May was nuts... there really is no other word for it so I am combining it into one blog... As mentioned previously in You may call me... "The Dolphin Poop Cleaner"
I have been gifted the amazing opportunity of training as a volunteer
diver for the Vancouver Aquarium. Now to put this into a bit of perspective to get my Open Water Certification for diving, I attended 4 - 4 hour long classes that involved fitness tests ("Fitness... I don't need no stinkin' fitness") Knowledge Reviews, homework and in water practice culminating in a 50 questions exam (The "future" and the past!) and then a demonstration of all my skills in the open water. For my certificate that allows me to be a volunteer for the Aquarium, not even a diver yet, I attended the orientation, then passed an interview and then.... I needed to complete 8 - 3 hour modules at the Aquarium learning everything from Marine Biology, the Arctic Environment, how to tell the difference between the Beluga's and even a little Lady Gaga... you'd have to ask David... words just cannot explain...lol.
Well here I am, my brain is fried, May is behind me and June is just started, I have completed all of my sessions and even had the chance to watch volunteers for other departments do presentations, I fortunately didn't have to present... I'm only a diver after-all...lol. Next week we start the Diver related training... that should be interesting... not too worried though, unless of course Jeremy makes me sing Lady Gaga....
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Monday, May 23, 2011
Saving Lives - The New Team Sport
Yesterday was when we finally put all of the pieces of my four month journey to Rescue Diver together. After classroom session number one with Virpi in February (The Master Scuba Diver Challenge!!) followed by the confusion of Andrew to the Rescue.... Or Not?, we finally got everything started back up in Andrew to the Rescue part... Doh!! where Ward taught the classroom section again (for the 4 new students that had joined the Recue program) and invited me to join. Then that following Saturday Denis and Matt taught the in water Rescue scenarios in You are healed!!. Which brings us to yesterday when Denis and Cheryl lead us through the final in water rescue scenarios but this time we got to put all of the learned items together.
In You are healed!! I got to practice with Matt on bringing a diver to the surface, and finding a lost diver in partners and dealing with a panicked diver.We also had opportunities to practice our in-water rescue breaths with the pocket mask while pulling a victim to shore and getting their gear off. Yesterday we got to demonstrate our rescue breaths again, but this time without the pocket mask (yeah, you wanna see a group of guys squirm... tell them they are about to practice mouth to mouth...lol.) With that skill out of the way (and no, lips did not actually touch...lol, you end up blowing more on their chin or just below), we moved on to the real tests. Here is where you need to put all your training into action. One buddy is sent out into the water and is in apparent need of assistance, the other two need to come from shore and bring the first guy out. Now, in our scenarios we have the advantage of knowing time really isn't of the essence (no one is really dying) and we are more or less mentally prepared and expecting the scenario. So when Denis said go it was no surprise that most everyone was ready. But what you realize in the two minutes the scenario takes to start and complete... there is a LOT to think about.... How far out is the potential victim? Do I take the time to put my kit on? What do I take with me? Is he the only victim?
One by one, here is the thought process:
How far out is the victim?
After our briefing, it was time for the final test... the real test. You see for this one, Cheryl, our helpless "damsel in distress" is a "missing diver," and our team of six "rescuers" are tasked with finding and rescuing her. What we know is that she is missing, we have a rough area and a general depth, we also know that visibility SUCKS at that depth.... what we need to do is agree upon a strategy, make a plan and execute it flawlessly... we also have to do it in less than 10 minutes! Not a PADI requirement, a Cheryl requirement... she gets cold...lol. So here was my chance to shine... lol, after-all, I had been through the classroom session twice, had the best partner for day 1 (Matt), can't go wrong with a DM as your partner, especially one who makes you work..lol. With everyone on the beach, and knowing the obstacles, we began to discuss. The eventual plan that was agreed upon was to go out as a team of 6 each person having a dedicated buddy in case of seperation, drop down to depth and essentially holding hands move parallel to the beach, one of us in the middle navigating with a compass, the guy beside him counting kick cycles and the 2 guys on either end watching to see if they can find Cheryl. Then after a set number of kick cycles, we would send the message down the line (through taps) and the inside person would stop and everyone would rotate around them to swing back in the opposite direction covering the next section. Then, once found, the first group of dedicated buddies to reach her would surface her and while one starts pulling her in the other starts breaths. This allows the fastest pair of remaining swimmers to head to shore to get the first aid and O2 ready and the final pair to work together, without interfering with the dragging or breathing, in getting her kit off before reaching shore.
With the plan in place it was time to stage the scene, to make it interesting we descended first and waited 2 minutes while Cheryl swam to a spot and descended. At the 2 minute mark we started our search pattern, as we reached the end of our pass, the diver to my far left (I was in the middle) signaled along the line, and one by one we stopped and noticed there to the left of us barely visible in the murky water was Cheryl. The team to my left secured her regulator and surfaced with the remaining 4 of us following close behind. On the surface 2 of our divers raced for shore to secure the first-aid and air. The two divers that brought Cheryl to the surface had already secured the pocket mask and were making their way to shore as the last member of our group and myself started undoing her kit and passing the items off. By the time we had reached shore her full kit was off as was mine, so while the rest of my team stripped off their gear I pulled Cheryl up on shore to where the guys with first-aid and air were waiting to take over. After a couple rounds of compressions and breaths... she was revived and safe to dive another day.
All in, this was one of the best courses I could have taken, it took longer to complete than intended but the information is definitely in there to stay.
In You are healed!! I got to practice with Matt on bringing a diver to the surface, and finding a lost diver in partners and dealing with a panicked diver.We also had opportunities to practice our in-water rescue breaths with the pocket mask while pulling a victim to shore and getting their gear off. Yesterday we got to demonstrate our rescue breaths again, but this time without the pocket mask (yeah, you wanna see a group of guys squirm... tell them they are about to practice mouth to mouth...lol.) With that skill out of the way (and no, lips did not actually touch...lol, you end up blowing more on their chin or just below), we moved on to the real tests. Here is where you need to put all your training into action. One buddy is sent out into the water and is in apparent need of assistance, the other two need to come from shore and bring the first guy out. Now, in our scenarios we have the advantage of knowing time really isn't of the essence (no one is really dying) and we are more or less mentally prepared and expecting the scenario. So when Denis said go it was no surprise that most everyone was ready. But what you realize in the two minutes the scenario takes to start and complete... there is a LOT to think about.... How far out is the potential victim? Do I take the time to put my kit on? What do I take with me? Is he the only victim?
One by one, here is the thought process:
How far out is the victim?
- do you have to get in the water
- can he be reached wading
- can something be thrown to him
- can you reach him with a stick
- if I take the time he is in the water having issues longer
- if I don't have my kit and he goes under then I may not be able to reach him
- if I have my kit I will be slower in the water
- if I don't have my kit and he gets panicky I don't have the option of going under him
- do I grab a floatation device or make one
- do I need my fins and mask
- do I get another diver to come with me or wait for me on shore
- Where is his dive buddy
- Is this a surface rescue or is he signaling for help because he can't find his buddy
- What is the potential of additional victims
After our briefing, it was time for the final test... the real test. You see for this one, Cheryl, our helpless "damsel in distress" is a "missing diver," and our team of six "rescuers" are tasked with finding and rescuing her. What we know is that she is missing, we have a rough area and a general depth, we also know that visibility SUCKS at that depth.... what we need to do is agree upon a strategy, make a plan and execute it flawlessly... we also have to do it in less than 10 minutes! Not a PADI requirement, a Cheryl requirement... she gets cold...lol. So here was my chance to shine... lol, after-all, I had been through the classroom session twice, had the best partner for day 1 (Matt), can't go wrong with a DM as your partner, especially one who makes you work..lol. With everyone on the beach, and knowing the obstacles, we began to discuss. The eventual plan that was agreed upon was to go out as a team of 6 each person having a dedicated buddy in case of seperation, drop down to depth and essentially holding hands move parallel to the beach, one of us in the middle navigating with a compass, the guy beside him counting kick cycles and the 2 guys on either end watching to see if they can find Cheryl. Then after a set number of kick cycles, we would send the message down the line (through taps) and the inside person would stop and everyone would rotate around them to swing back in the opposite direction covering the next section. Then, once found, the first group of dedicated buddies to reach her would surface her and while one starts pulling her in the other starts breaths. This allows the fastest pair of remaining swimmers to head to shore to get the first aid and O2 ready and the final pair to work together, without interfering with the dragging or breathing, in getting her kit off before reaching shore.
With the plan in place it was time to stage the scene, to make it interesting we descended first and waited 2 minutes while Cheryl swam to a spot and descended. At the 2 minute mark we started our search pattern, as we reached the end of our pass, the diver to my far left (I was in the middle) signaled along the line, and one by one we stopped and noticed there to the left of us barely visible in the murky water was Cheryl. The team to my left secured her regulator and surfaced with the remaining 4 of us following close behind. On the surface 2 of our divers raced for shore to secure the first-aid and air. The two divers that brought Cheryl to the surface had already secured the pocket mask and were making their way to shore as the last member of our group and myself started undoing her kit and passing the items off. By the time we had reached shore her full kit was off as was mine, so while the rest of my team stripped off their gear I pulled Cheryl up on shore to where the guys with first-aid and air were waiting to take over. After a couple rounds of compressions and breaths... she was revived and safe to dive another day.
