Fantasy Island Feb 20-27 - FREE NITROX CLASS!

[DandyDon]

I've been here reading along each day, training, buying stuff, and getting packed now! Oh and "getting ahead" here at work

I found some nice thin convertible pants at Cabelas which normally I'd never wear but thought it might be handy to have a pair of shorts that convert to pants to keep the evening bugs at bay. I've also stocked up thin long sleeve shirts for the same reason and planned to bring along a couple pairs of khakis. Is that reasonable or should I stick with more T-shirts and shorts based on your experience?

Can't wait to meet/see you all in 5 days!

There he is! :wavey:

Hey, either way you get there before I do so get us a nice room. I've heard that second floor is best for not having monkey's mess with your gear but I think I leave almost all mine in the locker room other than cameras that I do like to soak for an hour in a small plastic box I'll bring so either floor is fine. You might want to take the bed closer to the balcony since I'm the heavier packer, so I can stick bags between the other bed and wall without being in your way, but whatever looks good to you. I'm an outdoorsman :fork: and have lived alone so long that I have to remind myself of little things when sharing a room on a trip, but I try - got my gas pills packed so I won't forget, and such.

I'm pretty casual on dive trips but do go with the old Windjammer suggestion of a clean T-shirt for dinner, otherwise I like being able to wear shorts there. DEET always served me well on the mosquitoes, and the only time I have had problems with the sand bugs was staying at a resort on a Utila standbar - not at FIBR, but I am going to try some mineral oil on legs anyway as suggested by a Utila DM who wore nothing but bikinis. :tongue:

Taking a can of DEET to the gazebo along with dive gear can be a good idea as the skeeters can be in force there at night when climbing out from a dive. I got two big ones: one for room, one for locker room.

So, have you been studying your new computer? Like most, I tried to bluff it with mine when I first got it but it's really good to know it well, run simulation dives, etc. My home bud just wears his so I can tell him what it said and for multi-level dives like most Coz and Roatan dives that works well enough, but the one time he went a minute over into Deco last trip he was clueless on all of the beeping. :silly: I'll show you how I set mine if you'd like since we have the same brand but the most common advice for Oceanics is if you dive Nitrox any, turn Default-Off.

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[Joe diver]

I'm coming in on flight CO689 from Detroit at 8:02. We aren't doing first class but we will in the boarding area and probably have brunch at the airport. We won't make lunch at FIDR. I will keep an eye out for you. I'm wearing the same cabelas shorts/pants there and back. We are in Detroit(25 deg.) so they work well for cold and I take the legs off on the plane and show up in Roatan in shorts and t-shirt. I have seen some people have problems with baggage so my girlfriend and I take are regs and computer as carry on so at least we have the important part of our gear.

 

[sdiver68]

There he is! :wavey:

So, have you been studying your new computer? Like most, I tried to bluff it with mine when I first got it but it's really good to know it well, run simulation dives, etc. My home bud just wears his so I can tell him what it said and for multi-level dives like most Coz and Roatan dives that works well enough, but the one time he went a minute over into Deco last trip he was clueless on all of the beeping. :silly: I'll show you how I set mine if you'd like since we have the same brand but the most common advice for Oceanics is if you dive Nitrox any, turn Default-Off.

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:wavey:

I was going for the bluffing strategy :cool2:

Actually I read the manual twice and set all my defaults; I'm very open to your suggestions down there as well. I'm not diving nitrox and bought a spare battery since that seems to be the other common issue with the model. I did get a chance to use it (and all of my other gear) during an all-day confined water session. Finally, on my packing list it states "computer manual in carry-on" for studying the manual. I figure being book smart and experience deficient is better than 0 for 2!

 

[adjuster-jd]

Manuel - isnt he one of the guys that helps with bags at the airport? Oh - you said ManuAL - ok. yeah, probably a good idea to read it. Just dive under your computer says you have zero time remaining, then go up - yeah, I think thats how it works. Make sure your tank is equipped with a j-valve also..

 

[DandyDon]

Funny thing happened on my fare alert. I like to leave these running well after I buy a ticket just to watch the price go up in time. It so easy to amuse me at times. It went down!

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Haha, I see why. They finally noticed as I had already reviewed that my 7:50am flight is almost full while the 5:15 and 10:50 have lots of room, as do the connecting flights, so they went down on the itineraries with the other two departures. Hell, they never should have gone up on the other two pairs! Seats flown empty save a little fuel cost, but can't ever sell those day seats again!

:wavey:

I was going for the bluffing strategy :cool2:

Actually I read the manual twice and set all my defaults; I'm very open to your suggestions down there as well. I'm not diving nitrox and bought a spare battery since that seems to be the other common issue with the model. I did get a chance to use it (and all of my other gear) during an all-day confined water session. Finally, on my packing list it states "computer manual in carry-on" for studying the manual. I figure being book smart and experience deficient is better than 0 for 2!

