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From MIke "Caveman" Nast . . .
On Sunday, I joined four other divers on the Tuna Seazure out of Little Egg Harbor. One of the divers was Richie Kohler of Deep Sea Detectives fame and Shadow Divers, as well as a Nova special on U-869.
We headed out to the San Jose, a W WII-era freigher in 110 feet. The bottom there is muddy and the water is still cold, but we enjoyed about 30 feet of viz. The cold water seems to be keeping the lobsters down, but I was able to grab two for dinner that night. One grabbed me pretty good, but I got the last laugh.
The wreck also features lots of skates in the sand, as well as a few flounder. At about 40 feet there is a noticeable thermocline and the water is very clear with many jelly fish to keep me occupied during my hang.
From Tom Pritchard . . .
Thursday. Attendance is down at Willow, which is now officially in the mid-summer doldrums. But there was a bright spot! Gerhard Maree and I were joined by the always effervescent Rick Huck and a Eric, a long time Willow diver who has returned to the area after a 4 year hiatus. Terry Martzall made a cameo appearance, but didn't dive. Terry or no Terry, the plan was to locate the cave we spotted last week. The cave, as expected, eluded us even though the viz was 10-15 ft. As we made the turn at the boat by the east end of the quarry, GMan and I lost Eric and Huck. We made our way to the bridge and followed the gully a bit more and, presto! we were at the steam shovel. Back to the tracks and out to the Quest and back. 71 minutes in the mudhole, 50 ft, 55 degrees.
Saturday. With sunny skies and 2 ft seas, it was a great day for east coast wreck diving on the Gypsy Blood. Everything went smoothly on the boat, thanks to crew Jim Wilson and Smokey's own Bryan Palmer. Capt. Anthony hooked the superstructure of the Algol and Bryan tied us in. Great job all day Bryan!! Unlike last week's dive on the Gulftrade (90 fsw), Gerhard Maree and I were joined by mostly seasoned wreck divers. The Algol lies in 125 fsw, but currents have scoured the bottom near the hull to depths that push 150 fsw. Among those on board, Dan Crowell, skipper of the Seeker, who was running an advanced nitrox class. The Algol was a WWII Victory ship that was added to the NJ artificial reef in 1991. At 450 ft in length, the Algol offers the majesty of a an enormous upright wreck, large holds that can be penetrated easily, deep diving, gazoodles of fish, and lobster condos off the port side. With a mild current running on our first dive and a false start on our run to the sand, we opted for a more conservative dive. The current wasn't bad when we moved in the lee of the massive superstructure or hugged the main deck, but when I ventured off the bow a couple of feet, I had to claw my way back to the wreck. The current on the second dive was worse, but still manageable. Current can cost you time and air, so we stayed well within our air supply and cut both dives short. We didn't want to take a chance squeezing our air supply or doing a long deco if the current at the top turned lumpy. 64 min., 116 fsw; 61 minutes, 109 fsw. Bottom temps were in the high 40's. A great trip and, as usual, we felt welcome in the Brielle marina. Sometimes our fans welcome us by leaving notes on the windshield of our car. For example, on Saturday a note left anonymously on Gerhard's windshield read, "This looks like some Pennsyltuckian nomadic redneck scuba trash diving rolling junker. Go home and dive your mudhole quarry, you worthless scuba whores." Geez! I wonder what Dan would have written if I brought the Ramcharger. [P.S. Pennsyltucky is spelled A-l-a-b-a-m-a]
From Bryan Palmer . . .
Saturday - I had my First day of actual crewing on a boat, which is the Gypsy Blood out of Barnegat Light, NJ. The wreck was the Algol 70’-140’ and is a semi-artificial reef. It was a beautiful day weather wise and the ocean was nice to at depth it was in the mid 40’s. Tom Pritchard and Gerhard Maree were on the boat as well as Dan Crowell (Capt. Pf the Seeker) with some students for those who don’t know. Everything with smoothly from what I think/saw.
Monday - I headed down to the Surface Interval with Sharon and the rest of the Smokey’s crew. After getting down there with time to spare we headed to breakfast, but some people wanted “real sit down breakfast” so that more then made up for our good timing on the way down. We arrived at the dock at 7:55 am and were loaded and leaving at about 8:10 things seemed to go a little more smoothly after that. A few people felt a little under the seas, and some minor equipment things here and there. Remember drysuits need to be zipped the WHOLE way closed for them to work properly!! No names mentioned. Scott the Rock and I tried out hand at spear fishing. We both had a blast and I look forward to the next trip I can spear fish. Scott ended up with 4-5 Ill tempered sea bass and I ended up with 4 sea bass and 2 nice flounder, one of which weighed in at 9.3 pounds and right around 27-28 inches. This was a new snag wreck we were only the second dive on the wreck that we know of. It is a low lying wooden wreck with little relief and several different sections. I am off Friday for an overnight trip with several other well known east coast divers along with Smokey’s own Huckster, James Z, Wonder Twins (Tom Pritchard & Gerhard Maree) so look for a report next week. - This has been one of the best seasons for diving in several years so take advantage of it and get out and dive. Ever want to go east coast diving let me know and we’ll try our best to get it you out.
From Darth Vern . . .
