!

Another great weekend rolled-in on Saturday as we said goodbye to July and hello to August.  The plan for this weekend was a mix of exploration on Saturday and a return trip to the James M. Hudson wreck (aka Two Anchor Wreck) on Sunday. 

It was 70°F and sunny on Saturday with a 5 knot NE wind.  We spent the full day conducting deep shipwreck exploration.  Although the winds picked-up at times creating a decent chop offshore, it was a perfect day to be out conducting research on the Gauntlet.  Sunday was 70°F and sunny with a 5 knot SE wind, and the seas were clam.  Our plan was to return to the Two Anchor wreck.  Since we had just installed a mooring on this wreck last weekend, we were able to quickly tie-in once we arrived on the site.  Pat B and Peter were the first to splash.  Once all divers were in the water, Jess and I suited-up, and we were soon on our way down the mooring line as well. 

The weather last week was pretty mild.  Since conditions on the wreck last weekend were so excellent, I was once again expecting perfect conditions.  As we descended down the line, viz was a bit hazy and did not improve once we arrived on the wreck.  Viz was a dark and hazy 10ft – half of what it was last weekend.  The water temp was 44°F.  The mooring was on the port side of the wreck near the stern.  We first swam along the deck familiarizing ourselves with the overall state of the wreck.  Then, we dropped down into the interior through an opening in the deck and swam toward the bow.  Viz inside the wreck was no better than outside.  With 5 minutes left in our planned bottom time, we turned and did a quick swim toward the stern before exiting and finding our way back to the mooring line.  Although the wreck itself hadn’t changed, we found the conditions to be in stark contrast to last weekend.  There was minimal fish life on the wreck with few small cod.  Combined with the poor viz, the wreck was definitely not “alive” as I described last week.   

As we began our ascent and deco, we encountered a large group of dogfish once we ascended to the ~100ft mark.  There were approximately 15 of these small sharks circling the mooring line alongside us as we ascended to our 20ft stop.  It was a great sight.  Soon, the sharks were gone, our deco was complete, and we were back on the boat.  Overall, we had a nice dive.   

Shortly after completing our dive, all the divers were back on the boat with their gear stored away, and we were soon on our way back to dock in Salem.  We had another great weekend on the Gauntlet and a great start to more summertime diving in August.

This dive report is courtesy of Frank Panaccio:

The Gauntlet was in full swing this weekend with two packed days of diving.  First up was a trip to the Quoddy Bay on Saturday morning, followed by an afternoon trip to the Poling.  On Sunday, the plan was to dive the Coyote in the morning and return to the Poling in the afternoon.  Despite a looming threat of thunderstorms, we were determined to enjoy a great July weekend. 

Saturday turned out to be a great day.  By all accounts, the morning trip out to the Quoddy Bay was great with good conditions.  We were hoping to replicate this fortune as we headed back up to Gloucester.  By the time the afternoon crew arrived for the trip out to the Poling, it was 80°F and sunny with a nominal SSE wind.   

The ride up to Poling was sunny and calm.  When we arrived, there was a mooring on the site, and the pool was open.  It had been a while since we had been to the Poling, and I was looking forward to a fun dive.  Jess and I were soon suited-up and on our way down the mooring line in short order.  When we arrived on the stern, viz was a decent 20ft.  Water temp was 44°F.  There was a small current running across the wreck toward the starboard side.  We swam along the deck toward the break end and couldn’t help but notice that the deck was littered with giant clam shells; a somewhat odd sight.  Once we reached the break, we dropped down and inside for a closer look.  The viz inside the wreck was phenomenal as we scanned the interior.  Wanting to get a closer look inside the wreck, we exited the break and swam back toward the stern along the port side in order to drop inside through one of the hatches on the deck.  Once inside, the viz was once again great, and we explored some of the rooms within.  There was more ambient light shining through the wreck than normal which made for easier navigation.  Once we exited, we did one more loop around the wreck and began our ascent.  It was great to be back on the Poling.  Soon the rest of the crew was back on the boat, and we were heading back to dock.  All in all, it was a great afternoon. 

Sunday promised to be another great day.  Early overcast skies soon gave way to sun and 80°F temps.  There was a 10 knot W wind, but the seas remained pretty calm.  Our original plan was to dive the Coyote, but on Pat B’s suggestion, we decided to visit the James M. Hudson wreck (aka Two Anchor Wreck).  Both were a first for me, so I was excited either way.   

As expected, there was no mooring on the wreck, and Dave and John went down to tie-in.  I immediately hit my stopwatch to see if Dave could once again prove his superhuman prowess at tying-in in record time.  Then the wait began…and continued…and continued...  After 20mins, I thought Dave had finally met his match, but we quickly concluded that the lift bag carrying some gear used to tie-in may not have hit the surface as planned (i.e. we lost some expensive gear).  This had the beginnings to be a very bad day…. 

Finally, another bag hit the surface to signal that we did indeed tie-in to the wreck, and the rest of the crew suited-up.  Just before Jess and I were to splash, Dave arrived back on the boat and gave us the mission to retrieve the lost gear.  I was up for the task and ready to save the day.  We were soon descending down the mooring line to the deck that sits at 160ft.  The mooring was on the port side of the wreck near the stern.  Viz was ~20ft with 45°F water temp.  Soon after we began our search for the missing gear in a particular area that we discussed topside, I saw one of our crew swim by me holding a reel going up to the surface.  I’ll admit…”Darn!” was the first thing that crossed my mind.  Someone else saved the day before I could get to the scene.  After confirming that the gear was indeed retrieved, the pressure to complete our mission was off.  I then knew it would be a great day, and everyone onboard would be happy. 

We swam along the port side of the wreck to the bow.  The wooden schooner barge sits upright and fairly intact on a sand bottom with about 15ft of relief between the deck and the ocean floor.  The deck beams are broken-up a bit so that you can see straight through to the bottom of the wreck from the deck.  As we swam along, we noticed a fair amount of fish life on the wreck, including cod, and a number of colorful anemones.  There are wrecks that seem alive and those that seem dark and creepy.  The Hudson is definitely alive.  Once we reached the bow, we proceeded to the stern before concluding our bottom time.  As we began our ascent and deco, we spotted a number of dogfish that followed us up to our 20ft stop and entertained us during our deco.  It was a great dive. 

Soon, all the divers were back on the boat – all smiling and joking over the turn of events surrounding the potentially lost gear.  Although my heroism was not a contributor to this turn of events, it was definitely worth it to have happy, smiling captains on the boat.  Especially one of them in particular… 

We were soon cruising back to Salem, enjoying the sun and sights around us.  The Gauntlet had a return trip to the Poling in the afternoon before concluding a hard-working weekend for the vessel and its captains.  We were also fortunate enough to avoid the rain that threatened to come through.  Once again, another great weekend on the Gauntlet.