Bluffing it is how many of us start out, figuring that if the computer gets very excited that we'll abort and figure out why? I did decide to learn mine after a bit, and - I have had some real life learning experiences since. My home bud and I have had extensive discussions on how & why as I know he's not one to study the book, and we have ran simulated dives together, but it's been a while. He, having no issues on his annual Cozumel trips, has forgotten it all - like he forgot how to use his compass, as how often does one try to go anywhere but down current in Coz, until this one night on a shore dive in August!

You've read the manual twice more than many new computer divers, but not surprised - you seem more into understanding things, and with life & death that can be a good thing for sure. Running simulated dives is good practice. Now, if you turn your computer on at altitude in the plane, it will read the elevation at around 8,000 ft depending on the actual air pressure in the cabin, and your simulations may well adjust accordingly altho I am not sure on those. I did that once on a flight to St.Martin and when we landed it went into real dive mode of 4 feet I think it was from the change in pressure. Could not get it to stop and did not want to pull the battery, so I let it run overnight. It turned off and cleared but even if it hadn't - you don't acquire much nitrogen at 4 ft so I was going to dive the planned shallow dives anyway.

I cannot tell you how yours works exactly as I am sure there have been some changes in the newer models. I can show your things on mine if you'd like, but keep in mind that when I discuss such things generally, they may or may not apply to your model. Oceanic and Aires computers are called liberal, but they are no more so than Padi tables even tho some of the calculations are a little different. The models considered more conservative simply penalize your bottom time as a marketing ploy in my opinion and I have seen divers ignore them after spending all that money. How safe is that?!

Generally I don't mind at all getting into the yellow zone as long as I leave the water in the green, which is easy to accomplish with slow ascents and long SSs. Overdrawing one and going into Deco a minute or two is no biggie as you'll clear that easily on the SS if not before, but I have never had enough air to get back into the green again, leaving the water in the yellow, climbing the ladder slower, taking things more gently for a while.

Why they have Nitrox Default-on out of the box and why it does what it does seems to be designed to keep the company out of law suits mostly. Unlike some other brands, if you dive Nitrox once with Default-on, then don't reset it for the second dive, it tracks O2 and N2 both at very high values and locks you out for 24 hours :dancinglock: or until the battery is pulled. Most divers just turn the Default-off so if they forget to change from Nitrox 31 to 33 or whatever the analyzers show for different tanks, it just tracks at the old setting - close enough for conservative diving in a mistake. None of this means anything if you're diving air all week, but when you do get your Nitrox card, perhaps this willl ring a bell then?

Weather looks good for departures in St.Louis, Akron, and Lubbock Saturday, good in Atanta - yay! We'll worry about coming home when we have to.

 

[Sloeber]

Hey guys,

Quick question for the group, even though it isn't related to our travels.

I'm flying in a lady friend a few days after our FIBR week. I'll be in Utila at the time and obviously I need to get her to Utila. Her plane lands in Roatan at 1:15. I'm concerned I won't be able to get her to Utila that evening being that the ferry leaves Dixon Cove at 2pm. Even if she strolls right through customs without delay ( ) making it to the ferry by 2 seems unrealistic. Anyone have any experience with this?

I've also sent an e-mail off to Vern asking if if he could delay his 1pm West End departure until she could get to West End. I'm assuming that'd be in the 2:30pm range. I'm assuming it is unlikely but I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask.

Obviously we could likely fly her over to Utila for a higher fee, which I see as the most likely option right now, but I figured I'd check with some of you'all to see if any can shed some experience on the situation.

Thanks

 

[adjuster-jd]

Henry - you may want repost this in the main bay islands section if you don't get a quick response on this specific thread... My experience with customs has taken about an hour to get through and get my bags so I'd allow a little more time than that to get to West End.
It may be possible to get through quicker - I always just seem to end up in the back of the line.

 

[Sloeber]

Yeah... I fear I'm sponsoring a private charter on this one

 

[DandyDon]

Yeah... I fear I'm sponsoring a private charter on this one

We discussed this on the main forum already, didn't we? I forget how that worked out. Sounds cheaper for you to take the ferry back to Roatan to meet her plane then escort her back next day. Cuts two days out of our Utila time, but you'd look like such a gentleman too.

Haven't been outside yet. I have Desktop weather on all my computers and I glanced down to see that it was 73F out! Hehe, I'd left it on Roatan. :blush:

 

[Sloeber]

We discussed this on the main forum already, didn't we? I forget how that worked out. Sounds cheaper for you to take the ferry back to Roatan to meet her plane then escort her back next day. Cuts two days out of our Utila time, but you'd look like such a gentleman too.

Haven't been outside yet. I have Desktop weather on all my computers and I glanced down to see that it was 73F out! Hehe, I'd left it on Roatan. :blush:

No, this wasn't discussed before. This is a recent development due to a change in travel times. She was originally coming in on Sunday on an early flight in time to make the ferry connctions easy. Now its Thursday, and a later flight, which throws a wrench in the plan.