Bundled Up in PTown for Cal's 75th Birthday Party with Dr. Don Butterfield

Photograph by Patricia Walsh

There’s a late February, 2010, event you won’t want to miss:

The Boston Scuba Show

Janet took some beautiful pictures during our trip to Small Hope Bay Lodge in the Bahamas.

Here are a few:

Fred Calhoun and Chris Christensen Hanging after an Early Morning Wall Dive

Fred Likes to Don His Tank in the Water

Peter Donahue and Jeff Birch Working on their Fingers' Dexterity

Peter Donahue with his Nikonos Camera

Coral Head in Andros that Looks Like a Jellyfish

All these photos are by Janet MacCausland.  Check out her website.  We are lucky that she came along to document our fun.

Thanks, Janet.

for the season.

Cleaned the boat out and readied it for being hauled out on Monday.

Sad.

Oh, well.  We’re off to the Bahamas and Small Hope Bay Lodge for a busman’s holiday.

Yeah.

The sun was out and the rain gone, but we were committed to going to Jonathan Bird’s presentation in Lexington today.  The Oceanic Research Group deserves your support.  Today is their benefit event.

No diving due to weather.

Sheesh.

Both days were too windy and bumpy to go out.

Saturday had intermittent sun and no rain, but previous days had produced mountainous waves from the northeast.

Today is windy and rainy and the waves are building.

Calm.  Clear.  Windless.  Cloudless (almost).

Fog-less and rain-less, too.

Oh, and degree-less.  That means it was cold.  42 degrees in the Honda Civic Hybrid as we woke up for the look/see and drive-around Cape Ann, searching for a good place to take the crowd that were coming up from Rhode Island today.  Deb Greenhalgh, Fred Ward and three friends were raring to go and picked the wreck of the USF New Hampshire for the first dive when I told them we could go practically anywhere they wanted.  The three unknowns were Bobby, Mary and Clayton – all good and experienced divers, it turns out.

I anchored on a mirror, using Cape Ann Divers’ red and white striped mooring to make it easy.  I was wearing three layers and heavy socks, so standing in the sun warmed me up a lot.  Fred wore a hooded sweatshirt from The Sunken Ship on Nantucket and our friend, Phi Osley.  On top of that was his trusty denim jacket.  Bobby made the dive with a 3 mil suit and five finger gloves.  The water was 50 degrees and with about 15 feet of visibility.  There was treasure at the end of the dive and everyone was ready to go somewhere pretty.

I chose the easterly side of Egg Rock because it was protected from the sea breeze that had kicked up.  This time I dropped the anchor near the long notch running the length of that side of the island in about 25 feet of water.  Deb and Fred were doing videography and photography, respectively.  Mary and Clayton were going to be swimming hard to get and stay warm.  Bobby had a dry pair of lobster claw mitts from our bottomless Bag o’ Mitts because the only part of him that was really cold were his hands.  He praised the three-fingered design and vowed he’d have a similar pair for his next trip up north.  It would probably help to have remembered his 7 mil suit too.

Visibility was better here at the rock at 15-20 feet.  Mary reported that an urchin barren stretched along the notch and kept it open for viewing.  She and Clayton had traversed almost the whole length of the dive site by the time they were done.  The Captain and I tucked into the chicken noodle soup that Deb had brought and Peter had cooked.  There were oatmeal raisin and chocolate fudge cookies in there somewhere too.  Just holding the cup of hot soup helped a lot.  I think the wetsuit divers can attest to that.

The drive home was easy and we were able to tag along behind Seaya as he went through the Blynman cut bridge at full throttle even though the tide was with us.  Sheesh!

We tidied up the boat after three days of fun and took off for a short work week.

Only four more charter days until the boat goes up into the yard for the winter.

Darn.

Still bumpy, but not as windy.  To start.

We only had Bill Low and Vio, a beginner scuba student, today, with Pete and Pat as crew.  The Captain maintained order at all costs.

