GUE Conference 2009

30 11 2009

Friday, November 13th, 2009 ~

It was finally time for the conference, and being ejected from our hotel room, due to a BMX event going on this weekend, Steve and I had made arrangements to stay with some friends. We had all of our gear and luggage stowed in the SUV, and headed over to Gainesville.

We had to get there early, as I had been elected to be in the “Poster Sessions” for DIR Ontario. It was a last minute thing, so Kady had helped me put together a poster to use. Thanks Kady!

I also had the GUE calendar up, showing my ice diving shot in January, a laptop showing the “We Go Down” videos, my netbook, showing a slideshow of pictures, and some DIR Ontario caps and shirts. I spoke to a few people, then the conference was to begin. Jarrod gave us an intro and “Welcome to the conference” hello, followed by Todd Kincaid, talking about Project Baseline.

We then heard talks on Conservation Efforts, the Smithsonian Scientific Diving program, then a meet and greet with WKPP members, and a closing with Jarrod.

From there, we headed downtown Gainesville, for Blues Night in the park, then dinner in a nearby restaurant. We actually all fit in the same room! We ended up sitting with some really fun people, and had a great night!

Dancing in the park…

Saturday, November 14th, 2009 ~

Being a bit late the previous night, Steve and I actually missed part of the conference on Saturday morning. We wanted to be there, but also needed a little bit of sleep, so we arrived for the very delicious buffet lunch.

We then watched Brett do a presentation on the KISS RB, then Phil Short, on the Sentinel. I have to say that I was absolutely mesmerized by Phil’s knowledge and experience. I really enjoyed listening to him, and wanted to know more more more… lol…

Then there was the Jutland project which was equally fascinating. Some incredible footage, and some great wrecks.

After a break, we listened to Practical Data Collection, and one of the most amazing things was 3-D Imagery in Scientific Inquiry. All anyone could say was, “Wow!” Amazing technology.

After Jarrod’s closing, we headed over to the Rhea’s house for Mardi Gras! There was fun, food, and Tina fed me S’mores!! There was even a pinata, filled with goodies for everyone. We had an amazing time.

Free for all!

Thanks to the Rheas and Sonya!!

Sunday, November 15th, 2009 ~

We arrived bright and early for the prearranged breakfast, down the road from EE/GUE. Then, Phil Short had the conch again, and was discussing CCR Safety Procedures, which I found even more fascinating than the previous day’s RB information sessions.

We then heard about some of the GUE curriculum changes, followed by a Q & A. While we listened, we were approached by some fellow, telling us that we had to go diving. We didn’t argue… When Dan MacKay tells you you’re doing something, you usually do it! 🙂

Steve, myself, Guy, and Dan headed over to Madison for a couple of dives! Dan and Guy went in first, and Steve and I followed. It was nice to do this system again, and have a nice, relaxing day of diving goodness.

When we surfaced, we were smiling and laughing, as usual, and there were a couple of people making their way down the stairs, who were really happy to meet other happy people. They said that they didn’t always see people laughing around there, and that it was great to meet us. Very nice couple!

Steve, Dan, and Guy…

Me, pointing at the new, superstar cave diver…

Guy, myself, and Steve…

This would, sadly, be our last day of diving in North Florida paradise. We tore our gear down, and brought it back to the hotel to dry. We were attending the last conference function, which was a really nice dinner, to close off the festivities. Awards were given out, speeches were made, and of course, jokes all around.

This was the first conference that we had attended, and I felt that it was an absolutely amazing experience, and loved the family atmosphere here. Steve and I didn’t want to leave!

Monday, November 16th, 2009 ~

We headed over to EE to return tanks and pay up whatever bills we had left, then to GUE, to bid our farewells and wish we were stayings. We had decided to drive to Orlando, and spend the night there, then fly out in the morning. We figured we’d take advantage of being there, and went to Universal Studios. Well.. we tried… we didn’t arrive there until 3pm, and it didn’t really make much sense to spend that kind of money for three hours of park time. So.. we did get dinner and a movie there. We had a meal at the Hard Rock, then went to the Universal Studios theater to see Paranormal on the IMAX screen.

We found a really nice little hotel for the night, and spent our last night in Florida. We had such an excellent time, and I know we’ll be back soon!

Thanks so much to all of our friends, that helped to make this trip such an awesome one!!