Work travel got in the way of diving this weekend and it left only one of us (moi) to run the boat, which means no diving. Thanks to everyone for helping out!  This dive report is courtesy of Frank Panaccio:

It’s been a long two weeks without diving.  When Sunday finally rolled-in for our only scheduled trip of the weekend to the Pinthis, to say the crew was eager to get underway is a significant understatement.  We were practically standing at the dock with our fins on... 

Sunday was a fantastic day.  It was ~85°F and sunny with a 5 knot W wind.  When we arrived at the dock, we were greeted with a refreshed Gauntlet.  The facelift that our tireless captains performed on the back deck looked amazing and provided us with a Zen-like energy to undertake a perfect day of diving!  Unfortunately, our captains would not be diving today. 

The seas were very calm as we motored south along the coast.  When we arrived at the site, the mooring was intact and soon the pool was open.  Pat B was the first to splash.  After assisting all the divers in the water, Jess and I were the last to jump in.   

We descended down the mooring line attached to the bow of the wreck.  Viz on the bow was ~20ft with much ambient light.  We entered the wreck through an opening on the port side of the bow and swam the entire length of the interior.  Viz inside the wreck was almost crystal clear which made for a great tour.  This excellent viz, combined with the many beams of ambient light shining through the wreck and the abundance of anemones and fish life in the interior, made me pause on many occasions and enjoy this wreck as I hadn’t in the past.  There were lots of cod swimming around inside; some up to 2ft in length.  It was quite a beautiful scene. 

In stark contrast to this lively sight are significant signs of decay.  There are many areas of collapse, and rust is easily stirred-up.  In addition, there are many sharp edges protruding around every corner.  My drysuit had already been a victim of these once this year.  As we reached the stern, our typical path to exit the wreck seemed like a tighter squeeze than usual, so we chose another exit.  After we exited the wreck, we slowly made our way down the starboard side to the bow. Viz on the stern was slightly better than the bow - approaching 30ft.  Although water temp on the wreck was 44°F, it always feels colder on the Pinthis.  Having had a great dive, we decided to cut our bottom time a little short and start our ascent and deco in preparation for the feast that was about to commence topside.  Fortunately, water temps approached 57°F during our 20ft stop. 

Once we were back on the boat, Scott wasted no time getting the grill fired-up.   Before we had our gear completely off, there were hot BBQ’d ribs sitting on the changing table beside us.  The ravenous crew tore through round after round of delicious BBQ until the cooler was empty.  My compliments to the chef for a job well done!  Dave would have been proud… 

Once all gear and food were packed away, we began our trek back to Salem.  We had a great ride home with the sun shining the whole way.  Once back at the dock, we unloaded and said our goodbyes, concluding another great summer day on the Gauntlet. 

The weather didn't cooperate for a long run to the outer cape for our Nauset trip this weekend, so we scrubbed it and did some much needed maintenance on the boat's back deck. Hopefully everyone will be enjoying fresh gelcoat next weekend!

A perfect weekend of weather allowed us to make trips to do some exploration diving, as well as spend two days diving in the sanctuary with trips to the Paul Palmer and the Unknown Trawler. Saturday we headed off for some deep shipwreck exploration with the remainder of the weekend being devoted to diving two of our favorite wrecks in the sanctuary. I'm a little short on time for a full dive report, but suffice it to say the weather was fabulous and despite our paranoia over the Great White shark sightings in the area (see pic below), we managed to have some great dives this weekend. See a few pictures below.

From left to right: Newly exposed areas on the Paul Palmer; the biggest lobzilla I have ever seen; Scott next to the stern auxiliary anchor; a couple of wolffish tucked under bits of wreckage.

From left to right: Yes, we were all freaking out, but it was just a large basking shark; Frank and Jessica splash in near the shot line to make a dive on the trawler.

June 19-20, 2010:

This dive report is courtesy of Frank Panaccio:

June 12-13, 2010:

This dive report is courtesy of Frank Panaccio:

With only one trip scheduled last weekend, the crew was itching to get back in the water.  The plan for this weekend was to dive the Baleen on Saturday, followed by a day trip to the Mars off of Plymouth on Sunday.  Conditions were looking good for Saturday, but Neptune (Roman god of the sea) was not looking to cooperate with Mars on Sunday.

Saturday morning was 60°F, overcast and drizzling with a 4 knot SE wind.  The seas were fairly calm as we set out for the Baleen.  When we arrived at the site, the mooring was intact, and we quickly tied-in.  Dave was the first to splash with his students, and Jess and I jumped-in soon after.

The sun had come out providing a good 30ft+ of viz just below the surface.  As we descended down the mooring line, the ambient light followed along side us providing a bright 15ft of viz on the wreck.  One nameless diver commented that she barely needed her light.  Although, that was after she forgot to connect her battery.  Overall, conditions were great.  Water temp on the wreck was 41°F, and there was no significant current.  We started our dive on the stern, swimming along the port side to the bow.  As we passed the deckhouse, I poked my head inside.  It looked pristine with a solid 10ft of viz.  Although very inviting, with a couple tight corners ahead and a nice layer of silt piled-up everywhere, I decided to continue along and follow my buddy.   We soon rounded the bow and continued our tour back to the stern.  The anemone-covered wreck enveloped in bright ambient light offered quite a contrast to last week’s dive on this site where the Baleen was wrapped in a shroud of darkness.  The light also revealed a number of entanglements that we dodged along our swim.  After 20mins, we returned to the mooring line to begin our ascent and deco, but the fun was not over yet.  When we hit our first stop at 80ft, we soon spotted a group of 5-6 dogfish circling just off to our side.  I estimate the largest of them to be 3ft-4ft in length.   It was a great sight that kept us entertained until our 30ft stop.  Once we hit our 20ft stop, the water warmed-up to 54°F, which provided a very comfortable end to this great dive.  Soon after we surfaced, all the divers were back on the boat.  We headed back to dock while sharing some fun stories of our morning dives. 

Once we returned to Salem, we quickly unloaded and turned the boat around to head out for an afternoon dive with students at Cat Island.  Dave was working double-duty today, diving with students in the morning and afternoon.  As we motored to Cat Island, the weather turned overcast and wet.  Overall, the dives went well.  Dave reported poor viz and a fair amount of surge underwater.  Once the divers completed their class, we headed back to dock eagerly awaiting the updated forecast for Sunday.

