23) Massachusetts - Beverly/ Cape Ann:
Diving Half-Way Rock reminded me of a game drive in Africa. I never saw so many lobsters hidden in "the bush." In this case, the bush was carpets of flowering anemone which concealed countless holes and crevices. And, much like today’s game drives in Africa, the critters are protected from hunters. Lobster laws are very restrictive in this part of the country.

24) Maine - York Beach/ Nubble Lighthouse:
We returned to the shop where several customers waited near the "Gone Diving, Back at 2:30" sign. Brian went in to work as we left to explore the misty town. The fog horns sang their soulful cry.

25) New Hampshire - Portsmouth/ Ft. Stark:
Jay is a long-time diver who discovered wreck diving twenty-five years ago in the Pascataqua River. Back then, Jay made his own fire hose blower to blast the muck out from old wrecks. His collection of artifacts is testament to his success. Like many in the sixties, Jay watched Sea Hunt and became quickly captivated. Back then, a character like Mike Nelson inspired kids to take up diving. "Problem with kids today is that they sit around too much, and don’t have the same sense of adventure they used to." Jay says.

26) Vermont - Lake Champlain:
In 1862, the O.J. Walker was built in Burlington, serving 33 years as a heavy cargo freighter. The last owners were shipping goods from their brick and tile yard when a storm caught the vessel’s crew off guard in 1895. It sank in 65’ of water.

27) New York - Lake George - Radeaux and Bateaux:
A diver at the shop referred to the old 18th century wrecks as a "bunch of boards," but I suspect he lacked the historical appreciation others might have. These battles were the inspiration for James Fenimore Cooper’s "The Last of the Mohegans." The vessel sank twenty years before the American Revolution. That’s good enough for me.

28) Connecticut - Out of New London:
Back on the boat, Kevin, the divemaster, asked me where I found it. I told him it was about ten o’clock from the props, and he jumped overboard. The previous day, divers pulled twenty bullets from the wreck using metal detectors. After ten minutes, Kevin surfaced and asked for a lift bag. He returned with fifty bullets. So much for high tech.

29) Rhode Island - Out of Narragansett to Block Island waters:
The Germans consider this site to be a war memorial, and this added to the eeriness I felt at 120’ depth. It was dark, foreboding, and surprisingly odd the way the sub sat perfectly upright. I felt as if I could walk the top deck and fire the machine gun. Twelve feet of visibility added to the mystery of what lay ahead.