All in, this was one of the best courses I could have taken, it took longer to complete than intended but the information is definitely in there to stay.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Much Harder Than It Looks....
What a busy week!! Last week I had my Photography class on Monday, Aquarium Orientation on Wednesday night and Aquarium volunteer interview on Thursday! Then, to top off my week and start this busy one, yesterday I had my Photography class and the shop BBQ. Arriving early as always, I parked in the typical lower parking lot, right by the benches and in a perfect spot for a short walk to the shore. Then within a couple minutes of arriving I saw Dennis arrive and head to the upper parking. So throwing my fins back in the van I moved up to where he had parked. Soon after Matt arrived and said Wes had let him know we would meet in the lower lot after all, as there would be more space. Dennis and I decided to wait to see what Wes and Shannon wanted to do when they got there as they were only a couple minutes behind Matt. Once they arrived they let us know that we would be using the upper lot as that is what they had mentioned on the original email...lol. But after reviewing the lot, we decided to compromise and move to the middle lot, giving us the room we would need but keeping us close to our original plan so that no one would be lost or confused...lol. Lots of work and we hadn't even started yet.
Once parked it was time to assemble kits and review notes and start getting everything ready for our Photography dives. Once the whole class arrived, and with our gear all assembled we sat with Wes to discuss the plan for the day, buddy up and then get out gear on.
After our short briefing and with gear in place and buddy teams arranged we headed for the water. Of course with Chloe still out with her foot, there was only 5 divers going in, Matt with the one student and me with the other DM and Wes watching us all. The idea for the first dive was to have each of us try to focus on Macro photography and get REALLY close to stuff, and then practice getting our lights in the right spots so that we could try to get a few shots that worked.
This is where everything went pear shaped for me, my strobe is apparently VERY bright and the resulting "flash" was blowing away all of my photos, even with my shutter set up really high, and my aperture really low and ISO set at 80 (as low as it goes), my photos were still oddly over exposed. The only thing that started to work was moving the strobe further away from the object but that resulted in back-scatter, (when all the particulate in the water is lit up and very prominent in the photos.) Wes did his best to try to help me accommodate to the blasting light and even tried snapping off a few himself helping me get things a little more dialed in. Then to complicate matters, visibility sucked pretty bad and was not helped by the fact 5 divers were trying to get as close to the ground as possible and then take off again without disturbing the ground... easier said then done. For much of the first part of the dive we had debris everywhere and were struggling to shoot through it. Wes led the way most of the time moving back and forth between the two groups and giving tips as he could. He even flipped a sun star over for me so that I could photograph it as is set itself right again. Then as we got a little deeper and visibility got a little better we were able to separate a little more and managed to get a few more usable images. But alas, before long, people started getting cold and air started to run shorter so we headed back in to the shallows capturing images as we did and then headed up for lunch, a debrief and a chance to review some of the images.
Getting my laptop out of the van it took only a minute to download all of my failed attempts and my few success' onto my computer. Then Wes was able to scroll through them and see what if anything he could tell me that would help me move from being totally worthless at underwater photography to at least somewhat useable...lol. Everyone ended up with a shot or two that they were happy with and then it was time to eat!
Now I love the Ocean Pro BBQ's, in fact I love BBQ's in general...lol and this was no exception. For $5 you get a couple of amazing burgers, some salad, a pop, and all sorts of other plate (and stomach) fillers. Ashley was there to help with the cooking, and Shannon kept everyone organized while encouraging people to eat more...lol. Amongst some of the other divers in attendance were Dennis, Ward, and Virpi (my supremely incredible instructors) and Stewart (the man who keeps everything running.) After having my fill of burgers it was time to clean up, stow my laptop, and change the batteries in my camera (just to be safe).
With everything clean, stowed and changed, it was time to head for the water. With our team together we waded into the water and this time had the plan to go out a bit further and descend along the wall and see if we could capture images of the life along the rock. After descending and meeting at the bottom it was time to (in our pairs) move out along the bottom and wall and find exciting life and items and attempt to capture usable images. After a few feet I went in for a photo of a sunstar and it came out black... so I moved the light in a bit, adjusted a couple settings, and boom... blown out and WAY too bright.... a couple more setting changes... still to bright... again... still bright but better... a couple of tweeks... black again! Grrrrr!!!
Now that I was one step away from seeing how far I could throw my camera underwater.. I decided to try one more time... this time, while still black.. I noticed something.. I didn't see a big flash...hmm. So, holding the camera away from me, I pulled the trigger... sure enough, my on board flash went off.. but no strobe... I flicked the switch back and forth.... nothing... the batteries were dead!! I had thought to switch my camera batteries but had not thought that the strobe batteries would be that low.... Grrrrr!!!
Well, with my photography done for the day, it was time to follow Wes and my buddy around. Now my buddy didn't seem to be taking many photos either, she seemed to be mostly following Wes and watching what he was doing... looks like great minds think alike... literally... she had forgot to switch her batteries too...lol. As it turned out once the dive was done, Wes had a failure in one of his strobes, and pretty much everyone else had battery issues.
All said and done it was a great day and fun dives and I even got a couple images that I am sort of happy with. I've attached them below, let me know what you think, and if you have tips.. let me know those too.
Once parked it was time to assemble kits and review notes and start getting everything ready for our Photography dives. Once the whole class arrived, and with our gear all assembled we sat with Wes to discuss the plan for the day, buddy up and then get out gear on.
After our short briefing and with gear in place and buddy teams arranged we headed for the water. Of course with Chloe still out with her foot, there was only 5 divers going in, Matt with the one student and me with the other DM and Wes watching us all. The idea for the first dive was to have each of us try to focus on Macro photography and get REALLY close to stuff, and then practice getting our lights in the right spots so that we could try to get a few shots that worked.
This is where everything went pear shaped for me, my strobe is apparently VERY bright and the resulting "flash" was blowing away all of my photos, even with my shutter set up really high, and my aperture really low and ISO set at 80 (as low as it goes), my photos were still oddly over exposed. The only thing that started to work was moving the strobe further away from the object but that resulted in back-scatter, (when all the particulate in the water is lit up and very prominent in the photos.) Wes did his best to try to help me accommodate to the blasting light and even tried snapping off a few himself helping me get things a little more dialed in. Then to complicate matters, visibility sucked pretty bad and was not helped by the fact 5 divers were trying to get as close to the ground as possible and then take off again without disturbing the ground... easier said then done. For much of the first part of the dive we had debris everywhere and were struggling to shoot through it. Wes led the way most of the time moving back and forth between the two groups and giving tips as he could. He even flipped a sun star over for me so that I could photograph it as is set itself right again. Then as we got a little deeper and visibility got a little better we were able to separate a little more and managed to get a few more usable images. But alas, before long, people started getting cold and air started to run shorter so we headed back in to the shallows capturing images as we did and then headed up for lunch, a debrief and a chance to review some of the images.
Getting my laptop out of the van it took only a minute to download all of my failed attempts and my few success' onto my computer. Then Wes was able to scroll through them and see what if anything he could tell me that would help me move from being totally worthless at underwater photography to at least somewhat useable...lol. Everyone ended up with a shot or two that they were happy with and then it was time to eat!
Now I love the Ocean Pro BBQ's, in fact I love BBQ's in general...lol and this was no exception. For $5 you get a couple of amazing burgers, some salad, a pop, and all sorts of other plate (and stomach) fillers. Ashley was there to help with the cooking, and Shannon kept everyone organized while encouraging people to eat more...lol. Amongst some of the other divers in attendance were Dennis, Ward, and Virpi (my supremely incredible instructors) and Stewart (the man who keeps everything running.) After having my fill of burgers it was time to clean up, stow my laptop, and change the batteries in my camera (just to be safe).
With everything clean, stowed and changed, it was time to head for the water. With our team together we waded into the water and this time had the plan to go out a bit further and descend along the wall and see if we could capture images of the life along the rock. After descending and meeting at the bottom it was time to (in our pairs) move out along the bottom and wall and find exciting life and items and attempt to capture usable images. After a few feet I went in for a photo of a sunstar and it came out black... so I moved the light in a bit, adjusted a couple settings, and boom... blown out and WAY too bright.... a couple more setting changes... still to bright... again... still bright but better... a couple of tweeks... black again! Grrrrr!!!
Now that I was one step away from seeing how far I could throw my camera underwater.. I decided to try one more time... this time, while still black.. I noticed something.. I didn't see a big flash...hmm. So, holding the camera away from me, I pulled the trigger... sure enough, my on board flash went off.. but no strobe... I flicked the switch back and forth.... nothing... the batteries were dead!! I had thought to switch my camera batteries but had not thought that the strobe batteries would be that low.... Grrrrr!!!
Well, with my photography done for the day, it was time to follow Wes and my buddy around. Now my buddy didn't seem to be taking many photos either, she seemed to be mostly following Wes and watching what he was doing... looks like great minds think alike... literally... she had forgot to switch her batteries too...lol. As it turned out once the dive was done, Wes had a failure in one of his strobes, and pretty much everyone else had battery issues.
All said and done it was a great day and fun dives and I even got a couple images that I am sort of happy with. I've attached them below, let me know what you think, and if you have tips.. let me know those too.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
You may call me... "The Dolphin Poop Cleaner"
Last night I got the AMAZING opportunity to go to the Volunteer Orientation at the Vancouver Aquarium!!