Sunday morning was 60°F and overcast.  As predicted, prevailing 5-10 knot E winds with 20 knot gusts would have made the 40 mile trek to the Mars uncomfortable at best.  So, we decided to stay local and dive the NYC14-2.  It had been a while since we visited the wreck, and the crew was just eager to dive.  When we arrived at the site, we found a mooring on the wreck.  So, we tied-in, and the pool was open. 

Jess and I soon splashed, and we descended down the mooring line to the bow.  Viz was 20ft on the surface but became a dark 10ft on the wreck.  Temp was 42°F.  We began our dive with a swim to the stern along the port side.  As we swam along, we fought a pretty swift current on the wreck running toward the port side.  Due to us having one working primary light between the two of us and because I admittedly ate a fair amount of time on our descent with my own technical issues, we decided not to penetrate the wreck today.  Midway through our dive, I swam across a hole in the deck that immediately began billowing what looked to be rust-colored smoke like a chimney.  I gave it a double-take as I couldn’t explain the shear force with which the rust cloud was emanating.  I’m not sure who it was in there, but I take it he was having a ton of fun…

On our way back to the bow along the center deck, I did notice a fair amount of decay on the wreck.  The steel along the deck is noticeably more broken apart since last year, exposing a lot of the crossbeams.  After 30 mins, we returned to the mooring line to begin our ascent and deco.  Overall, we had a good dive. 

Soon everyone was back on the boat, and we returned to dock to conclude another great weekend of diving on the Gauntlet.  Although the weather didn’t cooperate for our original weekend plans, anytime we get two days of diving in on a weekend, we are all happy divers.

June 5, 2010:

This dive report is courtesy of Frank Panaccio:

Despite being woken-up at 3am with loud thunder and lightening, Dave’s call never came on Saturday morning. The Gauntlet was a go. With Heather and Dave not diving this weekend, there was plenty of room for our gear on the boat. We were soon loaded-up and ready to depart despite the ominous sky overhead.

Sea conditions on Saturday were not great with 10-knot SW winds and gusts up to 20-25 knots resulting in consistent 2ft – 3ft seas. Our original goal was to dive the Bone Wreck, but we decided to stay closer to home and check out the Baleen. When we arrived at the site, the mooring was intact. So, we tied-in, and the pool was open. Pat B. splashed first, and Jess and I were soon on our way.

We descended down the mooring line to the stern of the wreck. Viz on the surface was 20ft – 25ft but became a dark 10 ft on the wreck. Water temp was 44F. We started our swim along the port side of the wreck headed toward the bow. Although the wreck itself seemed in pretty good condition, living-up to its status as a “Hollywood” wreck, upright and intact with a starboard list, Pat claimed that he noticed some signs of decay. We passed the deckhouse and wheelhouse on our way to the bow. The entire deck was covered in colorful anemones adding much life to the wreck that sank 35 years ago due to an unexplained fire. There were some minor entanglement hazards, but overall, the wreck was pretty clear. We then swam back to the stern along the starboard side, peering into the deckhouse and other openings that have come about over time. After our planned bottom time, we began our ascent and deco. Once we reached the 30 ft mark, we noticed the seas had picked-up with the mooring line heaving up and down. Shortly after arriving at our 20 ft stop, the dark seas became a bright green; the sun had finally come out.

With fewer diving on this day, it was not long before we were all back on the boat and cruising back to the dock. Although there was still a good chop on the surface, the sun was out and the temps hit 75F. We had a good ride back while devouring the delicious cookies supplied by Dan. It was the perfect ending to a day of diving.

There was no diving on Sunday as Dave was headed to the beach with students.

‘Til next time…

Memorial Day weekend was upon us and by all accounts the weather was going to be excellent. I had been cleared by the ENT to dive and I was looking forward to getting back into the water. Thanks to Frank for serving as a back-up dive report writer. Our destination for Saturday was the Southland, followed by the Pinthis on Sunday. Both wrecks are off Scituate, so they involve a bit longer of a boat ride, but they are excellent dives well worth the trips. We had not been to the Southland in a few years so I was looking forward to checking the wreck out again and hopefully getting a few photos.

We met bright and early on Saturday morning, loaded up and got underway as planned. The boat was plenty full as finally Dave and I both had our gear on the boat at the same time—something that has been a bit rare in past recent days. It was a little breezy on Saturday morning, so things started out a bit bumpy despite the weather being overall fantastic. However, as we got along and further to the south, things improved significantly and the seas flattened out as the wind diminished.

When we arrived on site, we dropped in a shot line and Dave and Eric splashed in to tie in the line. In no time at all, the bag popped up signaling we were tied-in, so we got the boat secure and began splashing divers. When Dave and Eric returned, we got a visibility report, which sounded like it was a mixed bag… the water was clear until about 40 feet where the visibility went to almost nothing, then it cleared up below 70 feet and from there it was dark and murky on the bottom—maybe 10 feet of visibility. I groaned knowing that this makes picture-taking all the more challenging. I had a made a few changes to the camera strobe configuration that I had yet to try out and so I was planning to take the camera anyway.

Scott, Will and I splashed in and after a short delay due to needing to straighten out an equipment issue of my own, we were descending. I was taking it easy on my ear, and things seemed to be going ok. We dropped down to the wreck and I set a strobe. It was murky—a very cloudy 10 feet. I got the camera out and begin taking photos. I had no idea if anything was coming out good. The conditions were tough for picture taking. We were tied into the shaft right behind the engine. We took a swim around the boiler and then headed aft following the prop shaft out to the end of the wreck where there is a single large propeller that is wrapped up in abandoned dragger net. We worked our way back and headed up at 25 min bottom time. We decompressed uneventfully and surfaced to completely flat seas. There was a bit of current running on the wreck and through the water column, but it wasn’t too terrible.

We returned to the marina where all the summer boaters had been coming out of the woodwork. You know its summer when someone comes up to you, asks you if you are using the dock cart, you say yes, "I am using it"—and they take it anyway, with an "Oh, but I’ll be right back—2 minutes...." Then you have to go get it back. People are so rude sometimes. Stuff like that makes January seem like a great boating month. Anyway, we rinsed the boat, eventually got unloaded and headed home for the afternoon.

Sunday rolled around and once again we were heading south to the Pinthis. The conditions were beautiful—light wind, flat seas and sunny. An earlier forecast predicted fog, but we got none of that, only bright sunny conditions. We cruised down to the wreck, found the mooring to be present, tied off and got ready to dive. Dave was diving first with Jessica and Frank. They were planning to take a swim through the interior of the wreck where Dave could show them how to cram themselves into all the nooks and crannies this wreck is known for. Meanwhile, Scott and I remained topside getting the rest of the gang in the water.

