The Gulf Stream....

My friend and prior Captain of the Sportfishing charter boat Sea Boots that I worked on while living in the Florida Keys, had a interesting tidbit about the Gulf Stream on his weekly radio show "This Week in Fishing"... 

The above photo shows a small fishing boat that snagged a deep water Crab trap rope in it's propeller and was in danger of sinking. It may appear that the fishing boat is "backing down" and the Coast Guard inflatable is in power ahead but in fact both boats are NOT moving and it is the Gulf Stream current running past them. The small Coast Guard boat was not able to cut the trap line and our boat the Sea Boots took tow of the small fishing boat by the bow and pulled it 180degrees into the current where there was then slack in the line to be cut...

Interesting facts about the flow and strength of the Gulf Stream current:

Off the Atlantic seaboard of the United States, the Gulf Stream flows at a rate nearly 300 times faster than the typical flow of the Amazon River. The velocity of the current is fastest near the surface, with the maximum speed typically about 5.6 miles per hour (nine kilometers per hour). The average speed of the Gulf Stream, however, is four miles per hour (6.4 kilometers per hour). The current slows to a speed of about one mile per hour (1.6 kilometers per hour) as it widens to the north.
 
The Gulf Stream transports nearly four billion cubic feet of water per second, an amount greater than that carried by all of the world's rivers combined.

Route 35 Bridge Search Project...

The Rescue Dive Team responded to a request from the Point Pleasant Beach Police department to survey the underwater area around the Route 35 bridge over the Manasquan river. This area is often used by swimmers and it is common for people to jump from the bridge abutment into the water…

 

 

The Police department requested a search for potential underwater hazards resulting from hurricane Sandy debris and the removal of any objects that could pose a problem to the swimmers…

 

 

 

Due to the venturi effect around the Route 35 bridge the Dive Team used numerous search lines to complete the search in the selected area. By using a “running jack” pattern the area from the West end of the bridge abutment to under the bridge was searched for debris. Special emphasis was placed on debris that could drift out by current from under the bridge into the open area and the navigable waterways. The Eastside of the bridge was also searched out to twenty feet…

 

The Dive Team did remove a concrete base object with a four foot pipe embedded in it which obviously could have been a hazard if struck by a person jumping from the bridge…  

 

The whole area under the Route 35 bridge was found to be clear of storm debris and in fact the Dive Team has explored and practiced this area in the past and the waterway is cleaner now than before the storm...

 

 

 

 

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Wooden Boat Festival ~2012~

Each year we are proud to be a part of the Wooden Boat Festival sponsored by the Toms River Seaport Society and Maritime Museum. The day includes a collection of wooden boats moored along the canal, vendors selling nautical goods, pirates and of course the

Pt Pleasant Dive Team touch tank and display.

The Dive Teams day starts at 5:30 am as we don our scuba equipment to collect our specimens for the touch tank. It takes about an hour to collect the proper specimens and enough water to keep our touch tank and our specimens healthy throughout the long day ahead.

Our displays at the festival included photos of various marine life found off the Jersey coast, a multimedia display showing artifact recovery, marine life and Dive Team drills, our brand new shell display case created by our fantastic Sue Lewicki, and of course “Dry Suit Guy” – a fully suited representation of what equipment we wear during our dives.

Of course the highlight of our display was our Touch Tank. Kids and adults alike had a great time learning about the marine life of New Jersey from members of our Dive Team. Our Touch tank included specimens such as the Sea Star (or Starfish as most would call them), Spider Crabs, Snails, Hermit Crabs, Star Coral and the Red Bearded Sponge. There were many smiles and a few shrieks as the Sea Stars would start walking along a childs hand!

12 hours after starting our day we are finally on our way back to the RR Bridge to release our marine specimens. As we know from the past, you never know when a call will come in and it did on the way home. No rest for the weary.

In the end...it makes a for a long day, both for the Sea Stars and the Dive Team.

But we love every minute of it! We look forward to seeing our friends again at the Wooden Boat Festival in 2013.

Alex Mac

Footage of the Alex Mac wrecksite that the team responded to and assisted in victim removal back on July 2006...

The team did go back to the wreck and took photos as shown here in this post.

The above video footage was taken from You-Tube and not recorded by the team....

Museum of New Jersey Maritime History

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On a rainy Saturday about a month or so back I had the opportunity to take a ride South to the Museum of New Jersey Maritime History that is located in Beach Haven and found it to be an outstanding research asset for local divers...

The museum is located at Dock Road and West Avenue and maintains an impressive website...

The museum is the works of Deb Whitcraft and Jim Vogel and the result of over 33 years of collecting artifacts and research. The museum also offers an impressive library\research area with an incredible amount of photos, newspaper articles, books, and computer internet stations.

Some artifact restoration is done onsite and we had the opportunity to tour the back areas to see the progress being made on several items...

Well worth the ride and check the website often for events...

M\S Explorer...

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Many reports in the media last week about the M\S Explorer that went down after striking a submerged iceberg off Antarctica. Reports indicated that the damage to the hull produced a hole “the size of a fist” which sounds like the damage should have been controllable. As we all know the media tends to rush to press with whatever info they have without proper follow-up or a reading public that knows better. Photos of the damaged and sinking Explorer shows apparent damage to the hull and it appears that the hole is possibly the size of a fist but runs the length of about 40% of the ship.


Have not been able to find any follow-up stories or info on the damage but I am sure that reports will follow with time. Enviro-cruises have become popular in this area as well as Alaska in somewhat harsh conditions.

Suspecting that the Explorer settled on the bottom on it’s Starboard side, the damage to the hull should be very visible and a great wreck dive. As with any new wreck, plans are in the works for a road trip but problems have developed with locating established 7-Eleven stores along the route to provide the needed sustainable supplies… COFFEE !!!

Bonnie Lea up on the beach...

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Another Scallop boat has become victim of the season and this one ended up on the beach off of New York Avenue. Point Pleasant First aid team members responded but the Rescue Dive Team was not needed for this call...

The Captain reported that upon exiting Mannasquan Inlet he faced strong winds and decided to head back to the dock but lost power and steerage...

Asbury Park Press provided coverage at:
http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070908/NEWS02/709080421/1070

"The Bonnie Lee's ill-fated ordeal began more than 12 hours earlier. Matthews said he took it out of the Manasquan Inlet and headed south, only to meet up with high winds. Because of the weather, he said he decided to turn around and head back to the inlet, but on the way back, the boat's motor failed.
"I lost power and ended up on the beach," he said.
Police and Coast Guard officials received word of a vessel with engine trouble about 2:30 a.m., and about five minutes later, the Bonnie Lee had washed up on the beach, police said.
Both agencies said that when the boat's motor stalled, the two men on board were unable to get the anchor out, and jumped off as the vessel washed ashore".

Photos provided by Dive Team member Flo Melo...

Alex-Mac revisited...

Alex-Mac


The Dive Team went back to the wrecksite of the Alex-Mac at the request of the inurance company to survey the site and wreckage. They found the site still intatct but had been visited and some items missing such as the Props...


The team also sealed up the engine area to contain oil and diesel fuel from leaking at this time....