Skyline Wall/first scooter dive

[gcbryan]

I've been to Skyline Wall many times but today was my first on a scooter (X-Scooter) with Lynne and Peter with the scooter courtesy of Alan.

Visibility was on the low side (not unusual for this location) but the marine life was abundant as always however today I didn't concentrate as much on the marine life as usual due to my preoccupation with the scooter. I did manage not to run into anything or anyone. I didn't hurt myself or the scooter so all in all it was a good day!

It did take a while to manage buoyancy control while holding a light with one hand while the other hand was on the trigger. Luckily Peter and Lynne kept track of me more than I kept track of them today!

I alternated between flying along the beautiful scenery and taking brief hits on the trigger with more intensive critter watching. OK brief hits on the trigger rarely occurred. It was more like full blast, stop, full blast, stop, at least until I started to figure out things a little! I can tell you that Rock Fish and Greenlings are more fleet of foot (fin) than you might think since they all managed to avoid a collision with the scooter today.

A fun day was had by all...after we repaired Peter's wrist seal with Duct Tape!

[Huskychemist]

Nice post, Gray. I've yet to try a scooter. I tend to be a "go very slow" diver, but some day I'd like to try one just for kicsk. Nice to hear a "first timer's" story.

Happy diving.

Lowell

[LCF]

I'm a "go very slow" diver, too, and it's taken me a while to figure out how to integrate the scooter into that, but I'm learning. Skyline's a PERFECT scooter site, because the scoot shortens the surface swim, and provides some insurance against the current. We were a bit late getting into the water yesterday (in part due to inefficiency, but in large part due to having to get back out of the water and repair Peter's seal) and we dropped into a mild current blowing in our faces. We could easily have swum against it, but it would have been work, and we wouldn't have gotten very far before turn pressure. With the scooters, it was no problem -- Zoom forward, and then turn and drift gently back.

Gray, don't feel bad. I think EVERYBODY who first gets his hands on a scooter falls prey to the "zoom, zoom" syndrome! It's just too much fun, finding out how fast they can go. But I didn't see you doing any barrel rolls or loops, so you definitely controlled yourself!

[OreCoastDiver]

A scooter is beginning to appeal to me more and more. I'm thinking it might be a better choice for sites that are just a little too far from the beach to swim it, than, say, a sit-on-the-top kayak. I'm planning on taking a class before I make the decision.

[gcbryan]

I'd have to say that to me Skyline is a perfect place to try out a scooter rather than a perfect use for a scooter. The scenery passing all around is a beautiful back-drop while cruising and trying out a scooter and trying to get the technique down.

As far as looking at the actual marine life with a scooter between the diver and the marine life it isn't optimal. I think kick diving is better at Skyline unless you are trying to see how long the wall is as in trying to go around the corner to Washington Park. Taking a scooter in case you screw up the current predictions is like taking a pony bottle in case you screw up your buddy selection (very tongue in cheek here)!

I can see a scooter as actually being better than kick diving (rather than just being more fun) on a large wreck, surface swims too far to comfortably swim, perhaps as insurance on more unpredictable sites (Deception Pass), etc.

They are definitely fun, it's a skill to be perfected, and they are useful I can see in many situations.

[scottsax]

Taking a scooter in case you screw up the current predictions is like taking a pony bottle in case you screw up your buddy selection (very tongue in cheek here)!

I don't know, that's pretty astute, actually. I'm going to have to go muse on that for awhile...

Oh, and scooters kick by the way!