So why is it in my dive blog, you may ask? Well, because I am a volunteer diver for the Vancouver Aquarium.... or will be once I:
So... where does this leave me... Mr Active and Involved diver... new explorer and photographer of the undersea world? It leaves me right wherever the Aquarium needs me, and for now that sounds like in the empty dolphin tank cleaning poop! Doesn't sound exciting to you? Ok, then look at it through my eyes... I have been to the Vancouver Aquarium maybe half a dozen times in my life, for those of you doing the math at home that's roughly once ever six years... the Aquarium changes programs and adds exhibits on a continuous basis so if your not there like once a month you're missing stuff... so to think of the exhibits, animals and adventures I have missed over the 420 months I have been around is mind boggling - as a Volunteer, I can go whenever I want, if I don't understand something, they have staff that will help me, almost every diver I know pulls their information on local marine life from a book, if I can catch a picture or provide a decent description, I get the information live, from an expert!... Need more reasons... all three of my boys have been on field trips to the Aquarium and (surprise surprise) each of those field trips is led by a volunteer, someone who has given of their time to enrich my children's lives! Nearly 30 years I walked the earth and knew that littering was bad and it hurts things like animals and mother nature, etc. It wasn't until a trip to the Aquarium that someone actually "educated" me and the children I was working with on the dangers of plastic pop can rings and how birds (and other animals) get their necks caught in them and die. Years later on another trip to the Aquarium I learned, (from a volunteer) that plastic grocery bags, you know the ones you now have to pay $0.05 for, the ones people will let blow down the street if the bag falls out of their car, those bags, when they hit the ocean very closely resemble a Jelly Fish, now as a diver I avoid the Jellies, but the beautiful Sea Turtles that we all dream about riding and loved watching in finding Nemo, they eat those "Jellies" and surprise, plastic bags are no better for them then they are for our babies! These lessons are taught to our children and grandchildren and their friends on a daily basis by people who freely give of their time! Don't you agree it's time to give back! Now you understand a small percentage of why it's important for me to be involved in something this big.
Well, I'll be off for my Interview in a little bit, fingers crossed that they like me enough to give me a chance and hopefully I'll be able to provide updates as I go through my training and maybe, all going well... soon you'll be able to call me "The Dolphin Poop Cleaner!"
So why is it in my dive blog, you may ask? Well, because I am a volunteer diver for the Vancouver Aquarium.... or will be once I:
- pass my interview
- complete the seven 3 hour modules about the aquarium
- complete the 3 hours module on Marine Biology
- pass my dive theory exam
- pass Diving emergency and accident management
- pass the DAN Oxygen First Aid for SCUBA Diving Injuries
- complete the swimming evaluation (wee.. more fitness)
- pass the Powered Equipment Safety exam
- complete the check-out dive and skills circuit and
- complete my surface supply diving equipment training
So... where does this leave me... Mr Active and Involved diver... new explorer and photographer of the undersea world? It leaves me right wherever the Aquarium needs me, and for now that sounds like in the empty dolphin tank cleaning poop! Doesn't sound exciting to you? Ok, then look at it through my eyes... I have been to the Vancouver Aquarium maybe half a dozen times in my life, for those of you doing the math at home that's roughly once ever six years... the Aquarium changes programs and adds exhibits on a continuous basis so if your not there like once a month you're missing stuff... so to think of the exhibits, animals and adventures I have missed over the 420 months I have been around is mind boggling - as a Volunteer, I can go whenever I want, if I don't understand something, they have staff that will help me, almost every diver I know pulls their information on local marine life from a book, if I can catch a picture or provide a decent description, I get the information live, from an expert!... Need more reasons... all three of my boys have been on field trips to the Aquarium and (surprise surprise) each of those field trips is led by a volunteer, someone who has given of their time to enrich my children's lives! Nearly 30 years I walked the earth and knew that littering was bad and it hurts things like animals and mother nature, etc. It wasn't until a trip to the Aquarium that someone actually "educated" me and the children I was working with on the dangers of plastic pop can rings and how birds (and other animals) get their necks caught in them and die. Years later on another trip to the Aquarium I learned, (from a volunteer) that plastic grocery bags, you know the ones you now have to pay $0.05 for, the ones people will let blow down the street if the bag falls out of their car, those bags, when they hit the ocean very closely resemble a Jelly Fish, now as a diver I avoid the Jellies, but the beautiful Sea Turtles that we all dream about riding and loved watching in finding Nemo, they eat those "Jellies" and surprise, plastic bags are no better for them then they are for our babies! These lessons are taught to our children and grandchildren and their friends on a daily basis by people who freely give of their time! Don't you agree it's time to give back! Now you understand a small percentage of why it's important for me to be involved in something this big.
Well, I'll be off for my Interview in a little bit, fingers crossed that they like me enough to give me a chance and hopefully I'll be able to provide updates as I go through my training and maybe, all going well... soon you'll be able to call me "The Dolphin Poop Cleaner!"
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Working The Triangle.
Monday night marked the start of what I hope will be my favorite dive topic... PHOTOGRAPHY!!
After reading the manual and carrying my camera around the house with me playing with buttons I figured i was going to be all set for this class. The only thing I was worried about was lighting... lighting is one of the hardest things about photography (land or water) but those issues are compounded under water as light can't travel through water very well, even less in poor visibility and without light, you need strobes and strobes are a whole new challenge.
Class was a ton of fun, Chloe and another dive master from a different school were auditing the class in hopes of getting certified to teach it one day and then there was Matt and I and one of my dive buddies who does most of my courses with me. Matt just recently purchased a new camera and the shop had purchased the same one for divers to rent or borrow when doing the photography course and of course Chloe, the other DM and I all have our cameras. Now photography is always a tough course to teach (even land) when students have different cameras. This is complex as each camera has it"s settings in a different location or configuration and some have features others don't. All this combines to make a tough class.
Once class got kicked off, our instructor, Wes, underwater photographer extraordinaire (you can see some of his work here), took us through the basics of photography. Now this was a fun part for me because while lighting has it's challenges and composition is an area I struggle with, ISO, Aperture and Shutter speed are my second language...lol. Being able to help explain concepts to some of the students and assist Wes with moving through the Triangle was exciting... finally I know something most others are not too sure about...lol.
Now the Triangle, for anyone who has not taken photography is the balance between ISO - Shutter Speed- Aperture. As you adjust one, you need to adjust one or both of the others to compensate and ensure enough light reaches the sensor (or film in pre-digital cameras). As you decrease the ISO (the sensors sensitivity) to increase the quality of image, you must either narrow the depth of field (lower aperture) or slow down the shutter (lower shudder speed). To catch a faster moving object you need to speed up the shutter (increase shutter speed) meaning you need to either narrow the depth of field (lower aperture) or increase the ISO. To get lots of items or area in focus you need to increase the depth of field (Aperture) and as such need to lower the shutter speed and/or increase the ISO. For some people this just makes sense, for others this concept baffles them beyond compare and despite their continuous attempts they just can't grasp the concept.
The triangle, as in many classes, took up most of the night and what was left was on cleaning, prepping and composing. Now for composing the initial encouragement was to focus on Macro photography (the really close stuff) and try to find non-moving or slow moving objects so that we would have more of a chance to practice our SEA skills (Shoot - Examine - Adjust). Wes was also able to show us some tricks for light placement for doing Macro work and even move from camera to camera to help review settings to ensure the best ones were set-up before heading to the shore on Sunday.
With class wrapped up we visited for a few minutes and then headed out, all of us excited for the coming Sunday dives and BBQ.
After reading the manual and carrying my camera around the house with me playing with buttons I figured i was going to be all set for this class. The only thing I was worried about was lighting... lighting is one of the hardest things about photography (land or water) but those issues are compounded under water as light can't travel through water very well, even less in poor visibility and without light, you need strobes and strobes are a whole new challenge.
Class was a ton of fun, Chloe and another dive master from a different school were auditing the class in hopes of getting certified to teach it one day and then there was Matt and I and one of my dive buddies who does most of my courses with me. Matt just recently purchased a new camera and the shop had purchased the same one for divers to rent or borrow when doing the photography course and of course Chloe, the other DM and I all have our cameras. Now photography is always a tough course to teach (even land) when students have different cameras. This is complex as each camera has it"s settings in a different location or configuration and some have features others don't. All this combines to make a tough class.
Once class got kicked off, our instructor, Wes, underwater photographer extraordinaire (you can see some of his work here), took us through the basics of photography. Now this was a fun part for me because while lighting has it's challenges and composition is an area I struggle with, ISO, Aperture and Shutter speed are my second language...lol. Being able to help explain concepts to some of the students and assist Wes with moving through the Triangle was exciting... finally I know something most others are not too sure about...lol.
Now the Triangle, for anyone who has not taken photography is the balance between ISO - Shutter Speed- Aperture. As you adjust one, you need to adjust one or both of the others to compensate and ensure enough light reaches the sensor (or film in pre-digital cameras). As you decrease the ISO (the sensors sensitivity) to increase the quality of image, you must either narrow the depth of field (lower aperture) or slow down the shutter (lower shudder speed). To catch a faster moving object you need to speed up the shutter (increase shutter speed) meaning you need to either narrow the depth of field (lower aperture) or increase the ISO. To get lots of items or area in focus you need to increase the depth of field (Aperture) and as such need to lower the shutter speed and/or increase the ISO. For some people this just makes sense, for others this concept baffles them beyond compare and despite their continuous attempts they just can't grasp the concept.
