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How lucky am I!? I went diving with both Lynne & Bob this week!! Lynne & Bob invited me up to Seattle - so on a whim I hopped a flight from San Fran. & soon there I was waiting on the wooden dock under a drizzly Seattle sky at Redondo Park on the Puget Sound. The water looked very promising with perhaps 25 ft of vis!
First Lynne pulled up. Excitement bubbled as I said hi to the Borg Queen herself - the women who has showed me so much support in my journey onto the DIR path & conversion from a tropical resort diver to cold water diver.
Bob also pulled up. I found myself wondering how such a great diver could be such a big teddy bear with his very welcoming warm hug and friendly smile.
Lynne kept her cyber promise to help me sample her LP 85 dubs which were strapped on my back with lightening speed. Soon I was suited up & felt a bit like the Michelin guy -with all the extra thermal layers added in hopes of staying warm in the 46F water.
Loaded with generous loaner gear, regs, a wing, tank even a 21W HID, chilly damp air on our faces we trudged across the road in the fading light. While 12ft swell pounded our dive site back home in Monterey, we slipped into the placid pool-like water.
I laughed to myself at the thought of the gazillion dollars in DIR gear we were running and the two tech cave divers holding near perfect trim as my guides - just to hunt for the illusive 2” lump sucker fish in 10ft of water .
Soon I joined Bob & Lynne in a relaxing glide along in the dark scanning the eel grass for critters. Bob was an expert at finding Lump suckers - (little very cute frog-like fish which were often perched like gargoyles on little rocks). Hidden in that frigid water we found squid, hermit crabs, octopi, pipe fish and very cute orange and iridescent colored Lump Suckers.
About the time my face and fingers lost sensation, Bob turned the dive and a kick back surged warmer blood into our frozen veins. A very welcome bottle of warm water poured over our freezing heads by Bob at the end melted the stinging numb to a warm smile & a delightful Thai dinner shared with Bob & Lynne topped off the evening.
Lynne and Peter graciously offered me their guest room, popped champagne & entertained well into the night with a tour of their exciting scuba gear room & humorous scuba dive stories!
The fun didn’t stop here. The next morning we were back at it! Lynne was determine to show me a great time and wouldn’t take no for an answer!! Packing up wet gear we pulled into Edmonds Dive Park. Gray Seattle skies, peaceful water, we were the only divers. We kicked out through the calm past beautiful metridiums in full majestic bloom, Lin Cods that were 4+ ft long, Cabezons, huge starfish and many other critters. We paused to do a valve drill & Lynne offered very welcome pointers. A gentle kick down to 40ft in the LP 85’s for 76 minutes.
As though two days of diving weren’t enough, Lynne was intent on maximizing my diving pleasure! She invited me out for yet another day! A long drive and ferry ride brought us to Keystone Jetty on Whidbey Island; one of the premier recreational dive sites in the region. The drizzle abated long enough to suit up and slap the HP100’s on my back. Trudging down the sandy pebble and drift wood strewn beach with those behemoth tanks on my little frame, the sweaty long hours in the gym paid rich dividends with steady legs and step.
Slipping into the water I should have known when the argon bottles showed up the water was yet colder! 44F brrr! A long ways from my former tropical diving days that ended only 4.5 months ago, back when 80F caused a shiver
Lynne patiently waited while I splashed around in the new doubles trying to gain my poise in the freezing water. She didn't laugh at me - she kindly offered some tips to make life easier and soon we were dropping down and swimming out along the jetty. We didn’t have my normal weights so, I was pretty busy wrestling the new unbalanced tanks but managed to catch glimpses of the assortment of critters Lynne pointed out. Gardens of beautiful white metridium, huge Lin Cods, countless starfish, crabs and many other critters along the jetty (perhaps Lynne can name more?). They were all cute, but one of my favorite attractions on that dive was watching Lynne gracefully hover in the water.
We turned the dive and kicked back, the Argon kept my body warmer – now to figure out how to get it into my toes and fingers . Thanks Ben V for the Argon reg loan!
Along the way back I did a quick mask flood & clear just to see how cold my eyeballs could get – brrr our 53F water will now seem warm! At some point my numb feet seemed to find the bottom. My fingers were so frozen, I couldn’t even clip off my primary and my brain waves seemed a bit frozen too. Dang, how do you ice divers do it?!
A huge thanks to Lynne, Peter and Bob for inviting me to Seattle & for showing me such a fantastic time! Lynne thanks for your doubles coaching, for all the dive tips & for helping me sample your LP 85’s and Lynne & Peter thanks a ton for your gracious hospitality!
Lynne and Bob I really appreciate your support and advice while launching on this path, it means more than you know!
It was fantastic to finally meet you all & I look forward to seeing you around the boards, down in Monterey or up in Seattle some day soon!
