Cloudy with a Little Bit of Freezin’

We had a group that was up for the Rockport Breakwater today – Denis Foley and his son, Melandon, plus Jim Castelli.  In fact, it was Jim who was the instigator, noting that it was flat calm everywhere and that we could make an easy trip to The Breakwater.  Sounds good to us.

Here’s an aerial view of the structure:

We anchored near the top of the exposed granite block part.  It was cloudy but not windy at all – just a gentle breeze from the southwest.  The water was cloudy in the first 15 feet too, but the tide was going out and it got colder quickly as you descended the granite boulders.

I stopped above the silt and looked up at the massive debris field of granite above me.  It was in the low 50’s, according to Jim’s computer.  But the visibilty was 20 feet or more.  I saw lots of ghost traps and lines were everywhere.  Some of the traps were very old and wooden.  Others were a twisted mass of wire and rope.

Trying to mimic the opening shot from last year’s video, I created a setup where I advanced on the camera in the clear, cold water and hoped I’d be in focus the whole way.

Although we were in the same ocean, on the same wall, on the same day, I never saw anyone else.

We powered around a regatta to the second dive site at Lanesville Shores.  Here father and son were right in front of me, so I could video their descent.  I trapped some bubbles on the lens, but I think the effect was successful.

My tank only had 1200 pounds in it, so I cut the dive short to be sure I had enough air to get back to the boat if the tidal current had increased.  It had and I did.  I was bushed though.

We were surprised to see Elizabeth Calhoun (Fred’s oldest daughter) and her husband, Michael Ahern, at the dock as we returned.  Liz even helped me position the boat for a good landing.

Then it was off for hamburgers at Mile Marker One.  What a great end to the weekend!