ALMOST a Barn Run!

Ok, it’s been a while ( I know, only two weeks, but…) so I had to remember things. Not too bad, though.  It IS the time of year when things get warm, and you sort of wish you decided to do that 3mm/single tank/Lagoon dive while you were setting up, but I guess it could have been worse. (and God knows it has been)  But alas, my 3mm is too big on me, and I haven’t gotten a new one yet, so that suggestion went to the wayside.  Ok, it’s been humid lately,  and the fact that I was sweating like the proverbial pig while I was packing my car only proved that tonight was going to be a moist one!  (and I’m glad that I wasn’t able to wash my under garments after my last dive due to heading out of town the next day)(don’t worry, I hung them before I left so they at least aired out) But that’s enough of the complaining about the weather…

Back to the quarry for the last Wednesday of July, hard to believe that we’ve gone through two months of it already and only have nine more weeks left, get them while you can!  Rob is still working off of his single, so it was a no brainer to assign him to our “guest” diver tonight, Jim! (who was diving in a wetsuit and single as well)  John got stuck with me since I had my doubles (but a lighter fill than normal due to the recent  compressor issues) The plan was basically for me to stay with John, and Rob and Jim stay together in case one or both needed to finish earlier.  John gave us his thoughts for where to go, and we all agreed.

We dropped in at the bottom of the steep access, and met at the tree for our bubble check, nothing seemed wrong, so we continued through the murky visibility, through trees, and under pipes until we found ourselves at the Aqua Adventures truck.  We checked in, and everyone was still good, so we started down the hill. At about 80 feet, we started following the wall, and were soon at the Tripod Tree, which meant that the Outhouse was soon to appear.   At the Outhouse another check was performed, and we were all still good to go. John continued past the big boulder (The “Volkswagen Rock”, go read the 6/17/2015 report if you aren’t sure why) and over the vast nothingness of the bottom of the quarry.  At one point Rob tagged John and said that they were going to head back, so they got the “OK” and John and I continued on. We were soon at a toolbox that neither one of us remembers seeing before (although thinking about it later on, realized that it IS on the map) and then at a toolbox that we knew, not far from that. (The “new” toolbox is midway between the toolbox we know, and the barn) Passing that tool box, and the collapsed building (and step van) we soon found the line that follows the edge of the deep hole towards the Deep Boat.  As we were swimming along, I noticed that the gunk on the line was coming off of it, and that the line was getting closer to me; my reel got snagged and I was pulling it, so I unsnagged it. (John said he just thought I was cleaning it off, I’m not that efficient) We were soon passing the Deep Boat, and John gave the signal to start heading up the slope, so I agreed. We were soon passing the CAT, and following the line back to the Aqua Adventures truck for a deep stop, then heading back in through the trees and boats until we found our safety stop area. Five minutes later, we headed back to the exit and completed our dive.

Duration: 48 minutes

Deepest Depth: 93 feet

Coldest Temp 36º

Not a horrible dive considering the little lay off I had, but not perfect. Stayed a little closer to the bottom than I wanted, and felt like my feet were very floaty this trip, but otherwise, I made it back in one piece with everything I took with me, so that’s a positive!   After packing we were ready to go see what kinds of beers that PizzAtown had for us, and had our dinner. 

This weekend is another bust for me, but unless something changes, next Wednesday looks like another fun evening, so I’ll see you then!

Meh…We’ve had worse…

Well, we’re midway through July, and still at it.  The weather is cooperating, so life is good!   After last week’s sweat fest, it was pleasant to have a nice cool evening to set up.  Now that the weather is nicer, more people seem to be coming out (and thankfully setting up down below)  Ron graced us with his presence (I thought our deal was the first and last Wednesday?  I need to review the contract) so there were four of us tonight.  Rob was a little skeptical because of a dentist appointment, but things worked in his favor, and he was able to come. (although he didn’t get his cylinders filled because he was more skeptical than we were about it, so he was running at a slight deficit…no biggie! We had a plan!)  John showed up, and we were all ready to go.  

Our plan was set, and everyone seemed ready to go, so the order was given to hit the 20 ft. tree.  We all seemed to have the right bubbles coming from the right places, so we kept going.  As I descended a little, I felt my mask leaking, then when I got to about 30-something feet, my mask was not doing what it was supposed to be doing.  I started by pulling my hood, and re-seating my mask. Everything felt ok, so I started, and the same thing. So I re-seated my mask, and tried to go once again, and the same thing, I was just getting ready to bail when I deduced that my hood was sort of askew, and preventing my mask from staying sealed, so I moved my hood, and that seemed to help. Just as I fixed it, I saw some lights coming back for me, (aww, I was missed) and I gave the “ok” signal, so we pressed on…crisis averted!   Well so we thought.  As we got to the edge of the cliff to head past the CAT, John’s regulator started spewing more bubbles that it was supposed to be spewing. We all THOUGHT that our 20 ft. stop was effective, but we were wrong.  Rob came over and attempted to assist, while Ron and I hung back, and focused our lights on where John was. We saw some knob twisting, and more bubbles, then less bubbles, then all systems seemed to be a go. (as we found later,  there was a point where John was trying to turn off his valves, then realized that he had that regulator in his mouth, then he changed, and Rob turned some valves due to the deep pressure, and at another point John was staring at his regulator, and didn’t have anything in his mouth…it was crazy!   Maybe someone will weigh in and put a better account of the whole ordeal)  At any rate, we were down towards the Deep Boat, and heading back to where the Pump House is, so we kept going. Original plan scrapped, the route was changed accordingly, and we were soon over the 110ft. Trench (and the cool fog within it) and heading out to the Outhouse.  At the Outhouse we turned, and started back along the bottom of the wall.  Checking in with each other in the cruddy-ish visibility we were soon back at (and slightly above) the Pump House, and heading up the hill. At the Aqua Adventures truck, we continued on, and followed under (and over in one case) the pipe, and started towards our safety stop. (figuring that our deep time didn’t really warrant a deeper stop)  At the safety stop, we were told that the offending regulator was tried again, and still was in “fail mode”  so that was scrapped, and the safety stop was finished.  As we all hit our five minutes, we started towards the exit point, and finished our dive.

