Copper Wreck Booty

Well Capt. Bill found this huge couple hundred pound flange on the Copper Wreck. It is brass and iron. He thinks it might be a head off a boiler or a motor.

Saturday we ran the copper wreck one of my favorites. I won’t bore you with
how the 1800’s steam engine rises up off the bottom or how much the wreck
has changed as I’m sure I’ve said it once or twice before. With a full boat,
mate and a couple of instructor/ mates on board there wasn’t any room for
the tired old capts. dive gear. Although everyone offered to make room I
decided to not dive. Not a real big deal as I was diving Sunday, plus I do
get quite a bit of diving in during the season. We had on board two advanced
students plus the usual group of salty pirates. It was a real pleasure to
see Chris and Gregg students roll off the side and do their dives as if
they’ve done it many times before. Good quality teaching shows every time.
During the surface interval we discussed how to untangle wreck reels,
something which can’t be taught. Thank God none of us “older” divers have
that problem, untangling that is, I mean isn’t that what you do on a surface
interval. For the students second dive they flawlessly shot a bag and came
up it with Chris and Gregg in tow. Once again the instruction shinning
through. I’m not sure how Chris can dive with everyone else and have NO
problems. When we are in the water together plates break, My drysuit gets
cut, I get hit in the back of the head with lift bags and plate pieces.
Another time Chris gives the anchor a tour of the sand requiring me to
hustle over and give him a hand. I mean I’m starting a list, keeping track
of who I need to stay away from when diving. Number one Chris O’Donnell!
After the students came up and a decent surface interval Chris and Gregg
went down for a third this time to fill their freezers with fish, food seems
to always be on many divers’ minds. The dive was very good (for those that
got to dive). Of course Bill Tyson also managed to fill his shopping list
with lobsters and mussels. The themocline was down to about 50 feet were it
went from the sixties above to 48 on the bottom. Quite the shocking change,
vis was around 15 to twenty, seas 2 to 3 a great day.
Sunday was to be the Flour but with a decent swell out of the south we opted
for the Gloria, kennebec, lake frampton or whatever it’s real name is. It’s
a very nice steel wreck, loaded with game. You can still make out the bow
and the stern and with it in only seventy ft. of water it’s a great place to
get a bunch of bottom time. Once again the divers were “menu” diving
lobsters and fish seemed to be the first choice with a little tour of the
wreck pried in, if time allowed. Well I told everyone their was a bunch of
bugs on the wreck and their were. Tales abounded of the big ones that got
away. I “nicely” reminded everyone if they don’t boat the lobster it doesn’t
count. John Berstein had a very nice humphead seabass. Which leads me to
number two on my list. Last week I was diving with “dirty” John when I
grabbed a nice three pound bug that quickly grabbed me. With the lobster
firmly held in my right hand and the lobster firmly holding my left hand it
seemed like the classic “Mexican stand off". I wasn’t going to let go and
maybe have him squirm away and interestingly enough the lobster had the same
idea. I saw John off in the distance and thought two against one wins every
time. I swam up to John and held out the lobster for him to help get my bag
open. John got a surprised look on his face and started to open his bag,
well that was not going to happen. After a few “gestures” and head shakes he
got the idea and finally opened my bag. When the tears finally cleared I
went on my way. Back to yesterday, with “dirty” John standing up front after
the dive I was banding bugs. Now deja vous all friggin over again. Alright,
I got sloppy and the damn lobster grabbed my pointer finger with his cutter
claw. Now I don’t know what’s so funny about me with a lobster claw stuck on
my pointer finger but it must be since everyone else thought it amusing. Who
comes to my rescue but John, after a moment or two of rather hearty
laughter. With his “help” I got the frigger off my finger and measured him,
man an 1/8 of an inch under you can’t understand how upset I was throwing
him back. John is now firmly in number two spot of the people I need to be
VERY careful diving with. O yea the dive, early on the seas were around four
ft with a swell on top. I won’t leave the boat under these conditions so my
gear stayed dry. But with the previous nights s.w. blow the bottom was
tossed. Vis was down to about 10 ft. plenty for menu diving. The good news
was the bottom was now a balmy 60 degrees. Well the fish came up, not allot
as they were still hiding in the plates doing a lobster impression. Made the
shooting a little tough, I told them to just reach in and grab them but I
supose the grins on their faces should have told me they didn’t believe me.
The seas layed down to around less than three ft. which could have allowed
me to dive but I passed for today. Interestingly enough the vis also
improved as the day progressed. Should make for good diving this week, which
reminds me anyone want to go diving this week, i’d love to go.

