First dive in Deception Pass is in the books

[Paladin4Christ]

Finally decided to take the plunge into The Pass. I have driven over it twice a day for 11 years and shiver each time thinking back on my first experience, with the unpredictable waters, when my buddies small boat got caught in a whirlpool and the seat I was in, which was evidently not bolted down, tipped over and I tumbled backwards ending up on the outboard motor looking into the green water.

After completing my DiveMaster and my Dive Control Specialist Certification 99% complete, it was time to face the fears and join the Deception Pass Diving Club

Paul Senness showed me how to predict the "safest" currents for a dive and we picked September 26! Paul and I mentioned our plans to Jan Kocian and he said he would see us out there! I was extremely happy since Paul and Jan are the divers I hope to be like, someday.

While confident in my dive skills, stories of upwelling currents that shot excellent divers from 80 fsw to the surface in 10 seconds or vica versa occupied my thoughts. I was given the advice "Grab ahold of something and hold on," as the solution to this problem. Seemed like excellent advice to me.

The day of the dive could not have gone better. My wife and I met Paul and Jan at the site, she with her camera and me with my thoughts of upwelling/downwelling currents and the advice to "grab ahold of something". We geared up in the North Beach parking lot and made the trek to the beach. As I walked down the pathway, my thoughts were focused on carrying all this gear back up the hill! For crying out loud the fishermen were huffing and puffing and they were carrying a fishing pole and not a HP X-8 130 and a slung 40 cuft pony. (I was not going to be caught with "not enough air" in the event of needing to tuck into a cove and wait out current.)

Down on the beach Paul conducted an excellent dive briefing and we geared up and waited for the current to slow. After only 20 minutes or so, Jan gave the suit up signal and we entered the water.

The dive went without a hiccup and no upwelling/downwelling currents raised their ugly heads, thankfully. I have seen Jan's pictures of the life and landscape of The Pass many times but they did not prepare me for the beauty that The Pass presented. It was spectacular!

We drifted in under the bridge me using my hand mounted GoPro Hero 3 and Paul and Jan using their camera set ups that looked more like a satellite than a camera. The current slacked out and then after approximately 5 minutes started to ebb. After completing our safety stop and collecting a pink buzz bomb as a souvenir, I exited the water a changed man!

The walk back up the hill was not so bad, however, that might have something to do with adrenaline high I was fully engulfed in.

Paul, Jan, Christine and I ended the day at Seabolts for fish and chips (clam strips for Christine), which seemed like a great ending to a fantastic dive.

phpBB [video]

I am new to the video taking world and am open to suggestions. This was taken with a GoPro Hero 3 Black Edition on a homemade goodman handle style mount. I already know I need to get a diffused light since a lot of my video was burned by the hot spot produced by my light. I am definitely interested in suggestions on better rigging and lighting ideas (brands, mounting options, etc...).

On a side note, I produced the movie on a Macbook Pro using iMovie, however, next week I am getting a new Windows based laptop and need some advice on which program is best to produce movies on this new platform.

[Mateo1147]

Congratulations on surviving and enjoying your first trip through the pass! It really is a great experience and I might hit the October window for another dose of Deception green magic.
As far as lighting for your Gopro, I have had really good luck with the rig that H2O doctor built for me. I don't remember the exact angle of the optics but they are flood beams. Each head puts out 2000 lumens and battery life hasn't been an issue for three dives.

[Jan K]

Congratulations, I am glad you enjoyed our island jewel and even managed to make a video of your first visit.
Yes, better lighting will help out bring the colors out although I am staying away from video, for it is too
difficult for me. So others will help you on that front. I am looking forward to see you on other dives around
here.