This Past Week
Thursday the 4th – MORNING OPEN – Lobsters/Fish Although we ran light the morning dive was outstanding. Glass flat seas and my divers limited out on lobsters in just two thirty minute dives. Doesn’t get much better than that..
Thursday the 4th – Evening - Ocean Wreck Divers – 1830 departure
When I got back to the dock I couldn't help but notice the breeze that picked up and blew for the next six or so hours while I waited for my afternoon/night divers.
We ran out into a nasty chop in the evening, set the hook on the Mohawk as the sun went down and put nine divers in the water. It actually turned into a very nice evening as the wind died down. These evening dives have become quite popular and although this was to have been the last scheduled Thursday evening OWD is considering adding one more on the 18th, contact John Galvin for space and availability.
All in all another great day of diving.
Sunday the 7th – New Diver Special – Lakeland Divers- Unfortunately we didn’t have enough divers to sail on Saturday but we did get out on Sunday. For those of you that are wondering, yes the wind was blowing but once we were tied in we sat into the wind and waves and it really wasn’t all that bad. We tied into the Veronica M for two and had excellent visibility. This was listed as a “New Diver Special” and we did have a “New” diver along with a Dive Master from Divers 2 in Avon and although surface conditions were less than stellar he had a good time and made his first two North East dives. Lakeland had the charter and they had a Dive Master candidate doing his final qualification for certification. Congratulations to Chris Altizer on a job well done. Although no-one was fishing and no fish came up a number of large Taug were reported and two bags of mussels were brought up.
This Week
Saturday the 13th – OPEN – Maurice Tracy 70’ Victim of a wartime collision with the freighter Jesse Billingsley, the Maurice Tracy is today a scattered debris field of flattened hull plates and larger pieces including the two huge boilers. The wreck is good for lobsters and fish and for the determined artifacts can be found amongst the rubble.
Sunday the 14th _ Atlantic Divers – Stolt 130’ Gene Peterson has me chartered to the Stolt. The Stolt has always been a great dive with the ability to dive it anywhere from 65 to 130 feet it makes a perfect multi-level dive and with the deterioration new and interesting areas seem to be opening up. Gene can be reached at 609-641-7722 for space and availability. As reported by Gene this morning he has a space or two still available.
Next Week
Wednesday the 17th - OPEN As we get later in the season we’ll try to run at least one weekday trip, either Wednesday or Thursday which day will depend on whichever has the greatest interest
Thursday the 18th - OPEN As stated above weekday dives will continue into the Fall as interest and demand dictate. Ocean Wreck Divers still considering adding an evening dive on the 18th, information on that can be obtained from John Galvin
Saturday the 20th – OPEN – Mohawk 80’ Just seven miles out of Manasquan Inlet the remains of the Mohawk lie in 80 feet of water. The steel-hulled passenger ship, was launched in October of 1925 by the Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company, was 387' long, 54' in breadth, and listed at 5897 gross tons. The Mohawk has not been treated well as she lay on the bottom, she originally sank on her side, was rolled upright by a storm and it was deemed not economically feasible to salvage the vessel. She was blown-up four times to demolish her to the weather deck and wire dragged to a depth of 50 feet. During WWII she was depth charged numerous times just in case there might be a u-boat hiding next to the wreck. You’d think that after all of that there’d be nothing left. but thousands of pieces of intact china have been recovered from her cargo holds along with numerous other artifacts.
Sunday the 21st – Lakeland – Delaware 80’ Lakeland has just two spaces left on this trip out to the “Steamer”. The SS Delaware or the “Steamer” has always been one of my favorite spots. Artifacts can be found by those with patience and persistence to look for them, lobsters and fish can be found and if the vis. is good it’s actually a very pretty wreck. Built in 1880 in Philadelphia she was 250 feet long with a 37 foot beam.. On July 9th 1898 a fire in the coal bunker burned her to the water line and she sank while under tow just two and a half miles out of the Manasquan inlet.
As always the SEA LION will continue to run throughout the Fall and into the Winter
Captain Al
SEA LION
NOTE: One thing to keep in mind is that OPEN destinations are really just suggestions on my part, unless the trip is scheduled as a “Special” but If you have somewhere you want to get to let me know and if we have the divers and the weather that’s where we’ll head.
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