Skip Jack and Barge

Dive Report Florida - The SkipJack and an unknown barge
I went out on a boat from Cortez, Florida for a 2 tank dive this morning after listening to locals whine about the cold water and the poor viz the latest storms have brought in. The boat left at a leisurely 8:20AM this morning for 2 wrecks which they do not bother to name, even after asking they only named one.
After a 45 min run out we arrived at the first wreck which was a wooden schooner type vessel which sank in the late 1800s (like pulling teeth to get the info) The wreck sat at 65 feet with a bottom temp of 69 degrees (had I not worn my 7ml as suggested by the shop I might have froze to death)
This was my first dive from a dive platform and I cant say I like or dislike it. There was a bit of a chop but I didn't find it was harder or easier to navigate. As a matter of fact, the only difference I found between Florida and Jersey wreck diving is COLOR! There definately was some color on this wreck and about 30 foot of viz. Tons of spade fish, some rather large grouper, some smaller tropicals, some that looked like blue tang but I dont think they were, they had some yellow markings, sea urchins and sponges, corals and anemones in reds and yellows. Not quite like in the movies but really nice. I was partnered with Tom, from Syracuse who did a lot of diving in the St Lawrence and had a theory about petting the grouper .
A relaxed and entertaining 33 min dive.
My jon line performed admirably on the ascent. And lets just say that fin removal while bouncing off the dive ladder is not my forte, fin # 1 no problem, #2 less than graceful. We were then off to the next site about 30 min away. This appeared to be a barge in about 60 feet of water with a bottom temp of 68 degrees and much worse viz, about 10-15 feet.
The problem with this site was the bait fish. Gazillions of them, so thick that moving more than an arms length away from my dive partner I could not see him. The water actually looked milky there were so many.
But this also brought in some pilot fish and grouper in the 300-350 lb range. While swimming along the edge of the wreck and checking under outcroppings to see what might be there, suddenly the bait fish cleared in a hurry allowing me to actually see my surroundings, including the grouper about 6 inches from me which was longer than I was. I didn't pee in my wetsuit but the thought occurred to me.
Not a bad welcome to Florida dive but I know there is a lot more out there.
Florida Report
I just heard from a dive buddy from New York who is in Florida for 2 wks and we will get some dive days in.
Also went on line and found 2 locals to dive with from Tampa. One is from Bricktown and one is from Atlantic City and his girlfriend and her family live in Bradenton and they are from Toms River.
One of my dive buddies in Jersey lives in Brick and is from Sarasota. Go figure.
Dennis has been to the beach every day and has broken out in a rash. I think he is allergic to Florida.

First Lobster on the Copper Wreck

FIRST LOBSTER/COPPER WRECK
I got a call in St Louis on Saturday they were calling the dive for Monday but would go on Tuesday.It was Sunny and 75 degrees where I was so I could not imagine what was going on in Jersey, but I was on for Tuesday.
Tuesday morning was dark and a little chilly at 5:30am when I left for the Tuna Seazure and when I got there I was pleased to discover that I knew two other of the divers (we were 5 in all) and the mate.
It was a 40 minute ride to the Copper Wreck which they believe to be the Huntsville. The boat is really quick and the Captain made sure we hit every bump, aiming at times just to be positive. The sun was shining and it was warming up nicely, it would hit 76 degrees by the end of the trip.
By the time we got to the wreck we were all suited up and ready to go, a group of doubles and some singles, half wet and half dry, half carrying spears, Kenny went down and tied us in and we were in the water.
I buddied with Pat, a woman I had met previously and she loved lobstering! This was a good thing. Right before we went in they informed me that lobsters bite! Did you guys know this all along and not tell me? I was going to run the reel and Pat would stick her arm in those holes, this was going to work. I went down first and tied the reel in and Pat followed and we were off. The viz was an awsome 30-40 feet, and the bottom temp was 65 degrees. There were some brown jellies on the way down but not too bad and none at the bottom. There were some jacks and spade fish, tons of huge flounder, sea bass and some black and white striped fish (will have to look them up). Found and fought several lobsters but they all turned out to be small. About 50 feet out I started to have problems with the reel, I couldn’t pull the line out easily so I struggled some the whole rest of the dive including the mess I took back up and called a reel. It was a 28 minute dive at 83 feet.
Spent 3 minutes on the line being jerked around and hopped on the boat, going up the ladder was tough as the boat was bouncing up and down but I made it. Life was good. Then it happened, my stomach went oops and breakfast was a goner. 5 minutes later I felt great and ate lunch had a pleasant surface interval, the mate pulled the line guide off my reel and I was ready to go again and really looked forward to my second dive, this was it... a lobster was mine or I wasn’t coming back.
This was the first time I had used a steel tank and I shed 14 pounds of weights, life really was good and my Christmas list will be adjusted accordingly.
Down I went, the water and viz still great, the reel ran like a champ, Pat was in holes up to her shoulder chasing those lobsters and I was guarding their back doors. What a team! We took 1 keeper but it was a tremendous dive, 35 minutes, relaxing and a lot of fun. 4 minutes on the line and coming up the ladder 14 pounds lighter would have been a pleasure but I knew half way up lunch was going south. And then I was good again! A jon line will be added to my Christmas list also, the boat ride didn’t bother me but my stops on the line up were apparently killer.
A half dozen lobsters and half dozen sea bass were taken, the 2 scooters on board were played with extensivley and on the way back the captain hit all the bumps he missed on the way out. A good day in all.
The lone lobster captured by the ladies was mine, thank you Pat, and Dennis was impressed. As I was putting him in my cooler, the Captain said, “Remember you tell one hell of a story and we all will swear to it”

LOBZILLA
I went diving about 8 miles off of Tuckerton and I caught LOBZILLA. He was enormous!!!! Like 35 lbs!!!!! There was a fight....... we wrestled and fought.......lives hung in the balance....it was traumatic... We arm wrestled, (like this) I won his arm!!! Those SOBs bite! And apparently I get seasick, not from the boat but in the water (more on that in my official dive report) So I was NOT happy. I was in no mood to be trifled with. So Dennis ate his $3000.00 lobster. I told him, "Can you imagine the size of the lobster if it was a $5000.00 lobster?!!" The End Love Cheryl

First Boat Dive

First Boat Dive

Went out yesterday on the Tuna Seazure to the Glory Wreck and somebody upstairs must want me to wreck dive.

