Time Flies... Update

Ok, time for the update I’ve mentioned. Last time I wrote an actual update, it was June of 2010. I only wrote two more blogs after that dated to Sept 2010 and then I was silent here until last week. So, what has been going on since Sept 2010 until Sept 2013? 

First and foremost, my family: Ansley has seriously taken to learning and is doing so well is school. She started 2nd grade this year and is in the gifted program. She loves to read and just loves to learn in general. She is Daddy’s “Big Girl” and is just an awesome daughter! Riley is in pre-K and is also showing some uncanny smarts and memory for a little girl. My only question is if she is actually going to want to learn and will have the drive to learn like her big sister does. She is so much like me, I wonder about her. I always scored very high on the placement/IQ tests in school, I just didn’t care enough to even really try. So, time will tell about Riley. But, she is her Daddy’s “Baby Girl” and always will be. Heather has been awesome in her job and got into fitness a few years ago. She has lost all of her “baby weight” from 2006/2009 and is now even smaller than she was when we married in 2002. She has run multiple 5K’s, 2 half marathon and 1 full marathon. This year, she has a 24 mile “Trail Run” another full marathon in Savannah in November and then she has the “Crème de la Crème” in January 2014. She will be participating in the “Dopey Challenge” at Disney World. She will be running a 5K on Thursday, a 10K on Friday, a half marathon on Saturday and a full marathon on Sunday. That is just as much insane as it is awesome, in my book. On top of her running she also does countless hours of cardio and weight training along with making sure the rest of us eat as clean as possible. She has become a fitness role model to her co-workers and friends. In 2012, Heather and I also celebrated 10 years of marriage and 17 years together. The only other family member I ever mention with any real regularity is my sister, Leslie. I mentioned back in 2010 that she was diagnosed with metastasized breast cancer that had reached her brain. Well, as of today, 5 Sept 2013, she is still fighting it hard. We have seen some changes in her over the years, but she is still fighting right along with no signs of giving up anytime soon. To follow her story, please go here:

www.caringbridge.org/visit/leslielorenz

During this time, Heather and I also had our genetic testing done. I, like my sister, tested positive for the BRCA1 gene mutation. So, that will be something Heather and I will have to look at with our daughters when they get older. Heather tested negative for it.

 

  As for me, I have since retired from the Air Force. After my second neck surgery, the Air Force decided they had no use for me. They said I’d never be able to be an asset to the Air Force again, so they medically disqualified me for continued military service and forced me to retire after 17 years of service. To be completely honest, I was about tired of their shit and ready to leave anyway. Although I didn’t get to retire at the rank or with the time I was shooting for, I was glad to be gone from it. After they forced me out because of my physical limitations, I swore I would get in better shape than I was ever in while in that uniform. After seeing the results Heather had with her fitness, in August 2012, I decided to get on the fitness train. Heather had the “Insanity” program and she said if I would do it, she would start it with me. So, we started it together and did a couple weeks of it. She had to go TDY and while she was gone, I kept going and got hooked. Unfortunately, when I got to month 2 one of the routines, wrecked my knee. I kept going for a couple days and it got even worse and it swelled up about the size of a softball. So, I was ordered to take about 6 weeks off to let it heal. I wore a knee brace the rest of the time and let it heal up. I went back to it and was able to finish the 60 days of Insanity (by taking Max Plyo out of the rotation) After that, I went on to another program that included weights called Les Mill Pump. It didn’t have enough cardio for me, so I did a hybrid of Pump and Insanity for 2 1/2 months. After I completed that, Beachbody came out with a new program by Les Mills called “Combat.” It looked awesome and I got it the first day it was available. Instantly, I fell in love with that program. 60 days later, I had great results with that program. After Combat, I moved on through Body beast and then to Shaun T’s new program Focus T25 which I am just completed. Next up is a revisit to P90X. I tried this program back in 2009 and failed it miserably. It’s time to give it another shot and complete this program with awesome results! So, over the last 11 months, I’ve lost about 25 lbs and multiple inches around the waist, belly and legs while gaining some inches in the arms and chest. During all this fitness time, I also became a Beachbody coach so I could try and help others along their fitness journey. I have a great group of folks with me and we are all helping keep each other motivated. If you are interested in getting your fitness on, email me at “beachbody(at)wolfpack764.com” or go visit my Beachbody webpage at: www.beachbodycoach.com/dalehall .  I would love to help you reach your fitness goals. As for other hobbies, I still scuba dive as much as possible. We still do our yearly trip to swim with manatees in Crystal River, FL and we put together trips each year to head out for some good diving. I did finally get to do my shark dive in the Bahamas back in Sept 2012. That was a freakin’ blast!! I also still fly from time to time, but have not finished my license for that as of yet. Dad and I did take the girls to the airport just this past Monday. Ansley went up with Dad by herself for the first time. She had a good time. We also took Riley for the first time ever. She sat in my lap and she absolutely LOVED it! That little one is going to be my fulltime co-pilot, I believe.

 

So, that’s about it in a nutshell. Too much detail is boring to read, so I decided to just hit the highlights and this was still damn long. If you have any questions concerning fitness, my neck fusions, BRCA1 gene mutations, scuba, flight, or anything I’ve mentioned, please feel free to message me or leave a comment down below. I will get back you…

 

Until next time...

The Last 9 Months

Wow.. Have I really not written anything worthwhile since September of last year?? I have really gotten slack about this.. And, it’s not like anything interesting hasn’t happened over the last 9 months. To the contrary, too many things have happened over this time, and I think because of the severity of some of them, writing was the last thing on my mind.

On the good side, both Ansley and Riley-Kate are growing up fast. Riley has been walking since December (11 months old at that time.) She is talking up a storm and is showing some good smarts. (Must be from her mom) Ansley has been in dance class and had a “practice” recital back in December and her first real recital last weekend. She did awesome in both of them!! Heather has started running and biking. She has run a couple of 5K’s and even placed 5^th in her age group in one of them. She is working her way up to a triathlon and, later, a full marathon. That’s awesome and I’m proud of all of three of my girls..

We’ve had one real dive trip. We did our yearly manatee trip to Crystal River back in December. We had about 12 people in the group and we all had another great time.. I also did a two week TDY to MacDill AFB in Tampa back in March. We had tried to make a trip to Venice Beach during that time to do some megalodon teeth hunting but got weathered out. So, we made an impromptu trip to Crystal River and dove Rainbow River again. Another good time and I had my first raw oysters, ever, during that weekend. (Thanks Dee) And, I got a new tattoo back in October. I have the girls’ infant footprints surrounded by angel wings on the upper portion of my back. Ink done by Les Collier of Atomic Tattoo in Warner Robins, GA.

On the downside of things.. My sister’s cancer has returned. Her breast cancer has metastasized and has shown up in her brain and a couple of other spots in her body. They have been doing radiation treatments for her brain since the cancer is in an area that cannot be operated on. After three weeks of daily radiation treatments, the legions were less than half the size they were when they found them, so she will now a “surgical radiation” procedure tomorrow. They will pinpoint the legions and zap them that way. The radiologist is saying only one treatment is needed and they should be gone. She is still going through chemo for the other spots in her body. She is scheduled to go through that until, at least January 2011. Her fight is there and we are all optimistic the Docs will have her healthy in time.

On the same cancer note, Scuba Kat, our beloved dive buddy from Covington, GA lost her battle with cancer on 23 May 2010. Rest in Peace, Kat. You are dearly missed. Dive Buddy Dee and I made the trip up to Covington and went to Kat’s funeral. We got to speak to her mother again and meet her son. We wish the family well in their grieving.

