U-869 October 30 2007

We've all heard the cliche about the perfect storm, where several factors come together to make a righteous mess. Tuesday we had the polar opposite, just a perfect fall day with plenty of sun, warm water and calm seas. Just goes to prove that even in late October Mother Nature grants favors. A crew of us headed out to the U-869 onboard the Independence, for a one-and-done day. Brandon McWilliams and Bill Trent did a quick and able tie-in, and at 11:30 my buddy and splashed. Even at this late date the water was 63F down to about 90', which was just lovely. My lpi displeased me greatly by bleeding air into the wing, but early on I caught onto what it was doing and unplugged it. We penetrated the stern section, and spent our time probing about, then a few more minutes swimming forward outside the hull. At 40 minutes he headed up, but I wasn't ready to go yet. I had never seen the screws, so I returned to the stern and dropped down. They were indeed splendid, as was the 6# bug I pulled from a box next to them, plus another 2#er lurking nearby. When I was here last month I had seen a 3# hopelessly entangled in fishing line. I really hate that, and felt bad that I didn't have the time to cut him free. To my surprise we met again, and in no time I had saved him (and me) from a cruel death by starvation. At 57 minutes I left the wreck for a longish, 2h15m deco, which was quite comfortable once I cleared 80'. I wasn't the only one to bag up, as Brandon and Bill grabbed another 5 bugs, including a very pretty 8.5# one. Brandon was even so kind as to donate a 3#er to the Infante Lobster Bisque Fund - watch that tail kitty!