Arriving at the dock at 5am, there are several people there ahead of me.
Looking up at the sky, and feeling a gentle breeze, I know that today is
going to be another great day of diving in paradise. The marine forcast
is favorable (at least for us). Four footers with a decent interval
between them. As it gets close to departure time (6am) we start to look
around. There is one person missing. A very important person, and vital
to our trip.... the person bringing the food for the BBQ. Considering
that we basically don't bring much ourselves (chips, salsa, pretzels and
other assorted junk), we ponder the thought of nothing to eat. The boat
leaves and on BBQ. We find out later that he overslept. But, there were
a few onboard that believe in the Boy Scouts motto of always being
prepared. One brought a bucket of KFC (when you are desparate, you'll
eat anything), and another brought 10 frozen hamburgers. With that
information in hand, I retired to my bunk to nap for the 2hour ride out
to the wreck.
Today's destination is the Lillian. She is a 328' steel steam freighter
that went down in 1939 after a collision with the Wiegand. The ship
rests in 160' of water.
Suiting up and going in the water, the vertical viz for the first 70' is
about 70'. Then the thermo.... water temp drops to 45 degrees and vis to
a darker 30'. This is my first dive on the wreck. The wreck is pretty
much spread out all over the place. There is high relief from the
boilers and engine and there is a pretty good amount of marine growth on
it.  There were the usual marine life... anemone's, cod, ling cod,
scorpion fish, scallops, flounder, sea pouts, etc..  I followed the prop
shaft exploring and looking for something to eat later on the grill. I
find a lobster and only wind up with a claw. Then, I find another
lobster that must have molted recently. The shell was still soft. After
about a 25min bottom, it was time to head for the surface. Deco
obligations were building up fast and, since I dive 'dry', well, after
an hour or so in the water, I gotta go to the 'head'.
Back onboard, the burgers were cooking, the chicken was being eaten, and
I tossed the claw on the grill. Other lobster and bags of scallops were
brought up along with an artifact. We laughed and talked and had a great
time during the SI, then back into the water. The second dive mirrored
the first. On the ascent, you could see that the seas had picked up
their pace between wave sets. It made the hang for some a little tough.
They had plenty of arm 'up and down' motion going. And with 4-5' swings,
well, they looked like tea bags being dipped. The trip up the ladder was
fun for them also. For an old vet like me, it was just another walk in
the park. Back onboard, we laugh and eat the remainder of the food. It's
off to my bunk for the 2hr ride home.
It was another great day of diving in paradise.....