Mike

Well last week I reached a personal milestone in my diving. I did my 200th dive at Loch Low-Minn Quarry in Athens Tennessee. I was there with Mike Bailey from Atlanta Scuba and my wife Susan. They were working on Susan’s final qualification dives and I was just puttering around the quarry.

The 200th dive was my second dive of the day. I started at the platform and headed North towards the cliff face at about 35 feet (just above the thermocline.) After I passed the catfish tree and the Dragon’s lair, there was an area of water weed, then the cliff began. As I came around the edge of the cliff face I saw a shadow ahead.

Sinuously the form approached until it resolved at a distance of about 20 feet into the form of a prehistoric creature…a living dinosaur. No, Nessie hadn’t come to call, but I was face-to-face with about a 4 foot long paddlefish. The paddlefish, its huge algea sifting mouth wide open came straight at me, only turning at about five feet away to continue its feeding. I could clearly see it’s 4-5 rings of gills that also acted like strainers for the algea that is its main source of food. Every once in a while it would close its huge mouth and seem to chew a bit on the algea it had collected.

Hovering I watched until it disappeared into the greenish water. I then resumed moving west along the cliff wall only to almost bump into another paddlefish (it may have been the same one, after all they don’t wear name-tags and I probably couldn’t pronounce them if they did!) He (or she) hurried off. A bit further along the wall I once again saw a shadow approaching in the limited visibility, then out of the corner of my eye I saw some movement to the left side of me. I glanced the left to see a second paddlefish. Both the one in front of me and the one to the left kept coming straight for me until they turned at about 5 feet away. Again I hovered for several minutes while they gracefully glided around in their feeding dance. After they left me I continued west.

After about another 20 yards I saw another paddle fish paralleling me and then it too moved off into the murk. I looked down at my gauges, I was 40 minutes into the dive and had reached my turnaround presure of 1500 PSI in my double AL80’s. I pivoted back eastward and on the way back was also treated to several visits forom the gentle giants as they did their afternoon feedings. Back at the edge of the cliff face I left the paddle fish regretfully behind.

For most of the way back to the platform I followed and was followed by a couple of lake trout, they looked tiny compared to the padlefish but I was glad for the company.

By the Dragon’s Lair I noticed the waterweed looked sick, it appeared some fungal infection was coating the lower parts of the weed bed and killing round areas down to the stone. In one spot two areas overlapped and in their bottoms was a milky looking haze, it felt like I was looking down onto a bed of fog. Oddly, one had a chunk of stone sitting right in its center, if it would have been a meteorite I would have been worried. I made it to the dive platform without any attacks

I am starting a project to establish a dive park at Lake Lanier in Georgia. Divers are driving 2-3 hours to get to places like Pelham Blue Water Quarry and Loch Low-Minn Quarry simply because there is nothing exciting in Lake Lanier and sometimes the visibility isn’t very good. I can’t do anything about visibility but just maybe I can help make Lake Lanier more interesting.

I propose that a Dive Park be created near West Bank Park at a depth of 40-50 feet. The dive park would contain 1 or more sunken boats, some large culvert concrete pipes and other objects that would make diving there more interesting. This type of park would allow for several things to occur.

1. Local dive shops could do wreck dive certifications there
2. Local dive shops could do navigation certifications there
3. Local dive shops could do salvage and recovery training there
4. Local boaters could do side-scan and sonar tests there
5. Provide for fish structures

Let’s ge behind this project and make a dive park at Lake Lanier we can all enjoy!

Dive Safe!

Mike

Anemone with surg affects

As you can see I have upgraded to WordPress from Yahoo360. Well, actually it wasn’t voluntary as Yahoo will not support Yahoo360 after the 18th. Anyway, hope you like the new look.

Recently I have been diving at Monterey, California, Venice Beach, FLorida and of course Lake Lanier, Georia.

In Monterey we had to stay close in as the waves where pretty rough at the regular dive sites. We dove off of Lover’s Point (I think, not quite sure) and at the Aquarium Intake. Surge was 4-6 foot horizontally so taking pictures was a bit of a challenge.

In Venice Beach I got to do 3 nice dives, one on the Boneyard (not many teeth, we missed the good search area until the very last.) On the final dive on Sunday I found the most teeth as I found the best place from shore (well one of them) to ind teeth. Found 1 meg blade (it would have been a 2 incher) 2-2 inch Makos and a Meg cheek tooth along with a 2 inch sand tige and about 200 other smaller teeth.

