Wil
Contributor
Made the first off shore dive trip for this season and it was the perfect weather day for it. Winds from the S/SE at 5-10kts initially and later from the South at 10-15kts. Bobby (RAD Diver) and Andy (Drewski) made the trip.
We departed Vinings Marina (Little Creek Inlet) at 0730 and took about 1.5 hours to make it our first dive site, the Kurn. Our plan had been to dive the Liberty Ship Clark and second the Kurn. However, once at the Triangle Reef area there was a sport fishing boat on the Clark so we moved further south to the Kurn. We hooked the aft bow section break of the Kurn and tied in about 40ft forward of the break.
Bobby and Andy were first to dive, with a plan to explore the wreck and video it. While surface visibility was good, vis on the bottom was about 10ft with suspended particles ("gunk"). Water temps were on the cooler side at about 43deg. I might add Bobby and Andy were diving drysuits, I was diving a "semi-wet" (will explain later). Once they returned I made my dive with doubles and my video camera. However, after seeing the vis myself I remained about 15mins, did my safety stop, got back in the boat. Max depth was 104ft. My computer read the water temp at 43deg.
We decided to pass on diving anything else in the Triangle Reef area due to the vis. We moved about 28nm southeast to the wreck of the Eureka. Sunk as a result of a collision, the Eureka was loaded with general merchandise and one can often find medicine bottles, doll parts, and ink wells on the wreck.
Surface visibility was very good and gave hope that better conditions would be on the bottom. We hooked the wreck between the large boilers and the bow. Bobby and I made the dive and found the surface vis clear down to baout 40ft. Then...the "gunk" returned. With a fair current on the bottom, the visibility was still about 20ft. I recorded the water temp at 42deg. We made a 27min dive and started our way up. Bobby, penalized for a longer first dive, had a short deco stop along the way. I was able to snap some pictures of the wreck and record some video. Max depth was 112ft.
We departed for the +/-70nm trip back to Little Creek, taking about 1 hour and 45 min, we had a following sea and kept the knots up.
Bobby and Andy, we had a great day diving, THANKS!, for going and helping with the boat. Hopefully we'lll have better vis and temps next time.
Lastly, Will's philosophy on diving Semi-Dry and Semi-Wet: Diving Semi-Dry means that first cold water trickle down your spine is an unexpected shock to the system. After all, you're diving with a "Semi-Dry" suit and expect to be dry and warm. On the contrary, if you consider the suit "Semi-Wet", when that trickle of cold water taps at the center core of your body, you're ready for it, though still not welcome, your mind is prepared to endure it. It's all about being mentally prepared. Me?, I dive "Semi-Wet" but will be getting my Dry Suit out for the next few months anyway...
Safe Diving,
Will
We departed Vinings Marina (Little Creek Inlet) at 0730 and took about 1.5 hours to make it our first dive site, the Kurn. Our plan had been to dive the Liberty Ship Clark and second the Kurn. However, once at the Triangle Reef area there was a sport fishing boat on the Clark so we moved further south to the Kurn. We hooked the aft bow section break of the Kurn and tied in about 40ft forward of the break.
Bobby and Andy were first to dive, with a plan to explore the wreck and video it. While surface visibility was good, vis on the bottom was about 10ft with suspended particles ("gunk"). Water temps were on the cooler side at about 43deg. I might add Bobby and Andy were diving drysuits, I was diving a "semi-wet" (will explain later). Once they returned I made my dive with doubles and my video camera. However, after seeing the vis myself I remained about 15mins, did my safety stop, got back in the boat. Max depth was 104ft. My computer read the water temp at 43deg.
We decided to pass on diving anything else in the Triangle Reef area due to the vis. We moved about 28nm southeast to the wreck of the Eureka. Sunk as a result of a collision, the Eureka was loaded with general merchandise and one can often find medicine bottles, doll parts, and ink wells on the wreck.
Surface visibility was very good and gave hope that better conditions would be on the bottom. We hooked the wreck between the large boilers and the bow. Bobby and I made the dive and found the surface vis clear down to baout 40ft. Then...the "gunk" returned. With a fair current on the bottom, the visibility was still about 20ft. I recorded the water temp at 42deg. We made a 27min dive and started our way up. Bobby, penalized for a longer first dive, had a short deco stop along the way. I was able to snap some pictures of the wreck and record some video. Max depth was 112ft.
We departed for the +/-70nm trip back to Little Creek, taking about 1 hour and 45 min, we had a following sea and kept the knots up.
Bobby and Andy, we had a great day diving, THANKS!, for going and helping with the boat. Hopefully we'lll have better vis and temps next time.
Lastly, Will's philosophy on diving Semi-Dry and Semi-Wet: Diving Semi-Dry means that first cold water trickle down your spine is an unexpected shock to the system. After all, you're diving with a "Semi-Dry" suit and expect to be dry and warm. On the contrary, if you consider the suit "Semi-Wet", when that trickle of cold water taps at the center core of your body, you're ready for it, though still not welcome, your mind is prepared to endure it. It's all about being mentally prepared. Me?, I dive "Semi-Wet" but will be getting my Dry Suit out for the next few months anyway...
Safe Diving,
Will
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