When everyone returned, we collected the visibility reports—they weren’t good. This was very surprising because the tide was incoming and generally conditions had been pretty decent and not too stormy. Anyway, we were told everything from 5 feet to 20 feet and "murky" – hard to know how to interpret that. Ultimately, I decided to go with Pat B’s report and recommendation that I not bring the camera. It was good call.

Scott and I splashed in and headed down. Visibility was murky for sure. I would give it no more than 10 feet. We entered the wreck where the visibility was a little better and attempted to shove ourselves through several newly accessible areas in the bow. The wreck has morphed quite a bit over the last winter season with new areas opening up and more collapse in other areas. It was very tight, however, and there were a few places I was not fitting through so easily and decided not to keep trying. If I needed a reminder as to why I have no interest in "side-mount diving" – this was a good one.

We exited the bow section, swam the length of the wreck inside, and came through the engine space. Instead of exiting by the shaft at the end of the wreck, we swam up the port side between a tank and the hull itself. It was very, very tight and ultimately after getting stuck, not fitting through a hole and silting everything out to zero visibility (with orange "rain" coming down), I decided to back out of the space and exit normally. I don’t really like the feeling of being jammed up inside a wreck in no visibility. We were quite "rusty" when we finally crawled of the wreck. Later our suits needed a good power-washing with the hose to get clean.

We swam back to the bow along the starboard side of the wreck—visibility was a bit better in the stern section than the bow, but overall it was pretty lackluster. It was cold too. I had 41 F on the bottom. Anyway, we headed up at 45 minutes bottom time. Our decompression was amusing. Since there was a cookout going on topside with burgers, BBQ ribs and hot dogs, certain individuals were having quite a bit of fun lowering rib bones down to us on a wreck reel. Yeah, I think they are sick too. J Fortunately they did save a few for us and when we surfaced, Dave cooked up some fresh burgers and ribs—it was great.

We had a superb ride back in perfect conditions. Unfortunately I did manage to pick up a pretty nasty sunburn from sitting out on the back deck too long. I’m paying for that now. When we returned to the marina it was actually fairly quiet, so we unloaded and wrapped it up for the weekend around 3 pm. All in all, it was a great couple of days of diving. Next weekend, I am out again, this time due to work-related travel. Hopefully Frank will pinch hit and supply another dive report in my absence.

Here are a few (note, the few) pictures from the Southland that come out ok:

Will Goldenheim explores the area around the engine and boiler, a view of the propeller shrouded in dragger net and machinery off to the starboard side of the wreck of the Southland.

No diving due to weather.

The weather was looking to be amazingly good--and so we were very optimistic about our plans to dive the Pinthis on Saturday followed by the Bone wreck on Sunday. I was even planning to get the camera back in the water (and use it) after what has seemed like a long hiatus. Overall, I was really looking forward to the weekend. We fueled up the boat, loaded up the food and got ready for a great weekend of diving.

We left bright and early for Saturday's Pinthis trip and made good time cruising down to the wreck in perfect conditions--warm, sunny and seas like glass... it doesn't get much nicer than this. I couldn't help but think that we should have headed out into Stellwagen with such perfect conditions... but, we can't have it all, and this was already a lot considering the weather we've dealt with lately.

When we arrived on the wreck, our friend Tom Mulloy was already onsite. We planned to tie-in a line and raft up to make things easier. The conditions were so perfect that there was no issue putting the boats side-by-side.  Scott and I suited up to tie in. This time we wanted to be in the bow so we could try to tie in to the old chain we had there from last year's mooring. We made the drop and splashed in.

Dave dropped us in the stern-- well, there was a 50/50 chance of getting the right end... We swam the line and floated the weight off the bottom to move the whole thing to the other end of the wreck. We located the old chain, shackled in and sent up the weight and new chain back to the surface. I had the camera out and was trying to get it dialed in--let's just say I am having a tough time with this new strobe given the wide angle lens I am using. Another very steep learning curve has been encountered... which means, a lot of pictures are getting deleted after downloading them.

We swam through the interior and I was surprised to see how much more collapse there has been. Certain areas of bulkhead and framing have completely collapsed and areas that were once more restrictive are more open. Similarly, other areas are tighter. I had a really tough time squeezing through the bulkhead to enter the stern compartment (granted I was swimming with the camera). But for sure, the wreck is collapsing and there are more openings and portions where ambient light filters and floods in.

We exited the wreck in the very stern and swam back to the bow. I was taking pictures--or trying to anyway. The visibility was a somewhat murky 25-30 feet--pretty good, but not as good as it gets on this wreck.  When we got to the bow I notice a Wolffish under some hull plating. I took a few pictures and then noticed it was hooked on fishing gear. It had a hook in it's mouth and the remnants of the mono were strung along the wreck such that it was stuck there.  I put the camera down, got my knife out and swam along side the fish so that I could reach as close to it's mouth as I dared and cut the line. Once I did this, it was free and retreated back under the wreck. The Pinthis has so much abandoned sport/recreational fishing tackle on it--it's really terrible.

Anyway, we headed up after 45 minutes bottom time, did a short decompression and called it a great day. Despite forgetting the cheese, we had a good lunch and enjoyed a nice ride back. I was perhaps a bit too ambitious in trying sit on the back deck catching sun on the way back--it was still a little cool while underway. The weather was beautiful though.

Sunday started out a bit overcast, but was equally nice with virtually no wind and calm seas. We loaded up now from our summer slip for the Bone wreck--another great dive and one I was really hoping for good visibility on. Scott and I were tying in again on this wreck, but I did bring the camera in the hope we'd have a quick tie-in with some time left for playing around.

We arrived out on the wreck and dropped the shot line. We suited up and splashed. The water was murkly--maybe 10 feet of visibility near the surface, some improvement below 15-20 feet, but then it diminished and overall it was a dim, murky green water column with a dark 10 feet on the bottom. We landed in the bow area, on the starboard side, though initially I thought we were on the port side. The wreck is fairly broken up in some areas and in low, dark visibility it can be confusing.

We started searching for a place to tie in. This wreck is wooden, and very fragile. There aren't a lot of good places to tie in because often times what looks like a solid timber is actually loose and will pull out or move once a load is put on it by a boat. So, we were being cautious about this. We searched and searched and could not locate anything we felt good about tying into. We finally opted for our first possibility, which involved taking a large wrap (thankfully we had a lot chain) around a chunk of hull that was very solid (it was a broken section of hull along the starboard side). The only concern was that it was not attached on both ends--one end was broken off, so if the chain moved along the piece (say 10-12') it could slide off. This scenario isn't all that likely since it would have to be loose and move a good distance; we chokered the chain down tight (and another team lashed in a supporting line to further secure it), but it wasn't exactly what we wanted--though it was the best option given we were in a rats nest of abandoned fishing gear, broken up wreckage and low visibility with not much time to find something to tie into.

