Randy g
Contributor
Well after attempting to dive in Hatteras with Capt JT on his mega yacht:cool2: for the second month in a row, the trip was blown out. We were really looking forward to hitting the warm, blue water in the gulf stream and will do so soon. In 2 weeks we head down for another try and 3 days of diving with Capt JT.
Once we found out we were done down south we opted for an alternative and called our LDS, Dive Quarters in Virginia Beach. The schedule had them going to the Luckenbach on saturday and the John Morgan on sunday. We check with the weather gods and found sunday to be the day to do our first diving on the central eastern coastline.
After moving here a year ago from Northern California, I was really looking forward to some local diving and more important, getting to dive with my best friend/partner and dive buddy Kate. She is a new diver and this was to be her 8th dive in open water. K8 is a quick learner and has already completed her class and pool portion for her AOW and Rescue and is eagerly wanting to dive.
Our certification dives have been blow out 2 months in a row. We had been studying the weather and sea conditions and knew more or less what to expect but living it, is totally different than reading about it.
The ride out 28 miles was preatty much on par with what we expected on the 26ft Pelican II but the dive was alittle more than we (she) expected.
We got to the boat 30 minutes early. My good friend and brotha from anotha motha, Rad Diver had given me a run down on what to expect and how things were to be onboard and he was right on the money. Storage containers held everything we needed to take since dive bags/boxes were not allowed. The boat was on the small side but comfortable. Everything in its place and a place for everything. Capt Dave and Pelican II really have thier act togather and were as professional as a boat captain/dive master can be. Organized and on top of his game, Capt Dave made it a very enjoyable experience for our first time diving out of VB.
We arrived at the John Morgan and the anchor was set. Capt Dave was back aboard and instructing the gang on the splash. We opted to dive 3rd and 4th. I geared up and splashed in. After looking underwater and seeing NOTHING but murky water, I knew this would be a challenging dive for K8. Without alot of practical experience in open water this dive would prove to be a challenge for her since the visability was 3-5ft the first 70 ft. She nor I have ever done low vis dives. I kinda knew what and how to dive in low vis from reading SSI books but she was has never studied diving in these conditions.
We got about 25ft down and she was starting to feel uneasy. We desended slowly along the line to about 60ft when the shadow of the wreck appeared. She started to panic "slightly"
with the shadow looming ever so gloomy in the darkness. She started pointing at the shadow and thumbing like she wanted to go back up but being the tough Aussie she is, she "hardened the **** up" and overcame her fear and plunged through the thermocline and into somewhat clearer water below. Upon seeing the wreck in its 20-25 ft visablity, she calmed down and settled onto the sandy bottom. We spent several minutes getting her to try to relax, breath slowly and worked on adjusting her boyance. We floated up about 10 ft and started to swim slowly to the wreck line, stopping to watch a huge school of big (4-5ft long) amberjack circling above the wreck:cool2:. Following it along the route Dave had laid, we swam near a encrusted tank. Looking it over, the torrent aiming out to sea with an aged and crusty look, I thought about what it would have been like when it was struck by another boat and sank to the bottom at 96ft. I was holding K8's hand and watching her check out everything along the way. She was still unsure and unsettled but like the trooper she is, kept the slow steady pace with me. We went on to the end of the line, turned around and followed it back to the anchor. I looked at her, at our computer and it was close to the end of our dive. She motioned up (frantically) and we asended slowly up the line to the bow of the boat.
K8 climbed aboard and was visably upset. I was floating at the back of the boat, concerned and trying talking to her without success. She kept her composure (on the brink of tears) and boarded the boat. After boarding we talked it over on our post dive briefing, analyzing the dive and realized it was alittle more than she had expected for her experience and lack of open water dives. But being the awesome gal she is, she said she would do it again once she gets a few more dives in. God I love this gal!
I enjoyed the dive and other than the cold 55 degree water, it was everything I envisioned it to be. I forsee alot of wreck diving in our future.
Once we found out we were done down south we opted for an alternative and called our LDS, Dive Quarters in Virginia Beach. The schedule had them going to the Luckenbach on saturday and the John Morgan on sunday. We check with the weather gods and found sunday to be the day to do our first diving on the central eastern coastline.
After moving here a year ago from Northern California, I was really looking forward to some local diving and more important, getting to dive with my best friend/partner and dive buddy Kate. She is a new diver and this was to be her 8th dive in open water. K8 is a quick learner and has already completed her class and pool portion for her AOW and Rescue and is eagerly wanting to dive.
Our certification dives have been blow out 2 months in a row. We had been studying the weather and sea conditions and knew more or less what to expect but living it, is totally different than reading about it.The ride out 28 miles was preatty much on par with what we expected on the 26ft Pelican II but the dive was alittle more than we (she) expected.
We got to the boat 30 minutes early. My good friend and brotha from anotha motha, Rad Diver had given me a run down on what to expect and how things were to be onboard and he was right on the money. Storage containers held everything we needed to take since dive bags/boxes were not allowed. The boat was on the small side but comfortable. Everything in its place and a place for everything. Capt Dave and Pelican II really have thier act togather and were as professional as a boat captain/dive master can be. Organized and on top of his game, Capt Dave made it a very enjoyable experience for our first time diving out of VB.
We arrived at the John Morgan and the anchor was set. Capt Dave was back aboard and instructing the gang on the splash. We opted to dive 3rd and 4th. I geared up and splashed in. After looking underwater and seeing NOTHING but murky water, I knew this would be a challenging dive for K8. Without alot of practical experience in open water this dive would prove to be a challenge for her since the visability was 3-5ft the first 70 ft. She nor I have ever done low vis dives. I kinda knew what and how to dive in low vis from reading SSI books but she was has never studied diving in these conditions.
We got about 25ft down and she was starting to feel uneasy. We desended slowly along the line to about 60ft when the shadow of the wreck appeared. She started to panic "slightly"
with the shadow looming ever so gloomy in the darkness. She started pointing at the shadow and thumbing like she wanted to go back up but being the tough Aussie she is, she "hardened the **** up" and overcame her fear and plunged through the thermocline and into somewhat clearer water below. Upon seeing the wreck in its 20-25 ft visablity, she calmed down and settled onto the sandy bottom. We spent several minutes getting her to try to relax, breath slowly and worked on adjusting her boyance. We floated up about 10 ft and started to swim slowly to the wreck line, stopping to watch a huge school of big (4-5ft long) amberjack circling above the wreck:cool2:. Following it along the route Dave had laid, we swam near a encrusted tank. Looking it over, the torrent aiming out to sea with an aged and crusty look, I thought about what it would have been like when it was struck by another boat and sank to the bottom at 96ft. I was holding K8's hand and watching her check out everything along the way. She was still unsure and unsettled but like the trooper she is, kept the slow steady pace with me. We went on to the end of the line, turned around and followed it back to the anchor. I looked at her, at our computer and it was close to the end of our dive. She motioned up (frantically) and we asended slowly up the line to the bow of the boat. K8 climbed aboard and was visably upset. I was floating at the back of the boat, concerned and trying talking to her without success. She kept her composure (on the brink of tears) and boarded the boat. After boarding we talked it over on our post dive briefing, analyzing the dive and realized it was alittle more than she had expected for her experience and lack of open water dives. But being the awesome gal she is, she said she would do it again once she gets a few more dives in. God I love this gal!
I enjoyed the dive and other than the cold 55 degree water, it was everything I envisioned it to be. I forsee alot of wreck diving in our future.
