What to do with two Dive Team members and 225 miles from the Ocean...

Had the pleasure of hosting a weekend here in central Virginia when team members Chet and Sue came down for the annual bottle show in Harrisonburg. Pretty much had one day (Saturday) to keep them busy and happy so had a list of things to do ready when they arrived on Friday night. The Blue Ridge mountain range is impressive but no real open water for 211 miles in Virginia Beach.

First stop was along Skyline Drive where we took a short hike along the Appalachian Trail to a side trail I found 5 or 6 years ago while hiking this area. There is a gravestone of a Confederate soldier that died in 1861 and was buried here when the confederate army was held up at Browns Gap during the Civil War. I did a post on this back in 2009 and had a friend respond with additional info on the soldier. It can be viewed here... We stopped here to scrub down and clean the marker for being in the shade along the side of the mountain moss covers the name and info....

Next we hiked up to Blackrock Summit also along the Skyline Drive and is a large boulder field outcropping along the ridge line. Pictures do not give it credit and something you need to see if you are in the area. Sue made several sketches and numerous photos were taken...

Then we moved on to the Blue Ridge Tunnel in Afton Virginia at the intersection of Skyline Drive and Blue Ridge Parkway. This train tunnel was built back in 1850's and is 16 feet wide, 20 feet tall, and 4,237 feet long and built in a curving line. At one point the tunnel is over 700 feet below the summit of the mountain at Afton Gap. The tunnel was cut by hand drilling and blasted by Black Powder for Dynamite had not been invented yet. The tunnel progressed at an average of 26 feet a month and when the two sections met in the middle they were off by only 4 inches. The newer and bigger tunnel that replaced it in the 1950's was off by over 6 feet when they broke through. Confederate General Stonewall Jackson moved his Civil war troops through this tunnel during the Shenandoah Valley Campaign of the Civil War. After the original tunnel was retired a large section was walled off with two 14 foot thick walls creating a chamber that was to hold & store Propane gas. Unfortunately this never worked and the project was abandoned but it does make an interesting end to the hike. 

The Western opening of the tunnel had "Softer" rock than the Eastern opening and they had to brick the opening for about 300 feet into the tunnel using 168,000 bricks made onsite...

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Historical Bottle Diggers of Virginia... ~2013~

 

The Dive Team attended and had a display table at the recent bottle show of the Historical Bottle Diggers of Virginia in Harrisonburg, Virginia...

This was a unique opportunity for the team members to show off what they have found over the years as well as showing what the Dive Team has and continues to do for the community.... 

Our display table had a collection including artifacts from numerous shipwrecks along the New Jersey shore, river and tidal zones, and of course bottles found while diving. Special emphasis showed how antique bottles are found by way of "Underwater Bottle Digging" and the condition they are found in. Several visitors to the table stated that they found this tactic very interesting and one person contrasted it to his tactic of "Digging bottles with his debit card" on e-bay...

We were provided with two tables and at first there was a question if we could fill both tables but once the items started to hit the tables it was obvious we did well with our selections of items...

One third of the display was devoted to the marine environment where many of these items were found along with where the Dive Team trains, practices, and performs the procedures as duty requires. Special display was devoted to a pile of fishing sinkers in sand and a description of how the Dive Team has retrieved over 5,600+lbs of sinkers that were sold during the Winter Fisherman's flea markets to support Dive Team functions....

It was a impressive show and one with over 75 tables of bottles and collectibles. It was a great opportunity to speak with other collectors\dealers and to compare prices and regional history of bottles. Several visitors to our display tables described artifacts that they have found over the years including civil war artifacts and the rich history here in the Shenandoah Valley...

 

 

Overall a great day...

Many bottles to look at and discuss...

Numerous people and collectors to meet and talk with...

Pulled pork bbq sandwiches...

And first place award for display and most educational...

Thanks to Chief Diver Chet Nesley who made the 5+ hour ride to the valley and thanks to the Historical Bottle Diggers of Virginia for their hospitality and interest in our "hobby".... 

 

End of soggy wetsuit season....

This weekend marked the probable last chance for the dive team to dive "Wet suit" for the 2011 season and the choice for the dive was the new Highlands Bridge just completed a month or so back. The new bridge has some pretty lines to it and it should for the estimated $124 million price tag that came with it and all the effort it took to complete a project like this...

