Written 7-30-07:
Where: FLSP
Dive Buddy: Kevin

I think I'm on dive #46 or something like that. I know I almost have enough for Divemaster.

This past weekend we did a night dive with another fellow on Saturday night which was fine. I think it lasted about 50 minutes or so. The guy hadn't been in FLSP at night so we did the standard tour: bus, rock crusher, airplane, graveyard, down over the wall into the deeper portion, out along the south/southeastern side.

The best part was Sunday though. Got off working when Dave showed up and went in to do some "working" dives. I say it like that because they are as much if not more fun to me than regular dives.

Some of the buoys have gotten waterlogged and are either under the water or are listing sadly to the side. Kevin had already retrieved one, drained it and sealed it and it was ready to be put back out on the bus.

The neat part for me was that I went along to put it back but did this with no gear except a 3.2 wetsuit (I know! NOT A DRYSUIT!!), my fins and my mask. I used his long regulator and he had a scooter and I just sort of went along for the ride. Secured the buoy back on the bus and went and retreived the second one off the platform by the VW.

Took that back, fixed it. Then decided to go do a scooter dive same way while we waited for the sealant to dry on the buoy. Since I had led Marci and another diver out into the North 40 (aka Northern Wall of the quarry where nobody goes), I've been wanting to go back out there so we jumped back in and went hugging the wall into the corner. I still didn't have any gear except what I'd had on earlier and it was so much fun. I didn't have to think about buoyancy or gear or anything except just watching and enjoying the whole thing. It was awesome.

Of course, the scooter wasn't going to last the whole dive but we finned back and checked out the walls and found some neat areas and did some surface swimming and all back to the exit point.

One not good thing that happened is that Kevin lost his mask on the way back. It dropped in one of the darkest and deepest areas along that southwestern wall. Of course.

We got out, took a break. Got suited back up and went back in on a mask search and recovery dive. I was still diving in the 3.2 and didn't feel like changing into anything else so I just grabbed a tank and my BC and reg and we got back in and dropped down to start looking and man. That was a weird, weird thing. The visibility in that area is like 5-10" in places and it's freaky.

I dropped all the way down to 57 feet, couldn't SEE A THING because of the black algae and just sort of worked my way up the side of a wall of sorts and back around in a circular pattern and did that for a bit, didn't run into Kevin at any point and decided to surface to see what area he was searching. Did an ascent, yes, I did my safety stop at 15', which is very interesting to do with no point of reference to look at for me. I've been practicing that over the past few months and it's gotten a lot easier to do.

Found his bubbles, dropped back down and searched a bit longer, he called the search and we just sort of dove along the wall checking things out a bit and that was that. I think that was a 47 minute dive and I wasn't too cold by the time we were finished.

Still had to take the second buoy back out to the platform. So we went back out towards the platform area and I actually FOUND the platform that it was supposed to go back on and dropped down and helped tie it onto the platform. Dropped right down onto it. I was so proud of me. :)

It's the little things.

So I've helped take the wing of the shallow plane and drop that using lift bags last weekend and now the buoy things. FUN!!!!!!

I have also found that I'm becoming much more comfortable just being in the water and with the gear and everything. It may not seem like a big deal but I sort of used to dread preparing for each dive. I'd go through all the things that could go wrong (still do but not in the same mindframe it seems) and all the gear and it's just not like that anymore. I mean, I love/loved the diving part once I actually get into the water and am doing it but dreaded preparing for it ....or having a sense of unease about it. But that's eased off some and I know that comes with what I've been told: just dive and do a lot of it. A lot of things that used to bother me or worry me, don't anymore.

I've learned a lot just in a few months.

~ Main Page ~