~2014 Sinker Sale~ Point Pleasant Fire Company Fishing Flea market...

It took the team eleven and half months to get 2579 pounds of sinkers and five and a half hours to sell every one. This week end was the Point Pleasant fire departments company #1 fishing flea market and as in the past they give the dive team a table to sell all the stuff we found throughout the year. Sell we did!! 

   Two thousand five hundred seventy nine pounds of sinkers, hundreds of lures, many fishing poles, anchors, and old bottles all for sale, and everything was recovered from underwater.  We do clean the lures and the sinkers of old line and any debris that hangs on to it.

  We were ready for the doors to open and the mad rush of people looking for deals! Well it didn’t happen that way! People did come in but not like in years past. Sales were OK but kind of slow and it was not just us. Nobody was doing very well. There just  wasn’t a lot of people.

   Our sales did pick up late in the morning and we started moving a lot more sinkers. Paul D. had his hand truck and was kept busy taking half buckets of sinkers out to the parking lot. Half of bucket here and a half bucket there and we well on your way to getting cleaned out, One sale took all our bigger sinkers. Another sale took over half our lures and that’s how the morning went.

   By 1:00 we were pretty much done, most of the vendors were packing up, we had two half buckets of sinkers left and looked like they are going back to the building with us! But wait!!! As we were loading it on the truck one last customer came up and took everything we had left. Nothing but empty buckets and one fishing pole were going back with us.

   It was a really good day! We sold everything. It was the best we ever did and the most we ever made. “If you bring it someone will buy it”.

   You would think after working all day selling sinkers we would take a rest, but you would be wrong!!  We checked the water and it was really clear so it was off to get gear and hit the inlet.

   So Ali, Bob, Joe, OJ, Greg, Linda and I all suited up and jumped into the inlet with Paul and Milton as surface support. Being on call 24/7 we have to be ready at all times so this keeps us on our toes!! The water was COLD! I could feel it on my face the minute I hit the water, but the visibility was so good with over 10-15 feet. Everybody teamed up and started looking around.

   The inlet is always changing, sand moves here and sand moves there and you never know what you’re going to find. The find of the day goes to Ali, she found a brand new watch and it had the right time on it!! Joe followed that up with a nice silver ring!! Linda and I came out with a full sinker tube and some quarters and a clip of 30-06 bullets and Linda got a nice bottle too. Joe out did us on the bottles also! He got a bottle I have never seen before.

   After over an hour the divers started coming out and checking out our finds. It’s really nice having surface support to help the divers getting out of the water and helping the divers out of their gear. Paul saw Joe’s bottle and got on his I-phone and found out it’s a soda-milk bottle from the 40’s. With the last diver coming out an hour and twenty five minutes after going in, it was time for coffee and to head back to clean up and start the next year’s great sinker race again!

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Dive Team Duty Crew "Saves the Day"!!...

 

Point Pleasant First Aid and Emergency Squad, an all volunteer first aid squad, has the coverage area from the Manasquan Inlet to the southern end of Mantoloking where Route 35 splits into two separate highways north and south.

This year the squad and it's Dive Team set up dive duty crews that would make sure they had a Dive Team crew available from 5 PM until 8:30PM. This would allow for quicker response times to water emergencies in their coverage area after the lifeguards went off duty.

Each year more and more people visit the beaches and stay later or just go onto the beach after hours for free. This means more people swimming in unprotected water.

Saturday evening, 8-31-13, on one of the last days of the official season as the Dive Team crew were walking on the beach near Martell's and Jenk's, a woman struck up a conversation, asking why they were there. As they spoke she looked up and saw her son get caught in a RIP CURRENT that sucked the boy underwater. The diver, Paul DeSalvo, sprung into action and swam out and had to search under the surface for the 10 year old. He managed to grab him and bring him back to shore safely.

The entire summer of training and preparing for just such an incident paid off in split second of action.

The odds of him going under while the rescue team was in sight are unbelievable but he is alive and well and, thankfully, not the subject of a search and recovery by the area emergency services.

Several important factors are brought to the squads attention with a call like this;
1st No swimming in unprotected waters unless you have others with you...

2nd  Watch out for Rip Currents. Especially without lifeguards present or after hours or off season...

3rd  If you or a family member are dragged under the water and have water in the lungs and are coughing and spitting up, it is vitally important to seek medical attention at the hospital...

Many people have died from a secondary drowning or "Dry Drowning," where they have enough water in there lungs to suffocate as they lay down or go to sleep.

Enjoy the water but be careful, we want you to come back again next season.