Duration: 39 minutes

Deepest Depth: 94ft.

Coldest Temp: 36º

As I said, we’ve had worse, and the fact that we were able to get almost 40 minutes out of this one was a slight miracle!  Training and confidence is the big factor, and with as many dives that we all have between us, this one was just an annoying one, and nothing was bad enough to really force us to bail on it. (that’s why we do some of the things we do)

After we packed, we headed to PizzAtown, which was actually open this week, for some much needed beers!

Not sure when I’ll be back out, I have a few things on my plate, that will prevent me from this weekend, next Wednesday, and next weekend, so I hope to see you all on the 29^th!

Weather or Not!! (The Sequel)

Well, after a June filled with beautiful weather, that you didn’t mind setting up in, no major storms to deal with, let alone passing showers…the second week of July was where it “should” be.  There were threats of bad weather, the humidity was horrible, and setting up was filled with toweling off.  (Although the threats of rain subsided early on)  As a result of anticipated weather, tonight was a “wait and see” sort of evening, so we decided to wait and see!  When the call came at 4:00 that “all systems were go” my life changed from “going shopping” to “going diving!” again!  (and some say that prayer doesn’t work!)

Interestingly enough, the Wednesday night “crew” is now more comprised of classes, than just people out for a mid-week dive.  There was an Advanced Open Water class (with guys that Rob knew) and another set of ladies that appeared to be a class of some sort, and what also seemed to be a class down below. (along with a few other assorted people)  As I finished getting things in order, and was about to start suiting up, I noticed that my phone was missing, so I checked my car, nope, then looked around the table I had my gear on again, nope, so I went back to the rest rooms up by the office and it was there…crisis averted, and a minor glitch, but I was soon back to getting set up. (Rob was just warm) 

After getting ready we wandered down to the water with no set schedule, other than getting cooler, and seeing what we could see, so the orders for a 20ft. bubble check were given, and we descended.  With the way this weather HAS been all season, the sinus’s were a little “iffy”  so there was the normal order of keeping those in check.  At the tree, we scanned each other for things that shouldn’t be happening, and all systems were go, so we continued.  The visibility was pretty bad, so finding things wasn’t an easy task.    I tried to stay alongside of Rob, and made sure that my light was in his path so he could focus upon finding the landmarks, which wasn’t easy.  After swimming through the fog, he found the pipe!  So along the pipe, and down towards the CAT which was tough to see, even from about 10 feet. The decision to go deeper was made, and we both started down to the Deep Boat, which wasn’t TOO horrible to find.  At the Deep Boat, Rob pointed to the wall, and I agreed, and over the bottom we swam, passing the usual landmarks along the way.  At the wall we were right by the Pump House, so we continued along the bottom, swimming for what seemed like a longer time. The fog over the deep 110ft. hole was really thick, and I avoided dropping in, Rob probably would have never found me again, who knows what monsters lurk in that foggy deep!   When I started thinking that we passed the Tripod Tree and the Outhouse, Rob turned to me and pointed back, then we saw the Outhouse. We JUST passed it by a few feet, but were right on track.   Following the rocks and boulders, we swam over the rocks, and along the bottom of the wall until we were back at the Pump House. I put the lobster back on his perch and knocked more of the dust off of him, and we started our first ascent.  At 60 feet, we swam back out towards the CAT, and took a left back into the bowl.  Since there are more landmarks there, it was a little easier knowing where you were, the Pennsy, the Dolphin Tower, and a few other things that we passed on the way out, but just missed. (and I knew were close when we DID go through the first time since I saw some of the things I noticed on the way out)  Up by one of the boats, Rob found the Fuzzy Caterpillar re-attached to the other side of the roof, and he gave him a quick shake to rid him of dust.  Back through a few trees and into the bowl again, and it was soon time for our safety stop, so back past the boats, and over to our spot.  Five minutes later, we were just able to stretch those last few minutes, and squeeze a 50 minute dive out of it.

