NEWSLETTER August 10,
2003, Issue 31
Members are encouraged to
submit articles, dive plans and dive reports.
Visit club web site at https://www.angelfire.com/nj4/divers/
DA Dive Log
DA Dive Plan
Navy Honors Submarine
Pioneer
July DA Meeting Minutes,
Unapproved
Next Meeting
Notice
August 25, 2003 meeting,
Topic of discussion: Diving
Galapagos by Ian Fryer
__________________________________________________________________
Peggy’s News
New
Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife
Aug. 4, 2003
STATE RECORD AMERICAN LOBSTER
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has certified that
an American lobster taken earlier this month from the Almirante Wreck located
nine miles off Absecon Inlet establishes a new state record, surpassing the
mark set earlier this year.
The record lobster, weighing 15 pounds, 3 ounces, was taken by William Sharp of
Little Egg Harbor when he was scuba diving July 4. Marine fisheries research
scientist Bruce Freeman of the DEP's Division of Fish and Wildlife verified the
catch, which had a 7.5-inch carapace (the protective upper shell covering).
The previous record lobster weighed 11 pounds, 8 ounces and was taken off the
San Jose Wreck in June.
The American lobster is found in cool waters from Canada to North Carolina.
Territorial and solitary in nature, they live on the ocean floor and prefer
rocky crevices. New Jersey's many artificial reefs provide the perfect habitat
for this species. The average American lobster reaches a length of about 10
inches and weighs 2 to 5 pounds.
The Record Fish Program honors the largest species of fish (as well as blue
crab and American lobster) caught in the state. It revolves around a specific
list of eligible freshwater and saltwater species, and is based on weight
alone; there are no line classes. Scale certification documentation,
specifically the Certificate of Inspection/Test Report and Registration
Certificate issued by the New Jersey Office of Weights and Measures as well as
a weighmaster's signature are necessary. Other rules apply.
For a complete list of state record fish, more information or to download an
application, visit the division's website at
www.njfishandwildlife.com/recfish.htm.
------------------------
Peggy Bowen, Director pegdiver@monmouth.com
New Jersey Council of Diving Clubs
www.scubaNJ.org
----------------------
Peggy
Bowen, Director, NJ Council of Diving Clubs
E-mail: mailto:pegdiver@monmouth.com
______________________________________________________________________
DA
Dive Log
Shore Dive Log
Shore Dive Log
July
6th / Sun:
Tom, Norva, Al, Frank, Angela and Rich met at Long Branch to do a shore dive
at the Dual Wrecks. Norva provide shore support and Angela did a snorkel
dive. It was a beautiful warm sunny morning with 1-foot surf and at least 8
foot Vis. We saw lots of fish and really enjoyed touring around one of the
nicest shore wrecks in NJ. Frank had his pole spear, but must have been
in
a passive mood, as he did not come out with any fish. Tom caught a few
lobsters by hand, but released them, as they were too small. Shore diving
in
NJ doesn't get much better than today with great dive buddies, great dive
conditions and a great wreck site.
July 17th /
Thur
For the 1st dive, Angela, Rich and Tom did a Manasquan RR Bridge noon high
slack tide dive. It was a sunny nice day and the Vis was about 15 feet.
The bridge is now under some form of repair and there were repairmen setting
up a barge to take footing samples. We dove the back side of the bridge
and
then thru it a few times and saw lots of sea life. For the 2nd dive, Ben,
Mike and Rich did a shore dive around 5:30 p.m. at Bluffs Wreck in Bayhead.
We had to wait until the beach badge police left so we could get on the
beach without badges. The surf was 1~2 feet, which made for easy in/out
and
the Vis around the wreck was less than 2 foot. The wreck is pretty much
sanded in with only 2-foot relief at a few isolated locations. Ben was
able
to spear one black fish and Mike's spear gun broke its band underwater so he
did not hunt this time.