How lucky am I!? I went diving with both Lynne & Bob this week!! Lynne & Bob invited me up to Seattle - so on a whim I hopped a flight from San Fran. & soon there I was waiting on the wooden dock under a drizzly Seattle sky at Redondo Park on the Puget Sound. The water looked very promising with perhaps 25 ft of vis!
First Lynne pulled up. Excitement bubbled as I said hi to the Borg Queen herself - the women who has showed me so much support in my journey onto the DIR path & conversion from a tropical resort diver to cold water diver.
Bob also pulled up. I found myself wondering how such a great diver could be such a big teddy bear with his very welcoming warm hug and friendly smile.
Lynne kept her cyber promise to help me sample her LP 85 dubs which were strapped on my back with lightening speed. Soon I was suited up & felt a bit like the Michelin guy -with all the extra thermal layers added in hopes of staying warm in the 46F water.
Loaded with generous loaner gear, regs, a wing, tank even a 21W HID, chilly damp air on our faces we trudged across the road in the fading light. While 12ft swell pounded our dive site back home in Monterey, we slipped into the placid pool-like water.
I laughed to myself at the thought of the gazillion dollars in DIR gear we were running and the two tech cave divers holding near perfect trim as my guides - just to hunt for the illusive 2” lump sucker fish in 10ft of water .
Soon I joined Bob & Lynne in a relaxing glide along in the dark scanning the eel grass for critters. Bob was an expert at finding Lump suckers - (little very cute frog-like fish which were often perched like gargoyles on little rocks). Hidden in that frigid water we found squid, hermit crabs, octopi, pipe fish and very cute orange and iridescent colored Lump Suckers.
About the time my face and fingers lost sensation, Bob turned the dive and a kick back surged warmer blood into our frozen veins. A very welcome bottle of warm water poured over our freezing heads by Bob at the end melted the stinging numb to a warm smile & a delightful Thai dinner shared with Bob & Lynne topped off the evening.
Lynne and Peter graciously offered me their guest room, popped champagne & entertained well into the night with a tour of their exciting scuba gear room & humorous scuba dive stories!
The fun didn’t stop here. The next morning we were back at it! Lynne was determine to show me a great time and wouldn’t take no for an answer!! Packing up wet gear we pulled into Edmonds Dive Park. Gray Seattle skies, peaceful water, we were the only divers. We kicked out through the calm past beautiful metridiums in full majestic bloom, Lin Cods that were 4+ ft long, Cabezons, huge starfish and many other critters. We paused to do a valve drill & Lynne offered very welcome pointers. A gentle kick down to 40ft in the LP 85’s for 76 minutes.
As though two days of diving weren’t enough, Lynne was intent on maximizing my diving pleasure! She invited me out for yet another day! A long drive and ferry ride brought us to Keystone Jetty on Whidbey Island; one of the premier recreational dive sites in the region. The drizzle abated long enough to suit up and slap the HP100’s on my back. Trudging down the sandy pebble and drift wood strewn beach with those behemoth tanks on my little frame, the sweaty long hours in the gym paid rich dividends with steady legs and step.
Slipping into the water I should have known when the argon bottles showed up the water was yet colder! 44F brrr! A long ways from my former tropical diving days that ended only 4.5 months ago, back when 80F caused a shiver
Lynne patiently waited while I splashed around in the new doubles trying to gain my poise in the freezing water. She didn't laugh at me - she kindly offered some tips to make life easier and soon we were dropping down and swimming out along the jetty. We didn’t have my normal weights so, I was pretty busy wrestling the new unbalanced tanks but managed to catch glimpses of the assortment of critters Lynne pointed out. Gardens of beautiful white metridium, huge Lin Cods, countless starfish, crabs and many other critters along the jetty (perhaps Lynne can name more?). They were all cute, but one of my favorite attractions on that dive was watching Lynne gracefully hover in the water.
We turned the dive and kicked back, the Argon kept my body warmer – now to figure out how to get it into my toes and fingers . Thanks Ben V for the Argon reg loan!
Along the way back I did a quick mask flood & clear just to see how cold my eyeballs could get – brrr our 53F water will now seem warm! At some point my numb feet seemed to find the bottom. My fingers were so frozen, I couldn’t even clip off my primary and my brain waves seemed a bit frozen too. Dang, how do you ice divers do it?!
A huge thanks to Lynne, Peter and Bob for inviting me to Seattle & for showing me such a fantastic time! Lynne thanks for your doubles coaching, for all the dive tips & for helping me sample your LP 85’s and Lynne & Peter thanks a ton for your gracious hospitality!
Lynne and Bob I really appreciate your support and advice while launching on this path, it means more than you know!
It was fantastic to finally meet you all & I look forward to seeing you around the boards, down in Monterey or up in Seattle some day soon!
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