Alright, this was my first dive after my check-outs last weekend.
I went with one of the assistants in my class. Weather was absolutely perfect today and I was looking forward to diving anywhere.
This small body of water is located in Linton, IN (39 3'17.91"N, 87 8' 36.20"W). I wore a 7mm suit, no hood, no gloves. Entry was very easy as I used a concrete boat ramp for entry. Thanks to some very helpful hints from users here at Sb, I managed to shed 3lbs of weight from my checkout dives last week (dropped to 18# of lead....think I might be able to shed more).
Water temp at the surface was a balmy 67 degrees, somewhat cool and refreshing. Visibility was about 10-15'...until my fins mucked it up a bit. Thermocline found at about 15' when the temp dropped steeply to 57. Entering the thermocline made me wish I had donned my hood as the cold was very uncomfortable hitting my skull. Most of the dive was in the 15'-10' range as there were more fish in the warmer, weedier water. Just by looking at the plant life, I could tell where the thermocline was located. Saw some bass and bluegill. The fish were shy, but friendly enough to pose for some pictures.
While swimming around, we found a sunken car which was very rusted, as well as an old school bus. Although campers at the park often fish in the lake, I didn't see any fishing line waiting to entangle me. However, one cool find (at least for 5 seconds) was what appeared to be a handle of a very large dive knife sticking out of the sand. When I grabbed it, I realized it was my own knife that had fallen out of the sheath. I put the knife back in the sheath, but as luck would have it, the knife had found it's way to the bottom again as it fell out of the sheath again. I bought it on eBay for only $11 so no big loss. But if anyone dives at Sunset and finds a blunt tip knife, black handle, with one side serrated and other side sharp you know where it came from
My trim wasn't too bad, although I found myself trying to steer and paddle with my hands at times.
A shallow but enjoyable dive. Would've gone deeper to see what was there with more exposure protection. I guess it gives me a reason to go back.
I went with one of the assistants in my class. Weather was absolutely perfect today and I was looking forward to diving anywhere.
This small body of water is located in Linton, IN (39 3'17.91"N, 87 8' 36.20"W). I wore a 7mm suit, no hood, no gloves. Entry was very easy as I used a concrete boat ramp for entry. Thanks to some very helpful hints from users here at Sb, I managed to shed 3lbs of weight from my checkout dives last week (dropped to 18# of lead....think I might be able to shed more).
Water temp at the surface was a balmy 67 degrees, somewhat cool and refreshing. Visibility was about 10-15'...until my fins mucked it up a bit. Thermocline found at about 15' when the temp dropped steeply to 57. Entering the thermocline made me wish I had donned my hood as the cold was very uncomfortable hitting my skull. Most of the dive was in the 15'-10' range as there were more fish in the warmer, weedier water. Just by looking at the plant life, I could tell where the thermocline was located. Saw some bass and bluegill. The fish were shy, but friendly enough to pose for some pictures.
While swimming around, we found a sunken car which was very rusted, as well as an old school bus. Although campers at the park often fish in the lake, I didn't see any fishing line waiting to entangle me. However, one cool find (at least for 5 seconds) was what appeared to be a handle of a very large dive knife sticking out of the sand. When I grabbed it, I realized it was my own knife that had fallen out of the sheath. I put the knife back in the sheath, but as luck would have it, the knife had found it's way to the bottom again as it fell out of the sheath again. I bought it on eBay for only $11 so no big loss. But if anyone dives at Sunset and finds a blunt tip knife, black handle, with one side serrated and other side sharp you know where it came from
My trim wasn't too bad, although I found myself trying to steer and paddle with my hands at times.
A shallow but enjoyable dive. Would've gone deeper to see what was there with more exposure protection. I guess it gives me a reason to go back.
