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[hold on, it's a long one]
Bonus Downloads from Jim Brown 1 | 2 | 3 | 4
From Uptown Jim Brown . . .
Thursday - The inaugural Thursday Night Smokey's Dive-In at Wabank was enjoyed by a small but enthusiastic crowd. Cindy Willman, Darth Vern Big-Doubles Heagy, Rock Steinbaecher, Bryan Where's-the-Next-Reg Palmer and Kenny I'm OK with all these neo layers Wong dipped into the pool under the watchful eye of chief caretaker and bottle washer Frank McSorely.
Cindy, Rock and Bryan headed south along the wall to the Miss Peaches cut point. Down they went, passed the boat at 100' and on to the west wall. After that, all I know is they made it back to the exit.
Darth, Kenny and I dropped down past the sub to the tube at 60'. Although I know him from BSC, Kenny was new with us so we stopped here to get a good visual on his disposition. No frostbite, no teeth chattering and good buoyancy along with a healthy OK and we were on our way to the 100' level and Peaches. It got very dark on the bottom and Kenny lit the way with his candle. We cruised past Peaches and over to the Hound Dog. Vern obliged once again with escorting Kenny back to the exit while I mosied along the wall looking for a nice flat spot to park Frank's new habitat that is stuck at 20'. I passed over the motorcycle at 65' on the east wall and was rejoined by Darth. My deco obligation at this point sent us up to play in the shallows along the east wall. The wheelhouse, habitat, diamond reef and platform were our last visits before exiting. We had 60 minutes run time to 103' with a tad bit of deco. The water temp is wet - that's all you need to know.
Darth, Cindy Lu and I shared a little grub and gab at Carlos & Charlie's (corner Columbia Ave/741) to cap the evening.
While packing up we compared calendars and we are committed for every Thursday night in June at Wabank. We fully expect this event to continue through the summer and beyond. Try to arrive by 6:15pm. We need to be in the water by 6:45/7pm latest to get in a good dive, get packed up and lock up by 8:30ish-pm. Most importantly, let someone know you're coming if you need a buddy. We'll hook everyone up with a dive team, regardless of experience level.
Saturday - We beat the weather today and logged some nice bottom time at BSC. Kent Doc Deco Hirsch and I geared up in a light shower. He was a very patient man today as he learned that my jaw is hinged on both sides and sometimes just flaps endlessly, both at the dive shop and on the dive site! Thanks again Kent!
It was a huge crowd there today with Undersea Adventures, Bud Bracken, York Divers and more, out with classes. We tooled along the shore of the lagoon and walked through the water to the end of the road. Kent clipped his 15' deco bottle on the ring tree and down we went, along the wall to the bottom of the hole. It was black at 123' but very clear. Our easterly heading took us straight through the hole to the RR tracks which we followed to the end. The north wall and ridge rose up ahead of us in magnificent vis! The vis demarcation is right at 110' now, still well below the 95' level where the tanker, step van and deep boat rest. We had the pleasure of smelling the rotten eggs on the bottom, an odor Steve tells us confirms the health of the aqua ecosystem.
We cruised past the tanker, now sporting a wooden cover with c-clamps at it's midsection portal. Ed wants to lift the tanker and move it. Looks like he's getting started by closing it up. The step van was in full view and our memorial Diver Dan tag still tied fast to the driver's side mirror bracket. The toolbox and debris pile was our turning point to the SW so we could check out the blast shack. Did I mention the vis was awesome? We hit the south wall, naved over the big rock to the blast shack and headed north over the pond to the deep boat. From the single upline east of the deep boat, we could almost make out the entire deep boat and 60' platform. The vis was awesome!
It was time to start the ascent. Doc managed a tank change to a deco pony gas at 75' at the base of the north wall. I needed to start my ascent to ensure enough 32% to manage my 12 minutes of deco. We exchanged the usual UW "pleasantries" and off I went in search of Doc's 15' bottle to start my hang (Doc had to stay under 54' for his first hang). He caught up with me at his second bottle at 18', made the change out and we cruised nicely along the north wall into the Bowl. Boy was the vis crap in there! All the classes sure had it stirred up. We eased past the aquarium where last week Doc saw schools of bluegills hanging out in the tree branches. We turned the hang dive and surfaced between the steep path and the road. Our very short surface swim back to the road was interrupted briefly by a very large brown water snake. He passed right between us and dipped underwater to return to shore. Pretty cool.
