The President s Corner

Transcription

1 FAIRFIELD COUNTY DIVING ASSOCIATION November 2004 Volume 11 Issue 11 Inside this Issue The President s Corner by Mel Rich, Jr. The President s Corner by Mel Rich, Jr. page 1 Annual FCDA Underwater Pumpkin Carving/Beach Cleanup page 2 Underwater Perfect Storm Sealed Fate of Lobsters by Peggy Schenk page 2, 3 Events of Interest to FCDA Members page 3 FCDA Member Ads page 3 Annual FCDA Holiday Party page 4 A Ship Found, A Heart Healed by Tom Feeney pages 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 pages 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 Upcoming FCDA Events page 10 Last Sunday we enjoyed a beautiful day down at the cottage for our Annual Underwater Pumpkin Carving Contest/Beach Cleanup. The air temp was about 70 degrees, and the water although cool was very clear. We did expect a return visit from the Sea Gypsies but none of them showed. Maybe it was too nice for diving! Anyhow our spirited team included Robin Shannon, Noel Voroba and Steve Ziobrowski. After signing their lives away they took to the water. I watched them carving their respective masterpieces as I hovered above them in my kayak. As the underwater art world progressed our own maestro Paul Gacek was firing up the coals. Plenty of good hot food would be ready for them after their dives. Dogs and burgers were supplied by the club. Thanks to the following members for donating the extras; Beth Ziobrowski (macaroni salad), Don and Jody Brown (brownies), Pat Franz (baked beans), Robin Shannon (clam chowder), and yours truly for the chili. In honor of food and tradition (Thanksgiving) our next and last club meeting of the year will be November 19th (not the 26th). Please make a note on your calendar! Join us as Animals Everywhere host Elaine Irvin shares some her adventures shooting the show. I met Elaine aboard Bill Palmer's Thunderfish a couple of summers ago. She was shooting an episode about blue sharks. At the time she had just completed her open water certification, and this was her first dive! Twenty miles off the Rhode Island coast with blue sharks! With Bill Palmer! Safer on the boat or in the water one might ask! It turned out to be a great day and we all had a ball. Lots of sharks and good footage. I even got a film credit. As Mel Rick. Oops! Continuing with the festivities December 4th is our Annual Holiday Party at Bravos (formerly Roosters which was formerly Tommy's). We've got the best room in the house - the Oval room. That s what Tommy's called it anyway. Or was that Roosters? Anyhow, it's a great place for a party. If you haven't already done so please fill out your reservation forms and send em' in. With a grin or a ho ho ho! Along with a check for $31. Paul will appreciate that! Great dinner choices are yours! As always we'll have some great raffles prizes to give away thanks to our club's generous sponsors. Let's celebrate life and great adventures to come! See you there! Until then, safe diving to all!

