ScubaFeenD
Contributor
DIR NJ Dive Boat
Dive Breakdown:
Wreck: USS Algol
Boat: Independence II
BT:40 minutes
Avg Depth: 116'
DT: 25
Backgas:25/25
Deco Gas: 50%
Got the chance to take a break from prepping for tech 1 with a nice fun dive off the coast of jersey to celebrate a teammates birthday. Had the opportunity to take a charter with The Scuba Connection with the Independence II very quickly the boat filled up with the usual suspects from my weekends diving.
The target was the USS Algol (Scuba Diving - New Jersey & Long Island New York - dive Wreck Valley - Artificial Reefs - USS Algol), which an artificial reef that lies in 140' of water with the deck @~110'. The plan was to run a little deeper avg depth to allow for penetration into some of the lower decks while padding the last part of our dive with some shallower sites before heading back to the boat. Planned time was 40 min BT w/ ~25min of deco.
We had an opportunity the night before to set up our gear and have a few laughs, which set the tone for the rest of the trip. The next day, Saturday the 25th, was perfect. The seas were calm with only about 2' swells and the weather was delightfully sunny. We took a leisurely pace out the 16 miles to the wreck, which allowed some necessary diving banter and allowed me to talk more with some new friends--always a treat when not in the water.
Got to the wreck in no time and tied off, which meant time for suiting up. This was the first time in the ocean since getting my drysuit and I enjoyed the taste of the salt water. My buddy and I geared up and did our predive checks before getting in, signaling ok, and heading down.
Got to the wreck tie-in at about 89'. I still have my depth gauge in meters from practicing at the quarry, so I had to really pick up my conversion skills to make sure no MODs were violated and to make sure I was in the right spot each time--it actually turned out great. Since vis was only ~10ft and I had never been on this wreck before, my buddy and I decided running a reel was the most prudent plan. So I tied in and off we went, down to the lower decks to look for a nice hole to penetrate.
We found a nice dark hallway opening near the main superstructure, calculated thirds, and started in. The vis inside picked up considerable to ~30ft and we had a nice leisurely stroll throughout a few hallways. We ended up looking through a few rooms and found the other entry at the opposite end of the hallway. We had reached our thirds and turned back, which gave us another chance to admire the life that had been able to establish a home inside the wreck.
We got out of the wreck and gave each other the once of to make sure everything was still good, and continued to search around outside to get a feel for other parts of the wreck. We continued towards the bow of the wreck and just enjoyed looking at the cold water sponges and anemones everywhere. I am always so impressed with the difference in life between the regions of the Atlantic ocean. The life here is so different from the life in Massachusetts, which is even different from the life in Maryland and NC. Its a great diversity that I really appreciate.
We got to our halves and turned the dive to make our way back to the anchor line, and since we spent some time inside the wreck, we could make a leisurely journey back to the anchor tie in and enjoy the sites some more. Vis wasn't great, as I mentioned, but the local environment was nice.
We got to the anchor line, I untied the secondary and primary ties, and off we were to do our 25 min of deco. The day was awesome and all the guys on the boat (new and old friends) were a blast to hang out with. Also, the Independence II is a tight operation, and I plan on using them as often as possible. Sadly we didn't get to see any sharks (despite it being Mako mania weekend and the waters being all chummed up). I happy to report that DIR works extremely well in the waters of NJ (despite the protests of many NJ divers) and I cant wait to get back in the waters off jersey.
Thanks to Wayne Fisch and The Scuba Connection for putting this together.
-Tim
Dive Breakdown:
Wreck: USS Algol
Boat: Independence II
BT:40 minutes
Avg Depth: 116'
DT: 25
Backgas:25/25
Deco Gas: 50%
Got the chance to take a break from prepping for tech 1 with a nice fun dive off the coast of jersey to celebrate a teammates birthday. Had the opportunity to take a charter with The Scuba Connection with the Independence II very quickly the boat filled up with the usual suspects from my weekends diving.
The target was the USS Algol (Scuba Diving - New Jersey & Long Island New York - dive Wreck Valley - Artificial Reefs - USS Algol), which an artificial reef that lies in 140' of water with the deck @~110'. The plan was to run a little deeper avg depth to allow for penetration into some of the lower decks while padding the last part of our dive with some shallower sites before heading back to the boat. Planned time was 40 min BT w/ ~25min of deco.
We had an opportunity the night before to set up our gear and have a few laughs, which set the tone for the rest of the trip. The next day, Saturday the 25th, was perfect. The seas were calm with only about 2' swells and the weather was delightfully sunny. We took a leisurely pace out the 16 miles to the wreck, which allowed some necessary diving banter and allowed me to talk more with some new friends--always a treat when not in the water.
Got to the wreck in no time and tied off, which meant time for suiting up. This was the first time in the ocean since getting my drysuit and I enjoyed the taste of the salt water. My buddy and I geared up and did our predive checks before getting in, signaling ok, and heading down.
Got to the wreck tie-in at about 89'. I still have my depth gauge in meters from practicing at the quarry, so I had to really pick up my conversion skills to make sure no MODs were violated and to make sure I was in the right spot each time--it actually turned out great. Since vis was only ~10ft and I had never been on this wreck before, my buddy and I decided running a reel was the most prudent plan. So I tied in and off we went, down to the lower decks to look for a nice hole to penetrate.
We found a nice dark hallway opening near the main superstructure, calculated thirds, and started in. The vis inside picked up considerable to ~30ft and we had a nice leisurely stroll throughout a few hallways. We ended up looking through a few rooms and found the other entry at the opposite end of the hallway. We had reached our thirds and turned back, which gave us another chance to admire the life that had been able to establish a home inside the wreck.
We got out of the wreck and gave each other the once of to make sure everything was still good, and continued to search around outside to get a feel for other parts of the wreck. We continued towards the bow of the wreck and just enjoyed looking at the cold water sponges and anemones everywhere. I am always so impressed with the difference in life between the regions of the Atlantic ocean. The life here is so different from the life in Massachusetts, which is even different from the life in Maryland and NC. Its a great diversity that I really appreciate.
We got to our halves and turned the dive to make our way back to the anchor line, and since we spent some time inside the wreck, we could make a leisurely journey back to the anchor tie in and enjoy the sites some more. Vis wasn't great, as I mentioned, but the local environment was nice.
We got to the anchor line, I untied the secondary and primary ties, and off we were to do our 25 min of deco. The day was awesome and all the guys on the boat (new and old friends) were a blast to hang out with. Also, the Independence II is a tight operation, and I plan on using them as often as possible. Sadly we didn't get to see any sharks (despite it being Mako mania weekend and the waters being all chummed up). I happy to report that DIR works extremely well in the waters of NJ (despite the protests of many NJ divers) and I cant wait to get back in the waters off jersey.
Thanks to Wayne Fisch and The Scuba Connection for putting this together.
-Tim
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