Trip Report 9-10-06
Dawn came at a snails pace, A sure sign that summer was at it's end. We loaded up in the weak light, getting ready to head out to the Northern Pacific. A great wreck in 145 Ft. of water.

Excitement was electric today, the last two days had been great, we were expecting even greater things today. Today's forecast was not as reassuring as the past few days. A Hurricane was making it's way up the coast bring increasing winds and seas. We were hoping to stay ahead of the weather, make our dives, get back in, unload, and head back home to S.I. 115 miles to the north. well it is said that while men make plans, the gods laugh. The gods were to laugh long & hard today.

We set sail on calm seas, arriving at the wreck site around 9 AM. Andrew had the divers organized and motivated today. Minutes after we were hooked in a wave of 4 divers splashed over the side. They were followed by another 4 ten min. later. All the divers were in 20 min. after the hook was set. This was a treasure cove RECORD !! Kudos to Andrew. Unfortunately the divers were to be disappointed the 5 Ft. vis. At least the lobster were here. Rob, bagged an 8 plus pounder. it looked like a man eater !! The divers returned to the surface rather quickly for a 145 ' dive. The poor vis made for short dives. In the end, this was to play in our favor. Once all the divers returned we decided to pull the hook & try an inshore spot. A smart move, considering the building seas. In the time it took to get some one in to pull and get him back on board, the seas built up another foot and a half. As we headed inshore, it became apparent we were not going to get in a second dive. Captain Steve adjusted our course and took us back to the inlet. The sea became larger & more angry as we ran. I was NOT looking forward to heading home today. Unfortunately the forecast did not improve till late Thur. afternoon. We finally cleared the inlet and were amazed at how much calmer it was. We backed into the slip & unloaded. All in all we had had a good three days, with only one missed dive, not a bad record for northeast diving.

One by one I waved good bye to the divers wishing I could go with them up the Parkway, instead of back out on the rough seas. Today was NOT a good day to be a dive boat Captain.

I was met at 6 PM by Captain Rich, he had volunteered to run the boat home with me. We battened down the hatches and headed out into the storm. Needless to say we did not se another living soul till we crossed inside of Sandy Hook. Basically we caught a beating all the way home, alternating turns both at the wheel and over the rail. The John Jack ran like the machine she is, shouldering the huge waves, oblivious to the discomfort of her Captains. We arrived in S.I. at 8 Am, battered and bruised but not really much worse for the wear.