Where did you solo dive today?

[Cdncoldwater]

25 Aug, did two shore dives exploring a cove I've only dove a few times in the Bay of Fundy. First dive followed the wall to my left, very shallow max 16 feet so after 41 minutes I still had 1500psi in each LP50 side mount cylinder. Second dive I followed a mooring chain into the cove max depth I hit was 36 feet. Tide was almost in and current in the cove was strong, I had to trace the mooring chain perpendicular to present less to be pushed. Could have done a drift dive lol. Lots of critters, Atlantic lobster, medium and small flounder, hermit, green and rock crabs, snails, urchins, starfish, cucumbers and stuff I didn't recognize. Visibility was a sad 6-8 feet but still a lot to see. Finished with 1100psi in each tank at 49 minutes as I met my check in time again. Next dive I will see if I can park and enter at the other side of the cove to explore that wall.

 

[lukeb]

Hudson Grotto, Florida. Viz was AWFUL! This site is usually dark and very tannic. But today was something else. I couldn't see my fins while standing in the water. Silt everywhere. Uncomfortably warm (86' freshwater just feels wrong). It was ugh!

Also, (I found out at 100') they have removed almost all the lines on the bottom, and taken down a lot of the PVC poles. They also removed / moved all the platforms and usual landmarks. That combined with the terrible Viz made for a confusing set of dives. I had almost no idea where I was underwater. I did a lot of reel work trying to find my way around (which was good practice, as I am starting Cave training in October!).

But I managed to get it together and have two good deco dives at about 120' and then one shallow dive (40') to finish the day. I found some lost dive gear on the bottom which I sent up on a lift bag (always fun). On my surface interval I met a really nice rebreather diver who talked me through some of his gear including his NERD HUD (that was really cool!).

Probably my worst day diving Hudson Grotto, but any day diving is better than not!

 

[Cdncoldwater]

Hadn't dove in 26 days a trip to the Fundy coast wasn't an option today so I dove a local lake that I'm familiar with. First dive was 57 minutes, max 35 feet, average 21 feet and ^3F (17C); finished with 1/3 of my gas. Second was 50 minutes, max 25.5 feet average 19 feet, had to meet a timeline so I finished with 500 psi extra in each of my LP50s

It was great to get back in and have some easy, relaxing dives.

 

[lukeb]

I got to dive the USS Rankin on Friday in Stuart Florida. I dived with Stuart Scuba and really liked their operation, very relaxed. The water was beautifully calm on the surface, like glass. However the viz was cloudy and not great on the bottom. It was hard to get oriented especially with the current state of the wreck. The wreck was huge! The Stern section was in pretty good shape, but the bow was almost unrecognizable from hurricane damage. I managed a full lap of the outside of the wreck with some penetration as well. This dive had been on my wish list for years and I was so happy to finally get to dive it. This was my new HP120s first trip into the Ocean. I managed over an hour of bottom time between 90 - 120', followed by 35 minutes of deco. It was surreal to be floating on my own in the ocean for that long. It was a great dive and I can't wait to go back!

 

[scubadada]

I have tried to dive the Rankin from JDC many times, but have never made it..

 

[lukeb]

Same here! It was a little pricey going with Stuart Scuba. $120 vs JDC which I think is only $80 for the same trip. But it was nice and quick going out of the St Lucie inlet rather than having to drive all the way to Jupiter and then a long boat ride back up the coast.

Stuart Scuba seem to do trips to the Rankin once every few months. It is nice having a dive boat in the Stuart area so we can visit the less dived wreck sites in Martin County.

I will definitely be going back with them on their future trips to the Rankin and other area Wrecks.

 

[Pacediver]

Solo dive at a lake today ,didn’t turn out like a good spot at all ,no bottles lot more mud and in general kind of a crappy spot but did get out. Next time

 

[happy-diver]

Waiting for next time detracts from this time

 

[scubadada]

I had a fantastic solo dive on the Castor in Boynton Beach on Wednesday Sept 22 Trip Report - Back in SE FL 2021 part 5

 

[lukeb]

Wow! Your photos are phenomenal! You saw a lot of big marine life.

Do you have any photos of the wreck itself?