Flat seas, the ride was pleasure boat quality. So I still dont know if I get seasick or not but I am in no hurry to find out.

After all the concerns about viz cause of the hurricane, the visibility was at least 20 feet or more. On the first dive I am pretty sure it was more and oddly on the second dive it was a little less although the sun was peeking out.

The surface interval was pleasant, a diverse group including other woman. Although they do not snack nearly enuff for my liking.

I threw myself off the boat easily enough. Although it was suggested that I put my mask strap under my hood next time cause it kept coming off.

AND I got back into the boat by myself!! Huge relief! Those of you who have carried my weights or heard me whine exiting Dutch Springs and the inlet will appreciate this. Although I was a wreck that I would go splat on the deck climbing over.

Dive 1 was a 32 minute dive (keep in mind I dive an AL80 with air) at 70 feet, we found no lobsters but plenty of fish and coral and sponges and anenomes (spelling?) and all the little hidey holes had surprises in them. I never even realized we swam the whole wreck and back just looking at everything cause I was excited about looking in the next hole or crevice. Did not really take any real time to look at any one thing, saw the anchor and the boilers and all of the wreck points they had mentioned in the briefing. Then up we went, I was a little light and had to struggle just a little holding my 15 ft stop but I did it without looking too goofy.

3 lobsters were brought up and a fishing pole all rigged up was salvaged on the first dive. This immediately put the pressure on me for the $3000.00 lobster and they then proceeded to catch about 7 sea bass with the fishing pole.

I was going down the second time with a mission, that $3000.00 lobster and a sand dollar.

I took my camera on the second dive although it was pointed out that it was supposed to be for 35 feet or less. Will let you know later about that too. Second dive was 32 minutes at 69 feet which I found odd because we were definately looking under things for that lobster!


We did not find him although we did try really hard for one in a whole in the wreck, the sand was stirred up pretty good in the effort but to no avail, a second lobzilla was found in a large pipe but it was about 6 feet down and all I could do was smile and wave at him, the third was really tiny, smaller than the runt of the litter size so I left him be for another trip.


We came upon a lift bag (a 250 lb one it was huge)one of our group had left behind when they ripped their dry suit on a piec of decking and had to go up, so we packed it up and took it back with us.

The ride in was very mellow and relaxing, a pleasant way to end the trip.

Packed up the car , thank god for a convertible, put the roof down pack up the back seat, roof up and your off.

I didnt get my $3000.00 lobster so the price of lobster just went up and I didnt find a sand dollar which was really bad, I got the news when I got home.

I got a chance to see some different reels and lift bags, and they all worked much easier than the one I used in AOW I definately dont need a 250lb bag!

I think I may do this again, but tonite I am diving the inlet, I love those dives too.

Certified and my FIRST DIVE at Dutch Springs

Well, I did it. I am now a PADI Certified Open Water Diver. My permanent card will have a picture of a shark on it. And now I know I can only dive to 130 feet, but that is still deeper than my pool.

Now I can plan my own dives. I stopped at the shop and bought some 2lb soft weights just in case I had floaty issues. And this time the dive was scheduled for a reasonable 10am. No way Dennis was going to feign sleeping while I loaded the heavy stuff in the car.

We dove on Saturday morning and I found a hermit crab and some starfish and blue claw crabs and baby flounder. I even took my mask off and stuck my tongue out at the dive master and took a couple of pictures with the underwater camera. We will see if they turn out. We took a spin under the railroad bridge and all around and then went to lunch.

On the way home I stopped at the shop to have my tank refilled and as I pulled up there was an explosion and smoke came out of every door and window of the shop. Before I could get to the door the dive tech came out of the smoke like in a Bruce Willis movie. Now I would have to get my tank filled somewhere else cause I had decided to meet some local divers at Dutch Springs on Sunday. I was taking along one of the other students divers I took the class with just in case the people I was meeting were axe murderers or something. I figured in an emergency there was a 50/50 chance they would get him first.

As it turned out they were great people and at the end of every dive they even brought me back.

Dutch Springs is a spring fed quarry that is for scuba diving (they have sunk all kinds of things to dive around like a firetruck, helicopter, bus, airplane, cars, etc) and then it has an Aqua Park for non-divers that has rafts and floats and water slides and stuff.

It was an interesting day. I brought doughnuts for breakfast but the 2 hour trip took me 4 hours using the navigation system in Dennis truck. (Does anyone remember the trip report to Hooters? Apparently it doesn‘t like me) So I missed breakfast.

Then we did 2 dives so I had to put on “The Wetsuit” twice!

The first dive we went along this quarry wall and checked out all the sights. My buoyancy issues caused me some distress when I suddenly popped up in the middle of the Aqua Park like the creature from the black lagoon. I said “Scuse me, never mind” and quietly sunk back down and started swimming before one of them came off the slide and fell on my head.

