Good day all... everyone seems to be nice enough to enlighten me with their trip reports around the world so I try to give back when I can.
We left out of Annapolis with "Gone Fishin' Charters" and Captain Ray.
(sorry, it's a FB link; Gone Fishin' Charters)
Arrived at the dock at 6:30ish or so. Left at sunrise around 7:15. Then it's about a 25-30 min boat ride out the the oyster beds. This is my 2nd time going. It's a different kind of diving. I can't stress enough that no matter how I explain this everyone thinks it's just nuts, but I promise it's a good time. It was 17f when we arrived at dock, but it did warm up to 25f or so. Water was nice and warm (compared to the outside temp
) @ 41f.
The boat is completely closed in (as you can see). Plenty of room. Very warm on board. The captain likes it almost too warm, so he has 2 heaters running. Gearing up I actually got too hot and had to stand at the back for a little bit to cool down. And I'll be the 1st to admit I'm a wimp with the cold. During both of my oyster trips I was the only one diving dry... the others were wearing 7mm
....damn polar bears.
You buddy up (or solo if you've done it before) and each buddy grabs the side of a milk crate (milk crates must be a regional thing, lol). Then you dive. You drop down about 15'-20' and the milk crate hitting the bottom is about the only way to know you're close. Viz is about 3', but was 4'-5' last time I did it. I've been told it can get as bad as 6". You keep one hand on the crate at all times and search for oysters. After a bit you get into a rhythm with your partner... lift, move, drop, search, repeat. Even when I read this out loud it's sounds stupid.... but it's soooo much fun. The moving around, fighting into the current, and having a goal under water makes time fly and kept me pretty toasty. I didn't feel cold at all and to date 41f is one of my coldest dives. Getting back on the boat I was actually warm enough to do a 3rd dive, but by then it was time to go.
Total dive time was 69 min @ a max depth of 18' (last time I hit 22'). 1 HP 100, but bringing 2 is suggested. My 1st oyster dive I needed 2, this time I just stuck with one tank and about sucked the life out of her by the end.
Same ~ 25 min ride back, just like any other boat.. get gear put away.. eat some oysters if you want. Once back at the pier we unload all our gear while the mate cleans the boat (takes him ~ 10 min) then they fire up the grill which is about 15' from the boat on the pier. We sit there and eat oysters until you're content.. I think all said and done we spend about an hr back at the pier. Adult beverages are shared but if you plan to drink they ask you bring some to share. Some food is provided on the boat... this time was Maryland crab soup and chicken wings... all was amazing.
This time I took my wife and all our kids (except one, he had previous commitments). So of the 5 of us 2 stayed on the boat, 1 tried diving and said it was too cold (he really didn't give it a chance but I stick by the rule of "you can end a dive at any time for any reason"... I never want diving to be something they don't feel is a choice) and 2 of us actually went diving. There was a 3rd diver in the water with us. Last time I did it we had 6 divers in the water.
Really great time. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves, but I can see us doing this 3 or 4 times a year. The bonus is coming home with tons of oysters to share with my grandparents and some other family members that don't get out much anymore.
We left out of Annapolis with "Gone Fishin' Charters" and Captain Ray.
(sorry, it's a FB link; Gone Fishin' Charters)
Arrived at the dock at 6:30ish or so. Left at sunrise around 7:15. Then it's about a 25-30 min boat ride out the the oyster beds. This is my 2nd time going. It's a different kind of diving. I can't stress enough that no matter how I explain this everyone thinks it's just nuts, but I promise it's a good time. It was 17f when we arrived at dock, but it did warm up to 25f or so. Water was nice and warm (compared to the outside temp
) @ 41f.The boat is completely closed in (as you can see). Plenty of room. Very warm on board. The captain likes it almost too warm, so he has 2 heaters running. Gearing up I actually got too hot and had to stand at the back for a little bit to cool down. And I'll be the 1st to admit I'm a wimp with the cold. During both of my oyster trips I was the only one diving dry... the others were wearing 7mm
....damn polar bears.You buddy up (or solo if you've done it before) and each buddy grabs the side of a milk crate (milk crates must be a regional thing, lol). Then you dive. You drop down about 15'-20' and the milk crate hitting the bottom is about the only way to know you're close. Viz is about 3', but was 4'-5' last time I did it. I've been told it can get as bad as 6". You keep one hand on the crate at all times and search for oysters. After a bit you get into a rhythm with your partner... lift, move, drop, search, repeat. Even when I read this out loud it's sounds stupid.... but it's soooo much fun. The moving around, fighting into the current, and having a goal under water makes time fly and kept me pretty toasty. I didn't feel cold at all and to date 41f is one of my coldest dives. Getting back on the boat I was actually warm enough to do a 3rd dive, but by then it was time to go.
Total dive time was 69 min @ a max depth of 18' (last time I hit 22'). 1 HP 100, but bringing 2 is suggested. My 1st oyster dive I needed 2, this time I just stuck with one tank and about sucked the life out of her by the end.
Same ~ 25 min ride back, just like any other boat.. get gear put away.. eat some oysters if you want. Once back at the pier we unload all our gear while the mate cleans the boat (takes him ~ 10 min) then they fire up the grill which is about 15' from the boat on the pier. We sit there and eat oysters until you're content.. I think all said and done we spend about an hr back at the pier. Adult beverages are shared but if you plan to drink they ask you bring some to share. Some food is provided on the boat... this time was Maryland crab soup and chicken wings... all was amazing.
This time I took my wife and all our kids (except one, he had previous commitments). So of the 5 of us 2 stayed on the boat, 1 tried diving and said it was too cold (he really didn't give it a chance but I stick by the rule of "you can end a dive at any time for any reason"... I never want diving to be something they don't feel is a choice) and 2 of us actually went diving. There was a 3rd diver in the water with us. Last time I did it we had 6 divers in the water.
Really great time. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves, but I can see us doing this 3 or 4 times a year. The bonus is coming home with tons of oysters to share with my grandparents and some other family members that don't get out much anymore.
I'll have to check it out one of these days, for sure.