The triangle, as in many classes, took up most of the night and what was left was on cleaning, prepping and composing. Now for composing the initial encouragement was to focus on Macro photography (the really close stuff) and try to find non-moving or slow moving objects so that we would have more of a chance to practice our SEA skills (Shoot - Examine - Adjust). Wes was also able to show us some tricks for light placement for doing Macro work and even move from camera to camera to help review settings to ensure the best ones were set-up before heading to the shore on Sunday.
With class wrapped up we visited for a few minutes and then headed out, all of us excited for the coming Sunday dives and BBQ.
Monday, May 2, 2011
You are healed!!
Ok, despite the blasphemous humor, I was not actually healing anyone, more saving their lives... and believe me Mr Matt Mendez needs a lot of Rescuing...lol. I mean, he got tired all of a sudden, so I towed him in a little way and reassured him, then he went back out and panicked, so I went out and got him and brought him back in, then he panicked again so I had to go under the surface and come up behind him to settle him down. Then he was tired again but when I got to him he went into a panic and tried to climb on me so again I had to submerge and come up around him to secure him and get his BCD inflated so he could calm down. No sooner was all this done, then he ran out of air at depth, so being the good buddy I was I shared mine and we made the gentle ascent to the surface.
The day didn't stop there, Matt first started over-exerting himself meaning I had to get him to calm down, then he tried to make a rapid, panic ascent to the surface so I had to deflate both our BCDs and arrest his ascent and then control our combined ascent to the surface! A short time later Matt ran out of air again, this time he was in a panic so I had to quickly grab my octo and just about ram it into his mouth, make sure he had it and then control our slow ascent to the surface.
I think all the activity on the day wore on Matt though, it wasn't long before I found him unresponsive on the bottom and after attempting to get his attention I had to grab his BCD and making sure his reg stayed in place and take him to the surface and inflate his BCD so I could assess further. Of course this whole time, Dennis was of no help, he just watched me save Matt over and over again and even (I suspect) led to some of Matts precarious situations...lol. Fortunately I think Matt was paying attention because when Dennis told us there was a "missing diver" (ankle weight), Matt was very useful in counting our kick cycles as I navigated across the bottom in our U shape search pattern. It wasn't long before we recovered our "missing diver," don't worry the ankle weights recovered just fine and will live to dive again! and Matt and I were even so careful with our recovery that after finding the "diver" we decided to have a safety stop even though we hadn't exceeded 20 feet, and played a couple rounds of Rock Paper Scissors before I felt the need to do a couple Mask R&R's (remove and replace) before taking the victim to the surface.
Honestly I don't think it was anybody's day, there were unresponsive divers everywhere, or at least in our group it seemed like everyone but Dennis and Matt (he finally learned) were having issues and were requiring their buddies to flip them over to get their faces out of the water, remove their masks and while administering rescue breathes move them to shore while pulling all theirs and their buddies gear off and passing it to someone else in the group to hold. Even I had a bout of unresponsiveness followed by an immediate recovery in time for me to find my buddy face down and in need of rescue! lol.
As all of you have probably assessed, all of these events were controlled and planned and very well supervised. This was class number one of two for my Rescue Certification with Dennis instructing and Matt surving as DM and buddy to me. No one was ever in any kind of danger, no one really ran out of air or became non-responsive or truly panicked...lol. This was probably one of my most exhausting days in the water but despite the sore muscles and hard work, this was probably one of my favorite courses as I definitely feel more confident in the water. I know I am still a baby as far as divers go but I certainly felt that getting through this first part of the course has raised me up a few bars and combined with my EFR course I am confident that I am becoming a better diver and a better buddy every time I am out.
Next week is Photography, which should be interesting considering I have a fairly solid grasp of photography on the surface, but underwater.... a whole new adventure!
The day didn't stop there, Matt first started over-exerting himself meaning I had to get him to calm down, then he tried to make a rapid, panic ascent to the surface so I had to deflate both our BCDs and arrest his ascent and then control our combined ascent to the surface! A short time later Matt ran out of air again, this time he was in a panic so I had to quickly grab my octo and just about ram it into his mouth, make sure he had it and then control our slow ascent to the surface.
I think all the activity on the day wore on Matt though, it wasn't long before I found him unresponsive on the bottom and after attempting to get his attention I had to grab his BCD and making sure his reg stayed in place and take him to the surface and inflate his BCD so I could assess further. Of course this whole time, Dennis was of no help, he just watched me save Matt over and over again and even (I suspect) led to some of Matts precarious situations...lol. Fortunately I think Matt was paying attention because when Dennis told us there was a "missing diver" (ankle weight), Matt was very useful in counting our kick cycles as I navigated across the bottom in our U shape search pattern. It wasn't long before we recovered our "missing diver," don't worry the ankle weights recovered just fine and will live to dive again! and Matt and I were even so careful with our recovery that after finding the "diver" we decided to have a safety stop even though we hadn't exceeded 20 feet, and played a couple rounds of Rock Paper Scissors before I felt the need to do a couple Mask R&R's (remove and replace) before taking the victim to the surface.
Honestly I don't think it was anybody's day, there were unresponsive divers everywhere, or at least in our group it seemed like everyone but Dennis and Matt (he finally learned) were having issues and were requiring their buddies to flip them over to get their faces out of the water, remove their masks and while administering rescue breathes move them to shore while pulling all theirs and their buddies gear off and passing it to someone else in the group to hold. Even I had a bout of unresponsiveness followed by an immediate recovery in time for me to find my buddy face down and in need of rescue! lol.
As all of you have probably assessed, all of these events were controlled and planned and very well supervised. This was class number one of two for my Rescue Certification with Dennis instructing and Matt surving as DM and buddy to me. No one was ever in any kind of danger, no one really ran out of air or became non-responsive or truly panicked...lol. This was probably one of my most exhausting days in the water but despite the sore muscles and hard work, this was probably one of my favorite courses as I definitely feel more confident in the water. I know I am still a baby as far as divers go but I certainly felt that getting through this first part of the course has raised me up a few bars and combined with my EFR course I am confident that I am becoming a better diver and a better buddy every time I am out.
Next week is Photography, which should be interesting considering I have a fairly solid grasp of photography on the surface, but underwater.... a whole new adventure!
Friday, April 29, 2011
Andrew to the Rescue part... Doh!!
Ok, so last night was classroom take #2...lol. As those of you who read Andrew to the Rescue.... Or Not?
you are well aware that in February I completed the classroom session with the one other student enrolled in the Rescue course at that time but the following weekend when Virpi was to take us to Wytecliff to drown us and have us rescue each other.... just kidding Moms, nobody drowns, we just pretend... my partner was unable to join us! So the course unfortunately, was put on hold until we could find a suitable date. So, inevitably, in March we finally settled on the end of April to get the Rescue course back on track, so then it was just time to hurry up and wait.... This brought us to Thursday where (since new people had joined the group) we had our second classroom time. Showing up right in time for class and greeted by my good friend Ward... apparently the Wonder Woman herself, the one who never catches anything and, through absolute sheer will, doesn't get sick.... got sick!! No worries though, Ward is an amazing teacher... and besides the irony still play true... he was one of the three divers from the shop that went into the water during Seals to Emergencies to demonstrate a live rescue scenario for us brand new students (how kind of them...) I had decided to attend class to brush up on my Rescue theory, besides, if I was gonna rescue you, wouldn't you want me to have as much training and knowledge as possible.... I thought so!
So as Ward took us through the book, the videos and the review questions, taking his time to highlight specific things and open others up for discussion, the group of us all reached a solid understanding of not only what to do, but why to do it and what to expect when it happens. All in all, as usual, a GREAT class!
The end of Wards class' always come too early, I don't think I could ever talk about diving too much, at least for me, I know it's too much for a lot of people who hear me talk about it but that is also why I type this, so I can talk and for anyone who's interested, they can listen (or read). Class ended and of course the question comes up, who's teaching on the weekend? Was Virpi going to be better by then? Unfortunately this is when things turned, you see Virpi was REALLY sick, so the weekend was out, Ward had a class to teach on Sunday and a previous, unchangeable (believe me we tried to convince him) commitment on the Saturday so he would not be available but as fortune would have it Dennis was available for Sunday! Another instructor you say.... yes, instructor number 3!! But would you believe the fates!!! Dennis, as some of you already knew and others have guessed, was diver number three from the shop that was involved in my famous Whytecliff Seals to Emergencies adventure.... what are the odds of all three of the shop divers involved in the rescue attempt at Whytecliff to be the ones to teach me how to rescue people! So it looks like I will only finish half of my Rescue dives this weekend... who knew you could spread a one evening and one weekend course across 4 months...lol. Talk to you Monday!!
you are well aware that in February I completed the classroom session with the one other student enrolled in the Rescue course at that time but the following weekend when Virpi was to take us to Wytecliff to drown us and have us rescue each other.... just kidding Moms, nobody drowns, we just pretend... my partner was unable to join us! So the course unfortunately, was put on hold until we could find a suitable date. So, inevitably, in March we finally settled on the end of April to get the Rescue course back on track, so then it was just time to hurry up and wait.... This brought us to Thursday where (since new people had joined the group) we had our second classroom time. Showing up right in time for class and greeted by my good friend Ward... apparently the Wonder Woman herself, the one who never catches anything and, through absolute sheer will, doesn't get sick.... got sick!! No worries though, Ward is an amazing teacher... and besides the irony still play true... he was one of the three divers from the shop that went into the water during Seals to Emergencies to demonstrate a live rescue scenario for us brand new students (how kind of them...) I had decided to attend class to brush up on my Rescue theory, besides, if I was gonna rescue you, wouldn't you want me to have as much training and knowledge as possible.... I thought so!
