Every Day I’m Chuuk-in’ It!

3 07 2012

I probably do not have the best words to describe how amazing this trip was, and how thankful Steve and I are to Elena, for making it possible. I doubt there is anything that could even remotely top this experience, but I will do my best to share our adventures!

Friday, June 15th, 2012 ~ 

Today was the day that we would leave on our trip of a lifetime. Pinch me, are we really going??? We would fly from Ottawa, to Calgary, to Tokyo, to Guam, spend the night, then fly from Guam to Chuuk airport. We had quite a journey ahead of us! Our flights went off without a hitch, but we did have to wait until we got toTokyo, to get our tickets to Guam. We were surprised to see that they were using computers and telephones that seemed to come from the 80s! 🙂

 

Saturday, June 16th, 2012 ~

We arrived in Guam on Saturday night (about 9pm Guam time). We reached our hotel, and as we made our way to the check-in counter, we were greeted by Sofie and Cas! We got our room, ditched our luggage, then headed out for an evening beverage.

Way too cool, not to share. Seen in the store windows, in Guam…

 

Sunday, June 17th, 2012 ~

So… It seems that we slept through our alarm, to meet Sofie and Cas for breakfast. I guess the time difference and jet lag affected us, more than we thought! We headed down to the buffet, then met S and C, in the lobby.

It also turned out to be Sofie’s Birthday!

 

We lounged about for a while, then went to the pool for even more lounging!

 

We then met up with Jaroslav, Dennis, and Alexey!

 

Lunch was at TGIFridays, then it was off to the airport!

Cas, with his fancy beer cup, that they let him keep…

 

We went through security, and I have to say, that I had the funniest security check that I have ever had, in an airport. Of course, they had to do a search of my carry-on… There was a can light inside of it, that always comes up as suspicious-looking, on the scanner screen. So… the guy opened my carry-on, and when lifting the light up, the battery slipped out. I reached out to grab it, and it just happened to be around waist-high *cough*. It did look rather funny, and everyone around us broke into hysterics. We even had to reenact the scene for his colleagues. Of course, I was a few different shades of red, but laughing, of course! I bet that story will be shared in the locker room, for a while! Ok, time to board!

I had a Business Class seat. Sweet! First time ever, in Business Class! I even received a fancy chocolate bar, with my meal!

We arrived in Chuuk, about an hour and a half later. It took a while to get through immigration, but once we were through, we got our luggage, and were greeted by Kevin D.! Off to the boat!

M/Y Blue Star: Well, it was the most beautiful “boat” that I have ever seen, outside of a magazine or TV show. We were going to be here for a whole week! w00t!

M/Y Blue Star, taken by Jaroslav Moiseenko…

We boarded, met the folks that were diving the previous week, were shown to our cabins, chatted for a bit, then sleeeep!

Tomorrow, we DIVE!!!

Monday, June 18th, 2012 ~

Steve and I were up fairly early, and decided to get our gear put together, and the others were not far behind!

 

We had breakfast, then had planned on two dives, on the Kensho Maru.

Kevin D. debriefed, for us!

 

We splashed in, and as we descended, we saw so many soft corals! I have never really been one for “pretty corals,” but this was spectacular! I guess when you are used to diving in greenish water, with a lot of dirt and periwinkle shells, the sea life here, is shocking!

 

There were so many artifiacts on the wrecks, which was really incredible to see.

Golden, taking some pics of artifacts…

 

 

There were many big fish to see, navigation console, and every different type of coral you could imagine. Kevin showed us around on the first dive, which was very cool! He pointed out “all” of the cool stuff! Yes, it is all cool!

 

Bottom Time: 68 mins.
Max Depth: 100′
Water Temp: 84F

When we surfaced, I think I had a perma-grin on my face, and the words that came out of my mouth, were, “That did NOT suck!” That pretty much became our saying of the week. No, these dives did definitely NOT suck!!!

We then had some lunch, which was a wide array of deliciousness! We did a bit of lounging, then got ready for our second dive. Yes, I could seriously get used to this!

Just keep swimming, just keep swimming…

*Splash!* Steve and I made our way down to the wreck, across the deck, and into the engine room. Wilkie met us down there, and showed us around. There were many different levels, different rooms, and a few tight spots. VERY COOL! Thanks for the tour, Wilkie!

So many fish!

 

Steve, on our ascent…

 

 

Bottom Time: 68 mins.
Max Depth: 106′
Water Temp: 84F

After our most excellent dive, we came in, hung up our suits, and had a bit of a nap, before dinner. Yes, it was a very tough day. 😛

We had cake for dessert, in honour of Sofie’s Birthday!

 

Tuesday, June 19th, 2012 ~

Today’s dives were to be three, on the Fujikawa Maru. Woo hoo! So much to see, on this wreck!

Kevin’s dive briefing..

