"Get the lead out!"



Brass diving boots circa 1920'S



The most common problem for new divers is understanding how much weight they actually need.  Several factors are involved in determining how much lead will have to be worn into the water. 

Are you diving in salt water or fresh water?

   -You will be more buoyant in salt water than fresh because salt water is denser. The addition of salt to fresh water increases the density by 2.5%. This means that salt water weighs 2.5% more than an equivalent volume of fresh water.

 What type of wetsuit are you wearing?

-Neoprene is a synthetic material that was invented by Dupont in 1930.  In diving applications, neoprene provides insulation from the cold because the material is "foamed" with nitrogen gas. The gas pockets cause the material to become very buoyant, so a diver must compensate by wearing weights. The thicker the neoprene, the more weight that is needed to offset its positive buoyancy. A diver wearing a 7mm wetsuit with boots, hood and gloves will need a lot more weight than a diver in a 2mm shorty wetsuit.



A more current style of weight belt!



What are my choices?

There are several new options for weight systems available. Of course, the most important feature of a system is that it can be released with ease in an emergency.  The standard weight belt with a right hand release is still common. Many manufacturers make weight integrated BC's with quick release pockets to make divers more comfortable.



Integrated weight system



Need help?

Most divers rely on information obtained in certification courses.  A detailed logbook will remind you how much weight was needed in both the pool and ocean training.

The PADI Peak Performance Buoyancy course is a great continuing education course. This course teaches you how to determine the exact amount of weight needed to be "not too heavy and not to light."

Proper weighting allows you to move smoothly through the water, hover vertically or horizontally and conserve air.

For information on Advanced Openwater and Peak Performance courses, contact us at: seaviewscuba@sbcglobal.net

We are going hunting....scallops.

Scallops are mollusks, like clams and oysters. They belong to a group called bivalves, meaning the shell consists of two asymmetrical halves joined by a flexible ligament called a hinge. Scallops are found in both bay waters and the sea.  The habitat of a sea scallop is a bottom composition of rough cobble, shells, or coarse sand. They do not attach to anything but instead move through the water by opening and closing the shell for propulsion. The muscle that controls the hinge of the shell is large and meaty, and also the goal of our hunting trip. 

This year, the scallop excursion begins on a cold morning in Gloucester, Massachusetts. We board the boat with the blustery wind in our faces and prepare for the 1 hour boat ride to scallop territory.  The boat captain, Steve always lets us know that we may not find any. Scallop population varies from year to year. A scallop may live as long as twenty years and during that lifetime produce as many as 270 million eggs. Some years though, populations are more scarce.
Our dive begins with a giant stride into water that is 51 degrees. The depth of the dives is about 50 feet and this year visibility was only about 10 feet. In the past we have had great visibility but colder water. I think I prefer warmer water. As you swim along the bottom, the scallops are on the sand making it easy to pick them up and put in your game bag.  A thirty minute dive will usually yield about 50 to 75 scallops depending on the site. Once the dive is over, the bag is tied off to the flag and the diver uses the flag line to ascend.  On the surface, Captain Steve brings the boat over with great skill to pick up each diver.  The boat comes straight for you then turns at the last minute to put the boat ladder within reach.  Captain Steve has had many years of practice and it shows. Once all the divers are aboard, the boat circles around to gather up all the scallop bags.  Some divers prefer to schuck the scallops while on the boat, while others wait until later.

The end result though, is something pictured here. A lightly sauteed scallop with asparagus and a glass of wine. The perfect ending to a great day of diving.

Destination.....Volund.

This morning, I was up before the sun scraping the ice from my windshield.  Soon, the charter boats in the area will stop running until the spring.  I was lucky to get in on one of the last trips of Atlantis Dive Charters. Today's destination was the Volund.
The SS Volund was a Norweigan Freighter built from iron and wood in 1899. It was constructed in Norway and used to transport plaster to Nova Scotia.
On September 26, 1908 it collided with the steamer Commonwealth and sank. Fortunately, no one was killed as a result of the accident.
The wreck of the Volund sits upright and mostly intact in Long Island Sound. The wreck is very dark and covered with a layer of easily disturbed debris. It is a long slow descent to the wreck and once you reach the bottom, a lot of the structure is covered in Northern coral polyps and sea stars. After a tour of the bow section, my dive buddy Pat ran his wreck reel to the stern.  Along the way we passed two anchors, the engines and the helm station. We then swam over the back of the wreck and dropped down on the rudder and propellers. The depth at that point of the dive is 107 feet. I was very fortunate to dive with someone so familiar with the site. It is hard to navigate a wreck site the first few times out, especially on a dive site that is so deep and dark.
I thoroughly enjoyed this dive today. It was a wonderful way to end the local wreck season. Now, on to Gloucester for scallops!!