On Sunday June 8, I got up at sunrise to drive down to Connecticut. Rick Simon (a Sea Rover and former Intern!) had invited me to come wreck diving with him on his boat, the R/V Integrity. Rick and Eric Takakjian (also a Sea Rover) both captain the ship, and as we loaded our gear and tanks onto the boat, I met the friends of Rick and Eric’s who would be diving with us.
We got to the wreck in plenty of time, so once we dropped our anchor we hung out for a bit on the boat. After a while it was clear that this maybe wasn’t the best site to dive that day — huge swells coming off the reef nearby were rocking the boat too much. We decided to pull up the anchor and move to a different wreck about 90 minutes away, a tugboat called the Mary Arnold.
Once we arrived, we dropped the anchor again and Mike went down after it to make sure it was secure. Once he came back with the all-clear, everyone hopped in the water. Well, everyone except for me and Rick — we couldn’t just leave the boat unattended! Once the first group resurfaced, Rick and I finished gearing up, accompanied by a fantastic selection of 70s hits courtesy of the radio playing over the speakers.
Rick and I hopped in the water, and descended along the line. I had some equalization issues during my first week with the Malkoski family, but was happy to find that I was able to equalize my ears no problem! The Mary Arnold is about 60 feet deep, and as we descended down, the wreck’s tall engine came into view. Rick and I left strobes on the line, as a way to communicate who was still on the wreck, and then set off to explore the wreck itself.
The Mary Arnold sank in the 40s, so there’s been plenty of time for algae, sponges, and cold-water corals to encrust the pieces of the wreck. When it sank, it broke apart, so sections of the boat are strung around the area. There were lots of big fish hanging around the wreck, and we found a few lobsters hidden away as well. I even spotted a ribbon of nudibranch eggs! We started at the engine and made our way over and around to the six-foot-wide propeller (much bigger than I thought it would be!), which was covered in cold-water corals and algae that swayed in the swell. It was really exciting to see the corals, since most of my cold water dives have been shore dives at sites with more kelp or seaweed than coral. I was hovering right up close to get a good look at the coral polyps, so I didn’t realize we were looking at the propeller! Rick and I had a very funny pantomimed underwater conversation as he tried to explain to me what we were looking at.
Once we boarded the boat again, we laid all our gear out to dry on the deck and started getting ready to head back. At this point it was time for lunch, and we were all hungry. Luckily, we came prepared! We made some delicious sausages for the ride back, and I talked to Rick’s friend Eric about the group’s wreck-diving adventures and learned about how their rebreathers work.
I’d never dove off Connecticut before, nor had I done any wreck dives, so I was really excited to experience this new kind of diving, especially with Rick, who clearly loves it. I’m so glad he invited me to come along! I had a blast and can’t wait to head out with Rick and the Integrity crew again.
– Sofia