Table Rock Lake, MO July 2014

A great trip, invited by one of my favorite dive buddies.

Instructor Mike and I loaded up my car with dive gear early Monday morning.  We got on the road and spent the morning driving, listening to classic rock, and munching on road goodies.  Road goodies sometime consist of things like Snickers, Red Bull, chips, and beef jerky.

We met up with Chris and he unloads from the family car in a Chinese Fire Drill to end all others.  We pack his dive gear, into the already full Volvo, add Chris, and we're full to bursting.  A bit more travel to get to our destination.  We pull over near the lake and find a good quiet spot in a neighborhood to change, get geared up, and we dive into the lake,

The water was refreshing, at first.  The day was warm and sunny, and donning the wetsuits and tanks made me a little sweaty.  A local guide Chris talked to told us about underwater statues that mark an underwater cave.  Mike set his compass and we started the snorkel out.  The water was a little rough and I get a little winded by the time Mike pulls up to reconvene.  I try not to show that I'm huffing through my snorkel, but I'm not fooling anyone.  Looks like more cardio for me.  Mike suggests that we drop down and follow the bottom out.  I turn and smile through my snorkel at Chris.  Yes, please.

The water cleared up after a few feet.  The bottom was a combo of silt and rocks.  Not a fish in sight.  After a short swim, Chris points at something unusual in the landscape.  It's flat and has straight edges,  I investigate and pull out a For Sale sign.  I hold it up and Chris snaps a photo.

(Insert underwater pic of me holding sign.  Waiting for the photographer to deliver the goods)

By the time we get out past the peninsula, we have gone through half our psi.  We abort the underwater cave search, since we didn't see a single underwater statue.  This will be the theme of the dive trip, things not being where guides tell us.

Our surface interval was spent looking for a new dive site.  We end up at a boat ramp and relax in the shade.  Mike dozes in the back and Chris and I pass the time like good dive buddies do, chatting.  As we start to plan our next dive, a local lays some knowledge on us about the site.  Specifically, he was shocked that we were going to dive in the channel that was no more than 2 feet deep.  He says he's been fishing here all his life and thinks we should pick another site to dive.  Chris, Mike, and I put our heads together and decide to chance it.  At the very least, we can see what's under the couple of docks we can see floating on the water,  May be some fun recoveries.

We snorkel out to the middle of the channel, the water is much calmer and we have no problem keeping up.  Right in the middle, Mike signals our descent and we submerge into pretty murky lake water.  Just about the time the water clears, I am faced with the bottom.  About 40 feet.  We pick a direction and head out.  There is a very cool feature of this channel; a ridge that has all kinds of treasure to be found.  We don't see much wildlife, but I kept finding golf balls, boat propellers, and anchors.  Max depth was 46 feet.  Not bad for an off the cuff dive.  Good to think our gamble paid off.  We ended the dive and as we were putting our gear away, I pulled out the 7 golf balls I had recovered.  Mike came away with 2 pairs of sunglasses.

Post dive, I am always ravenous,  We get cleaned up and go on the hunt for food.  What is the most delicious post dive?  Beer.  And steak.  So that's what we have.

Day 2

We went to the marina and a scuba boat was ours for the morning.  Fancy!  We got to load our gear in wheelbarrows, and that was entertaining.  I made the snap decision to take my reg out of the bag and hang it in my BC, so I could travel a little lighter and leave the bag in the car.  This will be a bad decision later.  We got a map and some local sites from the owner penciled in.  The boat ride out was fun.  It was sunny, warm, and the breeze was perfect.  Getting to the first site was complex.  The dive sites are not marked with any kind of buoy system, so we were relying on landmarks on shore.  The problem with that being we could interpret one finger of land to be another and be in the complete wrong place.  We shoved ashore on what we thought was close to the dive site.  The site is supposed to be a wall dive, so going pretty deep.  I plan on many layers.

As I am gearing up, I realize I am missing probably the most crucial part of my equipment.  My computer is packed away neatly...inside my reg bag...back in the car...at the marina.  So, my dive day has just been cancelled, until Mike comes to the rescue with a wrist depth gauge.  Going old school for me, then.  We jump in and start exploring the area.  Chris pulls up and points to something in the water.  Upon further investigation, a tiny freshwater jellyfish.  My surprise is hardly contained.  We continue away from shore.  As the terrain becomes nothing but sandy hills and no drop off, we confirm that we are in the wrong place.  The water is so murky, Chris and I are nose to fin with Mike, trying not to get separated.  We decide to turn around and explore the cove we parked the boat in.

As we plan our next dive, Mike wants to see how deep the lake actually is.  He has plenty left in his tank, as do I.  We boat out to what looks like the middle of the lake.  Mike starts gearing up and I, again, have the realization that I am sans computer.  No deep dive for me.  But, better safe than sorry.

Our 2nd dive of the day should be easier to find, as it's off one of the islands in the lake, pretty shallow.  We surface interval on the way to the site.  Here would be where a dive operation would hand out snacks and such.  I didn't plan that well.  We get the boat anchored and are ready for the next dive.  There is supposedly a wreck somewhere in the vicinity.  We jump in and start exploring the area, looking for a lead about 15 feet that will take us to the boat.  We do a lazy pattern not really looking too hard for the lead.  Straight lines catch my eye underwater.  Figures, since you don't find them in nature.  I had found the lead.  We followed it down, max depth 71 this time.  The thermocline was shockingly chilly.  I was glad for my layers.  The wreck was not one that could be penetrated, so it was mostly surface exploration.  Still, a fun dive.  On the way back to the boat, we explored the shallow drop off and saw lots of fish.

All in all, a very good trip.  As a Rescue Diver, I learned that a quick equipment check before the boat shoves off is a good habit to get into.

Divorce

I don't need saving.

I opened this from 9/24/14, not sure what I would read.  I couldn't remember what I had written about such a life event.  My friend was curious about what I had stuffed away in such a draft.  When I opened the entry and all we found was one single sentence, we both were reduced to laughter.  That about sums it up, I think.

So, yea.  My name's Jen Hale and I am divorced.  And, I don't need saving.

Favorite local dive site: Lake Tenkiller

I imagine going through my Divemaster program is going to be a long, difficult process, as it should be.  I have been pipe dreaming scuba into a career, and wondered if I would get the chance to dive for pleasure once I'm a professional.  I may just be putting the cart in front of the horse, since I just started Divemaster.  I sometimes wonder if my prestigious dive instructors ever want to just go diving for the fun of it.  No students, no check out dives, just diving for the joy it brings.  I am going to try to steal them away every chance I get.

Not too long ago, I was able to accompany the Scubabros to a local lake, just for fun.  Lake Tenkiller, located about 2 1/2 hours east of Oklahoma City, is a great place to dive.  We planned a day trip, there and back.  Starting the trip off, we loaded the truck with all the essentials, tanks, weights, dive bags, dive flag, and O2 kit; we were ready to roll.

I always get nervous/excited before diving and can never eat a meal prior.  This day was no different.  But, once we got a few hours down the road, and my tummy was growling.  A pit stop, luckily, was in my future.  I go for a gas station breakfast and favorite dive snack: Snickers.  For some reason, it never upsets my stomach while I'm diving, like lots of other foods.  Fueled, we hit the road again.  We start to discuss plans for the dives.  Dive 1: Mike, Zach, and I are going to lead the other divers to one of the wrecks, then head over the ledge for a deep dive.  I am trying to break my personal record of 95 feet.  Dive 2: As simple as getting in the water and seeing what we feel like.

