August 16, 2011 - Sea Trials

To all those who are new to my blog, to get the gist of it please read, "Welcome Aboard",  from the May 1, 2011 posting and peruse a few of my other Dive Blog Reports. Visit www.evolutionunderwater.com to see video shorts from the 2011 season at Olympus Dive Center and click here for more info about myself.

Photo of the Week
Sunrise on the Morehead City Waterfront.

This past week was full of challenges for myself and the crew of the Midnight Express in delivering top notch diving to the divers visiting us at Olympus Dive Center in Morehead City, North Carolina. We have been tested day after day by Mother Nature. Between strong currents, squalls and heavy wind and seas I was put through the ringer but, in the end we managed to dive every day.  We may not have been able to get to where we wanted to go but, we got out and had great dives all the same.

Olympus Dive Center.

On Thursday August, 11th I arrived at the dock with what seemed to be a perfect weather day. The skies were clear and the winds were low with a flat calm sea. The passengers had requested a dive on the W.E. Hutton, aka Papoose which is a long run offshore and I could not see any reason to not accommodate their request. The Papoose has been a hot dive site this season. If you have not already seen them check out these Videos on my web site to prove my point. After motoring two hours over a flat calm sea we arrived at the W.E. Hutton without a hitch. I pulled back the throttles and slowed the boat down to a crawl to allow my crew to prepare to get the anchor ready to tie in to the wreck. As soon as the boat came to a near halt a pod of dolphins came up under the pulpit inviting us to play. With barely a ripple in the waters surface one could look down and see the Dolphins as clear as day and there even was a pair engaged in mating! A bunch of ooh's and aahs from the divers on board proceeded this act of marine exhibitionism. The fact that Dolphins can get away with having sex in public while everyone watches not only approvingly but enthusiastically is yet another reason to love these creatures.


Without further delay I pulled up over the wreck and yelled out to my first mate, John Thomson, "OK go ahead!" where he immediately jumped over the edge and headed down to the wreck. It was at this point that something was amiss. While waiting for John to tie us in to the wreck I was having difficulty maintaining my position over the GPS waypoint number. I kept getting pulled off the wreck while the anchor line trailed underneath the boat. "Damn, current!" I thought to myself. Sure enough, John moments later radioed up to me on the com from his full face mask that there was plenty of current all the way to the bottom. He indicated that he was having difficulty just making way in to it. At some point he made the call that there was no way we could safely dive this wreck and that he was coming up. Even if a diver could make it down they probably would not enjoy themselves holding on to the anchor line for dear life with the ocean whizzing past your face during the course of their entire dive. It was a bummer. A perfect day for a dive with sharks on the Papoose and we got chased away by current. Plan B was to head a little closer in shore to the wrecks of the Spar and Aeolus, (which are only 400 feet apart) where traditionally you will find less current and dive on these sites. Indeed once we got hooked in it was discovered that the current was much less. After completing two great dives here with Sand Tigers and Mermaids I headed the boat for home thankful that we were able to dive at all today.

Beautiful Sea Fans on the Wreck of the Aeolus.

A handful of the gang from A-1 SCUBA.

The following day on Friday August 12th the Midnight was host to the dive group from A-1 SCUBA in Trevose, PA.  For many years now Alan Moss and Jennifer Mayfield have been bringing their divers to North Carolina to dive with Olympus Dive Center and it was a pleasure to have them back with us once again. After discussing with Alan and Jennifer where they wanted to dive it was decided that we would bang out a trip to the, you guessed it, the U-352. Once again sea conditions would make for a fairly easy run out to the sub with the exception of one thing. A huge storm system was sitting directly over where the wreck of the U-352 lays. Rain by itself is not enough to deter me from driving through a squall but when you see major lighting within the storm respect should be given and the storm stayed clear of if you can help it. So staying clear of it was what I did. I made a detour over to the Aeolus which was on the fringe of the storm and sat there adrift waiting to see what it would do. Eventually it drifted off and cleared out of the area but not before wasting 90 minutes of mine and everyones morning. We decided to dive the Aeolus for the first dive and then head to the U-352 for the second dive. The Aeolus has had a decent sized population of Sand Tiger Sharks lingering about most of the season and these divers understandably wanted to see sharks.