July 19th /
Sat:
Divers Anonymous held its Annual Campout and Picnic at Dutch Springs. The
weather and water conditions were great. Tom, Al, Christina, Rose,
Connie,
Leo, Ian, Angela, Ash and Rich showed up for the first day for treasure
hunting, fun diving and picnic. Tom and some new open water students did
some afternoon dives while other members just did some fun dives. Tom. Al
and Rich went to dinner before Tom and Al did their night dive together.
Only Tom and Al camped off as other members had other plans.
July 20th /
Sun:
Tom, Al and Herb did a couple of fun dives at Dutch Springs before packing
it in for the day.
Jul 27th /
Sun:
Tom, Rich and some new open water students did 2 early morning pre and high
slack tide dives at Manasquan RR Bridge. The conditions were great with
about 10-foot Vis. It was a fun and easy dives and saw lots of sea life.
July 31, Thursday
Tom and Rich dove the Navesink River under the Oceanic Bridge on the
Atlantic Highlands side. It was a beautiful sunny day and we caught the
high slack tide around 11:15 am. The air/water temp was 82F/70F and had 3
foots Vis, which is great for this time of year. We noticed the beach
area
next to the bridge, which allows for an easy in/out of river had a new
posted sign "No Diving between 10~5." It appears during summer
months this
area has lifeguard and you must enter/exit river outside the beach's roped
in area. We saw lots of small baitfish, schools of shrimp, NJ blue claw
crabs, orange sponges, and lots of junk bottles. We dove mostly around
the
old fishing dock pilings and under the bridge. Tom found 3 nice blob top
bottles.
Boat
Dive Log
July 13th / Sun:
Ben, Gary, Ian, Jamie and Rich dove aboard the Spring Tide, which was captioned
by Ron and mated by Bart. It was a beautiful sunny calm day with 1-2 foot
slow rolling waves. The air/water temp was around 84F/65F and the
visibility was at least 20 feet. We dove the Mohawk for both dives as the
conditions there were great with lots of fish and great Vis. Ian found
some broken bottles with the tops still in place. Gary came back with his
bag full of speared sea bass, black fish and hand caught lobbers and a few
scallops. Jamie and Rich formed a dive team and toured around just
enjoying the wreck site. Jamie caught one lobster, but had to let it go
as it was too small and Rich came back with 1 lonely scallop. Bart came
back with 2 bags of mussels and shared them with the paying customers.
DA Dive Plan
Sunday, August 31, 2003: DA
Dive Picnic at Delaware River 9am
Thursday, September 11, 2003:
Shark River Inlet at 9pm in Avon, Night Dive
(Any
sales of gear are subject to terms agreed upon by sellers and buyers.)
E-mail: Rick Farmer stainless steel
backplate and OMS back inflation BCD, Sunto Cobra dive computer
E-mail: Tom Gormley 50 cuft low pressure steel
tank, Nitrox ready, new condition
Navy Honors Submarine Rescue Pioneer
By DAVID SHARP
. C The Associated Press
BATH, Maine (AP) - Carl Bryson was one of the lucky
ones when the USS Squalus sank during a test dive 64 years ago off Portsmouth Naval
Shipyard.
Twenty-six sailors were dead by the time the sub
settled on the ocean floor. Bryson and 32 others spent the next 36 hours
shivering from the cold, breathing foul air and wondering if they'd escape
alive.
They did, thanks to the efforts of Charles ``Swede''
Momsen, who led a daring rescue that was the fruit of his single-minded belief
that deep-sea rescues were possible - at a time when most others thought they
weren't.
The Navy officer is being honored this weekend with
the christening of a destroyer bearing his name.
``Swede was a wonderful person and we owe our lives
to him,'' said Bryson, 85, of Groton, Conn., one of four Squalus survivors
alive today.
The Squalus disaster was a defining moment for
Momsen, who had spent 14 years pioneering lifesaving techniques after two sub
sinkings in which all hands were lost, the S-51 in 1925 and the S-4 in 1927.
