Dive Report: Lowrance

November 20, 1999

Well, we've had a run of windy weather which canceled a bunch of
dives the last several weeks, but this weekend almost made up for
it!  I got to dive the Lowrance, Pappa's Wreck, and the Hydro Atlantic
in one weekend.  Bob Sheridan ran the boat each time.

Today, we were at the Lowrance.  The water temperature was 79.  Seas
were about three to four feet and the current on the surface and on
the bottom was light, maybe 1/4 knot.  There was a broken cloud layer
so the sun was peeking through from time to time.

There were three divers on this trip.  My buddy and I jumped
the wreck and the third diver was going to follow after eight
minutes and release the line after 30 minutes on the bottom.  He had
trouble with his ears and preferred to go down the line rather than do
a free descent.

My buddy and I jumped and were on the wreck about 50 seconds later.
I tied in the line and headed off toward the bow on the port side.
About 100 feet from the bow, I saw a large school of several thousand
tiny fish swimming like a cloud of flies.  Larger fish would
occasionally bite at one of the smaller fish and the school would
immediately respond as if it were a single organism.  I pointed
out the school to my buddy.  I stayed hovering there for about
15 minutes.  I was so mesmerized by the beautiful, hypnotic display
that I thought my brain might seize up and I'd have to reboot myself.

I finally pulled myself away and swam toward the bow of the ship.
There, I turned around and headed back to find the engine room.  On
the way back, I was swimming against the light current, so I decided
to get a little help by using the side of the ship to pull-and-glide.
There were cleats on the side about every 10 feet, so I would grab
one, give a good pull, then grab the next.  I did this about four
or five times, then noticed that the next 'cleat' didn't look quite
right.  Everything was covered in growth, so it was hard to even
see the cleats, but this one really looked 'different'.  Just before
I grabbed it, I realized it wasn't a cleat but was instead a
rock/stone/scorpion fish.  Here are excerpts I found around the
Internet on Ichthyology sites:

"...probably the most dangerous fish... (sharks included)..."

"The main problem is that recognizing a stonefish, even if it is
right in front of your eyes, is very difficult."

"Their camouflage is incredibly effective and only experienced
fish-watchers who have a trained eye are likely to see them."

"...the pain will be excruciating..."

"Their dorsal, pelvic and anal spines are able to inject poison
from a poison-producing tissue along the spine.  The sting of this
fish is usually not fatal to humans, but is extremely painful."

YIKES!  I was damn lucky I saw it.  I had gloves on, but I wouldn't
want to take bets on whether they would have been enough to protect
me.

After I got over a mild hear-attack, I stopped to take a closer
look.  It really did a remarkable job of imitating the surrounding
growth.  The fish was laying on the edge of the ship facing the
bow.  I was headed toward the stern, and I think the only reason I
saw it in time was because it's eyes, when seen from directly in
front of the fish, stick out somewhat.  If it had been facing the
other way, I don't think I would have seen it.  Even now, calmly
studying it up close, I had trouble making out exactly where the
fish ended and the ship began.  Boy, do I feel lucky!

I counted my blessings and continued toward the stern, swimming
this time.  As I approached the area where the beautiful cloud of
fish had been, I entered an open, roofed area of the wreck where I
could watch the cloud of fish from the opposite angle; from inside
the wreck looking out.  I stayed there a minute then swam out toward
the stern.  Here, I met the third diver who had jumped in shortly
after I did.  I showed him the school and we watched it for a
couple of minutes, then I headed on toward the stern.  The diver
followed me and we entered a large, mostly empty room.  We warm
around in there briefly, then he kicked up some of the silt.  I
pointed it out to him with my light then we exited the room.

I'd planned to see the engines during this dive, but it didn't
work out that way.  I was nearly out of time by now, having spent
most of it watching that school of fish.  I didn't mind, though.
Seeing things like that are one of the things that keeps me
coming back.

I signaled the third diver that I was leaving and he said he had
five more minutes.  I headed up along the line and started my
deep-stops.  The diver followed shortly after and eventually
passed me.  A while later, we were all back on the boat and
headed back.