All in all a great dive to 123' for 1:25 with 12 minutes of deco (for me) (did I mention I love my new 120cube HP steel tank?). Doc's happy gas home-brew mixtures created his own little world of deco that I won't even try to explain! It was fun to watch him manage the deco bottles right up to the point where he disposed of his first bottle in my hands. He swears he wanted me to breathe this 64% mix but I think he just wanted me to schlep his gear.
Sunday - We have a new contestant in the free flow category. Scott the Rock my-mask-is-not-gay Steinbaecher orchestrated a 9am dive for Sunday at Wabank. We were pleased to have The Artful One join us; Rick Huck showed up with his transformed scuba minivan SUV, virtually no stickers! Jess Zellers and Greg Saskwatch Kulp were gearing up for their first dip in the pool too. Doc Deco arrived late with daughter and wife Wendy and attempted to follow our dive plan, not. I guess we should have waited! Next time Kent, sorry we missed on this one. I owe you, you waited for me yesterday at BSC!
So, Rock is just hanging on the surface waiting for Artful and me to get in and he gets a free flow. Oh, nothing too serious but flowing just the same. He is not happy at this point so Rick convinces him to drop down to the 18' platform to have a look see if the reg will shape up. Rock does a textbook line descent to the wooden demarcation, breathes a little, and performs a flawless controlled ascent on a fixed upline. Wow, and Frank says we don't practice. I think it was the explicatives and water pounding on the surface that was my first clue that the reg didn't shape up. Oh Dennie, where art though? Rock's dive was short, dead-on according to plan, lots of gas in reserve and brought him back exactly to his exit point. Good job Rock! You and Meunzen must have something going. At least he made it to 90', twice!
Rick and I proceeded on our normal descent past the sub and tube. Rick took the opportunity to create a smokin' gun on top of the tube. I should have been ready with the camera. Speaking of camera, my Sony DSC-S85 and new Ikelite housing made it's maiden voyage today. The housing passed a depth test yesterday at BSC, sans camera, so today was picture day. I ended up snapping 52 pics and four mpeg segments. Darth will manage the AV on the dive report. We hit the 100' level and headed for Peaches. The vis was incredibly clear but a bit dark. Rick cruised over and inside Peaches for numerous photo opps. I think this dive quickly became the "ew, ew, me, me, look at me, take a picture of me, I'm the Artful One!".
The ridge to the west and south brought us past the block and right to the vortex depressions in the peninsula. These things are cool! Two of them are at least 4-5' in diameter. I tried to get some pics but there was just not enough light to do the job. We turned north to the west wall and ascended to the Loafer at 70' based on deco time already accumulated. Check out the pics and vis on this boat. Huck did some in-water ballet over the boat as the Sony captured his movements in full motion (and sound). My 21% didn't compete with Huck's 28% and I needed to do some deco. What better way than an open-water nav back to the dock? The vis was incredible from 40' as we could see the ripples on the surface of the pond. So side-by-side we went on an easterly/ESE heading back to the east wall. Amazing how this compass thingy works. It knows exactly where we want to go! The sub came in to view and was greeted with much fanfare and merriment. We cruised the east wall past the platform, diamond reef, mailbox, wheelhouse (Huck's house of deco, see pic) and over to the habitat (see pics). Huck's doubles fit nicely inside the vertical cavern. Another great UW experience: 103' for 60 minutes with 7 minutes of deco on 21%.
Well that was about it for us until we surfaced beside the dock only to be greeted by the evil scuba egress ogre. The vis, the vis, he cried, you're messing up my vis! Sheesh, we had to descend by Braille due to the student mess! So it was payback I suppose. Nah, we just do things to get Frank's attention, especially on his 39th birthday. Boy does he look good. And I must say he's a nice guy! He shared his birthday treats, turtle brownies made and delivered in person by Cindy Lu.
