Orca Bait "Big Buddy" dive: 8/22, 6 pm, Cove 2

[TSandM]

Well, we had a small but very pleasant turnout for the dive last night. Three novices had their choice of eight experienced divers. (Thank all of you who came to do this!) My friend Georgina dove with Blitz and had a great time. TheLawGoddess dove with Grizz and NW Grateful Diver. I didn't get a chance to talk to any of them much, since I was last out of the water, but who's ever had a BAD dive with Bob? Our friend Dan dove with DoubleDip, who found him an octopus and Dan was delighted. My husband dove with rjack, and poor lamont ended up mentoring . . . ME! (Really made me wish I had brought the doubles.)

After the dive, quite a few of us repaired to the Fish & Chips place and debriefed, shared warm drinks, and told dive stories.

All the experienced divers invited their buddies to dive with them again.

For those of you who didn't come, this is really a good way to hook up with people from whom you can learn, and with whom you can share some great dives.

 

[Bobbin-along]

I'm so going next time. Glad everyone had a nice dive. As I sat on the 6:20 ferry pouting I did wave and wish y'all the best.

 

[thelawgoddess]

yeah; i had a great dive! *YAY* thanks to bob and wes having really nice bright shiny lights, i didn't freak out at all descending into the dark murk. it was actually my longest dive ever at 48 minutes, and i was in a wetsuit, no less. (apparently diving in a wetsuit is a sure sign of novice-ness and/or being behind the times, but i'll have y'all know i do actually own a drysuit ... i just managed to tear the neckseal on it less than 3 hours before i was supposed to meet calvin to get some instruction on how to use it.) in any case, i guess i missed out on the fish and chips, but i did see lots of fish (and some other things) while swimming around with bob and wes. the two coolest new things i got to see were the sailfin sculpin and the decorated warbonnet. (i also saw some kind of shrimp i thought was cute, but i couldn't tell you what it was.) a little bummed i missed the debrief, but i didn't know there was going to be one ... and i was shivering something special. i turned my heat on high for the drive home, but i was still chilled when i got there. so glad i got to come out and dive, though! thanks again, tsandm, for organizing this. and thanks also to bob and everyone i met or sort of met for being so nice and helpful.

 

[Sasquatch]

The Law Goddess said:

"...apparently diving in a wetsuit is a sure sign of novice-ness and/or being behind the times."

I don't feel like a novice or behind the times. I feel like a guy that doesn't get cold, doesn't want to spend many hundreds of dollars on a suit that I have to learn how to inflate and maintain and my suit works great. Just a thought.

But it did look like a good turnout. Even though I had some issues that put me in the water after you guys it was great meeting a few of you that I've only read here at SB.

Until the next time!

 

[Blitz]

Lynne, it was a good time. When is the next one?

Lawgoddess: I dove in a wetsuit here for 6 years before I finally got cold, there is nothing wrong with them at all.

 

[thelawgoddess]

Lawgoddess: I dove in a wetsuit here for 6 years before I finally got cold, there is nothing wrong with them at all.

i know it was meant as a joke; i just forgot to put some sort of smilie in there. the problem with wetsuits for me is ... i get really wet and - worse - really cold!

 

[Sasquatch]

Ya, me too until I finally got one that actually fit!

 

[Peter Guy]

LG -- when I started diving again last summer everyone told me how cold I was going to be in a wetsuit, but since that was what I had used before (and I wanted to keep the cost down) that's what I used. I just figured everyone in a dry suit was going to be toasty and I was going to be cold.

SO, I go on a dive off the Bandito with an instructor and another friend and after a while I start to get cold -- but I WILL NOT let that interfere with their enjoyment since I was the one with the wet suit. I just ignore the cold and keep on, and on, and on. Finally I'm just about to start really shivering when the friend comes over and gives the "I'm freezing" sign -- we both convince the instructor that she is really cold and we go up. When we hit the surface the instructor rips his reg out of his mask and yells "Sh@t I'm freezing!"

The moral of the story? If you aren't moving much and the water is cold, you'll get cold!

 

[lundysd]

I dove for a few weeks up here in a 3mm wetsuit -- longest dive was just shy of an hour. I did it because, well, diving is like crack to me, but I came up shivering uncontrollaby several times and couldn't dive more than once in an afternoon. I went dry pretty quickly after that...

Diving wet up here is fine as long as it's a thick wetsuit and you don't get insanely cold. Remember there is a definite link between getting cold and getting bent though, so dive your profiles accordingly.

 

[Dean810]

I dove for a few weeks up here in a 3mm wetsuit -- longest dive was just shy of an hour. I did it because, well, diving is like crack to me, but I came up shivering uncontrollaby several times and couldn't dive more than once in an afternoon. I went dry pretty quickly after that...

Diving wet up here is fine as long as it's a thick wetsuit and you don't get insanely cold. Remember there is a definite link between getting cold and getting bent though, so dive your profiles accordingly.

Ok, I remember you getting cold in your 3mm when I was up there! I knew you were crazy! But I have dove over here when the water was 35 degrees, in a dry suit, and was cold too! So we all put up with what we have to to dive!