Part 3 of a 3-part series. Don't ask why I'm posting #3 first. Couldn't tell you.
----------------
Arrived on Catalina and had two glorious days of diving on Friday and Saturday. Shot about 460 pics, had clear sunny days and excellent diving conditions. Sunday AM very early (about 2:00 AM) I am awoke by the wind just hammering the place. Window shaking, trees rustling, etc. Your basic end of the world stuff going on out there.
I get up, dress warm and start to walk to Casino point to see what the diving is going to be like. The waves are breaking way over the stairs, and sometimes up over the wall. Not good.
Dette and I decide we have nothing to prove after 8 great dives the previous couple of days, so we start to walk over to the Mole to get an earlier boat out. I look up and see there are two red flags over the Mole, and over the Harbor Master's office on the green pier.
Not good.
I've woken to double reds before - no biggie. When things calm down, the boats start running and its all good. We get to the Catalina Express office on the Mole and when we get to the window the chick says all AM boats canceled - but there may be boats running in the afternoon - so come back and check later.
OY.
So its time for a proper breakfast. We slog through the wind, past person after person spectacularly unprepared for this sudden turn in weather (dry diving rules... you always have warm clothes!) and over to Joes for a warm breakfast. Veggie omelet made with egg whites. YUM!
We head back to the OE office. Now its about 11:00-ish. The chick is not optimistic. This is not good. If I was a kid missing a day of school on Monday, I'd be very excited. If I was one of the thousand Triathletes schlepping a bike around for an extra day, I'd be a little less enthused. If I was ME, and had a 3:00 PM flight to Dulles on Monday afternoon, I'd be very unimpressed at the notion of staying another day on this rock and the possibility of missing this flight.
So its time to drink. I head over to my office at the Catalina Cantina, hunker in and order a Cap & Diet. Claudette checks her watch (about 11:20 AM) and shrugs, then orders an Irish coffee. Soon Dr Bill comes by, sits in and we start yakking.
A few drinks and a serving of chips and gwak later, its time to go back to the Catalina Express office to see what the deal is. The wind is still howling, and I fear the worst.
The chick says its not happening today. No boats.
OY!
So I book us back on Monday AM on the 11:45 AM boat. I'm doing transportation math in my head. If the stars align, and the freeways are open, I'll get home in time to dump my gear, throw warm clothes into a suitcase, get a cab to the airport and slide onto my flight just as they're closing the door.
Not good.
Its nap time. Too much to think about.
I wake up at about 4:00-ish. I call C-man, and Christian tells me he and some of the other DMX castaways are planning to go to Steve's Steak House for dinner.
Ew.
I call Claudette - I tell her we must save our friends from Steve's. She calls Lynne (the manager) at the Country Club and gets us all in for Sunday dinner.
With a couple of hours to kill, Dette and I do a walkabout with the camera and I get some shots of the place as the sun is setting. Those are the shots below.
Dinner was fantastic, of course. We all had a great night.
Huge thanks to Dette and DrB who both kept me lubricated and in good spirits on Sunday so I didn't sit around and fret about the big interview and meeting in VA that I was likely going to miss.
MEGA thanks to Dette - who through super human effort willed me to VA on time. She took all of my crusty gear (suits, regs, fins, deathstar, scooter... everything) and rinsed it, dried it and pampered it for the last few days so I could cut time off the transition, dash home, make my flight and knock their socks off in VA. This was way, WAY above the call of buddy duty and is one of a hundred things that continues to distinguish you as the best buddy ever, dette. Much love. Thanks!
Here is "part 3 - the Drys." Parts 1 and 2 (Macros and Wides) will be up in the next several days.
Enjoy.
---
Ken
======================================
AM Yuck - this is what we saw at the dive park first AM on Sunday, and it just got worse as the day went on.
Double Double Red - this is what we saw walking from the Casino to the Mole to check on the boats - two sets of double reds blasting in the wind.
Sunday Morning View from the Mole - wind and more yuck. This is not good. This is when the Cat Express lady told me it wasn't looking good.
Well, if I'm not diving....
.
.
.
.
