Not According to Plan

We were ready for a little more video testing and were only going to go into the harbor because it was still windy. That was the plan.

I was driving once Pete got the boat out of the slip for me. I hate having to make a quick manoeuver into the wind as we leave the finger dock. I’d rather bark directions to Laurent, John or Bill Low to “keep the bow line tight” or “watch the stern corner.” Then I can climb up to the driving station and motor down to the Blynman Bridge while Pete and the others get suited up.

Everything was fine as we passed under the bridge without even needing it to be lifted for us. The tide was almost low and we had plenty of room to make it under if we lowered our antennas. As we entered the harbor, I saw a fellow doing Tai Chi (sp?) at the railing overlooking the cut. He waived from the pose he was in. Great balance.

As I turned towards the harbor mouth and slowly started increasing speed, I noticed that the engine wasn’t responding as it normally did. It wasn’t reving as fast as it should be. In fact, it was losing RPM. What’s going on? It felt like the time we had run out of fuel.

As everyone realized what was happening, The Captain directed me to back it down and do a slow turn towards Stage Fort Park while they opened the engine compartment to see what they could find. They found water bubbling in the separator so we stopped everything and set the anchor.

We were protected from the worst of the wind and everyone (Bill Low, John B., Laurent Dubois) was fine with the temporary delay. Of course, we were in no danger of sinking, just of having the engine be ruined from water in the diesel fuel.

We decided that Pete and I would row to shore. He’d then walk back to the Cape Ann Marina to get diesel in a jug. He’d then walk back to the inflatable and we’d row it out to Easy Diver. In fact, he got a lift from Peter, the dockmaster at the marina. By the time he’d called me with the new plans, I was able to beat him back to the boat by a super human effort of rowing myself up into the north wind from the rocky shore where we’d beached the inflatable. Peter times two arrived with the fuel and we rigged a hose to the engine to deliver it.

I put-putted back to the dock and Pete did a masterful job of docking against a lessening north east wind.

How did the water get into our fuel? That’s the question of the day.

Everyone helped us pump the fuel tank into containers and to measure the amount of water in them as it separated. Fran Marcoux and his son, Matt, of Daybreaker were extremely helpful with buckets and bottles and containers from their collection, as well as their knowledge of what to look for in the contaminated fuel.

This was not what we’d planned for on a sunny Mother’s Day.

Was it vandalism?

We don’t know.

Still Windy and Raw

Today, Saturday, May 10, was predicted to be rainy, as well as breezy. I wasn’t looking forward to another wet weekend, but the morning dawned without any rain.

So far, so good.

But the wind was beyond breezy. How about 20-30 from the North? Our return and re-docking would be a bear if we decided to go out at all. The Yankee Fleet boats had canceled their trips. No other boats were going out, it seemed.

We called off Joe F. and Richard B. who had booked in advance because we wanted them to have a good time and not regret the decision to dive with us.

However, the crew (Peter, Fred and Chris), Laurent Dubois, and a NAUI Instructor candidate, John B. decided we would go into the harbor for one dive just to get our feet wet. We knew it would be hard to find any calm water or any good visibility because it was going to be dead low tide.

Pete chose the spot because he was driving. It was Ten Pound Island. Murk city. Silt squared. John said the water temperature was 44 degrees at 24 feet.

I helped Pete move the anchor from its entanglement in a lobster line and he lost his fin in the sucking silt in the process. The cloud of dust that arose as we reset the anchor was a blackout. However, as I looked to my right, I saw two geysers of grey silt spout straight up into the water from the untouched sand. Clams protesting the noise? Sea worms agitated at the disturbance?

I stayed right where I was and hoped I could feel around to try to find Pete’s missing Force Fin. As the current gradually moved the silt away, I could see it gleaming in towards shore and raced him to get it. Lucky break.

Pete had already cooked soup before we hit the water so it was hot and ready when we got out. We were in for about 20 minutes and my hands were OK. John B. was in a wetsuit and had five finger gloves. He was frozen. Laurent found a pin hole leak in his DUI dry suit’s cuff. He described watching the “bloop, bloop” as bubbles escaped from his wrist. Not a good sign. However, his new video housing was dry inside and good to go with his new HD video camera inside on Sunday. We loaned him some Aquaseal to goop up the hole before tomorrow’s dive.

