Go deep, stay long

A friend just asked an interesting question:  Why have two counter lungs vs one?

I must admit, that no one ever told me an answer to this question, but here is my reasoning for 2 vs 1:
One counter lung only lets the scrubber work during half of the breathing cycle.
If the lung is on the exhale side, then it inflates on exhale, but gas only passes through the scrubber on inhale.
If it’s on the inhale side, then gas passes through the scrubber only on the exhale.

If you have two counter lungs, half the gas passes through the scrubber as you exhale, and half passes through as you inhale. This makes the gas pass through the scrubber slower, (aka dwell time)  and therefore the scrubber is more effective.  I would also assume that the slower gas movement would decrease the work of breathing of the unit.

After years of trying, I still have not made it to the Varanger.   However this time we were close!

Besides the Varanger issue, I’ve been trying to get together with some fellow instructors to schedule some student dives in the proper depth range.   It’s been hit or miss over the last year, but we were finally able to coordinate schedules.   Unfortunately, none of my students were available.   It figures.   I’ve never been on the Atlantis before, so I just headed out to check out the boat and crew, and hopefully get in some fun dives.

NOAA was calling for rough seas around a front of storms coming through.  The front generated a fantastic sunrise, but the old “red sky in morning” told us NOAA might be right this time.  We could see the front to the south, so we headed north to out run it.    This plan worked well.  We never saw more than 2 ft seas, and we had a fresh water rinse for our gear on the trip home.

The Atlantis is located right inside the Absecan Inlet with parking next to the AC Aquarium.   She’s a large comfortable boat with lots of deck space, and room inside for passengers and dry gear.   Geoff has been trying to get me down to AC to try it out.  I must say, I was impressed.

Shortly we arrived on the Southern Lillian.  The crew had a grapnel on the wreck quickly, and Geoff jumped in to secure it.  Once secure, divers started dropping in.  As usual, I was helping everyone in, hoping to hear a bottom report before dragging my camera into the water.  Geoff reported that below the thermocline, the clear surface water gave way to dark muddy bottom conditions.  Visibility was estimated at 5 ft at best.

With most fish out of season, I rolled in to look for scallops or lobster.   Geoff was right, below the thermocline the temp dropped to 47, and the vis made it difficult to even read gauges.  Once on the bottom I tied off and started the search.  I’ve been on this wreck several times, but in the current vis, I had no idea where I was.  I pulled out a few lobsters with eggs, and finally scored a couple legal ones.   Most of the fish darted away from my light as it approached.   There was one notable exception.  Off in the distance, I could see a large white object.   On closer inspection, it was one of the largest Tog I’ve ever seen.  It was not intimidated by my light or me.   As I approached within a few feet, it slowly swam over the top of the nearest deck plate, and disappeared.

Satisfied with my catch, I headed back to the line.  for some reason, there were large “clumps” of vegetation.   No one was sure what it was, but in some areas of the wreck it was piled up like tumbleweeds.  Reeling up the line involved pulling out wads of this stuff.   The thermocline at 70 ft felt great, and I could immediately see the boat, and the fact that it was raining.

Most divers went in for a second dive.   I opted for one long dive, and was happy with the harvest it produced.

Many of us slept on the trip home.   There are six bunks below, and lots of space inside to stretch out.   Our wet gear got a fresh water rinse on the way, and we still made it back to watch the rest of the game.

It was not the Varanger, but it was still a fun 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.

Someday NOAA will get it right. It just was not today.

With a forecast for northwest winds, and diminishing seas, we headed out for the Stolt. Given all the reports of bad vis inshore, Captain Dan was hoping for reasonable conditions offshore. On the way out there were some rollers from the south, and some chop from the northwest. If the stars aligned, it would all calm down for two dives.

When we reached the Stolt we had some stiff swells, but it seemed manageable, and the NOAA forecast said it was going to die down. I has some gear issues, so after tying in, I came back up and helped the passengers get in. Vis was about 20 ft on the top of the wreck, but I’m sure the bottom was not as clear. Lobster, scallops, and a few fish came up. Everyone agreed that the water was warm, but no one had a temperature.

