Happy New Year!

Since Bainbridge is now out of the question, we had to make the trek to (O Little Town of) Bethlehem to get our “New Year’s” dive in…although we were used to doing it New Year’s DAY (which helped to curb the alcohol intake, sort of like back when I played in a band at NYE parties way back) Might not be possible tonight…Rob’s got some Mad Elf’s cooling as I type this!    We met at Sheetz around nine this morning, and loaded everything into Rob’s truck.  John and I haven’t been able to get our cylinders topped off, so we had to use what we had.  John’s doubles were empty, so he was using a partially filled 100.  My 119’s still had about 1850psi left in them from the Fuller Lake dive, so I felt pretty confident that I would be able to do the “one” that Dutch let you do today.  Seeing how John seemingly “creates air” on some dives, we figured that he’d be ok (I also brought my pony along so John could use that as a contingency, I think we were set!)

The drive out was pretty slow, seeing that there were a lot of moron’s on the road, and a lot of cops with their radar pointed our way,  we had plenty of time since they weren’t opening the gates until 11:00am.  When we got there, there were three lanes of cars several cars deep waiting to get in, we were told where to go since we had our membership cards, and got into line.  Thankfully we were able to get in fairly quickly and get tables.  After a cold-ish set up, we were ready to go!

Seeing that we had limited amounts of breathing gas, we opted for a shallower tour, and stayed out of the deeper crevice.  So off the platform down to 20 to make sure bubbles weren’t coming from places we didn’t want to see, and we were off and swimming.  Out past the old boat, then over to the Trolley in no time flat.  Out of the Trolley, we headed towards the hill and the crane, just to stay out of the deep spots, and were swimming by what looked to be an aging crane.  (or people are beating on that since the helicopter is in pretty bad shape.)  After that, we followed along the bottom of the hill, and were soon staring at the line that led to a very algae covered Cessna.  At the top of the hill, we regrouped, and checked remaining gas supplies, and we were still good.  Rob took a heading and we swam towards the Helicopter.  Word on the street is that the new plane is replacing that, and it’s probably a good idea, the helo is in pretty bad shape, and looks like it could just disintegrate any day, now.  We still swam through it (kind of like the barn, we’re daring!)  After that we ran back along the hill, and found the line that lead to the Comet, and swam around that for a few.  Free divers were getting in the way, and people with rebreathers were messing up the visibility, I’m guessing that they were doing it on purpose, because people with rebreathers SHOULD know how to not mess up the viz…or maybe they were lottery winners, and just bought one because they could.  (not often I can complain about someone else tearing up the visibility)  So off to the platform, for a safety stop since the exit point seemed a bit congested.  Five minutes later we all agreed to finish, and headed to the exit, and we were done!

Duration: 42 minutes

Deepest Depth: 63 feet

Coldest Temp: 47º

Not bad to finish out the year,  nice to get to Dutch Springs in the winter, since it’s not often that we do it, and the fact that it’s on a holiday (eve) is even more special! (and it’s good to be with great friends)  I didn’t use as much air as I expected, and will just suck it up and drain those cylinders since they are past their time for inspection (and I think one need’s a hydro)  We’re already planning on a trip to York for fills since our local shop is dragging its heels getting their compressor serviced, and thinking that if we head back to Fuller Lake, we’ll just dive our singles.  I experimented a little today with using my wing for buoyancy rather than just my suit (since I’ve been having some problems), and I think I did ok for the most part, just had to remember that I had TWO options to dump air when we were ascending. I dipped a little before the Trolley, and you could tell after we exited it… I chalk it up to penetration anxiety…. On our way out of the water Jim Brown who we used to see at BSC was entering the water, so more of those guys are coming up to Dutch.

After packing we stopped at Wegmans for a quick cold one and some munchies. (in a sea of last minute shoppers) 

Ok that’s it for 2015, let’s hope that 2016 is a MUCH better year, and we get better news about diving, and places to get our equipment wet!  Good luck to you all!

Well….It’s Cold and Wet!

