temporarily removed - misplaced - searched for - and not found - but I did find numbers 2,3,4 and 5!
So.. to recount as best I can from memory and therefore unshackled from a strict narrative of the actual facts let me recount for you the tale of Anchored boat story 1:
We were diving in the San Juan Islands off of my 26' dive boat aptly if not uniquely named, Easy Diver. The dive site selected for the day's attempt at cheating death was Turn Island Rock just East of Turn Island just East of San Juan Island. Currents here can be rather brisk at times.. actually brisk about four times each day. Twice this way and then twice that way; alternating of course.
These brisk currents are what accounts for our interest in diving Turn Rock. It gets blasted with a fresh load of nutrients all the time and all sorts of marine creatures compete for space at the table.
We anchored on the under water ridge that connects Turn Island Rock to Turn Island. On either side of this ridge the bottom drops fast and keeps going. When the current is running across this ridge it does the same thing: drops fast and keeps going. This will factor into the story later.
The first dive was (in the words of Dave) 'FANTASTIC!' and even though he said that about everything it was actually fitting.. the dive was fantastic. We made a complete circuit of Turn Island Rock and we were all having a great old time as we came back to Easy Diver. Onboard was my father (the original Uncle Pug ~ at least that is what all of my cousins called him.) He wasn't a diver so instead of taking him with us we left him on the boat to 'watch the stuff.'
When we got back onboard he informed us that another boat had dropped off a bunch of divers and then after 30 minutes had loaded them all back on board and left the scene. Well now.. that explains those other folks we saw down there briefly.
As we changed out tanks and got ready for dive number two a couple of the guys mentioned that the water was starting to head North. 'Hmm... well that just calls for more weight on the belt' I said. No one was convinced so I said that I would go in and check it out for them.
We put a 150' tag line out behind Easy Diver with a float on the end for safety's sake. You just can't be too safe. According to the digital knot meter we were doing just a tad over 2 knots when I flipped over the side. By the time I bobbed back up to the surface all smiles there was only 50' of the tag line left for me to wrap my arm around and around and around until finally it held me. Now I was doing slight over 2 knots as well.
Behind me to the North a rip line was forming as the current over the underwater ridge picked up speed and the downwelling began in earnest. More on the Turn Island Rock downwelling later.
'OK.. we probably should skip the second dive after all... pull me back to the boat.'
One of them tried and couldn't do it. Two tried and couldn't do it. Three tried.. starting to do it. Four were able to do it. Fortunately you don't catch Orca by trolling a scuba diver.. but it did cross my mind though it wasn't my chief concern. Breathing was.
I was having a very difficult time breathing because I had added so much extra weight to my belt that I needed to fully inflate my jacket B.C. The jacket B.C. essentially became a thoracic blood pressure cuff and squeezed me so tightly I could only take the smallest of breaths. Really poor design. 'Drop the weight belt' you say? Now you tell me.
Finally they landed the catch of the day.. thankfully without gaff hooking me into the boat. And now for the rest of the story:
You didn't think I was done did you?
Years later our family was spending time in Friday Harbor on our Trawler Arwetheryet and my youngest daughter asked to go diving. Well, Turn Island Rock is just outside the harbor and around the corner and we could head out there with the dingy and anchor...
BUT LET ME CHECK THE TIDE AND CURRENT TABLES FIRST!!!
Check check check check... nope. Not gonna do it. Spring Tides. Try to explain that to the satisfaction of a 14 year old who hasn't read the above story!
A few hours later we saw commotion on the docks and the Sheriff boat leave with lights and sirens. They headed out of the harbor and turned the corner. Then another. An ambulance was waiting ashore.
A dive master/instructor/?? had taken two young women out to Turn Island Rock. Now here is where my memory gets fuzzy but I think this is correct: the young women had only recently been certified and that in warm water. They were not experienced in cold water current diving. The three of them were caught in the down welling and taken to 150' before two of them were able to break free and surface. One young woman was never found.