``Creativity was the thing that characterized him.
If he went into some other field, he would have made his mark there. He was
always asking, 'How could things be made better?''' said his grandson,
Christopher Hailey.
Organizers wanted Saturday's ceremony at Bath Iron
Works, where the $1 billion warship is being built, to be a family affair for
descendants of Momsen, who retired with the rank of vice admiral and died in
1967.
Momsen's daughter, Evelyn Momsen Hailey, 82, of
Williamsburg, Va., was asked to christen the vessel with champagne. The honor
of delivering an address to dignitaries, sailors and shipbuilders went to her
son, Christopher, 54.
A great-grandson of Momsen's, Fire Controlman 2nd
Class Andrew Hailey, 29, will serve aboard the ship, maintaining the weapon
systems' central computer system.
Submariners including Bryson and another Squalus
survivor, Gerald McLees, 88, of Portsmouth, N.H., were also invited.
Born in 1896 in Flushing, N.Y., Momsen was always
full of ideas from an early age, relatives say. Today he would likely be
described as ``thinking outside the box.'' Back then, his unconventional ideas
didn't always endear himself with the Navy brass.
He learned the hard way - when his proposal for a
diving bell languished on a desk at the Navy Bureau of Construction and Repair
- that getting things done sometimes meant circumventing official channels.
Without getting approval, he created a temporary
breathing device, the Momsen lung, out of rubber scavenged from old inner
tubes. A pickle barrel served as a makeshift diving bell used in his early
descents.
He conducted a dramatic test in 110 feet of water in
the Potomac River. He rose to the surface using his emergency air supply and
held up a pebble he had snatched to show he reached the river's murky bottom.
Top Navy officers learned about his test like
everyone else: They read about it in the Washington Star. Despite rankling
superiors, he had proved his point and the lung became standard issue aboard
U.S. Navy submarines.
Later, Momsen turned his attention to developing a
rescue bell that could be lowered to a disabled submarine and retrieve crew
members.
It was used to rescue Bryson, McLees and other
survivors from the Squalus about 65 miles from Bath near the Isle of Shoals,
where the sub had been undergoing sea trials.
In those days, deep-sea diving was dangerous work.
But Christopher Hailey said he didn't view his grandfather as reckless.
``I don't know if I'd call him a risk taker. I think
he calculated what those risks were,'' he said. ``If he believed in what he was
doing, he would willingly take the first step before asking someone else to do
it.''
Beyond his natural curiosity and creativity, Momsen
was known for his sense of humor and other talents, including playing the
ukulele. ``Some of the songs weren't appropriate for young ears,'' Christopher
Hailey said.
He got the nickname ``Swede'' at the Naval Academy
even though he was of Danish descent. Some called him the ``lucky Swede''
because of his success at cards.
He could cook, too. His recipe for a steak marinade
is part of the U.S. Navy Submarine Cookbook. As usual, a major ingredient was a
dose of humor.
``He said one ounce of bourbon in the steak sauce
and three in the cook. And by the time the steak was finished the cook was just
right,'' his daughter said.
Momsen's great-grandson, Andrew Hailey, will carry
on the seafaring tradition. Hailey quit his job as manager of a movie theater
and joined the Navy with the goal of serving aboard the Momsen.
``In general, I like how he was always trying,''
Hailey said. ``He sees something that needs to be done, and he'll give it a
try.''
Momsen history: www.arlingtoncemetery.net/cbmomsen.htm
Bath Iron Works: www.biw.com
Divers Anonymous Scuba Dive
Club
Mario’s Restaurant / 710 Van
Houten Avenue, Clifton, NJ
July 28, 2003 - Monthly
Meeting Minutes
Members Present:
Rich Bertoldi
Rick, Edith and Luke Farmer
Ian Fryer
Tom & Norva Gormley
Herbert Marvin
Christine Menville
Richard Mullen
Al Nesterok
Charlie and Lara Padula
Chris Rollins
Don Van Dyk
Guests Present:
John Brewer
Denise Drager
Lee Taylor
Ted & Sarita Wilson
The meeting
began at 7:30 p.m. – 14 of 36 active members were present.
