I had to install the latest Quicktime to see them.
Great videos, Willie! She sure wasn't bothered by a few divers!
Great videos, Willie! She sure wasn't bothered by a few divers!
Rig Trip out of Port Aransas - Oct 7, 2006
- Thread starter Willie
- Start date
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
OP
I added one more whale shark video a few minutes ago and also added some comments on the html page of each video. Here is the link again.
It seemed to me that she was just as interested in observing us. She kept coming around. The last three videos are all in about a 3 minute time period. She passed me once and then turned 180 deg and came right to where I was. I was just staying still the whole time videoing until she was maybe 10' in front of me. Then I blew a bunch of air and dropped down as she went by.
Willie
Thanks Dee. It sure was fun. I got so excited I didnt think much about framing or anything. I would have gotten much better video (like at the end of #4) if I had stayed just slightly above her and kept the framing more consistent. When you see the camera moving off the subject it is because at first I kept looking around to see if I could get some of the other diver's attention.Dee:
It seemed to me that she was just as interested in observing us. She kept coming around. The last three videos are all in about a 3 minute time period. She passed me once and then turned 180 deg and came right to where I was. I was just staying still the whole time videoing until she was maybe 10' in front of me. Then I blew a bunch of air and dropped down as she went by.
Willie
OP
Here is the promised report on the rig dives.
Shaggie, Hemlon, wet-willie, Rusty, Paul & Sharon journeyed down to Port Aransas last friday, Oct 6. This was the first rig dive for all of us but Shaggie and Rusty who had dove the rigs before on the Orion operated by Capt Michael Miglini. Shaggie did all the leg work to set up this trip for us. Thanks a bunch, Shaggie. Well done! We spent the night at a nice condo and arrived at the boat around 630 am for a 700 am departure.
Capt Steve and First Mate Skip took great care of us. We were told that we would head out to the 25 mile rigs and that vis had been pretty good out there lately and that they had seen whale sharks last weekend. That was what we were all hoping would be the highlight of the trip.
We got a thorough briefing from Skip. I was very impressed with the way the operation was run and the facilities on the boat. Plenty of room for our six divers plus Skip. After the first dive, we were pretty quick getting ready and in the water. Entry was with a back roll off the side. Skip had tied a downline to the rig and asked that we follow it hand over hand to the rig. They also ran a trail line that was probably 25-30' long out as well.
Dive 1 -- Rig 762 -- 38 mins, 105' max, 53' avg depth
I splashed at 1027 am after a near miss. I had somehow lost one of my booties along the way. I considered diving with just a sock but was advised I would get blistered pretty badly by several who had tried that before. I finally decided to wear my leather SAS walking shoe on my left foot as a replacement. Pretty tight fit in the fin, I had to lengthen the strap and it was a bit hard to remove after the dive -- but all in all it worked great.
Shaggie, Rusty and Hemlon all splashed and were headed deep looking for the big fish. Paul, Sharon & I splashed and planned to head down together. While I waited for them, I decided to poke my head in the water and see what it looked like. Right under the boat in about 20-25' of water was a large whale shark. The boat is 37' long and it was not quite as large as the boat.
I did a double take to make sure I wasnt just dreaming and then popped my head back up to advise the others and down the line we went. I didnt see the shark as we went down the line, but I wasnt really looking for it either. I was checking out the rig since this was my first rig dive and Skip had advised us to try and get a good idea of what the rig looked like at the tie in point, so we could easily find it when it was time to return to the boat.
I just cruised around the rig for a bit and considered trying to catch the first three to let them know that the whale shark was around, but they were at least 30' deeper and headed down so I decided not to go after them.
I probably had sight of the whale shark for at least 20 mins of the 38. It cruised around staying about 30' or so away from the rig. What an amazing dive.
I estimate vis was 50-60' based on the fact that at times I could barely see the rig when we were out watching the shark. And if it got more than a couple of lengths away, I would start to loose it. Vis was definitely better below 40' and seemed to improve as you went down.
There was a mild current below 40', which was noticeably stronger between 20-40' and stronger still above 20', but still not that strong. Seas were, according to Skip, about 4-5' rollers. Temp was 83 degs from surface to my max depths on every dive.
Exits were hand over hand up the down line and then over to the trail line to remove fins, then up the ladder which needed concentration to avoid incident. It was bucking pretty good on the first dive. So much so that I got vertigo watching it while trying to remove my fins. On the other dives, I would remove my fins with my back to the boat and my head in the water, and then approach the ladder and head up in one deliberate move. That worked much better for me. I kept my reg in my mouth and my mask on all the way up.
I managed to feed the fish twice during this surface interval despite having taking preventative medication. But didnt have any other problem the rest of the day.