We got the line secured and sent up the weight just shy of our 25 min bottom time. I didn't take any pictures... we weren't coming up without a successful tie-in, so that was the priority. We didn't want to upset our "record" of 3 successful tie-ins in a row! The visibility wasn't optimal for getting photos anyway, but it would have been fun to try!  We headed up and decompressed, surfacing right around 70 minutes run time.

When we surfaced, the sun was fully out and it was beautiful out there. We brewed up some coffee and enjoyed the rest of the morning as the others completed their dives. All in all, it was a fabulous weekend! Check out some photos by Brandon McWilliams here.

From left to right: Scott Tomlinson explores the interior of the Pinthis; the rudder laying off to the side of the wreck, debris along the collapsing hull; a wolffish underneath a hull plate (if you look closely you can see it is hooked into abandoned fishing gear--we cut it loose); the awesome surface conditions--Gauntlet and Tom Mulloy's boat rafted up over the Pinthis.

This weekend brought with it remarkably different conditions on each day. Let's put it this way, in other words, Saturday was the better day. Saturday we were scheduled for the Baleen and everyone was looking forward to it. The weather was beautiful--sunny and mild, with breezy conditions in the morning and diminishing wind as the day went on in the forecast.  It looked good for anything actually.  We loaded up and departed for the Baleen.

The wind was more or less WNW so we had a pretty smooth ride out. It was a little choppy, but really not that bad. We got out on the wreck and got prepped for a mooring installation.  Scott and I were on deck to tie in, so we suited up while Dave positioned the line. We splashed in and started our descent... the visibility on the surface was very good and I was hopeful we would have good visibility all the way down to the wreck. It was high tide, so we had that going for us. 

We reached the wreck, arriving in the bow section. The conditions were awesome. I looked over at the wheelhouse, which has pretty much collapsed over to starboard--and I nearly did not recognize it at first. Dave said we were probably on one end of the wreck--he was right. It was the bow. We were hoping for the stern.  After noting this, I realized we now needed to move the line all the way to the other end of the wreck where we'd tie in at the stern. It's only about 100 feet, so not that big of a deal, but nevertheless some work is involved and it's not real kind on preserving visibility as we hop along the rail with a chain rode.  We disconnected the line from the weight, which was outside the hull, next to the wreck in the washout at 170' and swam it to the stern. We had a few minor complications... say, knotted chain, a tight fitting shackle and a momentarily misplaced shackle pin... uh huh... but we got tied in and shot the bag a few minutes before our planned bottom time ended.

Unfortunately, we did have a lot of time invested in the mooring so we didn't get much time to explore the wreck, which was a bummer because the conditions were awesome--solid 25 feet of visibility with ambient light. I wanted to stay longer. Anyway, we ascended and had an uneventful decompression. I only used my vest late in the dive around the 20 foot stop. We were both working hard enough doing the tie in that neither of us were cold, in fact, we were sweating it (literally and figuratively) a few times.

We came up from our dive and enjoyed the calm seas and light wind--it was beautiful. I wanted to just keep going east and bag a dive in Stellwagen while we were out there... those of us using rebreathers certainly could have done it, and we were about 1/3 of the way there... but we had to go home.

Sunday wasn't quite the same day. The weather was clearly changing--we had moderate wind out of the SW around 15 knots and a heavy ground swell of about 4 feet that popped out of nowhere. There was a lot of surge and I wondered what kind of conditions we'd encounter on the Poling, our scheduled dive for the day.

When we arrived on the wreck, the mooring was present, so we tied off and got divers in the water. Scott, Roman and I were diving together. I had put the camera together and was hoping to get back into action taking photos. I haven't had the camera in the water much the last few months--largely due to lousy conditions not making for good photo opportunities, but since we're scheduled for the Pinthis and the Bone wreck next weekend, I wanted to get myself tuned up and used to carrying the camera again because both of those wrecks are great for photos.

We suited up and hit the water. I noted right away that visibility was not good--I was hoping this was just surface visibility. We started dropping down and I passed Pat B. He gave me the "There's no visibility, you're crazy bringing that camera, get back to the surface now while you still can and hand that thing off because you're not going to take a single picture today" signal. I was sure I could take a picture of something so I gave him the OK and continued my descent with the camera.

We arrived on the bottom. There was, maybe, 3 feet of visibility... 5 if you were straining your eyes with a light. Ugh. I spent a few minutes trying to find a setting that would allow me to take a picture... Nope. I stowed the camera at 7 minutes run time after finally giving up and carried it for the rest of the dive. Yup.  Anyway, we swam out to the break. You couldn't see much. The surge was very bad out at that end and we were really getting pushed around a lot so we headed back towards the stern and into the wreck. We did a nice tour through the wreck... where the visibility was just as bad, but at least there was more to look at.

At 35 minutes bottom time I had all that I could take, so we thumbed it and headed up. The stern mooring is in very bad shape, and the chain needs to be replaced ASAP or someone is going to be surprised out there on a rough day when it lets go.  Overall, it was surprisingly terrible visibility on the Poling, but we made a dive of it and I certainly tuned myself up for carrying around a large, fragile object, so I should be good for next weekend!  All in all it was a pretty good weekend--we got out both days, Saturday was beautiful and there was only minor hazing done to the boat... and we did have coffee. Pretty good.

The beautiful week of weather ended on Friday with the arrival of a fast-moving storm that brought easterly wind around 20 knots and kicked the seas up to 5-6 feet for Saturday. However, it laid down as quickly as it kicked up, so despite not getting out on Saturday, we had quite a nice day (sea conditions-wise) in store for Sunday. We planned to dive the NYC14-2, as scheduled!

The day was damp, cold and raw with off and on showers, but the wind was light and it was otherwise a good day for diving. We loaded up and departed for the NYC14-2. We had a smooth ride out and arrived on the wreck site just as a large LNG tanker was cruising right over the wreck, motoring on a slow course waiting for the pilot. We watched as the ship passed within a few feet of the mooring buoy. Obviously, we weren't about to pull up on that until we got the OK from the ship, so we made a quick call, exchanged some details and after a few minutes it was all clear to pull up and tie-off on the buoy.