Getting out was tuff. One of the other divers had to carry my weight belt or I wasn’t going anywhere. Then I remembered that we had walked downhill (about 50 yards) to get here. I hoped to get back up the hill before the second dive, I needed some more air in my tank.

I was the only girl in the group of 7 divers. While I was “slow” getting into “the wetsuit” for the second dive, they were discussing how there was only one female diver who actually did justice to a wetsuit. I said “Excuse me!!! And I don’t?” I don’t take 40 minutes getting into a wetsuit for nothing ya know. All those other women divers just slap one on in 3 minutes and off they go without even looking in the mirror, that’s the problem.

On the second dive we were going to the firetruck. I was following my buddy and looking around, he had bright blue fins and I made sure I kept them in sight out of the corner of my eye.

Suddenly, we were in shallow water and my buddy stood up. So I did too… and then I screamed and scared the beejeezes out of some total stranger with bright blue fins I had followed home. And now I was lost……. Again.

So I swam in a circle for a while, and you know what? THEY CAME BACK AND FOUND ME. HA! They could have gone back to the campsite, packed up and left without any forwarding address but they didn’t.

We then went on to the firetruck which was kinda cool and then we played with the local fishies. Steve the fish will have a great time here, I will bring him next time I come. They picked up rocks and found these little crayfish and fed them to the bass that were swimming around and one of the guys caught a baby bass in his mask. It was half flooded with water and this little bass was swimming back and forth in it.

The trip back was uneventful but I still had to get back up the hill and into my car before the park closed at 5 and it was 3 oclock already! One of the guys carried my weight belt again and I made it.

They said they would keep me and I could come back.

I’m a diver now and I have dive buddies!! Imagine that.

OK guys, you are not going to believe this but NOTHING WEIRD happened on my dive on Sunday!!!!

Could not believe it myself. And the opportunities were endless. They turned off my air tank, I had to do spins in the water to put on my weight belt mid water, I had to take my gear off and put it back on under water and on the surface and that is exactly what happened and nothing else. (Yes they turned my air back on.)

It was UNEVENTFUL!!!!!! That in itself is an event. Then I took my final exam. I was the second to finish and I got 100%. The one who finished 1st got 5 wrong, so NO! I DID NOT COPY OFF SOMEONE! I be smart.

Now I just have to take one last checkout dive on Sunday and I will dive the Inlet on Tues and be off and running or swimming or whatever. I will celebrate by buying a scuba tank, maybe a blue one or a purple one, I will have to think about it. Now I will make plans with my new dive buddy for future adventures. I hope you get the chance to meet him. His name is Steve

The Inlet Dive was Informative

Well I did the Inlet dive. It was interesting and informative. Which dive do you want to hear about? I guess I will have to split them in two.

The informative dive and how I learned that…….

They really will push me in if I get even close to the water
You should use your compass when you are lost cause otherwise you will be in the boating lanes.
Those fishing charter boats are REALLY BIG.
Try not to get the buddy who says “My stomach doesn’t feel so good” when you are putting on your gear.
When you surface, and you hear your buddy yell “I’m over here rolf …rolf… rolf…” you don’t want to go over there cause they are throwing up.
I can get lost 3 times in 8 minutes without trying.
It is very trying on my buddy when I get lost 3 times in 8 minutes.
My hood does not fit right.
45 lbs of weight is very hard to tread water with. You shouldn’t forget to inflate your BCD to help.
You shouldn’t try to talk until you do inflate your BCD
You can’t …..hold a starfish, hold your flashlight, pull your hood out of your mouth and inflate your BCD at the same time. Something is going in your eye, never lick a starfish, you have to put the regulator in your mouth and not just bite the hose, and 45 lbs of weight is hard to tread water with.
Don’t slip on the rocks getting out.
When you are laying flat on your face on a 12 in wide wall, wearing 95lbs of wet gear, you cannot get up to you knees to get your gear off or so that someone can help you stand up and walk out.
When one of your dive buddies, after the dive, says “Jump off the wall, I’ll catch you!” he is only kidding.

I am sure I learned other things too, I just can’t remember them all.

I will tell you the rest later

Cheryl

The Inlet Dive was Interesting

Now we get to the interesting part of the Inlet Dive.

It was way cool. At Manasquan Inlet, on the Point Pleasant side, there is a park where people can walk along the seawall, crab and fish or sit on benches and watch the boats go in and out. At the end of the park is a rock jetty where people sometimes fish and at the end you can see the ocean.

We jumped off the seawall into the inlet and went down. I actually stayed down after one of my dive buddies stuck a 5lb weight in my suit.

Under the water down the wall and on the rocks along the side of the inlet was a whole different place. Gazillions of mussels (no that is not an exaggeration) are stuck to everything. I understand I can harvest them and you can eat them although you want the mussels closer to the ocean (cleaner) but they weigh a ton to bring up (remember part 1?) so I wont be doing that just yet.

There are different color algae and plants growing, not just the green stuff. There were these really cool red ones that looked like red ruffles stuck to the rocks. I will have to find out what they are called. In the crevices of the rocks all these fish and eels are hiding. They back into the crevices and so when you shine your light on them you see their faces first. They have really big eyes. When the light hits their eyes sometimes it blinds them and they shoot out at you but not too often. There are oyster crackers which you do not want to put your finger in their mouth and striped things, I don’t know what they were.

There were also some little baby manta rays swimming about, if you didn’t pay attention you wouldn’t see them. I understand that in another couple of weeks there will be seahorses and some tropical fish like puffer fish that get carried in with the warmer currents.There were hundreds of starfish in every size everywhere. They are bright orange underwater.

