Go deep, stay long

Saturday, a group of divers headed out to the Arundo in a two fold trip.   First, we were in search of any gear left by our departed friend Yasuko.  Second we wanted to hold a brief memorial service for our lost companion.   While the NOAA forecast was not good, the conditions could not have been better.   Clearly someone up there was looking out for us.

I can not say enough about the kindness and consideration of the captain and crew!   We were all still hurting.    I still can not write this without tears.  Some of us chose not to dive, and everyone understood why.

Thanks to the crew, our tie in was only a few feet from the original. In pairs, we all went over the wreck in separate directions.   I went to the end of my reel with no joy.  Stefan and Shelly found our target by going over the top of the debris.   Back on the boat, plans were made to recover the gear, and mark the location.  Rob recovered this on the second dive.

After the dive, we all gathered at the stern to honor our lost friend.   Rob tried to say a few words, but we were all at a loss for words.   In silence we put flowers on the water above the resting place of our good friend.

Many thanks to Jim and the crew of the GypsyBlood for being so helpful and considerate! I know they too were suffering!

We were blessed with a beautiful day, and great conditions.

Yasuko, we will all miss you!

Each year the Dina Dee II has a crew day and BBQ.  This year was as fun as usual.  However it was a little hotter than most.   The dive was my standard 2 hour dip on an inshore wreck.  No flat fish this year, but a few lobster, and a lot of anchors came up.   I only send up the new anchors with price tags attached.   Others sent up some rust.   Either way.  It was a fun dive, and a great BBQ.   Lobsters and seabass were put on the grill, and there was even a beer or two passed around.

A great group of divers, and some of the most friendly captains and crew around.   A good time is always had on this boat, and I get to see my family on the way home.   What else could you ask for.

2010 BBQ

Always a popular wreck, the Independence II headed out with a full group of experienced wreck divers to the Resor.   The seas were calm, and since it is a bit of a ride out, many were able to get a quick catnap on the way.  Yoda Frogman (Terry) jumped in for the tie, and had the pool open in no time.  We heard rumors that another boat had been there recently, but tied into the bow.  Dan’s numbers are for the stern.   Given the size of the wreck, there were no real worries.  This wreck is huge.  It’s a good swim from the bow to the stern, and anyone looking for dinner would take too long to make the full journey.

Sunset over the bay

Terry clocked a 150 minute dive and brought up a bag of goodies for his effort.   I jumped once he was on deck.

There was some current on the surface, but it dropped off by the 100ft mark.  The bottom was bright with a good 30+ ft of vis.  I tied off and headed out.  Terry told me about his excursion to the left of the anchor, and recommended I go right.   Within a few seconds, I knew exactly where I was, the stem.  There above me was the deck gun, and a few feet away was the scallop dredge … and then the stern of the wreck.   OK, Right is not the right way to go.

The bottom was littered with empty scallop shells from previous trips.  Here and there were live scallop.  By this time I’d nab a few.  Lobsters were in short supply.  I saw a few small claws, but nothing that called out “take me home”.  Heading back through Terry’s path of carnage I ran into the largest Ling Cod I’ve ever seen.  I had no poll spear available.  It swam right up to me.  I pulled out my bag to see just how curious it was, but it was not quite that stupid.

While picking up a few scallops in my path, I was still looking for lobster here and there.   Finally, I found my quarry in large pipe about 4 ft off the bottom.  With claws just smaller than my hands, I estimate a good 4 pounder.  Rules of engagement were discussed, battle plans were drawn, and the moment of truth arrived….  I had was at a distinct disadvantages.  The pipe provided him a deep area to retreat.  But for some reason he would come up to within a few feet of the open end, almost in reach   After he mocked my attempts,  I gave up and continued the scallop harvest.   On the way back to the line Lingzilla swam by again.  It’s annoying when the fish have attitude!

All in all a nice dive.  The bottom was a bit cool at 43, but the hang was a close to 70.

A good number of nice lobsters came up, and Terry extracted a good 4 pounder from another part of the wreck.   Scallops came up by the bag full.  Captain Dan had so many, he had to shoot his up on a lift bag.  Many divers had acquired their first scallops, and Dan spent time demonstrating the proper cleaning method, and discussing various ways to prepare them.  (I’m partial to the wrapped in bacon and grilled, but my wife has many recipes that are all good.)

Most divers did a second dive, with even more scallops and lobster were brought aboard.  Joe and Terry jumped in for a short dive and pulled the hook.

We were quickly home and coolers were loaded.  A great day of diving!

Cave 2 Kick your butt off

Butt kicking again!

In the early spring, a good friend convinced me to take my cave training.    The first part (cavern and intro) was quite enjoyable.  While there were a good number of skills, the conditions were moderate.   This past week we completed the class ( apprentice and full cave).  The dives/ skills were significantly more challenging.  I should have expected this, but it was quite a shock to the psyche.  In addition, I took the first half Open Circuit.  The second half I chose to take Closed Circuit (CCR).

Please don’t take any of this as a negative statement against my instructor.   Just the opposite, he did not hold back, and made sure we were capable of performing the dives safely.   The initial class was restricted by the systems available at the time.  The class was in February, when Ginnie and Manatee were the only systems that were still flowing.  The rest were siphoning river water, and unusable for training.

