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Mr. Ahneed Awada Yomony, Esq. . . .
The Nigerian Dive Report
Please allow me to introduce myself. I am Mr. Ahneed Awada Yomony, Esq., esteemed barrister and attorney for the late Mister Jonny Cashe and his family. Mr. Cashe and his hole family died in tragic accident in the Lagos Marriott 3 years ago. As reported on CNN it is well known that our country has much problems and a prolonged labor strike. Mr. Cashe and his family died in their hotel room in the Mariott when they were unable to get room service. Mr. Cashe and his family were found dead huddled around the mini-bar. I have search for 3 years to find other family members, but there are none. You are my last hoope. Mr. Cashe was a diver, so I am writing to your fine people at Smookeys Diversden and the the Thurday nite Iregulars who are fine upstanding Americans with large stomachs. I would like to present a Smookeys diver to the authorities at the Bunko de Nationale Nigeria Banko as next of kin and claim Mr. Cashes estate of $US 45 bazillion dollars and 81 cents ($4,500.18). After the money is safe in yur account, I will send you instructions as to how split it eevenly among us. Please be assured that I will keep you name in strckist confidence and you can trust me because Ahneed Awada Yomony.
From Cindy Lu Hoo . . .
Well, the warm weather brought out divers from all over the county, including some from across the BIG POND! We were lucky enough to accommodate a bored instructor from England this Sunday. Erland Webb wondered into our divers den on Saturday trying to get a break from his dreary hotel room. We agreed there was no better way to break that boredom than with a brisk quarry dive. He has dove many corners of the world including many places most of us only dream of (i.e. the Red Sea and Japan). We hope to see him around the dive site again before he returns home from his work here in the U.S.A.
Along with Erland, Nate Brommer, Ron Lobb (both have been MIA for a while), Scott the Rock, James Zimmerman, Chris Mayo, Gerhard Maree, Sharon Sleiker-Jones, Nick Calyonis, and yours truly enjoyed the warm weather. The viz was nothing to be desired. I am not sure if it was the left over silt from Peter's dive on Saturday OR the warmer weather that disturbed the 30+ viz we typically enjoy in the winter months at BSC, but the we enjoyed the conversation and diving just the same.
Scott was the navigational leader of our group of four. All was well, until we decided to play "ring around the rosey" I mean... cement truck! I started to get dizzy chasing Sharon and Erland, then chasing Scott who was chasing Sharon and Erland. When we finally got back on track, we headed to the dozer. Erland said his quarry back home is typically the same with the exception of the marine life, apparently there aren't any fish in his. Sharon said she would direct him where there were lots of fish along the road and in the grasses at the end of their dive... Only she forgot that there are two North walls at BSC. Oh well, he said he saw two which makes it officially "plural." Personally, I think the fish must have been hiding from the funny talkers because Scott and I accidentally disturbed a BIG bass in the trees during our return to the exit!.
From Jim Brown . . .
January 8 - I conducted a Discover Local Diving for John Simkiss of the Valley Forge PA area. He is preparing for a 10-day expedition to Antarctica and needs to increase his cold-water experience. We braved the nasty weather of the day with rain and cold wind through about noon. My site briefing was nothing short of an oral novel, hoping to avoid gearing up in the blah. It worked; John stayed awake and we avoided getting wet while donning dry suits!
We entered at the steep path and came face to face with excellent vis. The Christmas tree remained intact as John used the stability of the platform to recheck his gear configuration, weight distribution and buoyancy. He had his first fresh water dolphin encounter; and the Pennsy, steam shovel and dozer all new sights for John to see. We ended the dive with a slow ascent up the slope back to the steep path. John's first dip at BSC to 68' for 38 minutes. Dive #2 never crossed 21'. We entered the lagoon at the beach for this conservative cruise to show John the shallows. Our return along the south side of the road gave John a visual impression of the depth of BSC with the hole looming below us. This was a nice relaxing cruise (except for John struggling with an uncooperative (new) mask skirt) to 21' for 52 minutes. A great way to end the day. The actual highlight of our day was two sightings of a bald eagle, actually swooping down over the lagoon, apparently looking for food while the Susquehanna had ice cover.
January 15 - Frank Herring joined me for a scooter cruise to the Barn. While I had my camera along, no pics were taken due to cloudy vis at the bottom as well as a bubbling second stage. We made it to the Barn and my 2nd needed attention so we ascended to 40'. The bubbling continued and Frank turned off my main while my redundant pony reg was deployed. The bubbling continued after turning the main back on so I decided to use this opportunity as practice. Our bottom time at depth was minimal, hence minimal nitrogen absorption, so I breathed this bubbling 2nd all the back to the exit. We navigated and scootered (a new experience for me) between 20' and 30' while I monitored my air pressure and NDL. The OW nav was a real circus. I think we did several circles on the way home, finally ending up on the south wall and making way to the exit point. Frank was a champ as he adapted to my equipment issue and the aborted/revised dive plan. We had a lot to talk about during our debriefing at Upper A and learned a lot from this experience. I say make the most of these situations and use the opportunity to practice managing them, of course well within your diving ability/training and always within safe diving limits. We still managed 51 minutes of bottom time for a brief visit to 98'. Every dive counts!!!
