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From Tom Pritchard . . .
After the meltdown of my gear last Saturday, I was pleased that all my stuff worked on Thursday. I dove my doubles with the regs that I planned to use in the ocean on Sunday. The only piece I didn't bring was my stage. The viz at Willow ranged from bad to worse. GMan, Terry Parsons and I, after wandering in a circle below the platform, headed across the quarry to the habitat. The crossing was a challenge in 1 ft viz, but our threesome made it. We couldn't find the "mine shaft," so we'll have to get better directions from the Huckster. We did a loop around the east end, ran reels, and packed it in. Sunday found me, Huck, Rock, JZ, Gerhard, Terry Parsons, and "WetMan" Kulp on the Ol Salty diving the Stolt Dagali. It was my first time seeing "Lake Atlantic," where the ocean just lays there. No waves. No ripples. No surface current. This is no exaggeration: The ocean was flatter than Willow. Vern 's absence might have triggered Lake Atlantic, but I think we should thank Terry Parsons. Terry only had one Northeast wreck dive in his log prior to Sunday and, perhaps coincidentally, that was on the Stolt during Lake Atlantic conditions. Terry thinks flat seas are normal and that we exaggerate when we talk about climbing the ladder in rough seas. The Stolt is an incredible wreck! With the tie in at 45 ft, and
the bottom at 130, we had 85 ft of relief! The viz was 50'+ shallow, but only 10-15' at depth. Not surprisingly, such a huge hulk has a sunny side and a shady side - and it was damn dark on the shady side. While poking around the bottom, Terry caught a lobster, which escaped from his bag later. There were so many mussels on the wreck, it took GMan about 2 minutes to fill a goody bag. There are now four flounder with hesitation wounds - and If you don't know what a hesitation wound is, you have to watch more CSI. The excessive relief and the
shallow tie set me up for a boo boo. I always check my dive computer at the tie in, which is usually 10-20 off the bottom and always the start of our ascent. Yesterday, after ascending from bottom to the deck at 65 ft (what a wall dive!!), I checked my computer to see where my first stop would be. My first deep stop WAS at 74 feet. Ooops! I was 9 ft past and my computer already flagged me. I was busted. The message on the screen read, "Missed Decom Stop. Use Tables" I thought this would be a good time to "Work the Beads" - too bad I left them in my Sunday suit. I ascended slowly and spent extra time at my next deep stop. At 20 ft, I was disappointed that my stage bottle with 80% EANx - the only gear that I didn't dive with at Willow last Thursday - had a blown o-ring deep inside the DIN connector. I only had a few minutes of deco at 20 fsw, even on my back gas, so I did that, then jumped on GMan's stage, and spent a few extra minutes off-gassing and engaging in self-recrimination. Most computers don't have deep stops, so as screw ups go, it was a small one. Two nice things about the VR3 computer: 1) it continued to give me stops and times after my missed stop, and 2) it didn't lock me out for 6, 12, or 24 hrs for a small mistake that I made good on before I exited the water. The wreck season is almost over; only the Northern Pacific left. There are spots available; if interested contact Joe at the Shop. Bear in mind, the Northern Pacific is a deep (140 fsw) wreck.From Greg Kulp . . .
FLASH!...Belmar, N.J. : EVIL CURSE OF VERN HAS BEEN LIFTED! A group of local citizens, including many from a mysterious cult like group informally know as the Thursday Night Irregulars, enjoyed a wonderful day of SCUBA diving on the wreck of the Stolt Dagali. The seas truly smiled upon these fortunate souls. The water was near flat, the current was minimal, and the underwater visibility was very good. Bright sunshine and mild temperatures were reported. According to eyewitness accounts, this group included Huck, Doc Tom, G Man, the Rock, the other J.Z., T Bone Junior, and one other unnamed individual. Sketchy information indicates that identification of the last individual was hampered by the fact he was diving in a wet suit. Especially curious was that this same diver stated he was comfortable during both dives and had a good time. The group was reported as greatly enjoying the favorable conditions. Popular opinion had it that these conditions were due to the absence of Vern, whose presence has been known to cause foul weather and/or rough seas when Lancaster County SCUBA divers journey to the Atlantic Ocean. Brilliant natural illumination of the upper portions of the wreck was reported. Abundant marine life was also noted and pillaged. A Mr. Richard Huck was seen taking photographs of a favorite subject. He later stated his intention to post these pictures on the Smokey's Divers Den web site. Further details as they become available.
From Terry Grogan . . .
