Seasons End
Every year, my wife & I look at the overflowing schedule, and wonder how we will get it all done. Not just the obvious actual running of trips. But all the background behind the scenes stuff. Organizing the crew, food, fuel, dockage, and a thousand endless details. Not to mention that we also bought a house & moved during all of this !! I left my home on S.I. In July to run out of Montauk for six weeks. To return to my new home in Wall NJ. Where my son attends middle school. I was moved Lock, stock & barrel. We are always amazed at how fast the end of the season comes. A lot of people ask why I don t run in Nov. The answer is in the windy weather. Also, there is the fall hunting season to consider.

All in all, this season was near perfect. First and foremost, no one got hurt. No mean feat considering how many deep trips we ran, such as the Norness, Spike fish and 6 Doria trips. The boat ran well with only a few minor hiccups, and the weather cooperated, letting us get most of our trips in. We enjoyed some spectacular conditions both on and, under the water.

This leaves me looking forward to next season. Here are my plans for the upcoming months. In a perfect world it would all happen according to plan. Living in the real world, I expect to get half of it done.

I would like to sail the boat back to the builders in MD. And have them add 5 Ft. Onto the stern of the boat. I would not carry any more passengers but have more room on the big trips. We would change the suiting up table to a center aisle design that also holds tanks, freeing up more deck space.

From there I would sail two hour to the electronics installer, There I would upgrade to a new larger radar, a new North Star 6000I G.P.S. that interfaced with my laptop and large computer screen. I would also update the compass on the auto pilot. If that went well. I would like to add a small 8 KW back up generator, that was installed in a sound shield. This way we could have SILENT power overnight on the big trips . We would the sail the boat to it s new berth in Manasquan NJ. Which would give us tremendous access to the local wrecks. In March we would move the boat to an indoor facility and paint the hull restoring her bright red color, and readying her bottom for the season. We would hit the water running in late April, when the weather begins to warm.

We plan to dive locally out of NJ. Until late June, then sail to Hatteras NC. For a three week stint in the warm Carolinas. We would return to NJ. Just long enough to gather supplies for Montauk. We will spend about 3-4 weeks plying the waters up there. Then finish out the season running from home, with a possible stint in either Cape May or Barnegat. If we have any time in-between, we will try to get the Haskell booster installed on the boat. I got tired just writing it all down, think I ll go take a nap now, while I still can.


Good Diving
Captain Z