On my personal note, I thought I was healing up pretty good from my neck fusion surgery. However, back in February, the Doc noticed two of my ten screws were not fusing to the bone like they should, so he said he was going to have to go in through the back and add more hardware to get the screws to set. So, on 7 May 2010, I went under the knife again. The surgery went well and after a couple days in the Hospital, I came home for 4 weeks of recuperation. Everything went well and I had my first post-op meeting with the Doc last Wednesday. He pulled pout my staples, cleared me to start driving again and told me I could take off my neckbrace, but I had to VERY careful not to pick up anything heavy and to especially not straighten out my arms while I had any weight on them. He had detached a muscle in my back from my spine to do his work and that muscle had to have time to reattach itself before I could really use my arms. Easy enough. Of course, that VERY evening, I was carrying something very light up the stairs and as I lifted it a bit higher to get over the baby gate, I felt a “rip” in my neck. I came downstairs and asked Heather to look at it. She said part of it looked a bit sunken in, but other than that, no big deal. I didn’t worry about it, but, as I was taking my shower the next day, I felt the sunken area and it freaked me out. It was “huge.” So, I called the Doc’s office, I told them what had happened and they had me come in today. The doc wasn’t there so I saw his PA. After some tests and finally, some x-rays, we figured out what had happened. During my surgery, to get all my new hardware to fit, the doc had to remove the “spinous process” from my C4 and C5 vertebral bodies. What is a spinous process you ask? “The bumps that can be felt down the back are the spinous processes. They are bony projections that arise at right angles (perpendicular) to the midline of the lamina. Each spinous process is attached to the spinous process above and below it by ligaments. Sometimes these processes are absent or bifid in the cervical spine.” (Link where I got info) So, after all was said and done, I did no further damage to my neck area and even went to my first Physical Therapy session today. I hurt afterwards, but I know it’ll help me out in the long run. I’ve got 4 weeks of that to go.

So, in a nutshell, that’s what has been going on for the last 9 months. I’ll try and do better with this writing stuff again. I enjoy doing it. Finding the time to do it, that’s the problem.

Florida Trip 12-14 Dec 08

I know I haven't written in awhile. Life just seems to get in the way of sitting down and writing lately. But, right now the 2 1/2 year old and the 8 1/2 month pregnant wife are both taking a nap, so I thought I'd sit down and do a quick blog.
3 of my dive buddies and I went to Florida last weekend on our yearly manatee visit. Dive Buddy Dee and I started this 3 years ago and we've been going ever since. Originally, I had 18 people say they would go on the trip, but as usual, when it came time to put down money, everyone except 4 of us backed out. So, Dive Buddy Dee, M2, F+10 and I headed down to Florida in Dee's RV early Friday morning.

Our first stop was Blue Grotto in Williston, FL. We signed in, got our fills, geared up and went diving. We went to Peace Rock, and then down into the cavern exploring all there was too see around in the "horseshoe." When then worked our way back up and into the Fresh Air Bell where we took a couple pictures. Then we worked our way slowly to the surface. After we got our, we refilled our tanks and just BS'ed during out surface interval. I took off the top of wetsuit different than I normally do. Normally, I just peel it off inside out. But, since I thought I'd be putting it back in soon, I worked it off my arms instead of sliding it off inside out. (This will be brought up again a little later) After about an hour being up top, and none of us were warming up, we decided to cancel the second dive. So, we loaded up all the gear and headed to our second stop of the trip, Crystal River, FL.

We got to Crystal River and F+10 went and checked into his hotel. M2, Dee and I were staying in the RV to save some money. After he was checked in, F+10 met us at the restaurant and we all sat down for some beer and a good meal. After we ordered and were having out first beer, I reached to my right wrist to play with my KIA bracelet I wear in memory of Cartney. It was GONE!!! I reached all up my sleeve to see if had moved, but my arm was bear. When I realized I had lost it, it felt like someone had kicked me in the chest. I never take that bracelet off for anything and now it was gone. I thought long and hard about it and then I remembered, I slid my wetsuit off instead of turning inside out and that must have been where it had come off. I knew I had a spare at home and I would call Blue Grotto on Monday, so there was no sense of worrying about it now. But, I was VERY bummed by not having it.

The next morning, we went to breakfast and stopped by the two dive shops in Crystal River we were going to be with the next two days. Bird's Underwater and American Pro Diving. We talked to the people int he shop and did some souvenir shopping. We then got our gear ready and headed to AmPro again to get ready for our Drift Dive down Rainbow River. It was an awesome dive!! It always is.. 60-80 foot viz, max depth of about 20-21 feet and a 1 knot current. Just a relaxing dive down the river. We got cleaned up and then headed to "Cracker's" for our dinner. Another awesome place to eat in Crystal River. And, as always, we left there too full!!

Sunday morning, we met at 0600 and headed to Bird's for our manatee snorkel. We got there, got signed in and left the docks right at 0700. They took us to a place called "Three Sisters." Last year during our trip, I swam for 10 minutes before I even saw my first manatee. This year, I stepped off the ladder of the boat and couldn't even move because 5 manatees were right there in front of me!! It was amazing!! To make a long story short, there were more manatees than I have ever seen and the majority of them were playful. In the hour and a half I was in the water, I don't think I went any more than about 30-45 seconds without a manatee on my hand or in my face. It was the BEST manatees visit we have ever had!!! After our hour and half in the water, we got back in the boat and were back at the dock at 0900. We waited around for the DVD's they made of our swim and then headed to lunch. After lunch, we headed back home to GA. We were in my driveway by 1645. It was a GREAT trip!!

On Monday, I called Blue Grotto to tell them what I had lost and to see if anyone had turned it in. The guy told me he hadn't seen anything like that, but he would take down my name and number and call me if anyone did turn it in. He also asked where we parked on Friday. I told him and we hung up. About 10 minutes later, my phone rang and it was Blue Grotto. He had gone out to where we were parked and he found my bracelet right where I told him it might be!!! He said if I would give him my address he would mail it to me. On Thursday of that week, it showed up in my mail!!! How cool is that???

The pic is me holding Manny in the fresh air bell at Blue Grotto. The video is one I shot while swimming with the manatees.

I also want to wish each and every one of you Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!!
**D**

NC OBX Trip

This was a most excellent trip (as Bill and Ted would say) Only two other people were able to join me on this trip (Bill and Kat).

Thursday: 0600 Bill picks me up at my house and we head to Covington to pick up Kat. After picking up Kat, we head to Morehead City. We arrived in Morehead City around 1530 and went straight to Olympus Dive Center to do our paperwork, pay for the fuel surcharges and our NITROX fills for the weekend. Checked into the Buccaneer Inn and then to eat at Sanitary Restaurant and Fish Market. Buccaneer: Clean, no frills Best Western with a complimentary Continental Breakfast each morning. Sanitary: Higher prices and “ok” food. You would hope for better food with what you pay.

Friday: Up at 0300 (just because it’s not easy sleeping in a strange bed) Report at Olympus at 0530 to load gear. We left the dock at 0635 and then left the dock again at 0700 due to late arrivals and they actually went back to pick them. Great customer service, but pretty crappy for those of us that showed up on time. We arrived on site at 1000. Yes, a 3 hour boat ride to a wreck called the Cassimir, 55 miles off shore. It’s a wreck that they don’t do very often. On the way out, I was able to take a compass reading class taught to me by Kat. So, after the class, I knew one thing: If you are lost in the woods and Kat has the compass, don’t expect to see civilization for about a week. :) Dive 1: Cassimir.. Air temp: 89F Water: 87F at surface, 79F at depth. Viz was around 35-40 feet. Dive time was 27 minutes and max depth was 104fsw diving EAN30. There were hundreds of fish around the wreck. Schools of amberjack, my first lionfish and, as always, barracuda. Nice dive, but I don’t think it was worth a 3 hour boat ride.

2 hour surface interval

Dive 2: Cassimir.. Same temps and viz. Dive time was 29 minutes and max depth was 102fsw diving EAN30. This was dive 50 for me. During this dive, I was actually able to enter a bait ball. While in the ball, I was just mesmerized by all the fish swimming around. All of a sudden, they all darted to the rear of me and I looked up to see a school of Amberjack crashing into the ball for a quick meal. They were headed right at me and all I had time to do was “duck and cover.” I didn’t get hit and after about half of the school passed me, they turned and went another direction. Scared the crap out of me for a second there. Good way to remember 50 though.

At 1700, we were back on the docks. We went and showered and headed to another restaurant that was recommended by the staff at Olympus. Piccata’s. Very good food!!! Prices were a bit on high side, but the food made it worth it. Unfortunately, about half way through the meal Kat found an unwanted visitor in her food. We called the waitress and she took the food away. The staff were very apologetic and didn’t make excuses. They said they would figure out how it got in there and were very sorry about it. They also took care of the bill for the entire table, not just Kat’s food. So, we thanked Kat for taking one for the team. Back to the hotel for some much needed rest.

Saturday: Today’s boat didn’t leave until 0730, so we slept a little bit later. We showed up, and Nema, the shop manager and my new Buddy, already had our boarding passes waiting for us. She met me at the door with all three in hand. We boarded and headed out to the U-352. Only 1.5 hour ride this time.