So as Ward took us through the book, the videos and the review questions, taking his time to highlight specific things and open others up for discussion, the group of us all reached a solid understanding of not only what to do, but why to do it and what to expect when it happens. All in all, as usual, a GREAT class!
The end of Wards class' always come too early, I don't think I could ever talk about diving too much, at least for me, I know it's too much for a lot of people who hear me talk about it but that is also why I type this, so I can talk and for anyone who's interested, they can listen (or read). Class ended and of course the question comes up, who's teaching on the weekend? Was Virpi going to be better by then? Unfortunately this is when things turned, you see Virpi was REALLY sick, so the weekend was out, Ward had a class to teach on Sunday and a previous, unchangeable (believe me we tried to convince him) commitment on the Saturday so he would not be available but as fortune would have it Dennis was available for Sunday! Another instructor you say.... yes, instructor number 3!! But would you believe the fates!!! Dennis, as some of you already knew and others have guessed, was diver number three from the shop that was involved in my famous Whytecliff Seals to Emergencies adventure.... what are the odds of all three of the shop divers involved in the rescue attempt at Whytecliff to be the ones to teach me how to rescue people! So it looks like I will only finish half of my Rescue dives this weekend... who knew you could spread a one evening and one weekend course across 4 months...lol. Talk to you Monday!!
Monday, April 25, 2011
Flutter kick, flutter kick goes the Easter Bunny....
Well, I guess if fish can lay eggs under the water, why couldn't a bunny... or bunnies... bunnies from Langley Diving. Last week I was fortunate enough to receive an email from Langley Dive inviting me to join them on the weekend for their Easter Egg hunt at Porteau Cove. I am assuming that because Langley Dive were involved in the Whites Demo that I participated in they ended up with my email address. However they got it, they did, and I was off to Porteau to hunt for eggs for the first time since being a kid, and for the very first time under-water.
Saturday was a beautiful day and with the meet time scheduled for 10:00 am it was late enough to get a good sleep and enjoy a leisurely drive and still have tons of time to assemble my gear before anyone else arrived for the day. Up at the dive site at just after 9:00 allowed me ample time to pull out my kit and take my time to assemble everything then walk out an look at the conditions, and then head over to the Langley Dive van to see what the plan was. After a couple of minutes, one of the Bunnies, Monique Score, having finished her dive, came over to say hello and welcome me to the dive. A few minutes later I met Rebecca Barrett, another Instructor from Langley Dive and the second Dive Bunny. Soon a group had formed, and Monique and Rebecca called everyone together to welcome us and let us know the details of today's adventure.
Earlier in the day Monique and Rebecca had placed twenty-seven (27) eggs beneath the surface of the water, no deeper than 50 feet, on the surfaces of the Granthall, Centennial, Sailboat Hull, Jungle Gym, Tire Reef and along the Fire Hose. The idea was simple, go, collect, return, YEAH!...lol.
Monique had already introduced me to my dive buddy for the day, a recent graduate of the Open Water program at Langley Dive in January and excited about his 5th dive and first time in Porteau Cove. I was also able to meet another diver, excited to get back in the water for his 6the dive following his completion of his Open Water back in September. Both divers (and even Monique) seemed a bit surprised to hear I have not been certified all that long myself (end of August) and was headed out for dives 36 and 37...lol. I was also delighted to speak with one of the new divers as he is also a Detroit Red Wings fan, and amidst a sea of Canucks fans these days as the team throws away game after game it was interesting to see the Red Wings hat from across the parking lot... too bad I forgot mine. After some hockey talk and more importantly red Wings nostalgic talk, he headed to meet up with his buddy and me with mine as we all donned gear, finished our buddy checks, being very thorough as this was the most junior group of divers I had been out with to date, odd being the experienced diver for once...lol. With everything secure where it needed to be and dive plan discussed it was time to get in the water.
Our plan for dive one, to keep it simple, was to swim out to the first marker buoy descend and follow the fire hose out and over to the sailboat and reef and eventually the Granthall and all going well and air holding out, slowly make our way back in and reduce our surface swim as much as possible. For those divers who have only ever done Porteau Cove, their first dive at Whytecliff is a shock because there is a long walk to the beach with all your gear on, for those who have only ever done Whytecliff Park and come to Porteau, you are blessed by the amazingly short walk (unless the tide is way out) but the ground slopes so slowly you need to surface swim a good distance before you can get anywhere that has some depth... all about what you want...lol. So my new buddy and I got in the water, fins on, masks on and started our surface swim... fortunately doing the first buoy it is not really a long swim and we managed to talk a bit on the way out comparing Whytecliff to some of the things he would see here at Porteau. Once close to the buoy, we caught our breath, put in our regulators and signaled for descent and BAM! it hit me... I was in charge of this dive... I was the senior diver... if we got lost... or had issues... or got eaten by a ravenous squid-a-pus (you can meet Kraken in Diving, Dinner, Demo's and the RCMP...) it would all be my fault...lol. My nerves were not really put at ease when we descended either, as we broke the surface I quickly realized that seeing my buddy 5 feet away was a bit of a struggle, never mind seeing something further away than that....like the chain we were supposed to be following down...lol. So on the ground we headed in what I "thought:" was the right direction... and with a couple glances at my compass.. someone had moved the hose!...lol That had to be it.. there was no way I was lost... could I be?... yup... I was lost....and realizing nothing was where I left it...lol.. I signalled to my buddy and we ascended back up to re-orient to our target.
We actually didn't end up too far off target, we were further North-East then I had planned so a little plan change and a solid compass bearing marked us dead online to the second buoy. Descending again and watching my compass we made a straight line to the 2nd marker, found the fire hose with no issue and continued on through the jungle gym and to the surface of the Centennial where I found a rock painted like an Easter egg. With the egg in my pocket, and my buddy beside it was off to the Granthall where I managed to find 2 plastic Easter eggs that had been placed beside the Plumose Anemone so they were each almost invisible as the colors were blending in. Our return trip over the Centennial led to my buddy finding a painted rock similar to mine before we turned towards shore and then towards the surface for a decent surface swim.
Back up at the vehicles with the tanks off our back it was time to grab our lunches and check in with Monique and Rebecca. A couple sandwiches later, a nice cup of hot chocolate and a couple cookies and I was all good to go again...lol. Gathered around the Langley Dive van Monique showed us where the numbers were on the bottom of our plastic eggs, turned out the painted rocks... not part of our search...lol, must have been another group out earlier in the week, perhaps Friday, that missed a couple...lol. So with two plastic eggs I gave one to my buddy (we were a team after-all) and listened as Rebecca called out numbers and passed us all prizes. Then when all the eggs (the ones that had been returned at least) were called, Monique and Rebecca gave out prizes to anyone who was unable to come across an egg in their first dive, so everyone got something anyways.
Dive 2 was my Navigation challenge, I knew (this time) that visibility was going to be tough. So with the plan being similar to dive 1 we decided we would get right up to the buoy and follow the chain to the ground, with a little searching (it's not attached right at the bottom) we found the hose. Then following it we made our slow swim towards the 2nd buoy over the Sailboat hull, passed the Centennial, over the tire reef, through the jungle gym, and around the Granthall (where we each found another egg.) The return trip, with my compass bearing in mind, came almost natural, after looping the Granthall, we headed back through the jungle gym, above the tires around the Centennial (man there are some HUGE ling cod sleeping on that deck) passed the sailboat hull and right back onto the fire hose... Then, following the hose, we made the trek back to the first buoy which was not hard to find this time. You see, this buoy is often used by Open Water classes, so really all you have to look for is large clouds of disturbed silt and you can see where the students are landing at the bottom...lol. A turn to the left through the cloud and sure enough there fighting for their buoyancy were a couple Open Water students..lol. Then keeping on that line it was a straight swim all the way back in. We were able to get so close in that my computer actually turned off, I guess I had been swimming in less than 5 feet of water too long...lol. We actually had to back out into the bay again to take our fins off but it was definitely the closest I have ever come to swimming to the stairs, and certainly without a doubt the best navigation I have ever done.
The route we followed is below:
Well, I always say, it's a great dive if you learned something new and I learned that I can navigate and with a little practice I might actually get good at it. Here's looking forward to Rescue this weekend, Photography the weekend after along with a fun dive and very soon.. the Aquarium!
Saturday was a beautiful day and with the meet time scheduled for 10:00 am it was late enough to get a good sleep and enjoy a leisurely drive and still have tons of time to assemble my gear before anyone else arrived for the day. Up at the dive site at just after 9:00 allowed me ample time to pull out my kit and take my time to assemble everything then walk out an look at the conditions, and then head over to the Langley Dive van to see what the plan was. After a couple of minutes, one of the Bunnies, Monique Score, having finished her dive, came over to say hello and welcome me to the dive. A few minutes later I met Rebecca Barrett, another Instructor from Langley Dive and the second Dive Bunny. Soon a group had formed, and Monique and Rebecca called everyone together to welcome us and let us know the details of today's adventure.
