July 6, 2010. Advance.

Gorgeous day on the water! A large pod of dolphin played around the boat and wreck for an hour! There was a minimum of twelve dolphins in the pod and possibly more. The porpoises may have been following the numerous baitfish present on the wreck. Their
“clicking” noises were definitely audible in the water! Divers on the hang-bar at 15 ft were greeted by the visiting porpoises as were those on the wreck. Divers on the surface waiting to board the boat reported that dolphins brushed their fins! Divers who were back on the boat already were able to witness the event as well. They witnessed the dorsal fins and noses of the dolphins emerging from the water. The dolphins also engaged in spectacular jumps and flips! It was a wonderful experience for all passengers! Besides the dolphin pod, spadefish and tautog were the most plentiful fish species. The anemones on the wreck were especially remarkable today and seemed brighter and more colorful than usual.

Sunny. 90 F air temperature. Light winds from West at 5-10 kts. Surface temperature 78 F. Bottom temperature 51 F. Surface visibility milky. Bottom visibility 25-30 ft. Thermocline located at 50 ft. The water is definitely starting to mix, as is evident by the increasing depth of the thermocline position. Moderate surface current. Light bottom current.

July 7, 2010. Jackson.

Today was another fine day on “Lake Atlantic.” Today during the surface interval, both a sunfish (Mola mola) and a sea turtle surfaced! The sea turtle was most likely a loggerhead sea turtle, although it wasn’t close enough to definitively confirm. The turtle was extremely large. It was actually the largest that the crew, divemasters, and capatain had ever seen! The Mola mola was gorgeous in its own peculiar, perhaps prehistoric way. At first, only its dorsal fin was visible. Later though, the sunfish breached for the divers! Marine life on the wreck included sheepshead, tautog, oyster toadfish, and numerous encrusting organisms. The white anemones seemed especially translucent today!

Sunny, 88 F. Light breeze from North West. Moderate surface and bottom currents were approximately ¼ kt. Seas 1 ft with greater than 10 second period. Surface temperature 76 F. Bottom temperature 54 F. Thermocline located at 50 feet. Surface visibility 50 feet. Bottom visibility 30 feet.

July 11, 2010. Benson.

Gorgeous day on the Byron Benson. The Benson was a 593 foot long tanker travelling from Texas to New Jersey was a cargo of 100,000 barrels of oil. The Benson joined a mini-convoy near North Carolina. Despite the protection of the convoy, the Benson was torpedoed by the U-552 commanded by Erich Topp. The Benson, which had been torpedoed while turning, moved in large circles spewing flames and oil. Despite being torpedoed on April 5, 1942, the Benson did not sink until April 7, 1942. She now lies 25 miles NE of the Oregon Inlet in 115 feet of sea water. Her bow is separated from the stern by a breakdown section. There is still much relief on the Benson and she is relatively intact. Divers spotted numerous tautog and black sea bass today as well as the normal encrusting invertebrates found on the wrecks in this area. There were tons of conger eels throughout the wreckage as well.

Sunny and 85 F. SW winds 10-15 kts. Seas 4-5 ft subsiding to 3-4 ft. Bottom temperature 54 F. Surface temperature 78 F. Visibility on bottom 30-40 ft. Moderate currents throughout water column, including moderate currents on surface and bottom.

July 13, 2010. Advance.

Fabulous day on the Advance with great visibility and schools of amberjack! Bottom visibility was 50-60 feet! Schools of greater than 200 amberjack were seen today! Thus far this season, we have only seen a few amberjack. Seeing amberjack today means that the water really is beginning to mix and water temperatures are increasing! There were many spadefish schooling in the upper 30 feet of the water column. A remora was spotted in 20 feet of water. The remora was curious and visited divers on the hang-bar positioned in 15 feet of water. Divers commented on the pre-historic appearance of the remora. A large loggerhead surfaced and passed by the starboard side of the RV Go-Between.

Sunny, 84 F. Seas 3-4 feet. South winds 15 knots. Bottom visibility 50-60 feet! Surface temperature 78 F. Bottom temperature 55 F. Thermocline at 40 ft. Minimal current moving bow to stern on bottom.

