Flukey Fog

It rained hard last night, but there was very little wind.  The morning brought thick fog on the south side of the cape.  We decided to go north with some new folk who were renting everything from Freedom Diving on Rogers Street in Gloucester in order to go out with us.  It looked like it would be good at Folly Cove.

Laurent joined new-comers Kent and Steve as customers.  Kathy Cardinale, Peter Donahue, The Captain and I were crew.   We put-putted north with fog tendrils all around.  No one was out.  It was raining steadily.  We saw a large gaggle of cormorants on the river near the rocks painted as frogs.  They took flight as we neared and flew faster than we were traveling up the river to the beach at Wingaersheek.

We picked our way by the buoys up to the mouth of the river where the fog cleared somewhat because the breeze had picked up from the southeast.  It was drizzling.  Folly Cove looked like it would be a good choice since it would be Steve’s first boat dive and Kent’s first scuba dive since December.  

I anchored far into the cove at the graffiti on the western rock wall that we call A.R.E.R.  It was just outside Calf Cove and 25 feet deep.  The tide was coming in, so we hoped for reasonably clear water.  After his dive, Laurent reported it was about 15 feet of visibility with 48 degrees at 60 feet.

Pete and The Captain went in for a quick tour, while Kathy and I drank Pete’s chicken noodle soup to get warm.  The rain let up a little, but I had wet feet and my nose was dripping.  It’s hard to wipe that stuff on a foul weather slicker, so I kept tearing off sheets of paper towel to stem the flow.

As we hauled anchor to head back down the coast for the second dive, we noticed that the fog was thickening around Folly Point.  Sure enough, as we motored towards the mouth of the Annisquam, the fog became worse.  We didn’t think there would be any good site for the second dive where everyone would be safe, so we called it and gave everyone 1/2 of the fee back.  That way, we could be sure that there would be no fog bank losses at all.

The trip home was at dead slow, with all eyes peeled.  Red nun on the right when returning to port.  Green can on the left.  Watch for the day mark at the rock pile as we enter the river.  Watch for the white mooring balls on either side of the channel as we slowly move down the channel towards the marina.  It was a Hunter’s Moon high tide - 12 feet.  The whole marsh was awash.  Cormorants were huddled on the highest part of rocks across from Mary Scalli’s house as though they didn’t want to get their feet wet.

We had to lower our antennas to get under the railroad bridge.  Everyone seemed to OK with the shortened trip.   We certainly were.

Later there was kale soup + egg salad sandwich or a cheeseburger at Morning Glory restaurant.  It sure hit the empty spot in my stomach.

Tomorrow should be sunny for the last charter of the season.

A Beautiful Summer Day

and it’s October 21st.

The sun was turned on brightly, but there was a still westerly breeze as we toured the Cape looking for calm water.  The temperature was predicted to top 70 degrees.  We decided to go north and see what we could find around Cathedral Rocks.

Jacki K. and her buddy, Andy, joined Laurent, Pete, Veronica, The Captain and me for one of our last charter days.  It really couldn’t have been much better.

Our first site was The Mole Hole - our name for the Sandy Bay side of Point de Chene in Rockport.  It is named for a feature on the rocky shore where a home-owner on Phillips Avenue has covered a pipe draining from his property in concrete.  The result is something that looks like a rock-eating mole has passed by.  The bottom was 28 feet, but I heard something about some people barreling out to 80 feet and the muddy bottom.  They said there was a Northern Red Anemone at 78 feet and a large sea raven on a rock, checking out the tourists that passed him by.  There were also lobsters to be had.  It was 52 degrees in the water with about 15 feet of visibility.

We moved over to the base of rocks near Pigeon Cove for the second site.  The Captain calls it Mitchell/Dodge Rocks, but I don’t think those features are really near where we typically anchor when he calls for that place.   I saw a school of pollack and some tiny sea ravens hiding in the weeds.  I also saw a lobster trap sail up as a lobsterman pulled his pots right between me and the boat with our dive flag.  I didn’t even hear him come in.  He didn’t hang around and I returned to the boat and stayed close by it videoing tiny critters when I could stabilize myself in the surge.  Again, it was about 15-20 feet of visibility and 52 degrees over the sandy patches on the bottom with visibility dropping over the rocks where there was more churned up stuff due to wave action.