Dive 3: U-352.. Air temp: 89F. Water temp: 87F surface, 80 at depth. Viz was down. We only had about 25 feet on this one. Dive time was 29 minutes and max depth was 112fsw. Awesome dive. We looked all over the u-boat and took a bunch of pictures. Saw many Lionfish on the wreck. There was some current on this wreck. If you were on the side of the 45 degree list, there was very little current, but if tried to go around the stern, you got hit with a pretty powerful current. This was 50 for Kat. Great dive!!!

Another 2 hour surface interval and during it, we head to another wreck called the “Spar.” I have failed to mention that during these surface intervals, we saw more of our dive buddies than any of us really wanted to. Anything from “Just say NO to Crack” to “Dude, have you ever heard of a training bra and if not, please put back on your shirt,” to “Why are you running around in just your underwear” to wearing teenie bikini bottoms but never heard of the phrase “bikini wax.” (Is Macy Gray hiding out in those bikini bottoms??) Wow… They were all just sights to behold. And some sights that will scar you for life!!!

Dive 4: Spar.. Air temp: 89F. Water temp: 87F surface, 80 at depth. Viz was about 35 feet. Dive dime was 30 minutes and max depth was 95fsw on EAN30. On this wreck, Sand Tiger Sharks!!!! Awesome friggin’ dive!!!! We saw sand tigers ranging from about 4-5 foot to a 10 foot big daddy Most were in the 4-6 foot range. They were all over the bow portion of the wreck. At one point, Kat and I went to the bridge and checked out a school of Amberjack that were all inside of it. Very cool site. As we worked our way back down, we stopped to let a couple of divers take some pictures. As we were stopped, a sand tiger swam slowly right by us, close enough for either of us to touch it. I looked and Kat and she gave a huge grin and “two thumbs up” that made the whole dive for both of us. We got some pictures and headed back up. While we were on the hang line and Bill was working his way up the ascent line is when the big daddy came by. He was below us and at Bills level. He snapped a couple good pics of it before it slipped off into the blue. An excellent dive!!!

After this dive, we head back to the dive shop. Bill and I are changing boats and going out for a 1 tank on an inshore wreck. Another artificial reef project called the Indra. Kat decided to forgo this dive so she headed back to the hotel while we went back out. Only a 40 minute boat ride to the Indra.

Dive 5: Indra.. Air temp: 90F Water temp: 87F surface, 80F at depth with a few cold pockets around the wreck. Viz was awesome!! The best we had all weekend.. About 60-70 feet at the start of the dive. It was getting lower as the dive progressed, but it was great to start with. Dive time was 47 minutes and max depth was 69 feet on EAN30. Very cool dive.. HUGE ship (330 feet long) with many holes cut through it for beginner penetration like the Oriskany Island is done. We also saw the “Mac Daddy” of barracuda in the cargo bay of this ship. It was HUGE!! Bill and I did a full circuit around this ship both inside and out. A very nice way to end the diving. I told Kat that, unfortunately, I think she missed out by not doing that dive.

We were back on the docks by 1915 and headed to dinner after getting cleaned up. This place was called “Floyd’s” and was recommended by one of our Divemasters, Mark, on the boat. Excellent, excellent, excellent!!! The only problem: I ate too much and was too full when I left!! No complaints what so ever about this place!!! Best meal of the weekend.

Sunday, on the road by 0700 and back in W/R by 1630..

I have to say, the staff at Olympus was, by far, the best Dive Operation I have ever dealt with. Every person on the boats and in the shop were very knowledgeable and very friendly!! They did everything possible to make our visit a memorable and enjoyable one, especially Nema and Mate Mark!! Even when boats were coming in and going out and there was complete chaos in the shop, they were just an unbelievable outfit!!!

Awesome staff, awesome dives, AWESOME TRIP!!!!!!
The two pics: Top: One I took of the U-352. Bottom: Me diving the Indra.

CSI Dive #2

For those that aren’t aware of my CSI dive, here’s a brief history: Back in January, there was a retaliatory shooting done in my local area. During the shooting an innocent woman was killed. After the shootings occurred, the alleged suspects stayed at a KOA campground North of our area. At this campground is a football field sized pond and the rumor was, they might have thrown the weapons into the pond to get rid of them. So, we were called in to dive the pond and look for the weapons. We dove it back in April with only 3 divers and one surface support person. The water temp was 53 degrees and visibility was zero. And, of course, we found nothing. So, this time, we went prepared.

We had 12 people show up for this dive. We met at 1000 at our LDS to load tanks and then we headed to the site. After we got to the site, we grouped and got our briefing about the case and then I briefed the group about water conditions the last time we were there. I was the only diver that did the dive in April and was back for this one.

For dive 1, we had 6 teams of two to work the grid that was laid out for us. Basically, the surface person would guide the diver from point A to Point B with a rope. Once a point was reached, they would tug the rope to alert the diver to stop and turn around. As the diver turned around, the surface person would dole out another arm’s length of rope and would lead the diver back to the starting point. Back and forth until their part of the grid was complete. The first dive took about 45-50 minutes for everyone to complete their part of the grid. We found nothing. Water temp was 59 degrees below the thermocline and depth was around 20 feet. I was glad I was diving dry this time around. Again, visibility was zero. Nothing but blackness after about 8-10 feet.

Dive 2 was a bit more hit and miss. The shore didn’t allow for the rope buddy teams, so the second dive was just, whatever diver wanted to get back in the water, head to the far shore, drop down and search the area best they could. The area was shallower but just as dark in places. The second dive was about 30 minutes for the few of us that did it. Water temp was, again, 59 degrees, max depth of about 15 feet and still black as night at the bottom. We did the best we could but still found nothing.

The water temp and visibility was basically the same on this dive as it was back in April. The biggest difference, however, was the smell. I’m not sure what the hot sun had done to the water from April to July, but the smell of the water was ungodly. We didn’t really notice it until we started stirring up the bottom. Once we started stirring everything up, the surface workers could smell the odor coming out of the water. Then, as we surfaced, we had the stench on us from head to toe. It was a very bad smell and it was all through our gear. I’m just hoping the stench came off my gear. I’ll see when I get home tonight. All in all, most people said it was absolutely the worst “non-current” diving conditions they have been in. And, the fact that we didn’t find what we were looking for didn’t make things any better. But we were glad to help out the local Police Department. I don’t know about the rest of the folks, but I’ll do it again if they ask. I’ll just hope for a new location.

We even got a mention in the local newspaper and were on the 11:00 news last night. Kinda cool, but since we didn’t find anything, there was no fanfare about it. Just to be involved was cool for me.

Gear Configuration Change?

Only my dive buddies will know what I'm talking about here, so if you aren't a diver, excuse me for leaving you out this time.

I'm seriously considering a gear configuration change. I want to go with the 7 foot primary and a bungee for the octo. I had thought about doing it last year, but since I was helping in O/W classes, I didn't do it because I had to look, more or less, like the students did in the class. I haven't been able to help out in classes in some months now and even if I did, I could just use a set at the dive shop instead of my own, so that's a non-issue now.

I look at a few pictures of me and, at times, I look like Dr. Octopus with the hoses going to every side and out from my body at least a half a foot. (See picture) I'm thinking the 7ftt, bungee method will be the best way to streamline that stuff. I'm already using a BP/W set up, so, I won't look like a DIR wannabe Stroke with a 7foot and a jacket style BC. But, don't get me wrong, I don't want to go DIR either. So, can anyone offer any pros/cons on my gear config change?

Macon : CSI

I told some folks last week that I had something cool coming up that I couldn't really talk about until after it was done. Well, it's done, so here it is.


As most of you know, my friend and scuba instructor, Scuba Steve, is also a Sgt with the Macon, GA Police CSI (Crime Scene Investigation) Unit. Last week, Steve called and asked me to get up a small group of advanced divers that were comfortable with their skills. He said he needed us for a special task. That task: Diving a small lake at a local campground to search for two murder weapons. Holy crap!! How cool is that?? OK, not the murders, but the fact that we got the call to help look for them. So, I called my 4 "top" divers that were going to be in town and asked them if they wanted to join us for the dive. All 4, of course, said yes and I told them I would get the details to them over the week on when and where to be.

Friday, I got the call from Steve with the details that we were meeting at the campground at 1100 on Monday and dive at high noon for the most sunlight. I passed it along to my group over the weekend.

Monday came and got a call from two of my four. One was sick and the other got called into to work on Monday and wouldn't be able to make it. So, it was just going to be me and M2 meeting Steve and his group of divers. He had 4 or 5 others lined up, but most of them bailed. So, come the actual day of the dive, we had 4 divers and 1 surface support man.

