NELD First Annual Lovells Island Trip

[yak]

Gonna get this thread started with some quick photos. Will post more details later.

Matt getting ready to dive The Graves

Graves Light

Group Site # 1

Matt eyeballing the lobsters

Cocktail Hour at Site 1

John enjoying beer-steamed mussells

Lobster Tails in Yucatan Recado

Jeff serving up the corn

Matt displays the lobster pile

Jack manning the grille

Grill 'em up!

Bonfire on the beach

Let me stand next to your fire

Midnight on the water

St Alphonso's pancake breakfast sides

That's all for now.

 

[paulthenurse]

Ok, I was just bummed that I had to do the last second famobs backout dance till I saw what a good time you guys had. Now I'm crying.

Nice pics, and I'm loving FZ for breakfast.

 

[MSilvia]

We definately had plenty of space for everyone... it's really too bad you all couldn't make it. Here's the unused portion of the suprisingly well fortified group site:

I got skunked at the Graves, but it was still one of the nicest dive's I've done in New England. The vis was good, there were interesting cave-like swimthroughs with large tautog, plenty of lobsters (all of mine were just short or berried), and in case you couldn't tell from the photo, the water was warm enough for me to make two dives in a 3mm microprene wetsuit.

I called the first dive (at the much lower visibility site off Calf Island) early due to multiple equipment malfunctions, but I narrowly avoided ruining my camera by doing so... I noticed post-dive that in addition to an extruded inflator o-ring, a malfunctioning and possibly leaking computer, and poor vis, I had a small housing leak. It hadn't quite gotten bad enough to do any permanent damage though, and I was able to fix the o-rings and go to a backup bottom timer (Timex Helix) topside.

Jack's habanero/citrus/honey sauce was great on the scallops (not shown), and dinner just couldn't be beat... except maybe by a campfire and sleeping like a baby with a cool breeze and the sound of the surf, crickets, and bell bouy capping off the night.

Any news on Jeff's amphibious vehicle?

 

[MSilvia]

Here's a link to a slideshow, including Jack's pictures from above and several others I shot. Sorry there aren't any underwater shots, but... you know, housing trouble. http://www.flickr.com/photos/msilvia/sets/72157601700123795/show/

 

[RIOceanographer]

All I know is that Jack's pictures are making me hungry! And I just had lunch so that's saying something.

 

[LobstaMan]

Hey guys:

Looks like you guys had a great time diving and camping. If I wasn't nursing my boo-boo shoulder, I would've been there with you. Oh well, there's always next year. Nice pictures. Matt, love to hear more details on the Graves Island dives you mentioned. You looked real close to the lighthouse. Did you have the island to yourselves or were there other campers at the other sites?

LobstaMan

 

[paulthenurse]

Someone needs to tell me what is in Yucatan Recado, caue it looks killah!

PTN

 

[mfalco]

Someone needs to tell me what is in Yucatan Recado, caue it looks killah!

PTN

Looks like butter to me, but what tastes better than butter?

I wish I could have made it, but I had to attend a wedding in New Jersey last weekend. How many people made it?

 

[yak]

Someone needs to tell me what is in Yucatan Recado, caue it looks killah!

PTN

Here's the recipe I found.

I added some butter to it to sautee the scallops before soaking the lobster tails in it prior to grilling them.

 

[MSilvia]

Those scallops were killer Jack... to quote whomever it was that said it at the time, "They should ALL get cooked like this."

We were pretty close to the Graves, anchored in about 28 fsw between the lighthouse and the hut, as shown in the pictures. It was a great wall dive, with lots of crevices and boulder-like structures. Vis must have been about 35', so long as our lobstering hadn't reduced it to 15' by stirring things up. There was a mild surge as you might expect so close to the rocks, and we basically headed south and were in the process of circumnavigating the island when my little 72 ran low, and I made the surface swim back to the boat.

There were some other campers on Lovells, but with the two group sites, we had plenty of room to ourselves. It was a really cool place, and I intend to go back sometime before long just to check it out more.