Tuesday August 6, 2002: Dale Hollow Lake, Celina, TN.  This one was a little disappointing.  The water is deep and clear at the surface but it was total black water diving below 10'.  The lake was low so the silt could be due to the water lapping up on mud instead of its normal shale.  I'll have to try this one again in the future.

Wednesday April 24, 2002:  Wit Cement, St. Thomas, USVI.  A cement water tanker sitting in about 100' of water.  A typical Caribbean dive, clear, warm water and lots of fish.  This would be an easy wreck to penetrate (it's hollow).

Wednesday April 24, 2002:  Tenneco Towers, Hallendale Beach, Fl.  Another awesome dive.  The current here is challenging, the Gulf Stream really rips across the wreck, but the water is clear and deep.  This one was with Tropical Diver and it was a quick ride out to the site for a two tank dive.

Wednesday August 8, 2001:  Marmaris, Turkey.  Diving the Aegean Sea!  This was an awesome dive performed with the John Dory Dive Club.  The boats are run like cattle boats but there is a lot to explore.  The water is clear and warm and the people are great.

Saturday April 21, 2001: Lake Rawlings, Rawlings, Va.  Ahhh, to be back in the water again.  This was a pair of dives to regain skills and try out new gear.  Over the winter I obtained a new 6.5mm Semi-dry suit and it was great.  Visibility in the lake ran about 25 feet with the temperature pretty steady at 54F. The lake is really a former granite quarry the hit an aquifier.  The staff really goes all out to satisfy divers, there is a shop with gear rentals and tank fills, a beautiful entry and exit point, and enough distractions placed along the bottom to keep experienced divers happy.  Overall, a really great dive! 

Friday November 10, 2000: The Tiger, offshore Virginia Beach, Va.  The day started out with broken clouds and moderate winds (5-10mph from the west).  The air temp was 65F and dropping with the water expected to be in the mid-60's.  In the group were a couple of drysuits, but mainly 5 and 7 mil wetsuits.  Current was light on the surface and moderate at depth washing over the wreck.

The Tiger is in about 60 feet of water about 12 miles off of Rudee Inlet in Virginia Beach.  Visibility was about 15-20 feet.  There were a lot of schooling bait fish but not much of any real size.  The wreck is so close in that people have fished it out.  

After two dives there was still a lot more to see.  If you are into hard diving, this one is not for you.  It is a very leisurely Open Water dive, but a good place to take students.  The biggest adventure of this dive occurred after I got home, it seems in the last week two Great White Sharks have been caught in nets off of Rudee Inlet!

Saturday June 18, 2000:  The wreck of the Power Tug (P.T.) Teti.  A very easy dive to 98 fsw.  This wreck was fouled with fishing net and had no visible means of penetration, but it was covered with fish.  Crack open a mollusk and you would be swarmed by new friends.  Vis was about 15 feet with a light current, the temperature was 57F.

The second dive of this day was to the Brenton Point Arches off of Newport.  It was a very shallow dive into an arch cut from the rock by the sea.  It is hard to get into, but once you are there it is a beautiful site to behold.  Try this one and you will see why divers of the Northeast are such diehards!

Saturday June 18, 2000:  The wreck of U-853 off of Block Island.  This wreck is listed as a German war grave, however, wreckers have still stripped her of everything that could be removed.  She was beginning to break up and was accessible from several points.

This was a relatively deep dive (116 fsw), and adding to the eeriness, a diver had died here the week before when he dove overweighted in a new tech rig.  Temperature was 56F and vis was about 10 feet.

We came from Newport to dive this wreck and it was about two hours worth of boat ride.  It might be more easily accessed from Block Island.  The Island was visible from the dive site.

Monday April 24, 2000:  Fort Adams, Newport, RI.  Another short duration dive from the beach.  This dive was a working dive as I assisted with an Advanced Open Water class.  The fish were coming back and the bottom life was going away.  Temperature was 57F with 10 feet of vis.

This was a two dive day, with the second dive being a night dive.  The lobster really came out at night, they still weren't as numerous as when the water was colder but there were a lot of them!

Saturday March 25, 2000: Fort Adams, Newport, RI.  The day was overcast and breezy.  Water temperature was 45F and it was another shore dive in drysuits.

Heading out from the beach we ran into an anchor on the bottom.  With Newport's vast naval history, I would say this anchor was either off a very large freighter or a Navy cruiser.

The fish were still gone and the bottom life abundant.  Vis was 10-15 feet with a light chop and light current, we were diving at slack tide.

Saturday March 15, 2000:  Fort Adams, Newport, RI.  The day was beautiful.  Air temp was 50F and the water ran a chilly 44F.  We were diving drysuits on a shallow shore dive.  Light current from the northeast washing down the bay out to sea. 

With such chilly temperatures the fish are out to sea leaving a plethora of bottom life.  Tons of crabs, starfish, sea anemones and mollusks.  Visibility was around 5-10 feet and the surface had a little chop.