Ever since our second home closed, we’ve been sort of deprived of diving (unless you take a trip somewhere…not my current option) Dutch Springs is closed for the season, except for an occasional weekend when purportedly instructors can take people in (and we’ve heard that even if you DO have a membership, you have to pay…still researching that one)  And Rob hasn’t heard back from Willow Springs, so when this opportunity came up (after needing to go to Scuba Central PA to get his cylinders filled) we jumped on it!   Jeff (from SCP) told him about Fuller Lake in Pine Grove Furnace being an option. He said that it’s about 40 feet deep, has a few things to see, but most important;  “IT’S WET!”  He said that he was meeting some other people there on Sunday morning, so come on down and give it a shot.  He called me, and after I checked to make sure my wife didn’t have me scheduled to do anything, I said “let’s go!”

I have to empty out my 119’s since they are up for visual inspection, so it was a good way to waste the gas.  We were meeting at 9:00am, so we had to make sure we were on the road early.  I just met Rob at his house, transferred my gear to his truck, and we made the approximately 45 minute drive through Carlisle, and Mt. Holly Springs until we got to the park.  Since it’s a State Park, we didn’t have to pay to use the facilities, but if a ranger is there, you need to make sure you can produce a C-card.  The park sits on the Appalachian Trail.  When we arrived, we took a quick walk around and witnessed some of the nice scenery of our beautiful state. There’s a comfy “heated” bathroom facility, and plenty of picnic tables.  When Jeff showed up, he gave us the quick and dirty of the lake layout, and we were soon getting our gear set up.  It’s been a while since I’ve been able to put this all together, but it all seemed to go together quickly, and we were waddling over the little bridge to the “beach” (complete with sand, sort of a pain on clean up) and into the cold water.   Rob looked at me and gave me the thumbs down,  I agreed, so down we went.

At about 20 feet, we looked at each other, and no errant bubbles were to be seen, so we started in the direction of the underwater structures. (not after first passing a small model of a boat that said “Coast Guard” on it… I’m guessing a landmark for where the beach/exit point is located)  It took a little while to get comfortable since it’s been a while, but I felt pretty good, but stayed fairly close to the bottom. We were soon approaching some kind of log structure, and swam under what appeared to be a back porch off sorts, we continued, and soon found another structure, but with the amount of people that were already there, opted to keep going, since we really didn’t know what else was there to see, and Jeff did tell us that it would only take about an hour to circumnavigate the whole lake. For the most part, it was like diving the shallower parts of Bainbridge with less things to see, we did see a few sunken boats (canoes) a pair of swim goggles, and some fishing gear, other than that, trees and rocks were the order of the day.  I actually found the deep spot at one point.  I looked at my depth, saw 48 feet, and a few more feet to spare, so I dropped down, and as I was told, you had to get a little muddy to get 50 ft…but I got it!   We continued along, and when I looked at my time, saw about 55 minutes when my safety stop appeared.  We were soon at the little model of the Coast Guard boat, and he was right, about 60 minutes to get around the whole lake!  Rob looked at me and gave me the thumbs up, and I agreed, so we finished the dive. Sixty minutes is about all I can handle at the temperature.

Duration: 63 Minutes

Deepest Depth: 50 Feet

Coldest Temp:  40º

Ok, a little warmer (slightly) than BSC this time of year, but still a rather cold dive. (Especially our hands, Rob opted for his lighter gloves, I had a slight leak in one)  my lips were numb as expected. Other than that, I think we’ll go back. With the options that are available this time of year, I think this is a great option (and it doesn’t cost anything except gas to get there, and a fill)   The visibility was pretty decent throughout, same drill as Bainbridge, if you turn to look back at someone or something, expect to kick something or kick something  up. The word we received was that during the summer it’s pretty nasty viz, so this is more of a Fall/Winter/Early Spring dive (until other places open)  So it’s an option for us!   The other thing of note is that you have to have a dive flag. We’re not sure if you NEED to tow it, since there is no boating on the lake, but one has to be displayed.  Jeff had one leaning against something on the beach, so we were covered.

All in all it was a good day, great to get out, and it’s hard to believe that today is December 13^th with how warm the weather has been.  Never expected a nice day like this, and wasn’t expecting to get a dive in since we have no second home for the moment.  At this point in time, I’m “hoping” to get out on New Year’s Eve up at Dutch, Rob and John are planning on it. I’m about 99% sure I’ll be there. See you then!

(thanks again for Jeff from Scuba Central PA for giving us this tip!)