Dive report 6-25-15

[AfterDark]

Dive 2047 6-25-15 Kings Beach Newport The weather was clear breezy partly sunny. 1-2’ swells were rolling in so the surge was very noticeable. Visibility was 10-15’ the vis reduced with depth. Max depth was 30fsw bottom temp 66F I did see 68F at one point. Bottom time was 59 minutes total time in water was about 1:15min. My dive buddy on this dive was DonBerry up from PA on business. Don wanted to do some Atlantic ocean diving he got on this dive. We spotted small schools of small togs, skates, schoolie stripers. I also saw a small emerald green fish with black coloration near the tail, it struck me as being a tropical fish. Thinking back to the 68F temp up from 58F at the beginning of the month (see dive 2045) it probably was a tropical fish, brought in on the Gulf Stream which also explains the sudden warm water. A good dive overall although I could have done without the surge.

 

[drrich2]

You mentioned max. depth was 30 feet, on what I presume was a shore dive. How far out from shore did you have to go, I wonder? Is the slope/taper of the bottom very gradual, such that local shore diving is of necessity quite shallow?

Richard.

P.S.: If 68 degrees is your idea of warm water, I think I'll keep my diving south of you!!!

 

[AfterDark]

You mentioned max. depth was 30 feet, on what I presume was a shore dive. How far out from shore did you have to go, I wonder? Is the slope/taper of the bottom very gradual, such that local shore diving is of necessity quite shallow?

Richard.

P.S.: If 68 degrees is your idea of warm water, I think I'll keep my diving south of you!!!

It all depends where one is diving, this site is mostly a shallow site, if you like sand you can get to 40FSW and swim over bear white sand for the duration of the dive. In the East Passage the entrance to Narragansett Bay you can hop in the water and be in 200fsw within 2 hundred yards of shore.

We were within one hundreds yards of the shore maybe a little more. I like shallow diving around here it's where the life is; the light starts to grow dim at 30fsw at 60fsw a light is handy to have and a must to see under anything. The water in the shallows is usually "warmer" and the #1 best part of shallow diving is.....my air lasts longer so I dive longer. When we dive the U853 or the other wrecks here at similar depths 100+FSW most of us use a canister light outside the wrecks.

68F isn't warm enough for ya? I look forward to 68F it may even get to 70F! At the beginning of the month I was diving in 58F water with my dry suit! Four weeks later it's 10deg warmer at 30FSW! I like that.

It has often been said those of us that dive in NE regularly can dive anywhere. So far I have found that to be true. Our idea "warm" water is just one of the reasons.

 

[tkaelin]

For a middle age new England based diver diving wet in a 5 mil, 68 is downright comfortable. My first dive this season in late May wet in a 5 mil at 52 was a wake up call. Felt like someone hit me in the face with a bat. Ok, slight exaggeration but you get my point.

 

[dberry]

Great dive, thanks for meeting up with me, AfterDark! 68F was downright warm compared to what I was expecting, and 64F at my max depth of 37ft was fine in a 3mm with 7mm vest+hood. (That's 4deg warmer than the thermocline at Dutch Springs in August

Here are a few pics of AfterDark and a skate, and a brief clip showing the surge during the dive.
-Don
PS AD isn't TRYING to lose me in pic#3, but it shows the challenge of buddy diving in mediocre vis. In another pic taken just seconds later his yellow tanks are barely visible.


[video]https://youtu.be/0uV-b6RhVcg[/video]

 

[agilis]

Dive 2047 6-25-15 Kings Beach Newport The weather was clear breezy partly sunny. 1-2’ swells were rolling in so the surge was very noticeable. Visibility was 10-15’ the vis reduced with depth. Max depth was 30fsw bottom temp 66F I did see 68F at one point. Bottom time was 59 minutes total time in water was about 1:15min. My dive buddy on this dive was DonBerry up from PA on business. Don wanted to do some Atlantic ocean diving he got on this dive. We spotted small schools of small togs, skates, schoolie stripers. I also saw a small emerald green fish with black coloration near the tail, it struck me as being a tropical fish. Thinking back to the 68F temp up from 58F at the beginning of the month (see dive 2045) it probably was a tropical fish, brought in on the Gulf Stream which also explains the sudden warm water. A good dive overall although I could have done without the surge.

A small emerald green fish this time of year is possibly a juvenile Bergall, also called Cunners. A kind of smaller version of a Blackfish (another possibility), both are relatively large northern wrasses, capable of a wide variety of color changes as juveniles, and are often green when they are hiding in kelp. If you handle one and it feels slimy, it's a Bergall.

---------- Post added June 27th, 2015 at 01:07 AM ----------

Dive 2047 6-25-15 Kings Beach Newport The weather was clear breezy partly sunny. 1-2’ swells were rolling in so the surge was very noticeable. Visibility was 10-15’ the vis reduced with depth. Max depth was 30fsw bottom temp 66F I did see 68F at one point. Bottom time was 59 minutes total time in water was about 1:15min. My dive buddy on this dive was DonBerry up from PA on business. Don wanted to do some Atlantic ocean diving he got on this dive. We spotted small schools of small togs, skates, schoolie stripers. I also saw a small emerald green fish with black coloration near the tail, it struck me as being a tropical fish. Thinking back to the 68F temp up from 58F at the beginning of the month (see dive 2045) it probably was a tropical fish, brought in on the Gulf Stream which also explains the sudden warm water. A good dive overall although I could have done without the surge.

