Felt like longer, though.
I couldn’t make the last few weekends due to a concert, and a few commitments
(kind of like next weekend) So I was happy to be able to sneak out this weekend,
although this wasn’t the optimum day because of a few things I had to do, and I
will be out of town the rest of the weekend, so thankfully Rob was able to go,
and make it a successful day!
Work is almost over, so I won’t be quite as pressed for time
until the middle of August. (and the “Honey
Do List that Keeps on Growing” isn’t a cut and dry time frame, so getting out
during that time during the week will be easier!)
I met Rob at his house at 7:00-ish, and we made our merry
way to Bethlehem. When we got there, there were a FEW tables left, so we were
able to unload and secure our space. We
snuck out and grabbed lunch at Wegman’s. When we got back, we assembled our
gear. Rob noticed during the week that
Dutch’s website has some “wonky” links, and he couldn’t get the map to come up
(so he could get some headings he needed) so he guessed, and was pretty much
right (as usual…well most of the time)
We waddled down to the water, and finished our set up. We
looked each other over, and felt it was good enough to go see if anything makes
any weird noises (or bubbles) at 20 ft.
We descended, and everything seemed good, so we kept going. We
headed out towards the boat, then the Trolley, and as I was swimming along, I
noticed that my dive computer was on the wrong wrist, and my slate was on the
other wrong wrist…. Well heck, if I had to write something to Rob, he wouldn’t
be able to read it since I can’t write worth a darn with my left hand. (not that he can read it when I use the
correct hand) But it was weird looking at the wrong wrist for my computer… oh
well overcome, adapt. It could have been
upside down or sideways. (although that’s
easy) We made it to the Trolley, and Rob turned to me and pointed down the
slope, I agreed, and down we went. Rob
pointed his light at something, but I didn’t know what it was (and forgot to
ask afterwards, so you all will be in suspense) but we were soon at the
Monza/Barracuda/Chevelle, and Rob was pointing off to the left, so I
agreed. We were at the Deuce and a Half
in a minute, and sliding up the slope.
We headed over towards the island, and Rob pointed “in front of”, or “behind”,
I chose behind, and we were swimming around the back, About this time, I was really noticing that
my left hand was getting a little cold and squishy, and started thinking that I
had some sort of glove leak (to go along with the other leaks, that I haven’t
found yet…ok, I haven’t tried to really find them yet…I’m a slacker, I know) So
I just sucked it up, and continued on.
Around the back of the island, I was actually feeling pretty
comfortable, and having a nice relaxing dive.
As we turned the corner on the island, Rob just kept going around the
front, no biggie, I was still comfy, so.
A little while later we were at the crane, so we pretty much circumnavigated
the whole island. Rob pointed back in,
and I agreed. So we swam past the boat, and were soon at the Silver Comet. Rob
pointed up the line, and I gave him the thumbs up. As we got to the platforms, we could see that
there were several classes being held on them, so we tried to stay away as much
as possible while having our safety stop.
After five minutes Rob looked at me, and I agreed that we should end
this one, and we did. (amongst a bunch of students)
Maximum Depth: 83 ft.
Duration: 47 minutes
Coldest Temp: 42º
Not bad for a month layoff, and with all the problems I had
(oh, and my mask was a little leaky for most of the dive) I figured I’d just do it right the next time
and everything would be better! (and I mulled over using my wet gloves since I
knew we would be doing a shallower dive in warmer water, but Rob suggested
checking the O-ring on my dry glove, so we cleaned it and lubed it) We had our wonderful Wegman’s lunches, and
talked to a person that was working with a class next to us for a little while
(Rob got the headings he needed, since the man had a map)
We were about ready to go, but realized that we should hold
off for a few more minutes, so we took our time setting back up. When Rob was done, he couldn’t find one of his
inner gloves, and decided to use a different pair. As we started walking towards the water, I
saw that it was draped over the top of his tanks, so he quickly changed them
back.
Same deal; we finished our set up, and dropped to 20 feet. I
prayed that the dry glove modification worked, and also that the gloves I used
were warm enough, Rob looked for bubbles that weren’t supposed to be
there. We were good, so we started down
the line towards the Comet. From there he headed over to the new plane, Rob
turned to me and gave me an “up into the plane” kind of sign, or “just keep going” sign. I chose the latter,
the plane isn’t overly impressive yet, so…
From there we ended up at the School Bus, Rob swam through it, I swam
around, and we then were heading towards the Hell Diver. The visibility was
pretty cruddy over there, so we didn’t linger like the last time. In the direction we were heading, I thought
we were visiting the fire truck, but we were soon at the “Secret Wreck” (I
think the way Rob explained it later, he was trying to find the van) Next stop was back at the bus. From there Rob pointed “back” or “in” and I
chose “in” (I was getting cold) So we started back towards the Comet, and up to
the platform. More students, so we sort of swam the perimeter for the duration
of our safety stop, and pointed back in, and were done!
Maximum Depth: 60 ft.
Duration: 42 minutes
Coldest Temp: 43º
Not bad, everything seemed to work better, but we just got
colder sooner. (my hands were freezing, the gloves didn’t leak, but with the
moisture in my gloves from the last dive, and using lighter weight gloves, I
was cold) (not to mention the dry suit leak I really need to find, and I was
just cold) But other than that, another relaxing stress free dive. My mask didn’t
leak, and my dive computer and slate were on the right arms, so THAT was a
plus!
Not entirely sure when I’ll be out again. Rob has a
refresher with a student next weekend, and is hoping that it’s just more than a
quick get in, make sure the guy remembers everything, and then leaves (anyone
wanna go observe, and do a dive two with him just in case?!)(I mean that IS a crappy
long drive to just do ONE dive) I can’t,
my niece’s graduation party is next weekend, and I’m doing a good bunch of the “catering”
so I should be there. I’m also not
entirely sure when I’ll be out again on a weekend, but with school being out on
the 7th, I’m on summer vacation, so we can do some weekday
diving! (we’ll let you know)
Ok, until then, safe diving, driving, and anything else I
missed!
