| Captains Log |  |
2000 Dive Season Trip Reports |
| 11/13/00 | Another dreary November day. The Porthole II was hauled out this morning, power washed (by somebody else), oil and filters changed, fresh water system drained and winterized. Once we get all the gear off and stored it will be only 3 short months before it is time to start getting it ready for the spring splash. |
| 11/12/00 |  Canceled due to weather Haul out tomorrow |
| 11/11/00 | Canceled due to weather |
| 11/05/00 | Canceled due to weather |
| That's it, Sunday was our last scheduled dive, although if the weather holds, this weekend (11/4 - 5) will be the last dives of the season. We will be scheduling our haul out for mid November. Check my first attempt at making a piece of furniture (hence the reason for the untimely updates). I am building this table to showcase the large lobster I had mounted years ago. | |
| 10/29/00 | GALE Canceled due to weather, rough seas. |
| 10/28/00 | Arrrrrrrrrrgh! Lang's SCUBA made the attempt. It looked good from shore. But at 5 miles the swell and opposing wind was just to much, so we headed in for breakfast at Kelly's. |
| 10/25/00 | What a day, flat calm for our trip to the Viscaya and Irene with the Squid Divers. 30+' on both wrecks and 59º top to bottom. No artifacts but several lobsters and a bunch of Sea Bass from the Irene. |
| 10/21/00 | Fooled again! The beautiful morning turned into a less the then desirable day for Divers Den North. Flat seas quickly built up to 6 foot as we headed to the Resor. Half way there we headed 6 miles to the west to the Tolten, but the wreck was busy. So, 4 miles back offshore the Bonanza. After our dive here it was back to the Tolten. Conditions were about the same on both wrecks, 20' vis and 60º bottom temp. |
| 10/15/00 | What a beautiful day on the Arundo Divers Den North had today. We did two dives here. Once again we could not get back to our marina because of the tides and tied up in Belmar. |
| 10/11/00 | Today we headed out with Lang's SCUBA after visually checking the beach and were surprised as to how much the sea kicked up after our arrival on the Sea Girt Reef. After setting the sand anchor but before hooking in we decided to cancel and return to the dock. Unfortunately the high westerly winds coupled with the full moon and low tide had blown much of the water out of Shark River. Half way through the North channel we were mired down in the muck and stopped cold, right in the middle of the channel! This necessitated us backing up for a half mile back to the Belmar basin and "borrowing" a slip at another marina. The divers walked back to our marina and picked up their cars. All the divers had been gone for 3 hours before we had enough water to head back to our own slip. What a lovely day. |
| 10/08/00 | A poor weather forecast all weekend couldn't stop us. Although a bit "breezy" this morning, Lang's SCUBA ventured out anyway and stayed inshore with a dive on the Cadet. Fair dive conditions, only about 10 feet of visibility. Weather Conditions improved dramatically after our 1st dive, the sun was bright and the winds laid down. So, we headed out to the SS Mohawk where we found a near flat ocean and almost no drift. The dive was great. 40' vis & 64º on the bottom. No lobsters but a few fish came up. |
| 10/07/00 | Diver Services today dove the Beth Dee Bob. 30' and 57º on the bottom. Sharing the wreck with another dive boat (Sea Inn) couldn't stop divers from bringing up lobsters. We also recovered the vessels 150 pound anchor. Our 2nd dive was on the NE Sailor, divers reported vis in excess of 30' with warm water. |
| 10/05/00 | Canceled |
| 10/04/00 | Today SQUID Divers ventured up to the RC Mohawk, hoping the weekends good visibility would still be here. It was, but only on the surface (near 50'). On the bottom the vis ranged from 0 to about 8-10'. A few of the octagon style tiles came up, but that was it. These tiles are nearly identical to the tiles found on the SS Mohawk. We looked for some new spots to dive but came up empty handed, so we headed over to the N.E. Sailor and had a fine dive. Al G. caught his largest lobster to date (3 pounds) and was ecstatic. Vis here was about 20' and the bottom temp was 62º. |
