Down too long in the midnight sea...

Posted by: mcjangles | July 19, 2009

Weekend warrior

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.

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Posted in Ayuruoca, Granite wreck, New Jersey wrecks, Oil wreck, STOLT DAGALI, Uncategorized | Tags: Ayuruoca, Granite wreck, NJ WRECK DIVING, STOLT DAGALI

Posted by: mcjangles | July 14, 2009

North Sea Expedition 2009

Just got back from a fantastic voyage of 7 days diving in the North Sea off Belgium to dive some rarely dove and virgin shipwrecks. Had a great time aboard the CDT. FORCAULT and cannot say enough about the hospitality of the Belgian folks who organized this great expedition. Much spidge was raised and a great time was had making new friends. I’ll post a more detailed trip report and pics when I get the time.

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Posted in North Sea, wreck diving | Tags: North Sea, wreck diving

Posted by: mcjangles | June 27, 2009

Fun in the sun

Beautiful day on the water today aboard the Independence II. The Diversion group wanted to hit the DYKES, so off we went. I’ve only been on it once before, but it must be a very popular wreck because that gallery seems to get a lot of search engine hits…

Anyway… this old steel hulled schooner barge sits in about 65 fsw only a couple miles off the beach. Steve had us tied into one end of the ship in no time and divers began hitting the water. Surface vis looked like absolute slop and I was almost resigned to bench warming for the day when reports of OK vis on the bottom started coming back. I geared up and splashed with the camera, to find about 15 feet of vis and pretty warm water on the wreck (low 50s maybe?). There was a decent surge on the bottom and a little current but I managed to sneak in behind some structure and get a few decent shots using the tripod. Huge schools of baitfish were cruising the wreck making it look like shimmering underwater sea when you hit them with your light (I was trying out my new Dive Rite 10W LED light and it is pretty sweet). Decent sized sea bass were hiding in the ribs in the middle of the wreck, while both the stern and bow high spots were covered in nice sized tog (I guess they know they are off limits). It was a pretty cool popping up over the ledge on the bow to come across what looked like a field of grazing blackfish as they munched on the mussels covering the steel.

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Posted in Dykes, New Jersey wrecks | Tags: Dykes, New Jersey wrecks

Posted by: mcjangles | June 20, 2009

Beth Dee Bob

A crew member of a clamming boat died and three men were missing last night when their 84-foot boat foundered in rough seas and sank in the Atlantic 13 miles off Manasquan, N.J., the Coast Guard said.

One of the vessel’s owners, Daniel LaVecchia, said the boat, the Beth Dee Bob, appeared to have been swamped by 8- to 10-foot waves so vicious that a Coast Guard rescue boat had to turn back. ~NY TIMES Jan. 7th 1999

Dove the Beth Dee Bob for the first time today with a group from The Scuba Connection off the Independence II. The seas were nice long period glassy swells as we headed out to this clammer that sits in 120 fsw about 15 miles out of Manasquan, and was one of several victims of a stormy January in 1999. This “Winter of Disaster” was even the subject of the History Channel’s Deep Sea Detectives.

I jumped with the ball to tie in and was glad I had the line in my hand as the surface vis was about zero. However, before “this is gonna suck” fully formed in my mind I was already out of the muck and into the nice clear emerald green water that was below 20 feet. Vis on the bottom at 118 fsw was probably close to 30 feet and temp is up to about 47 F. The wreck is COVERED in growth. Anemones, mussels, and that “furry” stuff obscured most every surface, including the many ropes, lines, hawsers, and other “draperies” hanging about the superstructure and outriggers. I had to dig through thick clumps of hairy sea growth and mussels to get to the beam I wanted to chain into at 80 feet. This sent the swarm of bergalls around the A-frame into a frenzy and attacted the attention of several very large blackfish. I dropped down to the sand to look for scallops and after a couples minutes scanning and not spotting any I called it quits and headed up to grab the camera. There were lots of ling and what I think were pollock (?) on the bottom. Sean later told us he went several hundred feet out in the sand in the quest for scallops and only grabbed a couple so I didn’t feel too bad about my half hearted effort. A couple of bugs were boated and we split just as the seas were starting to pick up. The rain even let up just as we pulled into the slip, so all in all a great day!

