by Joel Silverstein

In 1990 I had the good fortune to meet a very interesting and dynamic woman aboard the R/V Wahoo. It was on a spring Saturday morning when out of the cabin strolls this woman in a long silk blue nightgown....... very odd attire for being on a mean ole’ wreck diving boat. But what the heck, the Wahoo had always been known for having some characters on board. She disappeared as quickly as she appeared. A few hours later appeared again, this time moving a set of doubles along the deck. Being the helpful new diver I was I lent her a hand and a ratchet wrench while she worked on her gear. Shortly after that she donned that set of doubles, put a regulator in her mouth and was gone. I thought it odd that this woman who appeared to be in her late 50's would be wreck diving but then again this was on the Wahoo. It turns out she was close to 65 at the time.

Later I came to know that Cecelia Connelly was one of those few wreck divers who had dived just about everywhere in the world where there were wrecks. A mother of ten and a slew of grandchildren this little unassuming nurse from Allentown Pennsylvania had done it all in just the previous 15 short years. More importantly than her wreck diving accomplishments was her kind and gentle ways of communicating, her desire to share, listen, learn, and teach.

Cecilia was one of those first "special people" I had met early in my diving career, and while I did not see her much more than maybe once or twice a year at a dive show her name would always come up in conversation, and not a month has gone by since that first time I met her where I have not thought or spoken about her.

The North Atlantic Wreck diving community is quite large, but you would be hard pressed to find someone in New Jersey or Pennsylvania whom this woman had not touched. She was a true inspiration and mentor to many.

Cecelia Connelly died on February 14, 2003. She had been battling cancer.

A memorial education scholarship is being established in her name under the Women Divers Hall of Fame. Visit that site to make your donation. 
http://www.wdhof.org

In 1991 when we were just starting the Sub Aqua Journal I had asked Cecilia to write an article about her adventures. At first she wasnt sure if she had something of value to contribute. She was overly flattered that we even asked. But with a little prodding and a few phone calls, a stack of hand written pages arrived in the mail a few weeks later. Below is that article Published in June 1991.

My name is Cecelia Connelly. My husband, Neil, and I had eleven children and have eleven grandchildren. When I was first married, many odd years ago, I made two bad bargains with my husband. One of them was that I would not do anything too sporty or strenuous while I was nursing or pregnant. Ten children later I began to believe I was too old to learn scuba. I wasn’t.

I breezed through the classroom work but the waterworks (holding your breath to get to the bottom of the pool-clearing your mask and snorkel on one breath) stumped me. With perseverance and the patience of my instructor I became certified. Diving has changed my life.

My first ocean dive was off the coast of New Jersey on the Oaklahoma. The minute my heart stopped pounding inside my ears and I reached the sand, I felt I was home. I did a jig. A wonderful feeling of peace and contentment came over me. It has remained with me for the past 18 years.

Sometimes I find myself very apprehensive and concerned on dives off the Northeast coast. Over the years I have found different mechanisms for handling these anxieties in a variety of circumstances. I would like to share these experiences with you.

One way (for me) has been to get to the boat the night before so I can have a fill night’s sleep before encountering the waves out to the site. While lying in my bunk with my eyes closed I can mentally prepare myself for the next day’s events.

Besides a good basic diving course, [remember this was almost 28 years ago] one in wreck diving is also necessary for diving in the North Atlantic. If you dive off the coasts of New York and New Jersey you can dive anywhere in the world. It is the greatest training ground and also the most rewarding one. You come alive.

From this foundation I have "been down" off the Catalina Islands, the coasts of Baja California, Mexico, Honduras, the Virgin Islands, Truk Lagoon, the Red Sea, the Mediterranean, the Wilkes Barre off Key West, and the Andrea Doria up here, and to that wonderful playground called the Caribbean.

I became interested in underwater archeology and became an active participant in raising the Canal Boat in Northhampton, PA., mapping and researching the Herodian Seaport in Caesaria, Israel, as well as searching for Revolutionary War vessels in Absecon Bay at Cross Creek, NJ. Last Summer (1990) I was with Gary Gentile on his first expedition to the USS Monitor, although I did not dive. The currents were too strong the days I was there. However, I will dive it someday when the conditions are right for me.

Sooner or later every wreck diver will bring back a little piece of history. Some say we are raping the wrecks. I believe we are saving them for the landlocked people from those who are making the rules.

When you get the plans for a vessel you observe where the portholes should be, as well as the officers mess, the crews quarters, the stores and the ammo rooms. I have never been fortunate enough to bring up a porthole from any of the many wrecks I have been on. But as one astute captain has pointed out, "Not many people have a window from the promenade deck of the Andrea Doria." This is one of my treasures.

Gear is different now than it was 18 years ago. Not only can i get things that were not around then, but they now make equipment specifically for women too. Good fitting equipment and buoyancy control are essential. They will help keep you at ease as a diver.

A diver must also develop a safe diving philosophy and patience. The first few times I was in zero visibility the anchor line and I were glued together. My buddies were patient and understood my fears. With this patience, in time, I left the line. I’ve learned to look from one landmark to the next to find my way back, or tie a line near the anchor [never on it] in poor visibility. If I go down and the visibility is so bad that I’m hugging my buddy and the wreck we terminate the dive.

Surface currents can be overcome by using a geriatric line. [These are also called: safety, tag, swim, and granny lines.] Many dive boats have a means of getting you safely to your down or anchor line. Do not exhaust yourself at the beginning of a dive. When the sea is lumpy [wavy] just be sure you enter and exit on the crest of the wave and not the trough.

Being the first diver down denies you the advantage of asking the first divers back what the conditions are. Where are we anchored" What’s the visibility? Are their strong currents on the surface, underwater, on the bottom? Was the dive great?

Regardless of the answer, I have found that it is always good to be a little apprehensive. However, if a lot of little things seem to be going wrong, you're stressing yourself out, and you’re getting the "too’s." That’s when a person who doesn’t really want to dive says the conditions are, "too hot, too cold, too lumpy etc." You better than anyone know how you will react to stressful circumstances and should probably abort the dive.

I have a hang up about getting back on the boat. I drive people crazy asking about ladders. I’m older, female, "undertall" and "overthin" with bad knees. You can throw me off if push comes to shove, but how do I get back on the boat? This is very important to me. Before diving on a new boat, I have even gone to such lengths as to jump off the boat, swim around it and come up the "new ladder" sans tanks, of course, just to see if it works for me.

When I first started diving I belonged to a club that preached buddy diving. Today, there are many women who do solo diving. God bless them. I am still a buddy diver. I like to safely share my experiences. This has worked advantageously for me and my buddies, male or female.

When diving a wreck that you have never been on before try to dive with someone who knows the wreck. if he/she cannot be your buddy, pick their brains. Most divers in the North Atlantic are gregarious, they share and they help the novice diver.

I love North Atlantic diving, you’ve arrived. I know some women who will dive nowhere but the Caribbean. Treat yourself. Dive off New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, anywhere in the North Atlantic, at least once. You use all the rooms in your house each day, why not use all the rooms in your ocean?