Epic Vis in the lake (Scootering the Valiant)

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BDub
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Epic Vis in the lake (Scootering the Valiant)

Post by BDub »

Jeanna, Joe, Matt, Richard and I scootered to the Valiant yesterday (Memorial Day Weekend seemed like a fitting weekend) and had the best vis I think I've seen in the lake.

Me, Richard and Matt were team 1, with me leading and Matt calling deco. Jeanna and Joe would follow us and leave a bit earlier since Joe decided to use smaller tanks that weren't even filled all the way #-o

Vis had to be 15-20'...epic.

We made it to the wreck faster than anticipated, which gave us more time to spend on it. The SNV-2 Valiant was a two seated (instructor and student/trainee) trainer aircraft. This particular plane was ditched in 1944. Both pilots survived the crash.

We got about 20 minutes or so on the plane before Matt led us out, calling deco on the fly along the way.

Oh, and congrats to Matt. This was his first tech dive!

Jeanna got quite a bit of footage...

[vimeo]http://www.vimeo.com/12164445[/vimeo]
http://www.frogkickdiving.com/

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Chris Borgen
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Re: Epic Vis in the lake (Scootering the Valiant)

Post by Chris Borgen »

cool vid!!
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spatman
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Re: Epic Vis in the lake (Scootering the Valiant)

Post by spatman »

congrats, matt!
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Sockmonkey
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Re: Epic Vis in the lake (Scootering the Valiant)

Post by Sockmonkey »

Congrats on your first tech dive Matt... with a scooter no less. Nicely done. :supz:

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sheahanmcculla
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Re: Epic Vis in the lake (Scootering the Valiant)

Post by sheahanmcculla »

Very cool! Good Job Matt.
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Re: Epic Vis in the lake (Scootering the Valiant)

Post by H20doctor »

congrats guys :partydance:
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2loud4u
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Re: Epic Vis in the lake (Scootering the Valiant)

Post by 2loud4u »

Awesome guys/Gal ! Looks like it was a lot of fun.


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Re: Epic Vis in the lake (Scootering the Valiant)

Post by dieseldude »

Looks like a cool dive. Nice video. Are scooters the only way to reach this? or just makes it easier?
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Re: Epic Vis in the lake (Scootering the Valiant)

Post by BDub »

dieseldude wrote:Looks like a cool dive. Nice video. Are scooters the only way to reach this? or just makes it easier?
MJ
Scooter or boat. It's a long way off shore (long way looking for a small target) with boat traffic overhead (no ability to do a direct ascent).

To swim it, you'd need a bottom stage and a ton of deco gas, as you'd be averaging 100' on the trip out and back, kicking a loooong way, incurring a lot of deco for a very short time on the wreck.
http://www.frogkickdiving.com/

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Re: Epic Vis in the lake (Scootering the Valiant)

Post by dieseldude »

BDub wrote:
dieseldude wrote:Looks like a cool dive. Nice video. Are scooters the only way to reach this? or just makes it easier?
MJ
Scooter or boat. It's a long way off shore (long way looking for a small target) with boat traffic overhead (no ability to do a direct ascent).

To swim it, you'd need a bottom stage and a ton of deco gas, as you'd be averaging 100' on the trip out and back, kicking a loooong way, incurring a lot of deco for a very short time on the wreck.
Sounds like my kind of ride :burntchef: Define a long time of deco. Are we talking hours or minutes. On second thought maybe I shouldnt know. it's starting to interest me too much & I know there arent any fish down there.
Still pretty cool. You guys do some very cool stuff. keep it up. We enjoy the vid's.
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Re: Epic Vis in the lake (Scootering the Valiant)

Post by CaptnJack »

dieseldude wrote:
BDub wrote:
dieseldude wrote:Looks like a cool dive. Nice video. Are scooters the only way to reach this? or just makes it easier?
MJ
Scooter or boat. It's a long way off shore (long way looking for a small target) with boat traffic overhead (no ability to do a direct ascent).

To swim it, you'd need a bottom stage and a ton of deco gas, as you'd be averaging 100' on the trip out and back, kicking a loooong way, incurring a lot of deco for a very short time on the wreck.
Sounds like my kind of ride :burntchef: Define a long time of deco. Are we talking hours or minutes. On second thought maybe I shouldnt know. it's starting to interest me too much & I know there arent any fish down there.
Still pretty cool. You guys do some very cool stuff. keep it up. We enjoy the vid's.
plus or minus 5 mins deco scootering from shore (or by boat for that matter its a small plane) and "only" 115ft deep. Realistically, its not swimmable from shore since its probably 20-25mins swim each way at an average of 90-100ft. That's like swimming to the monolith from Cove3.