Mark showed up at my house around 0930 and after we loaded the gear in my truck, we headed off for the 45 minute drive to the campground. We made good time and decided to hit a fast food joint and grab a bite before going in. Just as we were pulling in Steve called me on the cell and asked where we were. 5 minutes later, he was in the parking lot with us. 5 minutes after that, the 4th diver, Hyatt, was with us.

We get to the campground and Steve goes in to talk to the clerk. They knew we were coming and had everything ready for us and even offered up a cabin right near the lake so we would have a place to change before and after the dive. We all got changed, got our gear together and got our briefing. By this time, Lee, our surface support was there and helping out also.

We got in the water and Steve devised a search plan and pattern for us to work. We were to drop down within touching distance of each other and stay side by side as we ran a hands through the muck at the bottom working our way from one side to the other. Easy enough.

A few things we were noticing about right now: 1. The lake was a bit bigger than a football field. 2. The sun never came out. It was complete overcast. 3. The bottom was non-existent. You stepped down and your foot went, at least 10-12 inches into the mud. 4. The water was damn cold!!! 63 degrees at the top is what were reading. We had no idea what it was at depth. Three of us, Steve, Hyatt and I, were all diving wet, Mark was diving dry.

We all line up and descend. You could see only about 1 foot in front of you as we starting dropping, but you could see daylight around you. Unfortunately, about 8 feet down, the daylight was gone and it was pitch black. Nothing could be seen at all. After we got down and realized we couldn't see anything or anybody, Steve signaled and we all surfaced. We decided to hold wrists while we dropped and squeezed when we were ready to search. Even that didn't work. Mark came up with the perfect way to explain what it looked like: Go into an elevator, shut the door and turn off the power. That's what we were diving in. It could be called "Oh My God Black." So, Steve had us all surface again and made a judgement call: He said, as long as everyone was comfortable doing it solo, then we would all just pick and area and go search it ourselves. He said anyone that didn't want to, didn't have to, but it was the only way we were going to get anything done. We all said yes and we about our business. So, we drop down, get to the bottom, stick your hands in the bottom and move them side to side seeing if you hit anything, If you hit anything, you feel of it trying to figure out what it is. If it feels like the type of weapon we are looking for, you bring it to the surface.

Mark had an ear problem and had to bail out early on. So, he worked as a surface spotter for the rest of us. Steve and Hyatt worked with Lee and used a line to traverse the shore line and I just did shore to shore runs through the middle of the lake. I would use mark as my target and just hope I was somewhere close when I surfaced. I found rocks, cement blocks, logs, sticks, coke bottles, Dixie cups and even a bike flag. But no weapon. In fact, no one found a weapon. We search for an hour, but, because it was such a haphazard search, it was worse than a needle in a haystack scenario. We're actually going to go back with more man power, search teams with ropes and warmer water.

The details: 24 foot max depth. Water was 63 degrees at the surface and 51 degrees at depth. 1 hour of bottom time logged and zero weapons found.

Although the diving REALLY sucked, it was a cool time and I do appreciate Scuba Steve calling and asking for our help. We'll do it anytime!!! Nice to try and use this hobby to give back every once in a while.

Diver Congrats

Congratulations to my Brother-in-Law, Dale. He took his PADI Rescue Diver class this weekend and completed it today. The whole class did great. Scuba Steve, I, and the entire class had a awesome couple of days. All of the students learned a lot of new skills and will be safer divers, themselves and for others from this point on. Congrats to the entire class, especially B-i-L, Dale.

Another Diver Soon

I forgot to mention that I will have a new Dive Buddy soon. Sid took his confined water class last weekend with ScubaSteve. Everything went well and he is ready for his check out dives the 18th and 19th of August. He had a few things he wanted to work on prior to the trip, so we have been going to my parent's pool and doing just that. We worked on weighting and other things today. He's going to upgrade a couple things tomorrow and then we'll hit the pool again later this week to make sure everything is good to go. Congrats on the Confined portion and good luck with the Check Dives.

USS Oriskany

As you all know, I'm an avid scuba diver. The weekend of 27-29 July, myself and a group from work went to Pensacola, FL to dive, what is known right now, as the Recreation Dive Site of the World, the USS Oriskany. It is an aircraft carrier that was sunk 24 miles off the cost of Pensacola back in June, 2006 as part of an artificial reef program. It's in 212 feet of water, with the control tower being as high as 68 feet and the flight deck is at 137 feet. Below is my write up I put on my Scuba Forums.. The detailed write up is on my website linked from the "Trips" page.

Report from the Oriskany, 28 Jul 07.
Booked the Charter through MBT Divers in Pensacola. We were charted on the “Tech Rec” with Capt Chris Wachtel and deck mate, his very attractive, yet under-aged, daughter, Erin. They were most excellent hosts and provided a great day on the water. The charter had my group of 4 and two other divers from NC and PA. The 6 of us enjoyed a looong 2 hour ride out to the “Mighty O.” The Tech Rec isn’t the fastest boat to charter to the “O”, but it was the slowest either. In it's favor, it does had a head and cushioned bunks below for those that wanted to nap.
We got above the “O” and Erin tied us off to a buoy. We first splashed at 1100 local with 27% NITROX. We went straight to the Flight Deck. The down line was tied off on the ship at 111 feet, so by the time we got to the end of the line, we could see the flight deck. We jumped down, took a reading showing 137 feet as we stood on the flight deck, and then took a few pictures. With our profile, we only had 9 minutes of bottom time at 137 fsw, so right after pics, we started to spiral our way up and around the island. Vis was only about 60 feet on this dive. Capt Chris said it was the worst vis he had seen in a few weeks. (Lucky us).. We worked our way up and ended the dive 1152 local. Saw a bunch of amberjack, bleemies, triggerfish, and a good number of barracuda.
1.5 hours surface interval and we splashed again. This time we were running 30% and kept our max depth above 100 feet. This dive concentrated on the swim-thrus all along the island. We entered the bridge and took a couple pictures and then hit just about every door we could find working our way up. There was one that allowed you to go up a stairwell and another that took you from one side of the island and out the other. It was an awesome time going into the wreck with no chance of getting trapped or lost. From every open door in the island you can see another door way or opening to the outside. They planned this wreck well for Recreational Divers. Vis, unfortunately, dropped to about 40 feet near the end of this dive. We were all getting low on air, so we called it and ascended to our safety stop. For the most part, uneventful and very cool dive. We had a couple “operator error” minor SNAFU’s, but nothing that caused any harm or danger to anyone in our group. After the diving, there was a loooong 2 hour ride back to the Marina. But, we had a blast on the trip.!!! All in all, a VERY exciting day.
In case anyone is interested, we also ate at two really good joints: The Fish House and Trigger’s Seafood. Both highly recommended. The Fish House is a bit more upscale that we’re used too, but Trigger’s is a down-home “Mom and Pop” type joint that is some good eatin’!!! To finish up the story, we stopped by Morrison Spring and did a dive to rinse the gear on our back to GA. 3 of the 4 of us had never been and the other had been over 4 years ago. Nice dive, but it got crowded near the end. We were running 32% there and got an hour, 27 minutes on that one dive out of an AL80. Afterwards, we loaded up the gear and headed back to GA.. I was back home in enough time to tuck my 13 month old into bed that evening.

All in all, it was an AWESOME trip!!! Thanks to Dive Buddy Dee, Mark M2 and Bill F+10 for going with me. Good dives, good times and good Buds!!! Thanks to all!!!

The pictures are: (top) Me on the Flight Deck of the Oriskany 137 feet down taknen by Mark M2. (Yes, I know my head looks like a glow stick) :) And (bottom) the flags draped off the side of the "Mighty O" in honor of those that served on her. Isn't that just a cool picture?

**D**

I Am Rescue, Hear Me Roar

OK, well not exactly roar, but hear me announce proudly that I am now a fully certified PADI Rescue Diver. We actually, finally, had my Rescue class this past weekend. After two cancellations by my local Dive Store due to no one signing up, I was able, along with 4 others, to take the class. The full write up is on my website, but I will hit the highlights here.

The class was two days. Saturday, the first half of the day in the classroom watching the video, going over knowledge reviews and taking our test. I missed one question and got a 98 on my test. 2 of the guys aced it, one got a 96 and I'm not sure what the other got, but it, also, was in the 90's. The next half day was in the pool practicing some new skills such as calming a panicked diver, getting a hold of a panicked diver without them drowning either of you, swimming with a non-responsive diver while giving rescue breaths. Note: That last one sucks!!!!

