RAD Diver
Contributor
Rob (BobbyT22) & I met up for a dive on the wreck known as the Brass Spike today.
The day started off with a wind blowing a bit more than I expected which caused a short chop in the ocean with 2-3 ft waves, but it sits just 18 miles off the coast so it was a short ride.
The boat crew got us hooked & opened the pool very quickly on this trip & Rob & I were the first to tempt fate & jump. There was a pretty good surface current, but a few good kicks & I was at the down line where I decended to the hang bar where Rob joined me in very short order.
We decended the anchor line to the bottom & I secured a reel to run. We had been told that we had maybe 5 ft of vis, but I think it was closer to 10 maybe 15. We preceded down the port side at a slow pace looking at what is left of the wreck & all of the sealife residing there. Once at the end we turned & floated back in the current. On the way back we were over the top when I spotted a huge Tautog swimming in the middle, but he was very shy & hid from us. Must be how he got so big. Back at the line at 29 minutes & with Rob diving air he was limited to 30 minutes so he ascended, but I had a heavy mix of 40% in my double 98s & showed 25 min. of BT left. There was another line run so I decided to follow it & see where it lead, but only got about 30 feet when I ran into the divers coming back so I followed them back & called my dive.
On our SI since it was only 9:30 am the crew decided against the world class Lindsay dogs for crackers & some drinks. (bummer) We sat out right about an hour & it was time to go again. At the last second I decided to add some weight to adjust for the air I was using out of my tanks. This new drysuit makes the hang after the 2nd dive a pain if Im light. This was a mistake as I was too heavy & took me a few to regain my bouyancy at depth.
We ran the starboard side this time & about half way down there was a big (20-22 inch long) Seabass just lying on the side of the wreck. Strange I thought. So I grabbed its tail & it tried to get away, but was hooked & the line was wrapped on the wreck. I tried to hold it & pull the hook, but it still had quite a bit of life left so I just cut the line & let it go. About another 10 feet & a small Seabass was in the same situation. As I grabbed it a Monkfish swam over my shoulder & was not happy. It was hooked to the same line. I pulled the hook from the Bass, but was not putting my hand anywhere near that Monkfish mouth. Anyone that has seen 1 will know why. I cut the line & let it go.
We swam a little further when Rob indicated his time was close so we turned the dive & got him back to the line. I still had plenty of time & gas left so I hunted down the only other divers down there. But alas they were heading back to the line also, so my dive was over.
This was Robs 1st dive off our coast & he did real well considering we didnt have the best of conditions, but Id dive with him anytime.
Water temps were 54% & I think there was actually a thermocline right at the hang bar. I didnt check my computer for a temp check, but I definatly could feel the difference.
The day started off with a wind blowing a bit more than I expected which caused a short chop in the ocean with 2-3 ft waves, but it sits just 18 miles off the coast so it was a short ride.
The boat crew got us hooked & opened the pool very quickly on this trip & Rob & I were the first to tempt fate & jump. There was a pretty good surface current, but a few good kicks & I was at the down line where I decended to the hang bar where Rob joined me in very short order.
We decended the anchor line to the bottom & I secured a reel to run. We had been told that we had maybe 5 ft of vis, but I think it was closer to 10 maybe 15. We preceded down the port side at a slow pace looking at what is left of the wreck & all of the sealife residing there. Once at the end we turned & floated back in the current. On the way back we were over the top when I spotted a huge Tautog swimming in the middle, but he was very shy & hid from us. Must be how he got so big. Back at the line at 29 minutes & with Rob diving air he was limited to 30 minutes so he ascended, but I had a heavy mix of 40% in my double 98s & showed 25 min. of BT left. There was another line run so I decided to follow it & see where it lead, but only got about 30 feet when I ran into the divers coming back so I followed them back & called my dive.
On our SI since it was only 9:30 am the crew decided against the world class Lindsay dogs for crackers & some drinks. (bummer) We sat out right about an hour & it was time to go again. At the last second I decided to add some weight to adjust for the air I was using out of my tanks. This new drysuit makes the hang after the 2nd dive a pain if Im light. This was a mistake as I was too heavy & took me a few to regain my bouyancy at depth.
We ran the starboard side this time & about half way down there was a big (20-22 inch long) Seabass just lying on the side of the wreck. Strange I thought. So I grabbed its tail & it tried to get away, but was hooked & the line was wrapped on the wreck. I tried to hold it & pull the hook, but it still had quite a bit of life left so I just cut the line & let it go. About another 10 feet & a small Seabass was in the same situation. As I grabbed it a Monkfish swam over my shoulder & was not happy. It was hooked to the same line. I pulled the hook from the Bass, but was not putting my hand anywhere near that Monkfish mouth. Anyone that has seen 1 will know why. I cut the line & let it go.
We swam a little further when Rob indicated his time was close so we turned the dive & got him back to the line. I still had plenty of time & gas left so I hunted down the only other divers down there. But alas they were heading back to the line also, so my dive was over.
This was Robs 1st dive off our coast & he did real well considering we didnt have the best of conditions, but Id dive with him anytime.
Water temps were 54% & I think there was actually a thermocline right at the hang bar. I didnt check my computer for a temp check, but I definatly could feel the difference.