July 16, 2010. Zane Gray.

Dive was scheduled for Bill’s Wreck, however low visibility at that site sent us to the Zane Gray. Luckily, the Zane Gray offered fabulous conditions! Visibility on the deck was 50 ft while if you ventured over the sides, visibility was 80 ft. The growth on the Zane Gray was stunning. There were numerous species of coral. Soft and hard corals, including gorgonians were encrusting the wreck. There were numerous anemones as well. The most striking aspect of the growth was the number of colonies and their intense color. There were numerous fish present including spadefish, tautog, seabass, and silversides. There were two sand-tiger sharks present on the Zane Gray as well. Overall it was a wonderful day of diving on the Zane Gray.

Overcast and sunny day. Air temperature 90 F. Bottom visibility 50ft-80ft. 8-14 kt breeze from the West. Seas 3 ft. Light current. Fun day!

July 23, 2010. Advance.

Marine life was present on the Advance today in the form of spadefish, tautog, and seabass. The female and male tautog can be easily distinguished by divers. Female tautog have a mottled, blotchy coloration while the males have a more uniform color. However, both the male and female have a similar shape. Sponges and anemones were particularly vibrant today.

Nice overcast day. Cool light breeze. 89 F air temperature. Bottom visibility 30 ft. Bottom temperature 52 F. Surface temperature 72 F. Light current. Nice, quiet water today.

July 24, 2010. U-85.

Today we had visitors on the U-85! Our visitors were 25 spotted porpoises!! We also had a fabulous group from Charlottesville, VA! West winds 10 kts. 90 F air temperature. Four foot seas with slow rolls. Bottom visibility was 10-15 ft. Bottom temperature 47 F on bottom which was unusually cold due to prevalent influence of the Laborador Current from the North. Surface temperature 72 F.

July 25, 2010. Zane Gray.

Today we saw plentiful fish. Spadefish, tautog, and seabass were abundant. There were a few sand tiger sharks as well! One spotted porpoise was sighted by divers. The growth on the wreck was incredible! It was very colorful today and overall wonderful.

Cool winds from the west at 10 knots. 81 F air temperature. Sunny. Bottom visibility 30-40 ft. Visibility opened up to 70 in sand. Bottom temperature 51 F.

July 27, 2010. Advance.

Today we were visited by a cobia shadow feeding. The cobia was shadow feeding with a school of spadefish. It was mimicking the swimming movement of the spadefish. The shadow feeding was occurring in the upper 20 feet of the water column. It was visible to both divers on the hang-bar as well as those on the boat. It was certainly exciting to have the opportunity to witness this fascinating fish behavior! Other fish included tautog and sheepshead.

Air temperature 80 F. Light east breeze. Sunny. Very nice day on the water! It was a Lake Atlantic day with seas of 1-2 ft. Glassy conditions. Surface temperature 70F. Bottom temperature 56F. Thermocline at 50 feet. Bottom visibility 15-20 feet.

July 28, 2010. Advance.

Numerous skates and rays were seen today! They were mostly seen in the sand off the sides of the Advance. Divers were greeted by the different swimming pattern of the rays and skates. There were tautog, oyster toadfish, spadefish, and silversides.

Beautiful day on the water! Lake Atlantic again with seas less than 1 ft. Sunny. 86F air temperature. Bottom temperature 55 F. Surface temperature 74 F. Thermocline at 35 ft. Minimal current. Bottom visibility 30-40 ft.

July 31, 2010. Zane Gray.

The marine life was incredible today on the Zane Gray. While the normal fish suspects were present, we were excited to see both mahi and jacks! There were large schools of amberjack present. There was a graceful sand-tiger shark on the Zane today. The sand-tiger was at least 12 feet long. In terms of invertebrates, there was lots of gorgeous growth on the bow. It was very colorful as well!

Cool, 76 F air temperature. Light NE wind. Slightly overcast in morning. Light rolling 4 foot seas. Fun day!

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