I did not have a fun Saturday and I hadn’t been wet since Ernie and I tried to swim to Indiana, so I went to Dutch Springs on Sunday….we had a mission.
I left at O’Dark Thirty….does this ever end? Only this time it was 29 F. For those of you that slept in….that means Hot Dang it was cold and dark! Somewhere on Rt 78E I asked myself “are we having fun yet?” I must be crazy….
I arrived at Dutch and met Nick, Terry and Frnak for a day of diving…we had a “mission” and they weren’t telling…. Loose lips sink ships…..but they had a crowbar, hammer and chisel all attached to double enders. Some serious stuff.
Nick made the rounds like a greeter at Walmart, stopping to say hi to everyone while we unloaded our gear... It was now 35F, warming up nicely….Ernie stopped by while his tech class was getting organized…he worked these guys to the bone by the way, they were the last ones off the peninsula that night.
Anyway, back to me…I was buddied with Nick and our plan was to complete “phase one” of the “mission” without silting up the bottom and then Nick and I were going to go to the old airplane while Terry and Frnak completed the mission.
I think the other two got lost cause we got there first and that never happens with Frnak the Olympic swimmer. Either way I hovered flawlessly and was not responsible for the less than optimal visibility….we were soon on our way and as usual my directional and spatial skills are a work in progress…while I remember all the stuff I saw, I have no idea where I was. We saw 2 cars, a big boat, the big tree, the telephone pole that is laying in the silt and the one standing up with the signs, tanker, crane, trolley, toilet bowl and the kitchen sink, and of course the old airplane that was replaced with a newer version.
We had 10-20 foot vis and the zebra mussels all had their tongues out and I spent some time trying to catch one, The. water temps were in the 50’s and there was a decidedly abrupt thermo cline. As we approached the airplane we passed the big tree and the thermo cline hung almost exactly mid tree in thick cloudy layers making this lone huge tree look eerie, like something out of a movie. I only saw 2 fish this dive and I thought it odd, but the water is cooling off….
We arrived back at the dock after 50 minutes of leisurely swimming with gas to spare. Frnak and Terry came in after 80 minutes, “mission” accomplished, and we had our usual leisurely surface interval.
Nick had to leave and I buddied with Frnak and Terry for the second dive. This was planned as a leisurely stroll to the wall and in we went. It must have been low tide as there were layers of crumbly rock exposed directly in front of the docks and it was a long walk down. After picking my way down hill and into the water we readied to sightsee.
We had a great dive, Frnak went nice and slow and we took in all the scenery. There were more fish this time several large ones and some small ones also. One large bass tried hiding in the weeds and Terry had a good time outing him. Later as we hit the big boat on our way in I showed my lack of directional skills as I had no idea where we were and was getting low on air. Frnak pulled out his octo and waved it in front of me. We were only about 30 yards from shore and swam on over. There my AAD kicked in as I forgot I was low on air and started to chase two huge yellow koi before I came back to complete my hang under the docks.
Maybe the dives were not exciting enough to warrant a trip report…. But the company was stellar. And that is part of what diving is all about. Enjoying seeing everyone on the peninsula and diving with the boys. Oh…and if you haven’t figured out what the “mission” was yet…don’t feel bad, neither have I.
Frnak says we went here for dive 2:
Descended west side of peninsula. Followed heading 145 degrees to crane and island. Crossed over island to south side. Follow rocky edge to beer can pointing to a fallen electric pole (RFL). From the electric pole we followed heading 150 degrees to a small ridge. On the ridge there were things that looked like sawhorses. There were also long pieces of hose scattered about. We continued on 150. We crossed a road and reached the southwall. On the south wall we ascended to 15 ft. to the old plane. While ascending on the south wall we noticed that the wall was completely striped of all plant life. We wondered how could this happen. And Why?
We left the plane and descended to 65ft. From there we followed heading 345 degrees to the tanker. We continued on 345 to east tip of island. From there it was 355 to Silver Comet and home. now I am tired....it was not such a relaxing dive after all...it was far.
