Scuba Police @ Philadelphia Quarry, TN (Lambertsen rebreather trials)

[TN Traveler]

But, we all have our own styles, that is just mine. As to the Scuba Police who will not go away, I find trimming my finger nails with my 18 inch long Seas Hawk knife sends them packing. Well, another tactic, I learned it from the infamous "Broxton Chuck", spritz your equipment with Old Hawk whiskey and maybe even take a gulp, then stumble into the water, or crawl, while singing Dixie and yelling Yahooooooooo, generally have the whole place to myself.

N

Problem is around here they are all singing Dixie and have bigger knives.

Normally you have this Quarry to yourself - During the week especially you might find one other pair of divers there. You just have to drop your money in the slot, get the gate code by phone, open the gate, drive over the bridge, through the herd of cows, open the second gate, and then drive up the hill and down the next hill to get to the water. I'll admit, over the past several years Mike has improved the place with some picnic benches, etc. The Quarry itself has platforms and a bunch of vending machines you can use for playing underwater "hide and seek". It is not a bad place to get wet.

Jim - commmm onnn downnnnnnnnnnn!!! You alllllllllllll.

 

[Kimsey0]

I occasionally have Scuba Police issues but most are kept under control because my s---t actually works and I make sure it is in 100% condition BEFORE I arrive for my dive, not while sitting on a rock.

But, we all have our own styles

I might be taking this wrong but I doubt it - no two ways to take commentary like this; Quite frankly Nemrod, I don't appreciate it - it's uncalled for.

Anyway... The only way to test *some* things is when you're in the water... if your implication was my "style" as you put it is to go in the water with non working equipment, that is certainly not the case. The fault was with the instructor.

And trust me, in this situation, it had nothing to do with prejudice toward "junk divers" this guy simply didn't know his own @$$... please don't twist it into something it's not. (No alternate air, no BC... does that sound like prejudice toward "junk divers" or "vintage divers" I'd say the latter...)

Anyway, as for all the other posts, thanks for the comments, I'll post about the Lambertsen soon.

 

[fishb0y]

I'm sure it could have been said a little different, but he does have a point. It's hard enough to get on a dive boat nowadays with my Phoenix running in perfect order... but as soon as I take my hoses off for storage, I'm told to never bring it again because they "fall apart too easy". When dealing with these uneducated people, it’s best to not give them something to hound on. It’s all about perception… if people see older regs not working, then in their mind, none of them will work.

I've taken my stuff to a pool to "verify" after a class. I even had a DM candidate tell me how a double hose is a death trap... of course afterwards he was begging to try it out.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

The ocean is my pool.
I have no options except for the ocean so all my stuff gets tested there.
I've had my DH freeflowing, I've had stuff out of adjustment, etc.
It all seems to be fine when bench tested but the water is the final test.
I always bring my little tool box and work on stuff on the picnic benches at the beach.
That's just the way it is.

 

[Kimsey0]

The ocean is my pool.
I have no options except for the ocean so all my stuff gets tested there.
I've had my DH freeflowing, I've had stuff out of adjustment, etc.
It all seems to be fine when bench tested but the water is the final test.
I always bring my little tool box and work on stuff on the picnic benches at the beach.
That's just the way it is.

Exactly. Philadelphia quarry IS a swimming pool. Unfortunately, that's one of it's problems; It's getting more popular, but the entry point is only about 6' wide in the quarry, which gives plenty of room for other divers to examine you for two years. I found out about a new quarry, Jeff's quarry, which is the same distance, pretty much, from Chattanooga, that Philadelphia is, might try it sometime...

I've taken my stuff to a pool to "verify" after a class. I even had a DM candidate tell me how a double hose is a death trap... of course afterwards he was begging to try it out.

LOL...

 

[John C. Ratliff]

You know, I've not had the "Scuba Police" experience. When I dove at Edmonds Underwater Park on two occasions I was asked whether I was wearing a rebreather. One was when I was wearing a UDS-1 and the other when I used my Trieste II double hose regulator. At my normal site, I'm usually the only diver. I had one instructor/dive shop operator dive with me about a month ago, and he had never seen a double hose regulator in use. He wanted one for his dive shop.

SeaRat

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

You know, I've not had the "Scuba Police" experience. When I dove at Edmonds Underwater Park on two occasions I was asked whether I was wearing a rebreather. One was when I was wearing a UDS-1 and the other when I used my Trieste II double hose regulator. At my normal site, I'm usually the only diver. I had one instructor/dive shop operator dive with me about a month ago, and he had never seen a double hose regulator in use. He wanted one for his dive shop.

SeaRat

Edmonds Underwater Park is the only place I know where there really ARE scuba police ... and they will write you a ticket for solo diving, or for using a DPV within the park. Some folks do it anyway ... I've been known to ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[fishb0y]

I was at an Easter Egg dive once and overheard a man describe my Mistral (USD type) to his wife as an antique rebreather.

 

[fishb0y]

Edmonds Underwater Park is the only place I know where there really ARE scuba police ... and they will write you a ticket for solo diving, or for using a DPV within the park. Some folks do it anyway ... I've been known to ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Funny, that park is perfect for scooters...

 

[duckbill]

Kimsey0, Nemrod has been around a while and doesn't varnish his words, so I'm used to it and he almost() always has good points in what he says.

I have to admit I was feeling the same way while reading parts of your post. I was thinking that small leaks at the surface and a purge valve not working would be things that could be detected at home with just a wash tub.

When diving vintage gear, I feel I am an ambassador for the sport of vintage diving. I know the unforeseen can pop up on occasion, but I, too, try to make sure my gear is working as well as I can before hitting the dive site. Already, too many out there feel anything vintage is junk. I know it's not, and you know it's not (I think), but give them visual proof that it is junk and it just supports their opinion of the gear and their impression that we don't know what we're doing.

Likewise, some of your responses to the "instructor", I'm sure, only helped to validate in his mind that maybe you weren't sure about what you were doing...
e.g.

Instructor: You know that regulator you're using is 30 years old.
Me: Yeah... I know, but I'm working on it.

A better response might have been to say something like, "Sure is! I just made some adjustments and am testing it out. They're so easy to work on and they still work better than new when they're properly tuned!"

I agree he had no right to butt in and give you a hard time. He is typical of some who think they have to be in control of others. We've all had to deal with people like that a time or two. It's like they're just out to ruin your day.

When someone asks me where my alternate air source is, I say the surface is my alternate air source!

And if anyone gets down on me for not using a buoyancy compensator (I don't use one in the river), I'd just say my lungs are my buoyancy compansator and my wet suit is my emergency floatation device! And, if they're really stupid, I might even have to explain to them that my weight belt has a quick release buckle.

But, that's only if I feel like justifying a response in the first place.

Don't let that Schmuck keep you from going back to that quarry. It sounds like a nice place.