Dive Control Specialist Certified!

As of tonight, I finally completed my SSI Dive Control Specialist course.

It was really hard for me because I got really nervous having to teach in a classroom setting. Put me out in the ocean, give me the kiddies in the pool and I'm awesome. But man, I hate sitting there and having people watch you so closely.

Anyways. It's done. I just have to send my paperwork in.

Holy Smokes

I just realized I hadn't blogged here in awhile. Has it been that long since I've been diving? Whoa. Say it isn't so. I just got back from a long trip to Rhode Island and lots of movin's and shakin's going on at work (Yeah, I'm one of the unfortunate ones that took a major salary cut, while The Big Head Honcho gives himself a $800,000 bonus.) It's still a good job, but it messes with a lot of the dive trips I had planned, vacation, little things I want but don't need.

I might have to get a roommate! *GROAN* I like my privacy, but well, we'll see. You guys can thwart this! Feel free to send me donations, so I can keep diving and blogging and living alone!

kthx.

:)

(Kidding!)

(Ok, no, I'm not kidding.)

(Ok, really... )

Dive Con...

So, I passed the final exam for my Dive Control Specialist course. I still have to teach one more classroom session, then I'll get my certificate. The shop is taking a break in the month of December and then will resume in January.

I don't know when I'll finish this course. *groans*

Anyways, haven't been blogging much lately as you can surely notice. Been on about 20 dives since my last entry. Night, drift, open water certifications... you know the usual.

I'm saving for a new DUI drysuit. I think my semi-dry Camaro has reached the end of its' usefulness. It's 4 years old now with over 100 dives in it. I think the neoprene is starting to crush and lose its' heating ability... plus, I don't really fit it anymore as I've lost some weight. (yay) The one I'm looking at is the CLX.

After I get my certification, I'll save a lot of money on my suit.

Will try to post more often.

Super Responsible Kit

NOT.

Kit Fails at the part about being Responsible!

Thursday night, I'm packing up my gear to head up to Oak Harbor for my Dive Con class. We have two students right now which makes it kinda nice... I don't have to babysit too much and keep forever scanning the pool for kiddies trying to wander around.

I can't find my Twin Jets fins. I can't find my Ocean Master mask Pat gave me for my birthday.

Then, it slowly dawns on me as I recall our Tuesday night Night Dive at Driftwood Park.

"Kit comes out of the water after the second dive. She sets down the fins and mask on a log behind her car. Shaking and shivering, she finds the key she had hidden and unlocks the 'barn door.' She takes out her little bamboo rug and sets it down on the ground and begins taking off her BC, her gloves, her boots, her sockies, her neoprene. She wraps her naked goose-bumped body in her new McNet Microfiber towel and puts another one around her long auburn mane. Derek offers Kit a beer. Kit thankfully accepts beer. Kit puts the beer down in order to get into her sweatshirt and sweat pants. She fumbles in the dark for her sandals. She fumbles more in the dark for her hair conditioner and a brush. Kit picks up the beer, the conditioner and the brush and walks back over to the boys to debrief over the dive. Derek suggests Kit meets him at the Tyee for hot Toddies and a game of pool. Kit agrees. Kit gets in her car, fires 'er up and marvels at the warmth of the heater on her little toes. Kit... drives off without her fins and her mask."

Can you say... DUMB ASS?

Thursday afternoon, I go back to look, MAYBE they're still there. No go.

Thursday night, I pick up a new medium Pair of Scubapro's Twin Jet Max, with fitting spring clips. Luckily I have a spare mask. I need a new snorkel.

.....What's new? I'm just adding more to The List...

Fantasia

Paul called me to tell me he wanted to do a day into night dive at Admiralty Head, just about 6 miles south of the Keystone Jetty in Coupeville, Washington. It's also called Driftwood Park to the locals, a nice little dive that is known for a relaxing drift.

As soon as I got the phone call, I sent a text message to Derek to invite him. I love sending text messages to Derek because he hates responding to them. It makes me want to bombard him all day long, but you know what? I like that he'll dive with me, so I don't want to mess with him too much. ;)

SO... I show up to Driftwood Park and Paul is already there with Derek. We set about getting into our gear when Pete, Chris and J.R. showed up. We wanted to get into the water while it was still light, the second dive was to be at night after the SIT. I think I've mentioned how much I enjoy my dive buddies. It's a comaraderie like I've never known before.

Dive #1 went very well, we descended to about 58 feet looking for a bottle field that was supposed to be there. The probelm was, we didn't know exactly where it was so we pretty much set about just exploring what we could. We lost Paul about half way through the dive. It's amazing how fast you can lose someone. It just takes a moment of stopping to look at something before everyone else moves on and you're left behind. I do my best to keep everyone together, but... best laid plans. Luckily, we agreed before hand that if we got separated, we were going to continue the dive because getting back to shore was pretty easy.

