Tired of local cold, green water dives?

[carldarl]

What do you do when the fun of diving locally goes away? My last dive was 17 minutes of cold, algae tasting blindness. Literally ran into an unseen concrete block while looking for another divers dropped light. Been there, done that and got the bruise to show it.

The walk (make that endurance trek) to the dive spot wore me out before I got there. I've had 6 back surgeries and lost roughly 30% leg strength due to nerve damage. My family will no longer go locally and is waiting for Jamaica in January. I might just wait as well.

Live-a-board in August in the Channel Island area was great. Water was relatively warm and clear. Am I getting lazy? Turning into a resort diver? Too old? Or am I just going through a bored stretch?

How do I rekindle the spark this late in the season before the snows fly? Pumpkin carving this month and Christmas tree decorating in December sound fun but gotta convince my son or daughter to buddy up and go. My wife says NO WAY!

Ho Hum... is it all worth it?



\/



\/



\/



\/



\/



\/



\/



HE!! YES! Any experienced underwater pumkin carvers out there with tips? I'm gonna need them.

Edited to add: I really am going through a slump in excitement. Gear is all clean and stowed for the winter. Getting it out before Jamaica will take some prodding...

 

[Gary D.]

Where at in Idaho?

There are plenty of good diving spots that are right next to parking spaces.

Gary D.

 

[carldarl]

Where at in Idaho?

There are plenty of good diving spots that are right next to parking spaces.

Gary D.

Hi Gary,

Boise. You're right, there are sites close to here. This dive was a club dive and I had never dove with this club before. Normally I would not have pushed it this hard. Safe site but really a workout on my spine. I was also trying out a new tank and was 2-3 pounds light and mounted too high. Fought weighting, balance, new scripted mask and nasty conditions.

Wish I was up North. Down here its either shallow warm water, (algae heaven) decent water with 10,000,000 drunk boaters or high altitude 38 degree water a long way from home. Regardless, my family have become resort divers and I am still meeting people here.

I think I just have the blues.

Where do you normally dive up there? I would think Priest Lake may have decent visibility. And, you are what, 4 hours from Seattle?

Carl

 

[TSandM]

Carl . . . it's an 11 hour drive to Seattle. Visibility is improving daily here, as the algae blooms fail with the lack of sunlight. Water is still cold, but so what? Plan a long weekend and come dive with us!

 

[Slider2268]

Carry an extra couple of pounds of lead to put inside of the pumkin after you pull the seeds out keeps it from trying to float off

 

[Whatgoesdown]

Carry an extra couple of pounds of lead to put inside of the pumkin after you pull the seeds out keeps it from trying to float off

I have sucessfully tied a line onto the pumpkin and dscended. My buddy forced the pumkin down while I (anchored on the bottom) reeled in and tied the pumpkin off to the concrete block that I had been hugging. Don't get an imploder! And, learn to make the first incisions upside-down.

 

[Rick Inman]

Hi Gary,

Boise. You're right, there are sites close to here. This dive was a club dive and I had never dove with this club before. Normally I would not have pushed it this hard. Safe site but really a workout on my spine. I was also trying out a new tank and was 2-3 pounds light and mounted too high. Fought weighting, balance, new scripted mask and nasty conditions.

Wish I was up North. Down here its either shallow warm water, (algae heaven) decent water with 10,000,000 drunk boaters or high altitude 38 degree water a long way from home. Regardless, my family have become resort divers and I am still meeting people here.

I think I just have the blues.

Where do you normally dive up there? I would think Priest Lake may have decent visibility. And, you are what, 4 hours from Seattle?

Carl

Carl,

I dive Lake Coeur d' Alene (north Id.) at least once per week, and after hundreds of dives there, still enjoy it. There is all kind of junk, tons of wrecks in recreational depths, fish, walls, and a real cool salmon spawn dive coming up in a couple of weeks. But here's the thing. If I hadn't had other divers show me where the "stuff" is, and done a bunch of research myself, I might have thought the lake was just silt. When you're inland, you have to search out the good diving. In fact, just today, Gary was pointing out into the lake, trying to show me for the um-teenth time where the submerged, ancient Indian BBQ pits are that I can't ever seem to find!

You mentioned Priest Lake. After searching down rumors for 2 years, I finally located a train wreck (just two cars) form 1919 in Priest Lake. I'd bet that, with a little effort, you can find great diving locally just like I have.

And yes, we are only four hours from the fantastic Puget Sound.

BTW, have you ever dived the Bonneville Seabase? I hear it's nice.

 

[TSandM]

Four hours? I hope you are talking about flying, otherwise I don't ever want to be in a car with YOU

 

[Rick Inman]

Four hours? I hope you are talking about flying, otherwise I don't ever want to be in a car with YOU

Check out the driving time HERE!
Just one quick stop at the Ellensberg Starbucks!

 

[TSandM]

Shoot, it takes me three hours to get to Moses Lake (where I work!) And I guess when I saw the OP was from Idaho, I was thinking Boise, which is no four hours from Puget Sound

I still don't think I want to ride in a car with somebody who can make it to the Sound in four hours from Spokane . . . unless they're Dan Gurney.