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Day Four ~ Madison

27 11 2009

Thursday, November 12th, 2009 ~

Our first stop was EE, for fills, and Steve was interviewed for the GUE Conference video.

We milled about for a little while longer, and we got a couple of pics of JP and Anne Marie, before heading off!

Today, was the long journey to Madison. Steve, Jeff, and I left a little bit later than the previous days, and made our way there in the afternoon. Guy, Duarte, and Zeev were taking a class there today too, so we figured we would run into them.

When we arrived, we put our fees in the drop box, and left our cert cards on the dashboard.

Our Cave 1 class friends were doing line drills on the lawn, so we didn’t bother them. We had a look at the map, and got ready to dive!

We geared up and headed to the water.

Entrance…

Jeff ran the line for us, as we had not been here before. We followed Jeff’s lead into the main line. What a cool looking cave. There were nooks and crannies just about everywhere, and there was so much to look at. There wasn’t much flow here, so we had a nice, relaxing swim in and out. We went back in for a second dive, and it was just as enjoyable.

When we got out, we were able to chat with Mark, Guy, Zeev, and Duarte, then headed out for some food!

We ended up going to a restaurant called, El Toreo, which means “Colt” in Spanish. There were horses everywhere, and some amazing Mexican food!!

Thanks for another day of Cave diving goodness, Jeff!


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Into The Cavez!

11 11 2009

Monday, November 9th, 2009 ~

Meeting time was 9am at EE, and Steve, myself, and George drove over to Ginnie Springs. This would be our first time in the Florida caves, and we were looking forward it. Our Cave 1 course had been in Mexico, and conditions in each place are very different.

Entrance to the water…

Hawk, guarding the entrance…

George debriefed us on the parts of the cave that we would encounter, tips on how to avoid being directly in the flow, and he would run the reel… Thank goodness for that, as I learned very quickly, that descending into the Ear at Ginnie, should not be done in trim… I have to admit, the flow kicked my butt! I had to really work, to get myself down there, and I know that I huffed and puffed a “bit.” Once we were down, George tied into the main line, and we ascended to the ceiling. We made our way along to the lips, and through the keyhole, and made it a bit further, when I turned the dive on gas. On the way out, George pointed out a few of the side tunnels to us, which was pretty amazing!

Now… to get out. Ay carumba… I guess I was in a funny position, and I felt the flow pushing my butt end straight up. I swear, I was going to flip over…lol. George gave me a little shove to make sure I didn’t… Thank you, George! Once I got past that little spot, I was able to brace myself a little bit better. When we surfaced, I couldn’t help but feel that I got my butt kicked… but… I still enjoyed doing the dive, and learing more. I wondered if I wanted to go back in or not, and decided that the only way to get better at it, was to get back in.

Entrance to the Ear, where the orange marker is…

We recalculated our gas, and went back in. This time, I went head down, and had a much easier and faster entrance into the cave. We had left the reel in, so we were a go. I found it so much easier this time around, as I knew what to expect in different areas, and was able to look at even more of the cave this time. We actually went farther this time, having less penetration gas. Coming out was a bit easier this time around as well, When we surfaced, I was happy that I had done the second dive, and I look forward to going back!

Two other divers were in the water, and when I heard my name, we saw Anne Marie and JP! We had hoped to run into them at some point, and did so right away!

What a fantastic day of cave diving goodness!


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A Trip To Alachua & High Springs ~ The First Few Days

10 11 2009

Thursday, November 5th, 2009 ~

Time to head south! Steve and I hopped on a plane for Orlando, with a stop at Washington Dulles airport, where I stopped for a pose with the President and the First Lady.

We hung about for a few hours, then were on our way. When we landed, we took a shuttle train to the luggage merry go round, where all four of our suitcases were waiting for us. Sweet! Down to the rental car place… oi… Of course, the place we chose to prearrange our rental from, happened to be the same one everyone else chose as well. While I guarded our bags, Steve stood in line for over an hour and a half. I had visions of a Seinfeld episode going through my head…

“You know how to take the reservation, you just don’t know how to hold the reservation…”

We did receive a nice Ford Explorer, and our total came out to alot more than was quoted on… I guess that’s par for the course. We packed up and were Alachua bound. We arrived at about 8:45pm, and met up with Guy and Ray, who were gearing up for the next few day’s events.