We tried to get out of the harbor, but the wind said, “Oh, no you don’t!”  Turned around and settled in Old House Cove.  It was 52 degrees in 20 feet of water.  Visibility was 10 feet or so.  Pete and Vio snorkeled for a while before donning scuba gear.  This is a great site for that because there are rocky shallows that can be interesting terrain for a student.

We saw some passing boats, but, happily, they generated not too much wake and surge.  There were gaggles of some different kinds of ducks (eiders, I think) and small terns dived for crackers and Chex Mix.  They had yellow-tinged legs and danced on and just above the wavelets as they pecked at the handouts.

As the wind picked up, I wanted to find a calmer anchorage for the second dive.  The eastern side of the harbor looked better than where we were, so we upped anchor and scooted over to the shelter of the museum named Beauport.  There was a mooring with a whip antenna sitting empty right in front of the structure.  Pat took a picture with her phone:

Beauport Museum taken from the mooring out front

Pete and Vio continued with scuba skills and Bill Low went back in even though he had a ripped cuff in his dry suit.  He is a determined diver, that’s for sure.  He saw two Northern Pipefish, we think.   There were also lots of skates and sea ravens, as well as bottles.  We speculated that this was a place where wealthy imbibers bobbed at anchor and then tossed their empties overboard.  Of course, the fact that the bottles are mostly for milk made the scenario more specific because they must have been drinking White Russians.

The day ended in fine fashion with Pete buying everyone lunch at The Gull.

Good fun.

OK.  I understand.  It’s October 10th.  What can you expect?

We had Pete, Pat, and Joe Finkhouse today and morning showers left over from Friday’s downpours.  It wasn’t foggy.  It wasn’t windy.  The bumps were manageable.  It was the vis that was sucky.

We headed out to Old House Cove for the first dive.  The breeze had picked up and the tide was just starting to come in.  Pete and Joe were exploring and hunting.  The Captain was roaming the stern and coiling line.

The sun was hidden by scudding clouds after about 15 minutes at anchor in about 25 feet of water.  I had on my windbreaker and two shirts.  Plus socks in my Crocs.  Pat had the hood of her windbreaker lashed down tight.  It was getting colder because of the wind.

The divers reported vis between 5 and 10 feet with a water temp of 54 degrees.

We decided to try another site with hopes of clearer water.  The wreck of the Charles Storer is in about 20 feet off Dolliver’s Neck in the outer harbor.  Joe had never been there and was game to try since it would probably be the last dive of his season.

Pat took a picture of the land bearings with her phone:

The highest point of rock has two vertical lines running down it towards the water.  That marks the spot of the wreck about 50 feet off shore.

There is a large winch and wreckage around it these days.  Less to see of the wreck than ever.  The vis was about the same and the temperature was still 54 as the tide was rising.

We had quite a time getting back into the slip as the wind had picked up too.  Pat pulled and I pushed and we managed to dock without any dings.

More to come tomorrow.

Well, at least it wasn’t raining and blowing.  Now it was still and foggy.  Too foggy to go anywhere.  We rode around the island and found fog thick at Plum Cove as well as in Gloucester Harbor.  The weather folk predicted it would clear by the afternoon but we had a whole passel of people who wanted to dive.

So we decided to pick our way out into Gloucester Harbor as the tide was rising and find somewhere safe for a single dive.  It would be free today because we couldn’t actually get anywhere decent to take paying customers and the four people who had come all the way up from Connecticut were regular customers making their last trip with us for the season.  They just wanted to get wet.

We loaded Fred’s two daughters, their husbands, Linsley and Kevin Mordasky, Pat and Karen Hatcher and Bill Low with crew members Veronica, Pat, and Pete.  It gave the term, a full boat, a whole new meaning.  The non-divers tried to stay out of the divers’ way and vice versa, but it was tight.

