Ken abucs
Contributor
Yesterday the United Divers of New Hampshire performed our 16th annual Christmas tree dive. I had only done this dive once before as part of the Christmas in July, so I was eager to try the main event.
Every year the town of York Maine has a ceremony when the Christmas lights on the lighthouse are lit for the season. As part of the event we sink a lit tree in the afternoon, then raise it from the depths before the lighthouse is lit.
We were worried about the weather all week, it looked like the weather was going to be clear, but the wind and waves we cause for concern. We knew we had a chance because the wind was coming of the shore. As I was driving to the dive site I went by the beach. There were surfers in the water, never a good sign for a shore dive. At the cove for Nubble Light the waves were at the upper end of the acceptable range, but still diveable.
We assembled the tree, and brought it to the water's edge. Gary who owns the tree added some foam blocks to the float system to improve the stability on the surface since the last event. We all suited up and brought the tree into the water. The dive team consisted of Gary, Luis, Walt, Scott and I. This was Scott's 1st post-certification dive. Unfortunately Scott was underweighted, so he had to abort.
We towed the tree out on the surface and Gary dove to find the mooring. Visibility was 3-4ft, so it took some time. As much as we tried, the tree wouldn't come down. Gary borrowed my knife and went up to cut the newly added foam blocks free. It still took some effort getting it down, but we managed.
My exit was the worst from this dive site. I tried to swim in as far as I could them climb to my feet. But the waves were just frequent and strong enough to knock me back in. I was huffing and puffing by the time I got out.
After killing a 3+ hour surface interval it was getting dark, time to finish the job. Scott had to leave, so he couldn't join us for the 2nd dive. We got suited up and headed for the water. On my way down I slipped and landed on my backside. I have never fallen before on this entry, but I have to do it now when a few hundred people were watching.
Normally when we swim out to raise the tree, the water around the tree is glowing, so it's easy to find. Between the poor visibility and the fact that half the lights flooded none of the light was making it to the surface. It took some time, but we finally found the tree. We dove down, cracked the cyalume sticks, and slowly let the tree float.
Gary surface swam for a while, and towed the tree around. I alternated lighting the tree with my HID, and letting its lights shine in the dark. Normally we'll float the tree until the lighthouse lighting, but it was too choppy to stay on the surface that long.
The exit was much smoother this time. The waves were lighter, and I was able to stand up in chest deep water, and walk out with my fins on. Good thing, it would have been very embarrassing to have a sloppy exit with a few hundred people watching.
Pictures at
Nubble Lighthouse Christmas Tree Dive 2008 - a set on Flickr
Every year the town of York Maine has a ceremony when the Christmas lights on the lighthouse are lit for the season. As part of the event we sink a lit tree in the afternoon, then raise it from the depths before the lighthouse is lit.
We were worried about the weather all week, it looked like the weather was going to be clear, but the wind and waves we cause for concern. We knew we had a chance because the wind was coming of the shore. As I was driving to the dive site I went by the beach. There were surfers in the water, never a good sign for a shore dive. At the cove for Nubble Light the waves were at the upper end of the acceptable range, but still diveable.
We assembled the tree, and brought it to the water's edge. Gary who owns the tree added some foam blocks to the float system to improve the stability on the surface since the last event. We all suited up and brought the tree into the water. The dive team consisted of Gary, Luis, Walt, Scott and I. This was Scott's 1st post-certification dive. Unfortunately Scott was underweighted, so he had to abort.
We towed the tree out on the surface and Gary dove to find the mooring. Visibility was 3-4ft, so it took some time. As much as we tried, the tree wouldn't come down. Gary borrowed my knife and went up to cut the newly added foam blocks free. It still took some effort getting it down, but we managed.
My exit was the worst from this dive site. I tried to swim in as far as I could them climb to my feet. But the waves were just frequent and strong enough to knock me back in. I was huffing and puffing by the time I got out.
After killing a 3+ hour surface interval it was getting dark, time to finish the job. Scott had to leave, so he couldn't join us for the 2nd dive. We got suited up and headed for the water. On my way down I slipped and landed on my backside. I have never fallen before on this entry, but I have to do it now when a few hundred people were watching.
Normally when we swim out to raise the tree, the water around the tree is glowing, so it's easy to find. Between the poor visibility and the fact that half the lights flooded none of the light was making it to the surface. It took some time, but we finally found the tree. We dove down, cracked the cyalume sticks, and slowly let the tree float.
Gary surface swam for a while, and towed the tree around. I alternated lighting the tree with my HID, and letting its lights shine in the dark. Normally we'll float the tree until the lighthouse lighting, but it was too choppy to stay on the surface that long.
The exit was much smoother this time. The waves were lighter, and I was able to stand up in chest deep water, and walk out with my fins on. Good thing, it would have been very embarrassing to have a sloppy exit with a few hundred people watching.
Pictures at
Nubble Lighthouse Christmas Tree Dive 2008 - a set on Flickr
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