A small emerald green fish this time of year is possibly a juvenile Bergall, also called Cunners. A kind of smaller version of a Blackfish (another possibility), both are relatively large northern wrasses, capable of a wide variety of color changes as juveniles, and are often green when they are hiding in kelp. If you handle one and it feels slimy, it's a Bergall (Tautogolabrus adspersus)

 

[AfterDark]

It was a great dive, thanks for he pictures Don. For all the dives I have and all the hours underwater, I have very few pictures of myself diving. One of those pictures looks like I'm trying to lose you! I have a lot of other divers because I'm usually on the other end of the lens. That surge looks a lot more benign in the video than being in it doesn't it?

You are welcome Don it was my pleasure and if your are ever up here again and want to dive contact me. Maybe that Dutch Springs trip will happen too?!

Don and I got to see the downside of towing a flag and float in surge. We both were "embraced" by the line due to the surge. It was mostly my fault, my line management was degraded by having to fend off large rocks that the surge was trying to batter me against so there was a lot more line out than there should have been. I also had to go back and get the line from around a lobster pot line that we unknowingly went under on the way back. Ironically when I was bringing in the slack was when I got entangled but was able to get myself free.

I much prefer to use my SMB with the dive flag sewn onto it and a finger spool if and when I need to surface where boat traffic may be. Other than that I keep it rolled up in a pocket. I forgot to bring the little grappling anchor I use for my yak, it's nice for leaving the float behind secured to the bottom while I go off and dive. I always try to nav back to it without coming up. I usually miss it more than hit it, that's a very small target in 10-15' vis!

 

[CT-Rich]

Most of the good open ocean shore dives on the south end of Aquidneck Island (Newport RI) are fairly shallow from shore. But there is usually a nice mix of sandy bottom an rock out crops. I usually end up above 50 fsw. but that is where most of the interesting fish are anyway. In the bay you get a lot more depth, but you also get more mud and silting. The current in the bay can get ripping to.

Afterdark and I were at the south end of Beavertail on Wednesday and we got in a little late for the tide. Aside from getting pushed around by the rollers and crappy visibility, getting in to the shore exit point turned into a PiA since I was trying to keep my leaking camera housing out of the water. After 5 minutes of trying to on the surface I went down and was out in less than a minute. Kings beach, where they were diving have a well protected boat ramp to enter and exit from. There is a decent sized island acting as a barrier. Once you get out of its protection, the rollers can shove you around a bit, but they are also a good tell of which side of the island you are on.

 

[dberry]

Like I told AfterDark, I'm still at the stage when even a cold, lo-vis dive is better than not diving, so I was really pushing to dive King's Beach last week. Fortunately, AD still feels the same way, even tho' he's been diving since 1968! As it turned out, it wasn't cold (IMO), and it was a great dive for me.

I'm all about learning and getting experience, and this dive was full of good lessons and experiences, that's for sure. I'm writing down my lessons learned, mainly for my own benefit. Feel free to stop reading.

(1) In other forums, many SB'ers advise folks to leave the snorkel at home. I disconnected my snorkel after diving in the Keys and Coz this spring. That may be okay for warm water boat diving, but I regretted not having it on the long, slow drift back to the beach with rollers sloshing around and my Steel 119 getting embarrassingly low on air. Snorkel - check.

(2) Sure, I had my compass, and AD knows the area like the back of his hand, but I should have taken bearings on the beach, and confirmed the general direction we were going (out and back.) Planning the dive isn't just about depth and time... check.

(3) It only takes 15 seconds of surge and a few yards of slack line to cause a serious cats-cradle of entanglement. I was never really worried or in danger, but it was a great lesson. We got it untangled, so I didn't have to cut AD's dive flag line, but at least I had a knife AND Z-cutter in case I had to. Slack lines = danger, check.

(4) While adjusting my hood and mask, the mask strap unclipped. At the same time I started to get a calf cramp (thank-you JetFins This was actually a good experience, since I've never had trouble removing / replacing my mask, and it gave me a chance to show I could calmly deal with things in order. (grab toes to remove cramp, then reattach mask strap blindly by touch, fix hood, replace and clear mask, give "ok" signal to AD.) All without raising my SAC significantly. Evidence I'm not a totally hopeless mess... check.

(5) Never leave the car radio or lights on while diving... and know where your battery terminals are. Check.

We learn by doing and having fun at the same time. You betcha!
-Don

 

[AfterDark]

Don next time you follow a line to find your buddy try to keep the line held over head with one arm and swim on your side. This allows you to see the line behind and ahead of you and will reduce the chances of the line entangling you.

Yeah I've tried to impress on some how useful a snorkel is for the kind of diving I do here but until you've been pushed around and over swept by the rollers it's hard to describe. My snorkel never leaves my mask strap.

Well a friend just got back from NC here's one of his dive reports:
#1649 Indra Wreck 6/20/15
Sitting in only 70 feet of water, it allows for longer penetration and exploration. This wreck is also extremely popular for training dives as the deck is in approximately 40-45 feet of water. This 300-foot landing ship/repair freighter is sitting in approximately 60 fsw about 10 miles off Emerald Isle. This freighter was sunk as an artificial reef on August 4, 1992. Upon entering the water we were treated to the sight of Amberjacks working a big baitball, then off the starboard side of the bow was an 8’ Stingray. Towards the end of the dive I noticed a 3 foot Green Sea Turtle resting under a piece of curved deck plate, he backed out and swam beside me for a while as we headed for the ascent line. Max depth of 72 ft for 56 minutes in 80 degree water with 70+‘VIZ… bold and underlined by me. 70'+ Vis! I missed a good trip.