Night Flying, Oriskany Dives and Buoyancy Control
The sun's been out, the moon's full over the gulf, and the seas have been calm over the last week. But this Sunday morning, I'm ashore taking a day off. The scents of sunscreen and salt air have given way the fragrances of soap and shampoo as I sit in my air conditioned office trying to keep the days straight. Between diving, flying a little golf, it's been a pretty busy week.
On Tuesday I went flying. My night currency was up in a few days, so I needed to log a few take offs and landings to keep current. So just after dark, I screamed down the runway two-six, lifted off, and headed west toward Gulfport, MS.. The plan was to to climb to 4500 and enjoy the waxing moon as it rested on the left wing. At altitude, I switched to auto-pilot, leaned my seat back a notch, and turned on the music. Tonight's choice included Jack Johnson, Buffett and a little Kenny Chesney. The night, with its moon reflecting off the dark gulf reminded me of so many night dives where I would turn off my light and allow my eyes to adjust to the ambient light. That Tuesday night, the sky held the same hues as the clear water of the Caribbean on a night dive.
The next day, I was up early to meet our guests at the boat. Five people were diving the Russian Freighter in preparation for a later dive on the Oriskany. Four of the five had never made a dive below sixty feet, so they made the intelligent choice of making their first dive below sixty feet at a site where they could reach the bottom without going into Deco or running out of air.
In diving the Oriskany one of the biggest issues I've come across so far is buoyancy control. By experimenting on a more shallow wreck will allow you to build the confidence needed for such a demanding dive as the Oriskany. If you have buoyancy issue on the Freighter, you'll only fall to 80 feet, and I'll be happy to come and get you, put some air in your BC and lead you on the test of the dive. But a buoyancy problem on the Oriskany can send you down to over 200 feet--far past the limits of a recreational diver, or divemaster. At that point, it's not rescue, it's a recovery.
As you're descending and getting near the getting-off point of the anchor line, add some air to your BC to allow for a little flare. Just as an airplane seems to level out just before touchdown, so should a diver. The idea is to give just enough of a blast of air to keep off the bottom, and allow you to become neutrally buoyant. Like flying, buoyancy control is easy once you've played around with the controls for a while.
On Thursday I came to the conclusion that I am a much better diver than golfer.
Later that week, I had to opportunity to lead another dive on the Oriskany. The seas were smooth, the winds calm, and sun was climbing. I got everyone over, and geared up myself. As soon as I hit the water and broke below the surface haze, I saw the island staring up at me through what looked like one eye. If you anchor in the near the front of the island, you'll see a large white circle just in front of the helm. It's a great place to land, get your bearings and take in the beauty.
As I swam around the site, I was amazed at how the finish was turning white. I was able to wipe off the powder that seemed to cover the island. Then as I swam around, I couldn't believe what I saw. Some knucklehead took some kind of pen, and wrote his name on one of the bulkheads just inside a hatch. I can't remember what the guy's name was, but who the hell would mark up such an honorable ship? Next time I go, I'll write down the name and forever check it against our manifest. I know it wasn't one of my divers, but now that I know people are capable, I'll have to add "no graffiti" to my divemaster's briefing.
Finishing up the second dive, I had to remove the anchor from the wreck. So I slipped down to 103 where the anchor lay hooked into a ladder. I loosened it and dropped it over the edge. And holding onto the line, I rode the anchor as we drifted away from Oriskany watching the mighty ship fade into the distance.
On Tuesday I went flying. My night currency was up in a few days, so I needed to log a few take offs and landings to keep current. So just after dark, I screamed down the runway two-six, lifted off, and headed west toward Gulfport, MS.. The plan was to to climb to 4500 and enjoy the waxing moon as it rested on the left wing. At altitude, I switched to auto-pilot, leaned my seat back a notch, and turned on the music. Tonight's choice included Jack Johnson, Buffett and a little Kenny Chesney. The night, with its moon reflecting off the dark gulf reminded me of so many night dives where I would turn off my light and allow my eyes to adjust to the ambient light. That Tuesday night, the sky held the same hues as the clear water of the Caribbean on a night dive.
The next day, I was up early to meet our guests at the boat. Five people were diving the Russian Freighter in preparation for a later dive on the Oriskany. Four of the five had never made a dive below sixty feet, so they made the intelligent choice of making their first dive below sixty feet at a site where they could reach the bottom without going into Deco or running out of air.
In diving the Oriskany one of the biggest issues I've come across so far is buoyancy control. By experimenting on a more shallow wreck will allow you to build the confidence needed for such a demanding dive as the Oriskany. If you have buoyancy issue on the Freighter, you'll only fall to 80 feet, and I'll be happy to come and get you, put some air in your BC and lead you on the test of the dive. But a buoyancy problem on the Oriskany can send you down to over 200 feet--far past the limits of a recreational diver, or divemaster. At that point, it's not rescue, it's a recovery.
As you're descending and getting near the getting-off point of the anchor line, add some air to your BC to allow for a little flare. Just as an airplane seems to level out just before touchdown, so should a diver. The idea is to give just enough of a blast of air to keep off the bottom, and allow you to become neutrally buoyant. Like flying, buoyancy control is easy once you've played around with the controls for a while.
On Thursday I came to the conclusion that I am a much better diver than golfer.
Later that week, I had to opportunity to lead another dive on the Oriskany. The seas were smooth, the winds calm, and sun was climbing. I got everyone over, and geared up myself. As soon as I hit the water and broke below the surface haze, I saw the island staring up at me through what looked like one eye. If you anchor in the near the front of the island, you'll see a large white circle just in front of the helm. It's a great place to land, get your bearings and take in the beauty.
As I swam around the site, I was amazed at how the finish was turning white. I was able to wipe off the powder that seemed to cover the island. Then as I swam around, I couldn't believe what I saw. Some knucklehead took some kind of pen, and wrote his name on one of the bulkheads just inside a hatch. I can't remember what the guy's name was, but who the hell would mark up such an honorable ship? Next time I go, I'll write down the name and forever check it against our manifest. I know it wasn't one of my divers, but now that I know people are capable, I'll have to add "no graffiti" to my divemaster's briefing.
Finishing up the second dive, I had to remove the anchor from the wreck. So I slipped down to 103 where the anchor lay hooked into a ladder. I loosened it and dropped it over the edge. And holding onto the line, I rode the anchor as we drifted away from Oriskany watching the mighty ship fade into the distance.
posted by The Divemaster at 9:51 AM
1 Comments:
Don't you mean "... At that point, it's not RECOVERY, it's a RESCUE"?
Great Blog - I recently discovered it and enjoy your style. I was inspired to start a blog of my own yesterday. It's at divecanuck.net
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