Jillapalooza

IM IN UR OCEAN. EATIN UR CARDZ.

PADI #79, Mahnomen II & III, dive 38

Dive: 38
Season Dive: 6
Date: 9/25/09
Site: Padi #79, Mahnomen II & III
Avg/Max Depth: 25/39
Temp: 57
TBT/CBT: 0:42/30:23
Buddies: Curtis, Kristen (Ted, Mike)

We wasted no coming up with a strategy for the dive. We decided to follow the road to the other side, heading along the wall on the way out, and covering the road on the way back, all the while diving side by side so as not to miss any ground. Curtis, Kristen and I would take the left of the road, Ted and Mike would take the right.

I had issues with my mask leaking the entire dive and remembered that I also had a bad time with it when Kristen and I dove two weeks earlier. It wasn’t just leaking, it would suddenly let in gushes of water. If I didn’t move my head around or equalize or move muscles in my face it would hold out for a bit, but it never quite sealed right. And it’s hard to look for something with a mask full of water.

Unfortunately we didn’t find the medallion. Neither did the other two. Saddened and defeated we assumed we picked the wrong dive site and would have to wait until our next clue at 8:30 the next morning.

Diamond Cove, Hopkins, dive 37

Dive: 37
Season Dive: 5
Date: 9/13/09
Site: Diamond Cove, Hopkins
Avg/Max Depth: 21/36
Temp: 63
TBT/CBT: 0:57/29:41
Buddies: Kristen

Kristen and I decided to head out on a little dive adventure of our own since the boys were taking the Rescue Diver course over the weekend. There was much joking about Curtis putting his rescue diving skillz to work early. We stopped at the dive shop to get some air fills and Darlene recommended we go to Diamond Cove since it was really clear. Todd explained to us how not to get lost because the road at Diamond Cove is deceiving when it comes to the direction one thinks they are going. I think he was concerned about the welfare of Mrs. Curtis and Curtis’s friend, so he broke his own rules and photocopied a map for us.

We made it to the dive site sucessfully, geared up quickly and painlessly and got in the water without a hitch. Right after Kristen secured the dive flag we spotted a baby sea monster* perched on the rocks. After observing it for a bit we continued along the wall. We saw some neat fishes and a couple of beaver pilings. On our return trip I started leading but had to fall back because my mind and my gut were telling me two entirely different things in regards to directions. Kristen navigated like a pro. We ended up right where she anchored the dive flag.

It was a great first dive by our onsies. I think everyone else is secretly disappointed that nothing went awry for us and we brought home no good stories to share.

*Nick contacted the DNR, apparently our sea monster was no more than a northern hog sucker.

Portsmouth Access, Portsmouth, dive 36

Dive: 36
Season Dive: 4
Date: 8/22/09
Site: Portsmouth Access, Portsmouth
Avg/Max Depth: 20/30
Temp: 66
TBT/CBT: 0:48/28:44
Buddies: Curtis & Kristen

It’s been over a month since my last dive and my equipment has been packed tightly into my trunk for about as long. It made packing for Blog Cabin a cinch having the largest, heaviest and most important-to-not-forget items all ready to go.

It seems like as time goes on we’re less motivated to get to the dive site at the crack of dawn. We didn’t even discuss diving until after noon. Since I had just finished polishing my fingernails a glossy shade of black, we decided to wait until around 3:00 to head out.

Curtis decided we would dive at Portsmouth as long as there weren’t any boats about. It was a nice dive site in all aspects. A nice paved parking lot to set up shop, an easy access into the water via the boat launching area and an outhouse if necessary. It was nice to have a hard, flat, non dirty surface to set up and disassemble on. Unfortunately Kristen and I hit some rough spots in our attempt at getting our suits on. First I forgot to zip mine up, Curtis noticed I was wide open after I had my BCD on. Kristen put one of Curtis’s weight pouches in hers by accident. Better he have to hang out with dumbheads he knows than newbie dumbheads. Our transition to the water was pretty seamless. Curtis gave us a briefing of the directions we would be going and we were under the water at 4:00 pm.

