Morrison dive report 2-5-09

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cmufieldhockey8

Contributor
Messages
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Location
Auburn, AL
# of dives
200 - 499
PensacolaNewbie and I decided today would be a good day to get all his brand new gear wet for the first time, and what would be a better place to do it then the newly reopened Morrison Spring?! We left west Pensacola a little after 6 and were there around 7:50 to an open gate, an empty parking lot, and a whole bunch of steam coming off the water. It was gorgeous! The river levels would be borderline and there was definitely some tannic intrusion, but I could see a stone through the water from the edge of the boardwalk so we decided we'd give it a try. Part of today's goal was getting some nice pictures, but we decided to sacrifice superb pictures for free diving. Other goals were to get Newbie oriented with his gear which is configured a little different from the gear from his class, and I also was testing out some changes I made to my own gear. A few divers from Panama City arrived shortly after we did.

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We had 2 awesome dives lasting about an hour each maxing out at 51 feet on both dives. The water was pretty darn green but fairly clear with viz around 15-20 feet. There was crystal clear 68 degree water pumping out of the cavern which felt like a heater as the rest of the basin was 4 degrees cooler. We practiced all kinds of skills from air shares to supermaning, took pictures and most of all did some sightseeing in the basin. The 2nd dive I couldn't help myself and briefly checked out that side cavern on top for the first time.

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PensacolaNewbie

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Look at that trim! Good enough to be a cave diver!

Our lunch of pb&j, pudding and trail mix hit the spot as we ate it sitting on a bench in the sun. I must say I enjoyed the improvements but I certainly wouldn't want to be there on a busy day and have to park 2 miles away. There were quite a few people coming in and out to check out the new park and we had a little friend greeting us when we came out after our second dive. By 1:45 the Focus was packed and I got back to Pensacola just in time to throw a hat on and run to work :) Not bad for a weekday pair of dives.

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Great report, glad to hear the visibility agreed enough for some OW dives! I've been watching the water levels and got more optimistic about the diving possibility today(not that I could go) as the water levels were consistantly lower than predictions!

Glad you guys toughed it out and went anyway, looks like it paid off! Enjoyed the pics.
 
I won't say I didn't lose Ron a few times.... but the viz was good enough.

I changed my tanks so that they rig up the way yours do Bugman, and I've also got them sitting higher on me (they were hanging below my body before.) But now the can light is in the way of the tank, and I don't really like having the can light hang below me on my waist strap. Not really sure where I'm gonna put it now
 
Thanks for the report Stasia. Looks like some good dives in spite of water conditions. My first post certification dives were at Morrison. Looks like someone gave PensacolaNewbie some good advice on gear choices...from what I can see in the picture, Atomic regs with bolt snaps, Trans Pac, SPG...looks like a good setup for a Pcola Newbie!
 
I changed my tanks so that they rig up the way yours do Bugman, and I've also got them sitting higher on me (they were hanging below my body before.) But now the can light is in the way of the tank, and I don't really like having the can light hang below me on my waist strap. Not really sure where I'm gonna put it now

I think all the cool kids are butt mounting their cans now, but with a longer cord. I'm not cool, I just let my tank sit ontop of it - LOL. I've heard of people backmounting it near where your shoulder blades would be, but if you're doing something really tight, it can be a ratcheting hazard?
 
Looks like someone gave PensacolaNewbie some good advice on gear choices...

Yes I was thinking the same thing myself.

I think all the cool kids are butt mounting their cans now, but with a longer cord. I'm not cool, I just let my tank sit ontop of it - LOL. I've heard of people backmounting it near where your shoulder blades would be, but if you're doing something really tight, it can be a ratcheting hazard?

Yeah I don't want to be putting it on my back..or the front of waist. i tried threading it through the buttplate so it sat right under my wing but I think it made me ever so lopsided in the water.
 
Nice report. Thanks for the pictures.

Looking forward to some Morrisons dives with you guys and gal in the near future.
 
I'm not sure I'm one of the cool kids, but I am butt mounting now, mainly because I didn't like the way the canister got in the way when I invert. Same length cord, I just clip it on the 1 inch d rings, not the bars.
 
Great job Ron! You really look good in the water. Stasia, I think I change something on my gear configuration everytime I dive. It seems like my can light is my biggest issue also. I just don't like the cord dangling and I can't decide which hand I like to wear it on. I wind up switching it alot of times during the dive. :)
 

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