2 Page 2 Annual FCDA Underwater Pumpkin Carving/Beach Cleanup On a warm and sunny Sunday afternoon three courageous divers braved the shallows of Jennings Beach for our Annual Underwater Pumpkin Carving and Beach Cleanup. Captain Noel Voroba, Robin Shannon and Steve Ziobrowski those killer pumpkins to a win. By acclamation of FCDA members in attendance the following prizes were awarded: First Place - Robin Shannon; Second Place - Steve Ziobrowski and Third Place - Captain Noel Voroba. Each winner received raffle tickets for our DAN Raffle. After our usual cookout of hotdogs and hamburgers we held our raffle to support out DAN sponsorship. Winners in our DAN raffle were: Sea Drops donated by New England Dive Center - Zack Ziobrowski, Dive Flag Trailer Hitch Cover donated by Steve Ziobrowski - Mark Shannon; Child s Tee Shirt donated by New England Dive Center- Pat Franz; Deepoutdoors Shoulder Pouch donated by New England Dive Center - Pat Franz and an Princeton Tec Dive Light donated by Captain Saam's Scuba School - Steve Ziobrowski. - Laura Provencal. Special thanks to those who donated prizes for this meeting to help support our DAN Raffle: New England Dive Center, Steve Ziobrowski and Captain Saam's Scuba School. Thanks also to those who contributed special items toward our cookout: Jody Brown, Pat Franz, Paul Gacek, Mel Rich, Robin Shannon and Mary Beth Ziobrowski. Remember, you can't win if you don't buy tickets and you can't buy tickets if you don't come to FCDA events and meetings! Underwater Perfect Storm Sealed Fate of Lobsters by Peggy Schenk A "perfect storm" took place underwater in Long Island Sound in 1999, as a combination of factors came together that resulted in a massive die-off the lobster population, researchers said Monday. A killer combination of warming P.O. Box 3005, Fairfield, CT Internet mail: fcda@aol.com President Vice-President Secretary Treasurer 2004 Board Mel L. Rich, Jr. Mark Shannon Christina Matthews Paul J. Gacek water temperatures over a period of time and low oxygen or hypoxia along with other stresses resulted in the mass mortality, researchers concluded during the 4th annual Lobster Health Symposium held at Stony Brook University in New York. The symposium wrapped up three years of research by teams of scientists from throughout the country trying to discover the causes of the lobster die-off in the Sound that devastated the industry and was declared a federal disaster in At that time, nearly $8 million in federal and state funds were made available for research into the causes of the die-off. "There was a strong consensus among scientists that a number of factors stressed the lobsters," said Edward Monahan, director of the Connecticut Sea Grant Program and a member of steering committee for lobster research. "Warm water played havoc with (lobsters). Low oxygen levels on the bottom of the Sound and a high concentration of lobsters themselves" were factors, he said. Other stressors such as sulfides and ammonia released from the hypoxia also made the lobsters susceptible "to what was out there, and what was out there was the paramoeba." Early on, scientists from the University of Connecticut determined that a paramoeba was attacking the nervous system of the lobsters, making the animals lethargic and killing them. The situation became so severe in the western end of the Sound that the industry there shut down. After a record lobster harvest in 1998, when nearly 4 million pounds were taken, lobster fishermen began finding dead and dying lobsters in their pots in That year, warmer than normal temperatures were recorded for winter and fall, and there were above average temperatures in July and August. Also during the (Continued on page 3)

3 Page 3 Events of Interest to FCDA Members DATE December 4, 2004 January 1, 2005 EVENT Annual FCDA Holiday Party Bravo s Restaurant Fairfield, CT Advance Reservations Required (for more info see page 4) SECONN's 41st Annual Frozen Fin Dive - Green Harbor Beach, 112 Pequot Avenue, New London, CT. Registration starts at 10:00am with a fee of $15. Dive for shells and a chance at hundreds of prizes. Refreshments and awards ceremony indoors. Heated changing facilities are also available. Learn more about this event by visiting FCDA Member Ads Hey - have you got a non retail-diving business that you d like to share with fellow members of FCDA? Get your business card size ad in the FCDA monthly newsletter Surface Interval for only $50.00 for one year. Give your business a boost and help support the production of our monthly newsletters. For more information, write to FCDA, P.O. Box 3005, Fairfield, CT or to fcda@aol.com. Underwater Perfect Storm Sealed Fate of Lobsters by Peggy Schenk (continued) (Continued from page 2) fall, New York and Connecticut were spraying pesticides to kill West Nile virus-carrying mosquitoes. By 2001, the Long Island Sound lobster harvest dipped to slightly more than 1 million pounds, according to Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection statistics. Today, the volume of landings is comparable to the mid-1980s catch of about 1.5 million pounds. "The Sound is not devoid of lobster, but there is not enough in younger year classes and adults to sustain a reasonable fishery" in the immediate future, Monahan said. Members of lobstermen s organizations in New York and Connecticut have said they believe lawn-enhancing pesticides and others used to kill mosquitoes carrying West Nile virus are responsible for the lobster mortality. Lobstermen have a lawsuit pending against Cheminova, the chemical company that produced and distributed the pesticides. Researchers found that pesticides used in Connecticut may have played a role in adding stress to the lobster. Other types of pesticides studied were found not to have contributed to the stress. "If this complex of factors" killed the lobsters, "there isn t an obvious silver bullet or any one management action that will bring them back," Monahan said. "Understanding that," there are plans underway to reduce the amount of nitrates (a major cause of hypoxia) that are introduced into the Sound." Also, control may be necessary regarding the use of lawn chemicals, he said. Reprinted from The New Haven Register - October 5, 2004.

