Debraw
Contributor
October 9, 2004 we got up at 4:00AM for the car service that would arrive at 4:45AM to pick us up in the city for the drive out to Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn. We arrived at the dock around 5:30AM to board the Jeanne II and our day of scuba diving. After filling out the necessary paperwork, renting tanks and getting setup the boat left at 6:35AM.Right on schedule. It was great to hang out at the dock to see the bait cutters on the fishing boats prepping for the day, arrival of the other scuba divers, fisherman, etc. We had 16 divers on the boat and 2 non-divers. One of the non-divers was my dad. For those divers who arrived later than the rest of us they had to set up on the floor and bungee cord their tanks in. Everyone was diving doubles and Nitrox. We only had single 80's and air. The Jeanne II does not rent Nitrox ( FYI) . Once everyone got situated we headed out and settled in for the 2.5 hour ride out to just off the coast of Point Pleasant New Jersey. We did not know how long the trip would be. When we asked the DM he said 1. 5 hours orginally and then " no maybe 2 hours and then , no maybe 2.5 hours" . I should have asked when we booked the trip originally. The ride didn't bother me it was just weird to not know where we were going and how long it would take to get there. Everyone seemed to be very comfortable on the boat. We got to the US 127 dive site but another boat had beat us there so we had to go to the Coney Island tanker instead. Hell we didn't know the difference so it was no big deal. The dive briefing was brief. I mean really brief! Just do your dive and come back to the boat. Ok I can handle that! Water Temp was 68 on the surface and 64 at 100 feet. We did not haul our drysuits all the way from Texas to New York so we made the dive in a 5 mil with hood and gloves. That was plenty for me ( I am originally from NY ) and not enough for my husband ( orginally from OK). I found it refreshing, he just found it cold. We suited up, and hopped in. The side lines were out and attached to the mooring bouy that was attached to the tanker at 100 feet. The wheelhouse was at 85 feet. Hundred's of Blackfish, Sea Stars , anemones, etc. Overall depth was 120 feet. We did not penetrate the wreck because we were only on air and a single 80 at that. We got 40 minutes on the first dive with our safety stops. We did get within one minute of no deco and our Darwin Air computers advised a 40 foot one minute safety stop. The only drawback at 40 feet for the safety stop were the jellyfish! Small jellies with super long tentacles.They were caught in everyone's hoses and just wrapped around everything as we hung onto the lines. My husband had a tentacle slide across his neck. We got back on the boat and the DM gave my husband a super hot towel to draw the sting out of it. That really helped. Troy was just left with a red mark across his neck and it scabbed before it healed. My father said to irritate it before we get back to the dive shop in Texas because it makes a great battle scar and an even a better story. We took a 1.5 hour surface interval and the Jeanne II crew cooked hot dogs, hamburgers and then pulled out a slab of Filet Mignon. You haven't eaten until you have had a Filet Mignon on a dive boat. It was weird but cool. We then suited up and did a second dive. We stayed at about 85-90 feet this time and lasted around 30 minutes. No jellyfish on this dive. The Coney Island tanker is pretty big and with the sunlight cutting through the water a little bit better on the 2nd dive we saw even more Blackfish! The vis was good and was about 60 feet. It was pretty green also but that is to be expected in the Atlantic. We got back on the boat and took everything apart packed up, and settled in the for the 2.5 hour trip back. This is definitely an all day trip and not for the faint of heart. My dad had a blast. He knew we were into scuba ( hell we own a dive shop!) but he said he had no idea what we go through just to scuba dive. All the gear, the planning, the expense, the time and the effort. He said it was an eye opening experience! It was a great day, physically exhausting, and psychologically thrilling! Definitely different from our lake waters of Texas and the blue waters of the Caribbean and Mexico. Thanks to the Jeanne II, and our fellow divers who shared the dive boat from Village Divers http://www.villagedivers.com. We had a great day and made some great memories for our family.
