You know you are a diver when you love to sleep in until 11 AM on Sundays, but you get up at 4:30 AM for a scallop dive.
OK, so here is a step-by-step list of how to conduct a successful scallop dive.
An early morning drive in the dark gets the juices flowing and a few hours later I find myself on a ferry heading for Deer Island. First step, get to the island. Best way to do that is NOT miss the first ferry by 3 minutes and then have to wait an hour for the next one. Not that it happened to me, of course...
Ahhh, the view of a red sky in the morning reminds me of an old saying. "Be careful what you wish for..."
Step Two involves unloading the gear and waiting patiently for the boat to arrive at the loading dock. When waiting for transport it is preferred not to have -16C (3F) temperatures. My hand did not get stuck to a tank valve when I picked it up without a glove. I deny that completely. Actually, the sun was out and it was a pleasant day. The temperature soared up to -10C (14F) for almost an hour later in the day.
Step Three: After gearing up and before diving it is essential to remember your ancestors with a ceremonial bow toward the sun. If you have a buddy that is in sync with you, it will show.
Step Four: Then in deference to all the ladies on the board, it is necessary to pose for the ubiquitous "hero shot".
Note the calm and 0C (32F) seawater in the background.
Step Five: Take a moment for some Zen meditation. Become one with the scallop. Feel the scallop. Imagine you and the scallop merging together assisted by melted butter.
Or Plan B. Don't blink when they take your picture when adjusting your gear.
Step Six: The BIG step. Go diving. Roll back off the boat, check your gear, give an OK to the Captain and turn to check on your buddy who rolled in with you.
Soon followed by the thought of "Where the $%^& did my buddy go?"
Step Seven: Bring home the booty, oops I mean bounty. Booty would require me doing a slightly different "hero shot".
Keeping in line with Fisheries regs is all important. Toss the small ones back so you can stalk them when they get bigger. Then make sure you only take your alloted amount. Luckily we had nine divers on board with licenses so life was good. The bounty was shucked on the half-shell for preparation for the return to the dock. Mmmmmmmm, bounty.
I recommend the Shadragon method. Shuck a half dozen scallops, then when you lose feeling in your frozen fingertips, hand the knife over to the next guy and wrap your hands around the hot diesel exhaust pipe in the pilothouse until the feeling returns to your fingers. Return to the deck, take the knife back, shuck a half dozen more and repeat as necessary.
Last step is to procure some bacon at the local grocaterium and prepare a lovely dinner. Then once that is done you can sit back, loosen the old belt, download your pictures for the day and write about your exploits with a big smile.
So what the shuck are you waiting for? Go divin and tell us all about it!