A toothy Sand Tiger Shark inside the wreck of the Aeolus.

With the visibility around 40 feet or so and plenty of sharks and other marine life around, all the divers had a great time including myself for I managed to sneak away for a dive with my camera and score a few nice shots that you can see within this blog. The dive was so enjoyable for everyone that they unanimously decided to stay for the second dive with the hope of diving the sub the next day. By the end of the day I had a boat load of sated SCUBA divers on board heading for home. Even though everyone had a good experience today and the day before I couldn't help feel like a spoiled child who was not allowed to go diving where I wanted to go. I shrugged it off and figured tomorrow was going to be better. I was wrong.

Sand Tiger Shark and Magenta Sea Fans on the
Wreck of the Aeolus.

On Saturday August 13th the weather forecast stated: "10-15 knots of wind from the south east with 2-4 foot seas. Not bad really but for one thing. The forecast was wrong. After motoring 2 hours out to the U-352 with A-1 SCUBA once again we attempted to tie up to the sub in 3-5' seas blowing 15-20 knots which is on the fringe for a safe dive. This time I motored up to the drop point in these rather dodgy seas and dropped my mate John over my waypoint. A minute later he radioed up and said he was on the conning tower of the sub. Great you might think except I dropped him on the Stern which is 100 feet away. To make matters worse as John struggled to tie us in with a stiff current on the bottom I was getting pushed around by the surface current like a freshman on my first day of high school. To make matters worse this intense current was pushing me up in to the wind and seas! John was able to secure the hook on to the wreck while my mate, Mike and I, struggled for another five minutes before pulling in all the slack line that had been spent over the side of the boat while fighting with the current. Once all was secure I looked over the side of the boat and there we were completely side to the 3-5 foot seas and 20 knots of wind. "Ugh" I muttered to myself but it probably was more of an expletive than "ugh". I decided this was once again an unsafe dive environment and pulled the hook, recovered my diver and turned the boat towards are 'go to' wreck site, the USS Indra which was more than twenty miles back the way we came from. At this point I was getting pissed off. Pissed at what exactly I do not know. My divers were very understanding and my crew was doing an exemplary job. Being angry at NOAA for supplying a faulty forecast is a lame excuse since they get it wrong most of the time anyway and should not be trusted. Having a grudge and being disrespectful against Mother Nature is pointless and downright dangerous. So what was my problem? I guess I just got tired of being pushed around for three days straight. My father might say something like, "get used it it. Your a guest out on the ocean and only get to be there when she allows it." or something like that. Solid words to live by though.

Jennifer Mayfield of A-1 SCUBA after a great dive.

We pulled up to the Indra one hour later but the ocean was still a little bumpy to say the least. Once the boat was secured to the wreck a huge 7 foot swell rolled under the boat stretching the anchor line taught like a piano wire. This huge swell was maybe sent as a reminder to get my attitude right and it did just that. After the big swell it seemed to return to the usual 3-5 footers and I opened the pool for the A-1 divers to check out the Indra. In short, we stayed here for the next two dives with visibility around 30 feet or so. Even though we did not get to dive offshore and see the U-352 I barely heard a single complaint all day even with the less than calm conditions. If it weren't for these divers and there easy going attitude I may have popped an o-ring. I went home that night, sat on the couch and drank a beer before passing out at 8PM feeling slightly beat up and a tad defeated.

A-1 diver chilling out on surface interval.

I didn't know dive computers had
video games.

Diver receiving the 'fin treatment' on board the 'Midnight'.