 

Our first dive was before breakfast, and we got a slightly later start than we were supposed to, but.. wow! How wicked is this wreck??? Zero planes in one of the cargo holds, with the pilots’ air tanks, still behind the seats. We saw so many bullets, ammo, shells, along with coats, a vest, gas masks, propellors, lamps, boxes, barrels, a workshop, and so many bottles! There was a ton of marine life, including corals, many fish, and “nemos!” Just an incredible wreck! With this much to see, I could have done more than three dives on this wreck! 🙂

 

 

Steve, coming out of one of the holds…

 

Got guns?

 

Cas and Sofie…

I think Steve might be enjoying this…

 

Bottom Time: 74 mins.
Max Depth: 89′
Water Temp: 86F

After breakfast, we were back in the water! As one of the guys handed me my camera, I noticed that I had left the lens cap on, after clearing the memory card… DOH! Oh well… *Handed it back up.*

We went to explore the stern of the wreck, which was extremely cool. Again, there was so much to see on this wreck, that we could have spent more than one day, here! When surfacing from this dive, I think my response was, “That was pretty cool,” which became the understatement of the century (Thanks for reminding me, Kev 😛 ).

Jaroslav, taken by Kevin Davidson…

 

Bottom Time: 65 mins.
Max Depth: 104′
Water Temp: 84F

After lunch, I made sure to take the lens cap off of the camera, and we were back in business! We decided to go back into the holds, and visit the planes again. I think this was definitely one of our favourite places. We spent a little more time in the plane hold, and saw jackets, pilot goggles, more air tanks, and plane parts. Amazing!!!

Steve and I, with the zero planes. Taken by Kevin Davidson…

 

Bottom Time: 79 mins.
Max Depth: 93′
Water Temp: 84F

After our spectacular dives, we came in, tended to our gear, had a bit of a rest, then cleaned up for dinner! Wow… The food was incredible! I don’t recall ever being spoiled like this! There was even dessert, which we don’t normally eat at home, and it was seriously dreamy!!! Then came some fishing for the boys, and sleeeeeep.

Wednesday, June 20th, 2012 ~

Today, we were heading to the San Francisco Maru, for some Tech Diving Goodness!

Steve and I dropped down the pilot house mooring, and Kevin D took some photos of us, near the tanks.

We dropped down into  one of the holds, but didn’t venture too far down, due to our gas mixes. There was so much to see! There were guns on the decks too, which was just amazing. We swam through the pilot house, down a bit of a dip through the wreck, and back up. We met up with everyone on deco, and surfaced to some pretty big smiles! DNS!!!

Bottom Time: 60 mins.
Max Depth: 181′ (Avg. 150′)
Water Temp: 84F

We then had some yummy lunch, chilled, then were going for a dip on the Rio De Janeiro! We were assured that the engine room was something to see. 😀

Cas joined Steve and I on this dive, and we were using Elena’s Halcyon scooters! w00t!

We had an absolute blast, scootering up, down, through, in between bits. This wreck lays on its side, so there were many neat penetrations for us to play.. er.. dive around and through.

Steve, Me, Cas. Taken by Kevin Davidson…

Bottom Time: 65 mins.
Max Depth: 101′
Water Temp: 86F

After our dive, we came in, looked at pictures, had a rest, dinner, then more pictures! This is the life!

Chillin’, in our room!

Thursday, June 21st, 2012 ~

We got up early for breakfast, then went back over to the San Francisco Maru, for another dive on it. Excellent! As we neared, there was another small boat that came in, wanting to do the wreck, too. They moored up to Baby Blue, and their divers splashed in, first. We had no problems waiting for them, since they were not going to be long.

On this dive, Steve was going to bring the 200 watt HMI light, so I could try to get some shots. I still do not have strobes, so we were going to give “The Sun” a try!

We descended on to the deck, near the tanks, and Steve would shine the light where I asked him to. It was still too dark… *Drat…* Oh well, it was worth a try. Steve also had a Go Pro with him, so he took a bit of footage, using the light. It was a little bright for the little Go Pro! 🙂

I did manage to get a few shots…

Then some fun on deco, where I had a bit more light…

Kevin, at the mooring ball… DNS!!!

Alexey…

Golden, and people on deco, everywhere!

Steve, on our ascent… two minutes left until surface!

We had plenty of Diving Goodness!

Bottom Time: 68 mins.
Max Depth: 176′
Water Temp: 86F

We came in for some delicious lunch, more picture-checking (just about everyone had cameras), and then ready for our second dive, on the Sankisan Maru!

Mowgli, with his X-Ray vision!

Looking at pictures…

Our dive briefing, by Kevin D.!

So much to see on this wreck! There were plane engines, bullets, trucks, and incredible sea life. This one was a bit more shallow, so there was plenty of ambient light. I was happy to have my camera, on this one!

Steve, as we were coming out of one of the holds…

Intact machine gun…

Leigh C.!

There were bullets everywhere!

