NJScubaDoc
Contributor
Well, this is it. After a month long surface interval my Advanced Open Water class is to be completed and in a short time I’ll have a shiney new c-card. Big deal, I’m more interested in the skills. The previous four dives leading up to this night dive were concentrated in three areas encompassing the greater Monmouth County, New Jersey area.
Dive 1 was to be a navigation dive. Make some squares, go forward and come back. This was an excellent dive in the back bay of Shark River, a spot commonly called L. Street. Surfaces temperatures were warm at 78F by the time we hit the water at 07:00. As I descend the 15fsw (this particular area ranges in depth from 6-18fsw) to the bottom here I am met with a blessing in disguise. It’s really hit or miss with this area. I’ve had days where the visibility was 20-30 feet. On this day though visibility is 2-3 feet, and is an excellent opportunity to train for those bad viz situations that I am sure I will encounter, especially in NJ. Dive 2 was also on this particular day and was a peak performance buoyancy dive where the object was to swim through some hula-hoops. Wasn’t all that difficult, definitely need to practice my buoyancy and adjust some trim issues. Good practice none the less. The total time in the water for these 2 dives was about 60 minutes.
Dives 3 and 4 were part of a two tank charter taken offshore aboard the Outlaw, leaving from Belmar, NJ. We sped away from the inlet at the *** crack of dawn and arrived at our first site roughly 45 minutes away. This site, the “bow wreck” was the hull section of an unfinished boat (read about it here http://www.njscuba.net/reefs/chart_02_sea_girt.html#OWD4 ). The majority of the wreck was overgrown with white, dull orange, and reddish colored hydroid colonies. Comb jellies were appreciated undulating through the water column. Small blackfish were seen scootering in and out of the structure. Was quite exciting. This was my “deep” dive, and at 69fsw I sure felt “deep”. The bottom temp here was a balmy 59F. I tend to stay warm even in chilly water, I guess it’s because I’m young, naturally insulated, and wear a 7/6/5 with thick hood, gloves, and booties. I’m not as salty as some of the other divers I see and will eventually buy a drysuit for year round diving, but for now I’m a-ok.
I finish this dive near the anchor line when my instructor gives us the turnaround. For the last few moments of the dive I pear into some holes but soon enough I’m back at the surface. I feel you need to respect the ocean. It’s very humbling to float in the open ocean like a little cork. I had practiced the fundaments of boat diving on my first dive after finishing OW. It certainly helped as there are a bunch of little things you need to be mindful when on a boat; load your gear properly and in the correct place, put your weights here, gear up like this, and of course no bananas (yes the fruit). Entry is my favorite one of these little tricks, you kinda flop over the side. Exit is also special. I was told by my instructor, “Stay back from the ladder unless you wanna get a really bad headache.” He is absolutely right I thought. Some of the divers I see were practical mini-subs, and I certainly don’t want that falling on top of me.
The second dive of this day is on the Morania 180 wreck http://www.njscuba.net/reefs/chart_02_sea_girt.html. The wreck is of a gas tanker and we hook in near a large notch in the transom. There are a a myriad of pipes running across the deck of the barge. Lots of dark holes and very tempting to enter, but I’m not there yet. Conditions and sea life were similar to the previous dive and after 30 minutes of bottom time at 66fsw we ascend and head back home
I thought boat diving was my favorite until this night dive. Night diving is amazing. I entered the Shark River inlet around twilight after a tricky battle with some slippery rocks. My instructor and I went over the oddities of night diving, covering communication and light failure procedures. I was amazed at the many colorful varities of sponges and hydroids nestled on the rocks. Mussels were overgrown in the area and many a crab were seen feasting on the nutrient rich mollusks. Under one very large rock there was a tropical fish that I identified as a spotfin butterfly. I couldn’t believe there’d be a tropical in this 55F chill, but none the less there he was. A large eel was also spotted not far from the butterfly. Aside from the abundant sea life many ocean oddities were seen including a skateboard, a small compressed gas tank of sorts, and a funky looking cymbal thing. Depth ranged from 9-18FSW and visibility was around 3 feet. The darkness/low-viz factors did not scare or panic me. These are the conditions I’m used to around here and I can honestly say that training in them has helped imensly. This particular dive bouancy was much more of an issue. For one thing I was diving a fat al80 as opposed to a tall and skinny one I have been diving with. I think the different tank placement affected my trim. The other problem I had was when clearing my mask. The bubbles would become trapped under my hood and make my head incredible buoyant. I thought there was a little hole in the top that vented excess gas. Maybe I had it on inside out. I dunno. All in all though I would have to say that, in NJ at least, an OW class is really a mandate to screw up at the wrong time and AOW taught me the skills I will someday use to survive underwater.
