Got 1 dive in today on the MOHAWK with RJ’s group from Treasure Cove on the Independence II before the seas started turning ugly. 10 feet vis and 47F top to bottom with no thermocline, presumably due to the southerly swell mixing things up.
Posted by: mcjangles | June 6, 2010
1 and run
Posted in MOHAWK, New Jersey wrecks, wreck diving | Tags: MOHAWK, NJ WRECK DIVING
Posted by: mcjangles | June 3, 2010
CAPE CANAVERAL
This past weekend I headed down to Florida to do some diving out of Cape Canaveral. The weather had other plans and only made it out 1 day, but managed to have a pretty fun time nonetheless. Hit two WWII u-boat casualties which was fitting given it was Memorial Day weekend. Had clear blue 80F water and 1.5-2 knots of current on the LUBRAFOL (190 fsw) with only 10 feet of snotty vis and 70F on the bottom. The LESLIE (100 fsw) was a slightly better 15 feet of vis with temperatures about the same. Can’t wait to get back down!
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Exploring the debris field of the LESLIE |
Inside the inverted bow section of the LESLIE |
Posted in Florida wrecks, LESLIE, LUBRAFOL | Tags: Florida wrecks, LESLIE, LUBRAFOL
Posted by: mcjangles | May 25, 2010
VIRGINIA BEACH REPORT
This past Friday we departed Virginia Beach a little after midnight to journey 70 miles SE to investigate a set of numbers in 150 fsw that Capt JT (and the rest of us) hoped would be an exciting discovery of a new wreck. These trips can be risky as you never know what you will find, but at the same time not many people can say they were the first to dive a shipwreck! Daylight broke and we found ourselves looking at a large profile on the bottom machine. The shot was dropped and soon after Bobby and Michael to tie in. They returned before I had my rebreather and camera set up and were not quite sure what we had found but it was covered in discarded fishing nets held high off the bottom by floats.
The water was emerald green and with very good visibility of 30-40 feet I dropped off the line well before the bottom to avoid crashing like a fly into the spider web of nets below and alighted on the white sandy bottom just off the wreckage. I started poking around looking for clues to what this was when in the debris I spotted some MASSIVE claws and soon found myself in a wrestling match with a 14 lb beast that after considerable effort I somehow managed to stuff into my proverbial 5 lb bag. With that out of the way I started checking out the “wreck” while Andrew and Mark buzzed around on their scooters. Not much to note and we came to the conclusion it was either a spaceship or something that fell off a dredge? Who knows, it wasn’t a wreck but it was a hell of a fun dive and loaded with BIG lobsters.
From there we headed to the MEXICANO, a large relatively intact freighter in 140 fsw. We did an afternoon dive and after some dinner and a movie (Avatar), a really cool night dive. At night the interior of the wreck was alive with huge conger eels that were on the prowl looking for dinner. Just their faces were visible if you were poking around during the day but at night they were free swimming and it was kind of creepy seeing these 5-6 foot long fish swimming about. All the sea bass were sleeping in the sand off the wreck and it was a totally different experience. As I began my ascent I stopped at 90 feet and watched Andrew light up the wreck as he scootered along 40 feet below me. Truly awesome!
From the MEXICANO we pulled anchor and started heading back towards home where we stopped at the 1800 Line wreck which is thought to be the steamer CONSOLS. We dove Sunday morning at had 10-15 feet of visibility at 80 fsw. A nice little dive to end an incredible weekend on the Atlantic!
Mystery snag gallery
MEXICANO gallery
CONSOLS (1800 Line)
Posted in CONSOLS, MEXICANO, Mystery150, Virginia Beach wrecks | Tags: CONSOLS, MEXICANO, wreck diving
Posted by: mcjangles | May 23, 2010
Virginia Beach
Just a preview while Im stuck in traffic driving home… Did an overnight trip on the Under Pressure out of Virginia Beach this weekend. First stop was a mystery snag in 150 fsw nearly 70 miles SE of the inlet. From there we motored over to the MEXICANO for 2 dives including an awesome night dive. On the way in we hit the 1800 line wreck to wrap things up. Complete details and pics later in the week!