The day is sunny, warm, and muggy.  The Oklahoma summer promises to be a scorcher, but for now, it's pretty pleasant.  The state park for Lake Tenkiller has a dedicated scuba park.  We have the ramp and wrecks to ourselves, without having to worry too much about boat traffic overhead.  We start donning our gear an Mike calls over, "Want to do your Divemaster deep dive?"  It feels like my face pales.  "What?" My internal monologue gulps.  He reads off the objectives from the slate.  "We are going to drop the group off at the bus, navigate down deep, and you get us back to the ramp, with a safety stop with no reference."  "OK", I say, trying to sound more confident than I feel.  Navigation has still been something that has eluded me.  But, only practice makes perfect.  And I am up for the challenge.  

We finish gearing up, do our buddy checks, and are off.  The first wreck we encounter is a boat, about 20 feet of of the ramp.  We need to turn south at about 210° to get to the bus.  One our way there, I am counting kick cycles, so I can navigate back to the ramp later.  Once at the bus, Mike signals to Zach that I am driving.  I get my bearings and set my compass (upside down, so Mike has to move the bezel...doh!) and we descend over the ledge.  At about 100 feet, my lips start to go numb from the cold, and I start breathing like a train.  Inoutinoutinoutinout.  At 106, I'm trying to see my computer, compass, grab my flashlight, and put air in my BC.  I manage to only grab Mike's arm out of all those options.  He signals a hover and I recover.  I turn around to touch Zach to make sure he is still there.  Even though I can see both of their lights.  Calming down..... I do a little fist pump, celebrating a new personal record!

I set my compass correctly and start to ascend.  I can see the sunlight returning.  Whew.  We come back over the ledge and head west back to shore.  Every few feet, I'm looking down my belly to see that they are both still behind me.  Yup.  I'm sure that I am close to the ramp and about 12 feet, I feel my fin catch on something.  Zach's got it.  I turn around and he signals "safety stop".  Well, crap.  I was going to find the end of the ramp and do it there, but I've already gone past. I turn around and we sit in the 15 foot range for our 3 minute stop.  Zach pulls out his back up mask and switches it to see the difference.  It's a tinted one, where you can't see the divers eyes.  He hands it to me and I switch.  The tint is blue, but the visibility is less.  I gently shake my head.  Not the mask for me. 

A few kicks back to the north, and I see the end of the ramp, I turn, all Vanna White, like Tadaaaaaaaaaa, I did it!  Here's the ramp.  A successful navigation, but a failed safety stop.  We surface or our interval and regroup.  We want to see the north side of the scuba park.

As we plan the dive, we decide that we will go as a group. There are 4 buddy pairs. How will we stay together, I wonder... Delta formation. Zach and Mike at the head, one pair follow Zach, one pair follow Mike, and my buddy and I follow the 2 pair, diamond shape. It goes really well, surprisingly.  One a few hiccups where I lose sight of the diver in front of me, once when I turn to my buddy for an air check.  I whip out my Orca dive knife and bang on my tank to signal. I hear an answer and follow the sound. We reconnect with the group and continue.  We are really hauling on this dive, and my air is steadily racing towards empty.  At whatever predetermined spot, we turn around and take the reciprocal heading back to the ramp.  A swimming safety stop this time and I surface with 500 psi. Good dive!

What I love about Lake Tenkiller is that it has a dedicated scuba park. Plenty of wrecks to explore, navigation challenges, deep dives, and loads of fish to find.  Every time I visit, there is a new dive that awaits me. Soon, I will have to really take the island challenge, which consists of a long snorkel across the channel. Nothing my Divemaster training hasn't prepared me for
                                                   .

Fit for Scuba?

This article was inspired by Stevie Armstrong, my Divemaster.

When I started diving, almost a year ago, I was a heavy girl.  I tipped the scales at 220 and was pretty out of shape.  Sure, I tried that running program that gets you off the couch.  And I can be good at diets for about a week or so at a time.  But, nothing has been as constant as scuba.

Just putting on equipment is a workout when you are out of shape.  Hauling that same equipment to the shore, or edge of the pool seems like a feat for Hercules.  Once in the water, though, the gear becomes almost weightless.  Your movement gets slower and more fluid.  You're now really only working your legs, as an amateur.  This is just after my Open Water certification.

Going through the Advanced certification did not seem to tax me any extra.  My buddy would lift the tank for me to strap into, I would use a steady surface to put on my fins, and once in the water, the only thing that plagued me was calf cramps.  And boy, were they bad!  While developing my open water skills, I learned that core muscles helped keep you in the right position, and they should be working during your dives.  Here's the end of Advanced.

Rescue class was rude awakening to what is really required, physically, from a diver.  Getting my divemaster, who is a petite young lady, out of the pool nearly had me on the victim end of the spectrum.  Having to tread/swim and get my instructor out of his gear, as well as my own, had me winded for a while after the end off the exercise.  This was about the time I noticed a change in my physique.  My clothes had started to fit a little loosely.  I was less hot and sweaty in air conditioned environments.  This is right before Rescue certification.

If Rescue was a rude awakening, Divemaster has been a 5 alarm fire, so far.  The physical tests have been intimidating for me, being so out of shape.  Since Rescue, I have been lifting, core building, and working on the elliptical.  Admittedly, not religiously, but preparing equipment for class, loading and unloading the truck, and lifting tanks for students on a semi regular basis has replaced much of my at home workouts.

I earned that 21 of 25 points, but that makes me a "B" student.  All in all, an impressive score, all things considered.  I would like to keep training and, at the end of Divemaster, time myself on those skills again.  I would be interested to see if I am able to do better on the free swim, which I earned a 3 on, the snorkel (4), and tow (4). My never ending quest for perfection.

Diving has toned my muscles, and helped shed some pounds.  I am now only 15 pounds from the "ideal" weight all those charts seem to indicate I should be at, for my height and weight.  Now, only 95's make me wince when I lift them. What's really important to me is that I feel comfortable in my own skin.  Being around my dive crew sure would give me a complex, since they are very fit and athletic, but I am my own seashell.  I am who I am and I only change because I want to.  My most recent photo from this weekend:

And just for fun:

Dive Nite #3 "Bring it"

All week long, I've only had one thing on my mind.  Equipment exchange.  Thursday arrives post haste and I'm walking through the steps in my head constantly.  I think ahead and add 4 more pounds to my belt, so I don't float away.  I'm asked, "Are you ready or do you want to swim around first?"  Now, please.  I'm a rip the band-aid off kinda girl.  Do the hard stuff first, and the easy stuff last.  

On the bottom, I give the signal for buddy breathing.  We're going off my regulator.  I'm going to take my jacket off first.  Breath, bc clips, breath, bc cummerbund, breath, left arm through bc then swing it around me, breath.  I'm out of my jacket.  Jesse starts his removal.  Then he starts floating up.  Uh oh.  He's wearing a Classic, so as I swing it around me, I'm searching for the clips to button it down.  It's like a frantic hokey-pokey.  Right arm in, left arm out, crap, where's the air?  Turn about.  Too late, I realize, we have reached the surface.  Oops.  In that run through, I even experienced breathing off my reg upside down.  Not something I would like to do on a regular basis.  It was a wet and sloppy breath in the middle of that exercise.  

I need to do something else for a bit before I try again.  To earn a score of 5, I need to have everything buckled in and have a swim around while buddy breathing before the ascent.  And it needs to look good, not frantic.  Let's practice some open water skills.  I am going to be graded on them soon.  Reg recovery 1 & 2, mask clearing 1 & 2, oral hover, reg free flow, and equipment removal.  It's not important that I can do the skills, it's important that I can show the skills.  Slow and exaggerated.  It takes some practice.  

Next, I'm going to do some skin diving/equipment removal.  At the bottom, take off my bc, snorkel to the surface, skin dive around, dive back down to my bc and put it back on.  During one of my surface swims, I notice Logan and Richard floating around.  I skin dive down behind Richard and slowly turn his air off.  Logan can see me and I signal to him that I'm turning his tank off, so he's ready to share air with Richard.  I have never been able to do this without them feeling me turning the tank off.  Again, practice.