On Sunday I awoke and checked the NOAA buoy reports to discover that the wind was still blowing hard offshore and the seas had built even larger than the day before. I figured we may have to spend another day diving close to the beach in shallow water where it may have been calmer. I was happily mistaken. By the time the 'Midnight' shoved off the winds started to drop right out. I pointed the boat due south towards the Papoose and only hoped for the best. If the seas allowed us to make the 32 mile trip I would only have to worry about the rugged currents plaguing us these past days. I was no longer optimistic or pessimistic but a true realist. I could only do what nature allowed me to do and that's it. After tying up to the wreck I was extremely pleased that the current had dropped somewhat. It was still present but very manageable. Finally, a minor victory that we would get a chance to dive a wreck that we set out for. I briefed all the divers on the conditions and indicated that today would be a good day to stay on the anchor line during your descent until the current slacked off on the bottom.

Another A-1 dive.

All the divers excitedly suited up and jumped in for the dive pulling themselves hand over hand down the anchor line in to the current until they vanished from sight. As they returned it was apparent that the dive was a huge hit. Decent 'vis', warm water in the mid eighties and plenty of Sand Tiger Sharks to be seen. Surprisingly, Jennifer and Alan requested we stay for two dives. "What the heck" I said.  "Why not?" So we stayed for two dives on the Papoose ending the three day A-1 charter on a very high note for myself, my crew and all the divers. I was relieved. I managed to persevere the sea trials thrown at me over the last four days and have fun with safe dives on the wrecks of the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Without fail, I'm sure that there will be plenty of tests in the future though. Maybe that's what makes diving here so exciting and this work so addicting.


Happy Diving!


Mike Gerken


PS: Photo Tips of the Week will be delayed due to the late hour, lack of dinner on the table and an early rise for a charter tomorrow.

See below for the shameless self promotion

section of this blog!

Please visit my web site www.evolutionunderwater.com to see video excerpts from my documentary films and a complete underwater photographic portfolio of my work and purchase fine art prints and DVD's of my films.

If you wish to dive Graveyard of the Atlantic contact Olympus Dive Center for more information.

Olympus Dive Center, Morhead City, NC.

Also, follow me on Facebook at Evolution Underwater Imaging (by Mike Gerken) and click like to receive the latest updates.

Mike Gerken

August 9, 2011 - "Sharkfest 2011"

Photo of the Week
Sand Tiger Shark on the wreck of the Atlas Tanker.
Note the growth on the teeth and mouth. (New)

The famous movie poster image of 'Jaws'.
1975©Courtesy of Universal Studios

When the movie 'Jaws' was released in 1975 I was a mere eight years old but remember clearly the terrifying experience seeing the film. In those days multiplexes did not exist as of yet and the theatre was a large screen in one large auditorium style room with a balcony. I remember standing in the lobby on a long line waiting for the previous viewing to end and the movie goers to exit. As each harrowing scene developed towards the climax of the movie, loud shrieks emanated out of the theatre from the viewers along with the blood curdling scream of Captain Quint as his thorax was crushed by the steel like Jaws of a Great White Shark. "Egads", I thought to myself. "what the heck is going on in there?".  The only other time I ever heard screams like that was on Space Mountain at Disney World. I was terrified before I even got in to my seat. Even though I was scared out of my whits I still voluntarily entered the theatre with unabated curiosity. As the opening scene ominously developed (anyone who has ever seen Jaws knows this scene well) my toes clenched together and my eyes bugged out of my head while I completely forgot about the Milk Duds I was clutching in my hand.