The second day was at a local open water site going over underwater search techniques and then running 4 scenarios. That was very cool, because it was play acting for all of us. We would be given a situation, how it started and when, the rest was up to us. Who would do what, how to deal with the person calling EMT/DAN etc, along with Basic Life Support and/or First Aid of the person. Luckily, we got to work as a team and not as individuals. Everyone stepped up to the plate and did their job and we passed the 4 scenarios with only minor hiccups. Not anything that would kill anyone, but minor things we could do better in a real-world situation. As they showed us in the class, there is no real right and wrong answer. They give you the knowledge to make decisions and some ideas on how to act upon those decisions, but how you get it done is up to you and what you are comfortable doing. Just for an example, we had to get an unresponsive diver off the bottom and to the surface safely. Some guys would lay down next to their victim and bring them up with them. I couldn't get my victim up while laying down and had a really hard time with it. I asked to do it again and this time, I stood up, pulled them to me and got them up much easier to the surface. See? No right or wrong way, just what is better for you.

All in all, it was an outstanding course. I was sore Sunday morning after the Saturday pool session. I was OK on Monday because the scenarios didn't tax us as much as the pool portion did. Plus, we were able to take breaks because there was an Open Water class there getting checked out in between our sessions. I learned a lot and it was, by far, the most taxing and rewarding course I've ever taken. I enjoyed every minute of it.

Of course, I have to thank Scuba Steve for yet another great display of instructing. He took the time to make sure we did it right and did safely. If we had questions, he answered each of them and never thought any of them were dumb questions. And, I want to thank Dive Buddy Dee for being our designated "Victim" for the day. Her story is on the website with the details. Next stop: Divemaster.

As I stated earlier, the full write is on the website.

Headed tomorrow to the Masters in Augusta, GA. I'll tell Tiger you said Hello.

Just ramblings

You know, I really don't have anything to write this time.. So it's another one of those that I will just write and see what comes out.

Of course, with #1 Mom being home this week, the week has been all back to normal. Nothing major happened at work, no businesses ignored me, nothing bad happened at all..

Sometimes I hate to admit because of the "stigma" tied to it, but, it's really not that bad: I'm the captain of our Recreational Bowling League team we have at work. Back in 2002 when we started the team, I was approached by the founding member and he asked if I bowled. I did at all my previous bases, but I hadn't since I got out, at that time, 6 years ago. He asked if he put together a team would I bowl on it. I said sure. He put together the team and because I ran all the other teams, we kind of shared the Captain-ship. He PCS'ed (sent to another base for you non-mil folks) and I inherited the team. I am the only member that was there the first year and I'm there every year. We've never been that good, so it's a good thing it's a handicap league. Most of this year we've hovered around 10-13th place out of 14 teams. We're just there to have fun, socialize and have a few drinks.. Although, we started a late season push and are actually tied for 6th in the standings with 6 weeks left in the season. Although I don't bowling seriously, it is more fun when we're winning.

Speaking of fun and drinking, we have our first golf tournament of the year tomorrow. Golf is another sport I don't take seriously, but I do have more fun when I'm actually hitting the ball pretty good. We haven't played since last November, so it should be interesting tomorrow. We've got our "normal" foursome to play: Me, Sid, Big Dawg and PW. We'll see how it goes..

Although there has been no diving (still looking to do Rescue at the end of the month) I do have a new piece of gear. It's just a fun piece, but it's pretty cool. I heard a story about someone who had seen a guy with a dive hood that had a shark fin on the top. I thought that was cool and I started surfing the web looking for something like that.. After a few MONTHS of searching I finally found a place that makes custom dive hoods. And, one of them is a shark finned one. After looking at the ones they had for sale, they had another that caught my eye also. It's a "dragon" hood that has 4 spikes across the top and a small dragon tail off the back. The price of that one was the same as the one with the shark fin, so I decided to go with 4 spikes instead of one dorsal fin. You can pick your colors, so I did black on the side, a royal blue center section (because all of my wetsuits have royal blue on them somewhere) and silver spikes/tail so they would stick out. Recreational Scuba is supposed to be fun and if you can't dress fun every once in a while, then what's the use. I'm sure I'll get a few looks from the Tech/Cave divers next time I head to the Florida Springs. LOL.. Here's where I got the hood from. Terrapin Wetsuits. Chris is very nice to deal with and she cares about customer service. The hoods are on the "Accessories" page.

I just saw a new Subway commercial.. It has a couple ordering at a fast food drive thru.. He is ordering things like "Love Handles", "Blubber" and all those things you'll get if you eat too much fast food. His girlfriend in the car orders the same stuff as him, but instead of "blubber" she wants a "badonka-donk butt." Can anyone tell me what a "badonka-donk butt" is? I figuring it's one of those butts you see able to jiggle all over during the booty shakin' contests you see at bars.

I heard some music from a band I had never heard of until just recently. They've been out awhile, but I never heard them before because we no radio stations in this area that are worth listening too. They are all country, classic rock or chick stations. (I call ANY station that plays Justin Timberlake music a "Chick Station") I don't listen to any of that, so, to hear good music, I had to get XM.. Well worth the 10 bucks a month.. The band is called "Silvertide" If you like that old 80's-ish sound, they have it. Good sounding band.. I do have to mention another good song that's being played a good bit now, "Ladies and Gentlemen" by Saliva. Great rocking tune!!!

Well, there isn't really that much going on and Baby and #1 Mom are already in bed. I still need to walk the dog, so I'm going to sign off for now. Hope everyone is making it through the pollen storm we're having right now. I know I'm suffering.

Have a good one..

Congrats!!

Congratulations to my Buddy, EZ.. He finished his Open Water Check Dives this past weekend. He is now a certified O/W Diver!!! (Already looking towards his Advanced rating)

Now, I have another Buddy to dive with.. Congrats Man!!!

Another Diver in the Family (very soon)

Well, my niece did it. She completed her confined water portion of her dive training last weekend and did exceptionally well. She was the only girl in the class and the only person that was under the age of 21. She made it through the classroom portion with little difficulty and really excelled in the pool portion. I was the “safety diver” for her class, so I got to watch and evaluate her first hand. Her Dad was there also, so every time, after a skill, I would come up and let him know how she did.. It finally just got a point where I just nodded because she was doing so well. To me, what was funny was to have the guys surface after a skill and say, “We’re getting our butts kicked by a 12 year old.” She is very comfortable in the water to begin with, so being able to breathe while down there just made things even better for her. I never once saw any second thoughts or worries while she was doing her skills. There was even one point, as we were in the deep end doing skills, her turn came up and she pointed at her mask. It was leaking like a sieve. She kept clearing it and it kept filling up. But, instead of freaking, she looked at me, shrugged her shoulders and started to do her skill. I knew her mask would be fully flooding in no time, so I asked to her hold on while we figured out her mask. It ended up being some of her hair was caught under the skirt and letting the water in. Once we brushed it way, the leaked stopped. I’ve seen people freak out and bolt to the surface for less than that, and she never even considered bolting. She was going to do that skill come Hell or (literally) high water. So, after two days in the pool, she has learned enough to go on her check out dives. Since she has very little “meat on her bones” her mom, my sister, wants to wait a month or so while it warms up out side so she won’t freeze during surface intervals. We’re looking at May for her check dives. I’ll be on that trip with (as well as her Dad) and we’ll have a good time. But, I just want to congratulate my niece for having passed the first half of her PADI Open Water Junior Certification and wishing her good luck on the check dives.. Congrats Baby Girl!!!

In case you are wondering, PADI standards are: You can get certified at 10 years of age, but they don’t want you diving, unsupervised, until you are at least 15. So, from the ages of 10 to 14 they are awarded PADI Open Water Junior Certification. Meaning, they are certified to dive with a Divemaster or Instructor. Kind of like a learner’s permit. At 15, there are no extra tests or qualifications (because you do the exact same stuff as all O/W divers during your certification class) you just let PADI know you are 15, pay your money for a replacement card and you are then a “regular” PADI O/W diver.

As for me, another week has gone by and they haven’t changed the dates for my Rescue Class, so I’m starting to get cautiously optimistic about it actually happening this time.

Tiny Baby and #1 Mom are doing great. Tiny Baby is very mobile for not crawling or walking yet. She can roll from one side of the room to the other in no time flat, so we have to keep an eye on her anytime she’s on the floor. I can’t imagine keeping up with her once she actually starts to crawl. Looks like it’s time to start investing in baby gates and baby-proofing the house.

