I'm baaaaaaaaaaack!

Tell us your tale of coming nose-to-nose with a 6 gill [--this big--], or about your vacation to turquoise warm waters. Share your adventures here!
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Joshua Smith
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I'm baaaaaaaaaaack!

Post by Joshua Smith »

Well. It's been a long, dry summer for me. Life has been conspiring to keep me out of the water. I had some serious equipment problems that compelled me to pretty much rebuild and rewire the head of my rebreather, which was no small thing. And my mother passed away in July, which took me back to New Mexico for several weeks.

Somehow, these things combined into a sort of "perfect storm" of not diving for me, and pretty well kept me from doing any dives for 3 months, except for a couple that I scrubbed after a couple minutes because of equipment failures. I would guess that I had a combined total of 15 minutes of dive time since May, and it's almost September.

But today, I got a dive in. I had a chance to go do a technical dive, with scooters.....but I wasn't feeling that one, after my Summer of shame and humiliation. The last thing I needed was to blast down to 200', testing new gear, only to find out it wasn't working. This kid was feeling a little gun shy.

Fortunately, my buddy Spatman told me he was planning to dive Redondo today. Turns out that some of the NWDC girls had a dive planned, but some of them were bringing along their menfolk, and Matt was going to be diving with them!

So, I headed South after doing an extra-thorough check to make sure I hadn't forgotten anything, like my fins, weightbelt, drysuit, or rebreather!

Down at the 'Dond, Matt was already doing Dive 1 and a group of divers was already in the water, but I met up with Liz and Derek, who were not diving today, but had come down for the camaraderie.

After a while, Matt, Jim, Penelope, Kelley, Shel, and Blaiz came out of the water. I got to meet several people today that I had only known from the site- Shel, Jim, Blaiz and Berrit....apologies if I forgot anyone!

After a short SI, Matt told me he'd be ready to get back in as soon as I was, so I geared up and met him down in the water. The tide was waaaaaay out. We were near the end of the pier in waist deep water. At this point, I was actually kind of nervous, checking my displays over and over again, but all seemed well, and we swam out a short distance and dropped into about 25' of.....snot. Vis was pretty bad, maybe 5',with a lot of algea blooms in the water. Another check of my HUD and computer confirmed that everything was working right on my rig, so we set off through the green goop down to the bottle field. We didn't see much, except for one nice red octo that we stopped to say hello to. It was one of those slow "kick, glide,look, look, kick, glide...."dives. Which was exactly what I wanted. After raising and dropping my P02 several times just to see if my displays were tracking, I realized that we'd been down to ~100 fsw, and we were 25 minutes into the dive, and everything was working perfectly. I actually felt my whole body relax inside my drysuit. I gave Matt a big OK sign, and did a fist bump with him. For the rest of the dive, I was in my "happy place," breathing underwater, floating around and just enjoying myself.

Thanks, Matt. That was one of the best dives I've ever done. I really, really needed it.

After getting out, we hung around and ate some tasty snacks- Bob showed up with a new student, whose name I forgot- and we talked about diving as the sun came out. It was a really nice way to spend the afternoon. And I'm SO happy to be diving again! Thank you to everyone!
Maritime Documentation Society

"To venture into the terrible loneliness, one must have something greater than greed. Love. One needs love for life, for intrigue, for mystery."
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Blaiz
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Re: I'm baaaaaaaaaaack!

Post by Blaiz »

Glad you got to get more than damp sir, and twas a pleasure to make your aquaintance!
The student was ready.


it's nice to have low expectations, sometimes - lcf

I said keep going, not start whining -airsix
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Joshua Smith
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Re: I'm baaaaaaaaaaack!

Post by Joshua Smith »

And you DID find a handgun, didn't you? The pleasure was all mine, I love seeing people join this site and meeting them later at dives!
Maritime Documentation Society

"To venture into the terrible loneliness, one must have something greater than greed. Love. One needs love for life, for intrigue, for mystery."
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Grateful Diver
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Re: I'm baaaaaaaaaaack!

Post by Grateful Diver »

Glad I got a chance to bump into you guys down there. My student's name is Wendy ... and I think she'll be joining the board once she's gotten a bit more acclimated to diving. Was really nice to meet Blaiz and Berritt ... always good to put faces to the screen names.

Looking forward to seeing all of you again on the 18th ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)
Threats and ultimatums are never the best answer. Public humiliation via Photoshop is always better - airsix

Come visit me at http://www.nwgratefuldiver.com/
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Penopolypants
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Re: I'm baaaaaaaaaaack!