Steve, with a bullet…

As we were swimming along, and taking in the sights, I was dive-bombed by Wilkie, freediving! I had quite a giggle, as Dave put his Go Pro in my face, and I was quick enough to snap a pic of him, on his way back up! Too bad his camera batteries were dead!

We had a nice, relaxing dive, and I took so many pictures!

Bottom Time: 79 mins.
Max Depth: 81′
Water Temp: 86F

After our dive, Alexey asked us if we actually breathed under water. 😀 We came in, shared pictures, then watched Shareen’s movie on crime in South Africa. Very interesting and eye opening. Well done, Shareen!

A little island that we all wanted to move to…

Another excellent dinner (Chris, the Chef, is magnificent!!!), then some chat, and off to sleep!

Friday, June 22nd, 2012 ~

Got up, analyzed tanks, breakfast, then we got ready to dive the Nagano, using Trimix. Quite a bit of surface current here, and Steve and I had scooters for this one! It was a bit cloudy and rainy out, today!

What a cool wreck! I didn’t have my camera, but Kevin D. got some shots of us!

Me, making my way through a doorway, into a room, taken by Kevin Davidson…

Steve and I, on deco! Pic taken by Leigh Cunningham…

We had quite a bit of fun, on deco. Hovered a bit, scootered a bit, practiced finning techniques with Alexey, and were tossed about a little, by the surface currents. The water was moving quite a bit here, and we did get tossed about. Using the mooring ball as a visual reference was not the best idea..lol.

We even towed Kevin and Wilkie back to the boat, so they wouldn’t have to work so hard, getting back. 🙂

Bottom Time: 84 mins.
Max Depth: 179′
Water Temp: 84F

Got out, had a rest (I know, it’s hard work), then lunch! Such a variety of delicious food!

More chillin’, then we readied for our second dive. We were going to the Yamagiri Maru. Yes, it was DIVINE!!!

Sofie came with Steve and I, and as we descended onto the wreck, I was dive-bomed by a fish! He came out of nowhere, and hit me in the head! Holy smokes, he scared the living pachoosies out of me, and I even let out a yelp! I have no idea what kind of fish it was, but it was big, grey, and had a blue/purple lining around him. *Shudder* Steve didn’t see it, as he was in front of me, but Sofie did!

The wreck is laying on its side, and we entered one of the cargo holds. There was so much “stuff” in this hold! Tables, chairs, and even big-wheeled wagons for the giant torpedo shells. We then went to the engine room, where Wilkie had run a line for us, to find a skull. It was quite a gnarly area, and we had to maneuver between steel pipes, ascending through the wreckage. It was really neat passage. I remembered Wilkie saying that there was a big piece of metal laying against a “wall,” and if you look up, you can see  a skull. We didn’t actually see it on the way up and in, but on the way down, I saw what looked like a “big piece of metal laying against a wall,” so I looked up, and was able to see it. Steve saw another one, wedged into another spot, which I did not see!

Pic of the skull, taken by Kevin Davidson…

We came out, then headed into another hold. Holy giant torpedo shells, Batman! No wonder they needed those big-wheeled wagons to move them around!

We made our way back up to the “top” of the wreck, where I played with a couple of “Nemos,” that were hanging out in their anemone. I hovered beside them, with my face a bit close, and one of them came right up to my mask. They were way too cool. Steve than signaled to come over to where he was. Sea Turtle!!! I had never seen a sea turtle, so did a bit of a happy dance, when I saw him! I watched him for a little bit, then Sofie signaled us over, where there was a big Trunk Fish! We were about to make our way over for our ascent, when I noticed a big school of fish (not sure what kind… they may have been Bat Fish), doing dances around a Jelly Fish, that they were snacking on. It was really neat to watch! Then we saw a HUGE school of some kind of really big Grey Fish, right by our ascent line. Biggest school of fish I have ever seen!!

As we ascended, I ended up with a Moon Jelly in my face. I held my hand out gently, as he drifted into my hand. I was surprised at how hard and bouncy he was! I giggled like a little kid. 🙂 Yes… This dive definitely did NOT suck! It was DIVINE (Another word that we used rather frequently, during the trip)!!! A dive I will definitely never forget!

Bottom Time: 68 mins.
Max Depth: 97′
Water Temp: 84F

We exited the water, hung our gear, rested, and chatted! Dinner was fabulous, once again, and we had the most amazing Creme Brule, for dessert!

Saturday, June 23rd, 2012 ~

Three dives on the Shinkoku Maru, today! w00t! Elena had told us how wonderful this wreck is, and it really IS!

Our first dive was before breakfast, and since the engine room is a bit tight, we were going to dive it in shifts. Kevin guided us towards it, taking pictures of us, along the way. I think my eyes were the size of dinner plates, at all of the life and fascinating things to see. I played with 4 “Nemos,” and then Kevin signaled for me to look down… I looked… Holy freakin’ sea turtle, swimming up from underneath me, right in my face! WOW!!! I was a bit close for a decent picture of him, but this is what I got (wide angle lens)…

…and from Kevin’s perspective….

