Fishing Schooner in Boston Harbor

[MelissaExplainsItAll]

I'm doing my first wreck dive and the charter is bringing us to a Fishing Schooner in Boston Harbor. I was wondering if anyone has been there and how deep it was. I emailed the captain of the charter but he is out all weekend so he won't get back to me. After reading information in the AOW PADI cert. book I'm kinda nervous . Any info it will be greatly appreciated.

[BoomerNJ]

I'm starting my aow next weekend & on the 9th doing my first wreck dive too... Very nervous... I couldn't find anything on a fishing schooner but I found this... Boston Harbor Diving Company The first three sites are wrecks, I didn't research them any farther but if you google them I bet it's one of them... The deepest is 80 fsw, not too bad... BTW, Maybe if you weren't such an obvious Red Sox fan more people would talk to you... (j/k, lol)

Love & kisses,

A Yankee Fan...

[Sansho]

If you only have your OW certification, PADI says that's good for diving to 60', with AOW, or the Deep Dive course, required to go to 130'.

[MelissaExplainsItAll]

Why is everyone hating on the red sox fan?! I have already been to the Boston harbor diving web site and on the web site the wreck we are going to isn't on there.. Thank you for trying. Everyone is going to think I'm a woosie but I haven't dove deeper than a 30 ft dive. It's kinda hard when you have limited places to dive.

[Sansho]

There are a number of dive shops in the Boston area that do AOW. I saw one (Boston Harbor Diving Company) that prices it by the elements, ie, materials, dive charters, certification card, etc, so it looks like instead of paying $350 to $450 up front, you can pay for it as you go. (no affiliation, btw)

In the 5 required dives, you could do deep and wreck dives, amongst altitude diving, AWARE-fish identification, boat diving, deep diving, diver propulsion vehicle use, drift diving, dry suit diving, multilevel and computer diving, night diving, peak performance buoyancy, search and recovery, underwater nature study, underwater navigation, underwater photography, underwater videography and wreck diving.

AOW is a great next step, to get some personalized time with an instructor covering different specialties.

[MSilvia]

I'm not sure which fishing schooner you might be diving on, but I'm pretty sure it isn't one I'm familiar with. Part of the beauty of Boston Harbor is that there are tons of wrecks out there for divers to enjoy, and they aren't all popular "tourist dives".

Your feelings about your first wreck dive are very common, and totally understandable. I'd be a little concerned about anyone who didn't have some concerns about it. Here's a copy of a PM I sent to another new Boston Harbor wreck diver who was a bit anxious about her first deep dive in the harbor, and wondering how different it would be from the 30' dives she was used to:

There's no shame in being apprehensive about your first deep dives. It's a potentially dangerous environment that you haven't been in before, and you'd have to be a fool to venture into the potentially dangerous unknown without any anxiety. I applaud your prudent and reasonable gut reaction. Pay attention to those instincts... they'll keep you safe.

That said, there's really nothing to worry about if you're equipped for it and mentally prepared. I make dives in the outer harbor all the time, and I love it out there. Remember, diving is fun!

In response to your question, there are several differences that come to mind when I compare a 30' dive and a 100' dive in the harbor.

First, you might hit a second thermocline on the way down to 100', so you can expect it to be a bit cooler down there. You won't be able to stay as long though, so it's unlikely to make you so cold that it'll be a problem. People do wetsuit dives in the 100' range all the time around here, so don't lose any sleep over that.

Second, not as much light penetrates to that depth, so it can be a bit darker down there. Visibility varies quite a bit in the harbor, as you know, but you should bring a light or two. You'll almost certainly be able to see without them, but everything will be shades of dark green unless you have a light to add color. The light will also make it easier to keep track of your buddy.

The most important difference though, and the one I was least prepared for on my first deep dive, is wetsuit compression. At 100', the air cells in your wetsuit's neoprene will only be half as big as they are at 30', and they'll only provide half as much buoyancy. Not a big deal in the tropics, but in a 7mm suit (or 7mm 2-piece) it makes a HUGE difference. I dropped like a ton of bricks without realizing it, and had to lay on the inflator to keep myself from crashing into the bottom. If you keep in mind that you're going to get heavier as you descend, and add a puff of air to your BC every 15 feet or so (as needed to stay close to neutral), you'll be able to stay under control. Remember too that that buoyancy will return as you ascend, so vent periodically as you go.

On the plus side, buoyancy control gets easier the deeper you go. There's a pressure difference of almost 11% between 10' and 15', but only a 5% difference between 95' and 100'. In other words, the deeper you go, the less minor changes in depth will effect your buoyancy.

To give you an idea what it's like down there, here's a link to a video I shot on the City of Salisbury bow in May. It's at 90', and I had a good light with me.
http://thedecostop.com/matt/CityofSa...Bow_050308.wmv

Good luck, and have a great time! Tell Jim and Pat I said Hi.

Matt

[Vercingetorix]

Matt, good info. Thanks. I am looking forward to doing a deep dive on the Texas Clipper (at 100 fsw), and have been apprehensive as well. I've been to 90 ffw several times, each was a lake dive. Cold (7mm farmer john), but no current.

[Sansho]

Matt, good post. I think the other thing to be aware of, for someone who has never dived below 85' or so, is nitrogen narcosis, and what effects it can have. Think/reaction times can slow down, some can get giddy, and it goes away as soon as you get shallower.

[MelissaExplainsItAll]

That was my dive buddy I think!

[Rileybri]

Originally Posted by MelissaExplainsItAll

That was my dive buddy I think!

Go Sox and take any advice Matt hands out and absorb it all! It is often good, pertinent and will likely save your arse at some point! Enjoy the dive...