After the long layoff, I felt the need to get back in the
water quickly. Not diving for a while always seems to make me antsy to get back
into the water, so when the option to go this weekend came up, I jumped on it!
Todd will be away on a work assignment for a while, and not able to dive, (at
least that he’s found, yet) so we were hoping to get him in the water one more
time before his trip. Rob is coming off of his sinus issue, and I’m back from
several conflicts, so I’m just ready to keep going. Friday at Dutch Springs didn’t work out, so
the weekend seemed to be the best option. I had a house full since my niece is
playing field hockey in the Keystone games, and was definitely in need of a
mental break from the family who has been holed up on my house. (So is my cat,
but since she doesn’t dive, she got stuck at home…poor kitty) Saturday soon came out of play, so Sunday was
the viable option. Rob was able to go,
so I checked in with the boss to see if I could get away with it, and
semi-reluctantly (because of my solution for Casa Barletta since we have
another friend coming out to stay with us over night) she agreed to let me
go!! So topping off the cylinders
yesterday in between games was my quest, and it was performed perfectly! (I got
to see both games)
Arriving at the quarry, we were informed that there were a
lot of people in classes, so we weren’t sure what to expect down at Upper
A. Todd got the last table for the three
of us, and since we all seem to have a decent amount of stuff, ( I know I have
a lot of “crap”) we had to find a creative way to share table space. Once we were all ready to finish setting up
we talked about where to go. Deep Deep
Boat, Deep Boat, Wall, etc. and back… no problem! Rob
and I seemed to be tangled in weird ways, and we both had a little difficulty
routing things, (and I knocked my fins to the ground twice) I think maybe since
we were on a single table that may have been the issue, Todd had his gear on,
and went down to the water to clip on his cylinders…so that gave Rob and me a
few extra minutes, soon were clipped in
wrapped, snapped, and ready to go and joined him!
We dipped our heads below the water, and made our way to the
tree for our 20ft. bubble check. Everyone seemed to be ok, so we started
through the murk to find the pipe. A few minutes later the shadow of the pipe
appeared, and we started off to the left, and out towards the CAT. At the CAT,
we all checked in, and Rob pointed down, we both agreed, and started down the
slope. The visibility wasn’t as good as
we’d hoped, but still wasn’t horrible. For a day time dive, it was a tad dark
at the Deep Deep Boat. I went down, and put my hand with the computer at the
edge of the boat to see what depth it is since the water levels have eased off
a bit. (you can actually get into the pavilions at Lower A, now) The last time I did this it was 118ft, this
time it was 116ft, so roughly two feet of water has evaporated (or drained off)
from the quarry. Rob pointed to the
steps, and we both agreed and followed him up the hill. We checked in at the top, and started over
towards the Deep Boat. We passed the
Deep Boat, and kept on swimming towards the wall. We were soon passing the 110ft. Trench which
is now fully engulfed in fog! I stayed
above it, and we kept swimming towards the Outhouse. The Tripod tree was soon in our path, and the
Outhouse was shortly following it. We swam
to the shadow of the big rock, and Rob pointed back in the direction of the
Pump House, so we turned and started back.
I was lagging a little behind Todd because I wanted to see him diving in
his sidemount rig. Pretty impressive for its purpose, and I think he’s getting
a really good handle on it. (although he says the initial set up before the
dive is a little time consuming) Rob
followed the quarry floor to the outside of the 110Ft. Trench, and we were soon
at the big steam shovel bucket. Todd
swam THROUGH the bucket which was pretty interesting to see, I went over after
he went through and looked to see how small it was, and it was a little
tight! We then headed back around and
were soon at the bottom of the Pump House.
Rob spied the little lobster, and he was where we left him Wednesday
night. Up the hill we went, and were
soon at the Aqua Adventures Truck. Todd went in through the windshield, and Rob
went around back to make sure he got out without getting stuck…since sidemount
is thin but wide, and the cage in the truck isn’t exactly a wide space. (Todd
said he has to tip to the side to get through, which is easier with this rig) At the back of the truck, we all checked in,
and followed Rob to the line that goes to the CAT. (for our “deep” stop) I was going to practice a “silt out” drill by
making an “O” around the line and swimming with my eyes closed, but I noticed
lights coming our way, and half of that group was doing just that, so I went
wide left. We were soon at the CAT, and
Todd “penetrated” it! (never saw that before although he said he’s done it
before) Rob was trying not to laugh, and
I was keeping my hand on my regulator so I wouldn’t spit it out! It was funny
to see. He got a little hung up, but was
soon free, and we were back on our track towards the bowl. The visibility was pretty murky, and it was
tough keeping an eye on Rob’s yellow fins.
We swam along the road for a while, turned, and headed into the bowl.
Seeing that the Bowl was really murky, Rob took a U-turn at one of the trees,
and we headed back the road (not before I kicked the side of the quarry and
made my own mess) We soon hit our safety
stop point, and tried to stay still for the next five minutes. And we were
done!
Deepest Depth: 116ft.
Duration: 46 minutes
Coldest Temp: 36º
Actually a pretty great dive! No major issues to speak of, I felt pretty
good throughout, and had no equipment failures.
The past few dives I have been having mask issues, and I decided to go
back to an old mask. It worked better than I remembered, but I lost my
“cheater” lens that I stuck in so I could read my gauges. (I have one left, and
will need to be careful with it, now…blind bat that I am)
We talked to the people that we met at the line, who
happened to be set up right next to us at Upper A. (I’m guessing they were in
an Advanced Open Water class by listening to what they were talking about, but
can’t be sure) After we packed up, Rob
and I wished Todd a great trip, and headed to PizzAtown for a quick lunch.
It looks like Rob and I will be the only ones from our group
out on Wednesday (and maybe next) so
you’ll be hearing from us! Have fun!
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