Diane, Fred, and Elizabeth - Dad with Two Daughters

As we waited for the Blynman Bridge to open for us, I could see little streamers of current coming through it into the river.  The tide was coming in still.  That might mean that we could go across the harbor to the far side and Black Bess rocks.  Maybe the surge and waves from yesterday wouldn’t have stirred it up too much over there.

We anchored between the mooring area of the Eastern Point Yacht Club and the rocks in about 20 feet of water.  The visibility varied all over the place from 5 feet to 15 feet, depending on your trajectory from the anchor line.  There were Rhodes 19 one design sailboats nearby jockeying for the start of a race and we could hear the announcer for the bicycle motocross tournament bellowing from across the harbor at Stage Fort Park.

Patricia Walsh Leans Down from the Flying Bridge to Talk with The Captain

The fog lifted after about 1/2 hour and we could see blue sky overhead in places.  Then the clouds filled that spot in.  I could see sun breaking through against the rocks at Norman’s Woe just outside the harbor as well as the surging waves breaking there.

As the divers returned, they reported warm water in the high 50s and some even caught lobsters.  Peter reported seeing scallops as well.

Captain Fred Calhoun and Linsley Mordasky on Easy Diver

Photos are by Diane Neas.  Thanks, Sam

The ramp was totally flat as we schlepped the gear up it, but the sun didn’t stay around very long.

We ended in The Gull restaurant for a family lunch, with Pete and Pat too.

Not a good day to take people out for a dive, so we cancelled the trip.

No diving due to the rotten conditions.

Today was very sunny with a southeasterly breeze (Jacki, you were right!).

We had Jacki K., Alex and Candace, Steve Gates and Chuck from ME for Candace’s last dive of her scuba course.  We drove around before they arrived to try and find a good spot.  It had been blowing from the northeast and was predicted to continue to do that, so we chose to go south.  Kettle Island looked good, so that’s where we planned to make the first dive.

As we left the harbor mouth, you could feel the swells surfing us along towards the southwest.  There were waves breaking all along Norman’s Woe and Popplestone Beach.  As we pulled behind Kettle, it looked glassy smooth.    The Captain directed traffic and we anchored in about 25 feet of water, well out of the reach of swells.  The tide was going out and there were no other boats around.

Chuck and I waited for the others to get in.  He was interested in getting acquainted with new gear he’d purchased and wanted some pointers on skills.  No problem.  That’s what we like to do.  Pete took Candace for a sojourn, with Alex following as best he could in the murky water.  Turns out it was only about 5 feet of visibility, although it was warm – 59 degrees with no thermocline.  There were lots of big comb jellies and some round gooseberry-sized ones too.  Peter says the big ones eat the little ones, but you couldn’t tell because they’re both transparent.  I think I believe him.

Chuck had mask trouble because of his mustache, we think.  His primary mask leaked as did his backup one.  He even tried one that Candace loaned him, but no luck.  It just filled up from the bottom as he descended the downline.

We decided to move for the next dive in the hopes of finding better visibility.  Divers’ Leap, across the channel, looked OK.  We all were set to go and I let out almost the whole of the anchor line for as much scope as we could get because we were stern to the rocks.  Peter and Candace were lobstering and she caught, measured, and bagged one all by herself under Pete’s guidance.  That one was going to be for her mother, Pam, who heard about it all right away on the dock as we unloaded gear.

Jacki found two lobsters at a standoff in the rocks.  One was huge and the other was pugnatious and/or stupid as it parried for that particular den.  She also found a scallop shell that had been left by a member of her dive club, Metrowest, as a token to redeem for a prize.  The water was clearer here, but not great, at about 10 feet of visibility.

I saw many sand dollars with tiny olive snails clustered on their tops.  They weren’t holding on very tight and I brushed some off by accident, but they were a strange sight I’d never seen before.  Imagine a cluster of sprinkles on a melting ice cream scoop.  That’s kinda what they looked like.  Pete thinks they were eating the sand dollar, but I think they were filtering the exudate from its central pore.

