what dives stand out for the year?

[lamont]

Diving Nohoch down in MX was easily the most memorable. None of us had been to Nohoch before, so we we were going off of some descriptions that we got from rjack. There's some debate over if you're supposed to pay for a local cave dive in order to dive that system, even if you're cave certified. I can't remember if Richard told us anything about that, but the guy at the gate accepted our money and we starting hauling our gear down to the cenote entrance. We did run into another guy who was leading snorkellers who hassled us a lot about not diving the cave, but I just kept on reasserting the fact that we were cave certified and could dive here and eventually he gave up.

I also found out that rjack's pictures that I copied down would have helped me find exactly where the mainline was, but I was looking at the kidney shape that I drew and thought it was the kidney shape of water that didn't have any overhead to it. It was actually the kidney shape which went way back under the overhead where you could swim and snorkel. We initially dropped down onto the downstream line, which was only memorable for one pinch point which probably violated strict cave 1 restrictions, but I kinda blew through it anyway (it pinched down for about 1/2 of a body length and you could probably sqeeze through it all along the horizontal... That line was kind of short and lousy...

We regrouped and swam way back where the snorkellers were going and another buddy found the mainline. Went down the mainline to, I think, "Disneyland", which was just crazy pristine cave. We had been told to stick to the "damage swath" when exploring cave in class, but had been in a bunch of sacrifical, beat up cave. This was nothing like that, and it was very obvious where the "damage swath" was and where percolation was beating up the cave (along with the odd hand print or area where someone obviously wiped out). The cave has all this black fine silt in it and huge rooms and all kinds of decoration, and since the depth is only about 15-20 feet you can dive for a long time into it, even on cave1 rules. For the second dive we ran the reel to the first jump and took Parker's line and took the T to Charlie's line which runs to the left of the mainline in tighter cave, but still just as pristine. At some point you go through a dripline there which cuts a room completely in half and which someone had to bust through in order to make any progress.

So, maybe a little bit of a sneak dive (although we didn't know it at the time), exploring a system none of us had been in before, and just really amazing cave.

We also did upstream and downstream Dos Palmas which was also less-traveled cave and very pretty... We probably overthought the downstream side of that a little bit and only did a 400 psi penetration on full tanks since it was the "siphon" side of the system (and we did the upstream side before it and did 600 psi going in and 400 psi coming out, which was why we did only 400 psi going into the downstream). Again, none of us had been in that system before, so it was a bit of an adventure.

[whatevah]

Wow... best dives this year. Let's see - in no particular order:

On the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary REEF survey project I dove with Janna Nichols at one site - not the most spectacular of the project, but visibility was great and we were doing our safety stop amongst a forest of 50 to 60 foot tall giant kelp. We found ourselves surrounded by a seemingly endless school of large, healthy and friendly Blue Rockfish. There was plenty of sunshine streaming through the water and it was just a beautiful scene. I was pretty darn happy to be myself right then.

I took a private trip to Telegraph Cove, Vancouver Island with some friends and dove so many times I lost track of them. If I had to choose one favorite dive with each of my buddies they'd be Stubbs Island in Weynton Passage with Rick and Bob's Spot in the Plumper Group with Laurie. The Stubbs Island dive was on the northeast side - it's only a small island but it sits right in the middle of a big channel that runs 4.5 knots and it drops quite precipitously to several hundred feet deep on all sides - we had spectacular visibility and I was able to swim perhaps 60' out from the wall and just follow it around that way at 80' to 120' depth taking in a vast scene (if you like huge fields of white plumose anemone dotted with bright red soft coral and basket stars, this site is for you). Did I mention big schools of Black and Yellowtail Rockfish and gangs of Steller bulls? Cool!! When I dove the Bob's Spot site with Laurie we had a lot of current to work with, but it was really a tiny little area - perhaps 80' square, so it wasn't that big of a deal. In that tiny area though, there is nothing but bright red soft coral with teensy baby basket stars hiding in them, mammoth Decorated Warbonnets, brightly colored Red Irish Lords, Crimson Anemone with Candystripe Shrimp hanging out under them and urchins of every possible size and color. This truly is photographer heaven.

I got to dive with Doug Biffard during the REEF survey project at the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary. Doug is a really impressive diver - without exaggeration, the guy is a machine. Anyway, I think my favorite dive was at Third Beach. We found all the usual amazing variety of critters, but the combination of a couple of Wolf Eels, Manacled Sculpins, Northern Clingfish, Canary Rockfish, and the tiniest baby Yelloweye Rockfish I've ever seen made this dive stand out. We both loaded up on nitrogen quite quickly and then spent a very long time drifting through the kelp at a lively pace (that's where those rascally Manacled Sculpins and baby Northern Clingfish hang out, doncha know). Oh wait - there was another dive just as good - I think it was Chibahdehl Rocks? Seemed like a fairly average site at first (and for the rest of the group it remained so) with visibility hampered by the krill that were unbelievably thick - I mean, in nice clear water they made it dark at 35'. Doug and I managed to find a kind of crack in the wall and followed it up into a vast network of surge channels - no krill here, just crystal clear water, shallow depths, plenty of surge and sunshine. The surf has cut incredibly twisted and tortured passages (barely wide enough for us to swim through), overhangs, overhead slabs with little portholes to pop through, etc - it was quite surreal and it seemed endless. When we eventually emerged, everybody else was already on the boat - they told us that while we were in an area only about 30' deep they saw a small whale pass directly through our bubbles as it fed on the krill. We'd been oblivious to it of course.