| 10/01/00 | Metuchen Underwater Divers today. 1 on the Mohawk and 1 on the Cranford. The Mohawk was ok. 10-15' on the bottom, no bugs. We made an addition to the Mohawk, lets see who is the 1st to find it! The Cranford was somewhat better, even with the surge on the bottom (hurricane). Vis was around 20' or so and very bright on the bottom. The divers were treated to a visit with an Ocean Sunfish while doing their safety stops. |
| 09/30/00 | Ocean Wreck Divers back again for what turned out to be a pleasant day. Our 1st stop was on the "Condo". Although conditions were good the lobstering was not. Only 4 bugs came up. Bottom was 62º though, with vis around 15'. 2nd stop on the Logwood had poorer vis, which was expected as the swells from hurricane Isaac started to kick in. |
| 09/27/00 |
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| 09/24/00 | Canceled |
| 09/23/00 | Ocean Wreck Divers today. Overcast and rainy, but the seas were only 2-4', less the predicted 3-5, 4-6. We did 2 great dives on the Tolten. 40' vis on the bottom with just a hint of blue tint. Only a few lobsters and maybe a dozen scallops. We also un-fouled the anchor for a fishing boat sharing the wreck. |
| 09/21/00 | Can't beat them all the time. Today divers from the "SCUBA Connection" ventured out to the "Parking Lot". At 11 miles we stopped, looked at the seas for a bit and decided to head back to the dock, without diving. |
| 09/17/00 | We did it again, beat the forecast that is. Diver Services, on one of our late departure mornings (9:15 am) had a pretty good day. At the Arundo we found seas of 2-4'. Vis on the bottom was 25-30' and the bottom was 56º. For the 2nd dive on the Beth Dee Bob the seas picked up a little and were mostly 4 feet, but the dive was worth it. Read the thoughts of one of today's divers, Jerry. After having dove the Beth Dee Bob, he was moved to jot down this bit. |
| 09/13/00 | Squid Divers beat the weather forecast again! Calm seas, warm and sunny, that is after waiting out the boomer to roll through. Conditions on the Sea Girt were pretty good. 30+ feet of visibility and 65º on the bottom. 1 fluke and a couple of lobsters. Vis was so good the divers didn't realize we were anchored into the ships rudder. We also dove the Keel wreck and that seemed to be inhabited by mostly female lobsters carrying eggs. During the surface interval we went hunting and found a new wreck (mystery wreck #135) Vis wasn't quite as good here, maybe 15'. This wreck appears to be another old schooner type, similar to the Sea Girt, Keel, 120 etc. This one also seemed to have an abundant egg carrying female population. |
| 09/10/00 | FantaSea SCUBA back out with 1st time ocean divers for our "quick" one tank afternoon dives. 1-2 seas and 30'+ on the Cannon Tug. Our normal quick turn around was delayed as 2 of the new divers lost some gear, a mask and computer ("brand new just bought it this morning and took it out of the box on the boat" Nitek). Not about to leave this gear on the wreck, Divemaster Renee located the mask and the captain found the computer. The Nitek was screaming deco after being at 72' for 115 minutes! Note: Our Sunday afternoon dives are geared at getting beginners out diving the NJ waters. Our goal is to get to the reef, have the divers in the water and out and back at the dock before anyone gets seasick. We usually do this in under 3 1/2 hours. |
| 09/10/00 | Divers Den North dove the Sam Berman (Shark River Reef) and Logwood today. 2nd day in a row for great sea conditions. The Sam Berman had 40' or so of vis and was warm on the bottom, 60 degrees. Several lobsters and large scallops came up. Conditions on the Logwood were also good, around 30' and warm, with only a couple of lobsters coming up. |
| 09/09/00 | NJSDC, heading to the Gulf Trade we were diverted due to a head boat fishing the wreck. Good thing. Conditions on the Viscaya were terrific. Calm seas, 40 feet of visibility and 68 degrees on the bottom! 2 dives here. Some of the club members as well as the captain saw our first ever completely intact porthole today. |
| 09/07/00 | Canceled due to weather |
| 09/06/00 | Canceled due to weather |
| 09/02/00 09/03/00 | These 2 dive dives were canceled due to my vacation schedule |