The ride home was even more bumpy than the ride out because the wind had picked up.  I skimmed under the Blynman Bridge with 11 feet of clearance, so they didn’t have to raise it for us.  We saw a seal heading outbound in the river, swimming into the current near the football field.  He didn’t seem shy at all and kept looking back at us as we passed.  He looked a lot like this one posted yesterday in Jay Albert’s blog:

Seal Photo by Jay Albert of Cape Ann Images

It was a good Fall day.

It was going to be warmer than yesterday, but you certainly couldn’t tell that at 6 AM this morning.  There was a bite to the air that felt like fall.  We had Al and Candace, Linda and Myanna for the trip with Pete and Pat as crew.  The Captain was ensconced in his lawn chair for the duration. 

Pete wanted to go back to the Stone Garage in the hopes that the visibility would be as good as it was yesterday.  It was – almost.  Thirty feet in any direction when I anchored in 25 feet of water.   All the divers went together so there could be hunting as well as scuba skills on the agenda.  Both were successful.  The water was almost high tide and 59 degrees.

We stopped after one dive and returned to port to attend the MetroWest/Northshore Frogmen picnic at Stage Fort Park.  Good time, nice people.

The boat was full today with Bethany, John and Rick from RI, along with Joe Finkhouse, Alan Hicks, and Peter’s student, Joe.  Pat Walsh was crew as was Peter Donahue.  The Captain’s back is improving, so he was in his chair on the stern. 

We wanted to find calm water, but the wind was making that tough.  It was blowing and gusty at 15-20 from the NW by 8:30 AM.  The Captain and I had toured the south-facing coast with our breakfast in hand earlier and decided that the Stone Garage area would be best.

I set the anchor in 25 feet of water directly across from the rocky hollow that looks like an abandoned boat house.  The water was 59 degrees with about 30 feet of visibility according to Peter and Bethany.  There was a passel of curious pollack that pounced on Peter’s attempt to feed them.

We were so impressed with the great visibility that I only moved 1/4 mile west for the second dive.  This was just off the Silo nearer Bemo Ledge.  Joe and Alan were exploring and hunting as was Peter, but the visibility was only 10 feet here.  Quite a surprise.

Tomorrow is supposed to be warmer and calmer.

Let’s hope.

Windy, rainy, blowy, gloomy and dreary, to boot.  That was Saturday.

Sunday, The Captain’s back was acting up.

Some friends went out each day, but there were no official charters.

Maybe next weekend.

Anna helped this lobsterman from Magnolia by unwrapping his pot’s line from around a boulder.  He was very nice and had three little kids and a large, blond dog aboard.  The photo is of him trying to raise the pot and Anna on the left watching.  Photo by Jacki K.

Anna (on the left) Helped This Lobsterman

Coolish, but sunny.  We had a full boat of scubas who were interested in seeing the schooners leave Gloucester Harbor for their race this morning.  Then, Tom and Nancy Brand from Providence, Jacki K. and Andy and Anna plus Tom Finkhouse were open for anywhere that looked good.  We bumped our way south to Kettle and anchored in the area protected from the 15 knots of Northeast wind that the morning had brought.  We shared the general area with Fran Linnehan’s Down Under and Cape Ann Divers’ smaller boat. 

Veronica was crew as was Peter Donahue.  Pat Walsh was still relaxing on Martha’s Vineyard.  The Captain and I were passengers today.

The anchor hit in 25 feet of 63 degree ocean.  Visibility was about 10 feet in some places and a little better others, but nobody seemed to mind.  It was good enough.  Tom said they had been in 3 foot visibility at Ft. Wetherall in RI on Saturday, so this was an improvement.  Veronica reported a very big sea raven right under the boat.  Jacki K. saw a whole rock surface covered with what seemed to me to be limpits from her description of them.  There were some stripers up in the shallows too.  And, plenty of lobsters.