There was a nice wall that we followed and the angle of the sun made beams filter over the wall in some spots. The water felt considerably warmer than the last time I dove. The thermocline was below 20′ but even then it wasn’t uncomfortably cold. There were a few fish we passed along the wall, mostly small ones. It must be of the fish psyche to follow thing larger than themselves, because they joined our school of divers, filing in between Curtis and me.

We swam around on top of the wall for a while. When we turned around Curtis descended over the side and I was holding up the rear. At around 17′ my ear decided it wasn’t having the constant depth changes any longer. I ascended up to 8′ before it became comfortable and followed Kristen’s bubbles, watching Little Jilly swimming inside of them. After a short while they both ascended a bit. I was almost directly above Kristen as I watched the turn of events unfold. Kristen turned around and scanned the waters for me, her head shifting around impatiently. I waited for her to look up, but she turned in the direction of Curtis, fumbled around for her octopus and banged it noiselessly on her tank. I couldn’t swim down to her and had no noisemaking devices on me either. Would yelling to her under water work? The dive master in Grand Cayman seemed to vocalize to the dumbheaded couple in the deep seas. She turned in my direction again, I took a deep breath, removed my reg and yelled “KRIIISTEEEEEEEEEEEEEEN!” Nothing. The water bubbled out of my ear. Ah, sweet relief. Just as I was about to grab her she took off in a frenzy toward the direction Curtis had disappeared in. The situation was immediately humorous to me and I started laughing, and it’s hard to descend and swim quickly while laughing. I couldn’t see Curtis yet, but I tried to swim to the side of Kristen so he would be able to see the both of us. Kristen caught up to him, through up her arms in panic, whipped her head around and looked shocked to see me directly behind her. She looked relieved then angry and I felt bad for being so obviously entertained by my life flashing before her eyes. Well, bad that she caught me anyway.

Curtis had no idea what had just transpired and thought she was angry that we passed the entry point, which was part of our original plan. He should know by now that both of us are too directionally impaired to have any idea where we are in the mine pits, let alone below the surface. We continued the dive, found what appeared to have been a snowmobile at one time and saw some more small fishes. We turned around to head back to the boat launch dock and once we surfaced had a good chuckle about the events that went down. It was nice to be able to desuit and pack up our gear without worrying about getting full of red dirt. Kristen and I even enjoyed a dip afterward. We drip dried in the sunny parking lot and ate a bunch of Nutter Butters before driving back to the cabin.

Unfortunately my nail polish didn’t survive the dive. At all. The polish came off in 10 perfectly shaped polish chips that resembled Lee press ons through the course of removing and packing all my gear.

Read Curtis’s version of the dive complete with photos here.

Hunting Access, Huntington, dive 35

Dive: 35
Season Dive: 3
Date: 7/12/09
Site: Huntington Access, Huntington
Avg/Max Depth: 19/40
Temp: 63
TBT/CBT: 1:09/27:56
Buddies: Curtis & Kristen

Once again, Curtis’s rendition:

The “winter like” morning wasn’t very inviting in regards to diving. The morning air was crisp at 55 degrees. We took our time eating breakfast and drinking cabin coffee before packing the car and heading out. We first stopped at the west end of Huntington looking for a site called “Gettin’ the Shaft” which is a “must see” and I’ve never been. Trouble is the road is blocked off and is meant only for pedestrians. There is a steep goat path that can be used but isn’t exactly a dive site. We decided against the treacherous climb and headed for the Huntington Public Access. As we piled back in the car the MSD van showed up with Mark C. bringing some students out.

When we arrived at the site the cold weather was gone and it was a beautiful mid morning. We had the site to ourselves except for a fisherman dropping his boat in. I snapped a few pics while getting ready. Such fantastic scenery…

We started the dive by placing the flag and swimming to the right, following the old mining road. Holy smokes was visibility good!

