My DATC Dive Reports
Posted: Sun Jul 27, 2008 7:29 pm
Thanks to a lot of help from folks on this board, I am happy to report five great dives at Redondo between Friday and Sunday (plus a quick note on a sixth dive). I am sorry for the sheer length of this post, but I am excited, happy, and giddy all at once and I just have to share. BIG improvements since my last posting about last Wednesday's dive, which was, I have been reassured by multiple people, a completely normal experience for a new diver. (I will continue to self-flagellate, however, as I have always been my own worst critic.)
The first dive Friday night was with two divers, one who is a new DM and another new diver. I will say nothing more than I am sorry for the folks who dove after us. The three of us left HUGE clouds of silt for you. Looking back, this is how I do not want to dive in the future.
The next dive was a night dive with NWBoiler. My dive log reads something along the lines of "FUN!!!". Diving my rental AL80, my buoyancy was pretty much under control. There was a hermit crab convention going on by one of the reflector piles, plus lots of C-O sole, a grunt sculpin, a ratfish, and assorted other critters. To be honest, I had no idea what I was seeing until after the dive, when NWBoiler was kind enough to take me over to the public aquarium and give me a Puget Sound fish and invertebrate primer (and direct me to a Fish ID class). Also, we played for a bit with the bioluminescence, which is still one of the coolest things I have ever seen. Due to my air management "issues", we made an unscheduled mid-water ascent. NWBoiler can probably tell you exactly how big my eyes got before I figured out what was happening.
I did get freaked out by not having a visual reference point, but NWBoiler had a firm grip on me so all was well. After the ascent, we had a lovely surface swim under the big dipper back to shore and I fell asleep that night with a big smile on my face. This was the first dive where I felt comfortable in the water. I think that that comfort was a direct result of being with an experienced buddy with solid skills (a first for me).
Saturday morning it was my first meeting with Sounder and Tom Nic. Sounder loaned me his 130 and his light and we hopped in the water. I would tell you about all of the cool things we saw on this dive, but frankly, I am having a hard time remembering. Here is what I remember. One of the goals of the dive was to see how me and my gear reacted underwater when I stopped moving and just stayed still. As it turns out, I turn over on my back, flop my tank into the silt, and my fins rotate over my head until I was in some odd form of an underwater headstand. It is important to note that I dive wet, so my feet heading for the surface it not something I had anticipated. After several underwater gear adjustments, things were a bit more under control, but Sounder still had to flip me over on several occasions. Eventually, I just had to laugh as I felt myself listing to the right, because I knew what position I was going to end up in. (with the Olympics coming up, for a few seconds I pictured myself as a gymnast doing some form of odd back twisting somersault). Sounder and I then did some OOG drills, which I had not done since OW back in 2003. I learned the glory of the extended hose on the regulator. I am a fan. After I almost took out the CCTV line (sorry about that), we surfaced. It probably doesn't sound like a great dive to most of you, but it was so much fun that I still have to laugh thinking about it. This was also my longest dive (64 minutes), so I was pretty chilly by the time we surfaced. Sounder had hot water waiting, so things warmed up in a hurry.
For the second dive, I adjusted some weight (with some expert help) and things went a bit smoother. My feet were still pretty much out of control, but I had quizzed folks on what to do when your feet want to head to the surface, so I had a better idea of how to react. I only counted three times that Sounder had to flip me over after I did my turtle impersonation. I actually remember some of the things we saw on this dive!
Tom has posted some of his beautiful pictures of the two dives, which let's me put names to faces, as it were. I got my first good look at a Grunt Sculpin (a juvenile and an adult), saw a big octo all curled up, and a Red Octopus that got very annoyed at our presence after a few minutes. For a few moments, I just hovered (okay, splashed around in an effort to stay stationary) and stared at the little tiny critters that seemed to be everywhere. (As a side note, the Alabaster Nudibranch is one of the most beautiful things I have seen). When the three of us were gathered around the Red Octopus, I went upside down (and not on purpose), but it was okay. I couldn't manage to control my feet, but I was watching an octopus meander along, so it didn't really matter right then.
After the dive, I stole Sounder's light.
Today was two dives with Penopolypants (Sheri, Penopolypants and I did the first dive as a threesome), which were equally fantastic. My feet still have a tendency to head straight up, but I only caught Penopolypants giggling at me one time. I used an AL80 for the first dive and Penopolypants' LP95 for the second and avoided the dreaded turtle flop. We saw another beautiful octo out on the open (Penopolypants and Sheri saw it long before I did and I could not figure out why Penopolypants was not very interested in my remaining psi right then). Once again, I got to observe the octo from a vertical position, which is rapidly becoming my favorite octo viewing position. Also on the critter tour - Buffalo Sculpin, two Grunt Sculpins, Mosshead Warbonnets, a Cockerell's Dorid, and a ton of other things that I cannot yet identify. The big news, as I have been reliably informed, was that we saw two Lumpsuckers. Penopolypants has laser vision to spot these cute little guys!
Lessons learned:
1. My reg works while on I am on my back staring straight up, while I am upside down, and while I am trying frantically to turn in a different direction. Good to know.
2. I really need to work on turning without looking like I am having a seizure.
3. Whether it is dive 300 (Tom Nic) or dive 20 (me), Octopus are really, really cool.
4. Sounder expects his gear back.
5. There may be hope for me yet.
Lessons learned by NWBoiler, Tom Nic, Sounder, and Penelopypants
1. When you tell me to stay close to you, I will be CLOSE. When I say "suction cup", I mean it!
Thanks to all of my dive buddies from this weekend. I owe you all beer, fills on the tanks you let me borrow, and more thanks. When are we going diving again??