We had the usual post-dive traumatic fanfare with Jess, Kulp, Huck, Frank, Darren et al as we reviewed the pics and video on the Sony. Pretty cool. Jess, if you push that button on the back of the housing just a little harder, you'll either launch the camera into On mode or break the damn thing. When you grimaced and gritted your teeth for one final push, I knew it was time to take it away from you. Next time I WILL sit on your lap for real and show you the pictures. :o) Sheesh, it's brand new, don't break it yet!
Another great dive adventure. Join us this Thursday at Wabank for another Smokey's Dive-In, arrive by 6pm if you can.
From Jess Zellers . . .
Thrusday- The Irregular edition. Kulp and I strayed from the infallible path of DIR. Remember- Diving In Rain. It was sunny! Warm, nice and NOT RAINING!!!! As first time strokes we had to go for something a bit adventurous... so departing from the lobster dock we went for the tanker body. We made good time getting to the pipe via the middle track, but had not discussed much our intented nav plan on HOW we were going to get to the tanker body. I was thinking we'd take the east wall, but Kulp who had the lead at that point was thinking more west wall. Well we did make the tanker, moving north after we left the Pinto and far south platform!!! Good long long dive. Santa, I want a 120 for christmas! ... christmas in July.
Topside we were all about our sexy selves!! We had a new guy Paul who was initiated by 'The painful Rites of Dave'. Paul, we hope Dave didn't scare you off, and that you'll be able to stand up straight soon and come back next week! Doctor Kulp was working overtime. Diagnosing Dave's abnormal behavior as 'nitrogen withdraw'. Terry was refered out to specialist Linda for treatment, because he simply loves and wants too many men. And I was diagnosed with an unknown mental condition becuase of having "just demostrated your mental insanity through diving". While there are treatment options for Dave and Terry, my case is uncurable. I should just keep diving.
Thursday nights, everybody come dive!! Doesn't matter if you've been diving for a week or ten years, a good time can be had by all. Tom Prichard's rejoining us next week and we're headed to the concret dock and Palao's.
Sunday- Wabank - Kulp, myself and a mass of humanity headed to Wabank in... you guessed it! THE RAIN!!!! Kulp and I did two dives one exploring the bottom, and the other messing around with the boats. While we were doing our interval we heard coming from the water, singing, dirty jokes, and lots of stuff that just had you scratching your head. Huck must be up! Yep, Huck. Him and Jim Brown were in working on a photo essay of sexy divers. But for some reason all the images were of Huck. Jim, no one else is as worth as Huck? Oh well, Jim was doing some REALLY good shooting. And there's the one with Huck on the hang bar doing.... well the rest were really tasteful.
From Dr Deco . . . [sorry I forgot this last week]
For those of you who want a change of scenery, the Atlantic Ocean is a suitable dive destination. Mike and I headed to Tuckerton, NJ and the dive boat "Tuna Seizure" on Sunday. The weather report all week ranged from 2-4 foot waves to 7-13 footers. We headed out under cloudy skies and fog. Mike and I tried to catch a few Z's on the boat ride, but I was rudely awakened as the boat crested an 8 footer and I was catapulted out of my bunk and slammed into the bunk above. (I thought the captain had turned off the fasten seatbelt sign)
When we got to deeper water, the fog remained, but the seas settled into 5 foot rollers spaced 10 seconds apart. It was quiet enough to gear up and hit the water on the Great Issac wreck, but not before two paying customers tossed their cookies. The wreck lies at 70 ft with the sand at 90. Viz was a good 20-30 and water temps at 50. Plenty of Seabass and Blackfish and quite a few lobster in the 2.5 lb range . There's one old bug who has taken up residence in an inaccessible spot. He's at least 10 lbs. After 50 minutes bottom time, the hook was pulled and we headed 8 miles towards the dock and dove the Double East- a barge sunk with granite slabs. Lots of lobster condos and some came home with us for dinner. We only saw one other boat out all day. The Tuna Seizure handled the rough seas easily and between swells was travelling at 19 knots.