-Capt. Bill and the crew of the Tunaseazure…. arrrrrrrr

I’ll break this week ends report into two separate e mails. Friday we ran to
one of my favorites the Copper Wreck, a wreck I believe to have went down
around 1870. I must have way over 100 dives on this wreck. My first dive on
the wreck left me in total awe. From the steam engine back to the prop shaft
there’s about a foot of sand moved away from the keel and prop. As I
approached the engine there is now a tight swim through, albeit tight, right
under it. There’s a whole bunch of planking exposed on the port side. My
guess is the hull side settled into the sand when she sank and than covered
in one of the many north Atlantic storms. The hull side by the engine starts
at the sand with about a two ft. rise then continues to rise by about five
ft right up to the engine. The engine is now covered with seed mussels with
almost all the netting gone. As I swam forward the changes became even more
dramatic. The debris of wood and metal made me think I was on a different
wreck. There is a small pile of what I think is pig iron on the starboard
side along with “new” wood. I swam forward continuing my tour to see so many
changes at each and every turn. I was floored when I came up close to the
chain pile to find a winch rising about three or four feet off the bottom.
Broken and with gears lying in the sand. The chain pile also sits about two
feet higher than before. I picked up a four ft. piece of chain just lying on
the pile, I’m not sure what it was used for as it was lighter than the
anchor chain it was sitting on. The winch was very interesting lying broken
on the wreck, displaying the power and destruction of a ship in it’s death
throes. The gears just layed there as if the wreck happened yesterday. I
wandered up to the bow to my greatest surprise it was gone. There’s debris
scattered off in the sand but the actual bow appears to me missing. I swam
out and looked around and there where pieces scattered all around but the
main piece appears gone. Now I don’t know if it’s under the sand or more
likely been busted and torn off by a dragger. If a dragger drug it off it’s
a real shame. I love the fact that New Jersey has a very dim view of divers
on old ship wrecks but continues to allow the rape and damage dragging does
to the bottom. We dove the wreck both Friday and Saturday allowing me three
45+ minute dives on the wreck I recovered the chain mentioned earlier and a
piece of flanged lead pipe which may have been a scupper off the deck. I
want to do some more looking around on the wreck, hey it’s a new wreck.

The other view of the wreck, same dives different perspective. As I went
down the anchor line the wreck came into view at around thirty feet off the
bottom. Looks like critters swimming everywhere. Yes, the wreck is loaded
with seabass and tauge. So many I thought I was reef diving except these
were edible fish. Every hole, everywhere fish. For the spearfish guys a
bonanza. Not only tons of fish but large fish. Both days Friday and Saturday
had 30 ft. of vis, 48 degree bottom temps, no current, two ft. seas how can
you beat this. Mussels on the engine some lobsters, a butt load of sea bass,
artifacts and great diving you just can’t make this stuff up.
I’ll need quite a few more dives on this old girl before I can tell you
what’s there. We still haven’t nailed a name on it. I just love this stuff,
I just can’t get enough. Sunday’s the San Jose for one than off for
something shallower.

-Capt. Bill and the crew of the Tunaseazure…. arrrrrrrr

Today brought another day of “what month is it anyway?” diving. We left the
dock with a full boat just before 0800 and headed to the Copper Wreck. We
had a good group of divers on board today that was split about 50/50 between
OC and a mixed bag of CCR divers (Ouroboros, Prism, and some sort of mutated
Inspiration). It’s always interesting to get the chance to check out
different units side by side in action on an actual dive.

After the 45 minute run to the wreck, Chris O’donell was kind enough to fish
the hook out of the net we dropped it in and position it on top of the
engine. The water temperature is dropping surely but slowly and I
registered 50F and a max depth of 82fsw. The visibility was quite nice and
I’d give it a conservative 25′. I had the scooter with me so I had fun
buzzing Bill Bedford while he was playing with a lobster. I zipped around
on the wreck stopping here and there to dig some holes. It’s quite apparent
that this wreck burned pretty badly as you don’t have to move much sand to
get to charred wood and whatnot. I found a couple brass spikes but they
were still solidly attached to the wreck and I didn’t bring my tools so they
will have to wait for another day. Towards the end of the dive I took a
peak around and inside the engine and cursed myself for not bringing the
speargun as there were some nice tog within range. The topside weather was
beautiful and the surface interval was spent relaxing and soaking in the
rays of a pleasantly warm December sun. Most did a second dive and
apparently some shenanigans with a monkfish took place. It was another
great day on the Atlantic and if this is the year ender I couldn’t have
asked for a better way to bid farewell to another great year of diving, but
I’m still holding out hope for Sunday!

-B

I’m sure that many of you spent the week looking at the coastal weather
forecast. I’m sure many of you decided that there’d be no diving this
weekend. I’m sure many sat at their house smugly thinking they had made the
right decision. Well they were right for Friday and Saturday, but Sunday
they blew it. The wind and the seas laid down Saturday afternoon. Sunday
dawned with light winds and a very nice ocean. The requested wreck was the
copper. I know many of you are tried of hearing about this wreck. Not me, I
mean there’s just so much stuff down there just waiting to be uncovered. Of
course the tog and lobster are almost always there. We ran to the wreck at
25kts. and made short order of tying in and going diving. I have the genset
in good working order so the cabin was a balmy 85 degrees all day. With 2 to
3 ft seas we sat at anchor quite nicely. As Mark Dolphin points out, this is
a stingy wreck and gives up nothing without hard work. Today was a “stingy”
day. I didn’t dive again as I can’t get rid of my head cold. I suppose
without my crawling through the debris it’s one less set of eyes looking for
stuff. The stern deck looked like a military arsenal with all the spearguns
and goody bags. I suppose that’s one of the reasons we didn’t bring up any
objects of arte. There was a lobster some tague and a sea bass brought up.
Brandon did make a comment about how sea bass look so much bigger
underwater. Bill brought up a nice monk fish which is an indicator of the
cooling water temps. A very good day was had by all, with the seas now down
to less than a one foot. The hook came out with the standard Gillman
technique working like a charm. Back at the dock in dead low spring tides.
We all had a great day, everyone stayed warm. I’m going to try and stretch
the season a bit more totally depend on the weather gods. We’ll be running
some wreck diver courses this year and I highly suggest newer people take
them. Even a dozen ocean dives doesn’t make a wreck diver. There’s a gear
requirement for being safe and skills that the course will point out and
teach you. Then when spring comes you’ll be ready to go, no fuss no muss.
Please note to all my grammar critics, I used a couple of periods. I hope
you’re happy (lol).

–Capt. Bill and the crew of the Tunaseazure. So many wrecks so little time.