Captain Quint meeting his fate.
1975©Courtesy of Universal Studios

As the scene ended and the daylight setting from the following scene illuminated the theatre my mind slowly came back in to consciousness and another Milk Dud finally found its way into my mouth. By the time I walked out of the theatre, I was thoroughly entertained by the film as well as totally freaked out. (It's ironic how these two emotions run hand in hand in our society.) Apparently, I wasn't the only one though. This film created a mass hysteria on the scale never before seen in the American public (maybe with the exception of Orson Welles radio production of War of the Worlds in 1938). People by the thousands were literally scared to go back in the water for the irrational fear that a leviathan with razor sharp teeth was going to eat them up. I myself do not recall missing a single day of swimming and snorkeling after that but maybe at that young age I was able to separate fact from fiction and that movies are not reality. Not only did the film create fear it also inadvertently created an animosity and stigma towards sharks that led to their wholesale slaughter. A slaughter that was unjustified. Shark attacks on humans are very rare considering the hundreds of millions of people who enter the water every year. The media however cashed in on this hysteria in the public and saturated the airwaves with stories of shark attacks real or imagined. Statistically, one has a better chance of getting struck by lighting then they do getting bitten by a shark but you would not have been told this my the media in 1975. Sharks became enemy number one and were fished on a massive scale and sometimes for sport with only photos taken and whole carcasses thrown in to the dumpster minus the jaws and teeth. Only today have sharks began to be better understood and given the respect they deserve as apex predators of the food chain and not man eaters. We as the human race have a long way to go in treating them as a vital part of the marine ecosystem and protecting them from extinction. For example, Sharks are still being slaughtered by the millions worldwide as a food source or exclusively for there shark fins which are used in Asian delicacies such as shark fin soup. The fins are cut off and the shark tossed back in to the ocean sometimes while still alive. Scientist indicate that many species of shark have been reduced by as much as 95% worldwide due to such wasteful practices as these.


There is hope for sharks yet. Many of you reading this blog are already aware that seeing a shark or sharks underwater while diving is a pinnacle experience and we sport divers pay good money to see them. Many countries such as the Bahamas, Palau and all of Micronesia have stood up and taken notice of this influx in tourist spending and are acting if not for the good will of sharks then for the improvement of the economy of there country by passing laws prohibiting fishing for sharks. They are starting to realize that a shark alive is worth considerably more money than a shark is dead. 

Sand Tiger Shark on the wreck of the
Atlas Tanker. (New)

If this idea holds true anywhere it is in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Without a doubt Sand Tigers and sharks in general are a huge draw for divers at Olympus Dive Center. Barely a day goes by that a group does not request to see Sand Tiger Sharks on the way out to a dive on board the boat I captain, the Midnight Express. In fact, this past weekend Olympus was host to "Sharkfest 2011" led by Andy Murch and his company Elasmodiver.com. Andy is an accomplished underwater photographer specializing in, you guest it, sharks. He conducts diving excursions all over the world with groups of shark enthusiasts to such locations as, you guest it again, Morehead City, North Carolina. This year Andy brought 18 divers with him armed to the hilt with an assortment of point and shoot cameras as well as some heavy duty SLR's all with one main objective, to photograph Sand Tiger Sharks and whatever else with big teeth would swim close enough to them for a prized shot. On Friday August 5th, we were to start out the long weekend with a late afternoon dive and a night dive on the USCG Cutter Spar which has been notorious for the Sand Tiger Sharks that populate it. However, I will say with honesty that the Spar has not had nearly as many Sand Tigers on it as it has in years past although there are a few spotted each dive there this year. 

"Captain Barracuda" in the helm station of the USCG Cutter Spar. (New)

The afternoon dive went well enough with a handful of sharks seen by my divers and I even managed to squeeze in a dive on the Spar. Not seeing very many sharks on the scene I swam up to the wheelhouse and spotted the usual school of Spadefish swarming around the watchtower. Right in the center of the tower was one enormous Barracuda. It became evident that this big fish was the master of his domain.  Any time another Barracuda came too close to his perch he quickly chased them away. In addition there was another fairly large Barracuda that had a hook in its mouth and a leader dangling from it that was hanging around the perimeter of the 'bully' on the block. The weight and drag of this hook and line was enough to cause the fish to list to his left side. At some point in the dive the Barracuda swam in to the wheelhouse and just hung out. I swam in the opposite door being careful not to startle the fish.  Amazingly, the Barracuda calmly hovered there for many minutes while I took numerous photos of him. After a little while I was able to approach within maybe 18 inches.  I stopped taking photos for a minute while the two of us just stared at each other. I wanted to reach over and remove the hook or at least cut the leader and I had this weird feeling that the Cuda wanted me to do it. All of a sudden I was the Barracuda Whisperer and reached out to see if I could get close to the leader. At that point he decided enough was enough and made a hasty exit out the port side door. So much for my little fantasy of communicating with fish. It was an interesting but futile thought.


