Wil
Contributor
We had a great Columbus Day off Va Beach diving the Kurn. Located in the SE corner of the Triangle Artificial Reef (35nm off the coast), the Kurn was sunk as part of Virginia's reefing project. Kurn's broken in two pieces with the largest being the bow section resting inverted. You'll find lots of Sea Bass (now, out of season in VA waters until 1 Nov) along the hull and in some of the washouts. The washouts are also a good place to find Founder. Aft of the bow break there's large pile of wire cable bundles and hull plates (good place for lobsters). The stern section remains upright about 120ft away almost directly behind the bow section. The stern is another good place to find the fish, it's large, has high relief, and lots of cover for the fish. While we were down a moderate school of large Amberjack Tuna (AJ) were darting around the wreck. They're fearless and will swim close by a diver (attracted by the bubbles) during the dive. If you're a novice using a speargun please respect the power these fish have. If you shoot one one of these monsters thinking it's a tuna steak dinner, well, it's not the kind of tuna you get at the seafood counter. AJ's are called "Wreck Donkeys" by the fishermen and for good reason. If you spear one, it may cost your speargun as it races away with the fish, you might get dragged off the wreck, or worse. Practice at home by tying your speartip to the bumper of the car and having your buddy drag you around the block (only kidding, but you get the idea) 
The diving was great but not without some drama during the day. We hooked into the bow section just forward of the break. Andy (Drewski) was good enough to tie us in AND run a reel back to the stern section for other divers to follow. Visibility was 30feet and the temp on the bottom 62 deg. There was a bit of current sweeping right down the bow toward the stern. Andy, Ted (TnTdive), and Radny (Randy g) hit the water around 0945 for their first dives. There was no real surface current and light winds.
Kevin (Kevin K), Mike, and I jumped in after the others were safely on the boat. Mike and I explored the bow section. Found a couple of "Ghost trap" (abandoned Sea Bass traps catch on the wreck with no lines attached. We cut open the sides to release the trapped fish. Of course we hand caught the 19in Tautaug and placed her in the bag. Picked up the two lobsters but released the egg-bearing female (largest bug of the day). I spent 45 minutes in the water, max depth of 107ft, and dove with 35% NITROX.
Our second dive we planned a number of tasks...famous words for doing too much. We explored the stern, and took care of another Ghost trap with a very large Tautaug but it got away from us. The lobsters didn't
We had a swim against the current to the bow, a reel to retrieve, and the anchor to free. About the time Mike & I got back to the anchor line, Kevin joined up with us after his dive on the Bow (Kevin & I were diving doubles) we had the anchor just about free and my air supply was just about as low as I wanted to go. I sent my dive buddy up the anchor line and signaled Kevin I was getting low on air. He was quick with his second hose and he & I were on our way up (Thanks Brother!). We all did our safety/deco stops and back on the boat to band the lobters and retrieve the anchor. Total time in the water 39 min & max depth 104fsw.
But, wait, there's MORE! There's always more when the day goes so well. We hooked an active Sea Bass trap string as we drifted off the wreck. We ended up sending Ted over the side to clear the snag and was back on the surface in no time. Three Dives for Ted, lobsters and Taug!
The weather was absolutely beautiful! The outbound trip was slowed a bit by the wave direction and took about 2hrs. Coming back however, it was all about how fast we could run. 1 hour 10 minutes later, we were back in Little Creek inlet.
New for Freedom was the hardtop over the back and some stainless handholds on the stern. I think both were welcome additions. I was also happy to have such a great bunch of divers.
Safe Diving,
Wil
The diving was great but not without some drama during the day. We hooked into the bow section just forward of the break. Andy (Drewski) was good enough to tie us in AND run a reel back to the stern section for other divers to follow. Visibility was 30feet and the temp on the bottom 62 deg. There was a bit of current sweeping right down the bow toward the stern. Andy, Ted (TnTdive), and Radny (Randy g) hit the water around 0945 for their first dives. There was no real surface current and light winds.
Kevin (Kevin K), Mike, and I jumped in after the others were safely on the boat. Mike and I explored the bow section. Found a couple of "Ghost trap" (abandoned Sea Bass traps catch on the wreck with no lines attached. We cut open the sides to release the trapped fish. Of course we hand caught the 19in Tautaug and placed her in the bag. Picked up the two lobsters but released the egg-bearing female (largest bug of the day). I spent 45 minutes in the water, max depth of 107ft, and dove with 35% NITROX.
Our second dive we planned a number of tasks...famous words for doing too much. We explored the stern, and took care of another Ghost trap with a very large Tautaug but it got away from us. The lobsters didn't
We had a swim against the current to the bow, a reel to retrieve, and the anchor to free. About the time Mike & I got back to the anchor line, Kevin joined up with us after his dive on the Bow (Kevin & I were diving doubles) we had the anchor just about free and my air supply was just about as low as I wanted to go. I sent my dive buddy up the anchor line and signaled Kevin I was getting low on air. He was quick with his second hose and he & I were on our way up (Thanks Brother!). We all did our safety/deco stops and back on the boat to band the lobters and retrieve the anchor. Total time in the water 39 min & max depth 104fsw.
But, wait, there's MORE! There's always more when the day goes so well. We hooked an active Sea Bass trap string as we drifted off the wreck. We ended up sending Ted over the side to clear the snag and was back on the surface in no time. Three Dives for Ted, lobsters and Taug!
The weather was absolutely beautiful! The outbound trip was slowed a bit by the wave direction and took about 2hrs. Coming back however, it was all about how fast we could run. 1 hour 10 minutes later, we were back in Little Creek inlet.
New for Freedom was the hardtop over the back and some stainless handholds on the stern. I think both were welcome additions. I was also happy to have such a great bunch of divers.
Safe Diving,
Wil
