Go deep, stay long

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

With a few gear changes, it was time for the annual trip to Dutch for spring checkout.

I encourage everyone to check out their gear changes and gear service in a controlled environment (Dutch  Springs is perfect in the North East) before jumping into an uncontrolled environment like the ocean.  If there is an issue, it’s easier/ safer to walk into the water, and stand up when there is an issue rather than do a giant stride in 100 ft of water and find out there is an issue.

After a few repairs to my backup drysuit, and a new setup for side mount bailout.   I headed up to Dutch with a few friends for practice and checkouts.   I was running a little behind schedule, but we did get in two dives to check out our gear.   In addition, I just received my camera housing back from another (see previous posts) service.  I wanted to try this out also.

Our dives were in clear water (40+ vis).   The new gear worked great, and we had plenty of time to practice at the platform.   I was sidemounting my stage bottles / bailout, and working on the setup.   This takes some practice, but it is a configuration that can improve the divers profile.   It’s not for everyone.   Many agencies do not support this configuration.   With a rebreather, it makes a lot of sense.    For me this is a work in progress.

On the second dive, I brought my camera.  The housing just got back from annual service, so I wanted to make sure it worked well prior to salt water immersion.   Everything seemed to work, until I realized that the focus was set for land rather than UW, and none of the UW shots were in focus.   Oh well, the rest of the functions worked, just operator error.

In the long run, I had some great dives with Tom and Leon.   I dragged them around the quarry, and was surprised that I still knew my way.  Dutch is a fantastic place for this type of checkout.  I recommended everyone go up there in the beginning of the season, after having gear serviced.   It’s a controlled environment with lots of support.  A great place to dust off a few skills, and see/dive with good friends doing the same.   Work with your buddy and get ready for dive season.

Let’s get this diving season started!

Dave

Cave 2010

This year, I finally broke down and decided to try cave diving.   Back in the dark ages, I tried a cavern dive in Mexico.  While I enjoyed the dive, it was too early in my diving to fully understand the nuance of the dives.

This year, Becky invited us on a Manatee dive down in Florida, and figured I’d stay in the area and take a cave class.   After many discussions on cave instructors, I settled on Paul Heinerth.  I wanted an instructor that would challenge me rather than let me coast through the class. My Trimix instructor (Corey Mearns) introduced me to Paul at a social gathering last fall.   Others echoed the recommendations, so I made plans to stick around and take the class.

Little Devil

The cavern portion of the class involved a number of new of skills.  Many were familiar, some were not.  Much of the class pushed me to the limits of my comfort zone.  However, after it was all done, I felt much more comfortable diving in this environment.   I guess that’s the point.   I want to thank Paul, for suffering with me.  I’m sure he’s dealt with worse, but I know I was a handful. After the class, Becky and Dave were kind enough to take their time to dive with a cave newbie.   I’m sure it can be a bit annoying to dive with a novice.   I appreciate them taking the time to dive with me.  Given all the flooding in Florida, we ended up in Ginnie Springs.  Two days of our class was spent at Ginnie, so I knew a little bit about of the layout.  Diving after the class removed much of the “stress” involved, and we had a lot of fun.  Becky took a lot of photos.   I’ve posted a few here, but check out her website for more great shots.

I returned to the scene of the crime for some more shots of the cavern and caves.  The weather up North (NJ/PA) was not good, so my lovely wife (Val) suggest that I stay in Florida.   Did I mention that I love my wife?!   I spent the next two days practicing my skills, and taking pictures.   I’m not sure if I’m a died in the wool cave diver, but I did have a good time diving with some good friends.

Manatee calf looking for attention

Val and I were invited on a trip to Florida, including a Manatee dive in Crystal River. As it worked out, I did have some time off, so we packed our gear and headed down. Val was going to stay a few days, for the Manatee dive, after that, I was planning to stick around for a cavern/cave class.

Packing went smoothly, except for the snowstorm that covered the area the day before the trip. Most of the roads up here were dry with some salt for good measure. On the trip down we stopped over with our friend Grace in Durham. Their roads were not cleared as well, and the drivers were not accustom to snow. It was not a pleasant situation, but with only minor delays we were back on the road the next morning.

We arrived in Crystal River a bit later than expected, but were up and ready for the dive the next morning. Dive gear, camera gear, and all weather gear packed and ready, we headed out.

This was our first time diving with Manatees. The boat rental required us to watch a video concerning the regulations around Manatee interaction. Bottom line, nothing can prepare you for the actual dive! Becky had invited a group of experienced divers. We hit the water expecting to see a few dozen Manatees. I’m not sure if it was the cold weather, or something else, but there were a few hundred Manatees in the area.

We anchored in a small tributary with river water, and spring water running past a Manatee Sanctuary. Within the roped off sanctuary, there were a dozens of resting Manatees. Back in the springs, the sandy bottom was covered with them. We were all snorkeling on the surface looking to see if any were interested in interaction. Many were resting, but others would swim right up to us.

At first, it’s a bit unnerving to have a 1200lb animal swim up to you. These creatures are 5-6 times our size. It makes you think for a second. Then they roll over and want their belly rubbed. Ok, not so intimidating. The juveniles (calf) are more curious than the older adults, but both were curious about us as divers. I’m not sure why, but my camera seemed to draw their interest. Some would swim up and interact. Several would swim up, play for a bit, and then swim away. Many came back again and again.

After I filled up my still cameras memory card, I switched to the video camera. It was both fun and enlightening interacting with these gentile creatures. As usual, they had to drag me from the water, since I was having so much fun.

If you ever get a chance to dive with Manatees, I highly recommend it. Take your time, and let them come to you. They are both fun and engaging.