John Jack dives the Murphy

On Thursday night, Sept 23, the deck lights on the John Jack were ablaze as a group of divers and crew made final preparations for a new dive adventure. The destination:  WWII Naval Destroyer USS Murphy. At just about midnight, the John Jack quietly slipped its lines and left the dock. As soon as Capt. Bill shouted the "all clear," we turned into the channel and headed for the inlet and the Atlantic.  A quiet crew pondered the 73 miles we would cover throughout the night and the only sounds were those of  big Cats as they took us out to sea.  The crew settled into their night time routine with watches set and Captain Rich at the helm. We planned to reach our destination at sunrise.

The GPS co-ordinates for the wreck were provided coutesy of Captain Bill Cleary, who discovered the wreck and first dove it with the crew of his dive boat, Depth Charge. The USS Murphy was featured in the History Channel Series "Deep Sea Detectives" when diver John Chatterton and his team joined Captain Cleary on the Depth Charge to uncover the mystery of the shipwreck.

The John Jack arrived on time and ready for action.  With flat seas, the crew quickly tied the Big Red Boat into the Murphy.  But it was a long two hour wait until the tie-in team surfaced to give their report to the divers waiting to splash. The conditions on the Murphy were good with no current and decent visibility.

We had to scrap our original plan to overnight on the wreck when the wind picked up and the seas began to build.  We made a quick 40 mile run to the wreck of the Resor, but the seas were just as uncooperative there.  We slid past the Resor and steamed to our dock in Point Pleasant. As lines were made fast, there was general agreement that this was a great trip and a "must do" wreck for our dive calendar.  As everyone retired for the evening for a well-earned night's sleep, Captain Rich was already planning the next day's assignments, the next charter, and the next adventure for the Big Red Boat. Come join us.  We have charters for divers of all levels.   Don't just live - Live the Adventure with Capt. Rich Benevento on John Jack Seagoing Adventures.

CaptainRichB@AOL.COM _www.john-jack.com_ (http://www.john-jack.com/) 201-321-6924