Tell us about your most recent "first"

[H2Andy]

for the non-anglophones among us, what the heck's a "syphon"?

it's actually pretty straightforward

in a spring system, the water is rushint OUT of the cave, making the in-leg
hard, but the out-leg is with the current, and easy

in a syphon system, the water is rushing INTO the cave, making the in-leg
easy, but the out-leg is against the current, with all the consequences thereof

it's basically a dive that breaks the basic rule of "start your dive into the current"
and therefore needs a little bit more thinking through

 

[Rick Inman]

Will this thread still be going in 5 days? I'll have had my first Cozumel dive by then.

I'm going to see about helping out the guy with the flooded mine on his property and wants to know what's down there.

What? Come on, Mike, that doesn't count. That's work. Don't you know how to have fun any more?? :dazzler1:

 

[Kriterian]

Not to hijack the post, but is that the octo that kills you in 10 minutes if it bites you? I've never seen one either and I thought they were endemic to the Indo Pacific.

That's the one, although the timing will probably vary. They're non-aggressive but will attack if threatened. Their bite (from the beak) can penetrate a wetsuit and the venom is a neurotoxin with no known cure. It's not entirely fatal if the person can get to help immediately. You basically have to keep the person on artificial respiration and a heart massage until the poison is worked out of the system.

Another interesting thing about them is they can camoflage their bodies, and they "light up" their blue rings when threatened to scare the predator away. Of course if you pick one up, you're going to see the flashing rings too late, so just leave em alone.

 

[Firebrand]

I had a little octopus bite me once at my dad's house. I was maybe 13 or 14 and we found the creature inside half of a clam shell. We played with it for a while and I let it crawl down my arm. The little sucker bit me and I didn't know they were venemous. I didn't go to the hospital, but we had to continually treat the wound until the swelling went away. I still have the scar! The next time I encounterd an octopus, it was a lot bigger, and I put his beak over the glass on my mask and let him wrap his tentacles around my head. That was pretty cool.

 

[jonnythan]

I had a little octopus bite me once ... The little sucker bit me and I didn't know they were venemous... swelling ... I still have the scar!

The next time ... octopus ... was a lot bigger, and I ... let him wrap his tentacles around my head.

Some people never learn

 

[voop]

it's actually pretty straightforward

in a spring system, the water is rushint OUT of the cave, making the in-leg
hard, but the out-leg is with the current, and easy

in a syphon system, the water is rushing INTO the cave, making the in-leg
easy, but the out-leg is against the current, with all the consequences thereof

it's basically a dive that breaks the basic rule of "start your dive into the current"
and therefore needs a little bit more thinking through

So this "diving in a toilet bowl" wasn't all that far off after all, was it? 'cept I hope for slightly more attractive waters

 

[Lil' Irish Temper]

Today, I ate my 1st green olive out of a jar, first time since I was put on this earth...

OMG, It was the nastiest thing I have ever ate. . . sorry fftopic:

 

[Paco]

Had my first hole in a drysuit seal, so I did my first repair job on it.
Sure hope it holds this weekend in the quarry.

 

[mogwai]

Been a year with 2 or 3 firsts.

> Got my 100th dive, now up to about 130.

> Saw my first free swimming turtle (Red Sea)

> Saw my first porpoise while actually in the water. Unfortunately at 37 metres lying on the bottom very dead, a baby one as well.

> Had my first rescue also while in the Red Sea, diver didn't fasten his tank properly and both tried to go there seperate ways. Got great help from my buddy and we stopped said diver from a very nasty surprise as he hadn't even realised it was heading determindley for the surface.

> First wreck dive - S.S. Thistlegorm. Wasn't even that crowded and was fab.

Got a couple more firsts but don't want to bore the pants off everyone completely.

 

[baitedstorm]

Had my very first ever, computer failure this past weekend but also got to DM for some fantastic OW students and their Instructor, which whom were all deaf..


(Thanks again Shane for the computer loan)