09/11/04 at CSSP (Highlighted by the Dive From the Heart (DFTH)).
Yes my dive reports are long, but hey, at least I use spell-check haha.
Sharon and I were meeting one of our fellow students at the lake. When we all had our OW class in August class, C was not able to clear her sinuses, and finally got them cleared up so she could finish her certification dives.
Even though we hit the gate at 07:30, there were already people at the lake. Good grief! Are we all sick people or what?
After everyone else arrived, the Instructor and I went out to go set the diver down buoy out. The water was clear as a bell, and warm as it could be. A short dive down, and then back to the dock to grab Sharon and the students. Sharon and I took photos as C was able to get down and do her skills. A great dive was had by all. Now on to the good stuff (DFTH).
Sharon and I went over to the DFTH area and met some wonderful people. There were so many prizes and auction items. I was amazed at the generosity of all the people who sent things. Someone from Cochran was even lending out dive computers. As we forgot ours at the campsite, we surrendered Sharons Lexus keys.
We all got in the water close to 10:50, were briefed on the boundaries, time limit (30-minutes) and other rules, and had a photo or two taken and away we went! Each diver was only supposed to get two balls. Sadly, this rule was not followed by all (to include us at the end).
As we headed NW, Sharon and I found two balls very quickly. We turned N (towards the wreck) and found another. Sadly, we continued on until we saw the wreck (past the boundary). We turned SE and headed towards shore. There were divers everywhere, and quite a bit of bottom was churned up as we came back across. Visibility went down to 5 feet in places.
We were running out of time (and air), so decided to surface swim back from the SE corner to the S side, where we went in. As we were hugging the wall, Sharon decided to pop down quickly and see if she could see anything. I was down to 750 (those rocks were heavy!) so watched her from about 3-4 feet. She found two more balls within a minute of submerging, came back up to me, and as the contest time limit had ended, we decided to bring the extra in and share with someone who might not have found one. As we exited the water, we turned the balls in for small strips of paper with numbers on them, and our names and numbers were recorded.
Sadly, someone (I hope not a Swamper) decided to go grab more than their fair share of balls. This (IMO) made it more difficult for others, as is evident by people not having found balls themselves. I hope next year this does not happen as it (in my case at least) added some stress to the dive, trying to find that fourth ball with only minutes left in the dive.
Once out of the water, and most of our dive gear, its time to eat. I bet they still have hotdogs and drinks left! What a nice spread they laid out for us. Dogs and drinks, with picnic tables to sit at, covered by awnings. We had a blast. Then, as Chevyman said, it was time for prizes to be awarded. Each diver was allowed two prizes (I told you there were some generous donations)!
I hit a prize early (shortly after Chevyman). I won a Small Dry-box (cigarette pack sized) along with a small Tusa pocket knife.
A tad later, I hit my second number and received a black Ikelite PCa flashlight. As Sharon doesnt have any lights, and I like my UK Q-40, it became hers. I only wish I had traded it to her for one of her numbers. :10:
Sharon actually held both of her numbers for the last five prizes. The last three were amazing. They were:
3rd Dacor BC (Not sure on the name)
2nd Dacor Eagle Pro DPD Regulator
1st Cochran Dive Computer
Sharons 5th place prize was an visor eyeglass holder and a dive watchband. Dang, only one more to go, and four more prizes..
Sharons final number came up at 2nd place. She was the lucky winner of the Dacor Eagle Pro DPD Regulator! Well have her safe second and inflator hosed attached on Tuesday, replacing the rental regulator she purchased from Emerald Sea the week before.
A gentleman from Christian Divers of Texas won the Cochran, and he sure looked proud.
Next we had the auction. There were a lot of things available, but sadly most of them went out of our price range very quickly. Sharon and I did manage three snags. As I had to borrow a snorkel for the day (I hate forgetting things!), I bid on and won a mask / snorkel combo. The snorkel finished the day well, and it and the mask will make good backups. Sharon won a yoke attach Scuba tank carrier.
I also worked a deal on a Gatorpac bag someone else had won in a batch auction. Being a Florida Gator, Sharon had wanted this bag all day, and it came up late in the auction as part of a group of items. The winner was very nice and asked us to make a donation to the Childrens Miracle Network and she would give Sharon the bag. We gladly did, and appreciate whoever this was for being so kind.
The whole thing took five hours. There was a lot of bidding going on.. Sharon and I have decided to attend a portion of the auction next year, but not the entire thing.
All in all, it was a fantastic event, and I think Robert and Debra, the people who set it, the people who worked it, everyone who donated things, and those I failed to mention should be greatly welcomed for their efforts. Job well done! Sharon and I will be back for the next one, and hopefully many more to come.
To round out the day, Sharon and I returned to the W side of the lake for a final dive. Visibility on the S side (where we went) was pretty bad, so we just puttered around the lake for 52 mins (our new longest dive record!) and had a good time.
We entered CSSP at 0730 and left at 1955 with three more dives under our belts, and many new friends in our hearts.
Charley