So.. to recount as best I can from memory and therefore unshackled from a strict narrative of the actual facts let me recount for you the tale of Anchored boat story 1:
We were diving in the San Juan Islands off of my 26' dive boat aptly if not uniquely named, Easy Diver. The dive site selected for the day's attempt at cheating death was Turn Island Rock just East of Turn Island just East of San Juan Island. Currents here can be rather brisk at times.. actually brisk about four times each day. Twice this way and then twice that way; alternating of course.
These brisk currents are what accounts for our interest in diving Turn Rock. It gets blasted with a fresh load of nutrients all the time and all sorts of marine creatures compete for space at the table.
We anchored on the under water ridge that connects Turn Island Rock to Turn Island. On either side of this ridge the bottom drops fast and keeps going. When the current is running across this ridge it does the same thing: drops fast and keeps going. This will factor into the story later.
The first dive was (in the words of Dave) 'FANTASTIC!' and even though he said that about everything it was actually fitting.. the dive was fantastic. We made a complete circuit of Turn Island Rock and we were all having a great old time as we came back to Easy Diver. Onboard was my father (the original Uncle Pug ~ at least that is what all of my cousins called him.) He wasn't a diver so instead of taking him with us we left him on the boat to 'watch the stuff.'
When we got back onboard he informed us that another boat had dropped off a bunch of divers and then after 30 minutes had loaded them all back on board and left the scene. Well now.. that explains those other folks we saw down there briefly.
As we changed out tanks and got ready for dive number two a couple of the guys mentioned that the water was starting to head North. 'Hmm... well that just calls for more weight on the belt' I said. No one was convinced so I said that I would go in and check it out for them.
We put a 150' tag line out behind Easy Diver with a float on the end for safety's sake. You just can't be too safe. According to the digital knot meter we were doing just a tad over 2 knots when I flipped over the side. By the time I bobbed back up to the surface all smiles there was only 50' of the tag line left for me to wrap my arm around and around and around until finally it held me. Now I was doing slight over 2 knots as well.
Behind me to the North a rip line was forming as the current over the underwater ridge picked up speed and the downwelling began in earnest. More on the Turn Island Rock downwelling later.
'OK.. we probably should skip the second dive after all... pull me back to the boat.'
One of them tried and couldn't do it. Two tried and couldn't do it. Three tried.. starting to do it. Four were able to do it. Fortunately you don't catch Orca by trolling a scuba diver.. but it did cross my mind though it wasn't my chief concern. Breathing was.
I was having a very difficult time breathing because I had added so much extra weight to my belt that I needed to fully inflate my jacket B.C. The jacket B.C. essentially became a thoracic blood pressure cuff and squeezed me so tightly I could only take the smallest of breaths. Really poor design. 'Drop the weight belt' you say? Now you tell me.
Finally they landed the catch of the day.. thankfully without gaff hooking me into the boat. And now for the rest of the story:
You didn't think I was done did you?
Years later our family was spending time in Friday Harbor on our Trawler Arwetheryet and my youngest daughter asked to go diving. Well, Turn Island Rock is just outside the harbor and around the corner and we could head out there with the dingy and anchor...
BUT LET ME CHECK THE TIDE AND CURRENT TABLES FIRST!!!
Check check check check... nope. Not gonna do it. Spring Tides. Try to explain that to the satisfaction of a 14 year old who hasn't read the above story!
A few hours later we saw commotion on the docks and the Sheriff boat leave with lights and sirens. They headed out of the harbor and turned the corner. Then another. An ambulance was waiting ashore.
A dive master/instructor/?? had taken two young women out to Turn Island Rock. Now here is where my memory gets fuzzy but I think this is correct: the young women had only recently been certified and that in warm water. They were not experienced in cold water current diving. The three of them were caught in the down welling and taken to 150' before two of them were able to break free and surface. One young woman was never found.
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