The Lake Lanier dives were mostly at West Bank though several where spent searching the botom by hand off of Gainsville, Marina for a lost ring (not mine this time!).

Safe Dives!

It is a warm spring day and the Manatee is swimming down the muddy river toward the sea. The recent spring rains have clouded the usually clear water with runoff. The tide is turned, making the boundary between the river and the sea even more turbulent, with visibility only a matter of a few feet the Manatee swims along with the current its massive rear fluke driving it toward the oncoming defile between the sea and the river, the water is already brackish but is not yet fully salt water.

Suddenly there is a massive thump on the Manatees side, in panic it dives toward the bottom only to be smashed again and again by the rush of an unseen predator. The Manatee, mortally wounded, the brackish water stinging and burning in its horrible wounds, now only drifting, it bounces and rolls along the bottom of the river. The sharks, now visible in the less turgid water below the halocline, dine on the huge mammal, tearing off sections of its sides, back and belly with their sharp teeth as it dies.

The scene I have described occurred not recently, but around 30,000,000 years ago in the area now known as Alhambra Beach, Florida, just below Venice Beach. How do I know? I am holding a fossilized section of Manatee rib with the clear marks of a sharks teeth scoring one side. Now perhaps the Manatee died of natural causes and then was eaten, or the attack occurred in the Winter as the Manatee made its way into the safety of the prehistoric river towards the warm springs that gushed forth inland, creating the river, but needless to say, it was just as brutally consumed whether it began the ordeal as a living, breathing animal or as flotsam making its way to the Gulf. The remaining bones (either released during the feeding frenzy or after passing through the digestive system of a shark) ended up on the bottom of the river, were buried in the silt and became fossilized over the millions of years it took for me to find them.

Literally thousands of fossils are removed from the area off shore from Venice Beach each year, but storms and the erosion of the old riverbed by tides keep uncovering countless more. Some experts say that the area, right where a river met the sea, was a huge feeding ground for sharks and other marine predators. I get the feeling, based on the huge number of sharks teeth found, that it was also a shark breeding ground. You see when sharks mate the male seizes the female by the pectoral fin and in the throes of passion loses dozens of teeth. In pictures taken during the mating of sand sharks in the pacific the teeth fall like snow, covering the ocean floor.

Littering the bottom of the Gulf floor all along the area about 100 yards to over a mile offshore off of Venice and Alhambra Beaches is the bed of a prehistoric river literally covered with fossils of various animals. From the teeth of sharks (from tiny little ones barely a half inch long to the�1-6 inch long Megaladon teeth) to the bones of Mastodons and the delicate ear bones of prehistoric whales and porpoise just about any fossil can be found there. Divers come from all over the country to search for megs and the teeth of Mastodons in this, and other fossil bearing areas of Florida.

I found the Manatee rib in about 20 feet of water about 100 yards off of the Alhambra Beach shore, along with about 2 dozen sharks teeth and one large 14 inch by 5 inch fossil that appears to be a piece of a Mastodon skull but I am waiting to get feedback from some experts before I label it as such. This isn’t the first time I have dived Alhambra and won’t be the last. All-in-all I have pulled dozens of sharks teeth including a 2 inch fragment of a meg and a 1½ inch specimen from a Great White as well as many fossilized stingray barbs and miscellaneous bone fragments.

I have yet to see any of the modern day descendents of the Manatee killers during my dives although I am usually accompanied by a few grunts that love to pounce on anything I stir up when I search the bottom for fossils. You also see the occasional flounder and grouper as well. During my dives last year I also saw some gurnards. Gurnards are probably one of the oddest looking fish you will see. The Flying Gurnard has over developed pectorial fins that make it look like it has wings, under its mouth are tiny legs which it uses to pull itself along the bottom. This year I did not�see and of the Gurnards.

What makes the diving at Venice Beach and Alhambra Beach areas so attractive is that the depth is only about 20 feet which means a single Aluminum 80 CF tank of air will last well past an hour, my double AL80 tanks will last 2 or more. That gives you plenty of time to traverse the 100 or so yards out to the closest edge of the fossil beds and search for whatever strikes your fancy. In addition there is usually reasonable visibility of up to 20-30 feet or more and usually little or no surf issues. Combine all of this with the usual Florida great weather and it makes for a very enjoyable day of easy diving.

My dive buddy and I attended the DOG days at Blue Water Quarry in Pelham, Alabama last weekend (4/5/2009). For those not familiar with what I am referring to, DOG days are Divers Unlimited International (DUI) demo days where you get to try out DUI equipment in the water.

