10 Year Surface Interval
It feels like only awhile, but in reality it’s been 10 years since I last went for a dive at Folly Cove. 10 years is a long time and I’m a very different person but Folly Cove is still the same awesome dive that always has something to see and often has surprises. I was looking for anemone’s or the big torpedo rays that frequent the cove with no luck although some great topography and a group of 5 dive buddies made for lots of portraiture. After one of us hit half a tank we turned around and started kicking in. We split up into smaller groups and each made our way in. Folly cove is a cove (duh) but the way we decided to dive it, we followed the wall of the west side which involves a long surface swim over the boring parts to get out past a small rocky and marshy area blocking the shoreline.
So on the turn around, once we were in about 5-7m/15-20ft I started the turn in to diagonally cross the cove underwater and cut through a barren sandy bottom (the boring part) to get us back to our entry/exit point. By that time we had about an hour of bottom time so far and after hitting around 15m/50ft before the turn around I was left with around 1100psi from a 2400psi steel low pressure tank, so not terribly bad, had some spare gas so started to take it real slow and enjoy the way the sun rays were hitting the water and the sand with the late afternoon sun. All of a sudden I saw what was unmistakably a striped bass swim by. I’ve been trying to get a good shot of a striper since getting to New England and it had never lined up, got some video but never a still.
As this striper was cruising by I saw the silhouette on another in the green murky water and another, an another. I saw a couple dive into the sand then another couple closer to the first do the same and I immediately knew I was interrupting dinner. The little sand eels would jump out of the sand and then back in a few inches ahead, they look like little brown dolphins jumping through the waves while traveling but the waves is the sand. There were smaller minnows gathering which the stripers seemed uninterested in, but likely feeding on the same thing the sand eels were. I looked at my buddy and suggested we split up so be less intrusive and act like we’re just there for the feast as uninvited guests while not being a threat. The less bubbles the better in this situation so we separated a bit out of sight and planned to not see each other again, exiting on our own. Swimming around they got more and more comfortable zooming in close and hunting like a striped underwater wolf pack. I ended up slowly moving around trying to follow the school as it moved on the hunt while trying to pinpoint a few specific bigger fish that I found to be less bothered by my presence and would make close passes. At one point I’m following a striper wit the lens and who pops up into the frame but Kevin, my dive buddy who’s also laying belly down, close to the sand and enjoying the big picture of things, big picture diving… it might be my favorite. We say “hey”, check we’re each O.K. and then check air, both low, I’m under 400, he’s just about as low but I can’t give up on this opportunity (this is where dumb ideas start, don’t try this at home).
I told him to go up, I’d be right behind him as I stuck to the bottom and adjusted the strobe on my camera. As soon as I was the only big strange bubbling thing in the water the fish got even more comfortable and started making closer passes, I think they started to get comfortable with the idea that I was just there to join in one their feeding frenzy. Getting some decent shots now but nothing close enough, check my air again and whoa this hose is really limp! (limp hoses is a key sign you’ve got a lack of pressure a.k.a no air) I’m at like 150psi max, its essentially on 0 and way in the red. I’m only at about 5m/15ft after all and they’re starting to get so close, let’s call it an extra long safety stop and keep going! Sure enough I get a pack of 4-5 zoom by snap, snap, snap, then coming the other way like they were just waiting for a grand finale. It couldn't have been a few minutes before I really noticed my ref pulling hard, getting harder to breath so I start kicking in shallower. I think I got 3m/10ft away and I felt that last sip of air like you’re sucking through a straw but you pinch it shut.. “oops, that’s all folks!” and with that I pulled as much as I physically could from the last breath and started a nice slow ascent (exhaling the whole way obviously) the whopping 3m/10ft from the surface and proceeded to orally inflate my BCD.
All in all its was a 106 minute dive, 1hr 46min dive and I ended up with 0psi, possibly even negative air but it was worth it. I was so stoked, it reminded me of an epic dive back in Hawaii, straight up ACTION. I love big picture diving where you’re in awe of a whole ecosystem interacting naturally in some big epic event like a feeding frenzy. This could have been one of my top 5 dives in New England and I got pictures to prove it.
-Capt Greg
