JesperS
Contributor
Let's see if I have enough energy left over to write a trip report 
We got a very early start to the day, I woke up at 4:30 to pack lunch, etc, and woke the kid up after 5. Shortly after 5:30 my instructor picked us up, and we were off to pick up the boat.
Loaded all our gear, which was quite an effort. 5 OC divers (most of us with deco or bailout tanks) + 1 rebreather diver. Left from Venice.
The ride out was pretty rough. I'd say 3-4 foot seas, and the boat, while nice, is a pretty rough ride. But we made it without major incident, and before we knew it, we were moored up to the bow of the Mighty Mo.
Here's where my trouble started. Unfortunately, Leisurepro doesn't sell sea legs, and I'm still working on mine. Which I shouldn't have to, I was out sailing with my parents a few weeks after I was born. Those sideway rockers that hit you when moored up are not compatible with my stomach.
But even so, we managed to get fully prepped, into the water, and submerged without me feeding the fishes. Great setup on the boat, deco line under the boat with a line that ties in to the mooring line, so you can just pull yourself along. There was some current, so this was a nice touch. This isn't a charter by the way, this is a private boat.
Down we go and execute the following plan. First dive on air for narc test (only 90 feet, but my time did not change from the surface test, and my sons time was quicker than the surface), down to bottom and circle the boat before testing, then ascend when gas limit reached (plan showed that air and not NDL would be the limiting factor), perform 1 minute deep stop, perform 10 minute SIMULATED deco on our 40cf ponies.
If you're curious about the plan, we've approached our OW training with an eye towards possible tech down the road, and our instructor has been a fantastic help. This was a further example of that. We didn't need to perform anything but a safety stop, but is a good intro into seeing if this is something that you want to go further with.
Onto the Mighty Mo, this is a very nice wreck. It's only been down a little over a year. Very open, deckplates were removed so you cna see inside the lower decks and engine compartment without entering. Prop and rudder are intact. Mooring buoy is next to the wreck, but the anchor line from the wreck leads to the mooring buoy. 30-40 ft vis. Plenty of fishlife, though we didn't see much BIG life, though I did see a school of HUGE spadefish, and we did end up seeing a smaller goliath grouper on the exterior of the wreck. Did not spot the engine room goliath or the pilothouse goliath.
Surfaced after our stop, came up for the surface interval. Thought I was ok at first, but before we get ready for dive 2, I ralph over the side a few times. Fortunately, I had kept a very light diet for 24 hours, and only had a yogurt for breakfast and a granola bar, so it was mostly the water I had been drinking. Enough detail on my vomit? Yeah, I think so.
I anxiously await our second dip, as even though I had immediately felt better after chucking, starting to get iffy again (damn side rollers). Fortunately, we once again suit up and hit the water, second dive being the external wreck survey and our final dive needed for AOW certification.
On conditions, as stated, 30-40 ft vis, low 80's temp (computer is in the rinse bucket outside, I'll tell you for sure tomorrow) with no thermocline detected. Lots of snot in the water, and plenty of jellies, but completely diveable. They were plentiful, but not clustered, and visibility was good enough that they were easy to avoid.
Kiddo found three nice lobsters hiding on the second dive, but I didn't have my gauge with me (or a bag or anything else for that matter), so we left them be.
Oh, and I lost my computer! It popped out of the bungee mount So now I know that it needs a little aquaseal or something to hold it in place. Gotta remember to get a replacement.
Came home, >12 hrs after we left, completely exhausted, burned to a crisp, and proud AOW graduates.
USS Mohawk is a nice dive, but man, it's a hike to get there. 36 miles from us, 30 miles from closer docks.
Life is good.
We got a very early start to the day, I woke up at 4:30 to pack lunch, etc, and woke the kid up after 5. Shortly after 5:30 my instructor picked us up, and we were off to pick up the boat.
Loaded all our gear, which was quite an effort. 5 OC divers (most of us with deco or bailout tanks) + 1 rebreather diver. Left from Venice.
The ride out was pretty rough. I'd say 3-4 foot seas, and the boat, while nice, is a pretty rough ride. But we made it without major incident, and before we knew it, we were moored up to the bow of the Mighty Mo.
Here's where my trouble started. Unfortunately, Leisurepro doesn't sell sea legs, and I'm still working on mine. Which I shouldn't have to, I was out sailing with my parents a few weeks after I was born. Those sideway rockers that hit you when moored up are not compatible with my stomach.
But even so, we managed to get fully prepped, into the water, and submerged without me feeding the fishes. Great setup on the boat, deco line under the boat with a line that ties in to the mooring line, so you can just pull yourself along. There was some current, so this was a nice touch. This isn't a charter by the way, this is a private boat.
Down we go and execute the following plan. First dive on air for narc test (only 90 feet, but my time did not change from the surface test, and my sons time was quicker than the surface), down to bottom and circle the boat before testing, then ascend when gas limit reached (plan showed that air and not NDL would be the limiting factor), perform 1 minute deep stop, perform 10 minute SIMULATED deco on our 40cf ponies.
If you're curious about the plan, we've approached our OW training with an eye towards possible tech down the road, and our instructor has been a fantastic help. This was a further example of that. We didn't need to perform anything but a safety stop, but is a good intro into seeing if this is something that you want to go further with.
Onto the Mighty Mo, this is a very nice wreck. It's only been down a little over a year. Very open, deckplates were removed so you cna see inside the lower decks and engine compartment without entering. Prop and rudder are intact. Mooring buoy is next to the wreck, but the anchor line from the wreck leads to the mooring buoy. 30-40 ft vis. Plenty of fishlife, though we didn't see much BIG life, though I did see a school of HUGE spadefish, and we did end up seeing a smaller goliath grouper on the exterior of the wreck. Did not spot the engine room goliath or the pilothouse goliath.
Surfaced after our stop, came up for the surface interval. Thought I was ok at first, but before we get ready for dive 2, I ralph over the side a few times. Fortunately, I had kept a very light diet for 24 hours, and only had a yogurt for breakfast and a granola bar, so it was mostly the water I had been drinking. Enough detail on my vomit? Yeah, I think so.
I anxiously await our second dip, as even though I had immediately felt better after chucking, starting to get iffy again (damn side rollers). Fortunately, we once again suit up and hit the water, second dive being the external wreck survey and our final dive needed for AOW certification.
On conditions, as stated, 30-40 ft vis, low 80's temp (computer is in the rinse bucket outside, I'll tell you for sure tomorrow) with no thermocline detected. Lots of snot in the water, and plenty of jellies, but completely diveable. They were plentiful, but not clustered, and visibility was good enough that they were easy to avoid.
Kiddo found three nice lobsters hiding on the second dive, but I didn't have my gauge with me (or a bag or anything else for that matter), so we left them be.
Oh, and I lost my computer! It popped out of the bungee mount
So now I know that it needs a little aquaseal or something to hold it in place. Gotta remember to get a replacement.Came home, >12 hrs after we left, completely exhausted, burned to a crisp, and proud AOW graduates.
USS Mohawk is a nice dive, but man, it's a hike to get there. 36 miles from us, 30 miles from closer docks.
Life is good.