Thanks to Capt JT for the picture!
Posted in Uncategorized
Posted by: mcjangles | May 16, 2010
ARUNDO
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The ARUNDO (130 fsw) is a wreck divers dream… A huge freighter (412′), torpedoed in WWII with a full cargo a war supplies bound for Africa including 2 locomotives, numerous trucks and 5000 cases of beer in 1 quart bottles.
Today the seas were calm but it started out a little overcast with a slight drizzle on the way out to the wreck on the Independence II. I splashed with the shot line and was surprised to find bluish water with a nice 40 feet or so of vis near the surface. Below about 60 feet the temperature dropped and with it the visibility. It wasn’t too bad on the bottom with a decent 15 feet of visibility if you stayed high off the wreck which seemed to dust up very easily and with little to no current it took a while to clear. I came across some of the holds full of the remains of the trucks destined for war that were prematurely relieved of duty. I also found a hold full of the clear 1 quart beer bottles and after sifting through lots of broken ones bagged an intact specimen as a souvenir.
Not many fish were spotted, but a few dozen scallops were bagged up by some persistent hunters. By the time everyone finished the first dive the skies began to open up and the sun poked through turning it into a really nice day.
Posted in ARUNDO, New Jersey wrecks | Tags: ARUNDO, New Jersey wrecks, wreck diving
Posted by: mcjangles | May 3, 2010
SALEM
This past weekend I headed up to Salem, MA with Bill to do some wreck diving aboard the Gauntlet. Weather was damn near perfect with flat calm seas both days and comfortable surface temperatures.
Saturday we hit the wreck of the PINTHIS, a turtled tanker in 100 fsw. Dropping down to the wreck it was nice to see the upside down hull stretching into the distance in the 30 feet of bright visibility. We were moored into the anchor of the wreck which has fallen out of the hull but was still in the hawsepipe. We started aft and dropped into one of the easy openings that give access to the relatively wide open interior. After poking around a bit we exited the wreck and headed towards the stern popping in and out the wreck along the way enjoying the great conditions. The bottom here was sandy and rocky with lots of interesting starfish we don’t usually see down here further south. Beautiful purple and red and white starfish speckled the rocky sea floor making me wish for a second that I had the proper lens and knew anything about macro photography. Back at the bow I was packing up to head up when I hear “wow look at that.” I turned around and found Bill giggling through his DSV checking out a rather large wolf fish under some wreckage.
PINTHIS gallery
Sunday we headed out in more overcast but equally pleasant conditions with the flat seas from Saturday still hanging around. Today the destination was the “Bone wreck” in 180 fsw. A large wooden wreck that gets its name from the whale bones that litter the site. Heading down the line it got dark pretty fast and the visibility seemed to drop the further down the line we got. I kept an eye on my gauges to anticipate when to expect the wreck to avoid crashing into it. Upon arrival the conditions were not terrible with 10 feet or so of very dark visibility. It seemed everything was blanketed with beautiful anemones and it felt like we were exploring a hidden garden. We first hit the bow, which looks more like a Big Top than the pointy end of a ship at this point. Lots of derelict fishing nets with ropes and lines hanging all over dictated we use extra caution. Once we got oriented we headed aft and came across several partially buried whale vertebrae. With the water around 40 degrees and a chilly deco ahead we cut the dive at 25 minutes and headed up.
Overall an awesome weekend of diving some spectacular wrecks with near perfect spring weather!
Bone wreck gallery
Posted in Bone wreck, Massachusetts wrecks, PINTHIS
Posted by: mcjangles | April 24, 2010
MOHAWK
Gorgeous day on the water today about the Independence II. If the water wasn’t still so cold it would have been hard to believe it’s April. Hit the Clyde liner MOHAWK in 75 fsw. Good visibility on surface and mid-water, with about 10 feet on the bottom due to the surge kicking things up. 41 degrees on the bottom, warming up to 46 near the surface. Video dive report:
Posted in MOHAWK, New Jersey wrecks, wreck diving | Tags: MOHAWK, New Jersey wrecks, NJ WRECK DIVING
Posted by: mcjangles | April 18, 2010
LARCHMONT
NY Times Feb. 13th, 1907
On February 11th, 1907 the schooner HARRY KNOWLTON collided with the side wheel steamer LARCHMONT sending 143 souls to their icy water filled graves in what was one of the largest maritime disasters at the time. Over a hundred years later the skeletal remains of the side paddles, a reminder of transportation of many days past, still rise proudly over 20 feet off the silty bottom of Long Island sound, a slowly fading monument to the unfortunate travelers that cold day in February.