We dropped in the lines, got the flags up, and got the divers suited. Bringing up the rear were Scott, Roman and me. It was not that nice outside temperature-wise, so we fired up the generator and turned the heat on to get things comfortable. We suited up and splashed. The surface and mid-water visibility wasn't bad it all. It had nearly completely cleared up since last week. However, by the time we reached the bottom it was down to a murky 5-10 feet. Bummer. Once again, we needed to un-foul the mooring, as a loose crossbeam had shifted such that it was pinning down part of the line. We freed it and continued the dive.

We swam out to the stern, then up the starboard side to the bow where we dropped inside of the forward compartment and explored around inside of there for awhile. The water was 39F and I was finding it a little chilly, so I occasionally flipped my vest on for a moment for a shot of heat. The anemones were out in full bloom and when you could see enough of something to actually see something, it was very pretty.  We exited and swam back to the engine and machinery area where we puttered around until our bottom time elapsed.

We ascended uneventfully and surfaced just under 50 minutes run-time. We stowed the gear and headed back to Salem, arriving amidst showers, but otherwise a pleasant, quiet afternoon at the marina. We put the toys away for the weekend and headed home. It was a short weekend of diving, but nevertheless a good day of diving.

Our dive for Saturday was scrubbed due to 20-30 knots of west wind that came though with a front starting in the overnight through most of Saturday. It was too bad, because Saturday really was a nice day--albeit a little cool, but sunny and clear... and of course, windy. The weather forecast was better for Sunday, with lighter wind out of the WSW predicted.

We had canceled on Saturday morning at 4:30 am--and it is necessary to make the call at this hour in order to call the dive before anyone leaves their house. Of course, getting up at 4:15 to look at the weather, make an informed decision, and actually carry out that decision is not easy. I was barely awake to deal with the cancelation on Saturday and getting up again later that morning, I found myself rather tired. So for Sunday I decided that we'd dive or just face the music later that morning when we got up for the dive (6 am--a more civilized hour!). The weather looked ok, whew!  It was partly cloudy, a little breezy and kind of cool, but it was good enough for diving.

We met down at the boat, loaded up and headed out to the Holmes. The mooring was still there when we arrived, so we got tied off and settled in. The seas were a little choppy, but it wasn't bad and it was mainly just a little "raw" out there since the sun wasn't fully out yet and it was a bit overcast. Scott and I suited up for our dive. I had everything, including my vest! My undergarment is finally starting to break-in a little bit, so I can reach the back of my own neck seal again to get it laid flat and clear out any hair. The XM450 is definitely the best undergarment I've ever had in terms of fit and comfort, but like any heavy jumpsuit, my mobility has been a bit reduced while packing it out.

We suited up and hit the water. The visibility was really crummy in the water column--cloudy, murky and kind of gloomy. By the time we hit 90 feet, it was nearly completely dark. By the time we reached the wreck at about 150 feet, it was like a night dive. I was really surprised by just how pitch black dark it was. Last weekend was dark, but not like this. The visibility was in the 12-15 foot neighborhood, so it wasn't bad other than just being really dark.

We took the usual tour around the wreck and enjoyed a low key dive. The decompression was uneventful through the murky water column. Most of the way up, until we were back in some ambient light, I needed to illuminate my bottom timer with the backlight to see anything (a 35 watt light just washes it out and blinds you!). Overall, it was a nice dive.

By the time we surfaced, the sun was coming out and despite the breeze, it was a pretty nice day. In fact, it got nicer and nicer through most of the afternoon. Not a bad finish to the weekend.

Earlier in the week, the area was pounded by an incredible amount of rainfall and wind. This left things appearing to be quite messy for the weekend, though the weather dramatically improved by the end of the week with warm, very spring-like conditions. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I set my expectations sufficiently low so as to avoid disappointment if they were in fact lousy.  Nevertheless, there was no denying that the weather was in fact, beautiful, with very little wind, diminishing seas and warm air temperatures. We loaded up bright and early with an eager group. It had been a few weeks since I had been really regularly diving so I was just hoping that I hadn't forgotten anything.

We departed for the NYC14-2 and enjoyed a pleasant ride out. We were even more pleased to find the mooring intact upon our arrival. We quickly tied off and soon enough the pool was open. I was bringing up the rear of the group with Scott, so we helped Dave get the divers suited up and took our time getting ready ourselves. As I watched Pat B don his heated vest it suddenly occurred to me that I had left mine at home, failing to place it in my bag when I packed up my undergarment. I let out an expletive and everyone had a laugh. Fortunately, I wasn't too concerned about this--even though I would have liked to use my vest. The water isn't that cold and I am breaking in a new XM450 undergarment, so I have been pretty toasty warm regardless.  It seems I have nearly covered all possible ways to "forget" something with the vest. The battery pack is about the only thing I haven't yet forgotten. Stay tuned for a future vest incident!

Anyway, we suited up and splashed. Visibility was murky near the surface--just a few feet, but it opened up as we descended and we arrived on the wreck to find a solid 15 feet of dark visibility. Not bad. The mooring was fouled up on the wreck so we took a few minutes to disentangle it, then we got underway with our dive. We swam out to the stern and checked out the rudder and prop. There seems to have been a wave of degradation that has moved through the wreck and particularly in the stern area, I noticed more collapsed/eroded hull plates revealing only framing.  There was actually a mild current moving across the wreck from starboard to port, but this was also helping to keep the visibility clear. We rose over the side and dropped into the stern compartment. It was a bit murky in there, as we were the last in, but it got better as we swam forward. It was pretty clear so we moved along next to the engine and boiler, passed through a bulkhead and popped over the water tank into the forward compartment.  It was nice and clear in there, but our bottom time was nearly up, so we exited and ascended. It was a nice dive, with surprisingly good conditions!  On the way in we took a pass by the Holmes and confirmed the mooring was still there--everyone that was diving Sunday was pleased about this.

The next day was a bit breezier, with a slightly choppy sea, but still just as nice. It was Easter Sunday so things were quiet at the marina and out on the water.  We made a nice cruise out the wreck where we got quickly tied in to the mooring and started splashing divers.  Scott and I suited up and splashed with Frank. The visibility near the surface was very murky, but once again it got better as we descended. It was not quite as good as the NYC14-2, but by the time we arrived on the bottom we had a good 12-15' of dark visibility.  We swam up to the bow and then back down along the wreck to the stern. The winter's ocean storms seems to have churned a lot of things over and there are lots of shards of china and such on the bottom mixed among the coal.  The wreck seemed relatively free of entanglements, which was good since we had spent a few dives cutting a lot of gear off the wreck over the winter. All in all it was a nice dive.  I even had my vest, though I wasn't really cold at all and only turned it on at the 20 foot stop, just because I could! The water was 40-41 F on my bottom timers--not bad.