The surface conditions did not improve during the dive, so we decided to head inshore for dive two. A few weeks ago we dove an intact reef wreck with lots of Tog and Seabass within the state waters. We headed there in hopes that the relief would allow for some vis. Surface conditions were much better inshore, but as expected the vis was not as good.

Everyone was just happy to get in the water after all the blow outs this fall.

The Independence II headed out on Saturday with clear skies and a forecast calm seas. Well, by the time we returned, they were calm. However, on the way out it was a little rough, but mostly a medium period swell. When asked where the passengers wanted to go, the decision was for the Stolt.

Upon arrival, I splashed to set the hook. I must admit to being a bit nervous since we had just returned from our North Sea Expeditions, and I had only unpacked my gear the night before. The configuration was a bit different from what we used in Belgium, and I did not have much time to test out the rig. Another trial by fire.

Dropping down the visibility on the surface was not great. Once past the thermocline at 40 ft, it opened up a bit, and I could now see the line before me. Within a few minutes, we were tied in, and I started looking about. Despite the swells above, there was little to no water motion on the wreck. No serge or current. Visibility here was a good 40 ft, but dark due to the murky surface. Large tog were swimming in and out of holes in the wreck, and along the hull. Here they picked at the mussels growing there. Cunners are everywhere on this wreck. One nipped at my glove while I was working with the chain. They keep hang out in front of my mask. I assume they are looking at their reflection, but I’m not taking changes that they want to nip at my lips (the only exposed skin).

At 100 ft, there was a second thermocline where the temp dropped to 46 degrees, and the visibility dropped down to 20 ft. The ocean floor was covered in winter flounder (out of season of course), and skates. A few small lobster were about, and one reasonable one way back under the rudder. Ling cod were about in large numbers, and many of them were large in size. After making a full circle around the wreck, I headed back to the line. I cut the dive short figuring, next dive, I’ll bring a either a weapon, or camera.

At this point, I could see the bubbles of divers rising off in the distance, and the lights of divers on the bottom. Great conditions. Soon, I was back in the surface snot, and the wreck faded from view. On the other hand the temp rose to 72 degrees. On the surface, I informed Brandon of the visibility and suggested he take his camera. I told Bill and Dan that I would do a second dive later with weapon in hand. They handed it to me my spear, and sent me back down the line. So much for a surface interval. (Don’t try this at home.)

Back down on the wreck the visibility seemed to have dropped a bit. Other divers were swimming about, and the tog visible on the first dive were no longer around. The decision was to drop down to the bottom and try for some of the Ling, then wait for the other divers to clear out and see if the tog would show up again. The first part of the plan worked well as Ling are not all that bright. On a previous dive, I recall dragging the line across one wreck, with a ling cod in my face the whole time I was wrapping the line around a beam. Today, even after missing a shot at one, it only retreated a few feet, and I got him on the second shot. Once a few of the larger ones were in my bag, I started to head up to look for some tog.

The other divers were still down on the wreck. In one area, large plumbs of rust colored water billowed from openings. Other areas also showed evidence of activity. I was able to get close to a few of the tog, but none of the big ones. Off in the distance a large gray one darted around the corner. However, he never let me get a clear shot. I guess they don’t get big by being dumb.

Along with my bag of fish, a few lobster came up, a bag of mussels, and a couple of bags of scallops. We headed off to another wreck for the second dive. This was a low lying wooden wreck, with very few spots to attach a chain. Brandon found a good one, and the pool was open. This wreck is often covered with lobster, but this time was also covered in scallops and skates. Many bugs and a few bags of scallops came up. Personally, after spending over two hours on the Stolt, I was done for the day. I splashed to pull the hook, but had no energy left to look around. This was probably good, as I felt a cold trickle down my leg as soon as I hit the water. Somewhere along the line, I must have poked a hole in the suit.

The trip back was on calm seas. It had been a great day of diving, and it was good to be back in NJ.