RAD Diver
Contributor
We went out on board the "Under Pressure" for an over night trip off our great coast, with a weather report that we usually only dream of.
The 1st destination was the Powell & we arrived at 8pm for a night dive, hooked on the 1st drop & I jumped to tie in, a decent surface current dissipated at 10ft & once on the bottom vis was a good 20ft or as far as my 10w hid light could shine water temp was a comfortable 52. Once the anchor was secure I made a quick run around & just before my ascent a 3lb lobster made a fatal mistake coming out & walking right in front of me, although I had no catch bag I grabbed him anyway, making my ascent adjusting wing, drysuit & staying in touch with the line with 1 hand.
After a good set of dives by everyone, we pulled the hook & made our way further off our coast to the Eureka arriving at 4am Saturday.
I again jumped to do the tie in & found the anchor hooked very vicariously in a weak piece of pipe, I moved it to a more secure location & secured it, did a quick trip around the boilers & headed up to give my report.
Vis once again as far as my light would shine, but this time the water temp got my attention at 44.
A very good set of dives by everyone & we sat for a 3hr SI talking about how great the sea conditions were & could not wait to see what the light of the day would bring & we were not disappointed.
Everyone came back raving on the conditions & I was chomping at the bit to go untie & that is what I did after a very enjoyable tour of the wreck from the boiler to the bow & back, vis was at least 40ft, temp was a little cool, but not bad.
We then made the trip back to the Powell so the charter could see the wreck under the light of day watching "Kick Ass" on the big flat screen TV in air condition comfort that the "Under Pressure" cabin affords.
Once on the Powell the surface current that plagued us all weekend had disappeared & we found vis to be 30+ ft & a pleasant dive was had by all.
Back at the Marina by 5:30 Saturday & smiles all around, final Lobster count was 18 in the box, another 10 were released, a few were small, but legal size, but why keep them when there are plentiful big ones out there. A couple females with eggs never made it to the boat with everyone following Capt. JTs instructions to check them before putting them into the bag. 1 Lobzilla was boated weighing an estimated 12 1/2 lbs was released by lowering on the lift.
The diver lift once again was a huge success & worked flawlessly.
The boat is now on its way to Cape Hatteras for some warm, blue water diving.
Come dive with us, though most weekends are booked, some weekdays are open & some charters have spots open, give JT a ring, Capt JT's Wreck Diving Site - Diving Hatteras NC and Virginia Beach VA
The 1st destination was the Powell & we arrived at 8pm for a night dive, hooked on the 1st drop & I jumped to tie in, a decent surface current dissipated at 10ft & once on the bottom vis was a good 20ft or as far as my 10w hid light could shine water temp was a comfortable 52. Once the anchor was secure I made a quick run around & just before my ascent a 3lb lobster made a fatal mistake coming out & walking right in front of me, although I had no catch bag I grabbed him anyway, making my ascent adjusting wing, drysuit & staying in touch with the line with 1 hand.
After a good set of dives by everyone, we pulled the hook & made our way further off our coast to the Eureka arriving at 4am Saturday.
I again jumped to do the tie in & found the anchor hooked very vicariously in a weak piece of pipe, I moved it to a more secure location & secured it, did a quick trip around the boilers & headed up to give my report.
Vis once again as far as my light would shine, but this time the water temp got my attention at 44.
A very good set of dives by everyone & we sat for a 3hr SI talking about how great the sea conditions were & could not wait to see what the light of the day would bring & we were not disappointed.
Everyone came back raving on the conditions & I was chomping at the bit to go untie & that is what I did after a very enjoyable tour of the wreck from the boiler to the bow & back, vis was at least 40ft, temp was a little cool, but not bad.
We then made the trip back to the Powell so the charter could see the wreck under the light of day watching "Kick Ass" on the big flat screen TV in air condition comfort that the "Under Pressure" cabin affords.
Once on the Powell the surface current that plagued us all weekend had disappeared & we found vis to be 30+ ft & a pleasant dive was had by all.
Back at the Marina by 5:30 Saturday & smiles all around, final Lobster count was 18 in the box, another 10 were released, a few were small, but legal size, but why keep them when there are plentiful big ones out there. A couple females with eggs never made it to the boat with everyone following Capt. JTs instructions to check them before putting them into the bag. 1 Lobzilla was boated weighing an estimated 12 1/2 lbs was released by lowering on the lift.
The diver lift once again was a huge success & worked flawlessly.
The boat is now on its way to Cape Hatteras for some warm, blue water diving.
Come dive with us, though most weekends are booked, some weekdays are open & some charters have spots open, give JT a ring, Capt JT's Wreck Diving Site - Diving Hatteras NC and Virginia Beach VA