After this dive, due to some technical difficulties, I had to cancel the night dive and head in for the day with the promise that we would dive the Atlas Tanker the following day where many shark sightings on mass scale have been seen there this season already. If the conditions are good it could be a special treat.  
Please visit www.evolutionunderwater.com and view some of the video shorts I shot there this season and read my previous Dive Blog Report, Sand Tiger Shark Invasion! from May 30th.

Sand Tiger Shark on the Atlas Tanker. (New)

Come Saturday morning the 'Midnight' made way for the Atlas Tanker as promised. The Atlas had not been dived for more than a week at this point so the dive conditions were unknown. The visibility in this section of the ocean has a tendency to be on the low side sometimes at only 5-10 feet but, Andy decided the risk was well worth it if there were to be an abundance of sharks to be seen. As we pulled up to the wreck the sea was calm with only a large ground swell bobbing the boat to and fro.  My mate jumped in with the hook and had us secured in only a minute or two and radioed up to me on the com that visibility was a pretty 40 feet or more down on the wreck with a 'ton' of sharks swimming about. He said that he could see the dive boat from 90 feet! This was good news to Andy and the rest of the shark hounds on the boat. Many people who still do not understand that sharks are rarely problematic to humans, wonder why the heck we knowingly jump in to the water and swim with these creatures who want to eat us. They might add it's like jumping out of a perfectly good airplane even though you are wearing a parachute. Well, unless you have never felt the rush of jumping out of a plane you will never understand what it is like to swim with sharks. To do it is to understand it. With this said, it didn't take long for all my divers to get geared up and make the jump in to the water without their parachutes. One by one they headed down to get a glimpse of these awesome critters on their home turf.

Sand Tiger Shark on the Atlas Tanker. (New)

As each diver returned it became apparent that it was mission accomplished. Not only did they all get close encounters with the toothy kind, they got to see dozens of sharks all at once. The dive was so good it was decided immediately that we would do the second dive of the day on the Atlas as well. That was music to my ears.  I grabbed my Nikon D300 and got suited up and made a nice long dive blazing away a few photos of the sharks with the wreck as a backdrop. I managed to score a few decent shots while enjoying myself to the fullest in the warm clear water. 


After everyone had had their full of the Atlas for the day we headed home in calm seas and planned on diving the wreck of the Caribsea on Sunday, which is only a few miles away from the Atlas and is also home to a large population of Sand Tigers. Jumping ahead to Sunday morning we sadly had too strong of winds to safely make a dive this day. We had to cancel the charters (insert frown face here). At least the group had a fantastic day on Saturday with rare conditions on the Atlas. I can only hope that the two days of diving was enough for first timers to North Carolina diving to return again in the future to experience all that the region has to offer. Unfortunately, I did not get the opportunity to take a few snapshots of the Sharkfest attendees to include in this blog so please forgive me for my blatant negligence.


On a closing note, there are lots of spaces available on the Midnight Express and Olympus for the month of August and September.  Stop looking at your 401(k) and your IRA's and relieve the stress of the real world and GO DIVING!  I'll see you soon.


Happy Diving!


Mike Gerken


Footnote: The author of 'Jaws', Peter Benchley, after the release of the movie, became an advocate for sharks and spent a significant part of his life educating the public about their true nature due to the unforeseen negative effect his book and subsequent film had on them.

