I did my last dive of the season today. Usually, I would qualify this with a “probably”, but halfway through the dive, my dive computer started blinking at me, and when we got back to shore, it started beeping piteously at me, just to be sure I knew its battery was low. I don’t see much point in getting a new battery now, when it’s going to be idle for several months, on the off chance of a warm November day.

Despite the computer, it was a good dive. There were three of us, plus Dan Easa of East Coast Divers, and we ended up at Old Garden Beach in Rockport. Despite the impending storm two days away, the sea was flat, and the sun was relatively warm once the fog burned off.

Once we were in the water, we snorkeled out to about get some depth under us, then descended. We swam over the sandy bottom, where Dan scooped up a handful of sand under a sand shrimp to show to us, then moved further out into the rocks.  The visibility was very so-so. Near the turn around point, we saw a sea robin. There were lots of crabs, of several different sorts, but I only remember seeing one lobster. I’m not sure at this point how deep we got, or how cold it was, but we were deep enough to be under the thermocline.

Fortunately, while the computer was malfunctioning, my pressure gauge is a separate mechanical device, so I was still able to see how much air I had. Soon enough, it was time to turn around. My compass was sticking a little, so we spent more time in the rocky area rather than heading directly back to the sandy area in the middle. During the trip back, we saw a school of fish, probably cunner, fluttering past. Schools of fish, despite the fact they’re nearly impossible to shoot, always make my day.