The second dive was over at Coolidge Point, a.k.a. Saddle Rock.  I turned the corner from the breeze and anchored in about 30 feet behind the bluff to stay warm.  The early afternoon sky had some puffy clouds that sometimes blocked the sun.  Then it got cold.  Happily, that only lasted a few minutes and then the sun returned.  But it was a foreshadowing of the months to come.  Dang.

Peter reported a large, square boulder under the boat that seemed unusual.  There was a school of pollack and cunner too.  The shallows were sunny and full of life. 

Everyone seemed to have fun and we were able to unload with almost a flat ramp.  Sure beats some of the Labor Day weekend conditions of the last few years.

More fun tomorrow.

The customers got ready quickly.  The Captain was even going to be on board.  Mike Russo, Linsley and Kevin Mordasky along with Pat and Karen Hatcher were old hands at the boarding process.  The only newbee was Matt Walsh.  He and Mike had rented everything from Ted Barnes’ Freedom Diving for Matt’s first cold water dive.  I stayed on shore for a Mental Health Day.

Kettle Island’s west side was diveable but the swells were still rocking the anchored boat from passing wakes.  Mike had been a student of Peter’s in a previous season, so he and Pete were Matt’s buddies.  The water was 63 degrees and about 25 feet deep.

The second dive was at Magnolia Harbor’s west side, under the bluff.  It was about 20 feet deep and had visibility of about 10 feet.  There were fewer swells here, but a striped bass fisherman was obnoxious.  Maybe they think the stripers hang out where divers bubbles are loud and there’s lots of diving activity.  Wrong!

Everyone professed to have had a wonderful time with the hot sun and warm ocean.

I know I did.

Since The Captain’s back is still hurtin’, Pete and Veronica took the boat out just for fun today.

Due to Hurricane Danny rain/waves/cold.

Sheesh.

Because of The Captain’s bad back and Hurricane Bill, respectively.

Due to family reunion/birthday party and then bad-back syndrome.  Maybe next weekend.

That was Veronica’s call from the port side as she surfaced.  She was talking about dogfish, a small shark that is a bane of fishermen but a treat for us divers.  Veronica is especially thrilled to see them because she has a relative of theirs tattooed on her hip.  Yup, she’s a shark hugger.

We had decided to make the run to the Rockport Breakwater because of a request from one of our regular customers – Jim Castelli.  He and Alan Hicks were with us along with Peter, Pat, and Veronica.  The Captain was the lookout.  I drove the boat.

The anchor was in 50 feet and the water temp was in the low 50s on the bottom, with a surface temperature of 61.  The thermocline was visible from the side as a greyish black line at about 20 feet.  I’d never seen it appear like that.  I thought I was looking at one of the lobster trap lines extending left to right, parallel with the breakwater’s structure.  Below the boundary, the water was clearer until you descended to the bottom.  Then the light was dimmed by the suspended material at the temperature boundary.  Strange.  And it made seeing the sharks eerier than it would have been normally.

They were skittish of groups of divers, but surrounded individuals.  Veronica was especially blessed with sightings that made her migraine ebb.  I guess they know a friend when they sense one.

The surface was a little choppy from the southwest wind, but it was OK.  The sky was alternating clouds and sun with the temperature in the middle 70s.

We decided to make a second dive in the same place to be able to dive with the sharks again.  Peter and Pat descended away from the wall and landed on the silty mud amidst a school of several hundred of them.  Veronica went down the anchor line and returned to encourage me to get in the water with the video camera because they were swarming down there.  Alan and I joined her for a guided tour.  I think our combined bubbles scared them because we only got to see two.  They were big ones however.

The water was not as cold as last Sunday’s dive, even on the bottom.  Last week’s analogy from Veronica was being hit in the face with a cup of slush.  It wasn’t that bad today.

We ended at The Gull with an early birthday celebration for Pete.