Earlier in the day Monique and Rebecca had placed twenty-seven (27) eggs beneath the surface of the water, no deeper than 50 feet, on the surfaces of the Granthall, Centennial, Sailboat Hull, Jungle Gym, Tire Reef and along the Fire Hose. The idea was simple, go, collect, return, YEAH!...lol.
Monique had already introduced me to my dive buddy for the day, a recent graduate of the Open Water program at Langley Dive in January and excited about his 5th dive and first time in Porteau Cove. I was also able to meet another diver, excited to get back in the water for his 6the dive following his completion of his Open Water back in September. Both divers (and even Monique) seemed a bit surprised to hear I have not been certified all that long myself (end of August) and was headed out for dives 36 and 37...lol. I was also delighted to speak with one of the new divers as he is also a Detroit Red Wings fan, and amidst a sea of Canucks fans these days as the team throws away game after game it was interesting to see the Red Wings hat from across the parking lot... too bad I forgot mine. After some hockey talk and more importantly red Wings nostalgic talk, he headed to meet up with his buddy and me with mine as we all donned gear, finished our buddy checks, being very thorough as this was the most junior group of divers I had been out with to date, odd being the experienced diver for once...lol. With everything secure where it needed to be and dive plan discussed it was time to get in the water.
Our plan for dive one, to keep it simple, was to swim out to the first marker buoy descend and follow the fire hose out and over to the sailboat and reef and eventually the Granthall and all going well and air holding out, slowly make our way back in and reduce our surface swim as much as possible. For those divers who have only ever done Porteau Cove, their first dive at Whytecliff is a shock because there is a long walk to the beach with all your gear on, for those who have only ever done Whytecliff Park and come to Porteau, you are blessed by the amazingly short walk (unless the tide is way out) but the ground slopes so slowly you need to surface swim a good distance before you can get anywhere that has some depth... all about what you want...lol. So my new buddy and I got in the water, fins on, masks on and started our surface swim... fortunately doing the first buoy it is not really a long swim and we managed to talk a bit on the way out comparing Whytecliff to some of the things he would see here at Porteau. Once close to the buoy, we caught our breath, put in our regulators and signaled for descent and BAM! it hit me... I was in charge of this dive... I was the senior diver... if we got lost... or had issues... or got eaten by a ravenous squid-a-pus (you can meet Kraken in Diving, Dinner, Demo's and the RCMP...) it would all be my fault...lol. My nerves were not really put at ease when we descended either, as we broke the surface I quickly realized that seeing my buddy 5 feet away was a bit of a struggle, never mind seeing something further away than that....like the chain we were supposed to be following down...lol. So on the ground we headed in what I "thought:" was the right direction... and with a couple glances at my compass.. someone had moved the hose!...lol That had to be it.. there was no way I was lost... could I be?... yup... I was lost....and realizing nothing was where I left it...lol.. I signalled to my buddy and we ascended back up to re-orient to our target.
We actually didn't end up too far off target, we were further North-East then I had planned so a little plan change and a solid compass bearing marked us dead online to the second buoy. Descending again and watching my compass we made a straight line to the 2nd marker, found the fire hose with no issue and continued on through the jungle gym and to the surface of the Centennial where I found a rock painted like an Easter egg. With the egg in my pocket, and my buddy beside it was off to the Granthall where I managed to find 2 plastic Easter eggs that had been placed beside the Plumose Anemone so they were each almost invisible as the colors were blending in. Our return trip over the Centennial led to my buddy finding a painted rock similar to mine before we turned towards shore and then towards the surface for a decent surface swim.
Back up at the vehicles with the tanks off our back it was time to grab our lunches and check in with Monique and Rebecca. A couple sandwiches later, a nice cup of hot chocolate and a couple cookies and I was all good to go again...lol. Gathered around the Langley Dive van Monique showed us where the numbers were on the bottom of our plastic eggs, turned out the painted rocks... not part of our search...lol, must have been another group out earlier in the week, perhaps Friday, that missed a couple...lol. So with two plastic eggs I gave one to my buddy (we were a team after-all) and listened as Rebecca called out numbers and passed us all prizes. Then when all the eggs (the ones that had been returned at least) were called, Monique and Rebecca gave out prizes to anyone who was unable to come across an egg in their first dive, so everyone got something anyways.
Dive 2 was my Navigation challenge, I knew (this time) that visibility was going to be tough. So with the plan being similar to dive 1 we decided we would get right up to the buoy and follow the chain to the ground, with a little searching (it's not attached right at the bottom) we found the hose. Then following it we made our slow swim towards the 2nd buoy over the Sailboat hull, passed the Centennial, over the tire reef, through the jungle gym, and around the Granthall (where we each found another egg.) The return trip, with my compass bearing in mind, came almost natural, after looping the Granthall, we headed back through the jungle gym, above the tires around the Centennial (man there are some HUGE ling cod sleeping on that deck) passed the sailboat hull and right back onto the fire hose... Then, following the hose, we made the trek back to the first buoy which was not hard to find this time. You see, this buoy is often used by Open Water classes, so really all you have to look for is large clouds of disturbed silt and you can see where the students are landing at the bottom...lol. A turn to the left through the cloud and sure enough there fighting for their buoyancy were a couple Open Water students..lol. Then keeping on that line it was a straight swim all the way back in. We were able to get so close in that my computer actually turned off, I guess I had been swimming in less than 5 feet of water too long...lol. We actually had to back out into the bay again to take our fins off but it was definitely the closest I have ever come to swimming to the stairs, and certainly without a doubt the best navigation I have ever done.
The route we followed is below:
Well, I always say, it's a great dive if you learned something new and I learned that I can navigate and with a little practice I might actually get good at it. Here's looking forward to Rescue this weekend, Photography the weekend after along with a fun dive and very soon.. the Aquarium!
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Cuts, Records and Bad Buddies.....
Woke up this morning still feeling a little tired from yesterday with Ward but still totally jacked up about putting in another 2 dives. For today (thanks to Chloe at Ocean Pro Divers) I had been invited to join Allen Kyte and his advanced class as they ventured into the waters at Wytecliff Park to complete their Deep and their Naturalist dives. Armed with gear and camera I arrived at the shop (early as always) and waited to see who was up to what today. Sure enough shortly after arriving Shannon and Chloe arrived, followed shortly by Michael Klaver and Steve Dunn. Apparently today was instructor training day and some in the class were meeting at the shop before heading to the site. My first few minutes at the shop were spent chasing Shannon and Steve down to hit them up for signatures in my dive log for my Emergency O2 course and EFR courses followed by catching up with Michael and Chloe and then greeting the people I had never met and being introduced to Allen. As it turned out the gentleman who was supposed to be in the course today had suffered some bad luck last night with his vehicle and as a result was not going to be able to join us. This reduced our group down to Allen as instructor, one student and me tagging along behind. Almost as quick as the shop got busy, it was emptied out again leaving our group to finish loading and head out to Whytecliff Park.
Upon arriving at Whytecliff it was the same ritual as always, take a look at the water, thank God I am lucky enough to have this kind of beauty in my back yard, and grab my gear to get it prepped. With everything unloaded and kits being assembled it was time to start planning out our day. The plan was to do our deep dive on what is called the "Cut". Now the cut is exactly what it sounds like, it looks like someone plunged a knife into the rock of Whytecliff park and drew a line back into the bay. Once in the water it drops very fast and runs off to the right to incredible depths and on the left you have the wall. Since this was the deep dive for the advanced certification, depth was the goal. The plan was quite simple, I would buddy up with the student and swim to her right with Allen just back and to the left. We would swim out staying along the wall and slowly make our way to a depth of 90 feet and then see how everyone was doing to see if we would go a little further. Then once in the bay we would circle around the point and head back into the bay making our exit easier....simple!
So with gear on and group together we headed towards the entry and down the rocky path and stairs. In the water, fins on, masks on, regs in, and down. It was almost as if we had been diving together a bunch of times, we descended as a group and in perfect position headed out along the wall. Then with a little signal the student my "buddy" pointed out to the right a bit and we angled a little away from the wall and into deeper water. With almost perfect control of our buoyancy we moved almost as one unit slowly descending and moving through the cut. Now I think it was the relaxed atmosphere or my intermittent ADD that caused it but I saw a fish and thought "Oooh shiny" and stopped to take a picture.. then kicked back to the group only to see another thing to take a picture of and another and another and another... Next thing you know I was swimming back of the group with Allen beside my buddy and me busy taking pictures. This was pretty much how the dive finished, Allen and student together with me bringing up the rear. At 1500 psi, as discussed, we headed up a bit to 50 feet and continued, by this time, further into the bay until about 900 when we ascended to safety stop depth and swam in further before surfacing and kicking in.
Now, in between dives (good class dives especially) during your surface interval, you debrief and discuss the dive. What went good, what was not so good, what went according to plan, what went sideways and what would we do different next time. Allen (much like Ward in Row, Row, Row Your Boat Gently Into The Rolling Waves.... Merrily Merrily Off To See The Circus...) was great about reviewing the dive with his student and then, bum bum bum, with me.... You see, I broke one of the cardinal rules of diving (and of Top Gun) I left my buddy! My job was to stay to her right side and I decided to drop off to take pictures (hand slap time...ouch!)