Dive 2 -- Rig 762 -- 48 mins, 93' max, 50' avg depth
During the 1:26 SI, we watched as Capt Steve hooked and landed a 4-5' bull shark. He couldnt get it landed, so Skip got in the water and managed to spear it. I will post some video of that when I get the chance.
I splashed at 1231 pm and on this dive mostly explored the rig at various depths and paid more attention to the life inside the rig. I concentrated on holding depth consistently and worked to get pictures of the other divers. It was another very nice dive. I did see the whale shark again right at the end of the dive just before I started up the downline. Followed it for a few minutes, but didnt get close enough for more video or pictures.
Conditions on this dive were identical to the first.
Dive 3 -- Rig 757 -- 55 mins, 108' max, 47' avg depth
During the 1:11 SI, Capt Steve moved the boat to another rig.
I splashed at 230 pm. Vis didnt seem quite as good on this rig till you got below 40'. There were particulates in the shallower water. There was a minor current that varied with depth and a noticeable surge in top 25' of water. More coral and sponges on this rig. Seemed to be more smaller fish in the top 50' than on other rig. The rig itself had lots of interesting structure, more complex than other rig. Very nice dive.
Fantastic trip. I can hardly wait to go again and highly recommend the Orion.
Willie
P.S. Here is info on the Orion. I am also including the links to pictures and video for those that might have missed them.
Out To Sea Adventures
Michael Miglini
P.O. Box 3344
Port Aransas, Texas 78373
361-749-0093
Pictures here and video here.
Shaggie, Hemlon, wet-willie, Rusty, Paul & Sharon journeyed down to Port Aransas last friday, Oct 6. This was the first rig dive for all of us but Shaggie and Rusty who had dove the rigs before on the Orion operated by Capt Michael Miglini. Shaggie did all the leg work to set up this trip for us. Thanks a bunch, Shaggie. Well done! We spent the night at a nice condo and arrived at the boat around 630 am for a 700 am departure.
Capt Steve and First Mate Skip took great care of us. We were told that we would head out to the 25 mile rigs and that vis had been pretty good out there lately and that they had seen whale sharks last weekend. That was what we were all hoping would be the highlight of the trip.
We got a thorough briefing from Skip. I was very impressed with the way the operation was run and the facilities on the boat. Plenty of room for our six divers plus Skip. After the first dive, we were pretty quick getting ready and in the water. Entry was with a back roll off the side. Skip had tied a downline to the rig and asked that we follow it hand over hand to the rig. They also ran a trail line that was probably 25-30' long out as well.
Dive 1 -- Rig 762 -- 38 mins, 105' max, 53' avg depth
I splashed at 1027 am after a near miss. I had somehow lost one of my booties along the way. I considered diving with just a sock but was advised I would get blistered pretty badly by several who had tried that before. I finally decided to wear my leather SAS walking shoe on my left foot as a replacement. Pretty tight fit in the fin, I had to lengthen the strap and it was a bit hard to remove after the dive -- but all in all it worked great.
Shaggie, Rusty and Hemlon all splashed and were headed deep looking for the big fish. Paul, Sharon & I splashed and planned to head down together. While I waited for them, I decided to poke my head in the water and see what it looked like. Right under the boat in about 20-25' of water was a large whale shark. The boat is 37' long and it was not quite as large as the boat.
I did a double take to make sure I wasnt just dreaming and then popped my head back up to advise the others and down the line we went. I didnt see the shark as we went down the line, but I wasnt really looking for it either. I was checking out the rig since this was my first rig dive and Skip had advised us to try and get a good idea of what the rig looked like at the tie in point, so we could easily find it when it was time to return to the boat.
I just cruised around the rig for a bit and considered trying to catch the first three to let them know that the whale shark was around, but they were at least 30' deeper and headed down so I decided not to go after them.
I probably had sight of the whale shark for at least 20 mins of the 38. It cruised around staying about 30' or so away from the rig. What an amazing dive.
I estimate vis was 50-60' based on the fact that at times I could barely see the rig when we were out watching the shark. And if it got more than a couple of lengths away, I would start to loose it. Vis was definitely better below 40' and seemed to improve as you went down.
There was a mild current below 40', which was noticeably stronger between 20-40' and stronger still above 20', but still not that strong. Seas were, according to Skip, about 4-5' rollers. Temp was 83 degs from surface to my max depths on every dive.
Exits were hand over hand up the down line and then over to the trail line to remove fins, then up the ladder which needed concentration to avoid incident. It was bucking pretty good on the first dive. So much so that I got vertigo watching it while trying to remove my fins. On the other dives, I would remove my fins with my back to the boat and my head in the water, and then approach the ladder and head up in one deliberate move. That worked much better for me. I kept my reg in my mouth and my mask on all the way up.
