Trip Report 9-30-06
The morning was unusually cold, as the passengers came rolling down the dock. Fall was in the air. I was welcomed by the smell of hot coffee as I entered the cabin, compliments of Captain Terry. I had spent a cold night sleeping in the wheelhouse. Too c old, and lazy to get up & go down stairs to the heated cabin. Terry & I made a quick run for bagels and ice, as the passengers finished loading. We had a few late stragglers due to an accident on the NJTP. To days group was from Blue Water Divers, It was their first time on the boat. The crew and I were eager to make a good impression. Unfortunately, a boat is usually judged on the sea and bottom conditions, as well as the actual boat and crew. We are at the mercy of the weather and the sea, as much as in our own performance. A few of the passengers were already grumpy over the traffic, again, out of our control.

John from BWD. was in charge of the trip. At the appointed time, 7:00 AM, we were short three passengers. One called in reporting that he had been in an accident with a drunk driver, bad luck. Another couple were MIA. We gave them 15 Min. and took off. Captain Rich, pulled us out of the slip, and thru the harbor. As we passed the fuel dock, there were yells to stop. The two wayward divers had made it. Rich turned the boat around, and picked them up. The crew helped them to load quickly. So, at 7:40, we cleared the inlet. Once on the bay, we were greeted by calm seas. The good conditions continued all the way to the wreck. The big Cat's hummed as we steamed35 miles to the wreck of the Stolt "D" Galley, the stern half of an intact tanker sunk in 130 Ft. of water. The top of the wreck comes up to 65 Ft. making it a great wreck for divers of all skill levels.

When we arrived at the wreck, another dive boat "Voyager" was already there with divers in the water. We patiently floated around waiting for them to surface from their dive. Once they were safely out of the way, we sent Terry in to tie. We knew from Voyager that the conditions were good. 60 - 70 Ft. of vis. 64 Deg. top to bottom with no thermocline. Basically the BEST the north east can dish out. If we couldn t get BWD. To fall in love with us today, we never would. Terry jumped in to set the hook. The seas were so calm we put the anchor line in the stern. The divers suited up in groups of twos and threes, eager to hit the water. All the divers were in, in short order. After awhile the divers returned to the back of the boat reluctantly, empty tanks, forcing their return. There were smiles all around as the divers related the stories of their dives. A few of the divers brought back dinner in the form of mussels,scallops and fish. There were stories of lobsters spotted, but none brought back. The crew served fruit and drinks to the divers as they soaked up the warm sun and off gassed.

After a relaxing surface interval, the divers began to return to the ocean. The great conditions on the bottom, had not changed. The divers could look up and see the bottom of the boat from 100 Ft. Down !!! Eventually, all good things must come to an end, and so did this dive. One by one the happy divers climbed back on the boat. Terry jumped in to pull the hook and set us free.

We quickly got under way, the seas were just starting to build, pushing us homeward. The engines purred as they ate up the miles. We returned to the dock before 5 PM with a boat load of smiling faces. Today was a great day to be a dive boat Captain.