Frank Cantelas helps Pete Goutmann prepare to dive
Team 1 for today
Broadwater tosses out the tag line for the divers
Deco cylinders are handed up during diver recovery
Back to Sea
Sunday, April 30, 2000 – Today’s participants:
- Kyle Creamer
- Grant Graves
- Ken Schneider
- Pete Goutmann
- Terrence Tysall
- Mike Armstrong
- Tim Gallagher
- John Barone
- Doug Kesling (NURC)
- Ken Johns (NURC)
- Frank Cantelas (ECU)
- Steve Sellers (ECU)
- Gary Byrd (ECU)
- Tane Casserley (ECU)
- Project Director and chief archeologist – John Broadwater (MNMS)
- Captain, R/V Cape Fear – Dan Aspenleiter (UNCW)
- The Mate – J.D. (UNCW)
The weather seemed to be in our favor today, so we left the dock shortly before 0800. We headed back to the Lancing to continue our tune-ups. We again planned to dive in two groups. The first team deployed at 1000 and encountered thermoclines with alternating good and poor visibility. From the surface to 40 feet, the visibility was about 1 – 2 feet; from 40 to 100 feet, it was about 30 feet; and at 100 feet, the visibility dropped to near zero again. After 10 minutes of run time, the team decided to abort and return to the surface.
We deployed Tim Gallagher, as a support diver, at 14 minutes of run time when a lift bag came to the surface, indicating that the divers were on their way up. He confirmed that all divers were okay, that they had enough decompression gas and reported back to the boat. After the divers completed their decompression, they came to the surface as a group. Captain Dan maneuvered the R/V Cape Fear near the divers, and a tag line was tossed to them and they were instructed that they could swim to the boat.
The divers hand up their decompression cylinders to a man on the platform to make it easier to climb the ladder. After all divers were recovered, Terrence gave a quick briefing on the conditions underwater, and we decided once again to suspend diving for the day. We headed back to the dock and began filling tanks for tomorrow.
We can’t seem to get a good report on the weather, but we are hopeful for tomorrow. Check out the official Monitor National Marine Sancuary web site and the Mariners’ Museum Monitor web site.