Optimism Backfires…

   

Welcome to September!   When we last spoke it was during the waning hours of August. Now we are officially out of the “summer season”…. Well the weather is still nice, but since the kids are back in school, full force, and the majority of summer activities are over and done with, we’re done with summer!   Not so with the diving community, we’ll find a way to get into the water no matter what the temperature might be!  

Everyone was present last night (Tuesday) for their fills and talk of how to work the “big knob” was at the forefront of the conversation.  Apparently Ron has no experience with the big knob, so he just learned to not touch it. (but now that he is aware, we can almost be assured that he will in the future!) Tonight (Wednesday) we are again present and accounted for to start the last month of Wednesday night diving!  There was a decent turnout, and Todd found his way back (well with the new lights he has, I think he’ll find his way with a freaking vengeance!)     Since Todd was back, John decided to pair up with him, and I with Rob, and we went our separate ways tonight. (No barn runs for us!)  Rob asked what I wanted to do, and I thought that if the conditions were right, we should hit the Deep Deep Boat, and go from there. He thought that was a good plan so we went with it!

At the bottom of the Steep Access, we got ready, and met at the 20 foot tree.  Nothing was out of order, so we continued on over the boats and through the trees until we found the pipe.  At the pipe we turned and started towards the CAT.  My ears weren’t cooperating at a rate I was comfortable with, so I was a little hesitant, then like magic they just popped, and I was good. About this time we were at the CAT, and checked in with each other.  The visibility through the bowl, and out to the CAT seemed fine, so Rob pointed down the hill, and I agreed.  As we descended, the visibility was getting a little worse, but I thought that maybe as we got lower, it would clear.  No luck!  We made it as far as the collapsed building, and as I was just turning to Rob to say that the viz was bad and he was already deciding to bail on the deep part.  I agreed, and we turned up the steps to the top of the hill.  At the top we aimed ourselves towards the Deep Boat, and were soon passing it.  Rob then went to the line that’s attached to the pipe sticking out of the ground, and we started following that.  With both of our lights aimed at it, it was still a little tough to follow, so (we’re guessing) we were about three quarters of the way to the Step Van, and we turned, and followed the line back to the Deep Boat. The visibility didn’t seem to want to clear up, but we pressed on, and were soon following along the wall and passing below the Pump House.  As we went over the 110ft. Trench, I could see that the swirl was pretty thick, so I opted to not slide into it.  We kept following the bottom of the hill, and looked for the Tripod Tree.  A little more swimming and it finally appeared. Rob admitted later that he thought we passed it.  We kept on, and were soon at the Outhouse.  Rob turned to me and pointed back, and I agreed since it didn’t seem like it was worth trying to go find the big rock. We followed the bottom of the slope back.  A few fin kicks later and we were back at the Pump House.  I said hi to the Lobster, and we started up the hill.  Once we got just beneath the Aqua Adventures Truck, Rob pointed to the line to the CAT and I agreed.  We followed the line, and then took the line back into the Bowl.  As we passed by the crane arm, and the Pennsy, we noticed that the bowl was a lot more kicked up than it was when we first went through it, and started to think that maybe we were following the culprits.  We went by the Dolphin Tower, then back around towards the boats and Rob gave me the “let’s end this” sign, and I agreed. We found our spot at 20 feet, and fought off the fish for five minutes.  Thankfully this week no one decided to ride Rob, so it was a fairly uneventful safety stop. Five minutes later, we gave each other the OK sign and we headed back to the surface.

Deepest Depth: 103ft.

Duration: 48 minutes

Coldest Temp: 37º

Despite the bad visibility, it wasn’t a bad dive. I felt a little more in control of myself, and seemed to stay a little more off the bottom than I had been the previous few dives. I finally dropped off the 130’s for their annual, so hopefully they get back sooner than later!   I also tried sucking down my pony bottle, but I still have about 1000psi left, so that’s not worth emptying yet. 

Once everyone was done we packed, and headed out to PizzAtown for a night cap!

Ok, the start of the last month of Wednesdays, get them while you can!  Talk of the Annual John Weaver Columbus Day Dive is already happening so mark your calendars!  October 13 will be here in a flash at this rate!     This weekend isn’t looking good for me, so I’ll catch up again next Wednesday night, so I am OUT of here!

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!