I dive back down to my equipment and put it back on.  But this time, I close my eyes.  First dive night, Zach had me put my gear on blindfolded.  Time to use that trick.  I spend a few minutes clipping and un-clipping my bc until is becomes easier.  If I don't have to look at my jacket to fasten it, it will not be as hard when I'm buddy breathing.  OK.  Jesse is in close proximity and I bring out my slate.  "Can we try again?" I ask.  Nod.  "Share air" I signal.

His bc comes off, and he keeps hold of it so he doesn't float up.  Mine comes off, we exchange jackets.  I swing the Classic around and Jesse is in charge of the reg.  He has it, holds it for me, so all I have to do is clear it, take my breaths, then spit it out, nod when I need it again.  That way we have more hands free for the tasks.  I'm laying flat on the jacket on the bottom of the pool, keeping Jesse from floating up, clipping into the Classic, and buddy breathing.  I have a surreal moment when I know I've got it this time.  I'm blowing my slow bubbles while he's got the regulator, trying to find those clips.  Got them.  I signal for a swim around.  We Padi handshake to the surface to the sound of thunderous applause.  (In my head)  YES!!!!  I just want to do a little dance, so I do.  Shake shake shake!  

Big shout of to Jesse who helped me earn a 5 on this skill!  So far, I have a score of 13.  5 on the equipment exchange and float test, 3 on the open swim.  I still have the snorkel test left.  Woo!

When Mike asked, "Ready to do that at a moments notice?" my response after a small pause...  Bring it.

Dive Nite #2

Kristen was in town from Indiana for Sarah's wedding last weekend.  I invited her to dive night, naturally.  I was given the opportunity to do a "Try Dive" with her.  A mini DSD (Discover Scuba Diving).  Since I'm not a Divemaster, I'm not allowed to train those, yet.  The objective was to give her enough knowledge to work the equipment for a short pool dive.  

Stevie was kind enough to lend me her slates so I could go through the skills.  This was the best opportunity to practice my own skills when presenting to students.  Soon, I will be graded on my ability to show these skills for Divemaster.  Having my best friend be my first student was comforting, since I knew it was OK if I screwed up something and had to start over.  Less pressure.  

We started on the surface with explaining the skills.  Regulator clearing, mask clearing, reg recovery, and ear equalization.  She did beautifully!  If I do say so myself.

All in all, I think it went well.  Big Scuba smiles all around!  

Equipment Exchange Plan

This is going to be a very dry entry.  I just needed a place to set this up so I can practice the process.

1. Buddy breathe off my reg
2. Unclip top and bottom bc
3. Bb
4. Unvelcro bc
5. Bb
6. Left arm
7. Right arm
8. Lay down bc
9. Bb
10. Repeat 2-8 for buddy
11. Left arm through buddy's bc
12. Bb
13. Right arm through bc
14. Bb
15. Secure straps
16. Bb
17. Buddy dons my bc
18. Bb
19. Swim around
20. Bb

Baby steps

Buddy breathing:  Something I thought I would have a mental block with.  I guess this is not the case. I just needed to be taught, shown, and practice.

Since last weekend, buddy breathing has not been far from my thoughts.  I walk around the house thinking about having the reg in my mouth for 2 breaths, then pass and make small bubbles in my imagination. If I could get in the water and practice,  I think I can get it.

One of the instructors, Jesse, pulled me aside at dive night and said, "I read your blog and think I can help". *Gulp* We break this skill down into it's smallest parts. Can I do a full mask clear? Yes. Can I remove and replace your fins? Yes. Can I remove and replace my BC? Yes. Well, the only thing left is the reg. Let's go down and only buddy breathe.  Ok!

We get to the bottom of the pool and use my reg. 2 breaths, pass, bubbles.  I'm struggling with my buoyancy. Even with 10 lbs.  Then, I remember, I'm using an aluminum 80 and that makes me lighter than the steel tanks. At first, I have a death grip on Jesse's arm. I will not bolt, I will not bolt, I will not bolt.  My breaths come frantic at first. After a few rounds, however, I settle into a rhythm.  

On land, I have been practicing without the reg for 20 seconds, then 2 breaths. It was only taking 10-12, making me feel much better about the whole exercise. 

By the time we surface,  I'm elated. buddy breathing mental block, history.  I just need to practice the skill before testing to make sure I can put all the pieces together.

Side note: I practiced the 800 meter snorkel and did it in 15 mins.  I think I can shave some time off and get a score of 4. 

Divemaster: Chapter 2

I have been dreading the swim test since shearing about it for divemaster.  The tests are rated from 1-5, 5 being the best.  I took the first 2 tests this weekend.  Complete five water-skills exercises, earning a combined exercise score of at least 15. 

1 - Swim 400 meters nonstop, without swimming aids and using any stroke or combination of strokes.
under 6:30 min = 5
6:30 to 8:40 min = 4
8:40 to 11 min = 3
11 to 13 min = 2
more than 13 min = 1
stopped = incomplete

2 - Tread water, drown-proof, bob, or float using no aids and wearing only a swimsuit for 15 minutes, with hands (not arms) out of the water during the last two minutes.
Performed satisfactorily = 5
Stayed afloat, but hands not out of water the entire two minutes = 3
Used side/bottom for momentary support no more than twice = 1
Used side/bottom for support more than twice = incomplete

On 1, I got 9:20, so a score of 3.  That was a struggle.  I have always thought of myself as a strong swimmer.  I got a reality check on Sunday.  I started out strong, but petered out after a few laps.  I had to flip over on my back and kept going.  The point is, I kept going.  My Divemaster buddy was timing me, making it a better experience.  Many more spectators and I might not have surfaced after my performance.  

On to the float test.  This one, I have in the bag.  As I laid relaxing, floating in the pool, I reflected on my swim.  If I can shave 40 seconds off my time, I could have a 4.  The last 2 minutes, not only did I have my hands out of the water, but I was dancing to Miley's, "We Can't Stop".  It was a good performance, and I earned a 5.  

The third test:  In confined water, demonstrate the ability to effectively respond to an unusual circumstance underwater by exchanging all scuba equipment (except exposure suits and weights) with a buddy while sharing a single regulator second stage.  Now, I have never buddy breathed before.  I thought I would be able to achieve this, since I can remove my equipment, surface, and free dive back down to redress.  A fellow DITz and I planned out the exercise.  I would remove my equipment first, both using my reg, then he would remove his.  We descended and started the exercise.  2 breaths and we pass.  After the first exchange, I got completely fixated on the regulator.  He's got it, gotta take off my gear.  Mine.  The first breath exploded out of my mouth and I gulped down air.  I took another giant breath and handed it back.  Blowing a steady stream of bubbles, I finish removing my BC.  My lungs burn, and I all I can see is the reg in his mouth.  The next time I had the reg in my mouth, all I could do was huff and puff.  I gave it back and shook my head.  This was too much for me.  I bolted for the surface. 

I have never been so disappointed in myself.  The burn of shame stung my eyes.  Good thing I was in the pool and no one could really see.  Though, I'm sure my face was red, a tell for me.  My fellow DITz and Mike surface, since I didn't come back down.  Concern written on their faces.  You ok?  Was I?  Nothing wrong with me.  I wasn't going to drown.  I was in 8 feet of water.  I said something and they continued with the exercise, my fellow DITz working with Mike.  

Guess that earns me a 1. Inability to complete the exchange; or exchange completed with one or both divers surfacing more than once.  I had to swim it off.  A 1/2 lap down and back.  I'm composed and dive back down to my gear.  I watch the last half of the exercise, taking my reg out each time my fellow DITz does, for practice.  My lungs feel like exploding each time I am without my regulator.  At least I get to try that one again.

