Wil
Contributor
Memorial Day brought another fantastic dive day off Virginia Beach. With three friends (Kevin, Ted, and Mike) we headed offshore early for a 3 dive day around the Triangle Reef.
Departing out of Vinings Landing Marine Center (Little Creek Inlet) we found the NOAA forecast a bit more choppy than forecast and only made 26mph outbound. I about an hour and a half we were north of the Triangle and decided to head to the Luchenbach for two dives. Seas were about 2-3ft, winds light, and little surface current. We anchored in the bow area after finding a fisherman on the stern and kept our diving to forward of the boilers. They reported 30+ft of visibility and bottom temps at 47deg. Mike & I made our dive and found plenty of Sea Bass, a few Flounder, and a couple of Lobsters. Visibility was a bit more than 30ft with the thermocline at 34ft and warm surface water at 74deg. We ended up making two dives on the Lillian Luchenbach. The second dive we had the wreck all to ourselves. The surprise spearshot came from Mike after I'd chased around a 26in Flounder with my dive knife, never getting a good clear stab on it. Mike missed seeing the Flounder until it was almost too late and quickly drew a perfect head shot from about 10ft away as the fish made a break for it.
After two dives we headed over to the Trepca and tied in amidships. We found the same conditions as the Luchenbach (not far away) but had a good time exploring another wreck. By now the winds & waves had died down to near nothing and made for a great afternoon diving.
We pulled the hook and headed back to Little Creek on smooth seas and more than 40 knots. Arriving in about an hour we cleaned the boat, the fish, and divided up the catch and were home for dinner. Another great day of diving on Freedom.
Safe Diving,
Wil
Departing out of Vinings Landing Marine Center (Little Creek Inlet) we found the NOAA forecast a bit more choppy than forecast and only made 26mph outbound. I about an hour and a half we were north of the Triangle and decided to head to the Luchenbach for two dives. Seas were about 2-3ft, winds light, and little surface current. We anchored in the bow area after finding a fisherman on the stern and kept our diving to forward of the boilers. They reported 30+ft of visibility and bottom temps at 47deg. Mike & I made our dive and found plenty of Sea Bass, a few Flounder, and a couple of Lobsters. Visibility was a bit more than 30ft with the thermocline at 34ft and warm surface water at 74deg. We ended up making two dives on the Lillian Luchenbach. The second dive we had the wreck all to ourselves. The surprise spearshot came from Mike after I'd chased around a 26in Flounder with my dive knife, never getting a good clear stab on it. Mike missed seeing the Flounder until it was almost too late and quickly drew a perfect head shot from about 10ft away as the fish made a break for it.
After two dives we headed over to the Trepca and tied in amidships. We found the same conditions as the Luchenbach (not far away) but had a good time exploring another wreck. By now the winds & waves had died down to near nothing and made for a great afternoon diving.
We pulled the hook and headed back to Little Creek on smooth seas and more than 40 knots. Arriving in about an hour we cleaned the boat, the fish, and divided up the catch and were home for dinner. Another great day of diving on Freedom.
Safe Diving,
Wil