M.D.
Contributor
Hey SB members,
It's been a while. Back home wednesday from a week of fantastic diving on the west coast. Visited my brother in a town about 45 minutes north of Vicoria, BC. Logged 10 dives, of varying types. First time in the ocean.
Did three shores dives at Mill Bay - Tanner's rock twice, searched for the two octopus, and went out to the tugboat. Two shore dives at Arbutus Point, which is a fair hike to the entry point. A nice incline on the way up. Need to quit smoking. Maple Bay a few times, including a night dive. That was incredible. Bioluminescence is really neat while doing a lights out at the safety stop. Near the end of the dive we witnessed a 5' dog fish being devoured by a large number of red crabs. Boat dive to two wrecks (thank you Bremner family). The GB Church, an old WWII munitions ship, the deck is at 60', low 50's temperature wise. I was a little cold near the end of the dive. The Mackenzie, a 300' destroyer, at about 80-90 feet. The Mackenzie is too deep for my certification as an open water diver, so that doesn't really count. I was the surface support on that dive.
Also managed to spend some more money on equipment out there. Bought a wetsuit, and a pro kit for my bc, which included some nifty retractors. Gear is so cool...
All in all it was a great experience. Confidence is much higher. I feel rather comfortable in the water now. Overcame my equalizing problems, although it still takes me a fair bit of time to descend (I can still get down though!) Buoyancy is much, much better. Fine tune the BC and concentrate on breathing. Air consumption was pretty decent too, especially for a smoker (no comments needed on that thank you, I'm aware of the issues...
) Well, back to fresh water now. Anyone from the GTA want to go diving?
I this a long post? Oh yeah, I forgot to mention an issue concerning a diver that tagged along with us one day at Arbutus point. Oh, there was also an issue with my SPG, the plug fell out the back and it filled up with water. I'll have to get to the dive shop this weekend to sort that out. Apparantly the guy at the dive shop has never seen that happen before. New Genesis gauges, which I assume will be covered by warranty. Well it's late and I have an early day tomorrow, have to be in class by 1:30 in the afternoon. I'll leave that near accident story for another time. Check out the pics
It's been a while. Back home wednesday from a week of fantastic diving on the west coast. Visited my brother in a town about 45 minutes north of Vicoria, BC. Logged 10 dives, of varying types. First time in the ocean.
Did three shores dives at Mill Bay - Tanner's rock twice, searched for the two octopus, and went out to the tugboat. Two shore dives at Arbutus Point, which is a fair hike to the entry point. A nice incline on the way up. Need to quit smoking. Maple Bay a few times, including a night dive. That was incredible. Bioluminescence is really neat while doing a lights out at the safety stop. Near the end of the dive we witnessed a 5' dog fish being devoured by a large number of red crabs. Boat dive to two wrecks (thank you Bremner family). The GB Church, an old WWII munitions ship, the deck is at 60', low 50's temperature wise. I was a little cold near the end of the dive. The Mackenzie, a 300' destroyer, at about 80-90 feet. The Mackenzie is too deep for my certification as an open water diver, so that doesn't really count. I was the surface support on that dive.
Also managed to spend some more money on equipment out there. Bought a wetsuit, and a pro kit for my bc, which included some nifty retractors. Gear is so cool...
All in all it was a great experience. Confidence is much higher. I feel rather comfortable in the water now. Overcame my equalizing problems, although it still takes me a fair bit of time to descend (I can still get down though!) Buoyancy is much, much better. Fine tune the BC and concentrate on breathing. Air consumption was pretty decent too, especially for a smoker (no comments needed on that thank you, I'm aware of the issues...
) Well, back to fresh water now. Anyone from the GTA want to go diving?I this a long post? Oh yeah, I forgot to mention an issue concerning a diver that tagged along with us one day at Arbutus point. Oh, there was also an issue with my SPG, the plug fell out the back and it filled up with water. I'll have to get to the dive shop this weekend to sort that out. Apparantly the guy at the dive shop has never seen that happen before. New Genesis gauges, which I assume will be covered by warranty. Well it's late and I have an early day tomorrow, have to be in class by 1:30 in the afternoon. I'll leave that near accident story for another time. Check out the pics