If you've come this far I hope you've enjoyed my tale.
Dive 1 was to be a navigation dive. Make some squares, go forward and come back. This was an excellent dive in the back bay of Shark River, a spot commonly called L. Street. Surfaces temperatures were warm at 78F by the time we hit the water at 07:00. As I descend the 15fsw (this particular area ranges in depth from 6-18fsw) to the bottom here I am met with a blessing in disguise. It’s really hit or miss with this area. I’ve had days where the visibility was 20-30 feet. On this day though visibility is 2-3 feet, and is an excellent opportunity to train for those bad viz situations that I am sure I will encounter, especially in NJ. Dive 2 was also on this particular day and was a peak performance buoyancy dive where the object was to swim through some hula-hoops. Wasn’t all that difficult, definitely need to practice my buoyancy and adjust some trim issues. Good practice none the less. The total time in the water for these 2 dives was about 60 minutes.
Dives 3 and 4 were part of a two tank charter taken offshore aboard the Outlaw, leaving from Belmar, NJ. We sped away from the inlet at the *** crack of dawn and arrived at our first site roughly 45 minutes away. This site, the “bow wreck” was the hull section of an unfinished boat (read about it here http://www.njscuba.net/reefs/chart_02_sea_girt.html#OWD4 ). The majority of the wreck was overgrown with white, dull orange, and reddish colored hydroid colonies. Comb jellies were appreciated undulating through the water column. Small blackfish were seen scootering in and out of the structure. Was quite exciting. This was my “deep” dive, and at 69fsw I sure felt “deep”. The bottom temp here was a balmy 59F. I tend to stay warm even in chilly water, I guess it’s because I’m young, naturally insulated, and wear a 7/6/5 with thick hood, gloves, and booties. I’m not as salty as some of the other divers I see and will eventually buy a drysuit for year round diving, but for now I’m a-ok.
I finish this dive near the anchor line when my instructor gives us the turnaround. For the last few moments of the dive I pear into some holes but soon enough I’m back at the surface. I feel you need to respect the ocean. It’s very humbling to float in the open ocean like a little cork. I had practiced the fundaments of boat diving on my first dive after finishing OW. It certainly helped as there are a bunch of little things you need to be mindful when on a boat; load your gear properly and in the correct place, put your weights here, gear up like this, and of course no bananas (yes the fruit). Entry is my favorite one of these little tricks, you kinda flop over the side. Exit is also special. I was told by my instructor, “Stay back from the ladder unless you wanna get a really bad headache.” He is absolutely right I thought. Some of the divers I see were practical mini-subs, and I certainly don’t want that falling on top of me.
The second dive of this day is on the Morania 180 wreck http://www.njscuba.net/reefs/chart_02_sea_girt.html. The wreck is of a gas tanker and we hook in near a large notch in the transom. There are a a myriad of pipes running across the deck of the barge. Lots of dark holes and very tempting to enter, but I’m not there yet. Conditions and sea life were similar to the previous dive and after 30 minutes of bottom time at 66fsw we ascend and head back home
I thought boat diving was my favorite until this night dive. Night diving is amazing. I entered the Shark River inlet around twilight after a tricky battle with some slippery rocks. My instructor and I went over the oddities of night diving, covering communication and light failure procedures. I was amazed at the many colorful varities of sponges and hydroids nestled on the rocks. Mussels were overgrown in the area and many a crab were seen feasting on the nutrient rich mollusks. Under one very large rock there was a tropical fish that I identified as a spotfin butterfly. I couldn’t believe there’d be a tropical in this 55F chill, but none the less there he was. A large eel was also spotted not far from the butterfly. Aside from the abundant sea life many ocean oddities were seen including a skateboard, a small compressed gas tank of sorts, and a funky looking cymbal thing. Depth ranged from 9-18FSW and visibility was around 3 feet. The darkness/low-viz factors did not scare or panic me. These are the conditions I’m used to around here and I can honestly say that training in them has helped imensly. This particular dive bouancy was much more of an issue. For one thing I was diving a fat al80 as opposed to a tall and skinny one I have been diving with. I think the different tank placement affected my trim. The other problem I had was when clearing my mask. The bubbles would become trapped under my hood and make my head incredible buoyant. I thought there was a little hole in the top that vented excess gas. Maybe I had it on inside out. I dunno. All in all though I would have to say that, in NJ at least, an OW class is really a mandate to screw up at the wrong time and AOW taught me the skills I will someday use to survive underwater.
If you've come this far I hope you've enjoyed my tale.
Congratulations on your new AOW c-card. Use it well!