We then made it to the hatch, to go to the engine room. Kevin dove in, head first, followed by Steve, then me. We toured in twists and turns in to a massive engine room, through corridors, bathrooms, crew quarters, and a few tight spots. This was definitely one of my favourites!

In the engine room, taken by Kevin Davidson…

Workshop and giant vice, taken by Kevin Davidson..

Steve, in the engine room, taken by Kevin Davidson…

Bathtub, in one of the bathrooms, taken by Kevin Davidson…

We exited out of a large opening, caused by a torpedo. Did.Not.Suck.At.All.

On our ascent, Steve had a new friend. A batfish was playing around him, so Steve would wiggle his finger, and the fish would come right up to him. This went on for quite a while, and the fishy followed all the way up to the boat. What a neat interaction!

Steve even donated to him…

Bottom Time: 71 mins.
Max Depth: 126′
Water Temp: 84F

We had some breakfast, I put my pics over onto my iPad, then we splashed back in! We went back into the upper part of the engine room. There are so many different directions to go in, and there were many openings. We went an entirely different direction, and came out of the same torpedo hole as the first dive.

We then went to the galley, bathroom, and then to the operating room. There is an operating table still there, and there are a few bones on the table, that look like femur and arm bones.

Items on the deck…

Bottom Time: 64 mins.
Max Depth: 122′
Water Temp: 84F

Then it was lunch time, again! So many different kinds of pizzas! They were delicious!!!

Dive 3!

Steve and I poked into as many spaces as we could. There is just so much to expore on this wreck, and so many rooms!

We saw a Lion Fish, hiding under some coral, rainbow-coloured fish, more batfish, and more “Nemos.” We saw one of the two anchor chains, in one of the rooms, which was freakin’ massive. We also saw a crate of what looked like cans of food. There were boxes of clothing, china (some was wedged under a huge piece of metal). We passed through a hallway with many rooms. Could have been crew quarters. One room was still sealed – This was in the stern area. We then made our way through the entire wreck, from side to side, exiting through the torpedo hole. WICKED, DIVINE, DNS!!!!!!!

Bottom Time: 67 mins.
Max Depth: 104′
Water Temp: 84F

We got out, hung up our gear, suits, charged batteries, then all shared pictures, before dinner.

Watching Kevin’s pics on the TV!

Elena, showing us a valve drill!

More valve drills!

Sunday, June 24th, 2012 ~

We woke up to rain, but that didn’t stop four of us from getting in on the last dive of the trip! Today’s adventure was on the Heinu Maru. This wreck lays on its side, and was a submarine supply ship. Much to see on this one, too! Kevin took myself, Steve, Sofie, and Cas on a tour, to make sure we saw the “cool” stuff… Although, it’s all cool, to me!

The holds were filled with radios, periscopes (cool factor twice as high, on these things), telegraph tables. As we came out of one of the holds, Kevin had stuck himself inside a large tube, to surprise us. We definitely had a few laughs! After showing us around, Kevin surfaced, and we carried on with our investigating. We swam along the “top” of the wreck (I think it was the port side), and saw so much life. We even saw a Crown Of Thorns (eek). There was a telephone receiver, a bunch of china, a tray, and so many fish. Such a relaxing and easy way to finish up our amazing week of the best Diving Goodness, ever (I am running out of “amazing” adjectives).

Bottom Time: 66 mins.
Max Depth: 101′
Water Temp: 80F (There was even a thermocline at 8′, due to the rain)

For the rest of the day, we relaxed, had lunch, and packed.

We then made our way over to Truk Stop, where they opened the shop for us, and everyone bought a few souvenirs.

We sat and had a beverage on the patio, then moved into the restaurant, for dinner!

Very cool lamp, on the patio…

We sat in the back room of the restaurant, and had many laughs, until it was time to return to the boat, and make our way to the airport.

We met some pretty wonderful people, and were able to dive some of the most amazing wrecks, in a place that neither Steve nor I imagined we would see. I also think that Wilkie and Kevin D are two of the best guides, and were a blast to be around (as were the rest of the crew – top notch)! I am not sure how many more adjectives for the words, “Awesome, Amazing, Incredible, DIVINE, DNS,” there are, but I can say that it was definitely an epic experience!!!

Elena, thank you so much for everything!!

Below photo by Kevin Davidson…


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Zzzzzzooooooooooooom!

11 06 2012

Saturday, June 9th, 2012 ~ 

Today’s dive was at the quarry… an extremely busy quarry. There were cars as far as the eye could see! Well.. at least into the upper parking lot, as well as a full house, up by the toilets.

Today’s dive was a Fundies Tech upgrade checkout dive. I hadn’t been in the water for a couple of weeks (stoOpid work..lol), so I was happy to get in the water!