4 Page 4 Annual FCDA Holiday Party Saturday, December 4, :00PM Bravo (Roosters(Tommy s)) Restaurant 1418 Post Road Fairfield, CT Choice of: Prime Rib of Beef au jus, Baked Stuffed Shrimp with Drawn Butter, Chicken Marsala House Salad, Vegetable, Rice or Potatoes, Bread, Butter and Coffee/Tea; Cash Bar $5 Grab Dive Raffle Bag All this for only $31.00 per person! Advance reservations required!! Dancing Music Visit from Santa I want to have a great time at the 2004 Annual FCDA Holiday Party! Name Prime Rib Stuffed Shrimp Chicken Marsala $31.00 $31.00 $31.00 = Make your check payable to FCDA and mail to: FCDA, PO Box 3005, Fairfield, CT postmarked by November 26, 2004.

5 Page 5 A Ship Found, A Heart Healed by Tom Feeney Just as the bow of the USS Murphy long ago settled into the dark depths of the Atlantic Ocean, so too did Ruth Anderson's feelings for a curlyhaired boy from Pelican Rapids, Minn., settle into the deep recesses of her memory. Both recently were recovered. The Murphy, a Navy destroyer, was split in two when it collided with an oil tanker off the coast of New Jersey in October The stern was towed back to port that night, but the bow -- or the front part of the boat --and the remains of 35 men sank into the chilly water. Among the dead was Ruth Anderson's fiancé, Gilmor Weik. She mourned him intensely but eventually did fall in love with another man, Kermit Anderson. They married and had three sons, all now in middle age. Ruth Anderson never told them about what she lost the night the Murphy sank. "I just kept it deep down in my heart," Anderson, 83, said on a recent visit to New Jersey from her home in Norman, Okla. But two years ago, professional diver Dan Crowell of Brick discovered the long-lost bow of the Murphy in 265 feet of water about 80 miles off Long Beach Island. The discovery, and the resurgent interest in the history of the Murphy that attended it, prompted Ruth Anderson to tell her sons about the man she loved before she met their dad. "She was like a tea kettle on simmer for 60 years," her youngest son, Tom, of Oklahoma City, said during a reunion of Murphy veterans at a Holiday Inn in Vineland earlier this month. The discovery of the bow brought her to a boil, he said. Her own little piece of the Lessons Equipment Service Charters Travel Air Fills Nitrox Advanced Scuba Master Diver NITROX Divemaster Wreck Diver Lobstering Photography Dry Suit Diver Rescue Murphy's history has been whistling forth ever since. The Murphy, a Benson-class destroyer, was 348 feet long and 36 feet across. It carried 260 enlisted men and 15 officers. On that night in October 1943, the ship was assigned to escort a supply convoy from New York to the United Kingdom. The convoy was not far from New York when an unidentified target showed up on (Continued on page 6) The business listed on this page has donated dive gear and dive services to help support the Fairfield County Diving Association. LOCAL DIVING CHARTERSHARTERS LOBSTER DIVES WRECK DIVES NIGHT DIVES TECH DIVING 863 East Main St., Stamford CT SCUBA ( )