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Posted in Beth Dee Bob, New Jersey wrecks, Uncategorized | Tags: Beth Dee Bob, New Jersey wrecks

Posted by: mcjangles | June 17, 2009

Key West Ghost Fleet

The last 2 days of my trip to Florida were spent on wrecks around Key West. The first we hit was the light cruiser USS WILKES BARRE. The WILKES BARRE is a massive ship over 600 feet in length and although sunk intentionally, was not stripped prior to sinking like most other artificial reefs. The guns, size, artifacts, and marine life of the Keys make this a world class wreck dive. Although still within site of land, the usually high current and depth (250 fsw) means the WILKES BARRE does not get dove as often as you would expect.

We got lucky and didn’t have too much current, but we did live drop the wreck. The bow and stern sections are completely separated by a good sized gap and you usually hit one section or the other. When we dove it the shot line went horizontal with the current and went directly over the bow and the hook was in the stern giving us a view of both sections. It was tempting to drop off the line to get out of the current and just dive the bow section but I really wanted to see the big guns sitting upright on the stern. Visibility was about 50 feet and marine life was plentiful including several large Goliath grouper looming overhead around the superstructure. When the dive was over we fired off bags and drifted off the wreck. Deco was just as eventful with schools of colorful Mahi circling us and feeding near the surface.

After 2 dives on the WILKES we headed over to the VANDENBERG to moor for our last night on the SPREE. It was tempting to end the day with the spectacular dives on the WILKES but I chose to get my money’s worth and did the night dive on the VANDENBERG (pics from that dive below).

WILKES BARRE images

During the night a squall moved through and I had a bumpy nights sleep and slept in a little. I was awoken with news that we were heading to the USS CURB in 190 fsw for the last dive. The anchor line directed our descent past the coral encrusted forward mast. Visbility was “only” about 40 feet and it felt a little cooler on the deck (than the other dives) at about 160 fsw. There was a decent current running from the bow to the stern. The CURB was a very picturesque little wreck and made a great dive to end a great trip!

USS CURB IMAGES

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Posted in Florida wrecks, USS CURB, USS WILKES BARRE | Tags: Florida wrecks, USS CURB, USS WILKES BARRE, VANDENBERG

Posted by: mcjangles | June 14, 2009

RESOR

tanker

After a week of diving in Florida there’s nothing like getting back to the cool refreshment of New Jersey wreck diving! Had great conditions on the RP RESOR today off the Independence. Did a double take on my gauges heading down the shot line as I hit the top of the wreckage around 80 fsw as I always forget that the stern section rises that high off the bottom (125 fsw). Visibility was a nice 30-40 feet, but a little dark from the overcast skies above.

After spotting a single scallop right off the bat, I decided to commit the dive to finding some more of the tasty little critters. The 44F temperature on the bottom was cool enough to keep me moving for warmth and I covered a lot of ground…. I didn’t come up empty handed but after 40 minutes scouring the bottom and only having 6 or 7 in the bag it sure felt like it. Oh well, it was enough for a delicious sashimi lunch.

Several nice bugs made their way to the cooler along with a couple more scallops. A great day on one of Jersey’s best wrecks.

RESOR IMAGES

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Posted in New Jersey wrecks, RP RESOR | Tags: New Jersey wrecks, RP RESOR

Posted by: mcjangles | June 13, 2009

Florida Part 3 (1 more to go)

BETWEEN_DECKS

Day 3: June 3rd

After departing the RHEIN (report/pics here), the next stop on the Dry Tortugas tour was the iron hulled sailing ship the ARABY MAID in 215 fsw. A pretty little wreck that looks surprisingly (considering she’s been down since 1903) much like the ship she once was. The gaping wound from the collision that sank her in the port bow leaves little to the imagination as to what sank this ship. Marine life was plentiful including several very large Goliath grouper. Beautiful portholes line the lower deck, most of which are still in place with the brass storm covers clamped tight due to the effort required to extract them. I spent my second dive whacking on one and made little progress. I’m hoping Danny will finish the job on his trip next week 😉

ARABY MAID images

Day 4: June 4th

After a night of searching for a wreck with no luck, daybreak found us over the wreck of the U-2513. This advanced German U-boat was sunk as practice by the US Navy in 1951. A good number of the hedgehogs used to sink the sub still surround it on the seabed or can be seen in the wreck making this a more unique dive than most of the other subs I’ve dove.

From the U-2513 we again began the search for new numbers. Before we knew it Barney had us over a new wreck, and divers were scrambling to be among the first down. The bottom at 180 fsw was a bit murkier than the other sites we hit but you didn’t need great vis to tell we were on a trawler. As I descended, the net covered bow of the old shrimper rose up and I found Bill excitedly fondling the ships compass. The trawler appeared to be down for a while and was covered with nets. Despite it’s small size it was a very enjoyable dive!

