Virginia - June 15, 2007
A night departure to the Virginia. Even though the boat would not leave till late, I needed to get some supplies like ice early in the day, before the weekend rush made it hard to find. Once the boat was loaded with food, ice & fuel, I could leave the rest of the details for later. I cranked up the AC in my van & headed home.

Hours later, it was dark, and much cooler out. While the crew was busy reading the boat to sail, I kissed Nick & Susan goodbye, and walked onboard with my coffee in hand. I was going to need plenty of Captain fuel for the nights sail, a pot was brewing, I was set. I gave the usual instructions, and pulled out of the slip. The seas were calm as we sailed out the inlet. The boat rose, and fell in the easy rhythm of the ocean. I was at the wheel for the first two hours, turning it over around 2 AM, taking my usual spot in the wheel house, nearby if needed. The crew shift changed thru the night, until we arrived at the wreck in the early AM around 6.

The Virginia is a great wreck in 160 ft. of water. The bow section is broken off, and lies pointing towards the surface. This is a cool spot that holds large cod fish & pollack. I choose this spot to drop the line in. Jeff does the set for us. With the calm seas, the tie in went smoothly. In a few minutes Captain Steve had all the top side stuff set, and ready to dive.

I yelled, “oceans open” as the divers began to hit the water. The divers were surprised by how warm the first 20' were, but reality hit hard at the 40 deg. thermo-cline. The Virginia is known for exceptional vis, today it was only 20 ft. Being tied in at the bow, made it easy to navigate the wreck. The lobsters were surprisingly scarce as the divers traveled the wreck. No one went & did the “Martzal” and took to the sand for scallops, though a few were found in the wreck. Eventually, all dives must end, and the divers returned to the surface.

During the interval, Tom the fisherman, caught a nice 20 pound pollack !!! Steve had it filleted in no time. The seas began to pick up a little, so it was time to put the divers back in. Jeff did an awesome job of cooking up some of the fish for lunch. It was shaping up to be a fine trip. The depth, kept the second dives short on bottom time, while long on deco time. The visibility had dropped a little too. It was almost as if he wreck was saying “come back later in the season”

Once all the divers were back onboard, we beat a hasty retreat back home. As the seas continued to build, we were glad we got underway early. On the ocean the seas were wicked ,by the time we made the inlet. Once through the break water, it was like hitting a switch, all was calm. People were out all over the place fishing and swimming, totally oblivious to the angry seas just beyond the mouth of the inlet. It was like two different worlds, just a few hundred yards apart. The John Jack idled quietly to the slip, as happy divers made ready to unload. When we backed into the slip, we were greeted by many members of the crew, arriving early for the crew meeting later that night.

CAPTAIN ZERO