btw does anyone know what happened to the "data box"? Last time I was here (2009) the box itself was partly collapsed but its entirely gone now. Sad to see wear & tear on these wrecks from divers.
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Re: Epic Vis in the lake (Scootering the Valiant)

Post by ORDiver »

Thanks for the great video. It's amazing how well preserved some of the Lake Washington wrecks are. That BF Goodrich tire looks almost like it could still be used.
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Re: Epic Vis in the lake (Scootering the Valiant)

Post by CaptnJack »

ORDiver wrote:Thanks for the great video. It's amazing how well preserved some of the Lake Washington wrecks are. That BF Goodrich tire looks almost like it could still be used.
Actually it used to be alot more intact even just 2-3 yrs ago. The Valient is made of canvas and plywood (obviously waterlogged) so even a fin kick tears it to peices.
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Re: Epic Vis in the lake (Scootering the Valiant)

Post by lamont »

CaptnJack wrote: plus or minus 5 mins deco scootering from shore (or by boat for that matter its a small plane) and "only" 115ft deep. Realistically, its not swimmable from shore since its probably 20-25mins swim each way at an average of 90-100ft. That's like swimming to the monolith from Cove3.
Actually, that's only like swimming to the monolith from the I-Beams.
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Re: Epic Vis in the lake (Scootering the Valiant)

Post by CaptnJack »

lamont wrote:
CaptnJack wrote: plus or minus 5 mins deco scootering from shore (or by boat for that matter its a small plane) and "only" 115ft deep. Realistically, its not swimmable from shore since its probably 20-25mins swim each way at an average of 90-100ft. That's like swimming to the monolith from Cove3.
Actually, that's only like swimming to the monolith from the I-Beams.
Not for me. But this cove whatever swim has the benefit of a contour to follow, and a vastly less silty bottom. Feel free to try to swim to the Valient. But 45mins of swimming at 90+ft is gonna take some serious gas, you can't swim back shallower and you can't surface.

edit: if anyone's wondering how far a "25min swim" actually is. Its roughly 900ft each way, ~3.5 football fields at an average 90ft depth.
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Re: Epic Vis in the lake (Scootering the Valiant)

Post by BDub »

All this talk about kicking is making me tired.

The Valiant is a considerably longer swim than Ibeams to Monolith. I'd say about 1.5 times the distance, at least
http://www.frogkickdiving.com/

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Re: Epic Vis in the lake (Scootering the Valiant)

Post by CaptnJack »

Cherry picker
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Re: Epic Vis in the lake (Scootering the Valiant)

Post by dsteding »

I think I recognize that O2 bottle. Looks like a great dive, and congratulations Matt.
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Re: Epic Vis in the lake (Scootering the Valiant)

Post by Mattleycrue76 »

Thanks for the congrats everybody, as many of you know this has been quite a long time in the making for me. What an awesome dive! I think Imma gonna be likin' this tech stuff....
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Re: Epic Vis in the lake (Scootering the Valiant)

Post by Sockmonkey »

Mattleycrue76 wrote:Thanks for the congrats everybody, as many of you know this has been quite a long time in the making for me. What an awesome dive! I think Imma gonna be likin' this tech stuff....
Did you have that "Can I afford HE for every dive?" moment?

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Re: Epic Vis in the lake (Scootering the Valiant)

Post by lamont »

BDub wrote:All this talk about kicking is making me tired.

The Valiant is a considerably longer swim than Ibeams to Monolith. I'd say about 1.5 times the distance, at least
Well, the Monolith is 25 mins from the I-beams. I've swam that one before I dropped the cash on a scooter (and before helium, so it was EAN32 at 100 feet plus 25 mins of kicking, so I was getting my narc on).

If the Valiant is further, then its >>25 mins swimming.
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Re: Epic Vis in the lake (Scootering the Valiant)

Post by CaptnJack »

lamont wrote:
BDub wrote:All this talk about kicking is making me tired.

The Valiant is a considerably longer swim than Ibeams to Monolith. I'd say about 1.5 times the distance, at least
Well, the Monolith is 25 mins from the I-beams. I've swam that one before I dropped the cash on a scooter (and before helium, so it was EAN32 at 100 feet plus 25 mins of kicking, so I was getting my narc on).

If the Valiant is further, then its >>25 mins swimming.
Neither Brian nor I really have any idea how long it would take to swim. Its 300meters from the beach, 7mins on the trigger. 20-25mins each way was a WAG
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Re: Epic Vis in the lake (Scootering the Valiant)

Post by Romer Treece »

NICE Video Jeanna!
Great first technical dive Matt!
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Re: Epic Vis in the lake (Scootering the Valiant)

Post by LCF »

Congratulations, Matt! I can tell you, having just gotten home from four days of diving in Monterey, that this tech diving nonsense can get a bit habit-forming. Now I just have to figure out what to dive on at home!
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