I got to play the role of “buddy,” which was also much fun! Fundies Dive 6! w00t! 🙂

Bottom Time:  28 mins.
Max Depth: 30′
Water Temp: 57F
Vis.: Not great – There were also an incredible number of OW checkout dives.

From there, we headed to Jean Burger, for lunch, then home! By noon!!! :O

 

Sunday, June 10th, 2012 ~ 

Today, Steve and I headed down to Centeen Park. Steve was taking a couple of fine folks out for their GUE DPV 1 Experience dive, in the St. Lawrence River, and I went along for the ride!

It was pretty busy at the park, although not crazy. For this dive, I used my “Big Girl Tanks (my 130s), which I have not used since the fall. Yes, they were still a little heavier than my AL80s. 🙂

A little boat that passed by the park…

We also had some visitors, who obviously didn’t care about the pretend foxes around them, as well as did not pay attention to the “police” tape that was put up for them, as a barrier!

My Big Girl Tanks, with my Purple AL80s in the background (I have my fancy Light Monkey wing on those!)…

We got in, did our checks, and our plan was to scooter upstream at about 30′, drop into the channel, drift, make our way back up to the Gaskin, play around for a while, then come back in.

The guys did a fantastic job, and as we came back into about 20′, they were congratulated with handshakes!

Way to go, guys!

Bottom Time:  78 mins.
Max Depth: 94′
Water Temp: 60F
Vis.: Not great in the shallows, opening up in the channel.

This is one heck of a dive mobile!

After the dive, Eric came to meet us, too. We had planned on doing another dive, so we switched our gear over to our AL80s, and grabbed a stage each. We also switched scooter bodies, so that we would have a longer burn time.

So… I can still report that there was no truck to be found… I swear, I think it must get moved when we dive. We did manage to find some wreckage that I swear we have seen before. It is an old piece of a wooden bow. I know it is the same one that we had seen on another occasion.. although, the current was very mild this time around, and I got to actually take a look at it! Once we got to a couple of small shoals, near the 3 Sister Islands, we decided to turn back towards shore.  We stayed at depth for a while, hopeful for a truck sighting, but.. alas.. today was still not the day!

We passed by a bottle jug that we had passed on the way out, so we knew we still weren’t going to find that darn vehicle!

Still an excellent dive, and a lot of fun!

Bottom Time: 71  mins.
Max Depth: 99′
Water Temp: 60F
Vis.: Not great in the shallows, opening up in the channel.

Eric’s new camera!

Eric took a couple of pics of us, with his new camera! Taken by Eric Bourque…

Yet another silly (FUN) self-portrait!


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Nope… Not This Time, Either…

7 05 2012

Sunday, May 6th, 2012 ~ 

So, we made another attempt at looking for the elusive truck. The old Chevy truck that seems to hide from us, every time we look for it. We have been looking for this thing for about 5 years, and although we know we are all around the right area, we never seem to actually find it. Many other friends have found it, although I am starting to wonder if it actually exists, or if people keep photoshopping into their pics and videos, just to tantalize us. 😛

We arrived at Centeen Park, brought our scooters to the water, geared up, and in we went. The visibility was horrible, and there was a ton of green river snot (algae), floating everywhere. I actually caught a piece of it on my upper lip, as we scootered along.

Jenn E. even came by to say hello!

We have had a couple of friends try to help us in our quest, including the directions they follow, as well as another friend giving us GPS coordinates (thanks, Dave). I guess they would be more helpful if we actually plugged them in somewhere. Mike says that would be cheating, if we did that, but at this point, I don’t care. Lol… We’ve been looking for such a long time!!! Today, it did feel like we were getting close. We didn’t see the milk jugs that were supposed to be around the truck, but we did find an area where it was more flat, and what looked like a roadway. A truck should be near a roadway, right???

Oh well.. I guess we will have to continue our search on another day. We did see a fancy pike, though, and it was still a rather fun dive. As long as we still get to play in the water, it is a good day!

Bottom Time: 63 mins.
Max Depth: 96′
Water Temp: 46F
Vis.: Gross, with bits of green fluff.

Mike, James, and Jen B.

James and I! Me, with some serious dive hair! It looks like I also got a bit of sun, a neck seal rub, and cold water face! 😛

We topped the day off with some All You Can Eat Fajitas, at Santa Fe! Thanks for the torts, Penny! 😀

Until our next quest for the Invisible Truck!!!


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Cavezzzzzzz… and Sthcooterthzzzzzz….

10 04 2012

Friday, March 30th, 2012 ~ 

Steve and I hopped a plane to the Mayan Riviera! This whole “Direct Flight” thing is the absolute best! From the airlines that we have used, West Jet is the best, so far. One extra baggage fee is way better than $12/kg over 50 lbs. We also had the best flight attendant that I have ever had. She was absolutely hilarious. During the mandatory emergency demonstrations, “If your life vest does not inflate, you are… SOL! Just kidding… ” 😛

We arrived in Cancun, got a “green light,” through security, then met our rental car fellow. We hopped into the van, where there was a nice, young couple from Mexico City, that were here for the weekend. As we pulled out, they pointed out to us that Robert Gomez (a movie star, in Mexico) was there (we saw him talking to a bunch of cameras), and was surrounded by Police security.

