In spite of the NOAA forecast, it was a pretty calm day out on the Atlantic. We might have seen 2 feet of chop, but that was the most. The 20 knot winds never showed up either.
The dock was covered with ice when we arrived and loaded up the boat. However, the Venture 3 has a heated cabin, which is one of the best luxuries you could ask for this time of year.
Besides the regular bunch, we had a new diver who just certified last month; he was making his first boat trip with his friend who is an experienced diver as buddy. Steve had an enjoyable time, plus his buddy let him carry the stringer with the bloody fish so the sharks wouldn't bother him. Although as many of you know, it's no fun sitting around in a wet suit between dives, Steve's shakes and shivers ended about the time we got back to the dock. I bet he'll be looking for a dry suit over the winter.
We hit 3 spots, first Pete's "secret wreck," which turned out to be a wooden barge at about 90 feet. Vis about 10 feet. Lots of ballast stones on the bottom and you'd have thought it would be a good lobster hiding place.
Second dive was on the Pinta. Ron didn't want to go there because "everyone goes to the Pinata, it'll be picked clean." Only one keeper bug came up (courtesy of RON). A few sea bass and tog were liberated as well. Vis was a little better: 10-15. It was my first time to the Pinta in 5 years, and it looks completely different than I remember it. Definitly a nice stop.
Third stop was a rock pile, where there was a lot more life than on the previous stops. A few bugs came up, a few were to entrenched and a few were too small to take. Vis was a very silty 2-4 feet.
We were back to the dock by 3:20 and I was driving home by 3:45 - even missed the rush hour traffic in Northern NJ.
Water temp was about 54 on all three stops. It's time for me to switch to my mittens and heavier dive thermals.
Ruth and Paul run a great boat and a great bunch of divers made for a really nice day to play hookey from work and go diving. We're hoping to get in another trip or two before winter gets in. If anyone wants to join us, contact me and I'll your email address to our list.
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