![bounce :bounce:](./images/smilies/icon_bounce.gif)
The first dive Friday night was with two divers, one who is a new DM and another new diver. I will say nothing more than I am sorry for the folks who dove after us. The three of us left HUGE clouds of silt for you. Looking back, this is how I do not want to dive in the future.
The next dive was a night dive with NWBoiler. My dive log reads something along the lines of "FUN!!!". Diving my rental AL80, my buoyancy was pretty much under control. There was a hermit crab convention going on by one of the reflector piles, plus lots of C-O sole, a grunt sculpin, a ratfish, and assorted other critters. To be honest, I had no idea what I was seeing until after the dive, when NWBoiler was kind enough to take me over to the public aquarium and give me a Puget Sound fish and invertebrate primer (and direct me to a Fish ID class). Also, we played for a bit with the bioluminescence, which is still one of the coolest things I have ever seen. Due to my air management "issues", we made an unscheduled mid-water ascent. NWBoiler can probably tell you exactly how big my eyes got before I figured out what was happening.
![goggleeyes :smt119](./images/smilies/119.gif)
Saturday morning it was my first meeting with Sounder and Tom Nic. Sounder loaned me his 130 and his light and we hopped in the water. I would tell you about all of the cool things we saw on this dive, but frankly, I am having a hard time remembering. Here is what I remember. One of the goals of the dive was to see how me and my gear reacted underwater when I stopped moving and just stayed still. As it turns out, I turn over on my back, flop my tank into the silt, and my fins rotate over my head until I was in some odd form of an underwater headstand. It is important to note that I dive wet, so my feet heading for the surface it not something I had anticipated. After several underwater gear adjustments, things were a bit more under control, but Sounder still had to flip me over on several occasions. Eventually, I just had to laugh as I felt myself listing to the right, because I knew what position I was going to end up in. (with the Olympics coming up, for a few seconds I pictured myself as a gymnast doing some form of odd back twisting somersault). Sounder and I then did some OOG drills, which I had not done since OW back in 2003. I learned the glory of the extended hose on the regulator. I am a fan. After I almost took out the CCTV line (sorry about that), we surfaced. It probably doesn't sound like a great dive to most of you, but it was so much fun that I still have to laugh thinking about it. This was also my longest dive (64 minutes), so I was pretty chilly by the time we surfaced. Sounder had hot water waiting, so things warmed up in a hurry.
For the second dive, I adjusted some weight (with some expert help) and things went a bit smoother. My feet were still pretty much out of control, but I had quizzed folks on what to do when your feet want to head to the surface, so I had a better idea of how to react. I only counted three times that Sounder had to flip me over after I did my turtle impersonation. I actually remember some of the things we saw on this dive!
Tom has posted some of his beautiful pictures of the two dives, which let's me put names to faces, as it were. I got my first good look at a Grunt Sculpin (a juvenile and an adult), saw a big octo all curled up, and a Red Octopus that got very annoyed at our presence after a few minutes. For a few moments, I just hovered (okay, splashed around in an effort to stay stationary) and stared at the little tiny critters that seemed to be everywhere. (As a side note, the Alabaster Nudibranch is one of the most beautiful things I have seen). When the three of us were gathered around the Red Octopus, I went upside down (and not on purpose), but it was okay. I couldn't manage to control my feet, but I was watching an octopus meander along, so it didn't really matter right then.
After the dive, I stole Sounder's light.
![Shame on you [-X](./images/smilies/eusa_naughty.gif)
Today was two dives with Penopolypants (Sheri, Penopolypants and I did the first dive as a threesome), which were equally fantastic. My feet still have a tendency to head straight up, but I only caught Penopolypants giggling at me one time. I used an AL80 for the first dive and Penopolypants' LP95 for the second and avoided the dreaded turtle flop. We saw another beautiful octo out on the open (Penopolypants and Sheri saw it long before I did and I could not figure out why Penopolypants was not very interested in my remaining psi right then). Once again, I got to observe the octo from a vertical position, which is rapidly becoming my favorite octo viewing position. Also on the critter tour - Buffalo Sculpin, two Grunt Sculpins, Mosshead Warbonnets, a Cockerell's Dorid, and a ton of other things that I cannot yet identify. The big news, as I have been reliably informed, was that we saw two Lumpsuckers. Penopolypants has laser vision to spot these cute little guys!
Lessons learned:
1. My reg works while on I am on my back staring straight up, while I am upside down, and while I am trying frantically to turn in a different direction. Good to know.
2. I really need to work on turning without looking like I am having a seizure.
3. Whether it is dive 300 (Tom Nic) or dive 20 (me), Octopus are really, really cool.
4. Sounder expects his gear back.
5. There may be hope for me yet.
Lessons learned by NWBoiler, Tom Nic, Sounder, and Penelopypants
1. When you tell me to stay close to you, I will be CLOSE. When I say "suction cup", I mean it!
Thanks to all of my dive buddies from this weekend. I owe you all beer, fills on the tanks you let me borrow, and more thanks. When are we going diving again??
![bounce :bounce:](./images/smilies/icon_bounce.gif)
![bounce :bounce:](./images/smilies/icon_bounce.gif)
![bounce :bounce:](./images/smilies/icon_bounce.gif)