I tried out the CLX450 drysuit which has the front zipper, suspenders, crotch strap and telescoping torso as well as user replaceable neck and wrist seals. I also used some rock boots for the first time. The CLX450 has Cordura® Polyester blend / Butyl Rubber / Polyester on the upper portion and Polyester / Butyl Rubber / Polyester on the lower portion.

I normally dive a BARE NexGen Bilaminate rear entry drysuit. The NexGen is a Bilaminate entry level suit without suspenders, front entry, telescoping torso or crotch strap. This type of suit is normally called a “bag” suit and is looked down upon by the “elite” wearers of such suits as the CLX450 and above suits.

So, how did I like the CLX450 in comparison to my NexGen? First, here is what I liked about the CLX450:

User replaceable seals

1. Suspenders
2. Telescoping torso
3. Front entry

Here is what I didn’t like:

1. Bulky (in comparison to the NexGen)
2. Restrictive to movement (even in the XXL I felt restricted)
3. The user replaceable seals also seem more prone to leaking

Both the arms and legs felt very snug on the CLX450, now, maybe that was because of the Polartec 300 underwear I was also trying out for the first time. However, the compression of the Polartec by the sleeves of the drysuit resulted in a net reduction of protection. My arms and legs felt cooler than they usually do in my NexGen with the 200 weight fleeces provided with my NexGen and the looser arms and legs. The tightness also resulted in me feeling more restricted in my movements.

Because of the added bulk of the 300 weight Polartec and Trilam suit I had to add about 6 pounds of weight over what I need with the NexGen. Usually in fresh water with an AL80 and aluminum backplate with SS-STA, the NexGen with the 200 weight fleeces I use about 16-18 pounds of additional weight. With the CLX450 and 300 weight Polartec I required 24 pounds of weight to get, and stay down throughout a dive. Now I understand where many drive suit divers are coming from when they say they need between 20-30 pounds or more of weight to dive their trilam or compressed neoprene drysuits.

On first and second dives I noted wetness on the sleeve with the vent valve. The wetness was so marked by the time the second dive was over that I could wring water out of the sleeve of the Polartec undergarment. Now I understand that these demo suits see a lot of wear and tear but it didn’t leave me warm and fuzzy (no pun intended) about the dryness of the suits. Whether the wetness was from a seal leak or from the vent wasn’t really clear but still I expect a fairly new suit with new seals not to leak!

So, what would I like to see? How about a front entry bilam with telescoping torso, suspenders and user replaceable seals? Face it, it in a drysuit isn’t the suit material (unless you get into compressed neoprene) that is offering insulation, it is the undergarment and air space. It follows then that unless you need the added wear and tear resistance of the heavy trilaminate suits you are better served using bilaminate with shielding at the heavy wear areas such as knees, elbows’ and seat areas. Using bilam would give you greater flexibility and a lighter overall suit with less buoyancy so you wouldn’t need as much weight. Also, having a bit of room for the air allows the undergarment to fluff and �function properly.� When I was in my bilam with my 200 gram fleeces I felt warmer on the arms and legs than I did with the trilam because the tightness of the trilam material compressing the undergarment robbing it of its warmth. So adding in a front entry bilam with the nice features mentioned above would seem a good move.�

I also had some issues with donning the front entry trilam suit since it seems to require two people to put it on with any ease, one to hold the arm of the suit in the proper position and you to chicken-wing into it. Now I am sure with a bit of practice I could manage it on my own, but with even slight tendonitis or mild RC damage it is a bit painful to don the front entry, heavy trilaminate suits, unfortunately I have both! Now with a bilam material it would be easier to manipulate the suit for a single person. Just my opinion of course!

Kudos to DUI for their demo days, and in spite of what I say above, if you want a heavy wear capable suit then the trilaminate DUI will be the ticket from what I have seen. However, for recreational diving I like the flexibility of my NexGen, I just wish it was front entry (and had a pee valve…)!

Well, after a couple of month hiatus (since October!) I finally got back in the water. After many trips, bad weather, a bout with pneumonia, and a cracked rib conditions finally improved enough for a couple of short dives in Lake Lanier this weekend.

As usual, Lake Lanier was merky, muddy and cold but it sure beat a day at the office! Dove with a new partner, Jim Little, and it looks like we will be doing a few more dives in the future. Even with temperatures from 43-47 degrees fahrenheit I was comforatable in my Bare Nex Gen bilaminate and the provided fleeces, Jim was getting a little cold in his 7mm wetsuit by the end of the second dive. I think a see a dry suit in Jim’s future!