 

 

Fishermen's Flea Mkt ~2013~

Sunday was our big fund raiser for the year. The ocean #1 fire company’s fishing flea market. We recover sinkers all year and sell them back to the fishermen and anything else we find, ie fishing pole, lures, tools, anchors or old bottles. Some people will buy any thing. One  year we sold a three foot high concrete owl that sue and tom recovered.

  This year we had over 2056lbs of sinkers and over one hundred lures to sell and fishing poles and anchors. It took over eight hours to clean the sinkers and lures to get them ready to sell. Saturday night we finished up the sorting and cleaning and loaded up the dive truck for Sunday.

Sunday morning saw a pretty good turnout of members to get set up and sell! Sell we did!! It didn’t look to us like a good turnout, most times you can’t walk around due to so many people. But not this year, you could walk around without any problems. Sales were slow for a little while but picked up after about an hour. The good lures were the first to go. Afew old bottles got sold and the anchors were gone, tom was pushing the fishing poles and sue and flo had the sinkers flying off the table!

Then it was let’s make a deal time! People didn’t want bags of sinkers, they wanted half buckets of sinkers. The captain of the queen mary got all the 4 oz sinkers and that started it off. Paulie D and his hand truck got one hell of a work out, he was running half buckets of sinkers out to cars and trucks the rest of the day. By 1200hrs we were sold out of sinkers and lures and anchors. We had afew fishing pole and some old bottles and that was it.

Getting back to the building and getting everything put away it was time to sit back and start planning for next year! May be we can get 2500lbs this time!

We had our best year ever, we made over $1300!  I would like to thank Ocean fire company #1 for the table” you guys are the best”, and I want to thank Sue, Flo, Joann, Ali, Tom C,     Tom T, BOB, Mike B, Paulie D, and new member Joe P for all their hand work in pulling this off.

Sinker Sales 2012....

Today, Feb 26, 2012, we had an excellent turnout for our Blowout Sinker Sale. Ocean Fire Co. #1 invited us again to table at their annual Fisherman's Flea Market, held at Antrim School. With a beautiful day, the event was well-attended, and fortunately 13 members were available to pack out 2116 pounds of sinkers. (In case you were wondering, that's nine FULL 5-gallon buckets. Of course, you shouldn't ACTUALLY fill a five gallon bucket with lead and try to move it. We did a scientific investigation and proved that it will break.)

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Our crew of Professional Sinker Sorters were busy sorting the whole morning and preparing custom orders to exacting specifications. Or not. (When you want to get rid of a ton of lead, it becomes necessary to throw in an extra handful here and there.) Mike and Justin were so busy selling, we actually ran out of bags and had to make a supermarket run. We also sold lures (hand-polished by Flo), F-Cove salvaged sunglasses, and a handful of vintage bottles. In the meantime, Larry the Singing Lobster kept the kids busy with his only two songs.
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In the end, we did have to take back home some bottles, lures, and a rusty anchor that just couldn't pass muster. And Larry. BUT NO LEAD. This was our best sinker sale to date, so thanks to everyone who stopped by and to our hosts.

Can we take ONE week off from collecting now? Not if we want to have 2500 pounds next year...

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WHAT WE LEARNED TODAY:
1. Full buckets of sinkers are HEAVY!!! LIFT WITH THE LEGS!!!!
2. Kids LOVE Larry the Lobster.....Adults DO NOT!!! (Except Flo)
3. There are some things you cant even GIVE away!!

Sinker dive facts
52 sinker dives in 51 weeks
Biggest haul 288lbs
Most sinkers came out of manasquan inlet
five dives in shark river inlet
two dives on the wreck of the delaware
two dives at the highlands bridge
It took eight people six hours to clean and sort the sinkers.
Best sinker spot is sue's sinker garden, over five hundred lbs of sinkers came from that one spot.

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Missing swimmer Manasquan Inlet...

Shortly after 7 pm on Saturday, July 17, 2010, while we were still cleaning up from the Wooden Boat Festival, an emergency call came in for a submerged swimmer right off Manasquan Inlet jetty. (The normal lifeguard crew is off the beach by 5:30 pm, and red flags had been posted on the beach, but with such a hot day, hundreds of people were still in and near the water at the time of the incident.) As it had been a busy day, many squad members were already at the squad building and immediately responded to Jenkinson's Beach at its closest access point. First Aid Captain Jerry Meany, a first aid crew, and a dive crew got on scene within 4-5 minutes (the time it takes to get across town) and discovered one man being assisted out of the rocks by a Jenkinson's security officer and bystander. The crowd indicated that a second man had gone down right off the south tip of the jetty minutes before.

