what dives stand out for the year?

[bigsky]

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!!

[Grateful Diver]

Diving the Warren car was big ... not from a technical standpoint (it was a pretty simple dive), but because it's a dive I'd wanted to do every since I first heard John Rawlings talk about it. We also did the Steele car on the same dive.

Getting up to Port Hardy (finally) was big ... we did Browning Wall three times, and it was special each time. The Indonesia dives stand out (pretty much all 54 of them) ... some of the Komodo and Lembeh Straits dives were especially memorable.

Biggest disappointment for me was missing out on Neah Bay and the Diamond Knot (again) due to the troubles with the Mark V ... but that just makes them goals for 2009 ..

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

[mz53480]

what dive(s) did you do this year that stand out?

my #50 with Dad-o at octopus hole.
Having the wolf-eel come out and say hi.
Also, great (fun?) to see that the old man can still get up & down the stairs!
(love ya daddy-o!)

[Pez7378]

Port Hardy was great. Browning wall, North wall, 7 tree, Wolfeel Condos and Eagle rock to name a few. But the single most stand out dive of the year?

NAKWAKTO RAPIDS!!

If you haven't done this dive, and don't ever plan to, then change your plans. It truly is the dive of a lifetime.

And then there was a dive I did in the Philippines on a Oil Tanker called the Taeiei Maru. It was My girlfriends FIRST open water dive and we were buddies. I've got video of her doing this little swim through under an arch. Her trim and buoyancy were perfect, right up until she swam into the cameraman and had to change directions

I expect 2009 will be even better, as long as I get back up to Port Hardy and dive Nakwakto again. Nothing else compares.

[Dmitchell]

Probably the most memorable was our attempt on the TBM Avenger off San Diego. We had 4 or 5 groups and spaced them 15 minutes apart. We were in the last group (Myself, Rob from SD and Robin the owner of Deep Outdoors) as we headed down, we passed most everyone else already on deco. When we got to the bottom at 255' we found the shot line bouncing across the bottom. It had detached from the wreck with the current and the weight of the divers doing deco. So we chased this shot line across the mud at 255'!

The next one would probably be a 200' dive we did here in Juneau. The stars must have been aligned and we had 80'+ Vis and great lighting. The life was unbelievable, we saw 5 Octopus out moving around on the wall in one dive.


DM

[LCF]

Oh, there have been some great ones this year.

Locally, I discovered Waterman's Wall. I've done two dives on it, and they were FANTASTIC. I finally found something in Puget Sound that makes me want to go into deco . . .

On vacation, we did a dive in Rangiroa where we dropped into a pod of dolphins, and they played with us for more than five minutes. Then we had a manta swim through the group. And as if that weren't enough for one dive, I spent a HALF HOUR in blue water (no visual reference) and never got disoriented!

And in Mexico, on the last trip, I did a cave I hadn't seen before, that was the most beautiful yet. And I led my buddies into caves they'd never seen before, which was a milestone, too.

It's been a great diving year.

[boydski]

Most memorable dives for me would be:

Returning to Darwin's Arch in the Galapagos and getting to swim with 14 different Whale Sharks! :occasion5:


Descending on our 4th attempt on the Dugeness Crane and finally spotting the boom and structure after getting blown off during the three previous tries!

Finding the wreck of the Sonny on a day with decent viz and actually being able to photograph a new wreck in Lake Washington for a change.

Swimming aft (stbd) of the wheelhouse on the new Minesweeper and running into a fishing net at 200' in about 7' of viz. That was just spooky....

[Burntchef]

the p4y-2 i did last month with ken and matt, it was just a great lake dive, good vis, and a new plane i had not seen yet.

warren car- as bob mentioned not a very tech dive but with the gang of outlaws and crazies it was a blast camping and diving, plus the unveiling of the new cudas!!

black dragon- again new wreck for me, great group of diver( a few outlaws) and its allways fun on howies doughnut machine...errr i mean boat.

[Joshua Smith]

My best year of diving, yet- so many standout dives this year!

-2 incredible dives on the SS Governor has to top the list- I've wanted to dive this wreck since before I started diving. It exceeded my expectations in every way.

-Browning pass and Nakwakto- the best cold water diving in the world, I'm told- I have no reason to doubt it. I think it's better than most of the warm water diving in the world, as a matter of fact. Awesome trip with more than a few great dives!

-The unnamed minesweeper in Lake WA was a helluva lot of fun to dive- very cool wreck!

