Spent the weekend on the Independence… Saturday we hit the STOLT DAGALI (130 fsw) and the Granite wreck (120 fsw). Sunday we headed to the Mud Hole and dove the bow section of the AYURUOCA (aka the Oil Wreck, 170 fsw). Temperatures on the bottom about 46 F, mid water in the 50s, and 71 around 20 feet making for very comfortable decompression. Vis was in the 30 foot range on Saturday, making for some very nice dives. I haven’t seen one in a couple years, and they are one of my favorites, so even though I didn’t have my knife I decided to go for the gusto and wrestle a large (30+ pounds) monkfish on the Granite wreck armed with only my trauma shears and a “can-do” attitude. Let’s just say I’m glad the fish had a sense of humor because after it escaped my clutches and did a 180 to stare me down (mouth wide open) rather than swimming away I nearly crapped myself. It eventually gave me mercy and swam off, swallowing a decent sized winter flounder along the way, just to show me it wasn’t rattled in case I might have had any intentions of following (I didn’t).
On the Oil Wreck we had a nice 15 foot of visibility if you got away from the tie in where the chain was fouled up in a nest of ropes and old lines that sent up clouds of silt as it bounced. We were tied in just forward of the bridge section which has deteriorated dramatically in the past couple years. Had a nice leisurely dive swimming the entire bow section and even poked in the focsle which I hadn’t had the chance to do before. One of my favorite wrecks and I can’t wait to get back.
Down too long in the midnight sea... 
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