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Mike and Kents Memorial Dive is set for July 30th at Upper "A" at BSC.
Ladies Day dive is set for Aug 14th at Lower "A" at BSC.
From Tom Pritchard . . .
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
Last Friday Vern Heagy, James Zimmerman, Chris Mayo, Steve Mooney and I drove all night so we could dive all day off the Surface Interval on the wreck Marine Electric. The Marine Electric was a 605 ft long collier hauling coal from Norfolk, VA to Massachusetts in 1983 when it foundered in a storm. Hypothermia claimed 31 of its 34 crew that February night. The sinking of the Marine Electric prompted a House investigation of Coast Guard ship inspections, removal of 70 rust buckets from active service, introduction of exposure suits on cargo ships, and tremendous expansion of the Rescue Swimmer program that has saved over 4000 people since its inception. The Good: The Marine Electric is a great wreck with 40+ foot relief, intact sections, and a large debris field. The Bad: With Gerhard at home trying to make a living, I did both dives with JameZ. (Hmmm. That didn't come out right, did it?) The bad part was that on dive 1 the latch on my Light of God opened, which turned my cannister light into a canteen. It was pretty dark at 130 fsw, even with with 20-30 ft viz. And 50 degrees feels a lot colder in July than it does in February. A pretty uneventful dive along the hull toward the stern and back. The Ugly: My OMS 98 lp doubles are squat tanks that ride low enough to make it hard/impossible to reach the valves in the event of a free flow. Just before I left for North Carolina a few weeks ago I moved the bands down, which brought the valves within reach. To give you some idea how top heavy and unstable I was, picture Dolly Parton standing on a banana peel. The trouble was, I didn't realize it. On my 1st dive in NC the higher tanks put my feet over a head a bit, which wasn't a big deal since I was diving wet. I adjusted quickly, leveled my trim, and forgot about it. On Dive 1 on the Marine Electric, now diving dry, my trim was worse, but I adjusted again, leveled off and didn't have any more problems - until the 2nd dive. As JameZ and I swam up the 30 degree incline of the hull, the current picked up a bit. The current was mild by any standard, but enough to lift my fins just a tad. With my center of gravity so high, that tiny squirt of air into my boots was sufficient to invert me. Because you can't vent air from the feet of a drysuit, being inverted can trigger a rapid, uncontrolled ascent to the surface - which is never a good idea when you're down 100 ft. I tucked, twisted, and kicked to no avail. I have such a weak kick, old ladies, small children, and dogs no longer fear me. Even though I hadn't risen more than a few feet, I knew that could change - and I was getting tired. I "bit the bullet" and a did front somersault, which is the technique of last resort I was taught when I took my drysuit specialty. Believe it or not, doing a front somersault with doubles and a stage bottle tucked under your arm is hard work. I over rotated a bit, and after a brief attempt to kick my way down again, decided to pause, get vertical - and do it right. I didn't nail the landing like an Olympic gymnast, but it was good enough to plop me on the hull. After about 3 minutes of huffing and puffing like a porn star in heat, JameZ and I headed back to the anchor line. The first thing I did when I got home was to raise the bands on my doubles. There's more than one lesson to be learned here, but I'll just list one: Whether you're diving singles or doubles, adjust your tank(s) in their bands/straps so that you're almost level in the water. I was level with the tanks forward, but only because I adjusted my attitude in the water. When I got tipped forward, quicker than you could say "Dolly Parton," gravity took over, and I was FUBAR. Don't get FUBAR!
From Darth Vern . . .
I have to agree with Tom, the Marine Electric is a primo dive. We even dove the "lesser" of the 2 sections. The bow is inverted, which we dove. The stern is right side up, and should be a great dive as well. The middle is pretty much collapsed, according to the books. I had pretty much to great solo dives, saw a few lobsters [still to scared to catch 'em] and I saw a ton of nudibranchs. Since I didn't have my camera, it's being repaired, I actually have no proof, BUT I DID SEE THEM.
Keep on diving and LIVE THE ADVENTURE!!!
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