6 Page 6 A Ship Found, A Heart Healed by Tom Feeney (continued) (Continued from page 5) the radar. The Murphy was sent ahead to determine whether it was a German U- boat. The target turned out to be another American ship, the SS Bulkoil. The Bulkoil's captain mistook the Murphy for a torpedo and turned toward it, the standard evasive maneuver, said Fred Sheller, a Californian who was working below deck in the fire control room of the Murphy that night. Rather than avoiding a torpedo, though, the tanker crashed into the port side of the Murphy, between the bridge and forward stack, cutting the destroyer in two. "It was like a bus crashing through pane after pane of glass," Sheller said at the Vineland reunion. "I don't remember a jerk, or a bump, just a loud shattering." Harper Anderson Peacock, a 3rd-class torpedoman from Tennessee, was on watch on the top deck that night, standing near the sonar room where Gilmor Weik was stationed. The impact was so jarring, he said he was thrown overboard. He was wearing a headset with a 35-foot cord. The drop to the ocean was 40 feet, he recalled. When he reached the end of his line, his head snapped back violently, and he was knocked unconscious. The water was so cold that he came to quickly. Covered in diesel fuel and numb from the cold, Peacock, Sheller and several dozen other survivors eventually were plucked from the water and hoisted onto the deck of a rescue ship, the USS Glennon. There, they were scrubbed clean and given shots of brandy to warm their bones. Peacock never found out what happened to Weik, but he has carried the memory of him and the others who died with him ever since. "You realize that those boys that suffered and died that night were no worse or no better than you were, but you survived," said Peacock, 82, who settled in Mississippi after the war and went to work as a lineman for the power company. "You always carry a little guilt about being saved when the rest went down. It's kind of a hard token." The stern of the Murphy stayed afloat that night and was towed to the New York REX DIVE CENTER Norwalk, CT DIVE Rex Dive Center 144 Water Street Norwalk, CT (Continued on page 7) The business listed on this page has donated dive gear and dive services to help support the Fairfield County Diving Association DIVE Fax Come on in to the Rex Dive Center Home Page at Authorized Dealers for Dacor, Mares, DUI, Zeagle, Sherwood, and over 100 others!! DIVE & SNORKEL EQUIPMENT CLASSES CHARTERS

7 Page 7 A Ship Found, A Heart Healed by Tom Feeney (continued) (Continued from page 6) Navy Boat Yard with many of the crew still aboard, Sheller said. The bow was replaced, and the Murphy returned to duty seven months later. Because a war was on, the Navy and Coast Guard never made much of an effort to find the bow of the Murphy or recover the bodies of the men who were lost, many veterans of the ship believe. For six decades, they had only a vague idea of where their ship had gone down. That began to change in Crowell, captain of a dive boat called the Seeker, had a conversation with a local fisherman that led him to believe he might find the remains of a World War II Liberty ship at a particular spot off the New Jersey coast. He made his first dive on that spot in August Though the wreck Crowell and his team of divers found that day was shrouded in discarded fishing nets, they saw enough of it to doubt that it was a Liberty ship. Because of weather and equipment problems, it wasn't until they were able to make another dive on it, in September 2002, that (Continued on page 8) The business listed on this page has donated dive gear and dive services to help support the Fairfield County Diving Association. The Ski & Scuba Connection LLC (203) We offer a full range of Scuba Diving instruction using the PADI education system, starting with Discover Scuba and continuing up to Assistant Instructor, with instruction in many specialties like; Nitrox, Wreck, Deep, Night, Search and Recovery, Photo Underwater Hunter, Dry Suit and Equipment Specialist. We can also provide a refresher class for the diver who has been away from diving for a while. You will receive superior instruction taught by a Master Instructor with 28 years of experience having trained over 650 students and his staff of Dive Masters. We use top of the line, state of the art equipment that is well maintained to work at peek performance. We arrange and personally escort group dive travel: Fiji, Palau, Yap, Tahiti, Little Cayman, St. Lucia, Bequia, Saba, St. Vincent, BVI, Florida Keys, and many more. Tahiti Aug weeks in paradise 7 nights aboard a luxury cruise ship, Dive Bora Bora, Moorea, Raiatea, Taha a 5 night in Rangiroa Dive the world famous Tiputa Pass We also offer the usual: Equipment sales, rental, and repairs. We put the Fun back into Diving