On our trip back to the marina, we snacked on Veronica’s contribution to our healthy lifestyle.  Then we each ate one of Andy’s Polish donuts to balance out all that sensible stuff.

Great day with super people.

Too bad we’re almost done for the season.

Bah.

Graduation Day

The stars converged and we had three people who were finishing their programs with us today.  Tim Maxwell is the newest NAUI Instructor on the planet while  Charlotte and Paul Kelsey are the newest NAUI Scuba Divers.  We did this with Peter Donahue, Pat Walsh, The Captain and me at the wreck of the USF New Hampshire. 

Also along for the fun were Richard Brandolini and Laurent Dubois.  The latter two guys spent both dives groveling for goodies - and succeeded.  Both of them were wearing horse collar vests with large front pockets which were clinking as they climbed back aboard.

The water was not too cold and neither was the weather.  There was still a breeze from the northwest at about 10-15 knots.  It was 55 above the surface and 52 on the bottom at 30 feet.  There was between 5 and 15 feet of visibility with the incoming tide providing the best clarity on the bottom and close to the wreckage of the ship.  Once someone with treasure-hunting on their mind passed through, however, everything went down hill in a handbasket.  Dusty and sandy took over.

We saw tiny flounders and all kinds of crabs.  Charlotte held a lobster and her dad held two crabs.  Tim noticed three nudibranchs in the wreckage (probably because he knows what to look for, being, as he is, a participant in www.seaslugforum.net).

The soup and Cheez-Its were ambrosia when you’re cold and hungry between dives.    Thanks, Pete.

Wonderful students and fun diving.

Congratulations everyone!

Copper Fever

We had had clouds/rain/drizzle/mist/fog all week and the weekend was forecasted to have brightening conditions.  Luckily, what wind there had been was only present for about 12 hours and it had been from a good direction: northwest.

Sure enough, the morning was bright but decidedly nippy.  Laurent declared he had had the season’s first frost on his windshield in Belmont.  Well, we were certainly going to be going south.  The only question was which site?  We put it to a vote among Linsley and Kevin Mordasky, their friend Juli, and Laurent.  They decided they wanted to go wreckin’ on the USF New Hampshire.

Since the breeze was from the west northwest, I was able to anchor right over the glory hole that Pete and Laurent had been mining all summer.  It was an interesting anchoring because the incoming tide was at odds with the prevailing wind, so we split the difference as to which way we swung.  Everyone was quick to get into the water.  Later, Pete told me it had been 52 degrees at 25 feet with about 15-20 feet of visibility.  There was only a little current sweeping west around the point of Graves Island. 

Pat, The Captain and I stayed dry and ate Pete’s chili to keep warm.  If you were in the shelter of the boat’s superstructure, the sun was quite pleasant.  But, if you ventured around the side of the cabin to the bow to check on divers and their bubbles, the wind cut right to the bone, sun or no sun.

Pete was the first to surface and negotiated on behalf of everyone for a second dive in the same place.  Then he grabbed his second tank and descended.  Then it was Laurent’s turn.  He gasped to the swim platform with his tank’s last breath and declared he NEEDED his second tank.  There was this spike that was only partially exposed and there really wouldn’t be any point in moving somewhere else for the second dive, would there?

When Linsley and Kevin surfaced, birthday boy Kevin’s sinuses and ears were complaining that he had a cold and really shouldn’t be diving at all, thank you very much.  Linsley was happy to have some chili to warm up and then dive again in the same spot.  When Juli surfaced, he was OK with that too.  What a great crowd!

Linsley said she’d seen lots of crabs and little lobsters watching the digging.  She even got into the act and then noticed a crab had come over to see what she was doing and looked like it was shielding its eyes with its crusher claw from the rain of debris she was causing.

Everyone came back with something - lobsters, curly square-headed nails, a Marksman medal, brass rings, brass clips, and truncated copper spikes stamped with a “U S” from Paul Revere’s foundry. 

Good copper country and great customers.

Nada

It rained. 

It poured. 

It blew from the northeast.

We canceled the charter today.

Bummer.

Consensus

Everyone agreed.  It was lobster-hunting day.

Laurent, Larry, and Peter were intent.  Laurent requested the protected west side of Kettle Island, because he’d had such good luck finding big lobsters on the past few anchorings there.  O.K.  That was easy.

When we rounded the corner of the island, I could see we were not the only ones with that notion.  There were four other dive boats already anchored a respectful distance from each other around the point.  Our favorite spot was still vacant, however.