At the end of the divemaster morning, Open Water class is to begin.  The DITz are asked to help one particular student with mask clearing.  We Ro-shambo, Rock/paper/scissor, for the task.  I win on the second go.  He's tasked with helping the Open Water class and I take the one off student.  Helping overcome a fear.  Gimme.   

We start with a tool around the pool, trying to get him to relax.  He's sprinting with fins and I signal a slow down.  We do a few laps and end in the shallows.  A full mask clear is his mental block.  We started with a partial clear.  I demonstrate first, then ask for him to show.  Done.  On to full clear.  Me first.  Now him.  He bolts for the surface.  He's sucking water through his nose.  So, it's the water on his face.  Let's try something else.  Hold your nose, reg in, lets sit on the bottom for a while.  Nope.  Next, try holding your nose, reg in, face in the water.  Nope.  I'm running out of ideas.  We are fixating on the problem.  Let's take another lap around the pool.  I lead him around.  Back in the shallows, he taps me and does a full mask clear.  NICE!  He then tries the mask removal, water up his nose, bolts for the surface.  We are in 4 feet of water, so it's not a concern.  I was not able to help him overcome his mental block.  He's done for the day.

The last part of Open Water class is a dive the students plan and DITz are going to present a problem, i.e. remove your mask, unstrap your tank, etc.  After the first few trips, they quickly figured out that they need to watch their buddy pretty close.  Good habit.

The afternoon brought a rescue class.  Only a tiny hiccup in my performance.  I forgot to raise my air 2 in the demonstration of an out of air scenario.  As you can see, I am not a first performance kind of person.  I will get in in the 2nd try.  There was a scuba smile when I was demonstrating the disorientation scenario.  Mike spun me around underwater and I had to find the line and stop spinning. 

All in all, a very good day of diving, if only in the pool.  I have an even greater respect for the Scubabros to be able to do this every day.  Lots of hours in the water.

Lake Murray May 2014

Plan your dive and dive your Plan.  That's the rule.  Well, I had a random Monday off work coming up and asked the Scubabros if they could be stolen away for a day trip.  They had never dove Lake Murray, which is about 1 1/2 hours south of the city.  I had them pencil me in on their calendar.  Now, prep work.

If you are planning a dive trip, first you need transportation.  If there are 5 divers, we could load up 2 cars and convoy down, so the guys could ride.  That plan was scrapped when we added our 6th diver.  The truck would need to be loaded up.  Ok, I will fill up the gas tank, then.

What kind of dives could you do in a certain time period?  Get your dive tables out.  I figured we could do 3 dives from 10:00 AM to 3 PM with surface intervals.  I send that over for confirmation.  We cut it to 2 dives, to eliminate 6 tanks.  On to Scuba Snacks.

The scuba snacks were sponsored by the letter "P".  Pineapple, peanuts, pistachios, pinwheels, probably beer, and aPPles.  Close enough.  What I didn't bring was water.  Can't believe I forgot that.  Oh well.  Still chasing perfection.  All prepped and ready to go.

The day dawns cold and rainy.  My kind of dive weather.  No kidding, I've had lots of my dive class and dive nights in the rain last year.  I have to change into my long sleeves and jeans, out of my shorts and tank top.  We meet at the shop and load up.

The directions are pretty straight forward.  South until highway 77, then west down 77S around the south side of the lake to the marina.  I'm using a map most of the way, but GPS when available in BFE.  The ride is pretty quick.  Lots of thanks to Mike for driving.

Time to gear up and dive!  The temperature is warm and humid.  Heavy-about-to-rain humid. In the dive plan, I set it for 70 feet, since that was the max depth on the website.  When we arrived, there were signs that said the water level was low.  Uh oh.  We start out with a 4 person group.  Just to explore the area.  We head northwest away from shore and dive a square like shape.  Logan and I are the rear guard.  I keep Mike's fin tips in sight.  As we get "deeper" in the channel, the silt creeps up from the bottom.  Max depth for me was 53 feet.  The water looks like it has brown smoke in it.  The haze is different than what I have seen before.  Lake Tenkiller is a green haze from the algae.  The Training Lake is gritty from the dirt.  This was fine sand.  If you were to stick your hand down in it, your arms would sink a about a foot or so.  Logan and I kept seeing small sun perch.  They were super friendly.  I got close to one and gave it a gentle poke.  Then laughed through my reg.  Another fish and another poke.  I got up to 5 fish pokes.  New game.

Out for our surface interval.  And scuba snacks.  Pre-dive, I never want to have anything to eat.  I get heartburn.  Post-dive, I'm too junked up on adrenaline to be hungry.  My buddies, though lay siege to the snacks.  And then, the rain comes.  Heavy, fat, pelting rain drops.  The temperature drops, too.  I'm more accustomed to being hot in my wetsuit, and I was cold.  I even put my hood back on.  We shivered for the right amount of surface interval.  Back in.  But, this time, Logan and I will be on our own.  This will be the first dive I lead.  Nervous!  In the plan, I say we are going to do a square with 10 minute legs.  Me and the square have not gotten along since the beginning of this scuba adventure.  Today, I will conquer the square.  Mike chimes in, "I'll be watching from here.  Straight lines!"  No pressure.

We get in the water and start our first leg.  Almost straight north.  I keep an eye on my watch and about the 10 minute mark, I stop and signal the first turn.  Then, I look at my dive computer, and only 4 minutes have passed.  Whoops.  Let's keep going almost north and watch the dive computer instead of my watch.  First turn goes without a hitch.  We don't get any more fish pokes in.  But, we do find a Coors Light can.  Haha!  Logan hands it over and I carry it a while.  The second turn goes OK, too.  We are going roughly south, back towards the shore and the start point.  The bottom of the lake is very hilly.  Up and downs.  This up seems very sandy... And, there's the surface.  GO BACK!  GO BACK!!  We get back down and I have to reassess.  Natural navigation is coming into play.  There was not a perfect square to dive in this channel.  Ok.  I have to stop and figure out which leg I'm on, and how to get back to the start.  Really, we can just follow the incline west 10 minutes to the start.  I'm afraid I didn't give my buddy confidence in me.  I had to really stop and signal that I had to think about the next move.  We start back up, find 3 more Coors Light cans, one with really cool zebra mussels on it.

While we didn't find the motorcycle we set out for on the first leg, we did find a tire on a pole.  We surface, after our safety stop, in which I get to pop my dive wiener (safety sausage, surface marker buoy, whatever) 20 feet west of the entry point.  Close enough!  A 44 minute dive.  Not bad.  

P.S.  I will mention that it was very reassuring that Logan was always in the same spot.  On my right hip.  I only had to tip my arm up and there he was.  I usually like to be the buddy on the back, so I can see my buddy, but this was great.  Good habit!

Divemaster: Chapter 1

My first full weekend of Jr DITz (Divemaster in Training).  Saturday, I helped get students suited up, watched them put their gear together (this being much easier since dive night the Thursday prior, see the Dive Nite! entry) and helped them in the water.  My divemaster (and dive buddy) had a refresher student, so they were one on one in another part of the pool.  I helped adjust weights and even switched out a tank and refilled it.  Then, off to the lake for the afternoon.

My new dive buddy, Logan, came out, too.  He's trying to rack up some open water dives for advanced class.  Another ride in the Scubabros truck (Excite!)  It's the little things that really make me happy.  Even though I would have been perfectly fine driving, I feel like we keep Mike company while he drives out to the training site.