Also, my sister has finished her Chemo regimen!!! She is done with all chemo and shot treatments. She still has a couple of major surgeries to go through, but the treatment is done.. Congrats to her for finishing it up (again)..

Book Report Update: I finished “Hiding on the Bottom” by James Rosemond. Good book. I even wrote a review on Amazon.com about it. “Very good read. Refreshingly real. Mr. Rosemond tells you his story in a way that will actually have you hearing the crackling fire or feeling the last rays of the sun hit you as you sit on the porch of the Swamphouse at sundown. Everyday stories from a “regular guy” mixed with humor and a few life lessons taught by a Character you really want to meet. What’s not to like?? We could all learn a few things from Scotty and his views on life.” The author goes by the name “Ken” in life and I’ve actually had the pleasure of emailing back and forth with Ken. Very nice guy. He even made me a deal and since I kept my part of the bargain, he’s sending me another copy of “Hiding” inscribed by him and signed by Scotty. That’s very cool. Go buy his book. He’s even starting a yearly get together at the Swamphouse called “Swampfest.” You can meet Ken, Scotty and everyone form the book if you go. I received my invite, but I’m afraid timing isn’t good for me this year. But I do have an invite to go flounder hunting with him if I’m ever up in the area.
I’m reading “Diver Down” by Michael Ange now.. I’ll let you know about that as soon as I’m done..

I was also shown another Scuba Related Forum: http://www.scubamagazine.net/

4:00 am Ramblings

For the first time in a long time, I don't have anything specific I want to talk about. I woke up at 2:30 am this morning and haven't been able to go back to sleep. So, I got up around 3:30 and have been at the computer for about 45 minutes surfing my addictive Scuba Diving Forums. I figured I'd start writing and sooner or later a subject would hit me.

For those of you interested in the Forums:
Diving Talk is a fairly new and pretty low key forum. There isn't a huge amount of users on this one yet, but the membership is growing. Most folks that are on there are nice and helpful.
Then you have ScubaBoard. This is the mac-daddy of the Scuba Diving forums, in my opinion. Huge amount of members and many different areas to search. If you have any diving related questions, you can get your answer there. I am a member of both as "dalehall." Yeah, I know, that's a real original screen name.

Around the home, there isn't much going on, for a change. I almost have my voice back. I can, at least, carry on a conversation with others now. There have been no more outbreaks of virus' or anything else at the house, the daycare, or either work place, so we are thankful for that. (knock on wood) Both baby and #1 Mom are doing fine. In fact, Baby Ansley was just stirring, so I went in and gave her back her "passi" and she fell right back to sleep.

Valentine's Day has gone and passed. Heather and I normally don't do anything for Valentine's Day. V Day, to me, is just another "Hallmark" holiday made to make you spend money at card stores and flower shops. As Heather stated, we don't need someone else telling us we're supposed to treat the other special on this day. So, normally, we just skip the whole ordeal. But, this year, I had a change of heart, and didn't tell her. I just thought about all the ladies at her work getting flowers and her being one of only a handful that didn't get any. The thought didn't thrill me, so I had some sent to her. She loved them, but felt bad in the beginning because I sent her something and she didn't do anything for me. I told her my reasoning behind it and she was fine. Normally, when we set "rules" for gift giving, I follow them, but I just had to kinda ignore them this year.

I've been helping my niece do her home study for her confined water portion coming this Saturday. That was the first time I actually sat down and taught anyone how to use the Recreational Dive Planner. I was surprised how much I still retained and how much I had forgotten due to not doing certain portions. Like, I can get my pressure group after a dive, surface interval and a second dive with my residual nitrogen time. That's the easy bit. But, I never determine the shortest surface interval I can take to get back in the water for a certain dive and a certain amount of time. So, I had to re-learn how to do that. But, as long as you know the basics of the table, it's all cake to figure out. (No, I don't use the electronic version of the tables) But, helping her do that along with the other areas in the plan and helping Steve in the pool helps me to become a better diver all around.

Speaking of becoming a better diver, I finally have a date for my Rescue Dives... 31 March and 1 April, I will finally get my Rescue Diver class completed. Since I did my paperwork back in September of last year, I'll have to brush up on all of that again, but I'm ready to get this one out of the way.

I'm sure you've heard the old saying about people getting "promoted to the level of their incompetence." Yeah, that's about the same everywhere you go. But, in my instance, I seem to get those that get promoted by the amount of backbone they have removed. No one seems to have the balls to make a decision anymore. And, if they do make a decision, it's only after making complete sure they aren't going to offend anyone or make anyone mad by what they decide. And, if it does offend someone, they are quick to change their mind and recant their decision. These people amaze me. Sorry folks, I don't work that way. When it comes to my job, I make a decision and I stand by it whether it pisses people off or not. I finally got to the point, a few years ago, that I don't ask my boss for his opinion when it comes to my job. I was put in charge of the shop and I make the decisions as I see fit. If they have a problem with it (which 99 times out of 100, they don't) then they can come talk to me about it. But I believe in that old Navy Admiral's philosophy: "It's better to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission." I live by that and I think others ought to also. If you're in a decision making position, do yourself and your people a favor: Grow a set, make a decision and stand by it. If it's wrong, so be it. You'll know better for next time, but at least you made a decision and you're people will respect you for it. If you don't have the balls to make a decision, they're all laughing at you and disrespecting you and your lack of a back-bone any time you walk. How do I know? Because, if you look at the management I've had over the last 10 years, you'd know I've been doing it most of the time. That may not be very adult or PC, but respect from me is earned. You don't automatically get it just because you are above me on the chain of command. You must earn my respect and trust. Just as I must earn the trust and respect of those under me. I will tell you this, the military has a better ratio of back-boned supervisors than Corporate America. Corporate America is filled with prima-donna CEO wannabe's that work their way up the ladder with ass kissing and not hard work. And the quickest way to move of the corporate ladder? Be a "Yes Man." When I worked at Deltacom, I only had one supervisor that had a set on him. Of course, he only lasted a few years and then went on to a real company. All the rest were spineless jellyfish of men that couldn't make a decision if their mother's life depended on it. They were a complete joke. Military doesn't promote by being a "Yes man", so they have people that will actually do what they are supposed to do to get the job done. However, not every supervisor is that way. We still have our "jellyfishes" we have to deal with also. But, at least I can say, with complete confidence, I'm not one of them.

See, I knew I find a subject to get me ranting this morning. :)

On the road again...

Well, here I sit, one more night in my hotel room in Biloxi (actually, D’Iberville) Mississippi. Everything has been packed back up in suitcases and a-bags and the truck is loaded with everything I won’t need in the next 12 hours. I have also been studying this evening for my final exam tomorrow morning, but I needed to take break from it. I need to clear my head and check back later on to see what I actually retained from today and this evening. I really thought this course was going to be a waste of time, but, I’m happy to report, I actually learned quite a bit during my time here. I just hope I’m able to retain enough of it to pass the exam tomorrow morning. I took a 110 question practice test this afternoon and scored a 90% on it. I hope that’s a sign of things to come for tomorrow morning.

Although the two weeks have gone by pretty quickly, I am soooo ready to get back home to my family. I’m not looking forward to the 7 hour drive, but I am ready to be back home. Everyone has gotten over the sickness they all had and they all have gotten along fine without me. And, no, I don’t feel bad about that. I want them to get along fine without me. Wearing the uniform means there will be times I can’t be there for one reason or another. I need to feel confident they can survive without me. And they have proved it on more than one occasion. But, I’m sure #1 Mom will be glad to have another set of hands around the house, full time, for a change also. I think I have to cut the grass when I get home. Yuck. And, I’m sure, pay bills that have come in since I’ve been gone. Yep, back to the same ‘ol grind. Can’t wait. :)

Small scuba update.. My 12 year old niece, ABG, will be doing her confined water portion of diving classes in the next couple of weeks. She will have Scuba Steve as her instructor and I will be his Safety Diver for the course, so that should be fun. We’ll get some pictures of that loaded after we complete her course. I haven’t gotten the pictures of Vortex developed yet. I was waiting until I got home so I wouldn’t be on a time crunch if anything were to happen to the developing process. Not to mention that the only place around here to get them developed is Wal-Mart and it will be a COLD day in hell before I ever let them touch another roll of my film.