And there are blue claw crabs in every size just swimming around and when you put your hand on one cause you are not looking, they bite and you have to snap your hand and fling them off like in a cartoon. I guess I never considered what they eat. I kinda thought they were like scavengers and lived off chicken people tied to string and threw in, I don’t know. But we were looking around and came across this really big blue claw crab really working at something and stopped to watch. This crab was pulling mussels off the rocks and would separate a good one from the bunch and then using its pinchers pried open the mussel. It was really a struggle between the two of them. Then when it got the mussel open it used its pincers like chop sticks to eat the mussel. I guess I never really saw a crab open up its mouth up close before. I’m pretty sure I saw teeth. They are pretty agile and use their claws and pincers like arms and hands putting things precisely where they want them. It was really interesting and they taste good with garlic too.

I think this is where they grow fishing lures too. There were several patches of them in the crevices of the rocks I saw as we swam along.It was kinda cool.

I will do it again.

Cheryl

A dive boat runs into a terrible storm. The boat gets pounded by rain and wind and huge waves. The divers are quiet but really scared. They are sure the boat is going to sink and they are all going to die. At the height of the storm, a young woman jumps up and exclaims: "I can't take this anymore! I can't just sit here and drown like an animal. If I am going to die, let me die feeling like a woman. Is there anyone here man enough to make me feel like a woman?" One of the dive masters stands up – a tall, handsome, muscular man, he smiles and starts to walk up to her. As he approaches her, he takes off his shirt. She sees his huge muscles – already, she is glad for her decision. He stands in front of her, muscles bulging, shirt in hand and says to her: "Here! Iron this!" What are the chances?

I am going diving in the inlet. This dive requires special training because I have to put all my gear on and walk to the seawall and jump off of it into the inlet. I will then swim against the current to the mouth of the inlet and then drift back to my exit point with the tide and climb out of the water and walk back to my car and drive home.

Sounds sooo simple huh? NOT! First off, you have to feed quarters into the meter the entire time, I am carrying 90 lbs of gear, down the road a piece. Probably more like 5 miles. And then get up on a wall, as in climbing? And jump off. 5 feet, 10 feet, like a Hawaiian cliff diver? The incoming tide…. I will have to swim against to get out, hiding behind rocks to rest and then the same tide will carry me back, probably at the speed of sound, to a spot I have to find underwater in the dark. Then I climb out of the water, wearing the same 90 lbs of gear now saturated with water and weighing 120 lbs and walk back to my car which will probably run out of time on the meter before I hike on back. Oh, and it will be dark, so I will have a glow stick taped to me so they don’t loose me. And this is fun? Yea.

I bought a scuba tank, it is silver and I am going to have Kelly paint a flamingo on it to personalize it just for me. I just have to find pink automobile paint. But it can be done. Never doubt me. It weights 37.5 lbs empty and then they put 3000 pounds of air in it. Dennis says it doesn’t weigh 3037.5 lbs, it just feels like it.

I bought another flashlight too. It hooks on my BCD. Now I have 2. My big beamer and my backup light. I also have my underwater camera that I attach to my BCD.

So that makes me wear a blowup vest (BCI) with the following items hooked strapped or tied to it:

Scuba tank 24 lbs of lead weights Primary flashlight
Dive computer Compass Pressure gauge
Back up light 2nd back up regulator (octo) Dive knife
Camera Whistle Glow stick
Quarters for the meter Car key

I will look like a Christmas tree, or possibly the clearance endcap in Walmart.

Things that make you go Hmmm….

Cheryl

First OW Dive

Have you ever gone swimming on a hot summer's day
And seen the little fishes swimming in the bay
With their hands in their pockets and their pockets in their pants
Doing a little hoochy koochy dance

Well I am going diving in the ocean, actually where the ocean meets the canal in Point Pleasant and it is a training dive, there will be a test. I am the only one who signed up for this so it will be like a private lesson or actually private test. There will be no one there worse than me. Hmmmmmm

This is at 7am I don’t do 7am who decides on this shtuff?

I decide to check out all my divey stuff the day before, while awake and fully caffeinated. All 78 lbs of it. One mask check, 2 fins check one hood check 2 gloves check one snorkel….wait a minute there was something about the gloves, maybe I should have taken the smaller size, I will try them on again. Left glove on, other left glove….oops, even I know this could be problematic. So off to the dive shop I go…. somewhere in that display of gloves is a pair almost exactly the same as mine only righties!

5:30AM comes around awfully quick. I put on my bathing suit and load all 78 lbs of gear in my car and now I have to rest….and pee before I put on “THE wetsuit” Guess who just got up. Dennis! What timing. And he is only retired 11 days! What a quick study. Bastard.

I have “Scuba Juice”. this is a little diver y diver hint I got from one of my buddies on scuba board to help my wetsuit slide on more easily. It is ½ water and ½ hair conditioner in a spray bottle. And when I use tropical scent conditioner, not only will I smell good but the hair on my legs will be soft and manageable. This was obviously from a guy scuba buddy , I hope.

I will wear the jumpsuit portion of “THE wetsuit” to the dive site since it will take an act of Congress and 2 helpers to get it on. I can put the air conditioner on in my car for the trip there. I go out on the back deck and spray “THE wetsuit” and slide it on….kinda….sort of…after 20 minutes and breaking 3 nails.

Dennis is standing in the kitchen window watching me and laughing. Damned old people and their getting up early to pee.