At the car rental office, we learned that the word for “Hatchback,” in Spanish, is… Hatchback…

We finally arrived at our condo, unloaded a few things, then went to meet Kathy, for dinner. Ahhhhh… Fajitas and a Daquiri Fresa!

Saturday, March 31st, 2012 ~

We made our way to the shop, grabbed some gear, and went to Fenom, with Kathy. We took the path to some Mastadon bones, which was extremely cool to see! We tied in to another line, which turned into “swiss cheese.” Very neat cave.

We had a nice, relaxing dive, and even saw a medium-sized brown crayfish inside the cave. He must have taken a wrong turn. We played around in the basin a little, and saw a couple of other lines, which looked very “sidemount-like.” There was another that may have been the downstream line.

Bottom Time:  1 hour, 27 mins.
Max Depth: 57′
Water Temp: 77F
Vis.: Gin clear!

We also saw a funky looking tree, along the way…

When we got back to the shop, Laurynn and Kathryn were just pulling in! How about that timing?? We followed them back to Akumal for some dinner, picked up a few groceries, then back home, to sleep!

Sunday, April 1st, 2o12 ~

We met Laurynn and Kathryn at the shop, and packed our stuff. Today, we were heading to Minotauro. We opted to stay on the main line, since today’s objective was PICTURES! Kathryn brought her camera along, and Steve and I were models for the day! We were rigged up with slave strobes, which would light up the cave behind us, when Kathryn took the shots. What an amazing experience!! Such a beautiful cave, too!

Bottom Time: 1 hour, 37 mins.
Max Depth: 48′
Water Temp: 77F

One of Kathryn’s amazing shots, taken at Minotauro! Steve and I…

Dinner was back in Akumal, then Steve and I headed back to the condo, hung up our gear, relaxed a bit, and readied for our next day…. Scooters!

Monday, April 2nd, 2012 ~ 

8:30 at the shop, and we got all of our stuff together. We gathered ’round the scooters, where we went through some maintenance, usage, charging, cleaning, silicone greasing, and putting them together. They were a little different from our Gavins, and we were both looking forward to trying out the Suexes!

We had some classroom time first, then loaded Danny’s truck, and made our way to Eden. Once there, we adjusted our tow cords, had a bit more instruction, then headed to the water, for skills! We practiced many different things, including stop/go, pulling/pushing, pulling with elbow, towing a second scooter, towing a buddy, OOG towing, checking buoyancy, and turning at different angles. We headed into the cavern zone, running the reel, and towing the second scooter. I learned just how negative the Halcyon scooter is, when weighted for salt water, while we were in fresh water.

I brought the reel in, and.. well… I didn’t really have any issues, but let’s just say that the line on the reel, wasn’t exactly even…lol.

Danny’s favourite expression: Pure. Mickey. Mouse! 😛

Total Bottom Time: 2 Hours, 45 mins.
Max Depth: 38′
Water Temp: 77F

Back to the shop, unloaded, checked scooter voltage, plugged them in, then off to the grocery store, for some groceries! We then made our way to Latitude 20, for some Quesadillas con Pollo, y dos Cocas!

Tuesday, April 3rd, 2012 ~ 

We had a break from our course today, as Danny had made an obligation for the day, so we headed to Jailhouse, with Laurynn and Kathryn! The entry was absolutey zero visibility, but once we made our way in, we saw some beautiful cave. Laurynn had her video camera with her, too!

We saw some animal bones, took a jump, and saw some really stunning cave. I can’t wait to see the video!!

Total Bottom Time: 1 Hour, 43 mins.
Max Depth: 76′
Water Temp: 77F

 

After our most excellent dive, we headed back to Tulum, for some delicious backroad feasting! Back to shop, unload gear, back to condo, rest, then back to Latitude 20!

Pic taken by Laurynn Evans…

Oh… and… Do NOT act out scenes of Platoon with Charlie Sheen…

Wednesday, April 4th, 2012 ~ 

Back to scooter school! Today was Gas Planning and Burn Time planning! Today’s dives were at Chac Mool, with two stages each. Steve got to take a third stage bottle, and I had a second scooter.

Holy halocline, Batman! This was our first time in Chac Mool, and most of our dive was in the halocline. We saw, “The Monster,” which is the biggest formation in any of the Mexico caves, on the downstream line. Danny scooted over beside it, to give us a perspective on how big that thing really was!

We were doing calculations as we went on with our dive, of our scooter burn times. I had a hard time remembering the numbers at first, but did eventually get the hang of it. Going in, I was using the Suex, with the Halcyon scooter towing behind, and on the way back, switched it up, to see how I would be with the larger scooter towing behind. That went well, although, I think I needed a bit of a shorter tow leash on the bigger scooter.