Over the summer I finally found a site that is special enough to name for my daughter. We're still exploring it and the more we do the more intrigued I am becoming. It is a special place, for sure. I am also glad to have had the opportunity to dive with my friends Janna, Tyler, and Jan in Deception Pass on some unusually long slacks early in the spring.

Okay, I really should stop myself now.

[Huskychemist]

I've got a few memorable dives this year:

1. Ten dives I got in this summer when I reunited with my dive buddy Coachrenz for some cold water dives after being in Thailand for the year. It was good to be back in the water with Tim diving our old haunts.

2. Thirteen dives in four days out of Phuket with some pretty cool critters. (Seahorse, ornate ghost pipefish, cuttlefish that was feeding, lots of cool nudies, morays of all kinds, etc.)

3. Dive number 200 recently here in the gulf on one of my "local" dives.



Looking forward to visiting Lembeh Strait on Sulawesi this summer...

[rjw]

what dive(s) did you do this year that stand out?
did you get to that shipwreck or finally see a six gill?

not yet on the sixgill (yet!!)
my aggravating dives are being skunked by the admiral sampson (again)and the
bunker hill

but the governor was great!!

The Governor, Coaster, Black Dragon, Al, and the Minesweepers were all memorable this year. But the one dive that really stands out for me was a certain recovery dive we did in Lake WA.

[Pez7378]

But the one dive that really stands out for me was a certain recovery dive we did in Lake WA.

So what did you recover Randy?

EDIT

It just occurred to me that I may already know........Was it new?..........Hmmmmmm?

[Joshua Smith]

"RJW" is actually Rob Wilson- a little known Meg diver from up north. "RDW" is Randy Williams.

I was on the first team to attempt the recovery in question......

But the one dive that really stands out for me was a certain recovery dive we did in Lake WA.

So what did you recover Randy?

EDIT

It just occurred to me that I may already know........Was it new?..........Hmmmmmm?

[rjw]

But the one dive that really stands out for me was a certain recovery dive we did in Lake WA.

So what did you recover Randy?

EDIT

It just occurred to me that I may already know........Was it new?..........Hmmmmmm?

You were close. RDW was on that dive as well !!

[defied]

Well, considering this year, I only snaked 4 dives.... sigh I know.....

Uhm, Peurto Vallarta. The viz was worse than Cabo, but it was my Wifes first time. So def the PV dives.

D(B)

[Sounder]

This year had a many good ones for me. Perhaps my favorites were in Bonaire - I think catching "shift change" at Angel City was a winner as were the night dives and the salt pier... but they all rocked. Diving in a place like that is so strange and new - I love it!!

Other dives I absolutely loved were in Hood Canal with Pacific Adventure - I had a blast doing 3 dives to finish my DM cert there. 2008 was also the year of the scooter for me, first borrowing them and then owning one. The scooter has opened a whole new world to me.

2008 was an awesome year and I'm having a hard time coming up with favorites because I only had a couple so-so dives. I really had fantastic luck this year!!

[Sockmonkey]

A few dives stand out for me this year.... in no order...

1. My first pacnorwest dive at EUP this spring. Once on the beach I declared the park a national treasure and continued talking about it for months. EUP was the tipping point for me in the decision to move here.
2. Sund rock oct-o-rama night dive with Sheri and Kalatin. A fun day down south all around.
3. Having a total freakout in 50' of water at redondo and thumbing the dive. This was the very moment when it sunk in that even the crappiest of dives can be made fun with the right team.
4. A morning at 3TN that turned into an impromptu club dive (there must have been a dozen of us wading around in the shallows at once) only to continue totally unplanned at Redondulous that afternoon. I think that was the day I called Chris and Joe scuba herpes... in the same breath as thanking Pez for letting me borrow a cylinder that morning. And that was also the day we saw the dogfish... and the lobster under the pipe.
5. My first dive in doubles at cove2. The start of what has been a totally fun and humbling journey.

[Pez7378]

"RJW" is actually Rob Wilson- a little known Meg diver from up north. "RDW" is Randy Williams.

I was on the first team to attempt the recovery in question......

How embarassing. Of course you're right. I always get confused for that other PEZ too, you know, the one that nobody likes. Thanks for the correction Josh, I'm not sure if I have met Rob yet. My apologies.

[DiverBob]

My wife and I were certified in April of this year after several years of contemplating. I have now logged 41 dives and I get excited every time I plan a dive. I find myself day dreaming about diving and wondering how my life would be different if I would have acted years before. I am blessed that my wife is my dive buddy and is just as excited about diving as I am! Dive #40 was the most memorable. 75 min. dive at Sunrise with 20 ft vis. We saw 8 GPO's with 1 out in the open. Great friends, awesome dive!

