These Past Weeks
Thursday the 20th – OPEN – We headed out the inlet into what could best be described as a confused sea. Nothing terrible but not the kind of day you want to run ten miles off-shore which is where I was headed. Made a quick decision and turned south to the Brunette where, once we were tied in we had two good dives. Unfortunately based on conditions we did cancel the afternoon dive, sooner or later Ocean Wreck Divers will get one of their afternoon dives in.
Saturday the 22nd - Divers Two – Emerald / Rump 80' – You’d think that by Saturday the ocean would have calmed down, it didn’t but you would have thought so. As I headed the 11 miles south to the Emerald it became apparent that if the madness continued we’d have a boat full of folks that wouldn’t feel well enough to dive when we got there. Yet another quick decision was reached and we short cut the trip and hit the second destination “The Rump”. The Rump is an unidentified wooden schooner barge, keel, stringers and ribs. When the age of steam replaced the beautiful and graceful sailing vessels that had plied the coastal trade there was an enormous surplus of these vessels and many of them had their masts cut down and they were relegated to being towed while carrying cargo. Honestly although this is an often visited wreck, and I certainly had the numbers to it, I had never actually put divers on it. Needless to say I was pleased when it was exactly where my numbers said it would be. As the day wore on the ocean picked up and everyone agreed that heading in early sounded like a good idea. Sunday with the Metuchen Underwater Divers (M.U.D.) was not to be, seems we’re getting about a 50% average.
**
Sunday the 30th – Divers Two w/ Dan Lieb - Gulf Trade and Maurice Tracy - The good news was that as we cleared the inlet it was apparent that we could actually run the almost 20 miles to the Gulf Trade in relative comfort. The stern of the Gulf Trade is a big steel wreck with over 20 feet of relief, a good wreck for fish and lobsters with it’s only real drawback being that it’s only 2 miles north of Barnegat Inlet. This will on occasion lead to a very long trip without being able to get on the wreck. Today however we were greeted by an open wreck, surface vis was and still is poor with the bottom being dark but clear. Normally I would have lobbied to stay for two as this wreck well worth the second tank but in that the shop wanted to move north to the Tracy and the fact that the weather was going to kick up in the afternoon I was happy to move closer to home for the second dive. Conditions on the Tracy were much the same, surface water that was warm but with poor visibility while the bottom having very nice vis. All in all another good day on the water, and yes the wind and seas did kick-up in the afternoon but they were on our stern as we headed in.
This Week
Thursday the 3rd – Morning 8:00am departure : OPEN – Fish 100' or less Just a small group of divers looking to fill their freezers, we have plenty of room and whether you're a hunter/gather, a collector of nautical “junque” as it's been called or just someone that wants to get out and wet you'll have a good time. Contact me directly at either 973-887-3337 or on my cell 201-401-4608
Labor Day Weekend
Could someone please explain to me where the summers gone, well no matter the best time to dive is in the Fall, the water’s the warmest and the shore traffic starts to get lighter. The season’s not over it just reached it’s peak.
Sunday the 6th – Lakeland Divers Divers – New Diver Special – Lakeland will have extra staff on-board to assist divers new to North East diving. This will be an enjoyable laid back kind of a day so whether you’re new to the North East or not come on out and enjoy. This dive is currently full, to be put on the wait list Lakeland can reached at 973-887-0194.
Note:
A space just opened up on Sunday's New Diver trip
Next Week
Sunday the 13th - Atlantic Wreck Divers – Tolten - The Tolten a Chilean registered and thereby neutral vessel was torpedoed by Capitan Otto von Bülow and the U404 on March 13th 1942. He also sank the Lemuel Burrows off of Atlantic City the very next day. After the war he admitted that since the Tolten was running “blacked out” he had no idea the identity of the vessel he was firing on. Over the years the Tolten has suffered the ravages of the sea, when I first dove her the bow still stood off the bottom and the stern with the exception of the deck house was quite intact. Still a good dive for everything from lobsters to artifacts.
Gene does still have a few spots available and he can be reached at 609-641-7722
Dive Safe
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.
Responses