28 replies to this topic

[sugarbad]

All I can say to those of you who missed this weekend was that you missed a SHOCKER of a weekend!!!

Wow what great dives, great food, great people........The weather was PERFECT and the seas were calm and smooth.........

If you missed it this year do not make the same mistake next year.

[wreck_maniac]

Yep it was a "SHOCKER" alrighty

[triggerfish]

that one of your dive gloves, dale?

[Sophia]

I want a trip report, so I will know what I missed.

Love the new signature, triggerfish. I had to explain it to someone because I laughed out loud last night when I noticed it.

Edited by Sophia, 04 October 2004 - 11:04 AM.

[wreck_maniac]

hehe...I see that one of the fearless mods removed my avatar

[NCMasterDiver]

Newly posted group photo of the NC wreck divers.
Check out trip photos thread under gallery.

[ryvor]

All I can say to those of you who missed this weekend was that you missed a SHOCKER of a weekend!!!

I concurr, it was a "SHOCKER"
Great trip, great food, and great friends.

Don't miss the bus next time!

[WreckGoddess]

All I can say to those of you who missed this weekend was that you missed a SHOCKER of a weekend!!!

I couldn't say it better!


To all my newfound friends.. I had a blast!!! Next year.. or any other NC trip -- I am there!

--And to all my red-headed sisters! It was awesome diving with you!!!

~Vanessa

[VADiver]

Yep it was a great weekend. You couldn’t have asked for better weather or a group of divers. The food was amazing too…crab cakes, funnel cakes, tasty little shrimp in pita bread. I hope to dive with everyone again soon! And see diving can be educational too as we all learned a new word... Not to mention several catchy phrases to remember it by!

For those who missed it, the upcoming dive report cannot do the trip justice. You need to make it next year.

[sugarbad]

It was truly a "Fiesta." Friday nights meal was FANTASTIC....especially the salmon......The Seafood Festival Saturday night gave me more than enough food to fill me up...

Ryvor, did that Cab Driver give you any "Lip?"
Thanks to Kamela for the food, the fun, and the Meclizine (was that some sort of fish paralyzer?)

Ryvor is correct...Don't miss the bus next year or you might end up staying at Mike's place instead.

[ryvor]

Truly a great fiesta. Hell, I felt like a "VIP" with all the great service we got.

Yeah that cab driver was a pretty interesting fella. He had tattoos all over his arms then someone in the back of the bus mentioned something about tattoos and he looks over at me and says "I hate tattoos" I asked him why and he showed me the inside of his lip where he had "fxck you" tattoo'd there. I was like "ok"

Yup, and if Mike is in Brazil then you're going to have to stay down on 8th street because that's the only place that had any vacancy.

[WreckWench]

WOW! What a great group of folks to spend the weekend with and to dive with! The weather was great...the diving was awesome on Saturday with 50-60ft on the Schurz the WWI wreck...Friday was ok on the Papoose with 30 ft or so cuz the remanents of the last freaking storm was still clearing out...and Sunday proved that you should always go for viz when the odds are dicey...three wrecks...same ocean about 2 miles apart and one has 10ft of viz, one had about 40ft on it and the other had 60ft of viz. Guess which two we dove on???? Yep...10ft and 40ft! (But hey...at least we 'saw' the U-352...can't say the same for the Aeolus!)

But we certainly have a rep for picking good dive sites cuz almost every other boat did their second dive on the same 10ft of vis cuz we were on it! Gotta love having a rep in Morehead City! Heck...gotta love diving in a place called MoreHead!!!

The Seafood festival was loads of fun...ocean walks were not to be missed...dockside bbq's left everyone happy and full...and if you didnt' get enough Friday night...it provided lunch on the boat for all that wanted it! Boat captains and crew along with hotel owners all joining into the celebration...it don't get any better then this!

Beer flowed...'Shockers' were told and showed...laughter kept the neighborhood up for a good part of the night! Breakfast with the gals...what a way to start the day huh guys???? And of course lunch served to you on the boat everyday! Dophins...one lone shark (but at least he was BIG...about 13 ft worth) lots of sting rays and cudas!! Cudas here...Cudas there...Cudas darn near everywhere!!!

