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.
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
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