| 08/25/00 | What a nice day considering the forecast. To bad we were fishing instead of diving. We had a group from Atlanta out Black Sea Bass fishing and had a great day with lots of fish. |
| 08/18/00 | Today we recovered the clam dredge for the Lady Dawn out of Point Pleasant. Flat seas and 40' visibility. To bad there wasn't a wreck to dive there too. |
| 08/17/00 | Fine day for Diver Services today. 1st stop at the Stolt was a little bumpy but leveled out as the day went on. Typical dive for the Stolt this time of year. 40-50' vis and warm at the top and about 10-15' vis on the bottom. 2nd dive on the Logwood had about 15-20' vis and 61º bottom temp. Plenty of lobsters and scallops on this dive. |
| 08/13/00 08/12/00 | Canceled due to weather PM dive canceled due to weather Canceled due to weather |
| 08/09/00 | Lang's SCUBA |
| 08/08/00 | 1st Attack Submarine, the Hunley, was raised from Charleston Harbor this morning, sunk 135 years ago after successful attack on the USS Housatonic! |
| 08/06/00 | One of the crew gets married Congratulations Dom and Joanne! |
| 08/05/00 | Divers Den North for a twilight dive on the Granite Barge and night dive on the Sea Girt Wreck. Shop proprietor Paul Highland had high catch with the bugs on the Granite, grabbing 5. |
| 08/05/00 | The New Jersey Skin Diving Club hit the Pinta and the Spring Lake Sailor today. About 15-20 on the Pinta, 15 or so on the Sailor. |
| 08/04/00 | Lang's SCUBA headed out to the Adele and concrete rubble piles for the night charter. Bob has officially taken the Adele off the request list, as very little is left of the site. The Concrete Rubble pile we did for a 2nd was, well, a rubble pile. |
| 08/02/00 | Squid Divers were out at the Stolt and Ranger today. Vis on the Stolt was very good up high and deteriorating quickly below 90 feet. About 5 feet on the bottom. The Ranger had about 15 feet of vis. Small number of bugs taken for the day. |
| 07/29/00 | Lang's SCUBA again for a smooth trip out to the RP Resor. The lack of sun cut visibility somewhat as it was a dark 20-25' on the bottom and less then 5' at the surface. A cooler full of lobsters with John Bridge getting high catch and largest at 5.5 pounds. |
| 07/28/00 | Canceled due to the collapse |
| 07/27/00 | Ahh, the weather guessers. Forecasted Small Craft Advisories and seas of 5-7 feet actually was 1-3 and calm for Lang's SCUBA. After dropping the hook on the Ida K the boat remained over the wreck with no drift for 15 minutes. Conditions on the Ida K and the Mohawk were about the same, 15-20' vis and about 56º on the bottom. Only a few lobsters taken. |
| 07/21/00 | Well they did it again, the weather "forecasters" that is. The 2-4' seas that were predicted were closer to 4-6' only 2 miles out. So we turned around and headed back to the dock. From here the gang headed over to Kelly's, were it is always smooth sailing. |
| 07/19/00 | Squid divers were treated to calm conditions and dives on the Coffee wreck and SS Mohawk. Conditions about the same on both, 15-20' of visibility and low to mid 50's bottom temp. Congrats to Susan on her 1st Northeast wreck dive! |
| 07/17/00 | Medics and EMTs from Elizabeth had a pleasant day on the water. Dive conditions were only mediocre though. 2 dives on the Dykes had only 5-10' of visibility. |
| 07/16/00 | FantaSea SCUBA did a 1 tank afternoon dive on the Spartan, and as usual came back with a fine selection of mussels. |
| 07/16/00 | AM dive canceled, "weather forecast". Well they did it again, the forecast was completely wrong and we could have dove! |
| 07/15/00 | Canceled, weather. |
| 07/12/00 | A night dive for FantaSea SCUBA found an almost flat ocean and good conditions on the Keel wreck for students earning certifications for night dives. |
| 07/12/00 | A pleasant day for Lang's SCUBA. The gang did 3 dives, on the Seaside Schooner, Gassoon and the Maurice Tracey. Conditions were about the same on each, about 15-20' and low fifties. A few lobsters and fish (Sea Bass) were brought up. |
