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From Kent "Dr Deco" Hirsch . . .
This past Saturday found myself and Mike Nast as guests aboard the Gypsy Blood dive boat out of Long Beach Island. Let me explain. Bryan Palmer sent a heads up email about this new boat diving out of LBI. Well, Mike's folks have a beach house on the island, so that is the perfect site for diving- roll out of bed and we are on the boat in 10 minutes. Turns out, that to drum up business, Anthony, the boat owner, was offering free rides to representatives of dive shops to promote the boat. Who better to represent Smokey's than yours truly? OK, then who better to whine and beg and promise to promote the boat than yours truly? Go to www.gypsyblooddive.com to check out the boat. My work is done.
No, really, the boat is great. Super powerful twin screws capable of 24 knots get the hull out of the water and to the dive site in record time. Located at Barnegat Light Marina, it is a quick motor to open water. The boat has long, wide benches down both sides and entries are via giant stride off the back. You climb back on board by standard ladder (not skeleton) after first removing your fins and handing them to a mate. There are six bunks for napping, twin heads and Anthony supplies lunch and drinks.
The weather report for Saturday was for 3-5 ft waves and rain, but once again they were wrong. At the dive site we found cloudy conditions and 2-3 ft rollers. We dove the Vincent Paul, a 95 ft tug, sunk by Anthony's family as part of the artificial reef project. Viz was down to 20 ft due to the stormy conditions all week, and water temps at the bottom are at 54. Maximum depth was 86 ft. The tug is intact and upright. I did a penetration to explore the cabin and then the engine room. No one was home, except for one eel, who poked his head out of a pipe to investigate the intruder to his habitat.
Out in the sand were hundreds of piles of old tires. They are cables together in bundles and left as artificial reef habitat. Mike and I set a wreck reel and went exploring. We found a few lobsters and brought one home for dinner. No scallops at all on the sand. We saw some 7-10 lb monster fluke. Maybe I'll stab one next time, but idea of filleting didn't appeal to my lazy nature. 75 yds to port we stumbled onto another wreck, an upside down barge.
Both dives lasted about an hour. It was a unique environment, with all the tire bundles to investigate for lobster. We finished the second dive before noon and were on the road and back to Lancaster early.
give the Gypsy Blood two thumbs up for ease of diving, friendly crew who catered to the needs of the divers, fast cruising speed and stable dive platform. LBI is 1/2 hour further than Brielle, but worth the drive as you can unload your gear right at the boat (like the Surface Interval), without having a long walk down the pier (like the Seeker). Anthony charges $80.00, and I think this would be a great vessel for open water and advanced open water check out dives.
Remember, the earth is 3/4 covered by ocean, not quarry. Get out and enjoy the majesty of the sea. Speaking of fresh water, I leave for 9 days of advanced cave diving in the Riviera Maya region of Mexico on friday. Steve Gerrard is teaching me cave DPV using the Silent Submersion scooter and also cave surveying. Watch for my report in two weeks. Until then, Live the Adventure!!!
From Jess Zellers . . .
Oh ...this was a small week!! and we had food too. George brought sausage, Gerhert got cobs of corn, I did the dogs, Terry baked his fingers to a frazzel, Dave came with rolls he didn't cut, Rodger brought his wife's patoto salad, and we had a vast array of patoto chips. It's been awhile since we had a full fledge thursday night BS session over food... took us a bit to get really into it. But old habits do die hard!! And for the record, I'm not a natural blonde.
Oh yea, we did some diving too. Kulp and I decided we haven't been to the Quest much lately and headed out there. If you left anything on the Quest pick it up by thursday or I will. No alge on it yet, so it's hidden near where you left it. Came back on the outer set of tracks. On way up from the platforms found a turtle and chases it for awhile. It's odd when you go to pick up a rock and it swims away.
Thursday night diving, now availability in two flavors. Myerstown orginal or Wabank sweet & sour. Pick your favorite. Grab a tank, get out and dive!
From Bob Hanna . . .
Blue Mt Lake is located in the center of the Adirondack State Park which is located in the Northern section of New York State. My Dad was born and raised there. He married the daughter of the Methodist minister and here I am writing this report.
Blue Mt Lake should not be thought of as a dive destination. There is no Dive Shop or Air fill station within 50 miles. There is no special wreck to go see, and there are no tropical fish. If you want to fish for Lake Trout, Small and Large Mouth Bass, that is a reason for going. If you want to see and hear Loons or see Merganzer Ducks or other Ducks, good place to go.
We had two Power boats which equals hours of skiing, towing the Red Dog 5 (remember the banana boats), knee boards, and other flotation devices. The food and adult beverages at Potters were excellent and one evening 5 Bears including 1 cub were the feature beach attraction. Then there was a day of Horseback riding, and an afternoon of Paint Ball.
Add these to our 12 air tanks and other gear, and you can have an exhausting but exciting week. There are three sunken boats which I found years ago. My Son Rob and I visited all three. And there was Zackery and Jed. Zackery is 8 (soon to be 9 and going on 25) His mother, Maria, is a Padi Master Instructor.. Zackery under her watchful eye did 2 dives of about 3-5 feet each. They were his first outdoor dives. (He has dove to 14 feet in Survival Systems in door pool under Maria's watchful eye.) It was a good experience. He likes fish. He photographs well.There are three sunken boats which I found years ago. My Son Rob and I visited all three
Jed works at Potters, completed Open Water Padi training a year ago. Jed and I did three dives, his first since his class. We logged 2 1/2 hours of bottom time. We expect Jed to come out of the Mountains, that is, and dive this fall with some Smokey Divers.
There is a lot of serious diving in New York. Smokey Divers Den annually dive the St Lawerence Seaway. Lake Champlain is over 100 miles long with about 300 wrecks. Lake George, a mere 30 miles long has some preserved French and Indian War era wrecks. Diving is life, the rest is just details.
Keep on diving and LIVE THE ADVENTURE!!!
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