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"NJDOT will demolish the bridge and replace it with a 65-foot high fixed span structure with 12-foot lanes and 8-foot shoulders. NJDOT will construct the bridge in a manner that maintains existing traffic flow and minimizes seasonal impacts and diversion of traffic to local streets"

The old bridge had been there for a considerable amount of time and any qualified diver that has spent time under this bridge during and through a tidal change can only imagine the amount of water that has passed under this bridge over the years. This is one of the best dive sites to view marine sponges that have attached themselves to anything they can and thrive very nicely due to current and nutrients that pass by.

This site has been very beneficial in the past for training sessions dealing with swift currents as well as low visibility search techniques. Many fine old bottles have been recovered from this site as well as coins, medallions, jewelry, tools, and pretty much anything you can imagine being thrown by people standing on the bridge while the drawbridge was up and boat traffic was in progress. This site has also provided many different dive profiles for sometimes it was nice to swim the entire area depending on visibility and current conditions and at other times just finding a comfortable spot to simply "fan" and see what you could find. With that the entire area under the bridge provided many unique bottom profiles and at many times numerous underwater obstructions. Fortunately the people in the below video chose the correct high tide period to perform their stunt for the camera... If they only knew....

Chief Diver Nesley going over the dive site and profile with some of the recently certified divers. Great opportunity to inform those who had not experienced the site as to what to expect and some of the history to this area and dive site.

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Removal of some of the bridge abutments to the old bridge in the above photo...

Sue Lewicki inspecting some of the artifacts discovered during the dive

Picnic after the dive was at Sandy hook and provided the opportunity to debrief the dive and to go over and inspect the finds from the dive....

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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...

January 2008...

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Had the opportunity to drive up to NJ to dive with Team members Chet Nesley and Sue Lewicki after checking the water at the Highlands bridge.

Unfortunately water vis was typical N.J. quality and outgoing tide was a bit murky for this time of year. Decided to continue up to Sandy Hook to check water calrity there...

The interesting thing about diving with a marine biologist is that there is always something interesting to find on the shoreline.

Based on your photographic evidence, the specimen can only be a bufflehead. Females and immature winter males look similar, so I can’t for sure identify the sex, but I am certain now of the species. As well, it would not be unusual for that group of birds to be wintering in a New Jersey bay, so we’re OK on the seasonal range too.
Thanks again,
Sue

Stopped in Asbury Park to find the water still pretty bad at the jetties... Ended up doing a incoming drift dive at Shark River Inlet with great visibility and well worth the ride...

Troop Support...

Shark River Inlet

Members of the Point Pleasant Rescue Dive Team have their photo taken with a special American flag before conducting a training dive at Shark River Inlet. This flag recently did a short tour in Baghdad Iraq with Ssgt. Harman of the "Four-One Element" of the 654th MP company serving in the war on terrorism. It was sent to Herb to have photos taken with his squad and returned to the volunteers of the "From Our Hearts" program that send weekly packages to troops in Iraq & Afghanistan. At this time the volunteers are sending out 160+ packages a week to the troops... http://fromrhearts.blogspot.com/2006/07/valley-packages-are-there.html

Since the flag has returned it has been photographed with numerous people who wish to send their greetings and thoughts to the troops back in a photo with the same flag. At the Augusta County Fair in Virginia photos with this flag included the Lt. Governor Bill Bolling, Congressman Bob Goodlatte, Delegate Steve Landes, and many people attending the fair...

I am fortunate to know both Ssgt. Herb Harman and the members of the Point Pleasant Rescue Dive Team. Herb is doing an outstanding job with his squad in Iraq fighting the war on terrorism and working with the people of Iraq to rebuild their country. The Dive team is a very important part of the Point Pleasant community and their dedication is yet another form of dedication to what makes this country great...

Memorial Day Weekend 2006...

Memorial Day Weekend 2006...

Memorial Day Weekend found it busy as always down at the New Jersey shore with the start of the Summer season. The Point Pleasant Dive Team responded to a call of a person trapped in the rocks of the Jetty at the Manasquan Inlet.

Upon arrival the team found a female who had been walking on the "Jacks" of the inlet and slipped on a wet area and pinning her ankle in one of the large concrete "Jacks". First priority was to ensure that th victim was protected from the surf hitting the jetty as well as working on safely extracting the female from her predicament.

The victim was removed from the situation with the use of about a gallon of liquid soap and a bit of effort by the team and other supporting members of the Fire department, Police department, and members from Jenkinson's Boardwalk... Fortunately the female was not injured seriously and was transported to the local hospital...

Members of the Dive Team pause for a photo on the beach. Dave Margentino, Sue Lewicki, Chief Diver Chet Nesley, Eric Popleik, and Jay Bayliss...

Then there is the "Paperwork" to be completed...

Click on photos to enlarge