Photo Tip of the Week

This weeks Photo Tip of the Week goes out there to anyone who is shooting with a point and shoot consumer camera or even an SLR camera set to 'program' or 'automatic' mode. One of the first things I tell someone who asks me how to take better photos is "are you shooting on manual mode?. "If not then it is time to start". A digital camera on program mode will select the aperture or f-stop and shutter speed based on the light the camera is reading and most often it does a poor job of it due to the fact that a camera cannot take in to account all of the conditions you are faced with. This holds especially true underwater. If you are content on taking simple snapshots then you need not read any further but if you want to start taking your photography up a big notch then start learning how shutter speed and aperture settings effect your images. So take the plunge and set your camera on manual mode and learn to use the light meter to determine ambient light conditions and how to set your f-stop and shutter speed accurately for optimal exposures. You will start to learn why your image is too dark or too light and how to adjust for it. In the beginning try to shoot without strobes to achieve good ambient light exposures. Once you start to understand the relationship between f-stops, shutter speeds and even iso settings you can add the fourth element of exposure which is the strobes. By shooting on Program mode you are doing yourself an injustice by not learning these basics of photography and the cause and effect of exposure settings. This blog will not go in depth on the subject of exposures though. It is merely to get you motivated to cross over from taking snapshots in program mode to taking top notch photographs in manual mode. Try it, I know you can do it.

See below for the shameless self promotion

section of this blog!

Please visit my web site www.evolutionunderwater.com to see video excerpts from my documentary films and a complete underwater photographic portfolio of my work and purchase fine art prints and DVD's of my films.

If you wish to dive Graveyard of the Atlantic contact Olympus Dive Center for more information.

Olympus Dive Center, Morhead City, NC.

Also, follow me on Facebook at Evolution Underwater Imaging (by Mike Gerken) and click like to receive the latest updates.

Mike Gerken

August 3, 2011 - Blue Water + Calm Ocean + Sharks = Superb Diving

Image of the Week
Atlantic Spade Fish exiting from within
the wreck of the USCG Cutter Spar.

Recovering divers with the M/V Olympus in the background.

     As of last Wednesday July 27th, the dive boats of Olympus Dive Center have been running dive charters every day and sometimes twice a day. The diving has been great, the weather has been great and even my attitude has been great. Well maybe that's pushing it.


     Regardless, it was a great week. We had a few days of inshore diving on the wreck of the 'Mighty' Indra as well as some great offshore adventures on the USS Schurz, the Aeolus and of course the reddest, hottest wreck dive on the East Coast, the W.E. Hutton; aka Papoose, which had some rockem' sockem' action with throngs of Caribbean Reef Sharks. My dive boat the Midnight Express was blessed with some quality divers this week as well, which are too many to name but, I will highlight two of the dive groups.

A cooperative Sand Tiger posing for the camera. (New)

Fearless leader and alias 'Bubble Boy',  Rance Moore (on the left).

     Starting off, on Thursday we had a group of veterinarians on board headed up by Rance Moore who is an avid diver and territory manager of Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedic, which is a drug company for animals. Every time you take Fido or Fifi to the vet odds are Rance's company is behind the healing process. These vets weren't here to talk business though, they were here in Morehead City, NC to dive and dive they did. 


     After hitting the shallow inshore wrecks of the Titan Tug and the Indra on the first day with much success, it was time to head offshore on Friday to the warm blue Gulf Stream water of the Atlantic Ocean. Without fail the first dive on the hit list was the German U-Boat, the U-352. What trip to North Carolina would be complete without touching the hull of this infamous WWII wreck? With visibility edging over 80 feet the dive sold itself. 

Another satisfied diver.

All one needed to do was head down and glimpse the sub from the anchor line and it was deemed a dynamite dive. It was a winner for one and all.   


