Wreck Diving The Ruby E
Off the Lois Anne Boat
San Diego, CA

Dove with fellow DM student Ron T; Instructor John followed.

In With: 3700 psi (Overfill!)
Out With: 2000 psi
Max depth: 70 feet
Waves: Insignificant
Visibility: 20 feet
Water Temperature: 51 degrees Fahrenheit
Total Bottom Time: 20 minutes

The Ruby E is a sunken Coast Guard Cutter.

Vis on this dive was a little better than on the Yukon; but, maybe it just looked that way because we could see practically the whole ship – the Yukon is just too big.

I again was the first one off the boat; we followed the mooring line down to the ship.

There was some kind of purple coral of the wreck – later identified as Strawberry Anemones.

Ron and I swam through the wheelhouse…

There are sharp points along the deck where the railing used to be.

It was cold; I was getting an “ice cream” headache.

John went in to the hull.

Ron motioned to me that we should go up.

Ron was diving very conservatively; he may have been narced, but I didn’t think so.

However a 20-minute dive at 70 feet after an hour surface interval seems pretty short to me.

We did our safety stop and surfaced with no problem.

A lot of the other divers were doing decompression diving.

John said, “they put a lot of faith on theory.”

A lot of the other divers were knuckleheads.

I think a lot of it was the typical new diver syndrome – new equipment and big egos.

As part of our Dive Master class, we talked extensively to the hot Dive Master, Anita.

She said she gets frustrated with the divers who don’t listen or don’t respond.

The DM Anita, The Captain and John in the foreground.

I said to Anita, “So if I stop breathing, you would give me mouth to mouth resuscitation?”

The Captain interrupted, “I know CPR, too.”

There was a fishing boat that kept following us; Anita had to “shoe them away.”

After a short and beerless trip back to the harbor, John and I packed up and went to lunch with his nephew Michael Paul and his friend who are training to become Navy Seals.

With gas prices over $3 a gallon, there were not many people on the road.

At 4:30 AM, we made it to San Diego in an hour and a half – the same amount of time it took us to come back at 3 PM.

Wreck Diving The Yukon
Off the Lois Anne Boat
San Diego, CA

Dove with fellow DM student Ron T; Instructor John followed.

In With: 3100 psi
Out With: 1600 psi
Max depth: 91 feet
Waves: Insignificant
Visibility: 5-10 feet, up to 20 feet at the ship
Water Temperature: 56 degrees Fahrenheit
Total Bottom Time: 21 minutes, including a two minute safety stop

The Lois Ann

This trip is part of my Divemaster course.

We were to dive, but also observe and interview the Divemaster on this trip; after seeing the DM, I was so glad I had the assignment!

I was the first one off the boat, Ron followed and then John.

We swam to the mooring line and submerged.

Vis sucked near the surface; it was very silty.

Then at 70 feet, part of the wreck appeared.

It should have brought a light, because it was pretty dark.

The wreck is big and disorienting.

It sits on its side, so if you are even with the deck and think you’re level, you’ll find it strange that your exhaled bubbles ascend out the side.

I was getting REALLY narced, especially at first – I was diving with air, Ron and John with Nitrox.

I started feeling better as the dive progressed.

We scanned the bridge, the deck, and the portholes on the side of the wreck.

It was sort of eerie – just a big ship with sea life all over it; sort of like watching a Jacques Cousteau movie in 3D.

We did not penetrate the wreck.

The Yukon is covered with white plumed anemones.

I was sucking up air faster than I remembered I had ever done.

I was following Ron, who had a dive computer, and was following his profile.

Ron motioned that we should head back.

Ron looks way too happy to be this deep.

Ron found the mooring line and we started our ascent.

At 15 feet, we did our safety stop for a couple of minutes.

Ron makes his safety stop…

…and so does John.

I thought Ron was cutting the dive short, but I followed the guy with the computer.

Looking at my tables, it was not a matter of air, but time without going into decompression diving – something that I’m not qualified to do.

We broke surface with no problem; I looked over at the smokin’ hot Divemaster, gave my “OK” sign and remarked loudly, “The view is much better up here.”

She laughed.