How did the dive go?
I would be interested in joining on another scallop charter. Do you know if he is planning on going out this weekend?
I guess I should give him a ring
I don't know what he's scheduled this coming weekend, but lately, he's been plugging in scallop charters when conditions are right.
If you get on his email list you'll get the updates a few days in advance.
Dive report? I thought you'd
never ask....
Here's my dive report:
Dive Report: Scallop dives on Sunday afternoon, June 15th, with Fran Marcoux.
Quite a nice treat to have a 31' boat with only two divers! Thanks to Fran's generosity and courtesy! He doesn't usually run with less than four divers.
Usually, his scallop dive charters fill right up quick, but people must have been busy Sunday. He got lots of emails and phone calls, but only the two of us could fit it in apparently.
Lucky us!
At the risk of sounding like a shill for Fran, he put us right on top of good scallop beds again!
I'll make the dive report as brief as I can manage, which likely won't be very brief, so I'll include some pics to make it semi-interesting....
Dive report:
Sunday afternoon, June 15th, was overcast and occasionally drizzly, but the cool air temps were nice for suiting up. Mild east wind was pushing 1 to 2 footers, but they laid down after a while. Not bad at all.
The other lucky diver was a gal who obviously had plenty of experience scalloping and it turned out we had friends in common and lots to talk about!
First dive began around 2pm off Satan Rock in 75fsw.
Water temp was 45F at the bottom, 50 near the surface. A nice improvement over the 40F water temp of two weeks ago!
Fran told us a couple of his divers recently bumped into some good beds at the end of their dives when low air made them quit. Fran dropped us right on the same spot using GPS coordinates. That makes one hopeful, but getting into a bunch of scallops is never a sure thing....
As I descended rapidly head-first, the gravel bottom soon came into view in the 30' vis.... so did several large scallops! A wonderful start! The bed was so good, I didn't go more than five feet before seeing more
groups of scallops. I probably didn't travel more than 100 feet as I worked my way back and forth generally along the planned direction. There was no current either, so I could really work the area using a tether line.
Picking up scallops kept me busy for 32 minutes until I decided I
really should think seriously about heading up. My hp120 main tank was down to 400 psi and my bag was 3/4 full. That's plenty even though it
hurts to leave the bottom with scallops still in view....
Thought about using my al30 pony, but decided to save it for the next dive. Took a safety stop and surfaced at 36 minutes.
During an hour and twenty minute surface interval we shucked scallops with the help of Fran's son, Matt, his First Mate. Then we all relaxed and talke while having some fresh fruit and cookies provided by Fran.
The second dive began around 4pm by Eagle Rock, the drop point again determined by recent reports of beds. Although this was right around dead low tide, there was a very slight northerly current at the surface
and at the bottom at 37'. Unfortunately, it was right in my face and enough to make my headway too slow and air-consuming to seem worthwhile, especially since I'd only come across a few small scallops in the first ten minutes on the rocky kelp and gravel mixed bottom. Vis was about 10-20'.
The drag of a tuna ball can definitely be a disadvantage, but I find it truly a necessity if one wants to move a big bag of scallops.
I turned to go with the mild current and the bottom became more sandy, rather than the preferred gravel. Scallops were few and far between and I thought I might be in for a low harvest. After 25 minutes and gradually increasing depths to 50', the bottom became more gravelly and I got into sporadic beds of scallops which were productive enough to yield a 3/4 bag over the next 30 minutes. Max depth 55', total dive time 68 minutes. Water temp was 50 degrees throughout. Very pleasant for scalloping in a drysuit.
Something I'm doing more often lately, on both dives I attached and partially filled my lift bag to off-set the weight of the large catch bag when it got about half-full. That makes it easier to make depth adjustments to the catch bag because most of the weight is off the line handle.
I'm also finding it preferable to set the lift bag up
early rather than late when time and air might be running low.
I know one thing, the First Mate appreciated having that lift bag do the work of hauling!
I've included pics of the lift bag in case someone's interested.
With both divers and their catch picked up, we headed in for the pleasant one-hour ride to Gloucester. On the way, we shucked scallops, put away gear and relaxed with many pounds of scallops in the cooler!
Another great day! Pics follow.
Dave C
The 31' Daybreaker is a great 6-pack boat!
Eagle Rock bottom was a mix of rocky kelp, gravel and sand depending on location.
100-lb lift bag deployed to take most of the weight of the bag. Makes it easier to wrap or unwrap line when adjusting the distance of the catch bag from the bottom. It also saves one's back later when hauling up the bag.
Closer view of attachment of lift bag to main catch bag. Handle for line to tuna ball/flag is obscured by lift bag in this shot. Spare bag is ready if the motherlode is found!
Small attached line is 20' tether.
Fran at the upper helm bringing the boat over to pick up the diver.
Fran's middle son and First Mate, Matt, was always cheerful and helpful. He's preparing to help shuck some scallops.
