The 8 year SI ended - yeee freakin ha!

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rhwestfall

Woof!
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Messages
24,162
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Location
"La Grande Ile"
# of dives
200 - 499
Life got in the way, and the gear got put away for 8 years. Caught the bug this winter to get back in the water, and Thursday it finally happened. Wife and I spent an hour blowing bubbles on a 30' deep wreck from 1911 here in Lake Erie. Took a bit to make sure all was configured properly, but once below, it was just like riding a bike (it all came back in a heartbeat). What a wonderful time. Fish galore, and the old timber pile is still fun to puddle around.

Topping it off was the lake had less than 1' chop, so it was like we were in a pool. Vis was "okay" at about 20 feet (lots of suspended matter).

Next step is back to the deeper stuff we used to do. Moorings were not there when we checked it out, and I wasn't going to drop an anchor on a "heritage site". Hopefully the moorings will be jugged again in the near future).

Man did I miss this.....
 
That's great to hear man. I am getting anxious to get out for the first time this year myself, but medical reasons are holding me back (the medical reason is not the reason for the time off, but rather can only do one or the other).

Hope to hear some more about the dives you do up there. Lived in Soo, MI and heard about a lot of cool wrecks up in the Great Lakes and the surrounding area.
 
dive dive dive dive woot woot woot woot!

College kid chant right there
 
Good for you. I hate going like, a month between any dives. Just like to do it if for no other reason to keep the whole routine fresh. It has meant some really frigid dives at times.
 
A year ago March I came up with prostate cancer. They gave me a couple shots of hormones and I started taking a med which was supposed to destroy the existing cancer (along with some other things) which (I think) caused me to go diabetic within a week. Needless to say the diving took a back seat within about a month because of all the BS involved with the cure and getting the diabetes straightend out. I'm OK now and am diving again, weigh less and have my strength back, what little I had in the first place, being as I'm 71. The stamina isn't up to par but diving isn't that strenuous anyway. I didn't dive for almost a year while getting all this stuff taken care of. All I could thnk about was whether I'd be able to keep on diving. First trip out was great. A one foot chop, 75 degee water and clear as a bell on the Eagle off the coast of Islamorada. Did three dives on her and one reef dive in two days. Only thing I forgot (I'm a geezer you know) was my fins on the second day. Luckily they had an old set on the boat which fit. LIke the guy said, you never forget how to ride a bicycle. In my case it's a motorcycle. I hadn't been riding for over 20 years. I really got the desire for another Sportster of late and after the cancer scare I decided to go all out and bought a nice used 2005 model. I've put about 3000 miles on it this summer and am still alive. Everything came back right away but no more of the 120mph stuff like I did when younger.
 
My two favorite hobbies. Diving and motorcycles. Good to hear you are both back and enjoying the wet again!
 
I'm another guy who's been out of the water for years (about 12-15 or so to be exact). I now live in Vegas, diving got put on hold. Heck, you need a three-day vacation to do a one-day dive in the channel islands from here! That plus the fact that my wife is not interested in tropical islands, doesn't like humidity and doesn't swim had pretty much made me a land lubber.

Anyway, one day, I was watching a tv show on Truk Lagoon that was filmed in 2007. I mention to my wife how much more silt was on the wrecks than when I was there in 1988. So she says, why don't you go back there. So I ask, do you want to go? which she says no, but that wouldn't stop me from going. So now, as soon as my rotator cuff surgery is healed, I'm headed off to my LDS to get a refresher course. I've already set up a trip to Cozumel next summer and hopefully, I'll make it back out to Truk the following year.

Life is good!
 
Just a suggestion, but you may want to consider taking a PADI Scuba Review course from one of your local shops, or any sort of "refresher" dive. Its a quick, simple, and effective way for you to make sure that everything is really back where it should be in terms of dive skills, and most people really find the courses to be helpful after a bit of a break considering how quickly some standards change.

Great to hear that your back in the water! Get Wet!

Toga
 
ASA400:: Rotator? Been there, done that. The surgeon told me that swimming was an unnatural use of the human arm, just like throwing a baseball, and to not do it anymore. He said he made most of his money off of swimmers and ball players when it comes to shoulders, mostly over 25 years old. I have to agree. I took up swimming, after a twenty year la-yoff, about the same time I took up diving again around six years ago. Within about three month of doing daily laps at the YMCA pool, I needed surgery.
 
Garrobo,
No problem there, my water antics only include diving and that's not all that hard on the rotator cuff, other than getting the equipment on and off. But I'm waiting a good six months to get started again.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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