Executive Committee Reports
Treasurer Report / Lara Padula
Club members who have not yet paid their annual dues
are reminded to pay $25 ASAP. These funds are used to pay for expenses occurred
running our club and help offset expenses for various club offered activities.
Secretary Report / Richard Mullen
Last months minutes voted accepted unread as they
appeared in June’s Newsletter. Copy of
NJCDC
May 28th meeting minutes could be made available
to anyone interested. The next NJCDC
meeting will be held on July 30th.
Contact Rich if you want to attend and/or get copy of meeting minutes.
Vice President’s Report / Al Nesterok
Anyone interested in helping prepare for club’s annual
Christmas Party to be held sometime in January contact Al.
President’s Report / Thomas Gormley
Reported the good news about the NY Redbird subway cars
finally being sunk off NJ state's coastline adding to the artificial reefs to
provide habitat for fish and make new scuba dive sites. But unfortunately this also came with some
bad news in the form of an eight-year moratorium against any more subway cars
being sunk to give time to further environmental impact studies.
2003 DEMA Trade Show will be held on Oct 8~11th
at
Some club members did a shore dive to the Duel Wrecks
on Sun, July 6th.
Ben’s Spring Tide charter did 2 dives on the Mohawk on
Sun July 13th.
Some club members dove MRRB and Bluffs Wreck on Thur
July 17th.
DA Annual Picnic and Weekend Campout was held at Dutch
Springs July 19~20th.
Some club members and new open water students dove
Dutch Springs on Sat July 26th
Some cub members and new open water students dove MRRB
on Sun July 27th.
Ben’s Spring Tide charter for Sun Aug 3rd
still has one opening.
Tom’s Spring Tide charter for Sun Aug 17th
still has a few openings.
DA Annual
Visit our web site to view update calendar of events.
Other Activities
Local Dives
Tom and Ben
chartered the Northeast Scuba’s Spring Tide for some Sunday boat dives. The cost for 2 dives is $60 plus tip. Future dive dates are Aug 3, Aug 17, Sep 14
and Sep 28.
Paul Ward, Gary Mullen and Gary Prystauk frequently
make Wed boat dives aboard the Venture III. The cost for 3~4 dives is $70 plus
tip.
Chris Rollin
and wife Christine are looking to put together adventurous boat dives and plan
to dive 1000
Ian and other
club members are planning to make some weekend dives aboard Lakeland’s Sea Lion
Tom, Ben and Rich often make Thur afternoon and Sun
morning shore dives weather and conditions permitting.
Remote Dives
Chris Rollins is now planning to put together a late
Aug dive trip to 1000
Ben is thinking about putting together another dive trip
to
Anyone interested in doing a Nekton live-aboard to
Membership
We are always looking for new members. Ask your dive buddies and friends to come on
out and join us for some fun.
Web Site
Visit club web site at https://www.angelfire.com/nj4/divers/. If members want to post club or scuba related
activities they are encouraged to use email group mailing. If you have any club related photographs you
wish to have posted on the web, send Tom electronic copy.
New Business
Rich asked if club members would be interested in
trying to get future guest speakers to discuss their personal dive adventures
at some of the more famous shipwrecks.
For example, to re-invite Enrique Alvarez to get some updates on his
ongoing dive trips to the Andrea Doria.
It appeared all present would welcome such guest speaker presentation.
Guest Speakers
Various club members gave presentations about some of
their more favorite dive spots in the northeast area. Tom spoke about the Duel Wrecks, which is one
of his favorite shore dive sites in NJ.