Anyway, I need to do some more dives so hopefully Jim and I can plan something for next weekend, maybe we will go up to the north end of the lake and check out the racetrack! I was a little light on the first dive with my SS BP/W and doubles with only 8 pounds of additional weight, but with 10 pounds the next dive all seemed to go well. I may breakout the camera if we go to the racetrack just in case there is anything left of interest down there.

The lake is up about 4-5 feet so you can get in without mud wading for the most part. Visibility was around 5-10 feet and as I said above the temperature from 0-20 feet was around 47 degrees and at 60 feet it was 43 degrees. Air temperature was 63 degrees. On the first dive at West Bank Park’s Mask Cove we went straight out from the beach then made a 90 degree leg to port to check out the forgotten forest. On the second dive we searched (unsuccessfuly) for some new lines, a new platform and the wood pile, oh well, we will just have to try-try-again!

I am still working on the dive scooter but until I have access to the local pool (or a pool) it is a bit tough to run out to the lake to try things out.  My next exciting dive trip should be to Edisto Beach in South Carolina. I hope to maybe do a Cooper River sharks tooth dive or maybe some civil war wreck diving. After that it is back out to Moneterey California in June for some more kelp dives.

Stay safe and happy diving!

I spent June 7-14 in Cozumel with my family. During this vacation I did the normal drift dives on the Columbia, Punta Tunich, Palancar reefs but I also got to dive the Cenotes on the mainland. Since I am not a cave certified diver I had to use a guide and they took me to the Kulkucan and Little Brother Cenotes which are part of the Choc Mool cave system.

Of the two Cenotes, I liked the Little Brother best, as its access to the caves led to an air chamber which contained stalactites and stalagmites and large tree roots punching through the cave roofs.

I hope to start more active diving as I have been out of action since last October. I will be diving next Sunday back at Lanier, not exactly a tropical paradise but it is close and free.

Well, since my adventures in searching for my camera I haven’t done much diving. I was supposed to investigate a site on Lake Lanier that held a race track at one time (obviously, before the lake was there back in the late 40’s and early 50’s), however, since I couldn’t get a buddy, it ended up getting cancelled. then I went to San Francisco for a conference, upon my return an incident at the baggage handling machine resulted in a broken little finger on my left hand, yes it hurt quite a bit thank you for asking!

Anyway, you don’t realize how much you need that little finger on either hand. The little finger assist with stabilization of the fingers during gripping and other “whole hand” operations. In addition to its normal duties, having any finger, let alone the little one, perpetually sticking out due to a splint gets a bit tiring as well and makes doing mundane things challenging. Try pulling on a wetsuit with a finger in a splint, or, doing a valve drill on a set of doubles. Needless to say, I haven’t been able to think of diving for that last couple of weeks due to travel and due to the broken finger.

I hope that my four week checkup on the little finger reveals it is well on the mend, as that will correspond to a planned trip to snorkel with the Manatees at Crystal River and do a drift dive down the Rainbow River in Florida. Of course there is also the Lake Lanier Looney Bird fourth annual induction event where new members have to dive in Lake Lanier on New Years day (20 feet for 20 minutes minimum, come on out! It may be the last chance to dive in Lake Lanier if the levels keep going down…)

I had to cancel my planned return to Rock Lake, Wisconsin to do further investigations into the pyramids supposedly located in the deep area of the lake, of course it turns out that the time I planned to do that may have been too late as the freeze is due to occur this week. Guess I’ll wait for the ice melt in spring.

Anyway, that’s all the news that is fit to print, so until the next time, keep safe and have fun diving!�

As you who have been following my exploits know, on September 9, 2007 I lost my Canon 20D, an Ikelite housing and a set of dual strobes while scuba diving in Lake Lanier, Georgia (for the gorey details check out the earlier blogs.) Well, yesterday, Oct 27, 2007 I found the rig in 43 feet of water (down from 50 feet when I lost the rig.) So after 8 weeks under water what did I find?

When I got the rig home, rinsed off and dried I opened it to find the camera dry as a bone,and a kudo to the folks at Canon, the battery still had enough light to take a picture of the wife using flash! Not a drop of water had entered the housing. After the strobes where cleaned and dried off, I removed the battery compartment covers and both strobes where also dry inside, a change of batteries and they fired right up.

Thanks be to God for his help and for the help of everyone else who tried to find the camera for me. Since I found it, I am sending the reward I offered to the SMile Train charity, they help fix cleft palates for underprivileged kids.

What else can you ask of in a housing?