Friday, November 6th, 2009 ~

Steve had to be at EE early, so I was going to drop him off, then find something to do. We met up with a few more of the gang, and everyone was alot of fun.

Karim and Steven M….

Ray, Guy, and Steve…

I figured I would be productive, and do some work. I went in to say hello to our GUE friends next door, and ended up sticking around for the day. I actually did get quite a bit of work done, and with most amazing company. 🙂 Thank you!!

When all was done, a few groups of us went to The Great Outdoors for some dinner and laughs.

EE has the coolest door handles!

 

Saturday, November 7th, 2009 ~

Today, I met Sheila and Steve (another Steve!) at EE, and they were going to take me out for a real adventure!! We drove out to Ocala, where we went to the Silver River, for some kayaking goodness. I had never been in a kayak before, and I was looking forward to trying it!

Steve set me all up and helped to launch me, followed by Sheila, then Steve. We paddled upstream, and saw alot of wildlife. There were Egrets, Cormorants, Herons (small and great; blue and white), Snake Birds (I can’t remember the name of them, but they were really cool), a Vulture, Kingfisher, a bunch of Alligators, and… Monkeys! We saw Monkeys!! There are rumours of how they got there – One of them being that they were left over from filming the Tarzan movies. Pretty cool to see them in the wild! We saw those guys on the way back.

We stopped at the half way point, where we got out and enjoyed the scenery for a while. We got back into the kayaks, and continued upstream. I think I made a bit of progress in steering the kayak! We reached our destination, Silver Springs Park. We couldn’t get out of the boats, but we did admire the beginning of the spring, and tried to focus on the statues in the water, left over from previous movie shoots. The water was so very clear, but it was hard to see them through the ripples of the water. They did have glass bottom boats for tourists to see them. We did a bit of admiring, then started back. We had paddled for 5 miles, and still had 5 miles back! At least we would have the current helping us out.

This is where we saw the monkeys. Sheila had told me about them, but that she hadn’t seen them close to the water. What a treat! Once we got back, both Sheila and Steve helped me get the boat in, loaded up, and off to find food!

Sheila!

Steve’s boat…

Sheila and Steve…

Steve suggested a Mexican restaurant, by the name of El Toreo. Two words.. Freakin’ Amazing! I think this is my new favourite…ever… The service was fantastic, the food was incredible, and I really wanted to finish everything on my plate! The bottomless chips and salsa were really good too! The salsa had just enough bite!

Thank you so much to Sheila and Steve, for including me in their day, and for alot of fun!!


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Ahoy To The Kinghorn

21 10 2009

Saturday, October 3rd, 2009 ~

Since my other half was working, Andy and I decided to take a run out to the Kinghorn, with his fancy new Mini G. He was hoping that the last challenge of weighting was exactly that… the last challenge.

We stopped at Caiger’s, to see if we could meet up with Yasuko, who was on a charter that day, but they had not come in yet, so back to Jeff’s we went. We took our sweet time getting ready, as it was a gorgeous day, and we decided to have a bit of a snack before diving.

Ok.. enough snacking.. time to dive. Another two buddy teams surfaced before we got in, and said the visibility was improving. Andy and I got in, did our predive checks, and noticed some funky black clouds over the river. We got through our checks, and headed out. As we followed the line out, I could feel water coming in through my neck seal. I knew I needed to replace it, but I was hoping to get a few more dives out of it. I guess this was it.

I knew it was going to be a short dive, and that it would be me that called it, but I figured we could at least get to the wreck. We came upon the bow of the Kinghorn, paid respects to Doug’s plaque, then made our way down to the stern. Ok… time to call it… I had already communicated to Andy, that my neck seal was pooched, so he was waiting for my call. As we swam over the deck, we came upon one of the holds. We looked at each other, smiled, and down we went. We had to swim that way anyway, we may as well go in. You know… since we’re there and all. 🙂 We swam inside, checked out the artifacts, then made our way back up and back to the line.

We saw some pretty big carp on the dive, as well as a couple of pike. Although it was a short dive, it was still alot of fun. I’m sure the bruise on my shin will heal quickly…lol.

Bottom Time ~ 37 mins.
Max. Depth ~ 91′
Water Temp. ~ 60/61
Visibility ~ 35′ – 30′

When we got out, I had received a text from Yasuko, so we ended up seeing her after all!


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