We surfaced and headed in, arriving a little early. This was good, as it allowed us all to get off to our Easter happenings with no time crunches. Another bonus was that the fresh water had been turned back on at the marina so we were able to wash stuff and get things clean. Aside from rainwater, the boat hasn't seen freshwater since October! Anyway, the weekend had fabulous weather that was very much enjoyed. The diving conditions were much better than anticipated too--a pleasant and welcome surprise!

After several weeks of absolutely horrible weather, the first day of spring (officially) arrived with very nice weather -- warm, hardly any wind and finally, some flat sea conditions. We loaded up with an eager group of people. It was nice to assemble gear and be able to skip the last step that is necessary during winter diving operations -- covering my rebreather with a trash bag to keep it dry and clear of ice.  We got underway for the Poling, our revised destination given that we expected low visibility. Given the recent conditions and huge seas that been running, the Romance might have actually had negative numbers on the visibility.

We arrived on the Poling and there was no mooring, which was disappointing as we were hoping not have to deal with putting in a line. Anyway, we did and we got out a line, and assembled a shot line. Scott and I suited up to tie in. I was hoping after over a month of not diving that I would remember what to do!  Anyway, we suited up and splashed in.  The visibility was pretty murky near the surface, maybe just a few feet. It opened up a bit in the water column before reducing again to about 5 feet. It wasn't the worst I've seen, but it wasn't good.  The shot line landed right on top of the catwalk, near the break end mooring. Once we figured out which way to go, we got the line dragged over and tied in at the top of the float. We dropped back down, shot the weight and continued our dive.

It felt good to just swim around even though there wasn't much to look at. One a day with such low visibility, it's actually much better inside the wreck than outside. There is definitely more to see in terms of swimming through the interior and looking at the debris scattered about. So, we took a tour inside. From there, we did a lap around the wreck along the rail and called it a dive.  Overall, it felt good to get back in the water. The water temperature was showing at about 39 F, which wasn't bad. I was pretty toasty in my new undergarment, but of course, I flipped on the heated vest for a little while anyway. Why not?

We came up, got out of our stuff and enjoyed the pleasant topside weather.  Everyone finished up their dives and returned aboard. No one raved about the visibility or the cookies that Nick had brought, but we all seemed to enjoy ourselves.  I'm hoping that spring is here to stay, though I have my doubts. Next weekend, we'll be headed down to Beneath the Sea in NJ. If you're going, see you there. After that, it's time to dive!

No diving due to weather.

No diving due to weather.

No diving due to weather.

The questionable weather on Friday and forecast for Saturday lead us to cancel the dive. While Sunday looked like the "better" day - in the final analysis it might have just been that Saturday was the better day! We decided to go ahead with Sunday's trip - planned for the Reliance but revised to the NYC14-2 given the moderate NW wind that was blowing.  I was running the boat solo on Sunday, so as the sole captain aboard that meant no diving for me, unfortunately. We headed out to the NYC14-2 and as we were expecting, needed to tie-in a mooring. We had one all ready and after a fairly smooth ride out in pretty decent conditions, we dropped the line in and readied the tie-in team.

Scott and Roman were on deck to tie-in the line and promptly did so. At that point - a few minutes after the bag came up, a front came through and with it's clear skies also came wind. We saw about 25 knots of NW wind, with a few gusts even better than that. It got rough and nasty out there. Nevertheless the group suited up and hit the water. All the reports were favorable, however, with indications of ~15 feet of visibility and nice conditions on the bottom, despite the seas. Once everyone was back aboard, we took a slow motor back until we could catch some lee and find flat water.  Overall, everyone seemed to enjoy their dives, though the weather once again threw us a bit of a curve ball.  I was glad we got out, even though I hate sitting out a dive.

We were finally getting out after a couple of weeks of blow-outs.  There was still some wind out of the WNW and the seas were a combination of swell and wind chop, so we decided on the Poling instead of the NYC14-2, as we expected the seas to be a bit calmer there. We were pretty sure we'd have to put a mooring in at either location, so we had a line already prepared.  The air temps were cold, but mild enough that you could stand to be outside, for a little while at least.  We loaded up with an eager group and departed for the Poling - most of us just happy to be getting wet after this little hiatus.

The sea conditions had been a mess over the past week. Despite the weather forecasters completely blowing it with this major snowstorm we were supposed to get, but didn't, we still ended up with a lot of wind out of the deal. The seas were running as high as 13 feet and even on Friday, a 6 foot sea was still present. I knew this didn't bode well for visibility, so I did not put the camera together and I did not plan to bring a scooter.  When we were loading at the marina, the visibility didn't look all that bad - a little fuzzy, yes, but I could clearly see the bottom. I wondered - was I getting thrown a curve ball on my "marina litmus test" when it comes to winter vis?

Anyway, when we got to the Poling, we dropped in a shot line, as there was in fact no mooring present. Dave and Pat B splashed in to tie in a new line or refloat the old one. They did end up refloating the old line. We had to add some line since it was short, but we were at least able to recycle the old line.  The tie in was extremely fast (a fact later bragged about quite shamelessly, I might add). It took about 3 minutes.  I knew for such a good tie in to have occurred, my drop must have been right on the money. We would see.  When Dave came up, the first words out of his mouth (after he mentioned the visibility was horrible) was something along lines of, "What did you think of that tie-in? Three minutes!!!"  I replied, "Yeah, yeah..." Apparently, the shot line literally landed next to the old mooring - like inches from it. They literally came down the remnants of the old mooring when descending down the shot line. All they had to do was tie a few knots and shoot a bag. So, I'm taking credit for some of that "three minutes."

The surface water did look murky when we were setting the lines in the water, so despite the marina conditions, the visibility on the Poling was indeed lousy. It was 5-10 feet, at best. Nevertheless, we made a dive out of it. After setting up and breaking down my gear, repeatedly, over the past few weeks without actually having used it, I was going diving on this day, period.  Scott, Jakub and I splashed in and descended down to the wreck. The visibility was bad.  We were on the break end of the wreck so we swam aft and dropped down for a tour inside. The visibility was about the same inside, but at least there was more to look at. We then exited and swam to the very stern, then up the starboard side. It seemed there was a bit of current running, either that or I haven't been doing enough swimming lately.  I noted the water temperature at 37F on both of my gauges. It was chilly. This time of year we prefer the visibility to exceed the water temperature.