I leave for the dive site. Once there I have to put my gear together and place it on the bulkhead to pull in the water after I get in. Do you see me lifting this thing off there and into the water, me neither. I also have to put the onesie part of “THE wetsuit” on. The part where you DO NOT make a fist in the arm part. Now the arms stretch to twice my arms length before my hand ever gets through. I am now jumping up and down in a circle because I am sure this will help get my hand through the sleeves. (It seemed like a good idea at the time) And I am now trying to get the zipper started when the instructor says “Did I tell you to zip the suit a quarter of the way before you put it on?” NO! Now get the H*** over here and zip it for me. He does and what does he say, “It’s a little big under the arms.” Too freakin bad, I am not buying a smaller one.

A quick lesson in wetsuits. The keep you warm by the thickness of the neoprene starting at about 0.5 ml and going to 7.5 ml (“THE wetsuit” is 7ml) and in the neoprene are air bubbles which compress at depth. Between the neoprene and you are air and water which your body heats up and keeps you warm. Remember that air and air bubble float and so you use weights to sink the suit. Because the air bubbles compress at depth there are a lot of them and they eventually stay kinda compressed after you use them 10 or 20 times and are not so floaty.

I get in the water and I am correct, I cannot drag the tank from over my head into the water while sinking in the sand in the water below it. It is 7AM and 82 degrees and I am wearing a wetsuit that could keep me warm in Antarctica. With a “little” help I am geared up. My BCD no longer velcros shut due to the thickness of “THE wetsuit” “I don’t understand this says the instructor, it fit you fine on Sunday. DOH! “THE wetsuit” We may have to duct tape the tank to you it floats up on you.” Has to be a men thing, but I am not taking all this off and climbing back up there sooo…. We are ready to make the 25 or so yard swim out to the dive site. I put my snorkel in my mouth and start to swim out following the instructor, who keeps talking to me. So I open my mouth to answer and almost drown.

No biggy, us divers are taught not to panic. So I continue on and out of the water comes my fin. No longer on my foot. Lets chase it and catch it and put it back on and the instructor tightens them for me and now I cant get the fins back in the water cause my legs keep on floating to the top. (see wetsuit floaty lesson) So we swim the 25 yards back to put some weight on my ankles.

The park we are diving from is across the street from a 7-11 and people who have walked down to get coffee are now gathering on the benches and watching while drinking their morning coffee.

Now we swim the 25 yards back out to the dive site. I deflate, exhale and….. Nothing happens. Not enough weight to sink the suit, so…..we swim the 25 yards back to put some more weight on my ankles and vest.
Now we swim the 25 yards back out to the dive site. I deflate, exhale and pull myself down on the guide rope and….. Up out of the water shoots a fin like a surface to air missile. My legs go flying over my head and I shoot up to the surface upside down.

Those coffee drinkers are still there and I think they called their friends to come watch. They are probably actually tea drinkers like Dennis. Damned tea drinkers.

So…… we swim the 25 yards back to put some more weight on. I am now wearing 6 ankle weights (about 10 lbs) hooked on to my ankles and at various parts of my equipment and there is no where else to put them so the instructor unzips the neck of my wetsuit and drops a 5 lb lead weight in my suit and zips it up again .
Now we swim the 25 yards back out to the dive site. I still have to do a diver tow where I tow a tired or unconscious diver 25 yards through the water as part of my test. I tell the instructor it is now or never cause I am not swimming back and forth again. So I tow him out to the dive site, now wearing 90 lbs of equipment, 6-8 pounds of extra ankle weights on my ankles. The instructor deflates, goes under and…. And….. And…comes back up. Everything OK? NO! I am the same age as your mother not your wife and am sucking air from surface swimming 175 yards (525 feet) carrying 90 lbs of equipment and your dead ass! Give me a minute. BTW that 5 lb lead weight in my suit is now in my crotch.

I deflate, exhale and….. Go down. It took less weight to sink the Titanic.

After the first 20 feet things start to compress and squeeze out the floaty air bubbles and I plummet like a rock from all the weight. But No biggy, us divers are taught not to panic. I adjust my buoyancy at the bottom and continue on. I pass all my skills and we kind of start to look around.

There is all kinds of cool stuff on the bottom. I probably shouldn’t have stuck that blue point crab in front of the instructors mask while he was trying to pick up a starfish for me to see. I don’t think he was ready for that when he looked up. No biggy, us divers are taught not to panic. Starfish are cool too. And all kinds of other awesome stuff. I like this. Steve the Fish will like this too. I will take him next time.

But now we come up at the bulkhead and have to get our gear off and back up and on the bulkhead. Can I do this? No. I will have to get a big strong dive buddy or this will not work. I ask if this stuff is disposable , you know one time use and you leave it. Apparently not so he gets my tank up on the bulkhead and we start to climb out.

Did you remember the 4 ankle weights on my ankles? Me neither. When I hit the bulkhead there was quite a loud THUMP. Did you remember the 5lb lead weight in my crotch? Me neither.

I have one more test dive and then I will be an official Scuba diver. I am very good at this. Cool huh?

Love
Cheryl

Steve the Fish

Long time ago,
There lived a fish named Fred,
Made of many colors,
Yellow, blue and red.
He swam through the ocean,
Swimming wild and free,
Away from the fishermen,
They wanted him you see.

Well Freds great grand son is Steve, Steve the Fish. He is red and yellow and blue and runs on 2 AA batteries. And Steve came to scuba diving on Sunday. He swam with us for 3 hours before he got really tired and slowed down a lot. It was our classes first encounter with tropical fish and in the pool we were guaranteed great visability.