And more- these were the highlights, though.

All of these were great dives, but they were made even better by the best group of dive buddies anyone could ask for!
:occasion5:

[camerone]

Lots of good ones this year...

• Four fathoms reef, next to Duncan rock, at night this summer. Sadly, the Mark V couldn't do the Diamond Knot, but we made up for it with one of the richest, most scenic dives I've ever done. We had a choice of either Duncan or the reef, picked the reef, and it was unbelievably photogenic and spectacular.
• Alki Cove 2 - FINALLY saw my first six gill this year, after too many years of being skunked. Eric and I went down to the Alki plains line, ran up toward cove 1, and we came upon a beautiful, young six gill, who could've cared less that we were there. We hung out for ten minutes admiring the shark and just watching it swim around. We ended up leaving it, instead of it leaving us, which was totally cool. I love the dives where you sit there on deco thinking "I gotta get up to talk about this, I gotta get up to talk about this!"
• Ferry Boat Dawn - one of those eye-opening dives that freaks you out a bit. It's a cool wreck, a new one for me, that's fairly shallow, but the lake vis was terrible, and the unnamed fellow who tied in the spool to the shot line didn't do a particularly good job. A bit of spatial disorientation/vertigo on my part in zero/zero vis, and a free-water ascent and from the bottom 'cause my buddy didn't want me to shoot a bag. Next time, I shoot the bag, lesson learned Deco is much easier on a bag.

[Joshua Smith]

[*]Ferry Boat Dawn - one of those eye-opening dives that freaks you out a bit. It's a cool wreck, a new one for me, that's fairly shallow, but the lake vis was terrible, and the unnamed fellow who tied in the spool to the shot line didn't do a particularly good job. A bit of spatial disorientation/vertigo on my part in zero/zero vis, and a free-water ascent and from the bottom 'cause my buddy didn't want me to shoot a bag. Next time, I shoot the bag, lesson learned Deco is much easier on a bag.[/list]

I think I was on that dive- wasn't that 2007? We did the PBM first, then the Dawn, off of the Aluminator?

[Aquanautchuck]

What stand out Drive or Dive?

In both cases for me it was Cozumel for my honeymoon. I have always wanted to go there and had some very pleasent mellow dives. Now the Drives!!! OMG, how I survived driving there I have no idea. Those are some crazy drivers.

[TCWestby]

My first and last dive at Edmonds Oil Dock. I wish I could have spent more time there...

[camerone]

I think I was on that dive- wasn't that 2007? We did the PBM first, then the Dawn, off of the Aluminator?

Man, I'm hoping that wasn't 2007. Now I have to go check my logs. However, it was just the Dawn that day...although it was the Aluminator.

Someone else having problems tying in a spool?

[H20doctor]

Best dive ever ??? The pilings at Keystone Jetty.. With the sun beaming down shimmering through the water.. Diving Mukilteo and seeing a wolf eel.. Redondo.. Having 5 juvinile octo's sitting right in front of us just hanging out..

[sheahanmcculla]

This one is easy...January was my 1st dry dive! By far my best dive experiance ever!

[Ken G]

I have two dives that stand out for me in the last year.

Getting the opportunity to dive Bonaire for two weeks with my wife.

My second was diving the Warren car this last summer. A truly amazing experience as well.

Im looking forward to what lies in store for the next year.

[Tom Nic]

Bonaire twice in '08 was definitely a double treat!

**And of the 46 dives I did there the one that stands out the most was a shallow dive at Andrea II with friends where my wife and a friend snorkeled above us the entire 65 minute dive. To be able to share a joy like that with my non-diving and much loved spouse was an amazing gift. And to have her spot turtles that we never saw because our noses were in the coral made it even cooler!

**Also, "flying" down the almost vertical coral slope from 20fsw to 109fsw at Karpata a dive or two into our first trip. Amazing viz, 80 degree water, spectacular terrain, no "zip-lock baggie", and tons of life - it doesn't get much better than those first impressions. This pic is actually Sounder at Ol' Blue the same day, but gives you the general idea!



**And ironically, my last dive at Sunrise Beach Park. First time shore-diving that site. Good buddies, nailed slack, 8 GPO's (one out and about), and a Pacific Spiny Lumpsucker to finish the dive off. A dive so amazing that it has you shouting into your regulator because you can't contain yourself at the end of the dive - another great gift.