We dipped down to the 40 foot mark which would be like the second spiral of a circular road. Not much to look at, no trees, no fish, just loose rocks, and weeds. We ascended a bit to another flat area with more weeds. This entire side of the pit reminds me of a giant staircase. Flat road beds separated by sharp drop offs. I think we saw at least three levels of it. There were a few suckers swimming around and I even caught a glimpse of a trout but not much else. Around 30 minutes in to the dive I dipped back down to 35 feet to cool off before heading for the shallows and turning around.

The way back had more fish life. The terrain was flat weed beds between gentle slopes. The weed beds had all sorts of small fish. Kristen and Jill got a kick out of laying down in the weeds and watching the fish at eye level with the blue abyss as a back drop.

There was one rocky area that was swarming with fish for no apparent reason. It didn’t seem to be any special structure. We stopped for a while and I was surrounded by the little devils. Making me go cross-eyed. I didn’t notice them harassing the ladies. I thought of Mike S. getting viciously attacked in the lip by a sunny at this very site. Haha!!! Further along I noticed a ledge in 3 feet of water. I creeped up and found numerous sunfish guarding their spawning beds. The sunlight beating down made it quite a sight.

Getting close to the exit we grabbed the flag and headed for shore. As we went I found another bunch of spawning beds. They look so darn pretty snuggled in their little beds.

What a turn around from the early morning. It turned out to be a perfect day. The dive was awesome, spectacular visibility, fish life, and buddies.

Source

I really must get in the habit of dive blogging right away.

Gruntenheave, Joan, dive 34

Dive: 34
Season Dive: 2
Date: 7/4/09
Site: Gruntenheave, Joan
Avg/Max Depth: 14/22
Temp: 63
TBT/CBT: 1:09/26:47
Buddies: Curtis, Kristen & Ted

What better way to spend the 4th of July than diving? And what better way to remember all about it than to blog about it 6 weeks later? Too bad my dive computer doesn’t record experiences. For your reading pleasure, please enjoy Curtis’s rendition:

Our diving plans were thwarted by my being sick on Friday morning. Saturday we gave it another go and it was a success. Jill requested we dive someplace with lots of fish so I suggested Joan for the two nice beaver piles. When we arrived at the site we were surprised it was completely empty. No divers, no campers, sweet. There was a loon swimming right by our entrance, maybe we’d see it on our dive? The four of us suited up and made the hike down the steep bank to the water. We stuck Jill with the little 63 so the rest of us air hogs would have a chance to accumulate some bottom time.

We swam to the right towards the beaver piles. Right away we noticed the horrible vis. Below 15 feet we couldn’t see more than 5 feet because of a brown haze. It was decent on top. Kristen and I both had to surface to fix a leaky mask. While fixing my mask I noticed one of my gloves needed some correcting as well. Once underway Ted and I noticed a nice northern leading the way. It kept our attention in the otherwise barren terrain. Kristen and Jill were lagging behind too far to see it. I happened to look away and missed the highlight which Ted later described. The northern pounced on a sunfish at the bottom. When I looked it was arranging the sunny in it’s mouth and choked it down. Nice.

At the first beaver pile there were quite a few sunnies, large mouth bass, and rock bass. Not nearly as many fish as expected but still enjoyable. We slowed our pace quite a bit to take it all in before continuing on to the second one. It was way farther away than I expected. I started to get nervous that Jill was getting close to half psi so I asked, 1100. Another 20 feet or so and we were at the second pile. Again plenty of fish but not like expected. We spent a short time watching the fish then swam back in high gear.

When we passed the first beaver pile I swam on the shallow side and notice some huge sunfish spawning in a ‘hole’. There was also a cluster of big ones around some old tree trunks.

The rest of the dive was just a quick swim back. At the exit Ted and I did some rings. We were both hitting them like a couple of pros. I had quite a few doubles go up and after I snapped a pic of one set I noticed Ted hitting all kinds of good ones.

Source

Actually, I’m about 87% positive that I had a write-up of this dive, but I can’t seem to find it on my laptop anywhere.

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