8 Page 8 A Ship Found, A Heart Healed by Tom Feeney (continued) (Continued from page 7) they could say for sure that it was a destroyer. After that dive, they used Navy records to identify it as the Murphy. A small memorial with the names of the men who died that night has been placed in a park in Surf City, on Long Beach Island. The memorial was dedicated Sept. 16. Crowell, a videographer, is working on a documentary about the ship. Ruth Anderson, whose husband died the year Crowell identified the Murphy, heard about the discovery from a relative who saw a television news report about it. The experience has brought back memories of things she has not spoken of in six decades. Memories of taking the train from her home in Elizabeth, Minn., to meet Gil in New York during his shore leave, of taking along the gravy spoon from the silverware pattern she had selected for their wedding, of going to the opera and a party, of being stricken with a sense of foreboding when they said goodbye at the end of his leave. When he was reported (Continued on page 9) New England's Tech Diving Center! New England Dive Center 476 North Colony Street Wallingford, CT The region's foremost source for scuba and technical diving gear, training and everything for the recreational or serious tech diver. The business listed on this page has donated dive gear and dive services to help support the Fairfield County Diving Association Fax Dealer for OMS, UWATEC, Oceanic, Mares, Dacor, Cressi-Sub, P o s e i d o n, Scubapro, Bare, O'Neill and Henderson. Draeger Atlantis I Rebreather training, certification and rental. New England Dive Center offers complete training for all levels of diving, from Open Water through the most advanced technical courses. Our instruction provides certification through SSI, PDIC, TDI and IANTD. Visit us on the Web:

9 Page 9 A Ship Found, A Heart Healed by Tom Feeney (continued) (Continued from page 8) missing, she said, she clung to the hope that he was alive somewhere, possibly with amnesia, trying to find his way back to her. She moved to Washington, D.C., to stay with her sister and continued to write him letters after the Murphy sank. One day, the postman brought them all back to her. She gave up hope and took the train back to Minnesota. She destroyed the letters and gave the engagement ring to her brother. The only thing she kept was an ivory necklace Gil had bought for her at the Rock of Gibraltar. She put that necklace away many years ago and kept it away, thinking it improper to wear it around the man she married. But earlier this month, when she arrived in New Jersey with her son Tom for the reunion of the Murphy crew, she wore Gil's necklace. "Ever since they found the bow," her son said, "she's been healing a thorn that's been in her heart all these years." Reprinted from The Star- Ledger - September 27, 2004 The business listed on this page has donated dive gear and dive services to help support the Fairfield County Diving Association. Orbit Marine Sports Center, Inc 3273 Fairfield Avenue, Bridgeport, CT (203) 333-DIVE (800) 395-DIVE Capt. Noel s Diventures!! The Spirit of the Good Life! Belize December 1-5, 2004 Cozumel December 26, January 1, 2005 Grand Cayman February 18-25, 2005 Winter Break Cayman Brac March 20 - April 3, 2005 Tuluum, Mexico April 27 - May 1, 2005 Turks & Caicos May 26-30, Memorial Day Weekenc Little Cayman 30 - July 4, 2005 Freeport, Bahamas August 3-7, Captain Noel s Birthday North Carolina July 29-Aug 6, 2005 PLEASE BUY LOCAL! Mail order/internet sales hurt all local retailers. We re the ones who fill your tanks, service your gear, train you to dive, take you out diving and REALLY CARE ABOUT YOU! SUPPORT US SO WE CAN SUPPORT YOU! Orbit Marine is 31 Years Old! Orbit Scuba Courses listing Open Water Advanced Open Water Rescue Diver Underwater Photography Wreck Diver Divemaster Assistant Instructor Instructor, Nitrox Advanced Nitrox Cylinder Inspector DAN O2 Provider Deep Diver Night diver Underwater Navigation Visit Orbit Marine on the Web -

10 Page 10 Upcoming FCDA Events Next FCDA Meeting - Friday, November 19, :00 PM Coast Guard Cottage - South Benson Marina - Fairfield, CT Amazing Animals of Animals Everywhere a video presentation by Elaine Irvin Fairfield County Diving Association P.O. Box 3005 Fairfield, CT Address Service Requested