Docking was a bear.

Not Quite Spring Yet

Easy Diver is in the water at J Dock. That’s the good news.

The bad news is that there’s too much water falling from the sky. And it’s cold. And it’s foggy.

“It’s just miserable,” Peter said.

We didn’t go out either Saturday, May 3rd, or Sunday, May 4th.

We stopped by the DUI Dog Days site at Stage Fort Park both days.

The Captain was wearing his new black Crocs and there were huge lakes of water everywhere on Sunday. We didn’t stay long.

It may technically be Spring, but it certainly isn’t showing any of that kind of warmth yet.

Keeping our fingers crossed for better conditions next weekend.

Bonaire March 2008 Webcam Shots and Richard Brandolini’s Photos

March-ing It Up in Bonaire

Jacki K., Bethany Brousseau, Robert Sharpe, Richard Brandolini, Peter Donahue, Pat Walsh, The Captain and I all spent a week at Captain Don’s Habitat in Bonaire from March 12 - 19th.

We cavorted in front of a webcam at 30 feet off the dive site named Something Special.  I forewarned anyone I thought would be interested about our plans to be at www.breathebonaire.com at noon on St. Patrick’s Day, Monday, March 19th.  Kathy Cardinale took the time to capture some of the images and I went to www.animoto.com to create another little video.

Turn on your speakers.

As Winter Winds Down

The crew of Easy Diver keeps fit by chasing ice chunks.

Videography by Pat Walsh.

Summer can’t come too quickly for me.

Onward and Upward to Music Videos

Another new slide show format. 

Turn on your sound.

http://widgets.clearspring.com/o/46928cc51133af17/474865c877344c82

Check out my Slide Show!

Laurent Dubois and a Paul Revere Copper Spike

Thanks to Richard Brandolini for sharing this picture of a very happy diver:

He’s pointing to where the symbols “U S” are stamped on the shaft of the spike.  It identifies it as one that was made in Paul Revere’s foundry for the government. 

There’s lots of debris in the water from fanning for treasure like this.  His gloves are silt-covered and dirty from the digging.

He was having a grand time.

Good fun.

None and Done

We drove around the cape on this, the morning of our last charter of the season.  It looked spectacular at Back Beach in Rockport, so we planned to go somewhere in Sandy Bay depending on what it looked like when we got there.

Well, we never got there.  It had been a fairly uneventful passage up from the mouth of Gloucester Harbor.  I just hugged the coast and let the northwest wind blow over the top of us.  I didn’t even need foul weather gear to be driving from the flying bridge.

What started off as a breeze at 8 AM was a roaring 25-30 by the time we rounded Lands End and were headed for the break between Straitsmouth Island and Gap Head in Rockport.  The wind had piled the water up at Gap Head so that it was 3-4 foot breakers at the Sandy Bay side of the shallows between the two masses of land.  The wind was driving the breakers’ spray up and over the flying bridge where Laurent was sitting in his full wetsuit.  He later said he had been having fun up there in the elements.  I called on Peter to drive it through from the lower station because I knew I’d be soaked by the time I did it from up top.

The Captain called it quits and had Peter make a careful U-turn so that we didn’t broach.  Then I climbed up and high-tailed it back the way we’d come.  No other dive site along the back shore looked worth the effort what with the surge from the southwest.  We were sorry the season had to end like this, but we had fun with Janet M., Paul Savageau, Bill Low, and Laurent.  Plus, we got Pete’s Chicken Noodle Surprise soup in the bargain.  The Captain was heard to exclaim, “Hey, there’s a big potato in my cup!”  Heh, heh.

There was a fishing boat with a stay sail making for home along the same path we were taking and it was being chased by hundreds of gulls.  I think he was cleaning his catch and they were savy to the fact that lunch might come whipping over the rail at any moment.  Janet M. took some amazing shots and we might get to post them if she emails them to me.

Pete took over again for the delicate manoever of docking in a heavy reverse wind.  All hands helped fend off and tie up.  Whew!

We had lots of help unloading Easy Diver and putting the winter-ready touches in place.  Now it’s just waiting for the hauling and shrink-wrapping.

It was a wonderful season, but now we’re off to DEMA and then Small Hope Bay Lodge in Andros, Bahamas, for some warm weather diving.

See you in the spring.