The instructors had to rescue him from the filter, twice, he wasn't paying attention and got sucked in.

How sad is it that by the end of the afternoon 8 adults were yelling "Steve! get away from there!" "hold on, let Steve through" "can he go deeper?" "Steve! Look out! Do you think he's hurt? " "Can I pet him?"

And none of this seemed odd to them.

Steve later spent the afternoon in the pool at my house while Christopher and I checked out my equipment for my....... OCEAN DIVE.

I have pictures of Steve and some of the other scuba learners at the dive shop pool and pictures of Steve and me in our pool. You will have to wait for them because the camera is not done yet. Anyway, going diving in the ocean and I have the tank and all the divey stuff and everything.

Christopher stood on the scale and held eveything cause we couldn't pile it all on and get it to stay and I couldn't hold it all (do we see a story coming? Oh yea)

Anyway, all the gear weighed 78 lbs this included the wetsuit (remember that puppy?) mask/fins/etc, snorkel, booties, hood and gloves (yes they came in) 26 lbs of lead weights, BCD with attached waterproof flashlight and waterproof knife and waterproof alligator whistle, regulator , gauges and computer and air tank.

I cannot bench press a volkeswagon and I cannot carry 78 lbs. This is not good. I have to be at Gull Island in Pt Pleasant at 7AM tomarrow. I will start to putting on my wetsuit now.

First Pool Dive

Why don't sharks eat clowns?
Cause they taste funny.

Well, I went diving. And I did good, all things considered.

Last week we learned that while your equipment is heavy on land it weights nothing in the water.

I had to go get a tank but I told them I couldn't carry it. It has three thousand pounds of air in it, I cant lift that much! One of the assistant instructors carried it for me. I told him I would breath it all and carry it back myself when it was empty. He was a happy guy he was laughing. Little did I know that he would become my personal assistant before the end of the session.

First we had to learn to put our tanks together. The breathing hose went on the right and the gauges went on the left, I kept checking my hands for the "L" and trying but I must have had like a European model or maybe I assembled it wrong or something cause everytime I tried to put the hoses on the tank with the valve away from me like the instructor was explaining, the hoses were on the wrong sides! So I would put the valve towards me and the instructor would say "No Cheryl, the valve goes away from you" But the hoses were on the wrong side! Very frustrating. My personal assistant is smiling again, he is very happy guy. He says try flipping the valve left to right instead of front to back. And the hoses are suddenly where they should be. He is smart, I will keep him.

Then we turn on the valve. Which way? I know nothing of valves. "Lefty lucy, righty tighty" I also know nothing of left and right. My personal assistant "Other left Cheryl" Thank you.

Now I roll my tank into the water and put it on. I have to make sure my weights are in place in my BC (vest) so they dont fall out while I am diving so I tug on the weight pocket and out it comes. Good thing I checked! I put it back in and tug again, out it comes, must be something wrong with the clip it wont stay in!

I tug on the pocket and out it comes. I put it back in and tug again, out it comes,I tug on the pocket and out it comes. I put it back in and tug again, out it comes, Everyone is now looking at me cause I am holding up progress here, but I have a problem this BC is defective or at least the clip is.
Over comes my personal assistant. He is a little too happy, he has this grin on his face like he takes the little bus to the dive site.

Apparently there is a quick release saftey feature on my BC and you release it by pulling on the pocket. He puts my weights back in and tells me "Dont do that" so I dont do that and the weights stay in.

Did you know that there are no left and right fins? My personal assistant is very smart.

Under water I can take my regulator out of my mouth and put it back and can take my mask on and off and clear it and can put air in and out of my BC (vest) without shooting up to the surface like a rocketship.

When we get to the diving part I get a dive buddy, he is the young guy who lapped me last week in the 200 mile swim. OK Maybe it was yards. We actually work well together. I can do a diver tow and push. I practiced on my buddy and then he practiced on me. I told him if he needed extra practice he could pull me around on all of our dives. He told me that I was a very generous person. I'm good like that.

During the open dive one of the other students kept falling on me and knocked the regulator out of my mouth. He had bouyancy control issues, so I just got out. I was cold any way cause I didn't wear my wetsuit. Next time I may have to bedazzle them with my wetsuit skills.

Next week will be all classroom work so I will not do any diving, but I will keep in touch

Love Cheryl

First Week of Dive School

Well the first week in dive school and we did not actually dive. Very disappointing but next week we will dive twice.

I passed the first two tests in the book and the sneaky pop quiz things they didn't tell you about. And then we did the swim test. In the swim test you have to swim 200 yards and then float or tread water for 10 minutes. 200 yards in a pool the size of mine is a lot of circles. I think one of the younger guys lapped me and I may not have gone in enough circles but I did the tread water thing twice so I don’t feel bad.

During the week I needed a picture of me in my gear so we did a photo shoot in my pool. One of Christophers friends took the pictures cause Dennis tried it and you couldn't recognize anything in the pictures. (His usual pictures). We did some dry shots and some wet ones. You will see them shortly.

With the help of liquid baby powder I got the overalls on. After the wet shots when I got out of the pool it was me, the overalls and 40 gallons of water. The legs fit quite well and did not take in any water but the body is another story. Everytime I bent over a pitcher of water poured out of the neck. Not once, not twice, but 3 times. This may not be good. But this thing can definately not be any tighter so ......... we will see.

My dive computer said i had 7 minutes of bottom time, 77 degree water and no decompression necessary after my 40 foot dive. I really thought I had it that time til the 40 foot thing, everyone knows my pool is only 16 X 32, so 40 cant be right. "We" will have to work on this.