Now for dive number 2, our Naturalist / Navigation dive, the plan for this one was quite simple. Gear-up, head into the water, finish the "navigational square" that had been incomplete in their dives the day before, and then proceed out along the wall looking for critters. Not a very involved dive and by keeping shallow and moving slow, this could be a good long dive... boy was I right...lol. For this dive, being a Naturalist one I elected (with Allen's permission) to just be the tag along photographer and not "dive buddy," this allows for me to take LOTS of pictures of all of the wonderful little creatures we find along the way. Everything for this dive went as planned, I once again dropped more weight bringing me down to 22 lbs of weight from the original 42 lbs I started with, and was feeling better than ever about my buoyancy. Down the hill we went and into the water, out to about 10 or 12 feet of water and descend to make a square, ascending upon completion brought us back almost to where we started, always a good start! Then back down again and over to the wall to do a very slow, swim along the wall looking at all the plants and creatures along the way. I must admit after about 20 minutes of our floating along I got concerned when I looked at my air and still had over 2000psi, then at 40 minutes with more than 1500psi left. Now my rational brain didn't take long to figure out that we were shallow and we weren't really kicking, more floating with the current and surge of the tide, so we we're breathing all that much. By about the 50 minute mark we had already started to head back and not going below 30 feet we didn't need a safety stop so we had time, but the most interesting thing started to happen... I got cold! Looking around I realized that I was not the only one, Allen and his student both looked cold too, which was funny because as soon as I looked at Allen, he gave me the "cold" signal to which I responded "cold" and we started moving in closer to shore and closer to the surface.
All in I ended dive 2 with close on 1400 psi left in my tank, still enough for another dive...lol, and we had been in the water for 59.6 minutes, a new record for me smashing my old record and nearly breaking 1hr of dive time!
The walk to the vehicles was a quick one, the wind was kicking up and we were already cold. Up to the cars, gear stripped off, sweatshirts and toques on and something warm in the stomach I was feeling loads better. Then to pack all the gear, fit it in totes and load it into the van. All done, it was time to sit and chat a few about the dive, make sure everyone was happy and everything accomplished. Time for Allen to sign off on the books and forms and then it was time to load up and head home.
Today marked dives 34 and 35, meaning once my Rescue courses are completed later this month (hopefully) and 15 more dives are done (hopefully soon) I will be qualified to receive my Master Scuba Diver designation. As exciting as that is, it is still a scary fact that according to the industry standards I will be recognized (regardless of association) as a Master Scuba Diver. That seems to me to be a whole lot of responsibility. I know it doesn't hold the same qualification or clout and Dive Master but to me it still seems BIG!! lol. Well, until the next time I get my nose wet and take my gear for a tour of the ocean, stay safe and I'll update you all soon... Photography is coming up!!!
Upon arriving at Whytecliff it was the same ritual as always, take a look at the water, thank God I am lucky enough to have this kind of beauty in my back yard, and grab my gear to get it prepped. With everything unloaded and kits being assembled it was time to start planning out our day. The plan was to do our deep dive on what is called the "Cut". Now the cut is exactly what it sounds like, it looks like someone plunged a knife into the rock of Whytecliff park and drew a line back into the bay. Once in the water it drops very fast and runs off to the right to incredible depths and on the left you have the wall. Since this was the deep dive for the advanced certification, depth was the goal. The plan was quite simple, I would buddy up with the student and swim to her right with Allen just back and to the left. We would swim out staying along the wall and slowly make our way to a depth of 90 feet and then see how everyone was doing to see if we would go a little further. Then once in the bay we would circle around the point and head back into the bay making our exit easier....simple!
So with gear on and group together we headed towards the entry and down the rocky path and stairs. In the water, fins on, masks on, regs in, and down. It was almost as if we had been diving together a bunch of times, we descended as a group and in perfect position headed out along the wall. Then with a little signal the student my "buddy" pointed out to the right a bit and we angled a little away from the wall and into deeper water. With almost perfect control of our buoyancy we moved almost as one unit slowly descending and moving through the cut. Now I think it was the relaxed atmosphere or my intermittent ADD that caused it but I saw a fish and thought "Oooh shiny" and stopped to take a picture.. then kicked back to the group only to see another thing to take a picture of and another and another and another... Next thing you know I was swimming back of the group with Allen beside my buddy and me busy taking pictures. This was pretty much how the dive finished, Allen and student together with me bringing up the rear. At 1500 psi, as discussed, we headed up a bit to 50 feet and continued, by this time, further into the bay until about 900 when we ascended to safety stop depth and swam in further before surfacing and kicking in.
Now, in between dives (good class dives especially) during your surface interval, you debrief and discuss the dive. What went good, what was not so good, what went according to plan, what went sideways and what would we do different next time. Allen (much like Ward in Row, Row, Row Your Boat Gently Into The Rolling Waves.... Merrily Merrily Off To See The Circus...) was great about reviewing the dive with his student and then, bum bum bum, with me.... You see, I broke one of the cardinal rules of diving (and of Top Gun) I left my buddy! My job was to stay to her right side and I decided to drop off to take pictures (hand slap time...ouch!)
Now for dive number 2, our Naturalist / Navigation dive, the plan for this one was quite simple. Gear-up, head into the water, finish the "navigational square" that had been incomplete in their dives the day before, and then proceed out along the wall looking for critters. Not a very involved dive and by keeping shallow and moving slow, this could be a good long dive... boy was I right...lol. For this dive, being a Naturalist one I elected (with Allen's permission) to just be the tag along photographer and not "dive buddy," this allows for me to take LOTS of pictures of all of the wonderful little creatures we find along the way. Everything for this dive went as planned, I once again dropped more weight bringing me down to 22 lbs of weight from the original 42 lbs I started with, and was feeling better than ever about my buoyancy. Down the hill we went and into the water, out to about 10 or 12 feet of water and descend to make a square, ascending upon completion brought us back almost to where we started, always a good start! Then back down again and over to the wall to do a very slow, swim along the wall looking at all the plants and creatures along the way. I must admit after about 20 minutes of our floating along I got concerned when I looked at my air and still had over 2000psi, then at 40 minutes with more than 1500psi left. Now my rational brain didn't take long to figure out that we were shallow and we weren't really kicking, more floating with the current and surge of the tide, so we we're breathing all that much. By about the 50 minute mark we had already started to head back and not going below 30 feet we didn't need a safety stop so we had time, but the most interesting thing started to happen... I got cold! Looking around I realized that I was not the only one, Allen and his student both looked cold too, which was funny because as soon as I looked at Allen, he gave me the "cold" signal to which I responded "cold" and we started moving in closer to shore and closer to the surface.
All in I ended dive 2 with close on 1400 psi left in my tank, still enough for another dive...lol, and we had been in the water for 59.6 minutes, a new record for me smashing my old record and nearly breaking 1hr of dive time!
The walk to the vehicles was a quick one, the wind was kicking up and we were already cold. Up to the cars, gear stripped off, sweatshirts and toques on and something warm in the stomach I was feeling loads better. Then to pack all the gear, fit it in totes and load it into the van. All done, it was time to sit and chat a few about the dive, make sure everyone was happy and everything accomplished. Time for Allen to sign off on the books and forms and then it was time to load up and head home.
Today marked dives 34 and 35, meaning once my Rescue courses are completed later this month (hopefully) and 15 more dives are done (hopefully soon) I will be qualified to receive my Master Scuba Diver designation. As exciting as that is, it is still a scary fact that according to the industry standards I will be recognized (regardless of association) as a Master Scuba Diver. That seems to me to be a whole lot of responsibility. I know it doesn't hold the same qualification or clout and Dive Master but to me it still seems BIG!! lol. Well, until the next time I get my nose wet and take my gear for a tour of the ocean, stay safe and I'll update you all soon... Photography is coming up!!!
Saturday, April 2, 2011
In Search of Whiskey and The VT-100....
I discovered this past week that if you ever want to go diving and have nothing planned... post to Facebook and/or call Ocean Pro...lol. I posted on Thursday, while waiting for Jenn to try on clothes at the mall, that I wanted to go diving this weekend and followed that up with a call to Chloe at the shop to see if there were any fun dives planned. Chloe let me know that nothing had been planned for fun dives but she would make some calls for me and let me know. Before long I had gotten a bunch of messages on Facebook. Ward telling me we should plan a boat dive, Ashley inviting me up to Sechelt to dive with her for the weekend, a couple people letting me know they wish they could go and even an invite to dive in a friends bathtub!....lol. No sooner had I read and responded to these messages, and Chloe called me back to let me know she had gotten me dives...lol. Again, I am very fortunate to have the friends I do and the shop I go to. So my plans for this weekend were to dive on both Saturday and Sunday. Saturday with friends if it could be sorted out, and Sunday with Allen Kyte (an instructor from Ocean Pro) and his advanced class up at Whytecliff.