Dive 1 – Downstream Line:

Bottom Time: 1 hour, 9 mins.
Max Depth: 42′
Water Temp: 77F

On our second dive, we went on the Upstream line. I ran the line for this one, took a third bottle, and Steve had the extra scooter. I found myself very relaxed on this dive. We tried the scooter override on this dive, too. What an excellent day!

Dive 2 – Upstream Line:

Bottom Time: 1 hour, 14 mins.
Max Depth: 51′
Water Temp: 77F

We went back to the shop, unloaded, tended to scooters, did some DPV 1 presenting, then to Subway, and back to the condo! We definitely slept well!

Thursday, April 5th, 2012 ~ 

Today was Dos Ojos. I had two bottles and two scooters, while Steve had three bottles. I led this dive. We followed the cavern line, ran a spool off to the main line. We took a jump, and after continuing for a bit, dropped our first stage bottles, then scooters, swam for a bit, then dropped our second stage bottles. There was some really neat cave, here!

We reached our turn pressure, and headed back. Once we returned to the basin, we played “games.” Danny set up a line for us, and we were picking up stage bottles, on the fly. We would be driving one scooter, towing two, carrying two bottles, and picking up a third. How fun was that? Although, I cut the pachoosies out of my fingers, trying to clip that third one! I needed practice on clipping that third bottle on.

Still a most excellent day!

Bottom Time: 3 hours, 31 mins.
Max Depth: 49′
Water Temp: 77F

We went back to the shop, unloaded, checked voltage, plugged scooters in, loaded up for Thursday, then did more DPV 1 presentations.  We then went over to meet Danny’s twins! So adorable!

It was getting late, so we ended up back at Subway, and as we neared the condo, we saw Marina. Steve went back to work on his DPV 1 stuff, and I went to shoot the breeze with Marina!

Friday, April 6th, 2012 ~

Shop, scooters, Nahoch!

Lowering down scooters and stages…

Today, we had two scooters and two bottles each. Main line, a jump to the right, drop 1st stages, continue on, drop 2nd stages and scooters, and went for a swim! When I was getting close to my turn pressure, I noticed Steve reaching for his markers, to mark the next intersection. We have a very similar SAC rate, so instead of pulling out the markers, I just signaled to Steve, and turned the dive.

As we made our way back to our bottles and scooters, I was given quite a scenario, as I listened to Steve giggling in the background. Let’s just say that clipping on three bottles (I got to take Danny’s extra bottle) and two scooters while in zero visibility was fun! 😛

On the way back, Steve signals me… “Missing something?” It seems that my third bottle had unclipped, and I had not felt it (duhhh…). As I was clipping it back on, a couple of cookies that I had in my compass bungees came out, so I quickly picked them up, and carried on. We got going again, and I get another signal… “Missing something else??” My knife had come out of its pouch, which has never happened in my entire history of diving… It is also in a velcro pouch, so I was really beginning to think that Danny was having a field day with me! Me = Dork… Carry on!

When we surfaced, I asked if Danny had been picking on me, and it turned out that he hadn’t.. well… not the stuff that had escaped from me.. As for the zero visibility, there was no denial! 😀 Still such an amazing dive, and definitely a wonderful learning experience!

Bottom Time: 2 hours, 58  mins.
Max Depth: 31′
Water Temp: 77F
Vis.: Stunning… most of the time!

Packed up, headed back to the shop to switch out tanks and charge scooters, then Steve gave his DPV 1 Presentations!

We then headed for dinner with “The Gang!” We went out to The Pub, with myself, Steve, Fred, Angelica, Laurynn, Kathryn, Kathy, Jason, Ali, Cameron, Evan, Alessandra, and Peter. We had just a few laughs!

Saturday, April 7th, 2012 ~ 

Last day of Cave Scooter School! Today’s dive was in Yax Chen/Ox Bel Ha! We loaded up, and were ready to go!

Partially loaded…

When we arrived, we were happy to have the wheel barrel, to bring gear to the water!

When we arrived, there was a bit of a photo shoot going on. It was incredibly hot and humid, so after bringing gear to the water, we decided to have a bit of lunch, before getting into the water.

Today’s dive was planned as a two stage, two scooter dive, carrying an extra bottle each, for kicks. I was leading this dive, and it was definitely different to scooter it, than to swim it. It is quite a different cave from the other Mexico caves, being dark, and of different formation. Those tarpin in one of the passing cenotes are extremely cool.

