Monastery dive report-3/20

[Guy Alcala]

Thanks everyone. Seems like everyone was at Monastery Saturday! I was the apprehensive blonde who kept pacing from the car to the ocean to make sure the waves didn't get higher, lol. Ben, it was really nice to meet you too. Don, I will forever be indebted to you for getting me in and out safely, I don't care about the viz. I've decided to leave Monastery for the 20 somethings now. It doesn't own me anymore

Guy, I'm so sorry I missed you! After I posted last night, the high speed internet at the motel I was staying at wasn't working so well, so I didn't try to go back online afterwards. I would have loved to have met you this morning. I found another "round thing" with Matt today, this time there was a camera. Hopefully a picture came out, I kept tapping on it to tell him to photo it and it was sort of like an old pillow, plumes of dust came off as I was patting it. I had to practically get him to lay in front of it to take the picture, I think it's a winch, almost looks like the front of an old car with one wheel.

I did meet Carol Cohn today, saw Elaine (fuggler) in the morning and saw Kathy with a couple other divers.
Matt had never been to the barge so we did that today too. Saw a hermissendra on the line, my favorite!
Matt and I had pizza at Gianni's after and I came home, hoping the tylenol will kick in soon. What an awesome weekend!

Kristina, too bad we missed each other, although I did finally get to meet kathydee. I look forward to seeing the photo, and hopefully I can tell you what/where it is. I got a couple of nice solo mapping dives in, although it appears that the upwelling was kicking in as I had bottom temps of 51 and 50 degrees for my two dives (77 and 67 minutes, max. depth ca. 40'). This is the first time in the past two or three months that I've had a bottom temp anywhere in Monterey that wasn't 53 degrees.

Guy

 

[Gombessa]

This is the first time in the past two or three months that I've had a bottom temp anywhere in Monterey that wasn't 53 degrees.

Seconded. I've seen 53-54 all winter, only recently has it started to drop to 50-51 (though this does follow the seasonal trend of warmer winter and cooler spring temps).

 

[Guy Alcala]

Kristina, as I have read the account of your accident, you awe me. I'm not sure I would ever have had the courage to do what you did yesterday. You are an impressive woman.

As regards the Fusion, I'm interested to hear that you felt the material was stiff. They have changed it since I bought mine, and I haven't dived one of the new ones. My inner bag is flexible and friendly. I will agree that learning to manage the extra fabric in the feet is a process -- I wish they offered an option to have a smaller sized sock.

I guess Fofo and I are lucky then, as we both seemed to fit the sock on our Fusions without too much extra fabric; we're both about size 10 1/2. Both of us used our wetsuit boots over the nylon socks, and that seemed to work pretty well, and a lot better than trying to use their rockboots. A couple of years ago when I tried a Fusion, I had to borrow some fins as their rockboots wouldn't fit in either my Bio-Fins or my XL Jets.

I didn't find the material stiff at all, but then I'm used to having to worm my way into my CF200 when it's wet and heavy, so it's probably all relative. The Fusion's inner shell slid a lot easier over my fleece undergarment than the CF200's neoprene does, and the fact that it's a lot lighter made it less work. But I still don't like the zipper, as I do a lot of solo diving and trying to close the last few inches to the stop with authority is difficult/impossible for me to do. With the downward-closing zip on my CF200 it's easy to both do and inspect.

I tried their Mk.3 undergarment inside my CF200 on Sunday, as I can sure see the need for something really warm for deco hangs. I had a 77 minute dive in 51 degrees, and except for my feet (wet owing to turbosole leaks I haven't been able to track down) I was warm throughout. But compared to the single-layer cheapo Parkway I normally wear, the Mk.3 was noticeably bulkier and somewhat more restrictive. I don't think I'd want to use it for recreational diving, as I like a bit more freedom - the Mk.2 would probably work pretty well under my CF200, although it wasn't enough in the Fusion. But for tec/wreck boat diving I could definitely see the thicker one.

I found that 4 lb. wasn't enough extra weight for the Mk.3 compared to my Parkway; I had almost no air in the suit and none in my wing throughout the dive, but was a bit light throughout. And it was noticeably slower at venting what little air I had in it than my Parkway, which was to be expected given the extra insulation and windproof covering.

I really like the design of their johns, although they don't really have my size/body type. But great pockets, a drop seat and a fleece neck; I've rejected lots of otherwise suitable undergarments because they had rib-knit cuffs and especially necks, which always irritate my throat (and soak up/retain water). I cut the cuffs off my Parkway, but unfortunately the neck has to stay on.

Guy

 

[pacificgal]

Yes, I don't have much experience with drysuits to draw comparisons. It was stiff and restrictive compared to my wetsuit. I did need help getting in and out of it though. Drysuit rookie?

 

[Guy Alcala]

Yes, I don't have much experience with drysuits to draw comparisons. It was stiff and restrictive compared to my wetsuit. I did need help getting in and out of it though. Drysuit rookie?

I expect that's it, Kristina. My first attempt at getting into a drysuit (a TLS350), I felt like I was struggling with an uncooperative octopus, and I was fortunate to have the shop owner right there to help me. I remember he said something to me like "Hang on, I'm going to get you through this" After doing it a few times it became a matter of routine. Even when I occasionally have problems now, they're _expected_ problems.

Just think back to the first time you tried to put a wetsuit on, and compare the effort then and now. The Fusion is a bit more busy than most suits owing to the double skin, so that tends to make things seem more complicated than they are. I suspect the 'stiffness' you felt was due to unfamilarity with putting on a drysuit, rather than a materiel issue. With practice I expect you'll find that putting on a drysuit, especially a shell suit, requires less energy than putting on a thick wetsuit.

Guy

 

[PKHamrick]

Way to go Kristina! Congratulations on your Monastery dive. Sorry we did not get a chance to see each other.

 

[pacificgal]

I'm sorry too, Paula, but to be honest, I was exhausted and sore (my back hurt). It was a great weekend, though, my own little mini vacation.

 

[DocWong]

Wow, congratulations and well done for your perseverance and courage to get back into Monastery! Here's to many many more years of happy diving!

 

[pacificgal]

Thank you. It feels so good to be successful. To now know what's out there and to do it safely.
It didn't give me back my kidneys though...

 

[DocWong]

Well, you're in inspiration to us all, from the tragic Monastery incident to the redeeming return to Monastery as a much more experienced and skilled diver!