As it turned out Ashley was leaving to Sechelt before we could get anything arranged and that bathtub just didn't have the depth I wanted nor (I hope) any critters....lol. But I was very fortunate to have an amazing offer from Ward to take his boat out for a dive, this was going to be an epic weekend! So out to the shop following work yesterday to pick-up my drysuit rental and get all the times from Chloe for Sundays dives, then home to get a hold of Ward to get the details on where the boat was. With details all gathered and equipment all put together and me bouncing around the house like a kid on Christmas eve, bedtime couldn't come early enough! But, just before bed, Jenn (my much better half) made a comment to me that I probably should have caught hours earlier when speaking to Ward about his boat... it was in the US.... I don't have a passport... this was going to be an issue! With a quick message to Ward to ensure my wife was correct (which she was) and let him know I was unfortunately unable to cross the border we decided to leave the final decision on what to do until this morning. Morning arrived soon enough and with a call to Ward we discussed options and finally decided he would meet at my house, I would drive from there and he could show me a couple new locations I have never seen before.
It wasn't long before we were on our way and headed towards Burnaby and the mysterious Whiskey Cove in the Village of Belcarra. With Ward as navigator it was a nice quick drive and we were on-site in no time with gear ready and changed into our drysuits. A short walk through the woods and down to the shore line brought us out between a few houses and their docks of beautiful boat which I will never be able to afford...lol. For the first part of the dive we decided to go out to the right and work our way along the wall to see what we might find down along there and see if we could get any decent pictures. As it turned out there was not much to see along the wall, a few critters here and there but in the murky water it was difficult at times to see ahead and times when the only thing you could make out of your buddy was the outline or the occasional flash of the camera. Eventually we could see a shelf or a reef just out from the wall heading into slightly deeper water so we turned and followed it to see if there was anything more exciting. With a few fish and an amazingly huge sole laying still on the ground. Good thing Ward pointed it out or I would have swam right past....lol. At about half air Ward signaled for us to ascend for a moment to find our exact bearing, only being in about 25 - 30 feet of water this was no issue. Once we had established our location (not where we thought we were...lol) we realigned with shore (not off by much) and descended back to depth to continue our exploration of the reef, heading in the direction of our exit.
With dive one complete we headed back to the vehicle to strip down our gear and figure out what was next. After a short discussion we concluded we would go and dive the VT-100. Now on the trip up to Belcarra this morning Ward was telling me a bit about the VT-100. You see originally it was called the YMS-159 and served as wooden hulled mine sweeper in the 40's before it was decommissioned and sold to the Vancouver Tug Boat Co in 1955. Now the story goes that back in the day when a ship was decommissioned the weapons had to be shut down but not necessarily removed, so this tug was motoring the waterways with 50mm and two 20mm guns on deck. Now apparently the residents at the time were not fond of having this ship in their marina and according to legend it was set on fire by vandals and burned below the water line and left to sink to the watery grave where it remains to this day.
Now upon arrival at the new site and parked along the side of the road in one of only three available spots for the public along this road, we did a little site tour before donning our gear. Ward took me along the road back about 30 feet behind where we parked to where a small path (more of a goat trail..lol) was cut between the low blackberry bushes and down a steep path to the rocky beach. Now this was our entry point and we would be traversing this with all our gear on...weee. Despite this I was excited, any dive is a good dive, one with a friend is even better, so I was ready to go regardless of the entry and exit. Now again, understand all I can see as I am changing and gearing up is the beautiful houses lining the opposite side of the road and lining our side... well built, gently sloping, stairwells leading to docks right at the water level.. and on the street level... little gates marked "Private". All these beautiful "potential" entries, with their easily accessible docks right on the water and here we are rock climbing with a ton of gear strapped to our backs...lol. Needless to say, it was not the easiest entry to traverse but with the help of a little rope someone tied up, we made it down and across the rocks and into the water. Now, Wards best recollection of the approximate location of the VT-100 was quite a surface swim from the entry point about 300 feet from shore in about 55 - 60 feet of water (sometimes deeper, tide dependent) . Now, keeping in mind that the shoreline and locations of many of the docks changes from year to year we were relying on best guess to find the boat. When reaching the approximate location, masks went on, regs went in and we signaled down... After a slow descent we reached dead on 60 feet and set off, me following behind Ward and keeping my camera ready in case we came across anything of interest. It wasn't more than a few kicks and Ward signaled with his light, right there in front of us was debris... debris of the wooden ship kind... debris of the sunken wooden ship kind...lol. We knew we were close! A little further along was some more debris, and then more, sunken bottles, boards and even an old boot! We continued our swim and photographed many of the items found including a weight pouch with weight inside...lol, but alas, my air was not meant to last forever (Wards apparently is meant to last a lot longer than mine though...lol) and we were forced to head back and start towards our safety stop depth of 50 feet. Then maintain depth and head in the direction of our exit slowly ascending towards safety stop depth. At 750 psi it was time for our safety stop at 15 feet. At depth Ward released his SMB (surface marker buoy) for details on the use of these see To Drift or Not To Drift..... Watching our computers closely and monitoring our time we hovered at 15 feet for our 3 minutes and then making our way to the surface VERY carefully, as not everyone knows what the marker means, we surfaced and looked towards shore to evaluate our surface swim. We were WAY out there...lol. Now with Ward weighed down with an extra 10lbs with the recently found weight pouch he was off center in the water and I am not all that centered at the best of times...lol, this was looking to be an interesting swim in. It didn't take long for Ward, (who's mind never stops working) to realize he could attach his SMB to the weight pouch and float the bag back in saving him a lot of the work... YEAH!!. Our surface swim gave us a chance to look at the docks we would love to have if money were no object and think about the boats we could have if we had those docks... and money were not an object...lol. Back on the beach it was time for the climb... this actually took some talent, timing your steps and pulling on the rope and trying to keep all your weight straight up and down so as to stay balanced... and Ward had to do it twice as he left his SMB and newly acquired weight bag, back on shore to reduce the strain of the first climb.
Again, back at the vehicle, stripping off gear, and packing it away in our totes, cases and bags. It was a great time to reflect on another amazing day of diving. We didn't find the VT-100, Ward is fairly certain that we were right on it when we dropped but swam away from it instead of in to it. For me it just means there are more mysteries for me to uncover in Bedwell Bay and more reasons for me to return to see if I can locate the boat of legends and be able to say that I too have seen the wooden hulled minesweeper of 1942 that calls the sands of Bedwell Bay home.
As it turned out Ashley was leaving to Sechelt before we could get anything arranged and that bathtub just didn't have the depth I wanted nor (I hope) any critters....lol. But I was very fortunate to have an amazing offer from Ward to take his boat out for a dive, this was going to be an epic weekend! So out to the shop following work yesterday to pick-up my drysuit rental and get all the times from Chloe for Sundays dives, then home to get a hold of Ward to get the details on where the boat was. With details all gathered and equipment all put together and me bouncing around the house like a kid on Christmas eve, bedtime couldn't come early enough! But, just before bed, Jenn (my much better half) made a comment to me that I probably should have caught hours earlier when speaking to Ward about his boat... it was in the US.... I don't have a passport... this was going to be an issue! With a quick message to Ward to ensure my wife was correct (which she was) and let him know I was unfortunately unable to cross the border we decided to leave the final decision on what to do until this morning. Morning arrived soon enough and with a call to Ward we discussed options and finally decided he would meet at my house, I would drive from there and he could show me a couple new locations I have never seen before.
It wasn't long before we were on our way and headed towards Burnaby and the mysterious Whiskey Cove in the Village of Belcarra. With Ward as navigator it was a nice quick drive and we were on-site in no time with gear ready and changed into our drysuits. A short walk through the woods and down to the shore line brought us out between a few houses and their docks of beautiful boat which I will never be able to afford...lol. For the first part of the dive we decided to go out to the right and work our way along the wall to see what we might find down along there and see if we could get any decent pictures. As it turned out there was not much to see along the wall, a few critters here and there but in the murky water it was difficult at times to see ahead and times when the only thing you could make out of your buddy was the outline or the occasional flash of the camera. Eventually we could see a shelf or a reef just out from the wall heading into slightly deeper water so we turned and followed it to see if there was anything more exciting. With a few fish and an amazingly huge sole laying still on the ground. Good thing Ward pointed it out or I would have swam right past....lol. At about half air Ward signaled for us to ascend for a moment to find our exact bearing, only being in about 25 - 30 feet of water this was no issue. Once we had established our location (not where we thought we were...lol) we realigned with shore (not off by much) and descended back to depth to continue our exploration of the reef, heading in the direction of our exit.
With dive one complete we headed back to the vehicle to strip down our gear and figure out what was next. After a short discussion we concluded we would go and dive the VT-100. Now on the trip up to Belcarra this morning Ward was telling me a bit about the VT-100. You see originally it was called the YMS-159 and served as wooden hulled mine sweeper in the 40's before it was decommissioned and sold to the Vancouver Tug Boat Co in 1955. Now the story goes that back in the day when a ship was decommissioned the weapons had to be shut down but not necessarily removed, so this tug was motoring the waterways with 50mm and two 20mm guns on deck. Now apparently the residents at the time were not fond of having this ship in their marina and according to legend it was set on fire by vandals and burned below the water line and left to sink to the watery grave where it remains to this day.
Again, back at the vehicle, stripping off gear, and packing it away in our totes, cases and bags. It was a great time to reflect on another amazing day of diving. We didn't find the VT-100, Ward is fairly certain that we were right on it when we dropped but swam away from it instead of in to it. For me it just means there are more mysteries for me to uncover in Bedwell Bay and more reasons for me to return to see if I can locate the boat of legends and be able to say that I too have seen the wooden hulled minesweeper of 1942 that calls the sands of Bedwell Bay home.
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