BTW, I took a dip in Wabank quarry Monday to rinse the salt out of my gear. I toured the north end and the viz was 30 ft and crystal clear. I could read my guages at 100 ft without a light.
From John Gross . . .
Ths bus and everyone was on time last Sat to leave for Philly. Everything went smoothly into Cozumel. The travel company in Cozumel met us and provided transportation to LaCeiba. We checked in and I found out that they had given me the penthouse since I was the group leader. That had never happened before. It consisted of a walk-in-closet, bedroom, living room/dinning area, kitchen, bath and balcony that connected the living room to the bedroom. After eating we proceeded to the dive shop to check in.
That was our first problem. It seems about 6 months ago Delmar Aquatics moved out and Aqua World moved in at LaCeiba. Delmar was down the street about a block. So we walked down and signed in. They agreed to pick us up at the LaCeiba each morning for our boat dives but asked if Sunday could be an afternoon dive and the rest of the week be a morning dive. Everyone agreed. By the time we got back from our boat dive on Sunday the Gallagher's were already doing a shore dive.
We saw so much sea life: Sea turtles, seahorse, giant lobster that makes the one downstairs at Smokeys look like a baby, several nurse sharks, puffer fish that looked like a bulldog without legs, octopuses, etc.
One day we did a "junk run" to the pier where the cruise ships are. Betty Glatfelter was my buddy and she found a baseball cap with the "Survivor's" logo, Pete found a golf ball, Gallagher's found a plate and a platic cup. We had so much fun/luck that Bernie Smolick and Bill Hockley decided to do the same "junk run" immediately after our return. Know it gets funny/serious. You see an international incidence was narrilly averted. Someone onboard the cruise ship reported to the secuirty officier that he saw bubbles coming from under the ship. The security officier sent in two divers to get Bill and Bernie. The security officier was from Israel but was a nice guy and I explained what was happening and he agreed to keep the incident between us since no harm was done. When we told Sharon and Peg their husbands, who were still in the water, were stopped by ship security the reactions were sooooo different. Sharon had a look of horror while Peg laughed so hard I thought she'd be rolling in the sand any second.
The next day also brought a problem. Fran and Kate decided to rent mopeds but didn't get the insurance. Well Kate had an accident resulting in $600.00 damage to the moped. Kate sustained a minor cut on her knee. The problem was that Fran's MAC card wouldn't give her all the money she needed (daily limit on many cards is $400.00). So Fran and I went in town to the bank to get more money and pay the moped damage. I told Kate upside down diving is ok and fun but upside down moped riding seldoms works.
We also had a problem with tanks for shore diving. Since Delmar was no longer at LaCeiba we had to call ahead for tanks. Another instructor took are tanks for his group to use. He claimed he had called ahead. The only problem was they were our tanks as we had pulled them off our boat when we returned from our morning boat dive. So I had to have a serious discussion with DelMar and from that point on 40 tanks were delieved to a hidding place every morning for our use on afternoon and night dives.
While flying from Cozumel to Charlotte I was awoken by a sinking felling with a few peolpe screaming and some flying drinks as our airplane was slightly nose down and descending rapidly. It seems we hit a down draft and it lasted several about 10 seconds - felt like 10 minutes. Then t-storms kept us circling Charlotte for 20 minutes. We didn't miss our connecting flight since it was also delayed. When we arrived in Philly we found 60-70% of our luggage wasn't with us. I had one out of 4 checked bags and everyone had at least on bag missing. US Air told me this happens once a day on flights that had to go through customs in Charlotte. Now there is a statistic to be proud of! We all had to file baggage claims for missing luggage and by the time we were finished the next plane arrived from Charlotte and about 70% of the missing bags came in. I talked to US Air about reimbursement for the bus charge in case they try to charge you extra for the delay. They said you can write to:
US Airways
System Baggage Services
PO Box 12346, PIT/I-110
Pittsburgh International Airport
Pittsburgh, PA 15231-9989
and include the bus invoice for the additional charge to get reimbursed.
Get Out and Dive and LIVE THE ADVENTURE!!!
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