Hey Mike,
Did you do this dive without scooters? What was the water temp that day? Was it uncomfortable or tolerable or just nice?
No scooters, it's a short surface kick, and HitW/Middle Reef are very close to each other.
IIRC, water temp was 52F, pretty average for Lobos. I didn't feel cold this time, but my buddy did (and he's the most cold-proof person I know). He said he needs to get back into a wetsuit for a few dives to get his arctic mojo back
Truth be told, I've felt cold at 55 degrees and warm at 48 before, so I think daily variances in my physiology matter at least as much as actual water temp. I was pretty darn cold in the morning when we pulled into the parking lot though.
Who was your dive buddy? What exactly is the role of the reel? At what depth did he deploy it?
Buddy is August, one of my regular dive buddies. It's typically our habit to shoot an SMB on a spool when we ascend. Most of all, it's kinda fun. But it also helps as a frame of reference on our planned stops. You don't hang off the spool, but holding onto it gives you instant feedback as to your buoyancy, which is nice when you need to hold 10 or 20ft. The diver not holding the spool can also use it as a visual reference. There's not too much need for the "surface marker" function in the cove.
We typically ascend from 20-40ft depth; this time we were at 28ft so that's when he deployed. We stopped at 20ft for a minute and 10ft for a minute. On each segment, he'd wind up the spool until he hit the correct depth to keep minimal tension on the line.
I've never made a direct ascent from below 50ft so that's as deep as I've ever deployed before.
Do you have a new dive light? I saw your video and it appeared that the light source was either yours or someone on your side.
Yep, I bought a used can light from a local diver. It's enormous and obnoxious, and I love it - hella fun, and EXTREMELY useful. August got one recently as well. He, another buddy and I are taking Fundies as a team next month and we need em for class.