| 07/09/00 | Anniversary dive on the Delaware today. Had to wait for a couple of fishing boats to leave before we could get on the wreck, so we made a quick dive at the Offshore Steamer. Seas at the time were about 2', very murky on the bottom, maybe 5' of visibility. By the time we got on the Delaware it was just about flat, but that changed by the end of the 1st dive to 3-5'! Visibility was about 10-15', 52º on the bottom. No treasures. |
| 07/07/00 | Back from the Harbor. Well, with all the hype about the overcrowded harbor and overwhelming amount of boat traffic, we were prepared for the worse. We had our main anchor line doubled (with the 2nd line below the surface) and 2 additional anchors ready to deploy in case our line still managed to be cut. No problems this year with the "much less then anticipated" boat traffic. The trip around Sandy Hook Bay was a look back in time, with all the Tall Ships anchored. The parade of sail was ok, the vessels had up to a mile in between themselves, so it made for a really slow parade. The fireworks were also ok. I imagine that those who watched on TV had a better view of the 5 location display. The highlight of the trip had to be coming up behind the USCG Cutter Eagle as she entered Sandy Hook Channel. What a sight passing abeam and then pulling in front (of coarse with the appropriate permission). Another highlight involved ships of a different kind, aircraft. The USCG flew over us in formation with the C130 (I think) prop plane, a Falcon Jet and 2 helicopters. These 4 aircraft were just featured in the "Perfect Storm". A 2nd fly over directly overhead by the B2 bomber was just awesome. Amongst the 30,000+ spectator boats (and I think a near equal number of law enforcement vessels), we were able to pick out a friend weaving his way through the anchorage with his 34' sail "Tolerance". Overall the trip was good, our 2nd one to see the Tall Ships (last in 1992) and we'll be ready for the next one in 2008!
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| 07/02/00 | No diving for the next week, we will be with all the other crazy boaters in New York Harbor. |
| 07/01/00 | Wow, again! Probably one of the ten best days of the year. Diver Services had a calm seas, light breeze and lots of sun. 2 dives on the Emerald and 1 on the Hankins. Cold on the bottom, near fifty, vis about 20' both locations. 1 near perfect ginger ale bottle was brought up by the captain. |
| 06/30/00 | Went to see The Perfect Storm today. Well worth seeing. |
| 06/29/00 | Wow! A weather forecast that was almost right on! Squid Divers had a pretty good day today, diving the "115 Clammer" and the Northeast Sailor. Seas were 1-3' and it was cool with the cloud cover. 1st dive conditions were a cool 50º on the bottom with visibility around 20' on the bottom of the wreck and about 15' at the top. 2nd dive on the Sailor was also about 20' but a few degrees warmer. Only 2 lobsters for the day. |
| 06/25/00 | Another bumpy day for Divers Den North. Heading out to the Immaculatta, we stopped short due to the increasing sea and made a dive on the "Big Wood". Couple of bugs and fish were caught. Good vis was reported. We called it a day after the one dive and "rolled" on home. |
| 06/23/00 | Twilight/night dive for Lang's SCUBA brought us to the Dykes. Conditions were great, the ocean was flat, the vis good at 30' and a mid 50's bottom temp. Only one bug and one blackfish made their way to the surface though. |
| 06/21/00 | Well the "liars" did it again. The 1-3' seas forecast that I heard on the way down to the boat must have been for somebody's backyard pond. Anyway, Diver Services was aboard for a bumpy ride out to the Stolt. Surface conditions were marginal and by the time we were anchored up it was miserable. So we canceled the dive and had a wonderful (not) ride home. Divers releasing the hook though reported the vis on the bottom was about 25' and the temperature was in the mid 50's at 128'! |
| 06/18/00 | Diver Services had a good dive on the Emerald today. Seas were much better then predicted at only 1-3'. Conditions on the wreck were very good. Bottom temp was around 56º and the visibility was 20-25'. No artifacts and only 1 bug was brought up, by the Capt. |
| 06/17/00 | Half way to the Mohawk with the MUD Club and we turned around due to the thunderstorms offshore. |