The lake has flooded.  The water is about 5' higher than normal, according to Mike.  The buoys are absent and there is debris across the property.  Yikes!  Mike jumps in to lift the buoys and when he comes back, says the vis is pretty bad.  Like 6"-1'.  When I had my open water check out dives, it was similar situation, but not quite the same.  The water is very stirred up, not just algae, but the silt makes the water cloudy.  Add the snakes that are swimming back and forth across the water and the day looks challenging.  No prob, I'm up for it.  There are 2 smaller snakes and 1 really BIG one.  Mike swears it has red eyes.  RED EYES!!

We have one student finishing his open water dives, and one starting.  The student finishing is in with his dad and I'm assigned as his buddy.  We are to descend, find the "T" on the platform and hang out.  We start our descent with the "Padi handshake", which is right hands clasping forearms.  I can't even see my buddy's face in the water.  Uh oh.  We practically land on the pole and I try to get him to hold on the the rail.  We can't even see the instruments.  I try to make our way down to the platform, and I start to hear Mike's jingle bell.  It's the new tool for divers, instead of using your knife to bang on your tank, you jingle this bell to get someone's attention.  I listen for a moment to try and judge where the sound is coming from.  Sound moves weird in water.  I try to maneuver to the sound and get tangled in my dive buddy and the rail.  I whip out my knife to bang on my tank, successfully get that done, and am about to sheathe it, when my buddy starts grabbing for my hands!  I am wearing gloves, so I can handle my knife safely.  Covering the entire blade with both hands, I direct him to grab my elbow.  Whew.  I would hate to have to surface and treat a wound caused by my equipment.

About the time I figure out we are not going to find Mike in this and am about to abort the dive, my buddy turns on his light, aims it at his compass and starts swimming in.  I connect with his jacket and monitor the trajectory from below him.  I can see the pole, and that he is going in a straight line back to shore.  This one won't go in the logbook, as a mere 11 minutes have passed.  The student passes and they are done for the day.  Next student is a one on one, so no Jr DITz help is needed.  Logan and I are going to get in a dive.  And this is a task in the divemaster class, 2 birds with 1 stone.

I absolutely do not want to interfere with someone getting certified, so our dive plan was to follow the pole, go around the platform and hang out at the bubbler.  I always go left at a fork in the road.  Apparently, Logan always goes right.  We lose each other almost immediately.  I spend a few minutes searching near the bubbler, try turning off my light to see if I can see his light, and circle the platform to try and find him.  No luck.  I surface to try and reconnect.  I can see Mike and his student's bubbles at the first buoy, they haven't even made it to the platform.  There is one rogue bubble stream close to where I am.  Looks like Logan is at the "T" again.  I descend again to try to reconnect, but just manage to circle the platform without ever finding him.  Later, we discuss the dive and determine that we were circling in the same direction each time, stopping roughly the same time.

Day 2

The morning starts off pretty much the same, except I am presented with Divemaster paperwork to fill out!  I am so excited, I can hardly stand still.  I do manage to complete the paperwork, and get squirted with an empty defog bottle filled with water in the process.  Hazards of Jr DITz.

At the lake, the plan is very complex.  We have a student finishing open water, 2 students finishing Rescue, and 1 starting open water.  The plan kept changing as the day morphed in to more complicated tasks.  Eventually, I am assigned buddy to one of the rescue divers during her search and recovery.  I'm to hold the reel while she searches from the pole.  Today, the vis is about 1'.  Better.  Lucky I mapped the lake last weekend when there was amazing visibility I know where I am without being able to see where I am.  We determine the amount of rope needed to search and tie a knot for her to feel.  I stay at the pole and we slowly cover the middle of the lake, going shallower.  In the last 2 passes, I know she's about the find the cone she's searching for, but on her return just before finding it, she hands me the reel with the rope in knots.  Not just little knots, either.  It looks like a bird's nest.  Crud.  I signal a, "hold on a moment" and start working the knot.

Knots are very logical things.  They make sense to my brain.  Like a puzzle.  It can only be untied one way.  I'm tugging and pulling, taking off one glove, and get it almost untied, but one knot that has tightened beyond my ability to release.  If I could only use my teeth, I could have it out in no time.  I decide against removing my reg and give her back the reel.  The knot is only making the total length short by an arms length, so I hang my arm over the pole to compensate.  Underwater problem solving: check.  She returns on the next leg and indicates she found the item.  We handshake to the surface and done!

Next up, Mike is the victim in the Non-responsive diver scenario.  I am the equipment ghost.  Meaning, when the student removes gear, it's not just dumped in the lake for recovery, they hand it to me and I swim alongside.  The first student is able to hand me all the equipment and passes the first go.  The second student, too.  This task was pretty exhausting.  On to the Open Water students.  The student finishing the course went before the rescue students, so all that's left is the day 1 open water student.  No DITz needed with that, so I'm off for my #34 dive.

Getting close to the required 40 to officially start Divemaster.  I'm determined to hang by the bubbler this time.  I go between the rail and the platform.  Reading my gauges is easier today.  The platform reads 20 ft., 17 ft on the rail.  Next time, I need to bring a small section of rope and just spend 20 minutes tying knots.

That marks the end of the working dive weekend.  We head back to the shop for some decompression.(See what I did there?)  A few beers and hanging out.  We end up jumping into the pool.  My Divemaster buddy gets thrown in, fully clothed.  (This is a regular thing)  When she gets out, I try and tell the new rescue diver that it's better to jump in voluntarily, or you get tumped in.  And then, I'm being picked up and tumped in.  I can honestly say, I have never been picked up and dropped in a pool.  I thought being plus sized would save me from that.  Dang strong scuba instructor.

We end the night with a good ole "chicken fighting".  3 out of 4 wins for me and Mike.  Woo!  Good weekend.

Dive Nite! Open Season 2014

It's officially open dive season.  I just attended the first dive night of 2014.  The water was a warm 70 something.  Really nice with my 3 mil.  But, I'm getting ahead of myself.

I got a curve ball thrown at me when setting up my gear.  Can you assemble your equipment blindfolded...?  Probably was my answer.  I went about getting ready to hop in, the water singing its siren song.

About to giant stride in, and I'm asked how the set up went.  You weren't kidding?  No, he wasn't.  All my equipment is disassembled and splayed out.  I'm thinking about my comment about having to closely watch new divers put their gear together, since it wasn't routine for me, yet, and still a process.  Isn't there some line about asking and receiving?  For a blindfold, we use my mask strap.  It's tight across my eyes, so I close them, anyway.  You know I wouldn't dream of cheating; I'd really like to know if I can do it.

I start with my tank.  Find the o-ring and stand it up with the ring facing away from me.  I have to fumble with my BCD to get it just right.  I get the strap around and cinched.  Good.  Where's the reg... I have to follow the hoses to the ends to figure out which side has the reg and which side the air 2/gauge.  Air 2 snapped on, 1st stage tightened up.  I hold my breath as I open the tank.  When nothing hisses out, I exhale; I've done it correctly so far.

I realize, as I'm putting all my gear in my pockets, that I have lots of pieces.  Slates, safety sausage (aka dive wiener), and a pocket mask all go in the BCD.  As I am adding the pocket mask, I hear my divemaster say, "She's doing really good," and the slippery bugger shoots down my BC.  I thought I would not be able to get it.  My hand falls on it and it squirts away.  Dang.  Finally, I wrangle that little demon into my pocket and I'm done.  I sit back on my haunches with my gear laid down, so it can't be tossed in the pool, awaiting critique.  "Your defog is between your fins". *facepalm*  Always chasing perfection.

End the night with a pic with Divemaster buddy and I.

