First tech trip about to go

[boulderjohn]

We are getting close to the setting off point for our first tech-dedicated dive trip. This is the target trip for which many of us have been training for the last year. This is a small, low key affair that is being tried out on something of a pilot basis, and my main purpose in writing about it is to gauge interest among this group for future and more inclusive affairs.

Starting on April 11, two of us will take a van loaded with tanks and drive pretty much straight through to Pensacola for two days of diving on the Oriskany. We will be met there by the rest of the group (6 total) who will be mostly flying. Because we will all be at least Tech 2 certified, we will be able to get pretty deep on the wreck, diving 21/35 and decompressing on EANx 50.

After that, we will head inland to do some cave work. One of us will be working on his Apprentice rating, and I hope to complete Full Cave (fingers crossed). We will also be doing some pleasure (non-training) cave dives. We had originally planned to teach some cavern courses to the members of our group with no cave experience, but that did not work out.

I will post a report when we are done.

So how about it? Do future trips like this strike anyone's fancy?

We are toying with the idea of diving the B-29 in Lake Mead as our next trip. Here is a trip report George wrote on SB when he did that trip 3 years ago.

 

[Kevrumbo]

Joel Silverstein usually does a road trip, from Arizona, back to his old stomping grounds back east, to embark out to the Andrea Doria. Try to convoy up with 'em. . .

 

[CCR Josh]

Who are you all doing your cave training with? I just got back from 2 weeks of great diving in Cave country!

P.S. If you are looking for a real nice place to stay, check out Cave Country Lodging

 

[boulderjohn]

Who are you all doing your cave training with? I just got back from 2 weeks of great diving in Cave country!

Steve is using Dan Patterson, who will join us on the Oriskany. I am using Jim Wyatt.

 

[CCR Josh]

Steve is using Dan Patterson, who will join us on the Oriskany. I am using Jim Wyatt.

Great- I was just diving with Jim for 2 weeks working on my instructor ratings. Sounds like you all with have a fun trip.

 

[Scott]

We are toying with the idea of diving the B-29 in Lake Mead as our next trip. Here is a trip report George wrote on SB when he did that trip 3 years ago.

I would be intrested in a trip heading west. Wether it be Lake Mead or west coast. I'm leaving on Sunday for Lake Mead to dive wreck alley and the PBY Catalina.

 

[BigBubbaJ]

I am in tech 1 with UTD, George and amascuba. Lake mead bomber is the plan for the tech 1 folks. What a great team.

I am really digging the tech team we have building.

And remember John, valve drills are a TEAM skill (when George is in the facility) :cool2:.

I am a bit jealous of the oriskany scooter dive you guys have planned. That really sounds like the bees-knees.

You and Steve should have fun in cave training and on the cave dives.

 

[boulderjohn]

And remember John, valve drills are a TEAM skill (when George is in the facility) :cool2:.

Explanation for the rest of you:

Yesterday the Tech 1 training group was on the surface of the pool talking about whatever they were talking about. I had been practicing some line skills (lost line, lost diver, etc.) earlier, and was picking up all my line in preparation for departure. I decided to do a valve drill, and apparently the group looked down and saw me doing it.

Apparently UTD has officially decided to disallow any solo valve drill practice, and George remembers the time long ago that I forgot to turn on my right post in the correct sequence. (Hey, George, I caught it when I purged, so I did NOT turn off both valves.) In the future I will have to make sure that there is no official UTD presence in the building whilst I twiddle with my valves.

 

[boulderjohn]

Well, I thought I had better put in a trip report, including lessons learned, for the benefit of the rest of you.

In order to save money (note: subtle foreshadowing), we preloaded all our tanks with 18/45 (very expensive mix of 45% helium for those not familiar with the term), loaded the van, and George and I drove to Florida whilst all others flew. We all got together in Pensacola without a hitch, our anticipation heightened by the warm, calm, clear weather there. Unfortunately, it turns out that warm, calm, clear weather in Pensacola doesn't mean squat. The waves out at the wreck were too high, and neither the operator we had pre-selected nor any others we asked would go.

Having to make a quick decision, we opted to drive 1.5 hours to Morrison Springs and dive the cavern there. That way the 2 members of our group who had no cave experience could start working on their PADI cavern specialty while those of us with some certification could poke around. We were using the gear we brought, so it was hard to dive as our masks filled with tears every time we thought about all that expensive helium we were using at those shallow depths.

Lesson One: Pre-filling tanks with helium only saves money if you actually do the dive you planned. We should have waited until we were sure we were going out and filled them there.

While we were returning to Pensacola, we got a call from a dive operator saying that the weather had cleared and they could take us the next day. We all got up very early to get our new helium fills and get going. Unfortunately,just before we started filling we learned that the weather had gone bad again. No Oriskany dives for us!

We learned that this happens a whole lot there this time of the year and many times of the year. Actually getting to dive the Oriskany can be a very iffy proposition for much of the year.

Lesson Two: The best months for getting to dive the Oriskany are June-August, provided there are no hurricanes. If we go again, it will probably be then.

Lesson Three: Always have a backup plan.

 

[boulderjohn]

Havng been blown off the Oriskany for the second day, we drove to Marianna. There we went to Cave Adventures, a dive operation located in the basement of the owner's home. We got new fills (no helium!) and dived Jackson Blue. The cavern students completed their training and then headed back to the airport (as originally planned) to head home. The rest of us went into the cave itself, which is a very nice high flow cave, and when I say high flow, I mean getting in and out is like getting in and out of the nozzle of a hose while it is running.

We spent the night nearby and had a great next day. Cave Adventures has some pontoon boats for rent at extremely reasonable prices. We filled our tanks, headed out, and tied off on the tiny dock near the far shore that marks the tiny entrance to the well-named cave system called Hole in the Wall. Unlike Jackson Blue, this is a low flow system. In fact, it was close to a no flow system while we were there. We did three very nice dives.

After that, the trip went nearly exactly as planned. We split up for our separate cave purposes. I completed Full Cave certification, Steve made more progress in that direction, and George got in some pleasant cave dives.