I anchored in 28 feet of water and watched the friendly banter as the hunters got ready to splash in.  I say it was friendly especially because Laurent volunteered to show Larry where he got the big ones.  They dove as a team for the whole first dive.  They returned with a bag full, so it was another successful day.

We decided to stay in place for the second dive.  Peter had said it was 52 degrees at 48 feet.  There was wonderful visibility there - about 30 feet, he thought.

The sun came out and we basked in the warmth of a late summer day in October.

When the divers returned, we learned that there were lots of teeny, shrimp-like creatures (krill?) in mid water and many sand shrimp on the bottom, along with lots of skates and small lobsters wandering around.

We had sandwiches and chips to share with anyone who was hungry.  The Captain wolfed down olive loaf and Cheez-Its with glee. 

It was a great boating/diving day.

A Bunch of Newbees (and others)

Today was organized chaos.  We had Peter K. and, his daughter, Charlotte who had had resort courses but hadn’t ever been diving in New England water and wanted to get certified as Scuba Divers.  We also had Dianne Kelleher and her friend, Jim, who hadn’t ever scuba dived, but wanted to try it.  Plus, we had Laurent Dubois and Richard Brandolini who are excellent divers already.

I chose the beach at Kettle Island for Peter K. and Charlotte, with Pat Walsh.  Peter Donahue, The Captain, Dianne and Jim used the stern of the boat for their exercises.  I had anchored in 18 feet of water over a sandy bottom.  Laurent and Richard swam to the point to hunt.  It was a multi-purpose site.

The water was 55 degrees on the surface, with about 10 feet of visibility at 20 feet.  The sky was partly cloudy and there was a 10 knot breeze from the ENE.

Charlotte had a little trouble clearing her ears as we tooled around in about 10 feet off the island’s gently sloping beach, but the skills she’d learned in her resort course were still there.  Peter was good at everything.

We decided to move for the second dive and went over to Diver’s Leap for the next site.

I anchored in 22 feet of water.  It was a little clearer here because the tide was coming in.  It was 50 degrees at the bottom, with 10-15 feet of visibility.  Peter K. and I practiced descents in open water and bouyancy control on the bottom.  Pat and Charlotte worked on the down line, wrapping their legs around it, dropping feet first, and going slow to allow Charlotte time to concentrate on clearing her ears before they hurt.  Peter and I were there to greet them, just by accident, as they hit the bottom.  Cheers were pantomimed and great huzzahs bubbled out too.  She did it!

Richard and Laurent disappeared on the hunt.

Charlotte emptied a tank while hanging onto the swim platform, so she’d know what it feels like, and that it isn’t an instantaneous thing.  The air doesn’t just stop in mid-breath.  I think I saw the sides of the tank bowing in as she drained it.

Peter K. and I practiced orally inflating and deflating the vests we were wearing. 

Everyone did fine and we all had fun.

What more could we ask?

Breezy and Bright

The wind was gusty from the northwest and there were rollers coming in from the south.  Not a good combination, no matter where we would be trying to dive.  We drove around the island to check out the options.  Not surprisingly, there were not many.

The customer roster morphed a lot from what we’d been expecting.  When the dust settled, there were Jacki K. and Andy along with Jim Castelli, Pat, Pete, me, and The Captain.  We decided on the backside of Kettle Island for calm water, with protection from swells and wind both.  The visibility was only about 10 feet - less if the lobster-hunters had just gone through.  The resident crab population was also stirring things up by digging holes in the soft silt and sifting in the debris for food.  They were being watched by scads of teeny flounder which were less than 1/2 inch long, just in case they dropped anything tasty.

The water was 55 degrees at 20 feet.  According to Peter, it was 50 degrees at 40 feet.  Jacki and Andy were happy with the site, so we were too.

We moved across the cut to the mainland for the second dive.  We could see that the incoming tide had Saddle Rock awash.  Pete took Jacki and Andy over to it so they could see the beautiful underwater landscape around the rock.  I videoed the wall behind the rock because the tide was high enough to let the water cover several different layers of underwater growth.  The gray/orange granite got darker when it was wet and then, down further, the barnicle zone was white shells glistening in the dappled light from the surface of the water.  Deeper still, the growth on the wall was orange/red until it joined the first area of sea weed.  As the water surged against the wall, I could see the under side of the wave, curling and breaking with silver bubbles.  Lovely.

