nolatom
Contributor
I took a day trip (starting at 0-Dark-thirty) from New Orleans over to the M/V DOWN UNDER at Orange Beach, AL, a boat I've been on a few times before, and like, in order to break a 4-month dry spell. Captain Bert, DMs Cheynne ("Shane") and Brian, are a good team. Weather was mildly windy and lumpy from the southwest, scattered showers, which evidently kept the smaller boats inshore, so we had the 300' freighter LULU to ourselves. She was sunk about 3 years ago, still a ship, but slowiy becoming a vegetation attraction and fish habitat, a/k/a a "ship of the deep".
Only about 10 divers onboard, so lots of elbow room. Which we needed, because the surface current was (to me) ripping. Those who know said it was one knot. I think we tend to overestimate speed of current when telling about it, but a knot felt like a lot to this diver. Grab that sideline FAST, or you're downcurrent history. Wind blowing same direction, so all the more to have to pull against. It was hard work, and we all used a lot of air just getting to the tie-in line to the wreck. Difficult to hold on while pinching your nose to equalize. No chance to reach for gauges or dump valves, you needed both hands on the rope. Easier once on the downline, but the current didn't let up much til about 40' down, below which it wasn't bad at all. Same with the vis, murky and planktony til you got halfway down, then cleared to about 50' as the temp dropped from about 84 to 78. I buddied with an "insta" from Cali, Jimmy, who was good, and good company on the boat.
Both dives were fine, the LULU is fun. She sits upright in 115', but most of us stayed at deck level or above, about 90-95', and the house tops at 60, so a good spot for old divers or new.
My lessons came from the current (it makes your dives shorter, like about 26 min compared to 32 a year ago, and you have to start the ascent with more air than usual just in case, so it shortens the dive on both ends) , and from my (stupid?) weight belt. After 12 faithful years, it let go on first dive sideline ascent, no way to grab it go after it so I had to let it disappear down into the murk. Here's where the current helped me though, I was now way light but with all the divers on the line being streamed like horizontal flags, the sideline stayed down so I couldn't float it up too far despite my lost 14 pounds, and I got a gradual ascent by hanging on to it.
I chalked it off to maybe having snagged the buckle on something or someone as we "flags" shuffled for places at the safety stop. So, I need a new belt, and asked the boat for extra weights for my BC pockets for dive two.
But Cheynne suited up, went back down, and got it! Hoo Ah! Great work! I was grateful. But somehow I showed my gratitude by ruining Cheynne's good work and having my rescued belt let go again at the very beginning of the second dive, at the sideline with no one around. WTF?? Back to the stern, confessed to the guys, and gave fins to climb out and sit down. But they were way ahead of me and had 2 weights ready for me while I was still on the ladder, so I pocketed them, went back in, actually found my buddy, and had a good second dive.
"Conventional wisdom" from the above Magi was that it likely was a worn-out buckle, it may have slipped free with the buckle still closed? This time it was not retrievable. But I got two good dives, enjoyed the day, and stopped at the local dive shop on the way home for a replacement so I would not do a slow burn about being beltless. Another lesson re-learned--the soft weights cost more than the belt. Duh. Final lesson was that my new mask with magnifying glass and gauge-reading insert, make diving more fun since I could see better (also duh).
So a fun day on an excellent boat, the lessons learned may be old ones, but maybe I needed to learn them first-hand so they'd be "real". scenic Orange Beach was jammed as we passed by through the inlet at mid-day, with many power-drinkers I suspect. I, a Mass. transplant, like the Redneck Rivera. Good diving on the "third coast". I'll be back!!
Only about 10 divers onboard, so lots of elbow room. Which we needed, because the surface current was (to me) ripping. Those who know said it was one knot. I think we tend to overestimate speed of current when telling about it, but a knot felt like a lot to this diver. Grab that sideline FAST, or you're downcurrent history. Wind blowing same direction, so all the more to have to pull against. It was hard work, and we all used a lot of air just getting to the tie-in line to the wreck. Difficult to hold on while pinching your nose to equalize. No chance to reach for gauges or dump valves, you needed both hands on the rope. Easier once on the downline, but the current didn't let up much til about 40' down, below which it wasn't bad at all. Same with the vis, murky and planktony til you got halfway down, then cleared to about 50' as the temp dropped from about 84 to 78. I buddied with an "insta" from Cali, Jimmy, who was good, and good company on the boat.
Both dives were fine, the LULU is fun. She sits upright in 115', but most of us stayed at deck level or above, about 90-95', and the house tops at 60, so a good spot for old divers or new.
My lessons came from the current (it makes your dives shorter, like about 26 min compared to 32 a year ago, and you have to start the ascent with more air than usual just in case, so it shortens the dive on both ends) , and from my (stupid?) weight belt. After 12 faithful years, it let go on first dive sideline ascent, no way to grab it go after it so I had to let it disappear down into the murk. Here's where the current helped me though, I was now way light but with all the divers on the line being streamed like horizontal flags, the sideline stayed down so I couldn't float it up too far despite my lost 14 pounds, and I got a gradual ascent by hanging on to it.
I chalked it off to maybe having snagged the buckle on something or someone as we "flags" shuffled for places at the safety stop. So, I need a new belt, and asked the boat for extra weights for my BC pockets for dive two.
But Cheynne suited up, went back down, and got it! Hoo Ah! Great work! I was grateful. But somehow I showed my gratitude by ruining Cheynne's good work and having my rescued belt let go again at the very beginning of the second dive, at the sideline with no one around. WTF?? Back to the stern, confessed to the guys, and gave fins to climb out and sit down. But they were way ahead of me and had 2 weights ready for me while I was still on the ladder, so I pocketed them, went back in, actually found my buddy, and had a good second dive.
"Conventional wisdom" from the above Magi was that it likely was a worn-out buckle, it may have slipped free with the buckle still closed? This time it was not retrievable. But I got two good dives, enjoyed the day, and stopped at the local dive shop on the way home for a replacement so I would not do a slow burn about being beltless. Another lesson re-learned--the soft weights cost more than the belt. Duh. Final lesson was that my new mask with magnifying glass and gauge-reading insert, make diving more fun since I could see better (also duh).
So a fun day on an excellent boat, the lessons learned may be old ones, but maybe I needed to learn them first-hand so they'd be "real". scenic Orange Beach was jammed as we passed by through the inlet at mid-day, with many power-drinkers I suspect. I, a Mass. transplant, like the Redneck Rivera. Good diving on the "third coast". I'll be back!!
