DukeAMO
Contributor
I've updated my stats - 25 dives in the log book! That was my goal for this year. My husband got a few more dives in than me, because he already took the Rescue class, and I passed on it for now.
We had some divemaster candidates who really wanted to get their tour requirements checked off before the end of the year, so about a dozen people got together for a night dive at Fantasy Lake, and split into two groups. Mr. Sparkle and thebigdiver from scubaboard were there, among others. There was a wide range of experience in the group, from fairly new divers and those on their first night dive, to tech divers and several instructors. Here's my dive log.
Dive 24, November 8, 2012, 6:48 PM
Night Dive, Visibility 3-8 feet
Air temp: 50 degrees F; Surface temp: 65 degrees; Temp at 29 feet: 63 degrees
Max depth: 29 feet, Time: 20 minutes, swimming safety stop
Nitrox 30%, starting PSI 2400 after a free-flow, ending PSI 1500
This was one of the more challenging dives I've been on, because of the cold and dark and low vis. This was a DMC candidate's tour dive, so we had the DMC candidate leading, an instructor to evaluate him and another diver in the middle, myself and my hubby next, and then another instructor in the back as backup. I had my new semi-dry suit on, and swam out to the entry point 4lbs underweighted. (I assumed the weight I used for a 5mm two-piece suit last time would be enough, but it wasn't.) I couldn't sink, so a couple of guys helped me add an extra 4lbs in the water. I had a free flow at the same time and lost about 600 PSI of my air. Rocky start. Once under, we really had to work to stay close enough to see each other without getting kicked. Basically I had to stay 1-3 feet behind the next diver's fins or risk losing the group. We saw a few fish on the bottom and around the bus, but nothing terribly exciting. We also had a diver from another group accidentally join our group when the groups crossed, hehe. I will say, my hubby's buddy skills are getting pretty good, especially helping me with my gear out of the water.
C-c-cold surface interval and dive debrief. One of the instructors let me borrow his boat coat, which was very helpful.
Dive 25, November 8, 2012, 8:00 PM
Night Dive, Visibility 3-12 feet
Air temp: 40 degrees F; Surface temp: 65 degrees; Temp at 28 feet: 61 degrees
Max depth: 28 feet, Time: 29 minutes, swimming safety stop
Air, starting PSI 3000, ending PSI something over 1500
I did this dive with a different buddy because my husband was shivering too much to get back in the water, and I really really wanted to get dive #25 in (thanks Joe!). The water was actually warmer than the air at this point, so we were able to stay warm as long as we were underwater. We dropped down right from the shore this time, and my weighting was fine with the extra 4lbs still in my pockets. We swam past the airplane (Joe wrote "SILT" on the wing in 1/2" of the stuff), past the school bus, down the road a bit, and back. The visibility was better along the road, probably because there had not been a lot of students there stirring up the silt. A two-foot-long bass kept swimming in Joe's light, probably hunting smaller fish in it, until Joe actually touched its tail and scared it off. I saw some interesting hollow round balls of green algae (golf ball sized). It was much easier to stay with one buddy instead of trying to keep an entire group together. As a result, this dive was much easier, I was able to relax more, and my bouyancy & trim were significantly better.
These dives were definitely "character building", but we still had fun. We had a beer afterward to celebrate the DMCs getting their tours in, my 25th dive, and finding a dozen of us who were crazy enough to do a night dive in those conditions.
We had some divemaster candidates who really wanted to get their tour requirements checked off before the end of the year, so about a dozen people got together for a night dive at Fantasy Lake, and split into two groups. Mr. Sparkle and thebigdiver from scubaboard were there, among others. There was a wide range of experience in the group, from fairly new divers and those on their first night dive, to tech divers and several instructors. Here's my dive log.
Dive 24, November 8, 2012, 6:48 PM
Night Dive, Visibility 3-8 feet
Air temp: 50 degrees F; Surface temp: 65 degrees; Temp at 29 feet: 63 degrees
Max depth: 29 feet, Time: 20 minutes, swimming safety stop
Nitrox 30%, starting PSI 2400 after a free-flow, ending PSI 1500
This was one of the more challenging dives I've been on, because of the cold and dark and low vis. This was a DMC candidate's tour dive, so we had the DMC candidate leading, an instructor to evaluate him and another diver in the middle, myself and my hubby next, and then another instructor in the back as backup. I had my new semi-dry suit on, and swam out to the entry point 4lbs underweighted. (I assumed the weight I used for a 5mm two-piece suit last time would be enough, but it wasn't.) I couldn't sink, so a couple of guys helped me add an extra 4lbs in the water. I had a free flow at the same time and lost about 600 PSI of my air. Rocky start. Once under, we really had to work to stay close enough to see each other without getting kicked. Basically I had to stay 1-3 feet behind the next diver's fins or risk losing the group. We saw a few fish on the bottom and around the bus, but nothing terribly exciting. We also had a diver from another group accidentally join our group when the groups crossed, hehe. I will say, my hubby's buddy skills are getting pretty good, especially helping me with my gear out of the water.
C-c-cold surface interval and dive debrief. One of the instructors let me borrow his boat coat, which was very helpful.
Dive 25, November 8, 2012, 8:00 PM
Night Dive, Visibility 3-12 feet
Air temp: 40 degrees F; Surface temp: 65 degrees; Temp at 28 feet: 61 degrees
Max depth: 28 feet, Time: 29 minutes, swimming safety stop
Air, starting PSI 3000, ending PSI something over 1500
I did this dive with a different buddy because my husband was shivering too much to get back in the water, and I really really wanted to get dive #25 in (thanks Joe!). The water was actually warmer than the air at this point, so we were able to stay warm as long as we were underwater. We dropped down right from the shore this time, and my weighting was fine with the extra 4lbs still in my pockets. We swam past the airplane (Joe wrote "SILT" on the wing in 1/2" of the stuff), past the school bus, down the road a bit, and back. The visibility was better along the road, probably because there had not been a lot of students there stirring up the silt. A two-foot-long bass kept swimming in Joe's light, probably hunting smaller fish in it, until Joe actually touched its tail and scared it off. I saw some interesting hollow round balls of green algae (golf ball sized). It was much easier to stay with one buddy instead of trying to keep an entire group together. As a result, this dive was much easier, I was able to relax more, and my bouyancy & trim were significantly better.
These dives were definitely "character building", but we still had fun. We had a beer afterward to celebrate the DMCs getting their tours in, my 25th dive, and finding a dozen of us who were crazy enough to do a night dive in those conditions.
Keep on diving and having fun 