Cheryl

Communication from Florida

This was sent to me by one of my "dive buddies" in Florida. Apparently I will fit right in. Amazing huh?

"Depending on the size of the gators present you should perhaps carry a "Gator Bell" to warn them of your presence and some pepper spray for defense. To figure out the size of the gators present though, you have to inspect their poop. Gators under 12 ft have poop that is small to moderate in size with a normal smell. Gators larger than 12 ft have a much larger poop with tiny little bells and it smells like pepper spray."

So I bought a whistle.

Dennis is happy to know I take the threat of gators seriously. It puts his mind at rest. I think he upped my insurance again.

Cheryl

sAVE-a-dIVE kIT

FACTS

1. More people are killed each year by dogs, pigs and deer than by sharks. The United States averages just 16 shark attacks each year and slightly less than one shark-attack fatality every two years. Meanwhile, in the coastal U.S. states alone, lightning strikes and kills more than 41 people each year.
2. the Mako shark is the fastest swimmer in the ocean clocking between 43 and 60 miles per hour
3. Alligators can run at speeds of up to 20 miles per hour. However that speed can only be maintained for a very short distance.
4. Alligators are not immune to snake poison. However, they do have extremely tough skin

RULES OF DIVING

1 Dont stop breathing
2 Plan your dive and dive your plan
3 Dont stop breathing

I know I know I should be diving but I wont be until Sunday. Long story, but then again all of mine are.
My booties are in! and they fit.

I have removed my knife (with great effort and at personal risk) and placed it in a safebox in my dive bag for safe keeping. I figure I will not need it to dive inthe pool and do not want to be tempted to use it. I promise to use it "only for good" (like my marshmallow shooter. {You will learn more about that as the summer goes on})
Just need my hood and gloves and probably a safety sausage. Every diver should have one of those. I think I want a yellow or orange one, to coordinate with the rest of my stuff. it should blend with the theme but be a splash of color. These decisions are not to be made lightly.

Anyway, I now have a logbook to enter all my dives in (actually I have 3 but cant figure what goes where in any onf them so I will draw my own stuff) and a rashguard (we would not want me getting a rash now would we) and I have begun my saveadive kit.

A saveadive (save -a-dive) kit is the little kit divers have for things that they or their dive buddy might need, break or have use for in the case of emergency. this should include extra straps, o rings, extra batteries and other items.

I have a first aid kit with cat in the hat band aids, a pocket knife with 12 attachments of which I only recognize 8 and can only get 4 out anyway, mask defogger, D rings , duct tape (Dennis says I can fix anything with duct tape.finstrap breaks? duct tape it to your foot. Hole in hose? Duct tape it Tank strap sliding? duct tape it to you Makes sense and that scares me) an empty bottle/paper and pen, tissues, a map of NJ, 2 stamps, q-tips and tic tacs. I have no idea what it would take to save my dive but I guess I will find out.

I have watched the video and taken the first test in the book. I am ready.

I think I will buy a new towel for Sunday, one with fishes on it. Sounds like a plan. See...I am thinking like a diver already. 2 Plan your dive and dive your plan

Bye! Love yas I have to go shopping

Cheryl

My Dive Knife

Five little fishes swimming in the sea
teasing Mr. Shark you can't catch me you can't catch me!
Well along came Mr. Shark as quiet as can be
SNAPPED that fish right out of the sea.

I really am pretty much set to go.

I only need my hood and gloves. My booties are not in yet but they are coming.

Dive lessons will not start until 6/11 now but they gave me my instruction manual. I can figure out my bar pressure at 164 feet below sea level but I cant get my waterproof knife out of the case. I think what makes it waterproof is that it is hermetically sealed into the case.

Dont laugh at me, Dennis cant get the knife out either. So back to the dive shop I go.

This is a very special knife. It apparently has an instruction booklet. That only one person in the world has read and he is not there. And he took the book with him.

It takes a 6 foot 2 /210 lb linebacker 20 minutes to get this knife out of the case.

We are going to work on this. "We" as in we are a team, or in you and me, or are we going to Ask Jeeves? or maybe there will be 3 or 4 of us working in tandem to unsheath my knife and in between unsheathings we can form a rock band.

This is not funny, I may need this knife to cut me out of that wetsuit I bought last week.

I also pushed the button on my dive computer. It is 6am in Tokoyo and I live at 400000 feet above sealevel and need to decompress for 112 minutes. I guess I shouldn't have pushed the button. "We" will have to work on that too.

Class is 5 weeks. I apparently will need them all. The excelerated plan may not work for me.

Love
Cheryl

"The Wetsuit"

Who lives in a pineapple under the sea
Sponge Bob Squarepants!
Absorbent and yellow and porous is he,
Sponge Bob Squarepants!...

Hey all you scuba watchers!

Been busy.

First off I joined the Scuba Board. I now have a scuba handle, "Surelyshirly" Cool huh?

And scuba buddies in Florida waiting for me. Are they in for the surprise of their lives!

I also have added to my equipment bag. First I returned the divemask for one I can see out of. Can't do anything about the snorkel, will have to put my big girl pants on and deal with it. Unlike my wetsuit, more on that later.

Anyway I am writing this as I sit here cleaning my mask. With toothpaste. I have no idea why but that is what they told me to do. I opted for Colgates(I'm not a big fan of Crest), regular, I didn't think I needed the extra whitening (my new mask is blue, I am still very coordinated and I will need it) or extra breath freshener but I'm not sure about the fluoride. Is fluoride good for silicone? I will ask Jeeves.