Sue had responded to the beach in exposure suit, mask, fins, and snorkel, so she surface swam to the point of last contact and searched the outside of the jetty. With several breathhold dives, she also dipped down to look for the victim, but with ZERO vis and heavy surge, all she could do was feel the bottom and avoid getting smashed into the jetty herself. Within a few more minutes, Chet and Tom C also made it to the beach in full scuba gear and entered to conduct a more thorough search at the base of the rocks and concrete. They had no more success than the surface swimmer and found themselves totally enveloped in sea lettuce and in even more risk of being swept with the surge into the jetty. One of them described the experience as "being in a washing machine" and one of the worst dives he's ever had to do.

In the meantime, several first aiders and volunteer fire fighters were also posted around the jetty to help with spotting. The US Coast Guard, State Police, Point Pleasant Boro FD, and Budget Towing also had boats on the water to provide eyes and possible assistance from offshore. With increasing surf and surge and fading light, we pulled our divers from the water, and the USCG helicopter conducted a search with a thermal imaging camera, with negative results. Deteriorating water conditions and darkness led all parties to suspend the search for the night by 9:30 pm.

We returned to the beach Sunday morning to resume our in-water search under better conditions, recognizing that this had become a recovery operation. Our Rescue 34 boat (Doug, Paul, Tom T, and Tom C) and the private vessel of one of our first aid squad members (Jonathan, with Megan and Tom G) ran patterns up and down the beach to look for the victim from the surface. Simultaneously, two divers repeated last night's search of the tip of the jetty, but the sea lettuce and low tide surge still resulted in this pattern being conducted solely by feel. Due to the still-dangerous conditions, these divers exited the water.

In the meantime, the State Police returned with their boat and ran a pattern using side scan sonar. By mid-tide, water conditions and visibility had improved significantly, so we sent another three divers back in. Chet was finally able to conduct a systematic check of all the crevices around the tip of the jetty. Sue and Milton drifted with the incoming tide around the jetty tip and into the inlet proper to to investigate potential snag locations. After over an hour of searching with negative results, the search was called off until further sightings or information becomes available.

Our condolences go out to the family of the victim.

Asbury Park Press article

UPDATE: On Friday, July 23, 2010, the victim's body was spotted floating about one mile offshore outside of Manasquan Inlet and subsequently recovered by United States Coast Guard Station Manasquan.

Pygmy Sperm Whale...

The Point Pleasant First Aid Dive Team has had some very interesting
activities in the recent years. This story ranks high among their
finest rescues. Here is the report.

At 1530 hours on May 15, 2010 the Point Pleasant First Aid Dive Team
was dispatched to Mantoloking Beach to aid a beached whale. The day was
beautiful. Not a cloud was in the sky, air temps were in the high 70's,
and a mild wind was blowing out of the west. Conditions at the shore
were excellent and if not for this call, divers would have considered
an ocean dive. When duty calls the dive team responds in numbers and
effect. This day was one of those days.

Assistant chief, Flo Melo, and Tom Conroy had gotten alerted earlier
and were already on scene. Chief diver, Chet Nesley, was called and he
notified the squad where Tom Gormley made the call to dispatch the dive
team on Chet's order. All team members were notified to go directly to
1073 Route 35 south in Mantoloking, the roadway site of the call. Dave
Gibson and Norva Gormley drove 342 to the site. Tom G loaded 347 with
the requested gear and drove to the site. First Aid Captain, Jerry
Meaney, drove 340 to the site as well.

On scene Flo and Tom C were attending the whale with the aid of several
local residents and beach goers. They had gotten the whale carefully
situated on the edge of the surf on the up[hill berm to relieve as much
stress as they could. Flo called immediately for a stokes basket from
Jerry M, while Tom G delivered dry suits to the site and donned his own
for immediate water assistance. Doug and Tom C also donned dry suits.
The water was still only in the high 40 degree range and people were
standing in the cold water assisting the whale for many minutes
already. Fortunately waves were only in the 1 to 2 foot range due to
the westerly winds.




The Mantoloking Fire Department and Police Department was called and
would arrive momentarily. The US Coast Guard was on alert and standing
by. Meanwhile members of the dive team were arriving and this was a
success of the E-dispatch system. Doug Hatch and Paul DeSalvo from the
team had been E-dispatched.

