Where did you solo dive today?

[Stoo]

I was back at Bad Neighbour Rock yesterday. A couple of friends came with me.. They dove while I watched the boat, then I hopped in. BNR is a shoal, in the middle of a shipping channel that comes up from about 325' and breaks the surface in a little island, about 3' square. It drops straight down about 220', then continues to drop from there.

Max depth was 188' with a total time of 52 minutes. 42F at the bottom but almost 60 up top, so deco was downright comfy!

Stick these numbers into Google Earth to see here we were. 45.360562, -81.762297

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I had one of my better solo dives in a while early yesterday morning ... prior to my student showing up for class. When I got to the dive site, the only people around were a few fishing folks putting their boats in the water for an early run at the salmon. The sun was just above the horizon, it was nicely cool, water was glass-flat ... perfect conditions. Vis wasn't bad, although we're right on the leading edge of another plankton bloom ... at depth I could see maybe 20 feet or so. Heading downslope I went looking for a juvenile wolf eel who's been living in an old engine block since about last October. Found her ...

After our visit I headed across cove ... swimming in front of the fishing pier at a depth of about 80 feet. Something moved in front of me, and I realized it was a lure ... since I knew I was out of casting range from the pier, I figured there was probably a boat above me somewhere ... so I moved downslope a bit more, which was nice, because I found a little lumpsucker ... about the size of a fly ... sitting on a rock ...

I also found this tiny hermissenda crassicornis (less than an inch long) waving about on a bit of sea lettuce ...

I finally reached a landmark at about 85 feet that told me I was well away from the pier, and it was time to head shallower. Going upslope I found a couple of grunt sculpins ...

At about 45 feet there's an old sewer pipe covered in barnacles and other growth ... I can often find Cockerell's dorids here if I look hard enough (they're tiny ... maybe a half-inch in length) ... found one ...

Coming upslope, while on safety stop, I got into a staring contest with a little black-eyed hermit crab ...

Overall a really nice dive ... 70 minutes, to a max depth of 87 fsw ... perfect way to begin the day. By the time I got out of the water it was about 7 AM ... plenty of time for breakfast before class begins ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[shoredivr]

Ok, still marvelling that I am here on a dive weekend in the St Lawrence River and that is so warm: 76 degrees F
that I am wearing a 3 ml wetsuit and no hood to dive here. Warmest I've ever seen here was 74F.

Friday I did a nice sidemount dive pull-and-glide upstream along the channel then drift back down to the entrance point. It was tropical, nice seaweeds and lots of fish...

Wow.

 

[scubadada]

Friday August 3, wonderful morning dive on the M/V Castor with Underwater Explorers in Boynton Beach, FL. Little current, visibility about 50 feet, water a warm 83 degrees. Max depth 110 feet, avg depth 78 feet, total dive time 52 minutes. Goliath Grouper aggregation is starting and there were many on and around the Castor. Highlight was a group of about 20 off the port stern.

Good diving, Craig

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

So I went down to Redondo last night for a solo dive … thinking to head out to see if I could find this little sixgill shark I found a week ago. I took my sidemount doubles and an O2 bottle for deco, got in the water and swam down to about 100 fsw. Thinking that I should probably take a test shot to make sure my strobes were set up right (they weren’t last week which cost me what should've been some nice shots) I found a clump of orange plumose to use as a test subject, set up, hit the shutter … and nothing happened. Thinking about it for a minute I realized what was wrong … when I put the camera in the housing, I forgot to pop up the flash … and without it, no strobes. I knew that was going to happen sooner or later. Here I am at 100 feet, in shark country, and carrying a useless camera. So I turned around and headed back.

A few seconds later it occurred to me to put the camera in video mode … just in case I stumbled across the little sixgill on my way in. Problem is, I’ve only used the video once, and that was on land. I had to remember how to do it. So I stopped where I was and started pushing buttons, hoping I could figure it out. It took a couple minutes, but I finally got it. With this camera, when you get the video working you know it because the image displays on the LCD … regardless of what mode you had the camera in previously (I don’t normally use the LCD for photos … I use the eyepiece). So, success … raising the camera I realized something was moving in the frame … a SIXGILL! This one wasn’t no baby either … it was bigger than me. It slowly approached, and as I watched … video running … it swam up and literally nosed the camera!

I got almost seven minutes of video … mostly of a tail as I was chasing the thing. As soon as it realized I wasn’t food … or a potential sex partner … it slowly swam away .. but slow to a sixgill is about all I can do to keep up with.

About a minute into the video I noticed lights heading my way … two divers swimming by, perhaps 15-20 feet away. I shined my light on the shark, thinking they’d surely see it. No change of course. OK, so I flashed my light at them … the emergency signal, thinking they'd surely swim toward me then. Still no response (good thing it wasn't a real emergency). After a few seconds they turned and swam away … never realizing there was a seven-foot shark within just a few feet of where they had just been. I later showed them the video in the parking lot … they told me they noticed me flashing, but they were busy looking for a shark.

Oh well … anyway, here's the video. Not too bad, considering all I had for lighting was my focus light ...



... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[sskasser]

I did a beautiful solo dive Sunday, but I was far from alone. It was my first dive at the reef where I'd released my son's ashes nearly two years before. The dive to release his ashes was also a solo dive, well, just me and him. On this dive, I was aboard a boat full of amazing people, the T.R.U.E. dive team. As I stood on the back of the boat and explained exactly what this place meant to me, you could have heard a pin drop. There were more than a few tears that were not my own. I splashed alone and spent several minutes absorbing my surroundings, feeling my son's presence. Then, I watched as team by team, the rest of the group splashed above me. Many swam over to give me hugs underwater. Looking around and seeing these amazing kids diving all over "his reef" was a most beautiful sight. I was diving solo, but I definitely wasn't alone.

 

[scubadada]

Bob,

Incredible, thanks very much.

Good diving, Craig

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I did a beautiful solo dive Sunday, but I was far from alone. It was my first dive at the reef where I'd released my son's ashes nearly two years before. The dive to release his ashes was also a solo dive, well, just me and him. On this dive, I was aboard a boat full of amazing people, the T.R.U.E. dive team. As I stood on the back of the boat and explained exactly what this place meant to me, you could have heard a pin drop. There were more than a few tears that were not my own. I splashed alone and spent several minutes absorbing my surroundings, feeling my son's presence. Then, I watched as team by team, the rest of the group splashed above me. Many swam over to give me hugs underwater. Looking around and seeing these amazing kids diving all over "his reef" was a most beautiful sight. I was diving solo, but I definitely wasn't alone.

Poignant. ... and it hits close to home.

Two weeks from today I'll be accompanying a woman to the site where her daughter died five years ago. Last year I collaborated with her to write the story of how that death occurred. It should appear in this month's issue of Alert Diver.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[sskasser]

Poignant. ... and it hits close to home.

Two weeks from today I'll be accompanying a woman to the site where her daughter died five years ago. Last year I collaborated with her to write the story of how that death occurred. It should appear in this month's issue of Alert Diver.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Thank you, Bob, and hugs to your friend. Thank you both for sharing her story. I'll look for it.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Thank you, Bob, and hugs to your friend. Thank you both for sharing her story. I'll look for it.

I posted it here yesterday ... http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/content/460-don-t-worry-will-ok.html

... Bob (Grateful Diver)