Barracuda2
Contributor
As I write this, it's 10:30 in the morning and I just climbed out of bed recuperated from an awesome weekend. This weekend was one of those experiences that is just difficult to put into words; you had to be there to really understand what took place.
Had 100+ no-shows turned up on Sat., we would have missed breaking the record by less than 100 divers; however, several unofficial records were set: largest number of divers ever gathered on one location on the North American Continent and in the State of Ohio; largest number of divers submerged on one location in a quarry or any fresh water; and the largest "Marco Polo" game ever played.
I don't have the space here to tell you all the preparations Mike put into place for this event. I went to Gilboa on thursday night to drop off videos, and campers were already in place on the new farm that Mike purchased. The grounds were marked, porta potties in place and a very ample solid bridge was built connecting the campgrounds with the main quarry grounds. Lane lines were being set in the quarry for Sat. event. A huge tent for Sat.'s dinner and entertainment was in place with enough tables and chairs to accommodate all the quest. A secondary field next to the campgrounds was marked and ready to park all the cars. Once campers dropped off their gear, cars were parked in this adjacent lot. All looked pretty much ready to receive the inflow of hundreds of divers on Fri.
I got there 7:00 Fri. morning and got my campsite set up for the weekend. My job for Sat. was to be a guide to new divers to the quarry, mainly to keep them off the bottom. I guided a couple from Maryland on the first dive and another group of three on my second dive.--a really tough assignment.
By mid afternoon, the office was really getting busy with divers coming in to register, get their wrist bands, T-shirts and sign waivers. It was busy, but surely not chaotic. Jodi and 3-4 other girls were signing divers in. Jodi had the lines broken up alphabetically so people just got in the appropriate line; this made for a really smooth sign in.
By late afternoon, the campground was filling up. Campsites were marked with two campsites back to back with traffic lanes running between each row of these sites. We were cozy, but not crowded, at least by my standards. That evening, everybody there started to socialize and I met a lot of new friends. Ber Rabbit and friends showed up and we were able to have adjacent sites. I didn't get much sleep that night mainly because there was a group from Poland (yes, I said Poland) who partied until about 4:00 a.m. I had no idea what they were saying, but they sure sounded like they were having a great time.
The smell of bacon, eggs and pancakes permeated the air Sat. morning and divers were really starting to roll in for the event. The campgrounds were now almost filled with anything from RV's to Tents to people sleeping in their vans. Mike even had large generators rented for the RV's, about 3 or 4 and they really ran quiet.
The event was scheduled to start at 2:30 so after lunch, the shuttles starting running. We staked out a spot near the last entry point on Sat. night, and some even hauled their equipment down that night. It was an awesome sight watching flat bed trailers loaded with gear and divers being shuttled to the various entry points. It ran very smooth. Empty Flat bed trailers were dropped off in the campgrounds and left to sit until they were filled while other trailers full of equipment were shuttled over the bridge and to the quarry. The empty trailers were soon filled up and the 4-wheelers then swapped the empty one for the full one. This process was repeated until all gear and divers were at the assigned entry entry points.
Now we come to the amazing part. I heard many people say that this part of the event would be chaotic, a mess, dangerous, and that's why they were not going to participate. Some said that many divers would be in the water for up to 3 or 4 hrs. getting in, doing the event, and getting out. Get this---It took only 35 minutes to get 794 divers checked in and set in place in their various lanes. I was in the water for just 30 minutes before the event started. As far as safety, each lane had a "Lane Shepherd" whose job was to monitor divers in their lanes. Ber did a great job keeping an eye on our lane. She cruised the lane making sure each diver was "ok" while we were submerged. She even had to "herd" a few wanderers. Great Job Ber! While the last of the divers were getting in, we were having a party out in the water; beach balls started flying, and we played probably the largest Marco Polo game ever played. What a roaring sound it was when hundreds of divers responded with "Polo" after a few shouted "Marco". One of the funniest things happened right before we submerged; Mike asked if anybody felt uncomfortable. Someone shouted out "I gotta take a pee!" Everybody, including Mike, just totally cracked up. After a prayer for safety for everybody from Mike, he fired the shot gun as the signal to descend. Those that were topside said that the sound of 794 BC's purging air was an incredible sound. I didn't hear it, I was on my way down.
Our lane was just over the plane, so many just sat on the wings or hovered. 20 minutes went by in a flash and soon we surfaced and began to head back to our entry point to be officially checked out. From the time the first diver went in the water, including the 20 minute dive, and the last diver got out, the entire event took only 1 and 1/2 hrs. But more importantly, not body got hurt.
The same shuttle service that got everybody and their gear there, took everybody back to their campsites or parking lot. At about 6:00, Mike put out a great dinner for all at the main tent. Several serving lines cut down on any wait. We had BBC pork sandwiches, great homemade potato salad, green beans, lemon aid, and home made ice cream and cake and brownies for dessert. That evening, there was a DJ in the main tent for entertainment, however, most of the entertainment was in the campground. What a great evening of camaraderie with divers, old friends and new friends.
On Sun., morning, you could even attend church right on the grounds if you so desired, and some took advantage of that. At 10:00 the large gathering took place in the main tent for some recognitions, speeches, many give-a-ways, and a discussion on what's next. It was unanimously agreed on to stage the event next year at the same time, and before we left, over 50 people registered and paid for the next Guinness event. I wouldn't miss this for anything; We will break the record next year, and you all just need to be a part of it, if not for the record, just for the amazing weekend. For a first run, Mike and Jodi did just a tremendous job. Because of this year's experience, next year will be even better. I got much more than I ever expected for my $50 entry fee. In all of my 52 yrs. of diving, this weekend ranks right up there as one of my top 5 experiences. Let's hear from all who attended and get your side of the story.