Next time I blog, it will be from the confines of my own computer chair in Warner Robins…

Trip Report: Vortex Springs, 28 Jan 07

Warning: LOOOOOOOONG post today. If you don't have time, come back later. :)

Since I was in Biloxi, MS for a couple weeks, I decided to try and get some diving in while I was gone. My original idea was to get Wreck Certified in the Gulf, but the weather did not cooperate enough to get two full days of diving in (4 dives), which is mandatory for PADI Wreck Diving certification. The most I was going to get was one day (if that.) After watching the weather all week for the upcoming weekend, Sunday looked like it could be a decent day. I stopped by an LDS in D’Iberville (Club Caribbean Dive and Travel) and talked to those folks for a little bit about my options. I also asked folks on the ScubaBoard.com forum. Most everyone said the same thing: Go to Vortex Spring in Ponce De Leon, FL. So, after checking with Mapquest and seeing it was only a couple hours down the road, I decided to try and give it a shot. Now, those of you that know me, know I do very little by myself, so I wanted to try and get a buddy to dive with me. I emailed all the regulars (Scuba Steve, Divemaster Donald and Dive Buddy Dee along with Ashley from my LDS) to see if anyone wanted to dive with me. Of course, I didn’t know I was going until late Friday, so it was a last minute thing for everyone. Lo and behold, Dive Buddy Dee was itching to dive and jumped on the chance. We emailed back and forth on Friday night and Saturday and set up our meeting time at Vortex.

Sunday came and I left the hotel about 6:00 CST. Dee had left her house about an hour earlier and we should get there about the same time if I did my math right accounting for a time change. I rolled in about 9:30 CST and Dee showed up about 15 minutes after that. We signed in, paid the fees, picked up our rental tanks and pulled the trucks over to our staging area. At this point in time, the air temp was about 50-52 degrees. It felt nice, but then again, we were dry. :) We geared up, did our buddy checks and went over weight removal for each other’s system. After that, we thinly discussed our dive plan. Since we knew nothing about the place, there wasn’t much to discuss. Drop down and explore. If you see something you want to see, get the other’s attention and go to it. We walked over to the stairs and started down. If you remember my exploits at Ginnie Springs back in November, I had one heck of a time keeping my legs down due to the 7mm wetsuit. This time, I decided to wear the legs over the top of my boots (instead of in them) to see if that would allow water in quicker and keep my legs from floating. (It worked perfect.. No buoyancy problems this time) As we went down the stairs and into the water, the 68 degree water started seeping into the suit and up my legs. HOLY COW!!! Now, for those of you up North, 68 degree water maybe “tepid” for you, down here to us Southern Folks, that’s dang cold!!! Dee was partially in also and as she felt the water temp, her only words were, “What have you gotten me into???” LOL.. We both got into the water and, as always, after the water gets into the suit, everything warms up and you feel fine. But some places were harder to deal with than others.. When “the boys” got in the water and when it got to the small of my back both took some time to get used to, but everything else was ok. Our first order of business was for Dee to go down in the shallows, fill and clear her mask. That was a weak point when she first started, so she makes sure she can do that before we hit anywhere with any depth. She did it and we were off.

Visibility left a lot to be desired. There were two or three O/W classes there and things were pretty stirred up. We had about 15 – 20 foot viz. There were a lot of fish. Koi, Brim, and some fish I had no idea what they were, along with eels. We couldn’t find the cavern for anything. We found the swim-thru’s (man made overhead environments they put there to practice) and other underwater things, but we couldn’t find the cavern. We were going through one swim-thru and saw my first eel. I shined my flashlight at Dee to get her attention, but by the time we got back it, it was gone. As we exited the swim-thru, I saw a “talkbox.” Basically, it’s a metal box upside down in the water that has air in it. You can swim up in it, remove your regulator and talk to each other. There is no air pumped in, so I figure it’s mostly C02, so we didn’t stay in there long. Just long enough to check it out and discuss the next move. At one point, we were near the edge of the basin and only at about 5 feet, so we surfaced and looked around. We figured out where we were and headed towards where we thought the cavern would be located. We found the opening and headed down. (Little did I realize that a BIG surface buoy marked the cavern opening) I signaled to Dee that we would go down as far as she was comfortable and stop when she said to stop. Of course, trying to hand signal that wasn’t as easy as it was saying it. She got my drift and we headed down. The cavern went to 55 feet and then the cave started and went to 110 feet. We only went to the mouth of the cave hitting 51 feet. Down there was an eel that we classified as “aggressive” and the Vortex people classified as “playful.” Depends on your definition. But, when he nipped at Dee’s fins and swam right to my face like he was going to eat me, I list it as aggressive. Actually, he was fun and I wished I had a picture of him, but I was more worried about getting out of his way than I was taking his picture. (Come to think of it, I left the camera in the truck for the first dive.) We raised back up and did our 15 foot, 3 minute stop. After that, I was pretty low on air and we had 55 minutes of bottom time, so we surfaced and started our surface interval.

This is where we figured something out: 68 degree water works great with 52 degree weather. 52 degree weather SUCKS when you’re coming out of 68 degree water. Again, we are from the South, so you Northern folks can keep your comments and snickering to yourselves. :) We made our way back to our table, got out of the gear and dried off as much as possible. I had a hooded sweatshirt to put on and Dee wrapped herself in a big blanket and a huge towel around her head. (Fashion statement picture) We got as warm as we could and got our tanks refilled for the second dive. Dee also was kind enough to share her “snack” with me. (Known to her as Dried Bagels, known the rest of the world as Stale Bread)

After an almost 2 hour surface interval, we headed back into the water. Not near as cold to us this time and everything felt better in the water. The plan this time was for Dee to lead and I’d follow. We went back to the swim-thru’s and worked our way back over the cavern. This time I had my camera, so I was taking pictures here and there. We went back into the talk-box and took each other’s picture in there. The she headed back to the cavern. We dropped down slowly and was going to get a picture of the eel. The friggin camera broke and wouldn’t turn on once we got down there. We saw him, but I couldn’t get a pic. We stayed down there for a bit and then headed to another part of the basin after doing a 3 minute stop at 15 feet.. We then saw a school of HUGE fish. I had no idea what they were, but each of them were at least two feet in length. The folks in the Dive Shop told us what they were, but I forget.. I got so mesmerized watching them that by the time they left, I turned around and didn’t see Dee anymore. Remember, there was only about 15-20 viz, so it wouldn’t take much to get separated. After a few minutes of looking, I decided to surface to find her. As soon as I broke the surface, so did she about 30 feet away. We met back up and dropped back down after I fixed the camera. I dropped back to the eel in the cavern, but he was no where to be found and since he wasn’t very nice and I had already dropped down to that depth once already in that dive, I didn’t want to stay down there for very long at all. Even so, my computer caught it and made me do a second 15 foot, 3 minute stop. I did, then we swam around the longest swim-thru and by the time we were done with that, 1 hour and 10 minutes had passed and I was down to 640 psi in my tank. No surprise. I keep good tabs on my air, so I always know what I have. (I had a good teacher.) So, we surfaced and called it a day.

It was a good day. Vortex Spring is a nice place to dive. Personally, I don’t think I could make a habit of going there like I could Ginnie Springs, but it is a nice one to say, “Been there, done that.” Morrison Springs is close to there and a trip for the weekend to hit both would be worth the trip. Plus, I would like to see further into the cave with someone that knows more about it than I do. So, I will go back to Vortex to see that, if nothing else.

I really appreciate Dive Buddy Dee for making the trip from Georgia to come down and dive with me for the day. I promise to give more notice and to have warmer weather next time.

If any of you that are reading this are certified and want to get on my list of Dive Buddies to know when we are planning trips, just send me an email and tell me so. EZ, I know you are reading this, and although you aren’t finished with your cert just yet, I know it’s right around the corner. This offer includes you. :)

They ain't heavy, they're my feet

Another thing I have noticed this week.. The Hotel workers seem to give the people with lead weights for feet the rooms on the floor above you. I can normally deal with the slamming doors outside in the hallway, the loud ass TV or noises from people gettin' freaky permeating through the walls, but, damn, I have a hard time dealing with people that sound like they are STOMPING across the floor every time they walk above me. I actually had an upstairs neighbor back in our apartment in Columbus that had a problem with the Earth's gravitational pull when he tried to walk. I had days that I could swear there was ceiling paint raining down on my head. That wasn't his only fault, but it was one of the worst. After multiple unheeded complaints to him and the office, we finally just moved out.