Well we have alot of reports this week, plus some of the regulars have not written yet, so there may be more later. Uptown Brown, The Rock [with wife Kathy], Nate, Mayo, Cindy, Sharon, Kent, JameZ, Bryan, myself and even Mark were on a charter on the Surface Interval this Monday. The wreck was listed as a "New Snag" meaning there is something there but no one is sure what. After making sure no on ehad any GPS , so no one knew exactly where we were other than the captain, we were off. Well it turned out to be an old wooden ship [type unknown so far]. There were fish aplenty and many flounder and a few lobsters, I even saw a type of stingray! The wreck was in 110fsw and there was very little waves OR current. A GREAT DAY OF DIVING. On the 2nd dive I was in last again [since I was the "trip leader"], so I was a little rushed and got my suspender caught in my zipper and to my dismay it was 2" short of being fully closed. Well needless to say I was soaked in 3 seconds and back on the boat in 20 seconds. A case well served in NEVER RUSH getting ready. I suppose I am now a proud card carrying member of the "Zipper Club" joining Tom Pritchard and Huck as divers who splashed in with open zippers. Just to clarify the "trip leader" bit I got chided for all weekend, it is essentially the equivalent of calling the clown with the best applied make-up the most pretty of the bunch or gaggle or whatever you call a gang of clowns standing together.
All in all an incredible day of hanging out and diving with people I like [for the most part HAHAHAHA] From a speedy breakfast to a relaxed dinner at the brewery after a great day of diving. If you want a challenge that is fun AND relaxing try a an East Coast wreck dive. We have several divemasters that can help you ramp up for it and have your skills in place to join us, all you have to do is ask!!!!!!
This coming week some our divers are on an overnight charter on Capt. Zero's boat out of Staten Island to the wreck of the Rezor. The following week we have our first "Beginners East Coast Wreck Dive" aboard the Gypsy Blood, it should be a great experience for 6 newer divers ready for the challenge of Eact Coast Wrecks!!!!
We are out at the quarries every weekend and on Wed and Thru nights. No reason to not be out diving, give the shop a call and get out and dive!!!!!
From Bob Hanna . . .
The official dates for our trip were Monday -Wednesday 6/28-6/30, but 7 of us used the Sunday afternoon 1 tank dive on the Indra as a way of getting in a nice easy introductory dive. (The following descriptions of the Wrecks we dove came from the Olympus Web site)
INDRA Formally a US Navy Landing Craft Repair ship, she was sank August 4, 1992 as part of North Carolina's artificial reef program. This wreck lies in 65 feet of water and rises to within 35 feet of the surface. This penetrable wreck is excellent for training, photography and night dives.
We took no pictures on this dive and concentrated on things like getting our gear right, running a wreck reel, swimming through openings in the wreck which were easy to access, and where no lights were needed and just having fun.
Mon - June 28, 2004
The idea was to have the option to dive shallow but to be able to go below 100' as our group's experience level varied greatly. So, we selected the Aeolis and the Star, a new recently sunk wreck but after a successful dive on the Aeolis we went in shore to the Suloide do to the weather.
AEOLUS Sank August of 1988 as an artificial reef. She lies in 110 feet of water and rises to 90 feet. She is 409 feet long and is a good multilevel dive. In 1996 hurricanes broke this wreck into three pieces. The stern sets upright, amidships she lies on her starboard side and the bow section is collapsing.
What surprised me was the sight of a number of Sand Tiger Sharks. It seemed like they were everywhere this year. We did attempt taking some pictures. Several free copies of our top 25 pictures will be available at the shop in about 1 week.
SULOIDE This 1,879 ton cargo vessel lies in 70 feet of water southwest of Beaufort Inlet. She collided with the partially submerged hull of the W.E. Hutton March 26, 1943. Both vessels were depth charged and wire dragged to prevent further collisions.
This was my 11th straight year diving with Olympus . I have dove on all of these wrecks a number of times. Originally the reason for diving these wrecks was to look for "Brass". A porthole from the Papose hangs on my living room wall as an example. The easy to find objects are gone, but the focus of our trip was on the marine life. There was plenty to see and photograph. Everyone had a good time.
Tue - 6/29/04
We were going to dive the Star and a second wreck, but the weather drove us in shore. We were not disappointed. Lots of sharks. The water was reasonably warm. Lots of marine life.
W.E.HUTTON She was torpedoed by the U-124 March 9, 1942. She lies in 72 feet of water. Depth charged and wire dragged as a hazard to navigation about a year after her demise, the wreckage is scattered over a large area.
Wed - June 30, 2004
We were able to get off shore and dive these great wrecks. Not many people know that a good 600 ships were sunk off the Atlantic during WWII. Not many have seen a German Sub off our Coast.
PAPOOSE This tanker was sank during WW II by the U-124 March 19, 1942. The wreck lies upside down in 130 feet of clear, warm water. Her large, flat keel rises to within 85 feet of the surface. In recent years schools of Atlantic Sand Tiger Sharks have been present on this wreck throughout the year.
The Sharks were there. They did not disappoint us. Kristi Raykos took the best Shark pictures some, possibly all will be in our group's top 25. Many were taken on this dive. For these 2 dives especially, I would recommend taking the PADI NITROX COURSE. Nitrox divers could get approximately 25 minutes of bottom time whereas those who had not got about 1/2 that time.
U-352 This German submarine is unquestionably North Carolina's most popular wreck dive. On May 9, 1942 she attacked the US Coast Guard cutter Icarus. Her torpedo exploded prematurely, which revealed her presence and led to her demise. Thirteen German sailors lost their lives in the battle. Today the submarine lies in 115 feet of water, upright but listing approximately 40 degrees to starboard. While most of the outer hull has rusted away the pressure hull remains intact. To get the most out of this amazing dive most of the divers stayed up higher on the wreck making the dive more like a 100' dive.
Keep on diving and LIVE THE ADVENTURE!!!
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