2010-01-28 Ballbuster and the Barge dives

[Peter_C]

Ryan, Keith, and I got a late start leaving Santa Rosa a few minutes before 8:30 am on purpose. Traffic can be horrible and often leaving a little later means less traffic. We still hit many slow spots on the way down. We arrived at Monterey, just in time for lunch. Had lunch at the Breakwater Deli and then prepped the boat, put the gear in, suited up, and headed out. First dive was Ballbuster. Long time ago Monterey Express had tried to anchor there and couldn’t get their anchor to set, so I never got a chance to dive it before. Today we were not going to be let down. The wind chop made for a little bit of a rough ride on the way out and I kept the speed at around 16 mph. Since I really didn’t know what I was looking for on the sonar we made numerous passes until we determined where the pinnacle was and then dropped the new hooker.

Dropping into the ocean there were plenty of small jellies, and of course the obligatory sea nettles around us. Once on the bottom we found vis to be a nice 30’ with a very slight touch of current if you really paid attention and no surge. We did two laps then started working our way up. The life was amazing and made the drive down worth it. We eventually had to leave the underwater world as Keith had sucked down an HP130, Ryan was working pretty good on his HP120 and I had used a fair amount of nitrox myself. We started our safety stops at 40’. Our 20’ safety stop was lengthened for time by a couple of minutes just to play it safe. Then after a minute at 10’ we slowly ascended to the surface.

Once we were all back on the boat we hung out for a little bit and noticed it had calmed down substantially. The wind chop was pretty much gone, but now the large swells were more noticeable. They had a long interval so it was smooth just hanging out on the ocean. After chillin’ for a while we headed back into the bay and choose the Barge since neither Keith nor I had dove there and it would be a good place to practice some drills. Keith and Ryan swapped out their tanks as I sat the outboard and watched. Sea lions would swim by checking us out and the birds made their passes too.

We geared back up and dropped down finding the anchor right on the barge so we moved it off to the side out into the sand. Here we began our drills. Just happens the first one is going to be Peter is out of argon drill, and has a nasty squeeze going on. Once that issue is resolved we line up, get our buoyancy spot on and I start a valve drill. I found with rebuilt tank valves and new gloves they went much smoother. Once completed Ryan does a valve drill. Then we work with Keith on his trim and kicks. Some nice improvements were seen today. After the drills we start touring the barge with Ryan leading this dive. Vis is only about 15'-20'. He takes us around it and off into the sand for a little exploring. After a while we are starting to get a little chilled, because the freezing cold water is 57 degrees there…Brrrr. Really I should have added more air to my suit, not sure what the others excuses are. Well maybe Ryan had one since his gloves have holes in the finger tips. Time for a new pair buddy. After completing 3 safety stops we surface to find the sky is turning pink, and the wind has all but died completely. When trying to pull the hook Ryan struggles and says he can not feel the chain coming off the bottom, and the rope will not budge. We drive over it in different directions trying to free the rope to no avail. Since the Coast Guard had just passed us as the sun is setting and I have no lights for my boat, I quickly start to re-don my gear. In that time a young playful sea lion comes by and is jumping all around the boat within a few feet of us. At one point it jumped between my outboard and the rear tube which was less than a foot from me. Now I am thinking this little guy is going to come out of nowhere and scare the crap out of me as I jump off to go down and free the anchor. I turn my HID back on as it is now dark down below. In fact I probably could not see what I was doing without the light. Turns out the anchor rope had drifted into the barge and gotten trapped between a board. One quick yank and it was free and on its way to the surface. I quickly reboarded and we headed off for the docks. We changed, stowed our gear, then pulled the boat and headed off to find dinner. Due to parking we decided to eat at All American Burger which was okay food, and most importantly not greasy. The ride home was uneventful, but long, and we arrived home a few minutes after 11:00 pm.

Slumber land is now calling…

 

[dannobee]

Sounds nice, Peter!

A trick I use when boating is checking the anchor on the way down, then again on the way back up. On my little boat I use a grappling hook style anchor, and on the way back up I fold it all up and make sure it's not hung up on anything. On the bigger boat that has a danforth style anchor, I try to reposition it into sand or at least somewhere it won't get hung up.

 

[supersand]

Hey Peter sounds like some great dives. Maybe new anchor works a little too well?
Good news on the reconditioned valves too.

Erik

 

[Peter_C]

We geared back up and dropped down finding the anchor right on the barge so we moved it off to the side out into the sand.