Luckily, this room is only temporary and most people are in and out of here after a day or so. The guy that lived next door and loved to watch porn at full volume only stayed here for two nights. And both nights, he was done "watching" by 10:30, so he didn't blast it all night. But I have got some heavy footed people above me today. I hope this is only a day stop for them and not a week long TDY.


On a better note, I'm headed to Vortex Springs in Ponce De Leon, FL tomorrow morning. The weather will be moved out of here by then and folks around here said it was worth the drive. It's only a couple of hours down the road, so I'll head over there tomorrow morning, get in a couple good dives and head back here in the afternoon. Dive Buddy Dee is going to make the trip from W/R and meet up with me there. She said she needed a little break from home, so when I told her I was going, she jumped on the chance to bug out for a few hours. I don't have my digital camera with me, but I do have a film camera. I'll take some pics and see how they turn out. If they turn out OK, I'll load them on the website like usual after I get back home. If the place is cool, I'll do a write up here about it Monday night or so.. Shoot, even if it sucks, I'll let you know. :)

I'm alive..

Sorry.. I'm alive.. I just have been so busy with the Holidays, I haven't had time to sit in here and write anything.. Hopefully, I'll get some time during the coming weekend.

A couple of quick updates:
My sister has gone through two rounds of chemo (Round # 3 this coming Tuesday) and she is doing fine. Although she shaved her hair, it doesn't seem to want to stay away, so she actually has a bit of hair right now. Still wearing the scarves and hats. But overall, she is doing amazingly well..

The other quick update was #1 Mom let me have a kitchen pass this past Sunday and I went and helped Scuba Steve out with a class during their pool session. It was a good time and I'm learning more and more about being an instructor every time I go in there with him. He is letting me do more each time and evaluates me when we finish with the Students. Being a safety diver is a great time and it lets me keep up with my skills as well as helping the students learn new ones. The picture is me (with no hair) helping a student do his "fin pivot" in the deep end. Hand up = Breathe In to lift your self off the floor. Hand Down = Breathe Out to lower yourself back down. See? Ain't I good? :)

And, last but definitely not least: Tiny Baby is getting big. She is rolling over, she is eating with a spoon and she just started squealing with delight over the past weekend. She is just a joy to be around. #1 Mom has an Office Dinner tomorrow night, so Tiny Baby and I will hanging out together, just the two of us, all evening. It will be some serious Baby/Daddy time.

Until next time..

Dive Trip 18-19 Nov 06

I have just returned from a great trip. A few months ago, a friend I work with, Dee, received her Open Water certification. After discussing the training, she said we needed to put together a trip to go and see the Manatees after they migrate to Florida for the winter. I hadn't been diving for awhile and #1 Mom granted me a "kitchen pass" for the trip, so I started planning. We found a group of about 4 others that wanted to go and I made all the arrangements from the itinerary to the lodgings for everyone. Of course, I sent countless emails out get every one's vote on everything. After it was all decided, we had a trip to Ginnie Springs on Saturday and then we would head to Crystal River, Fl that evening, crash there and do a Manatee snorkel and cavern dive on Sunday with Bird's Underwater. Everything was set. Of course within a week or so of going, the first 2 people fell out due to other commitments and finances. But, we still have a group of 4 going. The week of the trip, all communication stopped coming from the other two and I had feeling it was going to be me and Dee, but, because I wasn't hearing from the other two, I didn't know for sure. Well, just as I thought, we never saw them all weekend, so they just blew us off. Oh well, it's times like that, you realize who you can rely on and who not to count on. Scuba Steve told me, "Welcome to a large portion of the dive community. Everyone will talk a good game, but when it comes time to put out the money, you'll see who's serious." Lesson learned. People not going doesn't bother me, but when the cavern tour had a minimum of 4 people before they would take us and 2 of our 4 are no-shows, that cancels the tour for the rest of us. And that's what happened. I got a call on Friday telling me that no one from my group had scheduled for the Cavern dive and they couldn't do it with only 2 people. I told them I understood and to just put us with a snorkel group and we'd go dive another site after the Manatee thing.

So, Saturday morning we head out of Warner Robins around 0830 and get to Ginnie Springs around 1130. I was shocked at the lack of people there. There were two O/W classes and a few cave/cavern divers. At the most, I saw 10 others in the water at any given time. We had a blast. Dee had never been to Ginnie and so we did the complete tour from the basin out to the river and back. We did an hour and then did about an hour and a half surface interval. I wanted her to check out the Ginnie Cavern, but, since she is newly certified wasn't going to push the issue. During our first dive, she got to the edge and peered inside for a long time. I figured she looked interested. During our surface interval I asked if she wanted to try it. She said she would go in a little bit and see how it is. We dove in and I went in first. She followed and was just amazed at the sites you see in an overhead environment. Next thing I know, we're all the way at the back of cavern hanging on the grate feeling the rush of water coming out of the floor. It was an awesome time!!! She was bit by the "cavern bug."

After Ginnie, we headed to Crystal River. We got in about 1830, check into out rooms, hung our equipment up to dry and headed out to eat at Cracker's Bar and Grill. AWESOME food!!!! And a LOT of it!!! I was stuffed when I walked out of there. We retired to our rooms, called home to our families and crashed until the alarm went off at 0515. I got ready, loaded all my equipment and the tanks back in the truck and went and picked up Dee from her room. We headed to Bird's Underwater for our Manatee swim. After we got there, we found out our luck had changed. On Saturday, a group of 3 other people had come in and signed up for the cavern tour package so we were back on for the snorkel/dive day. Awesome!!! The only thing, we could have slept another 45 minutes if we had known that. :) We got our gear ready and waited for the rest of the folks to show up. After we watched the video on how to behave around the Manatees and what all the rules were, we loaded into the boat and headed out to the Manatee site. Before we got there, a dolphin came up next to the boat so we stopped and watched him. Our Dive master, Michael, says that although dolphins do come into the area, they hardly ever come near the boats, so we were getting a special treat. After a few minutes, the dolphin swam off, so we headed towards the Manatee site again. We arrived at the site and got another quick briefing. After that, we entered the water just hoping to see a Manatee. Seeing a Manatee is fairly easy, but find one that is playful isn't guaranteed. I was in the water about 4 minutes thinking, "I'm never going to even see one" when all of a sudden I got bumped in my right side. I turned and there was a Manatee. He found me and came to me. I reached over and started rubbing it's back and it rolled over to have it's tummy rubbed. As I was doing that, I got bumped on my left side. A second one had found me and he wanted to be rubbed also. So, after thinking I wasn't going to see any, I one on each hand and then a third one bumped my from behind. I didn't have three arms, so I was just spinning around between the three taking turns. # 3 left for better waters I guess, but my first two buddies stuck around. #2 is the one in the picture up top. He was covered in barnacles from living most of his time in the ocean. #1 was smooth as they come. (Which is about as smooth as elephant skin) At one point, #1 came straight at me and pressed his nose right up against my mask and smashed it into my face. So, I guess I was kissed by a Manatee. :) #2 actually scared me at one point. He had rolled over and I was scratching his belly, when, all of a sudden, I felt his flippers on each side of me and he was trying to hug me. It kind of freaked me out and I slowly pushed away. Michael says they do that, but they also sometimes drag swimmers down not realizing what they are doing. So, it was a good thing I did push away. But, he still said it was a privilege to be "hugged" by a Manatee. I took a group of pictures and Michael videoed us with the Manatees. It was truly an AMAZING 30-45 minutes!!! After that, the divers in the group geared up and we hit the cavern. Viz was only about 4 feet in the open water and when we dropped the first time, we all got separated. We did the "look for one minute and surface" drill. After we all surfaced, we re-grouped and dropped closer together. We stayed together and entered the cavern. It was cool. Viz was about 15-20 feet inside. I really think that after the manatees, nothing was going to awesome, but we still had a good time. We did about a 35 minute guided cavern dive and then surfaced after our safety stop. Back to the boat and back to the Marina. After that, we went to eat while they were making the DVD of our Manatee swim and then we headed back to GA. We got back home about 1740 on Sunday. It was an amazing trip!!!

For anyone that wants to join us next time, just drop me a line and we'll include you the next time we plan a trip.

For those of you that cancelled due to other reasons, maybe next time.

For those of you that blew us off: Your Loss.

All of the pictures and the movie I took will posted on my website in the scuba gallery as soon as I can get them downsized and loaded up. This bottom picture is one taken at Ginnie Springs. As you can see, like they say: “Visibility forever.”

I also want to say a special "Thank You" to #1 Mom for giving me the Kitchen Pass and allowing me to go on the trip. It won't be forgotten.