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Scuba Forum / Scuba Locations / June 2006USS Algol from Belmar, NJ
I dove the Algol last Sunday with my son (great Father's Day deal for me!). It was sunk as part of NJ's artificial reef program. Cool dives. The wreck is upright and level. Visibility was quite good (25' or more). 110' or so to the main deck, and most of the superstructure's at 80-90'. I'm told it's 140' to the sand, 150'-ish if you swim under it where the washouts are. (We did not go the sand, not on EAN30. We'll bring EAN28 next time so we can do a decent amount of exploring in the holds.) There was about a half know current running diagonally over the wreck. The Algol's in good condition but is starting to deteriorate, with corrosion beginning to widen openings, etc. It is very far from fully encrusted but is headed in that direction. There are lots of opportunities for penetration into the holds and superstructure. There were lots and lots of fish and the each of the spearfishers all came up with his limit. There was some lobster and two divers came up with medium-sized ones. There isn't too much to get tangled in that I saw (not that we saw nearly everything on 2 dives). One guy came up with a goodie bag and a wreck reel recovered from the bottom, lost by some guy with the same first name. He won't even have to re-mark them. (No, they were not his; his handwriting on his own gear was clearly different.) I went out on the Ol' Salty II from Belmar, and it was great. 28 divers plus crew and it wasn't crowded in the least. The crew was friendly and efficient but put up with no BS. They have obviously done this before, and stage divers into the water deco first, big/double tanks second, everyone else third so that everyone's dives end in a staggered way and there was never a crowd anywhere other than the 20' stop (and that one was small). The wreck is big enough at 469' long that it wasn't crowded, either. The vast majority on the boat dove doubles, there were a couple with large singles and a pony (including my son, who had plenty of air except when his octo free-flowed near the end of the second dive) and the few remaining divers dove AL80s (most with no pony). We'll be going back to see more, eventually. John Eells > I dove the Algol last Sunday with my son (great Father's Day deal for > me!). It was sunk as part of NJ's artificial reef program. Cool dives. [quoted text clipped - 38 lines] > > John Eells Glad you boys enjoyed your dives. However, with only 25' vis, I'd never tolerate spearfishing on the same dive with me.  Signaturejer email reply - I am not a 'ten' > Glad you boys enjoyed your dives. However, with only 25' vis, I'd never > tolerate spearfishing on the same dive with me. Why not? Do you look like a fish? >>Glad you boys enjoyed your dives. However, with only 25' vis, I'd never >>tolerate spearfishing on the same dive with me. > > Why not? Do you look like a fish? Not really, but I used to drink like one. :) With such limited vis, I'm concened about the spear chucker being capable of knowing what's behind the fish s/he is aiming at. If they miss, that spear is going to travel a lot farther than they can see. The spears I've seen have more than 25' of tether line. OTOH, if I knew the spear chucker adjusted the tether for the limited vis, then maybe I wouldn't be so concerned. Signaturejer email reply - I am not a 'ten' > Not really, but I used to drink like one. :) With such limited vis, > I'm concened about the spear chucker being capable of knowing what's > behind the fish s/he is aiming at. If they miss, that spear is going to > travel a lot farther than they can see. The spears I've seen have more > than 25' of tether line. OTOH, if I knew the spear chucker adjusted the > tether for the limited vis, then maybe I wouldn't be so concerned. Are they using powerheads there? > > Not really, but I used to drink like one. :) With such limited vis, > > I'm concened about the spear chucker being capable of knowing what's [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > Are they using powerheads there? I haven't seen one aboard a dive boat in a long, long time. (Hardly a sufficient sample to be definitive, though.) I haven't felt threatened by spear fishing while diving. Have any incidents been reported? SignatureArt Greenberg artg at eclipse dot net > I haven't felt threatened by spear fishing while diving. > > Have any incidents been reported? Spearfishers don't bother me much either, but now I only dive with spearfishers I know, and if there is spearfishing, I'm probably doing it too. I don't know of any powerhead incidents, but early in my diving one went off about 10 ft from me on the Papoose. The shooter was from a different boat, and I recognized him as the owner of a shop in Charlotte who should have known better. > I don't know of any powerhead incidents, but early in my diving one > went off about 10 ft from me on the Papoose. The shooter was from a > different boat, and I recognized him as the owner of a shop in > Charlotte who should have known better. There was one on the Playmate, out of Stock Island, near Key West a year or so ago. A diver dropped a loaded powerhead on the deck. Either he did not put the safety on or it was a type that does not have a safety. I was not there and don't have the details. What I do know is that the round went into the deck, causing only minor damage. The powerhead, however, hit the diver that dropped it hard enough to enter his leg and break a bone. He was evacuated by helicopter. The incident was reported by the Captain of the boat to explain why he had new rules for powerheads. This is the same captain who, the previous year, sold one time use powerheads, the kind that use the spear tip as a firing pin, for $20 each and encouraged divers to use them on sharks that had been harassing his customers more and more often. I was the hole in the deck. I don't doubt that it happened. Whether it happened as he said, or more likely as the guy that screwed up said, is open to question. When diving in the Dry Tortugas area, I carry a powerhead. At the captain's request, I kept it unloaded until needed. On one dive, I had a half dozen large hogfish hanging on my stringer and was looking down at about a dozen gray reef sharks searching where I has just been. The boat was far enough away to make me nervous and my buddy, who had ascended earlier was not close enough to watch my back. I loaded the powerhead, put it on the end of my spear and signaled the boat that I would really like a pickup NOW !!! Before I handed my speargun up, I put one of the two safeties on and advised the captain that the gun I was handing him had a loaded powerhead on the spear because I was not staying in the water with the sharks long enough to remove it. He was not pleased, but he understood. He didn't say a word about it. I will say that I loaded the powerhead and put the safety on before I went into the water on every dive after that and will again this year. I don't make a point of breaking the rules, but it's my life, not his, at stake. Because of the number of sharks I saw looking for me on that one dive, I also purchased a mesh pouch for the express purpose of carrying a few reloads. I hope I never need even one, but I hope even more that if I need more than one, I have them. Lee |
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