industrious95
Contributor
Today's destination, the Tolten, a Chilean freighter torpedoed by U-404 on March 23, 1942. Full details on the shipwreck site here, courtesy of Rich Galiano of NJ Scuba. (Quick plug for Rich, there are few encyclopedias of diving as well done as his web site, and his is done ad-free, out of love for the sport and the sea.)
Full boat on the Gypsy Blood out of Pt Pleasant. Topside conditions not too bad, slight chill in the air, clear sunny skies and a brisk 15 kt wind with a bit of wave action but nothing horrible. As forecast, the wind picked up as the day went by but we were home before it got too bad.
Surface temp 54 degrees, down to about 30 feet. Bottom temp 45 degrees. About 10-15 feet of viz on the bottom, but dark.
I got in two dives, about 40 minutes on the first and 35 on the second, the cold was the limiting factor for me. With aquaseal on every seam on my drysuit from my waist down, I am finally dry.
Saw quite a few bugs down there and lots of small sea bass. A few tog also spotted. Since those three species are all out of season, they're still down there waiting for the carnage to begin on June 1st.
I spent my two dives swimming around the perimeter of the wreck, with about half a dozen detours into the sand for a few minutes each, hoping for a few flounder or fluke as some fishermen are saying they're catching them. I didn't see any.
A very large, friendly monkfish was rescued from the wreck by a trio of mucus-philes. He gave one of the trio a friendly kiss on the knee during his ascent, but it was felt that a little aqua seal and duct tape would get that knee back into shape. If you've never seen one before, here's one of those videos that's always funny when it happens to someone else, describing the monkfish.
Full boat on the Gypsy Blood out of Pt Pleasant. Topside conditions not too bad, slight chill in the air, clear sunny skies and a brisk 15 kt wind with a bit of wave action but nothing horrible. As forecast, the wind picked up as the day went by but we were home before it got too bad.
Surface temp 54 degrees, down to about 30 feet. Bottom temp 45 degrees. About 10-15 feet of viz on the bottom, but dark.
I got in two dives, about 40 minutes on the first and 35 on the second, the cold was the limiting factor for me. With aquaseal on every seam on my drysuit from my waist down, I am finally dry.
Saw quite a few bugs down there and lots of small sea bass. A few tog also spotted. Since those three species are all out of season, they're still down there waiting for the carnage to begin on June 1st.
I spent my two dives swimming around the perimeter of the wreck, with about half a dozen detours into the sand for a few minutes each, hoping for a few flounder or fluke as some fishermen are saying they're catching them. I didn't see any.
A very large, friendly monkfish was rescued from the wreck by a trio of mucus-philes. He gave one of the trio a friendly kiss on the knee during his ascent, but it was felt that a little aqua seal and duct tape would get that knee back into shape. If you've never seen one before, here's one of those videos that's always funny when it happens to someone else, describing the monkfish.