Divemaster: Prologue

Jr Divemaster in Training, DITz for short, reporting for day 1.  This is going to be a long adventure for this certification, so I will write it like a book.  I'm 10 dives short of qualifying for the program, so I ask permission to tag along to the training lake.  Reporting in for the morning, I am assigned the helper of Zach's pool class.  This entails getting weight belts, equipment set, supervising the new students assembly of the equipment, and getting them in the pool.  I feel like I have to watch them closely, since it was only 9 months ago, I was in their fins, so to speak.  Getting it all together is not a habit for me, yet, but a process.  A methodical process.  When everyone is all in, I'm sent to the truck for departure.  And, can I just say, getting to ride in the Scubabros truck was pretty freaking cool!

At the dive site, I'm put in charge of shore operations for Mike's Open Water classes.  This frees my fellow actual DITz up to get in the water.  I'm charged with getting equipment down to the dock, greeting divers as they arrive, and general pre-dive instructions.  Two students on Open Water day 2.  Same M.O. for getting them in the water.  The one thing I hear about most is the failure of weight check prior to the surface swim out.  I look each student in the eye and say, "Make sure you do a weight check before you swim out."  Even though Mike has already said this.  Students in the water, I ask about weight check and get thumbs up.  OK!  They surface swim out and after being briefed on the skills being tested begin their descent.  And I do a mental fist pump.  Then one of them flounders back to the surface, fist pump too soon.  OK, she's sinking again.  I go and grab a few weights off the truck, just to have handy.  Nope; she starts her swim back and I get the 2 x 2 hand signal from Mike.  Nearly anticipated the request.  Weights in, she's back out.  Once they descend for real this time, I actually look around and notice my surroundings for the first time.

It's a beautiful Oklahoma spring day.  Warm with a steady cool wind.  Not a cloud in the sky.  I smell like sunscreen and I can almost imagine I'm on the beach.  Except there is a rooster crowing.  I'm sure there are roosters near the beach, but I don't normally associate them.  Plus the distinct lack of salt in the air.  I did say, "almost".

Once the first set of students pass their final skills, they are ready to get out.  I help haul the equipment back up to the truck and fellow DITz has already laid out the next student's gear. DITz downtime; time for my dives.  The objective for the first dive: Enjoy (and work on my square pattern).  Mike gives a briefing and headings for each stake that make the square.  Somehow, I am doing the square backwards from the directions given.  Me and squares don't really get along well at this point. I will detail the site in my 2nd dive.  I find the starting point for the square and set the heading for the second.  I am able to find it, no problem.  The water is quite clear, all things considered.  At the platform, I decide to take a swim through the bubbler, which is the aerator in the lake.  Arms out, fins crossed, bubbles in my face: SCUBA SMILE!  Later, while I'm chilling on the platform, I notice a lake perch near me.  It has a funny fin on the bottom.  I stay very still and wiggle my slate.  It comes a little closer, and I notice the funny fin is actually some molted snake skin that's tangled on it.  On a tiny scale, it reminded me of this video I saw recently.
I slowly reach out to the perch and grab the skin and am able to free it.  Then, the fish eats the skin.  Gross, but whatevs.  It then sticks around.  Swimming up to my slate, nibbling at the curly yellow plastic.  It swims right up to my mask and hovers there for several seconds.  I'm trying to breathe as quietly as possible, so I don't scare it off.  I'm even able to touch it with my finger!  Friendly little fella.  Once it's time to head in (the third point of the square found before the fish goof off session) I set the compass and end up at the last stake.  So a U shape.  I'm confident now I can do a square.  For the record, my first underwater square was acceptable.

I surface for a quick interval.  The water is pretty chilly, but my 3 mil is keeping me warm.  Just sitting in the shallow, waiting is a little cold.  I'm shivering a little.  I got a shout out saying I should look more excited.  I try for the arms up giant smile and it only comes across as sarcastic.  *facepalm*
I'm ready to get back in and my second assignment comes in.  Make a survey of the dive site.  What's there to see in what depth, etc.  Cool.  I'm going to follow the course of the square again, since I saw that the first time around.  Starting shallow, I find a cone, over to the dock some rocks and grasses.  Down the yellow pipe and a neat looking candy cane shaped pipe.  At the platform, another swim through the bubbler and a scuba smile.  I'm told just past the bubbler is tiki point. I have not seen that, yet.  All mapped out and ready to head back.  I feel pretty good about my map.  I've got compass headings, depth, and kick cycles.  Once I surface, I'm asked to hand in my work.  YDAGJ later and I'm giving the dive briefing for the newest arrivals.  O.o  Open Water day 1 students arrived while I was under.  I should have set up their equipment before my dives.  Hindsight.  As far as dive briefings go, that was the most boring one I have ever heard.  Even I'm dozing off.  I'm really freaking nervous.  These were the same students I helped into the pool earlier, I realize.  Once it's over and I get them in the water, I tell them to do a weight check and if they have to come back, they have to say, "I'm sorry divemaster in training, I didn't do a weight check and need more weight."  A giggle from the instructor and the real work begins.

Packing up a dive site is exhausting.  I'm loading all the used tanks and gear, gathering the weights and misc & sundry.  Up and down the little rocky hill.  Once I have all but the gear currently in the water, I let my hair down.  Literally.  Some leave in conditioner and air dry.  The sun has made it's way across the sky.  It's not low, but getting there.  I relax on the dock and enjoy the wind in my face, water on my toes, and sun on my skin.  Not a bad way to spend a Sunday.  Plus, when the divers surface, a comment is made about getting all the equipment packed up... Oh, it's already done. =)

P.S.  More sunscreen next time.

What's a scuba smile?

It occurs to me that I have not explained what exactly a scuba smile is to me.  In almost every dive, I throw out my arms wide, cross my ankles, toss my head back with my eyes closed and smile through my regulator.  It is my absolute favorite thing to do.  Even if it's in an 8 foot pool.  The best scuba smile is doing so through someone else's bubbles.

  

Advanced Diver 1-3 Sept 2013

My first Lake Tenkiller trip.  An entire scuba weekend.  I can hardly wait. I stayed up WAY too late Thursday night, I'm exhausted and fall right asleep Friday night; contrary to most nights before travel.

A thunderstorm wakes me 5 minutes before my alarm Saturday morning.  Not a bad way to wake.  I don't think I have mentioned that my scuba classes have mostly been in the rain.  It doesn't bother me that I will be diving in rain.  Going to get wet anyway.  Who cares?  Plus, looking at the surface while it's raining is pretty rad.  I'm loading up the car and grab a few extra items.  Cooler, first aid kit, and camp chairs.  You just never know, at the lake.  Time to head to the shop.  I volunteered to bring breakfast, so I stopped and got sausage biscuits and burritos.  Not very healthy fair, but stick to your ribs.  I'm glad about this later.

I'm the first to get to the shop.  I have this weird thing about being late.  Scuba time apparently runs a little slow. Our timing seems to work nicely.  As we drive to Tenkiller, about 2 1/2 hours from OKC, it starts to really pour.  I'm not talking like cats and dogs, I'm talking Noah's Ark.  At 40 mph, I can't see the end of my car.  I have to slow way down on the highway.  Once we hit the last leg of the trip, though, it starts to clear up, slightly, and I'm able to open the windows and loosen my death grip on the steering wheel.

We check into the little motel in Gore, Oklahoma and head for the water.  As it's raining steadily, again and no one wants to get out of their cars, where it's warm.  The equipment truck backs up to the scuba park and we start to unload.  Getting into my wet suit this time is easier, and I shave off a few minutes it usually takes to get into it.  Down to about 35 minutes now.

Our objective on dive 1 is to swim out to a buoy and descend on the line.  The water is a warm 77 degrees.  Warm to me, anyway.  We head down the line and it gets darker.  And darker.  I pull out my flashlight.  Darker.  Darker.  An eerie sight blooms out of the dark water.  Tree skeletons.  They are completely intact and look like they would in the winter.  Like a little warmth and light and they would spring back to life.  I feel a pressure on my head and get pinned between a tree and... Another diver.  Landed on again.

