Burnham's Ledge Dive Report and Request for Help

[edasque]

how deep is BL by the way ? 120ft ?

 

[akscuba]

120-130'. Might go deeper, but I haven't been past 120', but didn't go to the end of the crack.

 

[matt_unique]

The mooring delivers you to 80'. You can head down the crack to max out at about 130 at high tide. My deepest depth at the sand at the bottom of the crack was 128'. In the opposite direction it's in the high 50's for depth.

--Matt

 

[STOGEY]

I don't think that the charters go to Burnham's these days because of the net. Furthermore, it sounds like they would mind if people work on the net.

Actually I was there last weekend with the Day Beaker. Maybe we were on the other side, because I didn't even see it. However if and when people do visit the spot. And everybody spends about 5 minutes on the net. Eventually the net will be free.

 

[STOGEY]

Wow, I guess relations are tense between the dive community and commercial fisherman in Gloucester. I come from a family of commercial fisherman and can tell you that you don't just carelessly loose a net. That net represents thousands of dollars to a boat, and that is thousands of dollars that will not be available to feed their families. Is there a feeling on this board that the fishing community of Gloucester does not care about the ocean? It's their livelihood.

I would definitely get some legal advice on removing that net before attempting it, and please, be careful if you do try to remove it.

btw, I am not trying to stir anything up, just wanted to present the other side.

Actually it's between us divers and the fishing/lobstermen. they think that we are invading their turf. Anyways if that net represents food that isn't goin to some fisherman's table. Well it would behoove that fisherman to take care of his business better. Instead of them worring about what we are doing, they should worry about what they are doing.

 

[STOGEY]

It's aloose net, it happens. I sincerely doubt that there was any vast consperacy by fishermen to take out divers by entangling them in nets and drowning them. It's a fairly small net and doubt that government agencies will jump not into the limelight to save the marine environment from extinction because of it. I do not suggest the use of any surface vessel keeping tension on the net unless you have com. Good way to tear up a perfectly diver, as the boat has no clue as to what is going on underwater. It's easy enough to just cut it into smaller pieces and remove it. The problem comes when someone wants to be a hero and tries to cut out great big pieces of it just to look good, then gets all snagged. A fiew small chunks, cut the dead creatures out of it and let the ocean have them, and dispose of the net in a trash can, or take it with you for disposal. It's not a huge operation, and won't take long to do. Causing more tension with fishermen is not the answer. Some of them may be jerks, but on an average, thier job is brutally hard, with long hours, and at best, a crap shoot as to wether they make a paying catch or not. Some of them get angry when they see diminished catches, and divers near thier pots. They have NO idea what's going on down there, so they lash out in frustration. Most of us here would do the same thing if someone were threatening our jobs, or way of life, and we percieved it to be at the hands of others. More than once, I have seen pots sitting there empty, and no more than 20" away were dozens of bugs not going there because they had plenty of food. Fishermen don't see that, they see the empty pot, and divers in the water. Don't go showboating, and looking for press and a pat on the back, just slowly remove the net piece at a time, Never start in the middle, start at an end, and just never let the net get behind or over you, keep it in front and gather it up a bit at a time, cut it off, stow it, and go back later for a little more. If other divers do this, it will disappear in no time.

Hey these so called professional fishermen chose that profession. I being a truck driver, does that mean that I should lash out at every four wheeler that I see just because there are some real jerks out there?

 

[paulthenurse]

It seems that there are some members of this community who take every opportunity to cry loudly about how unfair the world is and 'everyone is out to get me.'

This isn't Roswell. There is no great government conspiracy. George Bush didn't put that net there because he's on the side of the evil commercial fisherman. The lobstermen didn't put it there to try to kill a couple of rougue lobster thieving divers. As someone else pointed out, the net is a valuable piece of gear that some unlucky fisherman lost and had to replace at a high cost. Get a grip.

There is a name for the net. It's called trash. Or litter. Or jetsam. No law enforcement official is going to arrest you for picking up trash! As a society we need to stop wringing our hands and being afraid that someone may sue us. You don't get in trouble for doing the right thing.

What you would do with the net after you freed it from the mooring I couldn't guess. I can't imagine the yard manager at the marina would be too thrilled with a smelly pile of fishnet holding a collection of dead and rotting marine life sitting on top of his dumpster in the noonday sun. But that's a different problem...

If you have the means to free the net by all means please go ahead and do so. Use all due care. It will make the site safer for us and the ocean safer for the marine life who are endangered by the net.

I, for one, thank you.

 

[paulthenurse]

If anyone with a boat wants to go and attempt to free the hazzard I'll come along to help.
PTN

 

[johnnyseko]

If anyone with a boat wants to go and attempt to free the hazzard I'll come along to help.
PTN

Yup, what he said. I'd be in if available on a given day.

Nice quote, btw Paul....'the bottle was dusty but the liquor was clean'... *johnny now going through GD collection for a sweet version...Dicks Picks Vol5*

 

[paulthenurse]

[OT]
Bobby and Ratdog are playing in Lowell tonight, some sort of Jack Kerouac tribute. And like the good old days, it's GA. See you there. Just finished downloading the show from July 10the at the Pavillion. Sweet, check it out.
[/OT]