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Click To Enlarge
From Tom Pritchard . . .
Saturday was gray and dreary on the Chesapeake as Ralph Spayd, Jim Brown, Joe Dormer, Gerhard Maree and I began our oyster dive off the Julie Marie with Capt. Charlie. The conditions were no better underwater. How bad was the viz? Well, we dove overweighted so we could lay on the bottom - and then to make it a worse, we dragged our goody bags around, so our corner of the bay had the viz of chocolate milk. We brought up oysters that looked like rocks, rocks that looked like oysters, oysterless shells, and even a rock that probably once served as an Indian hammer. I adjusted my free flowing reg before the dive and then was sabotaged by my octo which shared half of my tank with the bay. I should have had air for 3 hrs, but was done in about 90 minutes. GMan was next out, which means that the dry divers were the first out of the water. Ralph was the next to yell "Uncle." It didn't matter; the three of us girly-boys were no match to Jim and Joe, the manly men who brought up the lion's share of the 6 bushel haul. We shared gynecological humor while we steamed and slurped our way back to the dock, and then headed home tired. I had some oysters for lunch Sunday and then spent the rest of the afternoon chasing my wife around the house. I brought most of my oysters into work for Monday Oysterfest. Life is Good!! Now for those who dare, the "UN-PC Dive Report."
From John Gross . . .
We arrived at Dutch around 9 AM. Present were Jennifer Pittman, Jen’s boyfriend Bill, Mark Fleckenstein, Chris Sander, Dave Barnhart, Diana Sholl and her mother, Mark Seymour, Jeff Raykos, Vivian Galebach, Pete Bohling and myself. Jennifer Pittman and Mark Fleckenstein are new divers that were just certified the weekend before. So this was there first dive as certified Open Water divers. They both did a really fine job. Jen’s boyfriend Bill is a Dive Maser Candidate from a dive shop in Maryland. Diana Sholl, Mark Seymour, and Jeff Raykos are in my current dive master class and they did a Discover Local Diving as part of their DM class. Diana took Jennifer, Bill, Mark F., and Vivian on a Discover Local Diving experience for our first dive. Mark S. took Dave Barnhart and Chris Sander on a Discover Local Diving experience also on our first dive. Or maybe Dave and Chris took Mark because while Mark wasn’t looking Dave and Chris descended and started their dive without Mark. Dave and Chris will be in another of my DM classes starting in January 2005. So they better watch out as Mark and Diana have already requested to students for Dave and Chris. So you guys better be ready for some pay back! Our first dive started on the platforms and proceeded east to the boat and then south to another boat and finally to the airplane at the submerged island. From there Diana used her compass to bring us to the helicopter and she hit it perfectly. Great compass navigation for Diana! After checking everyone’s air supply we found several divers were down to 1000 psi so I navigated to the nearest platform and after checking air supplies again we ascended and did a short surface swim back to our exit point.
We cooked lunch and had burgers and dogs, mac salad, and chips. Dave and Chris had to get back early so they did a second dive without the group. Jennifer and Bill had to leave before the second dive. Jeff Raykos conducted his Discover Local Diving with Mark F. and Vivian Galebach. Diana, Mark S, Pete and myself mostly followed and rendered assistance when needed. Jeff did a fine job and led the group from the platforms to the crane. After checking out the crane we proceeded to the Trolley. From the Trolley we took a north heading back. Since Vivian was getting low on air and did my safety stop with hear while Jeff and the rest explored the north shoreline look for fish. Diana Sholl or Mark Seymour took all of the attached pictures.
We loaded our cars and started for home around 4 PM. Everyone DM Candidate did a great job with the Discover Local Diving and then new divers, Mark F. and Jen, really enjoyed the 50-70 foot visibility. The water was warmer then expected and first thermocline with around 40 feet. This was Dave and Chris first time at Dutch and then really liked the great viz. If the irregulars from Willow ever dive Dutch they won’t believe that they are in a quarry! Jen wants to do her Advanced Open Water at Dutch and camp out. So if anyone out there is interested in doing his or her Advanced Open Water this spring at Dutch shoot me and email here.
PADI has recently revised the Rescue program and I recently received all my materials. This new program has been modernized and includes more rescue scenarios. If you are interested in getting your Rescue Certification this spring just send me an email and I will be happy to schedule a class. What you say you’re already Rescue Certified, well PADI has something for you. PADI now has a Rescue refresher for those that are already certified but are interested in practicing their skills and learning the new standards. So if you are interested in doing a refresher or you need your Rescue Cert send me an email here.
From Darth Vern . . .
I had the good fortune of finishing up the Open Water class that included, 3 new divers to the Columbia No. 1 Dive Team. They include Dave Zeigler, John "Krisco Kid" Murphy and Mick Ebersole. It has been some time since I divemastered an OW Class and never have I DM'ed one for the Dive Team [since this IS the first]. In conversation it is funny to hear their response to the viz, since all the Dive Team dives is in "muck" - most times on a "dive team call" you are lucky to see your hands in the water. let alone gauges. It is a humbling experience the first time and does take some getting used to. When searching for "anything" in the murky water, you never know what you will bump against, since most places nobody has dove for years, even decades. So when I try to gently remind them what is in store for them and for them to still be anxious says alot about our new quarry divers. So congrats to Dave, Mick and Krisco for making it thru OW and getting ready for Adv. OW in November.
The local members of the Cola No. 1 Dive Team from Smokeys are: Mark Myers, Chris Mayo, Scott Steinbaecher, James Zimmerman, Bryan Palmer, Jim Brown and myself. We dive in some of the worst conditions as a community service to help keep other divers out of harms way. Now that the team is finally stable, next year we will be ramping up with new equipment and even more advanced training, to help cover an even greater geographic area of Southeastern PA. If you have any questions about the Dive Team or would like to make a tax deductable donation to our non-profit cause, please email me here.
Keep on diving and LIVE THE ADVENTURE!!!
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