The Malchase Dive In the early 90s we were diving hard. Mike McKay had sold his boat and went to work for Paxton, the marine supplier in Norfolk. Paul Payne, a friend of both of us, had been Mikes mate and he also dove with me. We had been wanting to dive the Malchase all that summer, but when we had time, we didnt have weather. One Sunday in early November, that changed. I got up that Saturday morning, and it was dead calm. I had no charter that day, nor Sunday, so I got on the phone and called both Mike and Paul and told them I was game to go to the Malchase. So were they. The Malchase is east of Cape Lookout, in 207 of water. We spent the day rigging up. Getting tanks filled, stage bottles rigged, and getting everything on the boat. I called Johnny Pittman, my mate, and he agreed to go with us and boat sit. We got underway at 6 am that Sunday morning. When we cleared Cape Lookout shoals that morning, it was the prettiest time that had ever stuck. On pilot, making a b-line for the Malchase. Mike had brought a Cream Cheese Coffee Cake, as was his custom, and we made short work of it. When we got there, it was wild. There was bait fish everywhere, and a whale, a humpback whale, there circling the wreck and feeding. I slowed down and tuned in my big Simrad, and put my Northstar on TDs. Marking the hard bottom that is around the wreck, the ledge that is just north of it, and then the sandy bottom she sit on. I counted my points down and put her in a circle. The 2nd circle told the tail. Got a mark. I turned the boat NW, as Sonny had told me how she laid, I ran right down the wreck. When ran off the end, I brought her about and when I just started to mark the stern of the wreck, I had Johnny throw Fang, my big grapple, over the side. Fang, being Fang, did his job in short order, and Johnny tied him off and we swung into what little wind there was. I shut her down, and the game was on. Ladder down, swim lines out, hang bottles in the water. The three of us geared up and then, it was on. There was a moment of hesitation, but then Mike rolled, so I rolled, then Paul. No current, fair vis, down we went. About 160 you could start to see her, and what a site it was. Laying there almost upside down, broken into three pieces, her guts spilled everywhere. We were hooked in just aft of the boilers, near where the stern had broken off. Paul and I stayed kinda close to the anchor. But not Mike, he took off down the wreck. Paul and I explored the stern area and after about 20 mins, started to the surface. I could hear Mike, but couldnt see him, as we started up , as we only had about 35 of vis. Paul and I got our deep stops, and were up at 30 when I saw Mikes white tanks coming up the anchor line. He was about 6 or 7 mins behind us. Paul and I got up to our 20 stop and that is when the fun began. The damn whale we had seen when we pulled up came in to see what we were up to. He came right under the boat, and he was bigger than the boat, and the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in the water. Mike was below us, on the anchor line, and the whale swam right over his head, and I dont think he ever saw it. Paul and I cleared our deco and stayed a few extra mins, and headed up to the boat. Then I saw the lift bag behind the boat, and the compass stand hanging below it. Old Mike had snagged himself a treasure. The first of 2 compass stands he got off the Malchase on my boat, and I think he also recovered another one on a dive there with Gordon. Paul and I got on the boat and got out gear off. Mike joined us 10 or 15 mins later. We got the compass on the platform and tied it off. Up with the swim lines, then I floated Fang with the polyball, and we got underway. That day, I got to share a world class adventure with two of my best friends. We had a beautiful ride in, and hit the dock right at sundown. We all helped Mike load the compass in his truck, had a final round of high fives, and headed to the house. Not everyday diving is like that, but that day, we were like the Romans. We Came, We Saw, We Conquered. It was the first of many days the three of us shared on that wreck. But it was the best. __________________
Posted on: Sat, 01 Nov 2014 22:17:47 +0000
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