I make it all the way to 83 feet.  We have to perform a check to see how the depth is effecting our brains.  We are led to a rock wall and instructed to use hand signals to count to ten, then back down to 0.  Easy peasy.  I have a feeling that we are under an overhang and my breathing gets a little erratic.  Flashback to August when my assignment while the Scubabros were in Fiji was to watch a bunch of scuba movies.  Sanctum really stuck with me.  Cave diving is something that will come late in my scuba career.  We dive along the rock wall and Mike takes us right back to the start point.  I need to learn how to do that.

Next up is a wreck dive.  We descend and I get a chance to swim through the bus.  It's in pretty shallow water, so I am able to see through the wreck.  Still, I use my flashlight.  It feels like a light saber underwater, it's so bright.  Next up is the plane.  You enter through the side and exit out the top.  Deep breath to get positively buoyant and rise up out of the wreck. I might have misjudged the space and banged my tank on the side.  Whoops.  Last, we head to the helicopter.  You have to enter through the ramp in the back and exit the side.  All done for the day.  Here's another video that will give you an idea.  Again, not me, but divers!


No one parties like scuba divers.  One of our mantras:  
Surprisingly, I am able to function in the morning.  Hooray!  The day has dawned crisp and clear.  First up, a recreational dive with my divemaster buddy, Stevie. We are going to the solo boat and try a square.  I feel pretty nervous about this square.  I even borrowed a compass from the shop and practiced.  Imagine, in the evening, I'm across the street at the school playground walking squares.  I can get pretty close on land.  As we gear up for the dive, a diver who is visiting the lake asks to tag along, since she doesn't have a buddy.  It's Stevie's call, since she's the ranking DM.  The three of us head into the water.  The vis is pretty limited.   We start at the boat and I set my heading.  I've determined we will count kick cycles and use the same for each leg of the square.  20 on each should give me enough room.  I start out and make the first turn no problem.  When working with a compass and a square, you have to turn the bezel opposite of the way you are turning.  Think about the steering wheel of a car on a left hand turn.  Instead of turning the way you want to go, you turn opposite.  Needless to say, at the 3rd turn, I was confused as to which way to turn.  There were no landmarks, just murky green water.  I have to stop and ask directions.  Lucky Stevie was there to assist.  We got the third turn and about the time I am ready to give up, the boat materializes from the gloom.  I did it.  Yay!  I write my name in the algae on the boat in celebration.

My last dive of the day is the actual nav dive with Mike.  I'm instructed to count kick cycles down a predetermined length of rope, make my first turn, take the same number of kick cycles to the 2nd turn, then use natural navigation to make my way back to the start point.  I make the first leg, no problem.  Just following a line.  The second leg gets a little hairy when I run out of room.  I'm up on the boat ramp before my kick cycles run out.  Crap.  I make the turn and go a little deeper, trying to find my way back.  I basically made a funky lopsided square.  But, making it back to the start is the point of the exercise.

I finish the day soaking up the sun and chatting with my fellow divers.  Not a bad way to spend a weekend!

Key West, October 2013

Our vacation to Key West, Florida was a fluke accident.  One I hope happens every year.  We booked a trip with my sister-in-law to Washington D.C.  Then, the government shut down.  We decided to go to the beach instead of our originally planned vacation.  Best. Decision. Ever. 

I started with a shop called Dive Key West.  I did not have a buddy, but had called ahead to make sure that could be accommodated.  I was put in a group with a couple from Germany and was buddied with a Divemaster.  At this point in my diving adventure, I have been landed on every dive.  This dive was no exception.  We explored an area called the Haystacks.  The coral formation looked exactly like a haystack, hence the name.  There was lots of fish to look at, and even my personal favorite, barracuda.  

The second dive that day was in The Cut.  Named because the reef cut back and forth like fingers in the sand.  This dive was incredibly shallow, at 20 feet, and there was lots of surge.  I  saw my first nurse shark while scubaing, and played fisticuffs with a lobster.  Add a few barracuda and it wraps up as a nice dive.

I hooked up with a different shop for the remainder of my dives: Southpoint Divers.  I was very impressed my them.  Our first dive of the day was the Vandenburg.  I will tell you right now, this has been my favorite dive to date.  FAVORITE.  Because of that, I am going to go into minuscule detail.  

Preface:  My instructor has always been an advocate of wearing a snorkel at all times.  I have picked up this habit.  Never know when you are going to need it.  

I head to the shop pretty early in the morning.  I'm the first one there.  Shocker, I know.  I enjoy the beautiful morning sunrise, studying my Advanced book.  When the shop opens, I get my boarding pass and head to the dock.  It's a little boat ride to the dive site.  

As I'm suiting up, I'm about to giant stride into the water and one of the divemasters says, "Hey, let me take your snorkel, it will whip around in the current."  I am reticent to give it up, again, never know when you might need it.  I just reply, "It's ok, I can manage."  To which he says, "Really, I promise, you won't want it."  Alright, I give it up.  I jump in and quickly grab the trail line.  This current is STRONG!  3 knots, I find out later.  The water is also pretty choppy.  Everyone's in the water but 1 person.  He's monkying with some equipment or another.  The rest of us are struggling with the current and equipment.  We have to put our regs in at the surface.  I call up to the divemaster, "Really wish I had my snorkel!" We all had a good chuckle.  Finally all in.  We descend to the traverse line to get to the bow of the boat.  The water is clear, but deep.  It just turns to darker and darker blue.  I can see lines of bubbles streaming from different points.  We then use the mooring line to pull ourselves hand over hand down to the wreck.  Slowly, the hull creeps into view

Not my exact view, but pretty close.  There was a moment of truth where we had to let go and descend rapidly into the ship without getting caught in the current and swept away.  Exhilarating!  Inside the ship, I see a lion fish taking a nap and a cucumber on the ceiling.  We can only spend a little while at this depth (max 95 ft), so we make our way back outside.  The most enormous barracuda is chilling just out of reach.  Awesome.  My diving spirit fish makes an appearance.  Here is a cool Youtube video from Southpoint Divers.  

The next day, dives are back to the reef.  We first dive Sand Key.  Easy 30 ft depth, mild current.  On the ride out, I saw a flying fish and a turtle from the surface.  As I am looking back in my logs, I am noticing my air consumption is pretty good.  Those 2 Vandenberg dives only used 1/2 the tank.  This one was excellent.  My whole group ran out, so I surfaced with them.  This is where I got my first non-Scubabros diving compliment.  How long had I been diving?  You have great buoyancy.  I gushed.  Even sent the compliment back to my instructor.

Last Florida dive:  Rock Key.  This is where the barracuda becomes my favorite.  The divemaster had a pool toy, a torpedo.  He pulled it out and started playing with it.  When he tossed it, it would go up, then shoot fast in some direction to the bottom.  The barracuda love this toy.  They chase it.  The DM tossed the toy and it headed straight for me.  It shoots a little past me and as I turn, there is a barracuda not 5 inches from me.  Cool!!
There is a resident sting ray here named Stubby.  Can you guess why?  Yep, no tail.  I caught a glimpse of him, lucky me.  There was another woman in my group that tried to bolt for the surface on this dive.  I held on to her jacket and let all my air out.  I was able to calm her down.  That was a very good feeling, a little scary, but good.  She had to hold my hand the rest of the dive.  

All in all, this was a magical trip.  I will be going back.

Lake Tenkiller April 2014

First lake trip of the season.   This one is going to be a long entry, so you're aware. I'm packed with my almost full equipment set.  First time I get to use my BC.  The Pilot has been my favorite jacket to wear while diving.  It is a wrap around style rather than the Classic, which is a vest style, and popular with my dive team.  The pockets are pretty roomy and it's just so comfy.  Here's a stock photo.