[BASSMAN]

My wife and I were certified in April of this year after several years of contemplating. I have now logged 41 dives and I get excited every time I plan a dive. I find myself day dreaming about diving and wondering how my life would be different if I would have acted years before. I am blessed that my wife is my dive buddy and is just as excited about diving as I am! Dive #40 was the most memorable. 75 min. dive at Sunrise with 20 ft vis. We saw 8 GPO's with 1 out in the open. Great friends, awesome dive!

Ya!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Bob!!!!
Welcome to the Addiction!
I sure am glad to have met you, after working At the same company with you, for ten+ years together!

[Phineas Gage]

A night dive at BHUT when I felt two rapid and distinct thumps against my right thigh, spun around and found that I had just been body checked by a pair of fully grown salmon! They hovered for just a split second in my dive light, not more than a couple of feet away and then flicked off into the darkness.

One of those moments that takes place in under 5 seconds but just sticks in your mind. That's one reason why diving here in the Sound is so awesome. The surprises. If you had 100' viz all the time then how can anything ever sneak up on you and give you a thrill?

[billandwende]

Redondo, Midnight ish, After a rat fish invasion and some fun with a small Red Octo. There it was.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5J8rR4OFwM


When I watch this video I can remember every breath I took while filming. Too bad this was at end of the dive.

This was my best ever.



I hope to top it in 2009 though.

[nice-diver]

1. I got to dive Alaska this year for the first time, thank you.

2. The Clear Lake Club Dive, I got to meet some more cool club people and I got my first photo published. Dec 2008 Sport Diver:

[spatman]

2. The Clear Lake Club Dive, I got to meet some more cool club people and I got my first photo published. Dec 2008 Sport Diver

i thought that pic looked familiar! congratulations! those are yann's yellow fins, right?

[nice-diver]

yeah, he's famous now

[BASSMAN]

2. The Clear Lake Club Dive, I got to meet some more cool club people and I got my first photo published. Dec 2008 Sport Diver

Congratulations on the being published Jeff! Great Picture

[Sheri]

I got back into the water for the first time in over a year in February.. Less than 40 dives under my belt. I’m pretty sure that I’m going to break 100 for the year on the 28th, as long as the weather decides to cooperate! So every dive has been amazing this year. Highlights include:

The "octo-fest" +1.. The Dives last month with Kalatin, Casey, Cmason and SockMonkey at Sund Rock, previously mentioned above. However, Casey and I got lucky on the 2nd of the 3 that day.. Accompanied a GPO on a 25-minute “walk” as it hunted around the wall at Octopus Hole. We felt like our own Discovery Channel special! It was an amazing day for octos, and for discovering new dive buddies. I laughed my head off and learned about the head-to-toe safety check.- not at the same time.

Scottsax and I did our first “unsupervised” dive in April, I think it was. Just went to Redondo with a couple of tanks and decided to see what we could see without anyone else leading the way. I may not recall a lot of the critters we saw, but I will always remember flooding my mask laughing while Scott tried to rescue the crabs under Salty’s, and rolling over and blowing bubbles at the sky while we played in the shallows as the sun streamed through the water.

A day of driving and diving with Divernick, Spatman, Penopolypants and Scottsax, first at Les Davis where Scott and I saw our first wolf eel, then at FIWW and actually hearing Penelope yell, “Holy S*#t” into her reg as we saw just how big that GPO really was… I remember thinking, "Hell. The Keys have NOTHING on Puget Sound!"

Every AOW dive with Grateful diver.. And feeling like I can really hold my own in the water, now.

And finally, a special nighttime trip to the I-beams at Cove 2 a few weeks ago. Got down to the beams without freaking out, spent the whole dive enamored with harbor seals, and discovered that the term Dive Buddy means an awful lot more than just "the people you dive with.” Thanks again, everyone.

[RDW]

what dive(s) did you do this year that stand out?
did you get to that shipwreck or finally see a six gill?

not yet on the sixgill (yet!!)
my aggravating dives are being skunked by the admiral sampson (again)and the
bunker hill

but the governor was great!!

The Governor, Coaster, Black Dragon, Al, and the Minesweepers were all memorable this year. But the one dive that really stands out for me was a certain recovery dive we did in Lake WA.

Memorable? Generally any dive I can come back to the surface from.
Specifically? The SS Governor dive (2nd day) was pretty damn cool. That was my 14th dive on the wreck. Way cool dive.
Diving with Ron Akeson on the Wrecks of the Transpac and the General Zelinski certainly were right on the top this year.
The Transpac was a wreck I've wanted to dive since I listened to all the SAR chatter on the SAR-Tel while I was on duty at USCG Station Seattle the night she went down. Taking close-up pic's of 500lb WWII bombs on the Gen'l Z...incredible!
However, I would have to agree with Mr RJW...A "certain" recovery dive in Lake WA was thrilling indeed. I didn't know anybody could yell that loud through their CCR loop. Amazing!

[Romer Treece]

However, I would have to agree with Mr RJW...A "certain" recovery dive in Lake WA was thrilling indeed. I didn't know anybody could yell that loud through their CCR loop. Amazing![/quote]


You should hear me sing!!