Peter returned with a great big lobster that was almost too big, but not quite.  What a monster.  He was happy with this site, so we were too.

Good day with good people.

A Gourmet Treat

We had Patrick Scalli, Joe Finkhouse, and Laurent Dubois on a day with heaps of sunshine and hardly any wind.  What could be better?  How about home-made, gourmet,  tomato tarts?  Veronica, Pete, Pat, and The Captain joined me and the customers in munching them all the way to crumbs between our two dives.

Oh, yeah.  The dives.  Well they were cold - 50 degrees.  But clear - 15-20 feet.

The first one was at Stone Garage.  It faces south, so choosing this site in late summer makes the day seem warmer and the water clearer.  Plus, you can navigate by swimming into the sun to get deeper and away from the sun to return to the boat.  That must have been what Laurent did because we noticed bubbles wa-a-a-y-y out to sea.  They couldn’t have been his, he vowed.  Yeah, right.

Pete brought us a sea raven to admire on the swim platform.  Then he posed with it as Pat took its picture.  If I get an email of the best shots, I’ll post them for your admiration.  It was hard to tell who’s scruffier looking - Pete or the sea raven - but I’ll go with the fish because Pete was wearing his ice mask.

Cue the snacks.  Veronica brought “legal” ones for us as well.

The second dive was just a little further east.  We’d never anchored there before and I wanted to try a new site.  It was 20 feet deep, still cold, and a little less clear.  We could call it Post Tomato Tart Nothing Special.  It had some large boulders, but it also had lots of kelp.  The lobsters were thumbing their noses at us.  Plus it had more surge than the first place.  I videoed two pretty sea ravens.  One was red and the second was gold/yellow.  Then the surge started getting to me.

I surfaced to see Patrick Scalli tooling around the boat in bright yellow Force Fins.  The Captain had obviously gotten to him. 

Pat drove home and navigated us under the Blynman Cut bridge at full outbound tide without mussing her hair.  Nice job.

Thanks to everyone for a beautiful start to fall, if you can relate to that oximoron.

A Winner

Today was supposed to be very warm, but it never measured up.  It was shorts and a tee shirt weather, however, and that was a pleasant surprise for late September.

As The Captain and I had breakfast at Morning Glory, overlooking Gloucester Harbor, the fog and breeze from the south dictated a trip to the north with our group of Emily Cox, Teresa Herd, Laurent Dubois and Dianne Kelleher.  Everyone wanted to hunt lobster, so Peter agreed to coach Emily and Teresa, while Laurent and Pat went on their own.  The Captain and I were videoing anything that looked interesting, so we didn’t care very much where we went as long as the conditions were surge-less with good visibility.

I chose Fisherman’s Canyon for the first stop with the hope that the vast areas of open, naked rocks would prove good for hunting.  Well, the kelp has taken over that open expanse of rock.  I anchored in 20 feet of water over what had been beautiful, pink, coraline algae-covered, boulders and cliffs.  Dianne and the others confirmed that the contours were still wonderful, but everything was kelp-ed.  The lobsters won.

Laurent said it was 50 degrees at 55 feet - he swam straight east from our anchorage, but never surfaced out there.  Pete said it was 55 degrees at 20 feet with visibility in the 10 foot range. 

I saw that Straitsmouth Island looked good for our second site, so we traveled across Sandy Bay to the little cove on the north side of the island.  Again, I anchored in 20 feet of water.  Here the visibility was gorgeous in the shallow cove - about 20 feet or more in 15 feet of water.  As you swam deeper, it got poorer until it was about 10 feet in 30 feet of water.  The temperature was 55 degrees again.

Teresa and Emily saw a large sea raven, we think.  “A big head, tapering down to a narrow body, with growths and dark reddish” sounds like a sea raven description to me.

I saw a three inch long fish with alternating bands around its body of black and white and with a bright yellow head.  Haven’t got a clue what it could have been.  I also saw six too-large lobsters in dens as shallow as 10 feet.  Pete and his team caught them all and, according to him, so did Pat and Laurent. 

The tide was falling and, as we left, the edge of the Irish Moss zone was coming in to view.  It looked golden in the low angled sun all along the edge of where the ocean met the rocks of the island.  No waves, no swells, and no passing boat traffic disturbed the pattern of shimmering yellow at the ocean’s margin. 

What a winner of a day!