How do you remember all that? I just remember the fish....and one really long piece of hose...and the fish.
I left at O’Dark Thirty….does this ever end? Only this time it was 29 F. For those of you that slept in….that means Hot Dang it was cold and dark! Somewhere on Rt 78E I asked myself “are we having fun yet?” I must be crazy….
I arrived at Dutch and met Nick, Terry and Frnak for a day of diving…we had a “mission” and they weren’t telling…. Loose lips sink ships…..but they had a crowbar, hammer and chisel all attached to double enders. Some serious stuff.
Nick made the rounds like a greeter at Walmart, stopping to say hi to everyone while we unloaded our gear... It was now 35F, warming up nicely….Ernie stopped by while his tech class was getting organized…he worked these guys to the bone by the way, they were the last ones off the peninsula that night.
Anyway, back to me…I was buddied with Nick and our plan was to complete “phase one” of the “mission” without silting up the bottom and then Nick and I were going to go to the old airplane while Terry and Frnak completed the mission.
I think the other two got lost cause we got there first and that never happens with Frnak the Olympic swimmer. Either way I hovered flawlessly and was not responsible for the less than optimal visibility….we were soon on our way and as usual my directional and spatial skills are a work in progress…while I remember all the stuff I saw, I have no idea where I was. We saw 2 cars, a big boat, the big tree, the telephone pole that is laying in the silt and the one standing up with the signs, tanker, crane, trolley, toilet bowl and the kitchen sink, and of course the old airplane that was replaced with a newer version.
We had 10-20 foot vis and the zebra mussels all had their tongues out and I spent some time trying to catch one, The. water temps were in the 50’s and there was a decidedly abrupt thermo cline. As we approached the airplane we passed the big tree and the thermo cline hung almost exactly mid tree in thick cloudy layers making this lone huge tree look eerie, like something out of a movie. I only saw 2 fish this dive and I thought it odd, but the water is cooling off….
We arrived back at the dock after 50 minutes of leisurely swimming with gas to spare. Frnak and Terry came in after 80 minutes, “mission” accomplished, and we had our usual leisurely surface interval.
Nick had to leave and I buddied with Frnak and Terry for the second dive. This was planned as a leisurely stroll to the wall and in we went. It must have been low tide as there were layers of crumbly rock exposed directly in front of the docks and it was a long walk down. After picking my way down hill and into the water we readied to sightsee.
We had a great dive, Frnak went nice and slow and we took in all the scenery. There were more fish this time several large ones and some small ones also. One large bass tried hiding in the weeds and Terry had a good time outing him. Later as we hit the big boat on our way in I showed my lack of directional skills as I had no idea where we were and was getting low on air. Frnak pulled out his octo and waved it in front of me. We were only about 30 yards from shore and swam on over. There my AAD kicked in as I forgot I was low on air and started to chase two huge yellow koi before I came back to complete my hang under the docks.
Maybe the dives were not exciting enough to warrant a trip report…. But the company was stellar. And that is part of what diving is all about. Enjoying seeing everyone on the peninsula and diving with the boys. Oh…and if you haven’t figured out what the “mission” was yet…don’t feel bad, neither have I.
Frnak says we went here for dive 2:
Descended west side of peninsula. Followed heading 145 degrees to crane and island. Crossed over island to south side. Follow rocky edge to beer can pointing to a fallen electric pole (RFL). From the electric pole we followed heading 150 degrees to a small ridge. On the ridge there were things that looked like sawhorses. There were also long pieces of hose scattered about. We continued on 150. We crossed a road and reached the southwall. On the south wall we ascended to 15 ft. to the old plane. While ascending on the south wall we noticed that the wall was completely striped of all plant life. We wondered how could this happen. And Why?
We left the plane and descended to 65ft. From there we followed heading 345 degrees to the tanker. We continued on 345 to east tip of island. From there it was 355 to Silver Comet and home. now I am tired....it was not such a relaxing dive after all...it was far.
How do you remember all that? I just remember the fish....and one really long piece of hose...and the fish.