     Once the U-352 was scratched from everyones bucket list it was a short hop over to the wreck of the USCG Cutter Spar. Visibility was not as stellar as the sub but decent all the same at around 50+ feet. The intact structure, shallower depths and prolific marine life added fuel to the fire for good diving. After this second day, a handful of Rance's people had to head home but about a half dozen of the group still remained for a dive on the USS Schurz and the Aeolus on Saturday with warm water and 'viz' as good as 80-100' benefitting them. Showing all the passengers great diving was a no brainer with conditions such as these. Drive the boat 2 hours in calm seas, tie the boat up to the wreck, tell everyone where the wreck is and push them over the side. That's all there is to it.  It's easier than boiling water. All the vets seemed to enjoy themselves to the core and I sure hope to see them all again soon.

That's a heckuva watermelon.

Chowing the melon at surface interval.,

Rance grinning from ear to ear.

More divers returning to the Midnight.

Must have been a good dive but don't forget your fins.

The Discover Diving gang from Buffalo, NY posing
with the deck gun of the U-352.

     Once Rance and his people headed out of town a dive group of fourteen divers from Discover Diving arrived from Buffalo, NY headed up by Darryl and Dallas Edmiston. These folks were my continued lucky charm for I do not believe the seas were higher than two feet and the visibility less than forty for the three days they were here. The wrecks covered were the U-352, the Spar, the Aeolus and the W.E. Hutton; aka Papoose. There was not a bad dive to be had with the group favorite being the wreck of the Aeolus since they dived it a total of three times while here. The combo of banner 'viz', shark activity and diverse terrain of the wreck must have been the main draw. However, my personal highlight dive of the week with the Discover crowd was once again the W.E. Hutton; aka Papoose. 
     
     If you refer to my previous blog The Year of the Shark you will learn that the Papoose has had some action already this year in the form of Caribbean Reef Sharks, Sand Tigers and even a Hammerhead or two for added color. 

Dallas and his dive buds.

Since I had last been to the Papoose I continued to hear dive reports of continued shark sightings there and was anxious to go re-check out the scenery. On Monday, all of my divers requested a dive there and I was more than happy to oblige them. Once we arrived at the site I briefed everyone of the shark activity that has been happening there and indicated there would be no shame for anyone to sit this dive out if they had any reservations about diving with so many sharks. Not a single diver hesitated. They were tripping over themselves to jump in the water and head on down to see for themselves what all the hubbub was about. 


      As the divers returned each one of them said they saw sand tiger sharks with some indicating they spotted a few reef sharks and even a hammerhead. Overall it sounded like an excellent dive without any unusual shark activity that has been reported. Once all were back on board it was now my turn. Armed with my video camera, I jumped in a drifted down to the wreck. The sky this day was overcast reducing the visibility somewhat to around a dark and hazy 40 feet below the depth of 80 feet deep.  Above 80 feet the water was considerably bluer and beautiful but still a dark blue. Utilizing an old trick I learned years ago in the Pacific I squeezed an empty plastic bottle underwater in order to draw in the usually shy Caribbean Reef Sharks. 'Crunch, crunch, crunch' went the sound and in shot a dozen or more Reef Sharks within seconds from all angles. 


     The sound of the water bottle is uncannily like that of a shark biting through a fish carcass underwater. These 'guys' thought someone had bagged dinner and wanted some of the leftovers. With the video camera rolling and my water bottle crunching it was a piece of cake recording some fun video once again of these harmless 'Hyenas' of the ocean. In my experience, I have conducted more than 150 'shark feeds' in Truk Lagoon with the primary dinner guests being Reef Sharks such as these and not once did I ever see a shark threaten or come close to threatening myself or any other diver and this with blood and chum in the water. We have never used chum diving the wrecks in North Carolina. There has never been a need.  