We were on the Halcyon scooters for the first while, and then switched to the Suex. It was right around our first stage drop, so we did that, too. Then came our second and third stage bottle drops (along with scooters), and we carried on, swimming. We reached our back gas turn pressure, then started to head back. As we picked up our goodies along the way, Steve was handed a fourth bottle, as well as my towed scooter. He had four bottles and three scooters on him. I ended up with three bottles and one scooter…. for a little while…

Then, it was my turn… I couldn’t expect to get away with that, could I?? 😛 Then I was given an extra bottle, plus the other two towed scooters.. Four bottles, three scooters… Yippppppieee! It went very well, except that I need to pay a little bit closer attention to how much gas I dump from my wing, when carrying this amount of gear, with depth changes. I think I can handle that. 🙂

I have to say, that this was a most excellent workshop, and I love how we were both challenged. It is pretty amazing how Danny seemed to know when to challenge my comfort level, and make me realize that I am capable of more than I imagined. I can say that I can apply what I learned from this workshop to every aspect of my diving.

I feel very lucky to have taken training from Fred, Chris, and Danny. It is really fantastic to be able to share in some of each of their knowledge. I would also like to thank Kathy Dicker, for giving me compliments that I never imagined receiving. They really mean a lot!

Sunday, April 8th, 2012 ~ Happy Easter!

Today, we were meeting Kathy and Lamont at ZG, then off to Grand Cenote! That is, after stopping for some ice cream…

Steve and I each had a stage, and were heading to “La Boca.” We were told that this was some absolutely beautiful cave, and were excited to see it! We would have to do 5 jumps to get to it, so were happy to have a map in my wet notes. We did check it a couple of times.

There was some restrictive passage along the way, and some gorgeous decorations. When we reached the 5th jump, we ascended into a room that seriously moved me. I cannot even express how incredible this small room was. Beautiful cave is an understatment… Just.Freakin’.Stunning. This has to be one of my favourite dives, so far!!!

We went a little further, as we still had usable back gas. We approached a “Y,” in a very silty area, that seemed to pinch down into what looked like sidemount territory. We decided to turn around, and head back. Amazing dive!!!

After the 5th jump, we had passed through a layer of water, that appeared to be like a halocline. We were very confused, seeing as we were already in fresh water. When we asked Fred about it later, it turned out to be a layer of “fresher” fresh water, up in a dome, that came from rain water, creating yet another layer. Very cool!

Bottom Time: 2 hours, 55 mins.
Max Depth: 39′
Water Temp: 77F
Vis.: Spectacular!

We surfaced, and still had quite a bit of back gas, so we opted to go back in, to check out a small jump, off of the main line. It was a cool little spot, that was worth a look! We even passed Kathy and Lamont, along the way.

We headed back to PA, had a short nap, then dinner with Ali, Cameron, Kathy, Lamont, and Evan, at Latitude 20.

Very fun day!

Sunday, April 9th, 2012 ~

Today, we had planned on going for a dive with Fred, but Steve had a pretty nasty ear infection. As we left to meet Fred at the shop, we were slowed by a “friend,” blocking the path…

He was more than two feet long, and would not budge. We tried to encourage him to move over, but he got a bit aggressive, so we had to wait until he decided it was time to move. *Shudder*

Once we made it past, we headed out!

We met Fred, and instead of leaving Steve behind, to go diving, we decided to go for a walk along the beach.

We walked along the beach to this wonderful spot…

Pic taken by Fred Devos…

There was definitely water flowing out of this spot, so we threw our fins on, and went in. Wow! That was some chilly fresh water, coming out of that spot! We could really feel the temperature difference, from the salt water, to the fresh water. There was even a misty halocline, along the surface. We had a fun swim in the ocean, with fins and snorkels. What an amazing way to end our trip! Thank you, Fred!

We have made some pretty great friends in this neck of the woods, and we cannot wait to get back!!! Thank you, friends at Zero Gravity!!!


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Categories : Twenty 12

Practice Certainly Does Make Something Something…

22 03 2012

Sunday, March 18th, 2012 ~ 

Steve and I decided to sign up for a DPV Cave Workshop, with Danny Riordan. In preparation for the course, we went out to practice, at the quarry. Eric was also a witness…er… along with us.

I had only towed another scooter once or twice, and it had been quite a while since I had done it. Today’s drills were three bottles and two scooters. We had laid “permanent” line in the quarry, for our winter dives, where we tie in with our primary reels. We practiced doing bottle drops, and continued along until the end of the line. All was fine until I went to pick up one of my bottles. Yeah.. the whole “stopping” thing. That second scooter, behind me, just completely threw me off, and made me feel completely unbalanced. I felt like a total newbie. I’m sure Eric was laughing at me, and pretty close to positive, that Steve was facepalming. I could just hear him… “Great… I have to do the course with this???” 😛

I took myself to the point of frustration, and wondered if I should even bother with this course. I was no stranger to scooters or bottles, but having multiple of each seemed to be quite a task!

We finished the dive, with Steve taking my second scooter, and me questioning myself. Ohhhh boy!

Bottom Time:  45 mins.
Max Depth: 70′
Water Temp: 44F
Vis.: Not bad at all

After e-mailing Danny, and reassuring me that I would be fine, I felt a little better about the whole thing.

Next stop, Mexico! 😛


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Categories : Twenty 12

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