Duration: 50 minutes

Deepest Depth: 92 feet

Coldest Temp: 36º

Pretty much a nice relaxing uneventful dive!  The first several minutes were a little hairy…ok foggy…but once we started seeing the landmarks, things were mostly fine. Rob claimed that he got a little lost towards the end, but he could have fooled me.   As we were putting things away, some nasty thunder was heard in the distance, which helped us to pack a little faster, but nothing seemed to arise while we packed.

After we were done we went to PizzAtown for a little post dive dinner, but in spite of their beer lights all being on, and the ‘OPEN’ sign flashing, they were closed!  The sign on the door said “Closed for Family Vacation July 5, 6, 7, & 8”  So we had to try to remember more places, and I could only think of Mid-Town Pizza in Middletown.  Nice place, good food (fries weren’t as good), beer (Tröegs on draft), but they had waitresses, so you had to be nice, and tip. (and if I didn’t and my wife would find out, I’d get a lecture)

Looks like the weekend isn’t a good option at this point, so that’s most likely out,  so we hope to see you next Wednesday for another mid-week adventure!!

July Already?

Wow, talk about a summer flying by!  That was always something that people said that made me laugh when you were either at work, or a July 4^th party.  Ok, Summer TECHNICALLY just got started (Summer Solstice is June 20^th) So that phrase along with “wow, the summer is half over” just never made sense to me.  But what can you do.  If anything, we at the very least, got our July “dive” in, so we’re good for that (well if you’re trying to keep track of the “at least one dive per month every year” philosophy…which never seems to go 12 months in a row, anyway) My first dive of July was going to be questionable since I had to have a test run, thanks to my doctor, I wasn’t entirely sure that I’d be able to make it, but thankfully I did, and my appointment went quicker than expected, so I was the first one at Upper A.  A few more people were there tonight apart from our own crew, unlike last week.

Rob showed up soon after me, then John. The weather was again decent, so set up wasn’t the grueling sweat fest that usually accompanies this time of year, but I’m sure those days are coming.  As we all closed our dry suit zippers, Rob noticed that the battery in his dive computer was dead, so he had to quickly change it.  A few minutes later we were back on track, and shuffling down the steep access.  We decided upon our plan right before we left. John wanted to attempt a similar dive as we did last Wednesday, except with a different compass heading, then come back along the bottom of the wall. That wasn’t a bad thing, so we all agreed.

We dropped to 20ft. to see if anyone had any weird leaks, and we were good, so we continued through the horrible viz over trees and pipes until we got to the Aqua Adventures truck. (Rob said that he was working on not getting stuck in trees…kind of like me two weeks ago) We all checked in, and John got out his compass.  He took his heading, and we all started down the cliff towards the Pump House.  (I noticed that the little lobster was back further again, but since we weren’t stopping there, I couldn’t put him on his look out)  We continued over the 110’ trench which was VERY foggy, and out towards the edge of the hole.  At the hole, we started following the line, and kept an eye on the area just below. (which seemed to be a little better visibility-wise from where we were) We were soon at the Step Van and Tool Box, and checked in again with each other.  John pointed to the right this time towards the wall and we all agreed.  At the wall, we took a right and followed the bottom of it. We were soon at the Outhouse, which didn’t look the same from the last time I saw it, it could have been the angle of approach, or just my surprise in seeing it (I wasn’t expecting to see it)  At first I thought “is there another one?” but when we passed it, and I saw the tripod tree, I knew that it was THE one.  (narced?  Possibly.)  It’s also looking a little shaky, so keep posted for that! We followed back over the usual parts of the bottom of the wall, and were soon back by the Pump House. We kept going along the bottom, then started up towards the CAT.  At the CAT we headed back in towards the bowl, and passed the Pennsy and some boats (one of which my reel got caught on) and started up to our safety stop.  The visibility in this area was really bad. I could barely see John on my left, and could only see Rob when he moved his light. After five minutes, we all started to the exit, and finished our dive. (noticing a rather large catfish swimming about)

Duration: 45 minutes

Deepest Depth: 95 ft.

Coldest Temp 36º

Another good dive, and another dive where I kept mostly off of the bottom. Over the foggy part of the trench, I was tempted to drop in, but stayed with everyone, I was able to adjust a little better as we got closer to the bottom, and didn’t feel as uncomfortable as I did last week, so;  progress!  Coming back past the Outhouse, I was going over rocks (that I couldn’t see that great until I was right on them) and hit bottom a few times, but for the most part was fine. Rob said he was starting to get cold, probably because he was getting warm when he was changing his computer battery, and wondered why it had to do that once he was IN his dry suit (figures, right?  Kind of like my glove issue a little while back)  John said his hands were cold as I could see with him trying to get air into them here and there.  I was cold, but not of the annoying kind. (and that new inner glove system, I’ve been using is pretty good)

After we packed, we headed to PizzAtown, where the owners daughter thought we were out golfing (do we LOOK like golfers?)  and his young son was impressed that we do it without the “tube with the ball in it”, and use “oxygen” tanks!  

Not sure if anyone will be around for the “Holiday” weekend, but we’re all pretty sure that next Wednesday is on the schedule!  Hope to see you then! (get them while you can!)