On Sunday August 26, six Scuba Shack divers went diving aboard Canned Air out of Pt Judith, RI. There were 3 newly certified divers and 3 experienced divers (one instructor, one assistant instructor and one dive master candidate). This was an excellent opportunity for new divers to learn the ropes (no pun intended ) about northeast boat diving.

Our 1st dive was on the wreck of the Puszta on the Northeast shore of Block Island. The 384 foot freighter ran aground in 1934 in less than 20 feet of water. The shallow depths, surf and years have taken there toll on the wreck. We managed to find some fairly significant portions of the wreck still intact among the boulders. The entire dive did not exceed 20 feet. There was a bit of surge on the site which contributed to reduced visibility, about 8 – 10 feet.

We had to choose an alternate site for our 2nd dive as the surf was too heavy on the south side of the island to dive the Lightburn. For our 2nd dive we choose the barge in Pt. Judith Harbor of refuge. This barge is upside down and a haven for all sorts of marine life including fluke and blackfish. Max depth was about 30 feet with visibility approximately 6 – 8 feet.