     All the while filming, I did not once feel like I was in danger. On the contrary, I was enthralled at watching these predators in action. I swam up and down the wreck and no matter where I went Reef Sharks circled around me, inspecting me, and trying to figure out what was going on. With so many sharks darting about I had difficulty composing shots. I would focus the camera on one group only to see a larger or closer group to my right or my left. After about 20 minutes I figured I had had enough. It was time to head up and get the divers over to the next wreck dive. Each and every time my head breaks the surface after an adrenaline pumping dive like this I feel as though these experiences summarize what diving is all about for me. In other words, without a little adventure, life is not worth living. I will let this video do the rest of my talking for me.

Click HERE to view the video:

"W.E. Hutton, aka Papoose
August 1, 2011"

     Once we got back to the dock on Tuesday afternoon, it was time to shake hands with the 'Discover' crowd and wish them a safe but long drive back to Buffalo, NY. It was a pleasure having you and we hope to see you back this way again soon.

A Discover Diver getting the
'Midnight' fin treatment.

A Father and son team.

      I must say despite some set backs with wind and waves this 2011 season, we are having some fantastic dive conditions over all. I just finished another dive today with flat calm seas and warm blue water. There are still many openings in August and September so call us up and come diving. I can't guarantee every dive will have oodles of sharks and 100 foot viz but I can guarantee that myself, my crew and everyone at Olympus are committed to trying our best to showing you the safest and best diving possible. I hope to see you all walking down the dock with tanks in hand and a smile on your face real soon.


Happy Diving!


Mike Gerken

Photo Tip of the Week

     One of the biggest inquiries I get from photo enthusiasts is regarding strobes.  "What kind of strobes do you use?", "How close do I need to be?", "Where do you place them?", etc.  No matter what type of strobe you use to expose your subjects make sure you are within the limitations of your strobe units. If you are for example 10 feet away from your subject but your strobe light will only reach 5 feet then you are too far away and the strobe will have no effect other than lighting up particulates in the water column. I see this often where a diver will be shooting a fish about the size of a football from ten feet away with strobes that are only good up to around 2 feet. Learn what the range of your strobe lights by reading the manual and by taking test shots and reviewing the image in your LCD to see if your subject is exposed or not. 


      Most consumer strobes have a range of only a few feet while professional strobes have considerable more power and range of up to 15 feet depending of course on what your F-stop is set at. Low F-stops will offer a wide aperture thus allowing the maximum amount of light to enter the camera. High F-stops will have smaller apertures cutting down the amount of light entering the camera. Experiment and test your strobes to figure out how close you need to be for your strobe units to have any effect on your subject at any given exposure setting.

     As far as where to place the strobes.  This all depends on what you are shooting and how far away you are shooting it from.  There is no one position that will suit all of your photography.  Macro or close focus wide angle you will have to pull your strobes in closer to the camera body.  With wide angle you may have to stretch the arms out as far as they will go.  What I tell most people is simply  "place the strobes where you need the light".  Assess your subject, pull your head back and see where the strobe beam is pointed. If it is not pointed where your subject is then make an adjustment.  I prefer to also point my strobes slightly outward so I am using the fringe of the strobe beam rather then the strong focused center part of the beam. This may yield softer and more even exposures and alleviate the ever bothersome backscatter or specks of dust covering your shot. I do not recommend placing your strobes up high above the camera as I see so often.  You will not expose the bottom half of your subject or frame.  All of your light will be at the top of your image area.  Unless this is what you desire then place the strobes at 3 and 9 o'clock for a more even exposure.

In closing, practice strobe usage by finding a subject that is stationary and experiment with strobe intensity and position while reviewing your images on the LCD. Do not be content on one position and one setting without trying different techniques.  The photo of the week at the top of the page was shot with one strobe which was the bottom strobe creating a dark top and casting shadows and gradients on the Spade Fish.  I merely shut my second strobe off after trying it with two. By trying different techniques I discovered that this worked the best.

Underwater Photographer, Federico.

"Hello Rance"

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Hand over hand down the anchor line...
just how we like it at Olympus.

Mike, I bet you thought you weren't going to make the blog.
See you soon!

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Mike Gerken