We did a 35 min bottom time and then headed up. It wasn't really worth spending longer. I was breaking in my new DUI XM450 undergarment, and yes, that includes new booties too. My 400G Thinsulate and booties were literally coming apart, and over the past few weeks it seems this process has accelerated. The peanut gallery was beginning to get a little too loud, so I broke my new stuff out of the plastic (I've had them for about a year) and debuted it.  The XM450 is a very nice undergarment and fits incredibly better than the 400G. The fleece stretch panels are nice and I was not as "stuffed" in the suit as one normally is when breaking in a new 400G. I had some restricted range of motion and I felt a little light at 20 feet, but overall I was very pleased with the undergarment. I still wore (and used) my heated vest though. Why not?

Sunday, strong west winds resulted in a cancelation.

No diving due to weather.

A fast moving front brought NNE wind and 5-7' seas through the area Friday night into Saturday morning and as a result, our dive plans were scrubbed.  On Sunday, the weather was markedly better, with very light wind and calm seas.  Our destination was the Holmes and it was perfect weather for the trip - for January at least.  I wasn't so sure about the visibility - the water in the marina was murky and that is almost never a good sign. And the tide was outgoing.  Nevertheless, we headed out to the Holmes.

Upon arrival, we discovered the mooring present, so we tied off and got right to diving. Roman and I were diving last so after Dave returned, we got a quick visibility report and splashed.  The report wasn't great - a dark 10 feet of visibility.  Ugh.  When it comes to winter diving, if the water temperature numbers have to be low, I prefer that the visibility numbers are high.  I decided to leave the camera behind, which was disappointing because I have a new arm on the strobe that I am hoping will help take care of some of the backscatter/wash-out problems I am experiencing with the new, more powerful strobe. 

Anyway, we splashed and headed down. It was okay-ish 20 or so feet through most of the water column, but it became dark and murkier as we got to the bottom. It wasn't as bad as I was expecting, which was probably in part due to the tide now having turned to incoming and some clean water clearing out the murk.  Anyway, we swam bow to stern and around some of the periphery. I was originally thinking I'd do some sand sweeps off the wreck, but we decided to wait for a better day when I can see more.  Once the 20 minutes were up, we split. I flipped on the heated vest and we enjoyed an uneventful decompression. My hands were really cold (39 F water temperature), but I managed. 

All in all, not a bad day - especially considering the mild air temps! 

After a disappointing finish to 2009 and similarly disappointing start to the year being blown out of diving through most of December as well as in the first weekend of January, we were excited about the prospects of finally getting out. The weather looked pretty good, though extremely low air temperatures were forecast. We generally will go unless we are talking single-digit air temperatures with below-zero wind chills and freezing spray – and while we were close to that this weekend, we felt that we could make it happen and still remain safe.

Saturday’s destination was the Poling and this was likely all it could be given that we had NW wind 20-25 knots and 3-4 foot seas running. The air temperatures were around 20 F and wind chill took it down to around 10 F. We knew it would be very unlikely that we had a mooring on the Poling, so we got a line prepared and loaded up with an eager group. We made a good run up to the wreck. We did take some freezing spray and ice, but overall we were in good shape since all the gear was covered with trash bags – SOP this time of year – and we stayed warm in the heated, dry cabin. As expected, the mooring was not there.

Upon arrival we dropped in the shot line and Dave splashed in to tie in the new piece of line. In no time at all the bag popped up and we were secure. Slowly but surely, everyone suited up and hit the water. When Dave returned he gave a positive conditions report – visibility was about 30 feet. This was good!

Once Dave was changed out of his drysuit, Scott, Roman and I suited up for our dive. I took all the usual precautions to keep myself warm and my skin protected while suiting up. We splashed in and dropped down. The visibility was excellent – somewhat so-so near the surface, but a solid 30 feet or more on the wreck. It wasn’t that crisp, clear "winter visibility" I was hoping for, but it was pretty good and I had no complaints. I guess if I did have one compliant it would be that my pictures were not coming out very good. Since getting a new, larger second strobe, it has been like starting over learning to take pictures. We swam all over the wreck, but since we did not have scooters (and we hate swimming!) we did not visit the Gannett and since we had a light issue (not me!) we did not go inside the wreck.

At the 35 minute mark, I flipped on my heated vest. Our planned bottom time was 40 minutes. I was cold on this dive for some reason. The water temperature was only about 39-40 F, but I my hands were really hurting. I was surprised I waited that long to turn the vest on. However, once I did, the warming of my torso definitely helped my hands. We ascended and did a short decompression, climbed aboard and got inside to warm up. We have a new coffee maker on the boat and it was really nice to come inside and get a fresh, hot cup of coffee after a dive!

For Sunday, we were headed out to the Holmes. The wind had come down some, but it was still blowing 15-20 knots out of the NW with ~3 foot seas. We had a smooth ride out to the wreck with the sea following us. It was just as cold as the day before. In fact, it might have been a little worse because there was some ice on the boat that obviously didn’t melt. It was so cold in fact that the ocean was "smoking" – light clouds of sea smoke were blowing off the surface of the ocean as we drove out. Hmm.

Anyway, we arrived on-site and happily found the mooring intact. We got secured, put the drop lines in the water and the first round of divers hit the water. When Dave came up we got the visibility report – about 30 feet, nice ambient light on the bottom and overall good conditions. I was happy about that and decided to bring the camera along.

Suiting up and pre-breathing the rebreather was a little more challenging since most of my stuff was still wet from the day before. In fact, despite rinsing out my breathing hoses and DSV, nothing completely dried and as a result my mushroom valves were frozen when I first started breathing from the rig. That is a little unnerving, as these $12 mushroom valves are pretty critical to the integrity of the loop and your exposure to CO2. After a few minutes pre-breathing, they warmed up and all seemed good, but this does seem to be an issue to watch out for when doing multi-day diving in freezing air temps.

John Minigan and I splashed in and dropped down to the wreck. We took a nice swim to the stern, and then up to the bow. I was taking lots of pictures, but most weren’t coming out very good. Oh well, I was trying! Our bottom time flew by, and on this dive I was surprisingly not cold (my hands weren’t hurting as bad as the day before). Anyway, we did a 20 minute bottom time and then headed up for an uneventful decompression. I had my heated vest on and loved every minute of it!

Once again when we got into the cabin, we hit the coffee, listened to some music and enjoyed the ride back! The dock lines were frozen up pretty good, so tying off the boat was challenging. Hopefully we got enough turns on the cleats and the boat is still tied to the dock! Good diving, but damn cold!

From left to right: Roman Ptashka on the deck of the Poling and swimming along the catwalk; a view down the deck from the break on the Poling; the catwalk on the Poling; part of winch/hauling gear equipment on the bow of the Holmes; the remnants of the bow on the Holmes.