Derek and I never did find the bottle field, but we did find two bottles. One large brown bottle I picked up had something inside of it, I swam it over to Derek but we couldn't see what was inside. I wanted to bring it to the surface, but then decided to just leave it down there. Good Girl. Drifting back to the beginning point, I found a juvenile Giant Pacific Octopus (Octopus dofleini) (sounds like an oxymoron, huh?) and brought Derek's attention to it. He played with it for a little while and then we floated back and regrouped with Paul. Perfect timing.

I was pretty cold after the first dive. I dug around in my car for a propane bottle that I thought I brought for my new table top heater. No go. All I wanted to do was get warm between dives. Ugh. I hate when I'm completely unprepared. On this night dive, I was. I totally forgot to bring a tank light - but I managed to find a battery operated glow light from my Fly Fishing days. I didn't know if it was waterproof, but elected to take it down anyways. Paul agreed it was better than nothing, at least until it lasted. Neither of them brought a spare chem light and it was my own stupid fault for failing to be prepared. I did, however, after digging around a bit more, manage to find a chem light and snapped it to engage it, but it failed to glow. I never knew there was a shelf life on those.

Earlier in the day I was at least going through the routine of trying to be prepared... so I had bought new C batteries for my Nemo8. You'd think the name would have clued me in that it needs EIGHT C batteries. For some reason, I only bought 6. I borrowed two extra batteries from Derek, but he didn't know if they were new or not. Add batteries to The List.

After about an hour SIT, we got back into the water. I bet Paul that my battery operated chem light was going to explode under pressure at about 30 feet, but it did not. I didn't find out until later that it wasn't waterproof, (but it was water resistant) and that baby lasted the entire dive and it was mucho bright. I loved the glow following along behind me. Both Paul and Derek use flashing red strobes. I need to get me a bonafide strobe. It's on The List. There's always something else on The List. The batteries that Derek gave me for the Nemo drained the rest of the new batteries... I decided to shut off my light and instead use my backup M2 hand light.

That's when the magic came out. Bioluminescence magic that is. I hovered over and behind Derek and Paul the rest of the dive. My hand light wasn't directedly bright, so I was able to hover in almost perfect blackness, watching Paul and Derek dart back and forth as they noticed things to look at. They looked like alien mining vehicles on a alien planet the way their lights pivoted back and forth, beams coming closer and going away as their interests shifted. I could only see vague shapes of the divers, no real distinction. As they moved, the bioluminescence trailed off their Twin Jet fins, the green glowing flourescents vortexing off behind them as they swam.I took time to myself. I'm not saying that anything they were looking wasn't interesting, I have just never been in the presence where there was so much bioluminescence around. I wanted to take advantage of it. The previous night dives I've been on only revealed a slight spattering... nothing like this. Nothing so engaging and animated.

Never.

I snapped my fingers and watched with childlike amazement, the glow flurrying off the tips of my neoprene clad fingers, as delicate as if I blew a palmful of faerie dust into the air. I shut off the M2, and turned my back to my dive buddies so I could maintain the darkness. I crossed my hands over in front of me and un crossed them, forcefully, determined to create more disturbance in the water to entertain me with more glow. Intense. It was the best non drugged induced high I ever had. (Okay, next to sky diving, but that's a different blog.)

Realising I should be more attentive to my dive buddies, I turned again to find them playing with a Sailfin Sculpin (Nautichthys oculofasciatus). We continued the dive, finding more Octopus to watch with wonder as they scuttled along the bottom of the ocean.

We did our safety stop at 15 feet like usual for :03 and got out of the water. I hurriedly got out of my neoprene (damn I need a dry suit, like PRONTO.) and into some dry clothes. We talked about the dive and drank a beer afterwards. What a great time.

Derek and I took off to the Tyee to grab a hot toddy. We played a couple games of pool and then we went out own ways. It sure is a long drive home when that's the last place you want to be lately.

Exposure Protection & Decontamination for Public Safety Divers

I took a DUI course today - about exposure to contaminants during certain diving situations, the kind of equipment to have during those situations and how, after contamination, to decontaminate.

This is portable DeCon "U" shower by MITI.

It hooks up to a regular water hose and produces a fine spray to rinse divers after contamination.

A foam surfacant, in a portable spray rig employing DF200, was being demonstrated in this picture.

So I got to hang out with DUI VP, Faith Ortins, along with some of Washington states finest police officers, firefighters and other public safety personnel. It was very informative and it has inspired me to perhaps... (read that, PERHAPS) try to write a grant for some funding to get some new exposure suits for WIDC. WIDC has been called in several times to help in containment and recovery. Certain applicable suits would be nice to have.

Let me think about it. I could delegate this grant writing to someone who know's more about it and but Faith had said she'd help me in any way she can. I have to admit, it would be pretty cool to be the one to bring these suits into the dive shop. Think about the brownie points.

Ohwell. That's it for the night.