Given the earlier conditions, I was probably spoiled.   Ginnie is huge with bright, wide open, passages.  Manatee was open with dark but clear passages.    During the dives we practiced our skills and had some really great dives.

This week most of the other systems were open.  We dove Peacock (1 and 3), Madison blue, Cow Springs, and Orange Grove. After getting my butt kicked for a few days, I can say I did survive.   There were many points where I was ready to throw in the towel.  Either my head was not in the right place, or I was struggling with new gear configurations that I did not have time to practice with (my fault).  Either way, it was quite an eye opener.

Don’t get me wrong, some of these passages can be quite beautiful.  The formations and clay layers can be stunning.   On the other hand, I’m not a small man.  At 6′6″, I don’t fit into small passageways.  With full CCR and side mount bailout, I was fighting my way into places that were probably much easier on OC.   However, with the time and duration advantages of CCR, I wanted to finish the class in this configuration.

I’m not going to go into the detail of each dive, but I will say that Paul kicked our butts on most dives.  The skills included several out of air, lights out, lost line… which involved feeling your way along the passages ways.  Some passages ways were smaller than my gear, and involved pulling our way out, as swimming was not an option with OOA diver in tow.   With the low vis on entry, and tight restrictions, it was often difficult to even feel your way.  Only the gold line gave indication of the proper direction.

All in all, we had some great dives, some difficult dives, and some really uncomfortable dives.  Again, this is par for the course.    Many of the skills were to make sure you had the state of mind to survive the worst case.

After all the skills were done, we had the opportunity to just dive.   We hit Orange Grove, and headed over to Challenge sink.  It was a bit of a swim, but a nice open dive with lots to see.  Paul dragged my camera along and took a few shots along the way.  I wish we could have taken a few more shots at Challenge Sink as the light streaming in was quite beautiful, but once we signaled turn, the rest of the group bolted (I’ve got to be more careful with those signals).

The trip was worth the effort.  I know I’ve got a lot to practice before my next excursion.  Paul made me work hard, and he did push a few of my limits, but we also had some great dives, and saw a lot of new systems.  Next time down, I’d love to get some more photos, of these great systems.

Sunday, the NOAA forecast was right, but a little late. They called for 2 foot seas from the Northwest. On the way out, we kept watching behind us as waves were building. We figured we would make a call at 10 miles, at that point we were still in 3-4, so we made a dash for the parking lot.

On arrival, the seas were 3-5, with a steady wind from the northwest. This was not representative of the forecast, but was still quite manageable. We had some new crew members on the trip, so it was a good trip for some training. Bill had us over the wreck, and we jumped in and headed down. Given the length of line that payed out, the shot was assumed to be in the sand. As it turned out, it was the mid water current that was to blame for the line. Dropping down the line, the direction changed several times. The vis was good, and I could see the changes below me. First it went to the right, then to the left. I was tempted to just drop past the loops to the line below me, but did not want to let go.

When we finally hit the wreck, the line was laying over the hull, with the shot somewhere below us. The vis was 40 + , and the line draped over one of my favorite spots, with the shot off in the distance. I did a few wraps to mark the way back, and we headed down to find the shot, that we assumed was in the sand. Luck was on our side, and the grapnel had caught up on the undergrowth. We dropped down and quickly shot it back to the surface. After hauling the chain and line back up to the top of the wreck, I let the new crew wrap it for the tie. With a few minor corrections, we were done. No way we would pull out like other boat have done lately. The pool was open. It was safe to dive.

We listening carefully to the engines above, as we dropped down to the bottom. We could clearly hear the Independence maneuvering, then shutdown (they were in, without issue). I was looking for lobster, but did not see any indications of the tasty crustacean. Instead, I kept running across scallops. Last year we saw a lot of small scallops close to, even on top of the wreck. However, the ones we saw today were much larger. With the bottom temps at 38 degrees, I’m not surprised that there was not much moving.

I looked off into the sand, but there was nothing there. Normally we see loads of winter flounder, and a few scallops, but there was nothing off in the distance. During the dive I saw on small Black fish, and lots of cunners, and the the occasional ling cod, but little else. No one else saw any evidence of lobster. Either the wreck had been cleaned out recently, or they are not active yet. At 38 degrees, I cooled off quickly, and we headed back up. After a short deco, we were soon back on board.

Bags of scallops

Topside, the wind was dying down, and after a bit the waves did also. By the time we headed back, the NOAA forecast was becoming accurate. Several of us were suffering some first dive equipment concerns, and decided to make it a on dive day. Nothing dangerous, just no need for a second dive. Most passengers did two dives, and we were soon on our way back home.

It was a great start to the season, everyone had a great dive, and a bag of scallops to prove it. My wife, Valerie (1000 ways to cook fish) Oldham did herself proud, and made a fantastic scallops and pasta dish.

Given the rough seas, I did the Advil thing. Many people do not understand that standing on a boat for several hours adjusting you center of gravity uses a lot of muscles that you do not use every day. It can be a work out. Today it was. For those of us in the over 40 club, advil is a great help the first couple of times.

Well despite the forecast, it was a great day. Personally, I’m looking forward to a fantastic season!

Dive season is open. Lets go diving!

Dinner