salty
Contributor
Hope for the best and plan for the worst, thats what I always say or better yet as Captain Chuck put it we made something out of nothing
Joe and I had planned to do some offshore diving with the Seaturtle out of Montauk on July 10th but due to the weather forecast our planned destination was not looking too good. As Saturday afternoon rolled around a quick call and check of the weather determined that our chances of getting offshore were diminishing proportionally to the increasing winds.
Since we planed to leave extra early in order to get to the wreck before the shark fishermen got there, yep I said SHARK fishermen, the boat was scheduled to leave at 5:30 am. Due to the long ride Joe and I opted to arrive the night before and sleep on the boat, with low humidity and cool temperatures at night the sleeping conditions were ideal. Unfortunately the diminishing winds never arrived and 5:30 came and went and we were still at the dock, due to the wind force and direction the travel to and conditions at any offshore or unsheltered wreck would be horridness. This was later confirmed at the end of the day after talking to several fishermen who did brave the conditions and headed offshore.
Our choice was to head out and give a few inshore wrecks a try or call the trip, while conditions were not expected to be good by east end standards we had come out to dive and were willing to give it a shot. The first spot was the wreck of the Larchmont, a paddle wheel steamer that sank around the turn of the century. There is little relief and the dive is spent at 130 the whole time. After getting down to the wreck visibility was about 10 feet or so and dark. After getting orientated and deploying a wreck reel we headed out into the mild current. We were able to pick out several items including a boiler, winches, bollards and decking. Mid way through the dive a nice sized striped bass decided to cruise by check us out. Shortly before turning the dive we stopped and started fanning around looking for artifacts, I was able to find a small chard of china with an interesting pattern on it as well as several brass spikes used to fasten the hull together. Total bottom time was 30 minuets.
After a long surface interval necessary to hit the second wreck at slack tide we were once again suiting up this time to dive the wreck of the Onondaga, a steel freighter that sank in 1918. The wreck lies in 30 to 60 foot of water and while not intact it still resembles a ship. We spent most of the time digging around for artifacts, while I found plenty of broken bottles and dishes Joe was able to pick up a nice brass valve. The current was moving on this wreck and the ride back to the tie in was easy and enjoyable. Visibility was 10 to 15 and a bit lighter. Bottom time was around 40 minuets.
As always diving with Captain Chuck and the crew of the Seaturtle was a pleasure and a good time was had by everyone aboard. I look forward to returning to dive the entire weekend with them at the end of the month.
Joe and I had planned to do some offshore diving with the Seaturtle out of Montauk on July 10th but due to the weather forecast our planned destination was not looking too good. As Saturday afternoon rolled around a quick call and check of the weather determined that our chances of getting offshore were diminishing proportionally to the increasing winds.
Since we planed to leave extra early in order to get to the wreck before the shark fishermen got there, yep I said SHARK fishermen, the boat was scheduled to leave at 5:30 am. Due to the long ride Joe and I opted to arrive the night before and sleep on the boat, with low humidity and cool temperatures at night the sleeping conditions were ideal. Unfortunately the diminishing winds never arrived and 5:30 came and went and we were still at the dock, due to the wind force and direction the travel to and conditions at any offshore or unsheltered wreck would be horridness. This was later confirmed at the end of the day after talking to several fishermen who did brave the conditions and headed offshore.
Our choice was to head out and give a few inshore wrecks a try or call the trip, while conditions were not expected to be good by east end standards we had come out to dive and were willing to give it a shot. The first spot was the wreck of the Larchmont, a paddle wheel steamer that sank around the turn of the century. There is little relief and the dive is spent at 130 the whole time. After getting down to the wreck visibility was about 10 feet or so and dark. After getting orientated and deploying a wreck reel we headed out into the mild current. We were able to pick out several items including a boiler, winches, bollards and decking. Mid way through the dive a nice sized striped bass decided to cruise by check us out. Shortly before turning the dive we stopped and started fanning around looking for artifacts, I was able to find a small chard of china with an interesting pattern on it as well as several brass spikes used to fasten the hull together. Total bottom time was 30 minuets.
After a long surface interval necessary to hit the second wreck at slack tide we were once again suiting up this time to dive the wreck of the Onondaga, a steel freighter that sank in 1918. The wreck lies in 30 to 60 foot of water and while not intact it still resembles a ship. We spent most of the time digging around for artifacts, while I found plenty of broken bottles and dishes Joe was able to pick up a nice brass valve. The current was moving on this wreck and the ride back to the tie in was easy and enjoyable. Visibility was 10 to 15 and a bit lighter. Bottom time was around 40 minuets.
As always diving with Captain Chuck and the crew of the Seaturtle was a pleasure and a good time was had by everyone aboard. I look forward to returning to dive the entire weekend with them at the end of the month.
