Mohawk - January 7, 2007. First dive of the year

The Mohawk was a passenger Liner which was sunk by collision, January 25, 1935. She was leaving NY enroute to Havana Cuba with 54 passengers and a crew of 109. She was carrying general cargo when she was struck by the MV Talisman. As a result of the collision, 45 people from the Mohawk perished.

The remains of the Mohawk lie at a depth of about 75-80 feet about five miles off the NJ coast. Since being sunk by the collision, the Mohawk was blasted by depth-charges by the U.S. military, and wire dragged. She can now be described as a large debris field. There are a few points which rise about 15' off the bottom, but most is laying on the bottom with only a few feet of relief.

On January 7, 2007, Scott Previte, Rob Infante and I paid a visit to the Mohawk. This was far from our first visit here. I think this was my third or fourth time on this wreck. My first was at least five years ago when I did my very first NJ wreck dive on board the Seeker. This time we were privileged to be on the Ol'Salty out of Belmar. Normally this boat is not going out in January, but with the unseasonably warm weather we've been having, they posted charters for the weekend.

We left the Belmar boat basin with about 16 divers onboard promptly at 7:00 am to a wonderful sunrise. It looked like it was going to be a great day on Lake Atlantic. We had about a 40 minute ride out to the wreck. When we got out there we found the Sea Lion dive boat tying in on the Mohawk We had company. I was also pleasantly surprised to learn that one of the mates on the Ol'Salty was someone I knew a lifetime ago. Greg, it was nice catching up with you after all these years. What a small world.

Rob was diving his Prism rebreather. I was diving my double 98's for their virgin tour of the Atlantic. Scott also had double 98's. I brought both my pole spear and my camera not knowing which I would use. I chose my pole spear for the first dive. Down we went. I had a bottom temp. of 46 degrees, which was exactly the same temp. I had last week at Dutch Springs. Only this time, I didn't have drygloves.

On the bottom, we moved along the wreck line that Scott was running. I found a tube or barrel of some type about half filled with sand. It was clearly part of the wreck. Inside, just waiting to be taken, was an edible, marine, dull-green, stalk-eyed decapod crustacean of the family Homaridae, esp. of the genus Homarus, having large, asymmetrical pincers on the first pair of legs, one used for crushing and the other for cutting and tearing: the shell turns bright red when cooked. Oh, sorry....it was a lobster. At the same time, about twenty feet away, I saw a nice sized Tog, aka Black Fish, swimming freely. I was not sure which was more tempting. I got Rob's attention and he swam over and quickly collected the lobster. Lets face it, he is a better lobsterman than I will ever be. Rob quickly found another keeper, but this one took some coaxing. It was hidden underneath a steel hull plate. Using my pole spear to push it from the back, it popped out right into Rob's hands, which quickly placed him into his catch bag. I did not get the Tog I saw earlier, in fact, I got nothing on this dive.

After a 40 minute runtime, we were back on the boat. Actually, Scott and I were back on the boat. Rob had at least double that with his rebreather. The Ol'Salty warmed us up with cream of chicken and mushroom soup during our surface interval.

On our second dive I chose to leave both my pole spear and camera onboard. All I brought was my catch bag with the hopes of finding a lobster. Scott found one in a tire, but this tire was completely covered and tangled in debris. The lobster was well shielded and we were not able to get him out. Scott found a keeper underneath a hull plate, and he used a piece of debris to try and force him out. This one was too smart for us and we left empty-handed. Then I saw a huge Tog....but I didn't have my pole spear. This guy must have known that I was powerless to get him as he taunted me by swimming within arms reach several times. At the end of the dive I realized that I had nothing.....again. Not wanting to go home emptyhanded, I picked up a few seashells for the kids at home. Wow..I am so good at hunting and gathering. I would have failed as a caveman.

Rob and Scott tried, unsuccessfully, to entice me into a post-dive cigar. I've had really bad luck with cigars. I would like to think that I am smart enough to learn from my past mistakes when it comes to smoking a stogie. I get sick. It was a nice day on the Atlantic. Two dives with a total of 79 minutes (40 and 39) with a max. depth of 77' and a bottom temp. of 46 degrees. What a way to start 2007.