| 06/17/00 | Lang's SCUBA 1st Saturday dive of the year saw the wrecks of the "Helen C" and the "Dykes". Seas were fair for the 1st dive on the Helen with vis only 8-10 feet. 2nd dive on the Dykes saw the wind shift around to the west, so we sat rolling in the trough. Visibility was much better here, approaching 25'. |
| 06/17/00 |
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| Doesn't seem possible, but we had more flies this weekend then last! There are over 100,000 species of flies in the world. The common house fly is categorized as a filth fly because they breed in garbage, rotten food and manure. The house fly has four life stages: egg, larvae, pupae and adult. From egg to adult may only take 10 days. Many generations of flies will be produced in a short span of time. Control is therefore ongoing or nearly impossible on a boat. | |
| 06/14/00 | Canceled, weather. |
| 06/11/00 | Since we were little late coming back to the dock, FantaSea SCUBA, the afternoon group, left and missed a pleasant afternoon on the ocean, other boats reported flat seas and 25' of vis on the reef (our intended destination). |
| 06/11/00 | Diver Services had a trip to the Balena and the Stolt today. Conditions were about the same as yesterday on the surface, including the flies. The Balena (155 fsw) was a dark but clear 30' and COLD. 2nd dive on the Stolt was a little warmer but with a current. The Diversion II and Blue Fathoms were already on the wreck when we arrived so the wreck site lived up to it's area nickname of the "parking lot". Tying off to the Diversion II made for an easy hook up to the wreck, using the boats down line to place our own. |
| 06/10/00 | Divers Den North had a great day with 2 dives on the Arundo. Surface conditions were OK, about 3-6', but not uncomfortable (exception for the flies). The bottom had about 30' of vis with a 51ºtemp . Several intact beer bottles and a few lobsters were brought up. |
| 06/03/00 | What a difference a day makes, Tonight was near perfect weather, calm, clear and back at the Mohawk. The ocean was surprisingly flat. |
| 06/03/00 | Fluke fishing today. Not very good, 5 keepers, 15-20 throwbacks and half a dozen or so bluefish. |
| 06/02/00 | Lang's SCUBA 2 tank night dive was held to 1 dive due to the "boomers" the blew in. Our 1st stop was at the Mohawk, but after watching a couple 6-7 foot waves roll under the boat we moved inshore to the Cadet. Dive conditions were the same as yesterday. The highlight of the evening were the thunderstorms the blew in. We had some show! |
| 06/01/00 | Squid Divers had pleasant, calm conditions today for a dive on the Logwood and Ranger. Conditions at both sites were 5-10 vis and 51 degree bottom temp. Few bugs were taken. |
| 05/28/00 | Diver Services had a great day out at the "parking lot". We got off to a late start though as the Captain was "busy" in Edison during the early morning hours (see link below). 1st was on the Coney Island as the Queen Mary was fishing the Stolt. Calm seas prevailed and dive conditions were 15-25 feet of vis with bottom temps in the mid 40's. Conditions were about the same on the Stolt. For the 2nd time in a row we had a bat circle the boat. Although this time the apparently exhausted "rodent with wings" crash landed on the boat next to the cockpit sink. The bat was captured and placed in a cooler for a ride home and some rest. http://www.injersey.com/news/ backstories.pl?paper=2&id=277344 |
| 05/25/00 | "SQUID" Divers had a pleasant day in spite of the forecast. 1st dive was on the Ida K with visibility only about 10 feet, but a few lobsters came up, the largest being 4 pounds. For the 2nd dive we moved inshore for some protection from the wind that picked up around 11am. The dive on the Delaware was mediocre with only 5-8 feet of vis. We had a "bat" circling around the boat, apparently caught in the stiff westerly breeze. |
| 05/20/00 | Well, the "liars" did it again; they got the weather forecast completely wrong! We canceled today's trip last night based on the "forecast". Since it was still too wet to go the Nationals we went striper fishing instead. In 3 hours we limited out with a nice catch. |
| 05/20/00 | Canceled, weather, Mopar Nationals canceled also. |
| 05/14/00 | Canceled |
| 05/12/00 | SPLASH! |