[BASSMAN]

Diving up in Sitka, Alaska! This was my second trip up there. (first was in 2007). One particular dive that was a stand out dive was, finding my first "King Crab", he was not big, but still a great find. There were several awsome dives up there!
http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh77 ... CN7299.jpg

The best dive of the year for me has to be, the Sunrise, shore dive on december 11, 2008!!
Everything went perfect, as a mater of fact we decided not to do a second dive over at Fox Island because we had such a good dive. It was just a great way to end a good dive day!

To all of the buddies I've dove with this year, Thanks! :occasion5: A good buddy always makes a good dive for me!

[Joshua Smith]

I think I was on that dive- wasn't that 2007? We did the PBM first, then the Dawn, off of the Aluminator?

Man, I'm hoping that wasn't 2007. Now I have to go check my logs. However, it was just the Dawn that day...although it was the Aluminator.

Someone else having problems tying in a spool?

Pretty sure I dove the Dawn with you off the Aluminator- although we were not buddied up or anything.

Pretty sure it was 2007- I was in my doubles, and I've been CCR exclusively for over a year now.

Don't remember any drama with a spool.....

[Pez7378]

I think I was on that dive- wasn't that 2007?

Man, I'm hoping that wasn't 2007. Now I have to go check my logs. Someone else having problems tying in a spool?

Pretty sure I dove the Dawn with you off the Aluminator- although we were not buddied up or anything.

Pretty sure it was 2007- Don't remember any drama with a spool.....

Pretty "Stand out Dives" eh? Real memorable? Huh?

Josh thinks he was there, back in '07. Camerone is gonna check his logs. Neither remember anyone having a problem with the spool? Hehehe

[Kalatin]

My dive log for this year reads like a chatty 13-year-old girl's diary because I have had so many good dives with such great buddies. The most memorable dive for me was with SockMonkey and Sheri at Sund Rock in November. After two great dives earlier that day, we decided to do a night dive. The three of us were the only ones in the water and the vis was good. During our dive, we found no less than four GPOs out hunting for the evening. Every time the GPO we were watching wandered away or went back to its den, we found another GPO just a few feet away headed out for an evening snack. As we headed back, I wanted to get to the surface to talk about it, but when we actually surfaced I was almost speechless with wonder. Surfacing to find the moon on the rise, the fog rolling in, and the water like glass didn't hurt either.
Other notables - the Oil Dock with 50 feet of vis, my first scooter dive, and multiple dives where I laughed so hard I flooded my mask.

[Joshua Smith]

I think I was on that dive- wasn't that 2007?

Man, I'm hoping that wasn't 2007. Now I have to go check my logs. Someone else having problems tying in a spool?

Pretty sure I dove the Dawn with you off the Aluminator- although we were not buddied up or anything.

Pretty sure it was 2007- Don't remember any drama with a spool.....

Pretty "Stand out Dives" eh? Real memorable? Huh?

Josh thinks he was there, back in '07. Camerone is gonna check his logs. Neither remember anyone having a problem with the spool? Hehehe

Hey, it wasn't on MY list!

[BigFameOne]

As a new diver, I don't have ANY of the big dives that many of you have, but I do have a different perspective. As it is all so new to me I can truley be impressed by the little pleasures. Seeing my first Nudi, diving cove 2 for my final OW dive, even just the first time I was able to breath of a reg underwater and know that I was ok. A lot of really big deals to me this year. Since I have delt with some obstacles too I appreciate them that much more. For me the single biggest dive was my first time in Cove 2, we had done all of our check out dives at cove 3 and cove 2 was our last dive for ow but was a dive to just enjoy, seeing all the life as compared to cove 3 was overwhelming. I am often asked if there is anything to see in the Sound, and I had snorkeled the oil dock and seen some starfish, crabs, and small fish etc, and had been in cove 3 where you would see some of the same BUT I was amazed at the sheer abundance of Giant Plumose Anemones etc in Cove 2. I was lucky too to get to see two ENORMOUS GPO's at the Honey Bear. I still tell people about the Octo's almost every day, luckily when while we were down there we ran into Slundy and Sounder, and Slundy took some photos so I was even able to save a picture of the Octo I got to see. Since it was my first year diving, it was a HUGE year diving and I look very forward to many, many more.

[Zen Diver]

Since it was my first year diving, it was a HUGE year diving and I look very forward to many, many more.

Now that is really cool to read. Thanks for reminding us that "memorable" dives don't have to be deep, dark or exotic. Stick around here, you'll find lots of buddies to have those many many more dives.

-Valerie