Rich spoke about Shark River, which offers 4 separate dive sites with
different type dive opportunities. Ian
spoke about the Beth Dee Bob, which is one of his more favor and interesting
shipwrecks to dive. Chris spoke about
the Algol and other wrecks located in nearby so-called Mud Hole for his
penetration type diving. Al spoke about
diving in Sandy Hook’s Horseshoe Cove.
Thanks to all participants!
Next club meeting is Monday, Aug 25th. Guest speaker will be Ian who will talk
about his week live-aboard to the Galapagos Islands. Don’t miss this as Ian promises to show some
really great photos.
Minutes submitted by Secretary, Richard Mullen
_____________________________________________________________
2003 Calendar
2003 Divers Anonymous
Calendar 2003
Updated 07-10-03
|
Jan
2003 ·
01/03: DA Planning
meeting 6 p.m. at 6 Bros Diner Rt. 46 ·
01/11: DA
Holiday Party
7:30 p.m. San Carlos Rest 620 Stuyvesant Ave,
Lyndhurst ·
01/27: DA Club Meeting 7:30
p.m. “ Marine History Presentation” by Lada |
Feb
2003 ·
02/02: Bottle Show, South
River ·
02/15: 4th Annual
DA Ski Day ·
02/23: Toms
River Flea Market ·
02/24: DA Club Meeting 7:30
p.m. Presentation: “How We Shore Dive” by Tom Gormley and Rich Mullen |
Mar
2003
|
|
Apr
2003 ·
04/06: Manasquan RR Bridge
Dive, 12 noon ·
04/07: Pool Dive for gear
check and warm-up 9:15 p.m. Clifton YMYWHA ·
Sunday shore dives ·
04/28: DA Club Meeting 7:30
p.m. Annual Dues and Officer
Elections |
May
2003
|
June
2003
|
|
Jul
2003 ·
Local Shore Dives TBA ·
07/13 Ben Boat Dive on Spring
Tide ·
7/19 & 20 DA Weekend at Dutch Springs ·
07/28: DA Club Meeting, Topic,
“Favorite Dives” |
Aug
2003
|
Sep
2003 ·
9/11 Thursday Night Dive, 9pm,
Shark River Inlet, Avon ·
09/14 Ben Boat Dive on Spring
Tide ·
09/28 Ben Boat Dive on Spring
Tide ·
09/29: DA Club Meeting 7:30
p.m. |
|
Oct
2003
|
Nov
2003 ·
Local Shore Dives TBA ·
Annual gear
maintenance workshop TBA ·
11/24: DA Club Meeting 7:30
p.m. |
Dec
2003 ·
12/15: DA Club
Meeting 7:30 p.m. 4th Annual
Artifact & Photo Contest ·
12/28: Winter Shore Dive |
Pink highlighted events are subsidized by DA dues
Divers Anonymous first “read the newsletter” scuba
quiz. Originally posted many months ago.
1) Name 6 middle ear equalizing
techniques.
2) Name the national park that
was recently studied by marine biologists within a year after the federal
government declared its waters closed to fishing.
3) This man teamed with J
Cousteau to invent the first scuba regulator.
4) Name this local pioneer who
tested one of the first submarines.
5) What year did Europeans
first visit New Jersey?
6) What was the name of their
ship?
7) Who was the original captain
of the dive boat Seeker?
8) When did Divers Anonymous
hold its first official meeting?
9) These organisms are
primarily responsible for the deterioration of the Titanic.
10) A perfectly round balloon
has a volume of air equal to 1 cubic feet on the surface. A diver takes it
underwater in the Atlantic to a depth of 33 feet. At that depth what is the new
diameter of the balloon measured in feet?
11) How many times has this
scuba quiz appeared in the newsletter?
Rules
are: First member to email, telephone, mail, or communicate some reasonable
answers to the above questions to Tom Gormley will be awarded a scuba prize to
be determined by the judges, Tom and Rich. Their decision is final.