I managed to feed the fish twice during this surface interval despite having taking preventative medication. But didnt have any other problem the rest of the day.
Dive 2 -- Rig 762 -- 48 mins, 93' max, 50' avg depth
During the 1:26 SI, we watched as Capt Steve hooked and landed a 4-5' bull shark. He couldnt get it landed, so Skip got in the water and managed to spear it. I will post some video of that when I get the chance.
I splashed at 1231 pm and on this dive mostly explored the rig at various depths and paid more attention to the life inside the rig. I concentrated on holding depth consistently and worked to get pictures of the other divers. It was another very nice dive. I did see the whale shark again right at the end of the dive just before I started up the downline. Followed it for a few minutes, but didnt get close enough for more video or pictures.
Conditions on this dive were identical to the first.
Dive 3 -- Rig 757 -- 55 mins, 108' max, 47' avg depth
During the 1:11 SI, Capt Steve moved the boat to another rig.
I splashed at 230 pm. Vis didnt seem quite as good on this rig till you got below 40'. There were particulates in the shallower water. There was a minor current that varied with depth and a noticeable surge in top 25' of water. More coral and sponges on this rig. Seemed to be more smaller fish in the top 50' than on other rig. The rig itself had lots of interesting structure, more complex than other rig. Very nice dive.
Fantastic trip. I can hardly wait to go again and highly recommend the Orion.
Willie
P.S. Here is info on the Orion. I am also including the links to pictures and video for those that might have missed them.
Out To Sea Adventures
Michael Miglini
P.O. Box 3344
Port Aransas, Texas 78373
361-749-0093
Pictures here and video here.
Willie....hey thanks for the details on the dives....4-5 footers! 
Hemlon
Contributor
I downloaded the newest version of QT and still can't view the videos.
Sigh...where are my geek friends when I need them??
Sigh...where are my geek friends when I need them??
zach5150
Contributor
Hemlon:
Actually, I AM one of those "geeks" your mom told you about, but it's not working for me either. I'm running QT 7.1 on an XP machine at work and the newest QT available on my Mac at home. The page just appears to have photos, not embedded or even downloadable videos
Hope I can figure it out. I'd really like to see these!
Thanks for the great report. Looks like a great dive!
OP
Donna and Zach, sorry for the problems.zach5150:Actually, I AM one of those "geeks" your mom told you about, but it's not working for me either. I'm running QT 7.1 on an XP machine at work and the newest QT available on my Mac at home. The page just appears to have photos, not embedded or even downloadable videos
Hope I can figure it out. I'd really like to see these!
Let's try to figure this out. Here are a couple of suggestions. Each of these has worked for various people in the past.
1. Try refreshing the page several times in a row after installing the latest QT.
2. Try Firefox if you normally use IE.
3. On my daughter's Windows XP, I had the same problem. I had to download the videos and then open them with Quicktime player. That worked but it irritated me, so I did a bit of research. Windows Media Player was set as the default for all media types. It couldnt handle the MP4 extension so gave the error. I somehow changed that default (I cant remember how I did this, maybe Zach can help me out.) and now they work.
4. On another machine Real Player was the default plugin for media and couldnt handle it. That person made a change and then it worked. Sorry, that is all I know about that, it was just reported to me.
If none of this works, PM me and I will keep trying.1. Try refreshing the page several times in a row after installing the latest QT.
2. Try Firefox if you normally use IE.
3. On my daughter's Windows XP, I had the same problem. I had to download the videos and then open them with Quicktime player. That worked but it irritated me, so I did a bit of research. Windows Media Player was set as the default for all media types. It couldnt handle the MP4 extension so gave the error. I somehow changed that default (I cant remember how I did this, maybe Zach can help me out.) and now they work.
4. On another machine Real Player was the default plugin for media and couldnt handle it. That person made a change and then it worked. Sorry, that is all I know about that, it was just reported to me.
Willie
OP
Will one or more of you who are having problems try to download this fileand see if you can open it with the Quicktime Player. You may need to right click on the link and choose Save or Download depending on the software you use and how it is configured.
You should be able to just double-click it after you get it on your computer. If that doesnt work, then try opening Quicktime Player and then use the File menu to open the video.
Report back either by reply or PM whether or not that works and what you tried, please. I will be gone for the rest of the evening, but will get back on this later tonight.
Willie
You should be able to just double-click it after you get it on your computer. If that doesnt work, then try opening Quicktime Player and then use the File menu to open the video.
Report back either by reply or PM whether or not that works and what you tried, please. I will be gone for the rest of the evening, but will get back on this later tonight.
Willie
Great stuff Willie! I hope to see those whale sharks out there in a couple weeks.
Similar threads