U-2513 images

SONIC

TRAWLER images

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Posted in Araby Maid, Florida wrecks, TIKI II, U2513 | Tags: Araby Maid, Dry Tortugas, Florida wrecks, U-2513

Posted by: mcjangles | June 10, 2009

Ignoring the signs… (Florida cont.)

Part 2: the 1st 2 days

When I arrived in Key West last Monday (1-June) I wasn’t quite sure if the intense beating of my heart was excitement over the fact that the next 5 days would be bringing world class wreck diving I’d been waiting a year to get back to, or if it was merely an energy drink induced palpitation. Regardless I was feeling pretty carefree and enthusiastic as I stumbled out of my car onto legs a little wobbly from over 20 hours of driving. After some quick introductions to the Capts and crew of the M/V SPREE I headed in to town to tool around for a couple hours…

After a group dinner at the Rusty Anchor we set sail for our adventure. We motored overnight to the Dry Tortugas and our first stop the German freighter M/S RHEIN in 240 fsw. The Mikes tied us in and in no time we were heading down through the warm blue waters. I nearly crashed into the deck as the HUGE schools of baitfish made it difficult to get my bearings. I couldn’t tell what was up and what was down, it was just a swirling silver mass, until eventually a Goliath grouper (Jewfish) cruised through and parted the sea revealing us to be amid some big deck winches and the fallen mast and staring up at the picturesque forward kingpost. For dive 1 we explored foward around the forecastle and bow, and for dive 2 we checked out the twisted ghostly remains of the stern. What an awesome wreck!

M/S RHEIN Images

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Posted in Dry Tortugas, Florida wrecks, Rhein | Tags: Dry Tortugas, Key West, Rhein

Posted by: mcjangles | June 10, 2009

Florida pics part 1 of (?)

Tower

Time seems to be a scarce commodity for me these days so instead of waiting to go through the hundreds of images I took last week in Florida I am going to just start throwing some up as I go. Starting with these nighttime shots of the newly sunk VANDENBERG.

Long story short… I did a 5 day wreck diving adventure aboard the M/V SPREE led by Mike Barnette hitting some of the deeper wrecks in the Dry Tortugas and around Key West. Had an absolutely fantastic time, with warm water, good vis, and lots of sea life. Oh yeah some pretty spectacular wrecks as well. We hit the RHEIN, ARABY MAID, U-2513, a shrimp boat, the USS WILKES BARRE, the VANDENBERG, and the USS CURB.

After a full day (2 dives) on the WILKES we motored over to moor on the VANDENBERG overnight and had the option of doing a night dive. Most folks opted out, but I figured I was here, I was going to dive. Did a quick dip with Mike assisting with lighting and got some pretty nice results. No current to speak of, but lots of squid and a single barracuda on the wreck.

dISH_bw

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Posted in Dry Tortugas, Florida wrecks, VANDENBERG | Tags: Dry Tortugas, Florida wrecks, Key West, VANDENBERG

Posted by: mcjangles | May 24, 2009

Can’t get enough of the STOLT

Enter_Rob

The Tuna Seazure left the dock promptly at 0645 today to get out to the STOLT DAGALI quickly in anticipation of the “parking lot” being crowded by the holiday weekend crowd. Turns out there was no need to rush cause once we got a few miles out boats were few and far between. Seas were 2 to 3 feet and were cruised at a good clip out to the STOLT. When I hit the bottom at 125 fsw to tie in I was happy to find the good conditions from a few weeks ago had hung around. Visibility on the bottom was a clear 30ish feet and dropped a little near the top of the wreck with all the plankton in the water. Tons of hungry bergalls swarming the top of the wreck with one particularly persistent bastard who kept insisting on pecking my mask while I was wrapping the chain. A few blackfish were mingling in the crowd and I thought for a second I was doing a reef dive with all the life around.

For dive 2 I was lucky to have Mr. Rob assist me with modeling and lighting efforts. We did a tour of the wreck inside and out and got some nice results. Kenny got a nice 2-3 lb lobster down in the debris field and we pulled hook as the winds and waves were starting to kick up.

Of note: Miss Kendall Bedford made her first Jersey wreck dive today and had a great time. You don’t see many 13 year old girls out on the boat… maybe she will be a sport and write up her first report…

Falling_Down