Post by Penopolypants »

Yay!!! It was good to see you get in the water again, Josh, and to hang out afterwards! Thank goodness for Liz and her cooler packing skills. :mmmbeer:
Come to the nerd side, we have pi!
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spatman
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I'm baaaaaaaaaaack!

Post by spatman »

Joshua Smith wrote:Thanks, Matt. That was one of the best dives I've ever done. I really, really needed it.
Anytime, amigo. Glad you're back in the water. Let's be sure to do it more often!
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psundquist
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Re: I'm baaaaaaaaaaack!

Post by psundquist »

I was surprised that the cooler wasn't empty when we returned home.
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ljjames
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Re: I'm baaaaaaaaaaack!

Post by ljjames »

YYYYAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

now we must dive!
----
"I survived the Brittandrea Dorikulla, where's my T-shirt!"
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BASSMAN
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Re: I'm baaaaaaaaaaack!

Post by BASSMAN »

"Welcome back, Welcome back, Welcome Baaaaaack!" :smt035
Hi, my name is Keith, and I'm a Dive Addict! :supz:
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eliseaboo
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Re: I'm baaaaaaaaaaack!

Post by eliseaboo »

1. Glad to hear you had a good dive! Let the addiction resume!

2.
Joshua Smith wrote:The last thing I needed was to blast down to 200', testing new gear, only to find out it wasn't working. This kid was feeling a little gun shy.
=D> =D> =D> =D> Good for you. I love that people in the PNW know and respect their limits. One of the reasons I loved diving there so much (I mean, aside from the beer and nudis :P)
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ktb
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Re: I'm baaaaaaaaaaack!

Post by ktb »

Josh,

I haven't been quite as dry as you this summer, but I know how you feel and I'm glad we both had successful returns to the lovely 'snot' of the Sound!! And what a fun afternoon, hanging out with NWDC peeps! You guys all rock. :)
Kelly
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Tom Nic
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Re: I'm baaaaaaaaaaack!

Post by Tom Nic »

Great post Josh - reminds me of so much that I love about diving up here in the PNW, and specifically with so many of the folks I've met on NWDC.

May your gear remain regularly wet for some time to come...
More Pics Than You Have Time To Look AT
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"Warning: No dive masters are going to be there, Just a bunch of old fat guys taking pictures of fish." -Bassman
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lizard0924
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Re: I'm baaaaaaaaaaack!

Post by lizard0924 »

I'm so glad you had a great dive! That zen feeling makes all the hassles worthwhile.

See you all on the 18th.
Liz

www.lizsundquist.com

Holy cow! I'm the Godzilla of the underworld, apparently. ~ JenBowes
I'm going to tie my spool off on your manifold and ride you like a manatee! ~ Scottsax
Lundy will forever be known as The Guy Touching Richard's Thong. ~ Spatman
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spatman
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Re: I'm baaaaaaaaaaack!

Post by spatman »

lizard0924 wrote:See you all on the 18th.
will you be diving, or just cheering from the sidelines? :smt064
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lizard0924
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Re: I'm baaaaaaaaaaack!

Post by lizard0924 »

spatman wrote:
lizard0924 wrote:See you all on the 18th.
will you be diving, or just cheering from the sidelines? :smt064
I'm bringing the special cooler o'refreshments......does it matter? :)
Liz

www.lizsundquist.com

Holy cow! I'm the Godzilla of the underworld, apparently. ~ JenBowes
I'm going to tie my spool off on your manifold and ride you like a manatee! ~ Scottsax
Lundy will forever be known as The Guy Touching Richard's Thong. ~ Spatman
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spatman
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Re: I'm baaaaaaaaaaack!

Post by spatman »

lizard0924 wrote:
spatman wrote:
lizard0924 wrote:See you all on the 18th.
will you be diving, or just cheering from the sidelines? :smt064
I'm bringing the special cooler o'refreshments......does it matter? :)
so, sidelines. :)
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lizard0924
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Re: I'm baaaaaaaaaaack!

Post by lizard0924 »

spatman wrote:
lizard0924 wrote:
spatman wrote:
lizard0924 wrote:See you all on the 18th.
will you be diving, or just cheering from the sidelines? :smt064
I'm bringing the special cooler o'refreshments......does it matter? :)
so, sidelines. :)
Nope, now I'm diving with YOU.
Liz

www.lizsundquist.com

Holy cow! I'm the Godzilla of the underworld, apparently. ~ JenBowes
I'm going to tie my spool off on your manifold and ride you like a manatee! ~ Scottsax
Lundy will forever be known as The Guy Touching Richard's Thong. ~ Spatman
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spatman
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Re: I'm baaaaaaaaaaack!