February 5 - John Simkiss joined me for two more cold water dives to get him set for his February 14th departure for Antarctica (Happy Valentine's Day honey, I'm going (way) south for 10 days! Bye....oh, and here's an ice cube to celebrate the day! Love ya!) John Gross and Pete Bohling got a chance to meet John as they were present at Upper A for a fun dive.
Sporting a new mask, new dry gloves, revised (and reduced) weight distribution and the same enthusiasm for the water, John was greeted by the dynamics of our favorite local watering hole, changing conditions. The vis dropped dramatically from our January 8th dives and limited sight to about 10' in the Bowl. We hit the water at the road and cruised the boats, dolphin tower for a little buoyancy practice, the Pennsy and the dozer. Vis at the dozer cleared a bit so we stayed a little long here. John communicated appropriately our predive agreed upon air limit so we started our ascent. Since he was on an AL80 and the vis was poor, I elected to take the shortcut bailout, up the upline; this measure allowed us to control our ascent perfectly, stay in direct eye contact and monitor John's air carefully. He was most certainly not in any danger of a low or out-of-air situation but I wanted to avoid any adverse possibilities with the low vis conditions (together with John's new diver status at BSC). It was a short and cold 29 minutes to 66'.
Dive #2 took us off the road straight to the pipe out in front of the Pennsy. A wayward catfish was sucked up against the pipe by the reverse head pressure of the high water level. I wanted to photograph this observation for Steve. We will be covering this inlet with a safety screen in the very near future. In the meantime, stay well away from any open pipes in the site. John and I followed the pipe up to the tunnel so he could have a peek. We turned NW and cruised over the water tower and spools and along the west wall to our exit at the road. Another nice tour to 61' for 29 minutes.
I'll be out this Sunday to work on a few of the barrels at BSC. I'll also be moving some of the gear platforms that are submerged. I'll take all the help I can get. The weather forecast is pretty nice for the weekend so why not come and enjoy some sun and UW playtime. Descending again!
From Darth Vern . . .
Well alot is going on as usual. Anyone who has not been to Beneath The Sea, I highly suggest you go, It is a great time. See alot of divers, see alot gear and just get away for a day. Below is some quick information at a glance:
[1]
Beneath The Sea is coming along soon: March 18-20, 2005!!! LINK There are many GREAT seminars and workshops to attend and they are very cheap. Jim Brown and I are going to catch Kathy Churchs U/W Lighting workshop and I am hoping to catch a few Tech Seminars.
[2]
Speaking of Tech, Smokeys is again offering TDI tech diving courses. JameZ, Mayo and myself finished up the classroom protion of the Decompression Procedures class and are starting the dives on Sat at BSC. Come out and dive and watch us limp around with sling bottles and reels and bags. We have 8 [yes thats right 8 a full class] students for the next Adv Nitrox course in early March. We will schedule more class as interest mounts. Email me for more information.
[3]
An update from my adventure on becoming a volunteer diver at the Baltimore Aquarium. I drove to UMBC last Saturday morning in the driving snow [divers will go anywhere, anytime to dive] to take the in-water test and personal interview. I got to the pool and it was very organzed with in-water stations for skills and tables set-up for interviews. I got into my shorty and geared up. Did the swims and snorkel work. Then went onto the skill stations. I did very well in the water, even thru the "small" obastacle course that was not designed for a man my size. I was not selected in the end and I am pretty sure it was because my interview was very dry. I think they are looking for dynamic outgoing divers and I suppose I did not come across as that [imagine that] Well it was a very good experience and I am glad I gave it a shot. I would encourage any diver who has the time to give it a try, I am sure the experience volunteering is very fulfilling.
[4]
There are a number of Smokeys divers on the Search and Rescue Dive Team for Columbia No. 1 Fire Company and we are finally holding our VERY OWN fundraiser. It will be a 100 person Texas No Limit Hold 'Em Poker Tourney on April 16th at the Fire Hall at Noon. The money raised will be used to buy new rescue gear and a trailer to haul everything. We invite everyone to play and if anyone has any time to donate we could us ea few people to help out. Click this [link] for dditional information.
Keep on diving and LIVE THE ADVENTURE!!!
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