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From Dennie Leese . . .
ICE-IT'S TWICE AS NICE! Congratulations to Bud (who is WAY too beautiful) Fletcher, Rick (I think my sinuses are clogged) Huck, Bryan (man, this new ditigal camera is ALMOST as beautiful as Bud) Palmer, Jim (let me see if I can manage to fall through this ice) Brown, Liz (why is my underwear always wet?) Zyla, Cindy (my fingers are freezing, how's your back, do you want some soup,do you want me to carry that for you?) Willman-Kinsey and Vern (I always wear the strangest, ugliest, gayest hat of the day) Heagy for sucessfully completing the PADI Ice Diver Specialty class Feb. 1-2 at Bainbridge.
The conditions were perfect and NEARLY as beautiful as Bud, but not quite. (Nothing can be THAT beautiful, can it?) The lake was totally frozen over. I naively thought we'd have about an inch or two of ice to chop through at the shoreline to make our hole, but NOOO, there had to be at least 5 inches of the hard, clear stuff making it an adventure in itself to chop a hole big enough with an ax and an ice spud to get a group of 4 or so in at a time. Cutting the hole was almost as fun as making the dives. Saturday alternately rained and snowed on us and was constantly overcast, which didn't make for the best underwater photos and video with no sunlight penetrating the ice. Everybody did a great job, from cutting the hole, setting up the gear, manning the lines as tenders and making the dives through the thickest ice I've seen at the quarry yet. Viz just under the ice was a bit disappointing with a layer of silty material suspended just below the ice. Viz at depth was better, but we were there to dive shallow just under the ice. The ice was very clear once you got up against it.
The weekend wasn't without "events" however. Cindy fought through some first dive claustrophobia but overcame it and managed to get all the dives in and even had a good time at that. Bud was her buddy tethered to the line with her, so you can imagine how that went for 3 dives. Liz managed to get herself inverted under the ice and performed the first ever feet first drysuit ascent and egress from the ice hole that I've personally witnessed. When I saw her surface, I thought she had 2 broken ankles. Both her feet came completely out of her drysuit boots and her fins were flopped over hanging up to her knees. We quickly convinced her that fin keepers and ankle weights were the ONLY way to go. She proved it to herself on Sunday when the new set up worked out perfectly. Rick managed to have 1 slight freeflow at the surface before descending, but we quickly managed to correct that. Vern and Jim were buddied up and always tried to stretch the boundaries of the 100' rope they were tethered to. It's just NEVER enough, is it boys? If I only had 5 more feet of rope! Vern did his best impression of a fur seal at one point, poking his head out through the hole where one of the kegs normally float. I was tending his line and gave it one GOOD yank and saw him suddenly disappear back INTO the hole! I wonder how that works? Is it physics, or what? Divemasters, please help me out here and explain that phenomenon! Bryan and Liz took some underwater pics with a pair of Sea & Sea MX-5 cameras, so hopefully we get a few good shots underwater to post on the website. We have a TON of topside digital pics and photos, but bear in mind some of the "Best" shots may not be posted due to the "Family" content of the website. Some of the shots may earn a mild "R" rating. (You had to be there, don't ask).
Dan and Mark Myers were on hand to lend a hand with Divemaster duties and to shoot some underwater video. Dan's rebreather was also nearly as beautiful as Bud, but again, not quite. We could never tell where he was because he had no bubbles hitting the ice. Jim Brown also shot some video for Steve at Bainbridge. Hopefully we get a few good minutes from the 3 efforts. I think this was overall one of the best and most fun classes I've been associated with so far over the years. With all the gear we had, it looked like a major expedition. The changing room had enough provisions to last for about a week. We had everything but the kitchen sink.
Ice diving is terrific, if you haven't experienced it before. We had the entire quarry to ourselves on Saturday. On Sunday, Jim Weakland, Kent Hirsch and Paul Gower stopped by to make some dives with us, being previously ice certified. No crowds, good viz, ice and the comraderie, not to mention the raunchy jokes and filthy language, made this one class they'll remember for a long time. Ice conditions should be holding on up there for several weeks yet. I have 2 other students who still need to make their dives, and 4 others thinking about signing on for a class. If you're interested, call the shop and let them know, and we'll be in touch with a date.
Unfortunately, I'll be off to sunny Florida with Bud and Dave (I love to eat) Moyer next week as we play with the Manatees and discover several of the caverns and possibly a charter dive out into the Gulf. Next class will tentatively be held in 2 or 3 weekends. I'll be having a fun dive in the Susquehanna River under ice conditions around the end of the month if anyone is interested. Watch the weekly postings for more info on dates and times. Hope to see a few more of you in the ice class this year before we lose the conditions we have. This doesn't happen every year. If you're on the fence and wondering if it's worth it, I'd suggest you ask any of the people that just took the class. I think they'll all agree it was definitely worth the investment and lots of fun to boot.
In addition to the Ice Divers, congratulations to Scott Steinbaecher, who made his Nitrox certification dives with me under ice conditions on Saturday. He's hooked on ice now too. He probably wishes he could have come with us on Sunday and do 2 more ice dives. Let's hear from you if you're interested before time runs out for this year. Hope to see a few of you signed up.
Think Ice
From Darth Vern . . .
Well after my short-lived anxiety passed me and Jim Brown were under the ice and LOVING IT. I was very apprehensive at first, but I love a challenge and I am glad I took it! Beautiful to look up and thru the ice and see the formation from the bubbles and from the little bit of sun we had. The ice, the diving and the atmosphere all together, made for one of the best diving weekend I have ever had. If another opportunity opens up for the proposed class - TAKE IT - YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT! This is truly an experince of a lifetime.
Keep on diving and LIVE THE ADVENTURE!!!
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