Mike and I dove at Dutch on Sunday, October 02, 2005. It was a gorgeous day. We could see the mist over the quarry and the sun rising into a cloudless sky. Temperatures were above 80°F on the surface, and not much lower than 70°F in the water, until you got below 45 ft. Visibility was easily 50 ft. and there weren’t many people there (at least not for Dutch). We did two dives. We hit the water for the first dive at 9:15am and did a 55 minute dive out to the small plane (via underwater navigation), then followed the rope to the bus and then the fire engine. From there, we navigated to the shoreline and followed it back to our entry point near the aqua park area. After a 90 minute surface interval (where we both stretched out on towels in the grass and took in a little sun), we hit the water again for a 60 minute dive. This time, we navigated out to the helicopter, then picked up the rope to the 60 ft platform and the tanker. From there, we surfaced, took a reading to what we thought was the police car, and headed back down to around 30ft. When we got to the buoy line, we descended 80ft to what turned out to be the army truck that was sunk earlier this summer. I don’t know if the police car is still down there or not, but having traveled through 2 thermoclines to a temperature of 53°F we decided not to hang around and find out (we were both diving wet). We then used underwater navigation and headed back to shore, swimming over the crane and the diamond reef system. This time, we were both pretty hungry, so we ate lunch – sandwiches we had picked up at the WaWa on route 100, when we made our “potty break” (this had become sort of a tradition for us now).
Next Sunday is Mike’s 64th birthday. We’ll be diving at Dutch again, so anyone interested in joining us is welcome. We should be at the same spot – the tables in the grass near the Aqua park area.
From Bob Hanna . . .
Dutch Springs 10/1/05 - Angela Watson was the first diver that I can recall who actually asked for a tour of the Willow Spring Quarry, my sentimental favorite Quarry as I did my check out dives there in 1974, and where I have been a season pass holder since the early 1990s. I was delighted to respond.
Angela Watson, Jennifer Freed and Dave Young virtually grew up together somewhere near State College. Angela did her Open Water Training with John Gross whom she describes as an excellent instructor who made her feel comfortable.
After picking up their rental gear from the new dive shop, I met them at the Quarry around 12:30. We entered the quarry from the Lobster Dock, swam through the school bus and went about half way to the quest before turning back because of air consumption issues. The total dive time was 44 minutes and max depth 40 feet.
After a relaxing mid afternoon lunch of burgers, dogs, chips and soda, we did a second dive at the west end of the Quarry visiting all of the cars, trucks, and the airplane. The dive time was 44 minutes and max depth was 40 feet.
It is important to put this day in perspective. This was Jennifer's first dive after certification. Angela had maybe 1 or 2 dives at Bainbridge post certification (She mentioned a nite dive with John along the sunken road), and Dave had been certified a couple of years. The VIZ at Willow was such that to keep together we followed various ropes. And this was the deepest dive for both Angela and Jennifer. At 40' Willow's temperature is in the 55-60 degree range vs low 40s at Bainbridge this time of year. I enjoyed myself and so did they.
Daren Gray with whom Ralph and I dove on the second day and whose pictures grace my report had a near air out dive on day one. After reading Tom Pritchard's sobering report, I decided to write this supplemental report. Daren Gray's computer profile is attached to this supplemental report.
A DECO Supplement to The "Mad Dash" To N Car Dive Report
Daren was diving with 30% Nitrox. This was in his words supposed to be a NO DECO dive. At 21 minutes his computer said he was over his no DECO limit. He was at 1500 PSI. But he had to get just one or two more pictures. You have to admit they were very good pictures. He began his ascent at 25:40 with 1078 PSI. He was diving with a 100 cf air tank. According to the print out he began his ascent from around 121'.
My first reaction was to ask whether he had set his computer for 30% Nitrox because that seemed like a very serious penalty unless it was his second dive of the day. If you dive with regular partners, it is very helpful to be using computers with the same mathmatical formula to do the calculations. Ralph and I bought computers with the same mathmatical formula.
My second observation is to question whether he was diving with an air integrated computer. This type of computer will give you its opinion as to how fast you are consuming air at the depth you are at. It is a little scary to see how much air you consume at these kinds of depths. If you are going to dive at depths in excess of 100', it is worth the money to buy one. I have been diving with an air integrated computer for more than 10 years.
When Ralph and I dive together we talk about the amount of DECO time we are willing to accept given our air supply. That number is usually in the 5-7 minute range. In addition we usually do 3 minutes at 1/2 the depth (micro bubbles) plus the required DECO time and a couple of more minutes (I am 64). My computer record shows me that my longest dive was 38 minutes total dive time. I returned to the boat with in excess of 1,000 PSI which means I had air to share if needed.
Pony Bottles can be helpful. Sometimes we dive with 30 cf pony bottles. However we both have H valves which means that we have a redundant system available for seperate first stages for each of our regulators. My Octopus is connected to a 7 foot hose for easy use by a diver in need. I have been experimenting with carrying my pony as a swing bottle so I can hand the bottle to a needy neighbor.
Finally, especially on the first day there was a lot of current on the wreck. We were tied in at the stern, and the current tended to push us forward on the wreck. We spent most of our first dive trying to find where to go to get the maximum protection from the current so we could get back to the anchor line. The answer seemed to be the starboard side down near the ocean floor. The current lessened on the subsequent dives.
This current created problems for several of the divers who allowed it to sweep them too far forward. They had a difficult time getting back to the anchor line. One diver had a 30 minute hang. Don't leave the anchor line without a good understanding of the current. The only good dives are the dives you come back from. Some of those are better than others.
Keep on diving and LIVE THE ADVENTURE!!!
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