SeaJay
Contributor
Dive Partner: RavenC
Location: Beaufort, SC
Dive time: 26 minutes
Max depth: 23 feet
Vis: < 1 foot
Air temp: 81*
Water temp: 71*
Weather: Overcast
Notes:
Boy oh boy...
It's been waaay too long since I went diving last. :-(
New gear to try out: My new Apeks ATX200/ATX50; my new self-designed weight pockets.
Well... Let's see...
The regs are completely badass, but I'm not sure that I like the mouthpieces ("ComfoBite"). I may change them in the future. The regs certainly are the cat's ass, though.
The weight pockets were a fantastic idea... When I saw them for the first time in person, I realized that the maker had made them a bit big... And I didn't think that would work well. They did, however... I think we may be on to something with these. Very nice indeed!
I've never had my bungeed necklace feel so streamlined. It's been shortened considerably so that I could grab it with my mouth (with no hands) while in the horizontal position. Much improved!
Now... The dive... This was done in Distant Island Creek, behind the island... Robyn and I descended into the blackness (vis MUCH worse here this year than last year this time) and immediately stepped on a stingray. Nobody got hurt, but from the outset, the dive was of the thrill-a-second type. It was like a bad suspense movie.
After playing with my regs for more than 5 minutes (the two controls on each reg actually DO SOMETHING, even at a measely 23 feet... I think they'd be even more effective at depth - very nice), we began to explore. There was little to see, and we kept bumping into these huge soft corals... Not at all a pleasant experience. Several times we saw crabs (one nearly a foot wide) and many times we saw river shrimp... Only some of them were 8" or more in length! They had red legs - Pop later said that that meant that they were "traveling" and that they "had their boots on." These guys were huge, and Robyn got stuck more than once. It was a lot like diving with a bunch of live, nervous hyperdermic needles. :-( To say, "suspenseful" is an understatement.
We surfaced laughing and having a good time... Although I think we'd have enjoyed ourselves a little more with better vis if there's all of that marine life around.
The Apeks regs get a big "thumbs up" from me, although I'm undecided about the mouthpieces. The pockets are very nice as well. I think they're keepers, even though they're not quite what I expected them to be.
Location: Beaufort, SC
Dive time: 26 minutes
Max depth: 23 feet
Vis: < 1 foot
Air temp: 81*
Water temp: 71*
Weather: Overcast
Notes:
Boy oh boy...
It's been waaay too long since I went diving last. :-(
New gear to try out: My new Apeks ATX200/ATX50; my new self-designed weight pockets.
Well... Let's see...
The regs are completely badass, but I'm not sure that I like the mouthpieces ("ComfoBite"). I may change them in the future. The regs certainly are the cat's ass, though.
The weight pockets were a fantastic idea... When I saw them for the first time in person, I realized that the maker had made them a bit big... And I didn't think that would work well. They did, however... I think we may be on to something with these. Very nice indeed!I've never had my bungeed necklace feel so streamlined. It's been shortened considerably so that I could grab it with my mouth (with no hands) while in the horizontal position. Much improved!
Now... The dive... This was done in Distant Island Creek, behind the island... Robyn and I descended into the blackness (vis MUCH worse here this year than last year this time) and immediately stepped on a stingray. Nobody got hurt, but from the outset, the dive was of the thrill-a-second type. It was like a bad suspense movie.
After playing with my regs for more than 5 minutes (the two controls on each reg actually DO SOMETHING, even at a measely 23 feet... I think they'd be even more effective at depth - very nice), we began to explore. There was little to see, and we kept bumping into these huge soft corals... Not at all a pleasant experience. Several times we saw crabs (one nearly a foot wide) and many times we saw river shrimp... Only some of them were 8" or more in length! They had red legs - Pop later said that that meant that they were "traveling" and that they "had their boots on."
These guys were huge, and Robyn got stuck more than once. It was a lot like diving with a bunch of live, nervous hyperdermic needles. :-( To say, "suspenseful" is an understatement.We surfaced laughing and having a good time... Although I think we'd have enjoyed ourselves a little more with better vis if there's all of that marine life around.
The Apeks regs get a big "thumbs up" from me, although I'm undecided about the mouthpieces. The pockets are very nice as well. I think they're keepers, even though they're not quite what I expected them to be.
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