Today we visited this unique wreck site on the Sidekick out of Montauk after the original plan to visit another piece of history, the U-853, was diverted due to choppy seas. Capt. Chuck had us on site and hooked in, in time dive the required slack tide. It was overcast and gloomy, and ambient light faded relatively quickly on the way down to the wreck which lies in 125 fsw. In the chilly darkness it was quite eerie seeing the standing paddle wheel come up out of the gloom to greet us. Visibility was a decent 15-20 feet but quite dark, and I immediately regretted not bringing my tripod. But it was my first salt water dive in several months and I was just feeling fortunate to be in the (42 degree) water. Not bad for the first shake down dive of the season.
Posted in LARCHMONT, New York wrecks, wreck diving | Tags: LARCHMONT, NY wrecks
Posted by: mcjangles | April 11, 2010
It’s about time
Well I finally got my ass back in the water. Not much to report as it was a simple dip at Dutch Springs to try out some of the new toys I’ve accumulated over the slow winter and make sure I still know how to use my rebreather and camera. Surprisingly everything went perfectly in the 60 minutes we spent in the 43 degree water.
Freshly serviced regs – solid (Thanks John!)
New computer – sweet
New drysuit – awesome
New dry gloves – awesomer
All systems go and now it’s off to the races. Barring any silly weather patterns it should be an great summer. Off to Montauk next weekend!
Posted in Dutch Springs, Quarrior, Quarry diving | Tags: Dutch Springs, Quarrior, Quarry diving
Posted by: mcjangles | March 2, 2010
One of the USS MOONSTONE’s stories
Winter time gives me time to research wrecks for the upcoming season and around this time the taste of spring and diving is in the air. One of the trips I’m most looking forward to is the Indepedence’s trip to Cape May in August. The USS MOONSTONE is one of the wrecks we will be targeting. One of the things I love about wreck diving is that each ship that lies on the bottom has its own unique story in history. Here is a piece of the history of the USS MOONSTONE as shared by Larry Lang nephew of Milton J. Bushen the 1st officer of the LONE STAR which later became the MOONSTONE when the US bought it to serve the war effort in WWII. Special thanks to Mr. Lang for contacting me and sharing his photos…
“Let me bore you for a bit.
My uncle, Milton James Bushen (1900-1996), was born in Nova Scotia. He began his life at sea at age 10 on his father’s Grand Banks Schooner as a cabin boy.
On his first day at sea, the cook told him to go topside and throw the slops overboard. He was told to wet his finger and which ever side was the coldest, throw it in that direction. A case of learn by experience. He also told me about rowing the dory over to ice bergs to chip off ice for fresh water. By the time he was 16, he was in charge of the mizzen topsail.
He was then sent to a maritime academy where he received his papers. He went to sea and worked his way up to his Masters in 1937. He went to work for Frederick H. Pierce and worked his way up to 1stOfficer before the Lone Star was sold to the US Government. Mr. Prince also owned a yacht which sailed for the Cup trials named the “Weetamoe”. Uncle Mickey sailed as a crewman on her. Oh the stories he could tell.
He lived in Cutler Ridge near Homestead, FL and his Masters papers and the picture of the Lone Star were lost in Hurricane Andrew but I had previously made a snapshot. Here they are. His Bowditch from 1933 was to be given to me at his death but it was lost in Hurricane Andrew.
Thanks for your interest”
Posted in USS MOONSTONE, wreck history | Tags: USS MOONSTONE, wreck history
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Down too long in the midnight sea... 
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