I am also sporting my very own wrist computer, the XP10.  This is the same one I used last year in Key West and Cozumel.  I am familiar with it and comfortable using it.

Enough about equipment and on to the diving.  The day dawned cool and quiet.  The water was calm and blue, a color which is unusual in Oklahoma.  Our dirt is red, so is our water.  This early in the season, there is nothing growing yet to color the water.  The truck is being unloaded with rental gear.  Wet suits, BCs, tanks, weights, you name it.  I am renting an extra 3 mil suit to go on top of my own 3 mil.  6 mil total to combat the chilly water.  I had enough sense prior to this trip to pick up a heavier hood and gloves.  

Imagine, if you can, the first time I tried on a wet suit.  It was pretty comical.  I am in no way a bikini ready individual, and in the hot Oklahoma sun, you start to get pretty moist just sitting around.  It took me about 30 minutes to get in that suit.  It took me about that long each time I put it on.  I researched tricks online, much to the consternation of my instructor.  "Just put it on, Jen", he would say.  I will say that the baby shampoo made my skin slick enough to slide right into the suit, while turning it inside out and rolling it up didn't really make a difference.  Fast forward back to Tenkiller, and my suit, which is now broken in quite nicely slips right on.  Now, the trick is to get another suit on top of that one.  I had a parallel to a Christmas Story when all zipped and tucked.  Time to get in the water.

 

My dive buddy and I plan our first dive.  This is the first time I have ever planned a dive myself, without the supervision of my instructor.  My current depth record is 95'.  I would like to give that a run for its money.  We plan to go to the bottom of the lake.  124'.  That gives me a little jolt of adrenaline.  I check the dive tables to see how long we can stay at that depth and plan to come up to the wrecks on site to finish out our tanks.  We get all our gear on, head to the water, and wade in.  My boots are the first to leak water in, but I'm so hot with all this on, it's pretty nice.  Instructor Mike has a group he's taking out to the wrecks, then over the edge to about 70' and we get swept up in the group instead of our planned dive.  I enjoy diving with Mike, so I don't care where we go.  Time to descend.

20'.  That's how far I made it down before my traitor left ear decided it was too chicken to go down.  I try to signal one of my buddies (I have 2 on this dive) that it's just my left and I need a minute to adjust.  He just nods and signals to ascend.  No, no, no.  Just wait a minute, this ear WILL get on board.  My buddy signals trouble back, but I don't understand.  I grab my slate, only to find that he is having pressure trouble, too.  He needs to go take some decongestant.  OK.  I signal, "You, ascend, other buddy and I will stay and hover."  My other buddy did not look like a deeper dive than 35' would be in his best interest.  By this time, we've been under for about 18 minutes,and my ear finally gets on board.  Jerk ear.  We cop a squat and finish our dive.  Here comes Mikes group we separated from.  Someone ran out of air and is sharing air with Mike.  Seems like he has to do that a lot.  Haha.  Curse of his good air management skills.  My buddy has one of those pulse guns that are all the rage this scuba season.  Basically a scuba toy.  It's hooked up to your tank and shoots air rings.  Entertaining!

We spend our decompression stop watching air rings shoot to the surface.  I end the dive with 1300 psi.  Plenty for a second dive on the same tank.

This time, Mike's group is going to the wrecks for Advanced class.  Only one of my buddies is going with this time.  No problems descending this time, jerk ear.  We descend on the bus and head to the helicopter by way of the plane.  The plane has been visited several times already and has been stirred up quite a bit.  No visibility.  We pass the plane and head to the helicopter.  Mike and one of the advanced students enter the helicopter and my buddy and I are next.  I signal to my buddy, who has just finished Open Water class to swim through.  He replied back with a vehement head shake, "NO!"  It was stirred up with no vis, so I can understand.  I don't want him to miss out on a wreck dive.  Somehow, I have clipped my flashlight all wonky on my BC and can't get it out to lend to him.  Next best thing, have him hold on to me and we will go through together.  With him holding my calf, I slowly go in the back of the wreck.  Trying not to kick him in the face with my fin was the name of the game.  My flashlight was no help here, lucky I can see the light through the busted out windows.  We slowly make our way to the door and exit.  Fun!  

Back to the shore for a surface interval.  And scuba snacks! 

 

Time for my rescue class check out.  My first tank is at 750, so not going to use that one.  One of my buddies offers me the rest of his 1st tank, 1300.  Good enough!  The objective is to find an object in a certain area of the scuba park.  Mine was a weight belt.  There was an Advanced student going with me for Search and Recovery.  He had a fancy dive computer with a digital read out compass.  I asked him if he would rather navigate or search in our buddy team.  Navigate, he said.  I plan the search: start at the tree, which is the southern boundary, head to 25 feet straight west, then turn north and search to the rope, the northern boundary.  Then, we will use the U pattern search to come shallower between the boundaries.  20 minute time limit.  Good plan, let's go.  We get to the southern boundary, I signal for descent and away we go.  I notice that my buddy is still on the surface.  I just watch from the bottom, knowing he's not weighted properly.  He signals for me to surface.  We wait for him to swim back to shore to get more weight.  The chill is setting in for the first time, that or adrenaline is making me shake.  We pass the time by bobbing and finning in circles.  Decent, take 2.  I get us to 25 feet at the southern boundary, and hand over nav to my buddy.  Here's where it gets messy.  He's having trouble with his computer, stirring up the bottom, and his mask is full of water.  I try to get him to stoop so he can purge his mask.  I have to signal several times to stop.  By the time I look at my computer, we're in 33 feet and at a yellow rope.  Crap.  Is yellow the same as red?  Do we keep going north?  I have to get my slate out again and ask Mike.  Yellow is tied to red, we're just too deep.  I head up the rope, back to 25 feet.  I signal to my buddy to clear his mask again,  but Mike swoops in and fixes his hood, which is under his mask, making it leak.  I should have thought of that.  Ok, back south we go.  By this time, I realize I have no idea where we started.  I have to signal a surface to get my bearing.  I signal for my buddy to stay and that I am going to surface and look.  When I do surface, I am back at the southern boundary, YES!!!  Here comes my entourage, surfacing.  Dang.  Signal another decent and I ask my buddy to count kick cycles back to the rope while I navigate back north.  We get back to the rope (fancy bit of compass work on my part, and as I have been completely inept at this skill previously, it feels good!)  in 25 kick cycles.  Great.  Now I know how far to go back south.  He stops me at 25 and we turn around.  Back to the rope.  I keep checking my air as the needle slowly creeps to the 500 psi mark, aka out of air.  That would be a terrible fail.  To get this far, then run out of air, never finding the belt?!?  As we turn at the rope again, I spot the belt!  This signals the end of the search part and the beginning of recovery for my buddy and rescue for me.  Mike signals wait for my buddy to surface the object, then we will continue to rescue an unresponsive diver underwater.  My buddy from the wreck has been with us the entire time.  I'm at 500 psi.  I signal wreck diver buddy to share air while we wait for Advanced buddy to surface the object.  Once that is done, it's time for me to do my thing.  Done and done!  This was the exercise I was most worried about, because of the compass work.  I feel much better about using the tool, now.

Last rescue scenario: Unresponsive diver at the surface.  Not something I excelled at in practice.  Since the I have watched several youtube videos and practiced in my head.  I'm ready for this one.  

Nailed it.

Last dive of the trip: my first nitrox dive.   It was like a victory lap.  Smooth and calm dive.  I found out later I forgot to zip up my 2nd wet suit.  No wonder it was chilly!

All in all, a great trip to open the season.  When do we get to go back?