Tide Game series - In the afternoon when I received the final "no" from Cat Express, I re-booked for Monday. Walking back from the Mole into town we came across a group of kids playing a game with the tide. There is a ramp - and they'd start at the ramp and dare each other to run down the ramp onto the sand and try to make it to the green ladder in the distance without getting soaked. What a cool game. There is a tire on the wall at about the half-way point that on several occasions served as a bail-out for the slow of foot or the kid prone to poor timing. I walked out to the very end of a jutting piece of concrete to get these shots.
#1 - the challenge is issued Looking around the wall and tryint to time the sets.
#2 - the shreek! There is nothing like the sound of kids playing.
#3 - ready, set, GO! In this shot you can see the bail-out tire in the middle of the wall, and the green stairs at the far destination.
#4 - girl's turn! - After watching the boys go several times (not always 100% dry!) pinky finally went. She stumbled on this first run, but she made it over to the green stairs.
#5 - not so much... Pinky now had to try to make it back. She got about 3/4 of the way back and the tide slammed in. You can see its already been to the wall and you can see her footsteps in the newly wet sand. She fell, and her cell phone became a plastic brick. She shook it off and when we left, she and the boys were still playing.
.
.
.
.
.
Casino at Night - the sun was fully set, and the lights were just coming on, so I started doing some long exposure (5 to 8 second stuff) while we waited for time to pass Sunday night before Dinner at the CC. In this one I balanced the camera on Claudette's backpack for a 6 second exposure.
St Lauren - walking to the CC for dinner, I leaned on a telephone pole and on a wall and did some hand-held 5-second exposures. Tough to brace and hold for that long, but you get the idea. That place is way pink.
Country Club - walking up for dinner, I grabbed this one, leaning and bracing on the palm tree outside of the entrance. The wind was shaking the thing... not really a stable platform for 8 seconds of cam brace! That's the trunk of the palm tree encroaching into the upper-right of the frame.
CC Courtyard Fountain - as we walked to the bar to meet Christian and the rest of the crew, I set the cam on a table and took a 6 second shot of the courtyard fountain that's just outside of the bar and restaurant at the Country Club.
Monday Morning Mole - the wind was manageable, the red flags retired. We may get out today! Compare this with the shot from Sunday.
Rescued! This was a very, very good sight to see on Monday morning - a boat landing at the Mole.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
----------------
Arrived on Catalina and had two glorious days of diving on Friday and Saturday. Shot about 460 pics, had clear sunny days and excellent diving conditions. Sunday AM very early (about 2:00 AM) I am awoke by the wind just hammering the place. Window shaking, trees rustling, etc. Your basic end of the world stuff going on out there.
I get up, dress warm and start to walk to Casino point to see what the diving is going to be like. The waves are breaking way over the stairs, and sometimes up over the wall. Not good.
Dette and I decide we have nothing to prove after 8 great dives the previous couple of days, so we start to walk over to the Mole to get an earlier boat out. I look up and see there are two red flags over the Mole, and over the Harbor Master's office on the green pier.
Not good.
I've woken to double reds before - no biggie. When things calm down, the boats start running and its all good. We get to the Catalina Express office on the Mole and when we get to the window the chick says all AM boats canceled - but there may be boats running in the afternoon - so come back and check later.
OY.
So its time for a proper breakfast. We slog through the wind, past person after person spectacularly unprepared for this sudden turn in weather (dry diving rules... you always have warm clothes!) and over to Joes for a warm breakfast. Veggie omelet made with egg whites. YUM!
We head back to the OE office. Now its about 11:00-ish. The chick is not optimistic. This is not good. If I was a kid missing a day of school on Monday, I'd be very excited. If I was one of the thousand Triathletes schlepping a bike around for an extra day, I'd be a little less enthused. If I was ME, and had a 3:00 PM flight to Dulles on Monday afternoon, I'd be very unimpressed at the notion of staying another day on this rock and the possibility of missing this flight.
So its time to drink. I head over to my office at the Catalina Cantina, hunker in and order a Cap & Diet. Claudette checks her watch (about 11:20 AM) and shrugs, then orders an Irish coffee. Soon Dr Bill comes by, sits in and we start yakking.
A few drinks and a serving of chips and gwak later, its time to go back to the Catalina Express office to see what the deal is. The wind is still howling, and I fear the worst.
The chick says its not happening today. No boats.
OY!