I'll have a full blown trip report for you all later today! For now I just want to thank everyone for joining us and console those who missed it! And for all those 'training' dives we had this weekend....if NC don't kill ya...it will make you a better diver! Of course some of us...have to keep re-learning that lesson.

So here's what I learned:

1. Don't be a same day same ocean dive buddy when you are in open sea with no land around and you are responsible for getting back to an anchor line. If you decide to go this route then truly be capable of being a solo diver and don't leave a dive buddy stranded. Also make sure all your gear works and consider slinging your pony as a stage bottle so you can see if its malfunctioning as well as read the spg on it.

2. Don't follow a diver going flounder hunting unless you are ready to swim for all you are worth OR you pay particular attention to where you are on the wreck. Better yet....run a reel.... ESPECIALLY in low vis.

3. Use those quarry dives to practice shooting a bag to the surface if you are doing a safety stop in open water away from the boat and anchor line. In other words...if you do a free ascent in waters like NC (bad diver) then practice your reel and sausage skills BEFORE you need them. (Yes I'm sure all the guys will certainly be good at this already but....)

4. If trying out new gear on a trip...be especially cautious on the dives...under dive the dive don't push your luck! Sometimes you get lucky...sometimes you don't! And if it goes well on the first few dives...don't get cocky until you have 10 or so dives under your belt with EACH new change to your configuration or diving gear.

5. If you are making any new changes in your diving profile on a trip...let your buddy know so they can be aware of your situation...always better to be safe rather then sorry.

6. Keep in mind that Out of Air scenarios should be prevented under any and all circumstances...you can have lots of back up plans however most do not work or can change in an instance so shy of massive equipment failure it should not happen. Stay close to the anchor if vis is low or you are solo diving. Watch other divers and stay close to them if in doubt.

Yes several of us had a few chances to 'improve' our skills this weekend or to re-enforce that which we already knew but sometimes take for granted. NC is not a beginners dive destination and no matter how many times you dive her and how good you get...she can sneak up on you. She did it to me and several others. We were all ok but certainly learned a lot. Did anyone have serious or life threatening situation? No....did we spook ourselves a bit? Yep...and probably a few others too boot! Did some of our folks do steller this weekend? YOU BET!!! And it was thier first time diving NC in some cases as well!

But as I said before...that which doesn't kill ya makes ya stronger! But ain't that the truth in diving wherever you are?!?!?! -ww

[DandyDon]

Yep, a great weekend, to be sure.

Some of the Wench's comments were politely vague about my incident, but I've already admitted to my mistakes under general diving. Discovered a lot to learn, so I'll know what to work on.

I was embarrassed enough to almost skip supper, but I figured I had to face the music if I wanted to dive with them on the morrow, so I went. They were super. Some of the younger guys gathered around after supper to swap stories of their embarrassing times. Thanks guys, and thanks Vinny for the air. I owe ya'!

My Marine Corps training got in the way once, when I surface with WW. I confirmed that she and I were both okay, then my mind recognized her as my immediate superior in the field - and I forgot to signal the boat I was okay. Damn! They were about to launch a rescue patry when Kamala reminded me to signal.

I did skip the Seafood Fest Saturday night to rest. Damn, it's hell being the oldest fart on the boat. Too bad we had so few for supper Sunday night, but I enjoyed the pretty company. Here's 2 of them; another to join SD.com soon.

{How big can these be?}

Attached Images

• 

[nextariel]

I'll second, third, fourth or whatever that! It was a great weekend, great people, great food, and great diving. I still can't believe I was diving on a boat sunk in 1918 and a German sub down since 1942 on our coast.

And many thanks to Kamala for the Meclizine. For those of you trying NC in calm waters who have never been seasick, I recommend drugs before hand. Better safe then sorry.

Another lesson learned: don't ever put your camera in the housing while on an airplane and then take it to 120ft. How dumb is that. I don't have any pics to share as a result.

Hope I get to dive with you guys again, it was really a lot of fun. And now I even know what DIR means.

[RICHinNC]

Well I sure am sorry I missed the get together. Hope you all enjoyed the NC area. It can be very surprising if you havent dove here before.

Keep planning the trips and hopefully I can finally make one !!

Rich....in NC