Headhunters and a "new" mystery

  Out here, you always have to watch out for personal water craft users.  They definitely won't be looking out for you!  While dangerous and at times incredibly frustrating, here's one time that surface traffic actually helped my brother and I to "stumble" right onto a "new" wreck.  When we went in, the headhunters (jet skiers) were nowhere near us.  As we neared our get out point (original point of entry), even with our Dive Flag prominently displayed, they arrived directly above us!  We were forced into deeper water, descending to get to the foot of one of the cliffs where my brother and I would then slowly ascend within inches of the rock's face!

  Because we were pushed off of were we'd originally intended to end our dive, we swam right over her.  My brother spotted her first and signaled me to stay where I was as he dropped below to investigate.  There I hung on the flag line, watching as he quickly took stock of what would become our next adventure.  We headed back up and were actually glad that we'd been forced to alter our dive plan and yes we would eventually return!

  After just about 2 months and 10 more dives, we finally were able to relocate our latest mystery boat.  In this stretch of the mighty Colorado, the river rises and falls according to the needs of it's surrounding population.  This means that what's found on any given dive out here could be in a different location to you on the next because of the possibility of depth change.  This change can be as much as ten to twenty feet.  We'd forgotten to take that into account.  Anyway, we found her again and were ready to explore!  When we got to her, my brother tied off our line and worked the wreck which lay capsized, scraping mussels, searching in vain for some sort of identification or registration tag.  I worked the large section of dock which she was still moored to.  This was a significantly sized, rectangle shaped walkway with a line leading straight to the vessel. 

  After digging out the shape of the dock, I scraped silt off the top, getting to the original surface.  This was all done in zero to very little visibility once my brother and I started working the site.  As we worked our areas, juvenile Catfish and Bluegills started to pour out from beneath the upturned craft!  They couldn't see either and  I could feel them bumping into me in their frenzy to escape! Several times I raised above the expansive mud cloud which now covered the site in it's entirety.  This to keep an eye on my brother as he did the same for me. 

  With the expanse of dock now defined, I joined my brother on the wreck.  I found a spot on the gunwale were I could look beneath and into the upside down boat.  Reaching into it's underside up to my shoulders, I saw nothing but darkness.  Feeling around, the result was the same and I found nothing.  With the both of us now shivering in the 56 degree water, it was now time to leave.  This latest wreck demands definitive exploration and oh yes....we'll be back! 

Laws vary by location but typically state that personal watercraft users must stay at least 100 feet away in rivers/channels/inlets and at least 300 feet away in open water.  On a personal note; Everyone has the right to use and enjoy our parks and waterways but it is also each person's responsibility to know the laws in the area in which you choose to recreate.  Just please remember, when you see this flag there are divers in the water.  After all we are all out there to have a good time, we just have to remember to keep one another in mind when we do so.