Post by spatman »

lizard0924 wrote:
spatman wrote:
lizard0924 wrote:
spatman wrote:
lizard0924 wrote:See you all on the 18th.
will you be diving, or just cheering from the sidelines? :smt064
I'm bringing the special cooler o'refreshments......does it matter? :)
so, sidelines. :)
Nope, now I'm diving with YOU.
:partyman:
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LCF
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Re: I'm baaaaaaaaaaack!

Post by LCF »

Congratulations on your rewetting!
"Sometimes, when your world is going sideways, the second best thing to everything working out right, is knowing you are loved..." ljjames
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Berritt
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Re: I'm baaaaaaaaaaack!

Post by Berritt »

It was good to meet you! Bob, too. I have never met a friendlier group of people in my life.
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Joshua Smith
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Re: I'm baaaaaaaaaaack!

Post by Joshua Smith »

Berritt wrote:It was good to meet you! Bob, too. I have never met a friendlier group of people in my life.

Amazing, isn't it? Diving is a great equalizer. I have dived with Doctors, Lawyers, Mechanics, Janitors, Cops, and everything in between. And we all have this ONE thing in common.
Maritime Documentation Society

"To venture into the terrible loneliness, one must have something greater than greed. Love. One needs love for life, for intrigue, for mystery."
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airsix
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Re: I'm baaaaaaaaaaack!

Post by airsix »

Josh, I'm glad things went well and you were able to enjoy the day. Very glad.
"The place looked like a washing machine full of Josh's carharts. I was not into it." --Sockmonkey
nanmark1
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Re: I'm baaaaaaaaaaack!

Post by nanmark1 »

Sorry to hear about your mom. We all missed you on the Governor this year. I think Ron is trying to work out 2 trips to the Gov next year so maybe you can make up for lost time. Good to hear you are back in the water.

Mark T.
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Joshua Smith
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Re: I'm baaaaaaaaaaack!

Post by Joshua Smith »

nanmark1 wrote:Sorry to hear about your mom. We all missed you on the Governor this year. I think Ron is trying to work out 2 trips to the Gov next year so maybe you can make up for lost time. Good to hear you are back in the water.

Mark T.

2 shots at the Gov next year sounds pretty great!

So, my Diving Redemption Tour continued today! I met John at Cove 2 this morning to check out the rumor of many GPOs and great viz that we'd been hearing. In the parking lot, we met Koos du Preez and Guitarmaker, 2 NWDC members that we hadn't had a chance to meet before, which was fun- always cool to put faces with names!

As we geared up, I discovered that one of the 02 sensors in my Meg had died overnight! The #$%&! thing had been just FINE last night when I was doing my checks! I was ready to scrub the dive, when John remembered that he had a spare one in his truck- a quick switch and calibration, and- walla! I was ready to dive again! THANKS, John! I'm so glad I got to dive today!

After the emergency switch out, Koos asked if he could tag along with us, since his buddy hadn't shown up. We were MORE than happy to dive with him, because WE knew that HE knew where all the octopuses were, and neither of us had dived cove 2 in many moons. Koos was an EXCELLENT dive buddy and tour guide- Koos, I'll dive with you any time; just drop me a line if you need a buddy! He led us out along the boundary line, directly to SIX GPOs scattered among the wreckage and pilings out along the boundary line! And a seventh, who was deceased- the mama octo who had been filmed as her young were born by Koos and Laura last week. They were all good sized, healthy beasts, too- including one monster under the pilings, who MUST have been at least a 12 footer! Viz did not disappoint, either- it was probably 30' at depth, and a bit muddier up in the shallows. By the time we got to our EIGHTH GPO, hunkered up under the Honey Bear, we were almost an hour into the dive, and- well, I wasn't bored with gpos, exactly, but I certainly felt that I had seen my share, and more- for one dive. I can remember whole years where I didn't see a single one at cove 2- they've certainly moved back into the area with a vengeance. We surfaced after 65-70 minutes underwater, I think......what a great dive! Thanks again, Koos and John! :joshsmith:
Maritime Documentation Society

"To venture into the terrible loneliness, one must have something greater than greed. Love. One needs love for life, for intrigue, for mystery."
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