Meanwhile the whale was being supported and protected from incoming
waves and was physically moved onto the stokes basket with a mighty
effort of all involved. Children in the area were asked to name the
female whale which was identified as a Pygmy sperm whale according to
Flo, Tom C, and Chet who are also members of the Marine Mammal
Stranding Center, which is located in Brigantine. The children named
the whale Suzie. We all were doing our utmost to save and comfort Suzie
in her time of need. There is no doubt that humans feel a definite
attraction and need to assist at a time like this. Except for a police
officer, all of those involved were non paid but professional
volunteers and requested local residents.

With the arrival of the Fire Dept, we were gaining manpower to be able
to do some heavy lifting. The plan was to move Suzie off the beach so
she could eventually be placed on a large box truck coming from the
MMSC and off to their center for care. A plan was developed and
actuated to first slide Suzie off the berm onto level sand and then to
lift her onto the bed of the town's pickup. Suzie was 9 feet long and
weighed approximately 600 pounds. Moving her was done purely by human
muscle and it succeeded nicely. The pickup needed a pull from a bobcat
tractor to make it off the beach and again manpower lifted Suzie onto
the MMSC's truck.

A loud cheer was finally made to the satisfaction of a growing crowd of
interested and supporting onlookers. This was a job well done out of
love and admiration for our fellow creatures that live so close to us
in our Atlantic Ocean. A big thank you goes to all who participated and
assisted. The dive team could not have done the job alone though they
were a strong reason for the success.



Several local and statewide media services came to the scene and
interviewed Flo and Chet on behalf of the dive team. We made news in a
very favorable way today.

The call was completed at 1820 hours and the team completed cleaning
gear by 2030 hours. It was a long day. The sad news is that Suzie
succumbed to her condition on the way to Brigantine despite our efforts
to keep her wet, cool, and protected from sunlight. We had done our
best and would do this again in a Point Pleasant heartbeat.

Report by Tom Gormley for the Pt Pleasant First Aid Dive team

Local media coverage here...
and here...

Ring Recovery....

On Friday night, April 30, 2010, the Dive Team received an underwater Search and Recovery request from one of the town's Police Detectives. A couple, while working around their boat at Kingsbridge Marina, reported a missing purse. The woman had placed it on the cover of their dock box, but a wind blew the cover open, flinging the small purse into the water. Chief Nesley, Paul, and Dave went in at 10 pm to sweep under the dock to search for the purse. The divers had about 10 feet of visibility, but with the darkness and swiftly moving current, the object was not recovered.

We returned on Saturday morning with Chet, Dave, Milton, and Sue. This time, the boat owners met us at the dock and we were able to get a first-hand account of how, where, and when the item went missing. Most importantly, we learned that the tide was outgoing at the time of the loss (we had previously been told incoming), and that the brick-size purse had a ring of keys in it. This allowed us to better plan a search area, considering water movement, bottom composition, and how quickly the object should have sank.


Milton and Sue began their search by stringing a line between the dock (right under the boat) over to the railroad bridge to the east, with both ends anchored. They used this for visual reference to sweep back and forth, covering a large patch of real estate where the purse should have headed when it was lost. Meanwhile, Chet and Dave conducted an intensive search under the bridge itself; if the tide did bring the purse this far, the jumbled bottom structure and debris there would have likely snagged any rolling object.

After about a half hour of fruitless searching by both teams, Milton and Sue changed course to recheck around the dock and to the west. Lucky for Sue, she had trouble clearing one of her ears! Normally, that's not a lucky event, but her delayed descent dropped her down separated from Milton. While she was getting her bearings to decide whether to pursue her partner or sweep under an adjacent dock on her own, SHE LANDED ON THE PURSE.

All four divers regrouped and headed back to the truck, appearing to call it quits. The couple saw us ungearing and wanted to know how things went. Chief Nesley had some Good News and some Bad News for them. He gave them the Bad News first: "From this dock to the OTHER side of the bridge, it's not there." Then the Good News: "It was right over there, ten feet away from your boat." Roseann was ecstatic, so much so that she didn't think twice about giving bear hugs to four soaking wet divers. Her purse was soaked, but it had been zippered shut, so nothing had been lost. Even the ChapStick survived!

"Geese Away" lights...

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The Dive Team installed two more "Geese Away" lights to lakes in the community to keep Geese from nesting in populated areas. This day the team installed two lights at the "Lake of the Lilies" pond in Point Pleasant and in the past they installed three lights in Little Silver Lake...

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Divers Paul DeSalvo, Sue Lewicki, and Chief Diver Chet Nesley...