8/2/11 Tuesday: Advance II, Incredible dive on the Advance! By early afternoon, we could see the wreck from 15ft!! Bottom vis 30ft, increasing to 60ft as different water moved through. Bottom temp 57F. Surface temp 75F. Thermocline at 35ft. Minimal current. Sunny, west wind 5-10kts, 85-90F air temp. Few black sea bass, many spadefish, many amberjack. Single MOLA MOLA (ocean sunfish)!! The 4-5ft ocean sunfish seemed to be relaxing at approx. 35-40ft, only 10ft from divers. The mola mola was absolutely stunning in a prehistoric way…!! Amy and Steve did a great job today getting back into diving and it was wonderful to have them on board today!

8/4/11 Thursday; U-85, Beautiful dives on U-85. Bottom vis 50ft. Could see wreck from 40ft. Bottom temp 54F, surface 80F. Thermocline moved between 20ft and 40ft as different water moved through. School of mahi mahi at surface (many). Single oystertoadfish, few tautog, few black sea bass, few amberjack. Seas 2-4ft with some 6ft swells. Sunny, 87F, W wind at 10kts. Fun group of divers!

8/9/11 Tuesday; Advance, Gorgeous day at the Advance. Bottom vis 40-50ft--we could see the wreck from 35ft!! Bottom temp 57F, surface 78F. Thermoclines at 35ft and 20ft. Hot day, 95-100F, sunny without a cloud in the sky. Light breeze (5-10kts) from S. Seas 2-3ft, 9sec period. Many amberjack, tautog, and black sea bass. Lots of starfish and large (3-4” mytilus). Yellow sea whips and red bryozoans. Fun day with great group of divers!

8/10/11 Wednesday; USCGC Jackson, Fantastic day on Jackson. Sunny (85-90F) with light breeze. Seas 2-4ft, period 8 seconds. Bottom temp 56F, surface 77F. Thermocline at 25ft. Bottom vis 40ft increasing to 50ft by afternoon. We could see the wreck from 22ft! Moderate current throughout water column; on wreck, current moving from NW to SE. Tautog (few), black sea bass (many). Spectacular egg sacks and larvae throughout water column. Fun group of divers today!!

8/11/11 Thursday: U-85, AMAZING day on U-85!! Bottom vis 80ft plus; we could easily see the bow from the conning tower! Bottom temp 57F, surface 78F. Thermocline @ 35ft. Minimal current. Ocean catfish (single), tautog (many), black sea bass (many), and numerous wrasses. Tremendous number of black sea urchings and splendid Oculina and Astrangia colonies. Many ctenophores in water column. Seas 2-4ft, 9 sec period; calm day. Smoky in morning, then sunny and clear with a light breeze. Fun group of divers with optimal conditions for their photography passion!

8/6/11 Tuesday, Advance II; Fun day on Advance II! Bottom vis 30ft, temp 58F. Surface temp 80F. Bottom current moving bow to stern, moderate. Light surface current. Spadefish (many), tautog (few), black sea bass (many). One 4-5’ cobia near surface. Many small (<1”) starfish coating wreck. Seas 2ft, 8 sec period-‘Lake Atlantic!’ Sunny 85F, NW wind 5-10kts. Great group of divers ranging from O/W students to Instructors!

8/18/11 Thursday, U-85; Extremely comfortable day on “Lake Atlantic.” Sunny, 82F, light SE breeze (5kts). Seas 1-2ft, 9 sec period. Bottom temp 56F, surface 82F. Bottom vis 40-50ft. Could see divers on wreck from 35ft by afternoon. Few black sea bass, few oystertoadfish. Mahi and amberjack schools in upper water column (many). Fun group of divers with quite the appetite for hot dogs on such a calm day!

8/19/11 Friday, Jackson; Excellent day on USCGC Jackson (went to Jackson, not Advance, b/c Advance was occupied by fishermen)! Calm day; 1-2ft seas, 10 sec period. Light (5kt) SE wind. 85F air temp, sunny. Bottom temp 59F, surface 81F. No noticeable thermocline, just gradual temp change. Bottom vis 30ft increasing to 50-60ft by untie. Oystertoads (few), black sea bass (few), tautog (few), amberjack (many). 30-50 porpoises played by boat during untie; they put on quite the show!!! Congrats to the Jongbloods for finishing their O/W certification!!

8/20/11 Saturday, Zane Gray; Beautiful day on the water! Air temp 83F, light wind, variable; seas 1-2ft, 10 sec period; sunny. Bottom temp 59F, surface 82F. Thermocline at 35ft. Bottom vis 10-30ft, variable. Gulf stream waters on surface with great vis! Magnificent schools of baitfish surrounding wreck structure. Few black sea bass and tautog. Few sandtiger sharks. Large mussels and tremendous soft and hard coral growth. Many spadefish from 40ft to surface. Fun group of divers; it was nice to have Vince and Alex on board!!

8/21/11 Sunday, U-85; Gorgeous day on U-85! 60-80ft bottom vis! Bottom temp 57F, surface 80F. Thermocline at 35-40ft. Minimal current. Seas 1-2ft, 9 second period. Winds SE 5-10kts, increasing to S winds, 15kts by afternoon. Numerous salps in water column, both aggregate and solitary forms. Snook (few), black sea bass (many), taugtog (few). Pod of approx. 30 porpoises at tie-in!! Fun day!!

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