Had 100+ no-shows turned up on Sat., we would have missed breaking the record by less than 100 divers; however, several unofficial records were set: largest number of divers ever gathered on one location on the North American Continent and in the State of Ohio; largest number of divers submerged on one location in a quarry or any fresh water; and the largest "Marco Polo" game ever played.
I don't have the space here to tell you all the preparations Mike put into place for this event. I went to Gilboa on thursday night to drop off videos, and campers were already in place on the new farm that Mike purchased. The grounds were marked, porta potties in place and a very ample solid bridge was built connecting the campgrounds with the main quarry grounds. Lane lines were being set in the quarry for Sat. event. A huge tent for Sat.'s dinner and entertainment was in place with enough tables and chairs to accommodate all the quest. A secondary field next to the campgrounds was marked and ready to park all the cars. Once campers dropped off their gear, cars were parked in this adjacent lot. All looked pretty much ready to receive the inflow of hundreds of divers on Fri.
I got there 7:00 Fri. morning and got my campsite set up for the weekend. My job for Sat. was to be a guide to new divers to the quarry, mainly to keep them off the bottom. I guided a couple from Maryland on the first dive and another group of three on my second dive.--a really tough assignment.
By mid afternoon, the office was really getting busy with divers coming in to register, get their wrist bands, T-shirts and sign waivers. It was busy, but surely not chaotic. Jodi and 3-4 other girls were signing divers in. Jodi had the lines broken up alphabetically so people just got in the appropriate line; this made for a really smooth sign in. By late afternoon, the campground was filling up. Campsites were marked with two campsites back to back with traffic lanes running between each row of these sites. We were cozy, but not crowded, at least by my standards. That evening, everybody there started to socialize and I met a lot of new friends. Ber Rabbit and friends showed up and we were able to have adjacent sites. I didn't get much sleep that night mainly because there was a group from Poland (yes, I said Poland) who partied until about 4:00 a.m. I had no idea what they were saying, but they sure sounded like they were having a great time.
The smell of bacon, eggs and pancakes permeated the air Sat. morning and divers were really starting to roll in for the event. The campgrounds were now almost filled with anything from RV's to Tents to people sleeping in their vans. Mike even had large generators rented for the RV's, about 3 or 4 and they really ran quiet.
The event was scheduled to start at 2:30 so after lunch, the shuttles starting running. We staked out a spot near the last entry point on Sat. night, and some even hauled their equipment down that night. It was an awesome sight watching flat bed trailers loaded with gear and divers being shuttled to the various entry points. It ran very smooth. Empty Flat bed trailers were dropped off in the campgrounds and left to sit until they were filled while other trailers full of equipment were shuttled over the bridge and to the quarry. The empty trailers were soon filled up and the 4-wheelers then swapped the empty one for the full one. This process was repeated until all gear and divers were at the assigned entry entry points.
Now we come to the amazing part. I heard many people say that this part of the event would be chaotic, a mess, dangerous, and that's why they were not going to participate. Some said that many divers would be in the water for up to 3 or 4 hrs. getting in, doing the event, and getting out. Get this---It took only 35 minutes to get 794 divers checked in and set in place in their various lanes. I was in the water for just 30 minutes before the event started. As far as safety, each lane had a "Lane Shepherd" whose job was to monitor divers in their lanes. Ber did a great job keeping an eye on our lane. She cruised the lane making sure each diver was "ok" while we were submerged. She even had to "herd" a few wanderers. Great Job Ber! While the last of the divers were getting in, we were having a party out in the water; beach balls started flying, and we played probably the largest Marco Polo game ever played. What a roaring sound it was when hundreds of divers responded with "Polo" after a few shouted "Marco". One of the funniest things happened right before we submerged; Mike asked if anybody felt uncomfortable. Someone shouted out "I gotta take a pee!" Everybody, including Mike, just totally cracked up. After a prayer for safety for everybody from Mike, he fired the shot gun as the signal to descend. Those that were topside said that the sound of 794 BC's purging air was an incredible sound. I didn't hear it, I was on my way down.
Our lane was just over the plane, so many just sat on the wings or hovered. 20 minutes went by in a flash and soon we surfaced and began to head back to our entry point to be officially checked out. From the time the first diver went in the water, including the 20 minute dive, and the last diver got out, the entire event took only 1 and 1/2 hrs. But more importantly, not body got hurt.
The same shuttle service that got everybody and their gear there, took everybody back to their campsites or parking lot. At about 6:00, Mike put out a great dinner for all at the main tent. Several serving lines cut down on any wait. We had BBC pork sandwiches, great homemade potato salad, green beans, lemon aid, and home made ice cream and cake and brownies for dessert. That evening, there was a DJ in the main tent for entertainment, however, most of the entertainment was in the campground. What a great evening of camaraderie with divers, old friends and new friends.
On Sun., morning, you could even attend church right on the grounds if you so desired, and some took advantage of that. At 10:00 the large gathering took place in the main tent for some recognitions, speeches, many give-a-ways, and a discussion on what's next. It was unanimously agreed on to stage the event next year at the same time, and before we left, over 50 people registered and paid for the next Guinness event. I wouldn't miss this for anything; We will break the record next year, and you all just need to be a part of it, if not for the record, just for the amazing weekend. For a first run, Mike and Jodi did just a tremendous job. Because of this year's experience, next year will be even better. I got much more than I ever expected for my $50 entry fee. In all of my 52 yrs. of diving, this weekend ranks right up there as one of my top 5 experiences. Let's hear from all who attended and get your side of the story.