He doesn't know but he will get back to me.

Remember my blue dive watch? It has gone off twice every night since I bought it, and I can't figure out how to turn it off. The first night I couldn't find it. I put it in the driveway and stomped on it. It is squished. I bought a dive computer, it is black and fits in my console.

I bought my fins, they are black, they stick to the livingroom rug. Use your imagination.

I picked up my BC and regulators and weights too. They weighed about 487 pounds when I put them on, I told the dive shop guy when he adds the air tank I will fall over on my back and wave my arms and legs in the air like a turtle. As it is they had to pick up my BC when I stood up or I wasn't getting up. He told me I can sit down and they will push me in. I'm not sure if he was being helpful or a wiseass.

They are very fond of me at the dive shop, apparently I am good for comic relief. They especially enjoyed selling me a 7mil wet suit. Several customers stayed for the show too.

It is black and 7mil is very thick and "toasty warm". It is 2 pieces, a pair of overalls and then a bermuda short length onesie with long sleeves. They sent me into the bathroom to put it on cause they said I would want to sit down after a while. After a while? They also only gave me the overall part cause they said I would want help with the rest. Two pieces, a jumper and a zip up the front one piece, clothes not brain surgery.

I got one leg in and a foot and had to sit down. Then I got it up over my shoulders with one knee pad on my knee and the other one below it and the Velcro of the shoulder strap stuck to my head. I was done, it was about 192 degrees in the thing and I walked with a limp. So I ventured out for help.

They said I was really quick, they didn't expect me so soon. And I had more on than they thought I would. Two customers came in, took one look at me and sat down to watch. Get a life huh and open the dammed door, its hot in here.
Now the onesie. There is a trick to them. I don't know it. I can tell you DONT MAKE A FIST WHEN YOU PUT YOUR ARM IN! they told me your dive buddy always helps you put your suit on and you always help them. I need 3 days notice, 2 dive buddies and the jaws of life.

After I got both pieces on I flapped my arms to make all the air in the suit come out the neck so they could see if it fit or if I needed a smaller size. F**** comedians these guys. They were thinking there was too big an airpocket in the back. The fact that my left boob was squished under my chin and my right boob was squished under my left armpit was OK but not too much airspace in the back or I would get cold. It was 248 degrees in this thing and I was starting to see pretty colors. I told them not to worry, it fit just fine. I was going to take it off.

I waddled over to the bathroom, my knees didn't bend and my legs did not come to within a foot and a half of each other. There was a step up to the bathroom. One snicker from the peanut gallery and I was going to knock them unconscious with my BC.

Once in the bathroom I got one arm out and figured I was going to have to buy the stupid thing just because I couldn't get it off. It is black and it is mine.

After I wear the suit 10 times they are going to put a certificate of achievement on the wall.

I came home and put it all in my bag. I can't lift my bag. But I am coordinated, and that is important.

Cheryl

Collecting Gear

Well it is 2 weeks to scuba lessons. Today i got my bag and regulator case. Dennis bought more insurance. He did that on Thursday too. He needs a hobby.

I had to order booties cause none fit and I bought a mask. I cant see out of it. My snorkel came by ups and Chris bit it.

I tried on 7341 wet suits. I bought a black 3/2 ripcurl. (that is scuba talk for it will cost Dennis another $300 for a warmer suit)

I didn't get a hood cause they didnt fit right. But more are coming in and gloves and weights and that is it. I bought a dive watch. Dennis doesnt have to teach me to tell time cause it is digital. it is good to 50 meters. I have no f****** idea how deep that is so dont ask. It is blue, they didn't have 100 meter watches in blue.
Remember, I am very coordinated.

When I am done I will be able to dive to 150 feet, that is deeper than my pool. cool huh?

How I Got Started

Guess what I got for my birthday?

Scuba diving lessons. I told Dennis I would forego the Harley for scuba diving lessons. (I lied)

We went and met the instructor and bought my BCD and my own regulator (with octopus and 3 dial gauges and pro kit (he can tell I will be good at it already) that has retractable lines to hold my "stuff" and flashlight and knife (he is giving me a dull blade cause Dennis doesn't think I should have sharp objects).

I have a wet suit and I still have to get a mask, fins, booties, hood and snorkel. I will get the tank for Christmas and will have to rent until then. (We'll see) (NOT) I will also need weights cause apparently poopie floats so I will be too light to get to the bottom. I apparently cannot just put rocks in my pockets. And I bought a BCD (thats dive talk allthough I think it stands for Beautifully Coordinated Details) that has lots of pockets just for that reason.

They said you dont have to be coordinated to dive. I still am taking no chances. I will go with a black BCD with blue braiding touches on the shoulder straps. A black wet suit, hood and booties and bring my color in in the snorkel and possibly mask and fins. I haven't decided to stick with the blue theme or go Blue and yellow or blue and pink. Coordination couldn't hurt. I have towels and a carry bag to match all the combos.

I start June 11 so all of you coming for 4th of July can come and watch that Sunday. I know I will impress you with my diviness expertise.

By July 22 I will be certified to swim in my pool and even deeper water! Can you imagine how I will entertain you at this summers bar-b-ques!

After that I will have something to do in Florida during the summer, when I am not snowboarding. In the winter I will miss Dennis, although we will be there in January and February next year arguing over buying property there. I can dive in between arguments.

There is a dive club on the island where we rented. I dont think I will be diving where there are alligators but I will have my retractable knife just in case. I am pretty sure it is waterproof and that is why I paid extra for it.
Life is about to get a lot more interesting.

Love

Cheryl
PADI CERT (thats dive talk)