A trick I use when boating is checking the anchor on the way down, then again on the way back up. On my little boat I use a grappling hook style anchor, and on the way back up I fold it all up and make sure it's not hung up on anything. On the bigger boat that has a danforth style anchor, I try to reposition it into sand or at least somewhere it won't get hung up.

I don't mind the advice Dan, but we did do exactly what you recommend, moving the anchor probably 10' off into the sand. Maybe it should have been further away. It was kinda a freak thing since there was no current or wind, the line managed to wrap itself around the barge.

Supersand, the Superhooker seems to work pretty good I am definitely more comfortable with it than the last anchor. Looking forward to getting out with you in a couple of weeks.

 

[moto_209]

I don't mind the advice Dan, but we did do exactly what you recommend, moving the anchor probably 10' off into the sand. Maybe it should have been further away. It was kinda a freak thing since there was no current or wind, the line managed to wrap itself around the barge.

Supersand, the Superhooker seems to work pretty good I am definitely more comfortable with it than the last anchor. Looking forward to getting out with you in a couple of weeks.

So Peter_C, are you gonna tell us what new anchor you got??? Lets see this beast. I am actually in the market for a new anchor and need some reviews and reports.
Thanks

 

[Gombessa]

Great report Peter! Sounds like you guys had a lot of fun, and I think it would have been quite a sight for a group of divers to happen upon you guys doing drills at the barge.

Gotta say I'd feel a bit of trepidation at the idea of getting back into the water to free the anchor, but I guess that's one of the realities of boat diving? I think once on the Escapade, the anchor stuck well enough where Jim had to cut the rope and come back for the anchor later with a crowbar.

 

[dannobee]

...Gotta say I'd feel a bit of trepidation at the idea of getting back into the water to free the anchor, but I guess that's one of the realities of boat diving? I think once on the Escapade, the anchor stuck well enough where Jim had to cut the rope and come back for the anchor later with a crowbar.

It happens from time-to-time. I've had to do it a few times before, now I either anchor on top of a pinnacle (and spiral the pinnacle back up to the top during the dive) or swim back down the anchor line and make sure it isn't stuck before starting my ascent.

 

[Peter_C]

Gotta say I'd feel a bit of trepidation at the idea of getting back into the water to free the anchor, but I guess that's one of the realities of boat diving? I think once on the Escapade, the anchor stuck well enough where Jim had to cut the rope and come back for the anchor later with a crowbar.

Kenn, the only thing that had me worried was I figured I had a 90% chance of the little sea lion coming out of nowhere and scaring the crap out of me :shocked2: It literally was bumping into the boat and jumping all around us.

If my anchor got super stuck and we were unable to go back down and retrieve it, I would throw my current line buoy on it, tying the remaining 300' of rope off under it, then come back another time. I could easily write my name and number on my buoy which I probably should just go ahead and do now?

So Peter_C, are you gonna tell us what new anchor you got??? Lets see this beast. I am actually in the market for a new anchor and need some reviews and reports.
Thanks

Since I dive the North Coast more, which is a rockier bottom I was kinda undecided on what to get. A Horizon™ Claw Anchor style anchor makes more sense up here. The Monterey locals swear by Danforth style anchors Which is what I bought for my Nautique. I wound up going with the Super Hooker in a 8 pound or maybe it was a 9 pound version. Just ask the gal at Wallin's about some strange guy picking up a hooker around the corner I then have 15' of chain to keep it on the bottom. I could probably cut a couple of feet of chain off but why? I am usually at the back of the boat and rarely pull the hook myself, so it is not my workout :mooner: From amazon.com I bought 313' of line, which was supposed to be 300'. To keep track of length of scope I bought this Anchor Rode Marking Kit. It does a nice job of making it easy for anyone to see what length they have put out. Others will do color coding and such, but I like the numbers written on the tags. I put the tags in to include the length of chain. There is a legally purchased square milk crate in the bow that holds everything contained, which the end of the anchor line is tied into. Since my front floor boards are wood, I went to HD and purchased some eye hooks, then using giant zip ties, held the "anchor locker" in place. You can see it in the image below.

 

[Gombessa]

Peter, you've got a really sweet ride, and it was a pleasure to dive off it. For a landlubber like me, I thought that the numbered tabs you had on the line were extremely useful in setting and pulling the chain.

 

[pacificgal]

Pretty cool, Peter. How are those tags affixed?