So I book us back on Monday AM on the 11:45 AM boat. I'm doing transportation math in my head. If the stars align, and the freeways are open, I'll get home in time to dump my gear, throw warm clothes into a suitcase, get a cab to the airport and slide onto my flight just as they're closing the door.
Not good.
Its nap time. Too much to think about.
I wake up at about 4:00-ish. I call C-man, and Christian tells me he and some of the other DMX castaways are planning to go to Steve's Steak House for dinner.
Ew.
I call Claudette - I tell her we must save our friends from Steve's. She calls Lynne (the manager) at the Country Club and gets us all in for Sunday dinner.
With a couple of hours to kill, Dette and I do a walkabout with the camera and I get some shots of the place as the sun is setting. Those are the shots below.
Dinner was fantastic, of course. We all had a great night.
Huge thanks to Dette and DrB who both kept me lubricated and in good spirits on Sunday so I didn't sit around and fret about the big interview and meeting in VA that I was likely going to miss.
MEGA thanks to Dette - who through super human effort willed me to VA on time. She took all of my crusty gear (suits, regs, fins, deathstar, scooter... everything) and rinsed it, dried it and pampered it for the last few days so I could cut time off the transition, dash home, make my flight and knock their socks off in VA. This was way, WAY above the call of buddy duty and is one of a hundred things that continues to distinguish you as the best buddy ever, dette. Much love. Thanks!
Here is "part 3 - the Drys." Parts 1 and 2 (Macros and Wides) will be up in the next several days.
Enjoy.
---
Ken
======================================
AM Yuck - this is what we saw at the dive park first AM on Sunday, and it just got worse as the day went on.
Double Double Red - this is what we saw walking from the Casino to the Mole to check on the boats - two sets of double reds blasting in the wind.
Sunday Morning View from the Mole - wind and more yuck. This is not good. This is when the Cat Express lady told me it wasn't looking good.
Well, if I'm not diving....
.
.
.
.
Tide Game series - In the afternoon when I received the final "no" from Cat Express, I re-booked for Monday. Walking back from the Mole into town we came across a group of kids playing a game with the tide. There is a ramp - and they'd start at the ramp and dare each other to run down the ramp onto the sand and try to make it to the green ladder in the distance without getting soaked. What a cool game. There is a tire on the wall at about the half-way point that on several occasions served as a bail-out for the slow of foot or the kid prone to poor timing. I walked out to the very end of a jutting piece of concrete to get these shots.
#1 - the challenge is issued Looking around the wall and tryint to time the sets.
#2 - the shreek! There is nothing like the sound of kids playing.
#3 - ready, set, GO! In this shot you can see the bail-out tire in the middle of the wall, and the green stairs at the far destination.
#4 - girl's turn! - After watching the boys go several times (not always 100% dry!) pinky finally went. She stumbled on this first run, but she made it over to the green stairs.
#5 - not so much... Pinky now had to try to make it back. She got about 3/4 of the way back and the tide slammed in. You can see its already been to the wall and you can see her footsteps in the newly wet sand. She fell, and her cell phone became a plastic brick. She shook it off and when we left, she and the boys were still playing.
.
.
.
.
.
Casino at Night - the sun was fully set, and the lights were just coming on, so I started doing some long exposure (5 to 8 second stuff) while we waited for time to pass Sunday night before Dinner at the CC. In this one I balanced the camera on Claudette's backpack for a 6 second exposure.
St Lauren - walking to the CC for dinner, I leaned on a telephone pole and on a wall and did some hand-held 5-second exposures. Tough to brace and hold for that long, but you get the idea. That place is way pink.
Country Club - walking up for dinner, I grabbed this one, leaning and bracing on the palm tree outside of the entrance. The wind was shaking the thing... not really a stable platform for 8 seconds of cam brace! That's the trunk of the palm tree encroaching into the upper-right of the frame.
CC Courtyard Fountain - as we walked to the bar to meet Christian and the rest of the crew, I set the cam on a table and took a 6 second shot of the courtyard fountain that's just outside of the bar and restaurant at the Country Club.
Monday Morning Mole - the wind was manageable, the red flags retired. We may get out today! Compare this with the shot from Sunday.
Rescued! This was a very, very good sight to see on Monday morning - a boat landing at the Mole.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
