paulwall
Contributor
I wasn't going to post this because it was such a comedy of errors (none particularly dangerous, but a CF, none the less).
First of all thanks to Bugman for taking the time to waste an afternoon with me.
So, I left New Orleans about 0830 on Saturday for a spot of shore diving in Alabama. I had planned to do the 5pm dive with Gary with a shore dive around noon, either the Whiskey wreck, the Theo Baars Bridge, the paddlewheeler, or something.
Tides were late afternoon, and the wind was supposed to be manageable. The fog was thick, but it promised to be warm outside up to 70o
So, I pick up mat and head to the beach...
No one was parked at the whiskey wreck, so we get a great spot and walk to the water. Waves were knee high, breaking about 10yds out. Water looked great! we could see the second sandbar and everything else looked blue.
So, we gear up. I was trying my 7mil+7mil hooded shorty to see exactly how much weight it would take to sink it. I put 7lbs in each pocket, 4 lbs in the rear trim pocket and 10lbs on a belt. I wanted to be a little heavy to manage the surge in the 11ft of water we were promised. Recent reports indicated that the water was 59o and I hate to be cold.
I had a new digital camera I wanted to try out, too. And my flag.
Normally I have all of my gear rigged before I leave home, and I attach the spool to the flag before I leave the truck. Not this time. So I waddle to the beach with my 50+lbs of gear, flag and camera. Put fins on and then try to string the flag. Miss the flag, tie in the camera lanyard, and the flag is heading for the beach, and the spool is heading for the bottom. "Darn it" says Paul.
So, mat helps untangle the spool, I head for the beach with my 50lbs of gear and the nagging waves breaking just high enough to throw me off balance.
45mins after gearing up we are finally ready to dive. Mat takes the flag, and descends. I follow, with my legs feeling like jello, and my 50lbs of gear. I get to 6 feet, and try to square away my rig, and slowly float back to the surface. "Darn it" says Paul
So, I follow mat from the surface, I can see him clearly the whole time. There is some suspended sand, but the vis is awesome. Mat's dived the WW hundreds of times, and never failed to find it.
Until today.
He S'd and circled and I followed from the surface, bobbing in my 14mils and 50lbs of gear. I started not feeling so well, a bit warbly in the gulliver, so to speak, so I let him go and tried to focus on the horizon.
Now, mat is a swimming fool, and soon enough he was halfway to Ft. Morgan looking for the Whiskey wreck. It's gone, I tell you, and only Mat knows where he put it.
so, my dive: 10secs at 6ft, 20mins on the surface, water temp 63o
Skipped the jetty dive, because it was getting colder, the entry has been piled with huge boulders, it was dark, and we were wearing sunglasses.
Lunch at Guthrie's, dinner at Ribs and Reds then back home. Oh well, we did the dine part of the dive n' dine.
First of all thanks to Bugman for taking the time to waste an afternoon with me.
So, I left New Orleans about 0830 on Saturday for a spot of shore diving in Alabama. I had planned to do the 5pm dive with Gary with a shore dive around noon, either the Whiskey wreck, the Theo Baars Bridge, the paddlewheeler, or something.
Tides were late afternoon, and the wind was supposed to be manageable. The fog was thick, but it promised to be warm outside up to 70o
So, I pick up mat and head to the beach...
No one was parked at the whiskey wreck, so we get a great spot and walk to the water. Waves were knee high, breaking about 10yds out. Water looked great! we could see the second sandbar and everything else looked blue.
So, we gear up. I was trying my 7mil+7mil hooded shorty to see exactly how much weight it would take to sink it. I put 7lbs in each pocket, 4 lbs in the rear trim pocket and 10lbs on a belt. I wanted to be a little heavy to manage the surge in the 11ft of water we were promised. Recent reports indicated that the water was 59o and I hate to be cold.
I had a new digital camera I wanted to try out, too. And my flag.
Normally I have all of my gear rigged before I leave home, and I attach the spool to the flag before I leave the truck. Not this time. So I waddle to the beach with my 50+lbs of gear, flag and camera. Put fins on and then try to string the flag. Miss the flag, tie in the camera lanyard, and the flag is heading for the beach, and the spool is heading for the bottom. "Darn it" says Paul.
So, mat helps untangle the spool, I head for the beach with my 50lbs of gear and the nagging waves breaking just high enough to throw me off balance.
45mins after gearing up we are finally ready to dive. Mat takes the flag, and descends. I follow, with my legs feeling like jello, and my 50lbs of gear. I get to 6 feet, and try to square away my rig, and slowly float back to the surface. "Darn it" says Paul
So, I follow mat from the surface, I can see him clearly the whole time. There is some suspended sand, but the vis is awesome. Mat's dived the WW hundreds of times, and never failed to find it.
Until today.
He S'd and circled and I followed from the surface, bobbing in my 14mils and 50lbs of gear. I started not feeling so well, a bit warbly in the gulliver, so to speak, so I let him go and tried to focus on the horizon.
Now, mat is a swimming fool, and soon enough he was halfway to Ft. Morgan looking for the Whiskey wreck. It's gone, I tell you, and only Mat knows where he put it.
so, my dive: 10secs at 6ft, 20mins on the surface, water temp 63o
Skipped the jetty dive, because it was getting colder, the entry has been piled with huge boulders, it was dark, and we were wearing sunglasses.
Lunch at Guthrie's, dinner at Ribs and Reds then back home. Oh well, we did the dine part of the dive n' dine.
