32 replies to this topic

[WreckWench]

My list is short...I've only been able to make the old North Carolina Wreck and Shark dives.  Those were always fun.

 

 

YES THEY WERE!!!  The BEST actually!

 

Hey did you keep in contact with our buddy BradfordNC?   Drop me a line if you still have contact info for him!

 

And I hope this finds you well!  I'll give a shout via email to you as well! Kamala aka Wenchi

[WreckWench]

There was a time when I would not only remember each of the trips, I would also remember when they were.  That was when I was doing more diving.  What I conclude from that is that my dumb brain cells, the large majority, must absorb nitrogen while the smart brain cells do not.  My dumb brain cells must need to be preoccupied with narcosis, to allow the few remaining smart ones to function uninterrupted, and that is not happening now.  That said, here is what is coming to mind.

 

North Carolina wrecks

Cooper river

Bonaire

Cooper river

Truk / Palau

Best of Florida

Truk / Palau

 

I think I am suffering from nitrogen deprivation.

 

 

YES YOU ARE!!! And we need to fix that! And yes I think you are missng a few!   But what's a trip or two between friends!

[WreckWench]

Sheesh - hard to believe but just 2 & 1/2

 

Barbados - July 2013

Maldives* - April 2014 (1/2 - booked with SD but went on my own - there's a lot of story there!!)

Fiji - March 2015

 

* 2014 Maldives trip report here - in case you're thinking of joining us in 2017!

 

 

Girl we need to fix this!!!  Working on ideas NOW!!! kamala

[WreckWench]

Well let's see

2009 Bonaire , I got my Extended Range cert on this trip

2009 Halloween in Cozumel

2010 March my first Beneath the Sea show I don't think I've missed one since!

2010 July, North Carolina

2010 June Cozumel/Cenotes/ Holbox

2011 Apr-May Truk and Palau

2011 Oct Grand Cayman With my beautiful girl friend Lisa!

2014 Feb Truk and Palau

Did a Dutch Springs Happy Hour dive day that a couple of us put together.  May do another one this year if anyone is interested.

I worked the Baltimore dive show a time or two.  What did I miss?  

 

 

WOW!!! You get around don't ya darling! But at least you do it in the nicest and wettest places!   AND for your friendship and support over the years!

[WreckWench]

14 for me.  Plus 3 times Kamala booked me independently.  (Sometimes schedules don't match but a guy has to DIVE)!

 

Cozumel, Bonaire, North Carolina, Turks and Caicos, Saba/St Kitts, Barbados, Mayaguana, Cozumel/Cenotes/Whalesharks, Cayman Brac, Turks and Caicos, Dominica, Turks and Caicos, Roatan, Little Cayman.

 

Scubaclint

 

 

YEP!!! And they were extra fun too having you on them!!!  And having SD book you independently SAVES YOU MONEY!!!!  

[ev780]

I have been quality and not quantity as well.

 

Roatan--OK not quality but not the group's fault just the resort was less than acceptable. We made the best of it however.

Truk/Palau--Twice!!!!  Now this is quality!!!

Bonaire--Great trip.

 

So the count is 4.

[Jerrymxz]

 

Well let's see

2009 Bonaire , I got my Extended Range cert on this trip

2009 Halloween in Cozumel

2010 March my first Beneath the Sea show I don't think I've missed one since!

2010 July, North Carolina

2010 June Cozumel/Cenotes/ Holbox

2011 Apr-May Truk and Palau

2011 Oct Grand Cayman With my beautiful girl friend Lisa!

2014 Feb Truk and Palau

Did a Dutch Springs Happy Hour dive day that a couple of us put together.  May do another one this year if anyone is interested.

I worked the Baltimore dive show a time or two.  What did I miss?  

 

 

WOW!!! You get around don't ya darling! But at least you do it in the nicest and wettest places!   AND for your friendship and support over the years!

 

 

I knew I forgot some!! the add on trips!  I stayed an extra day in Holbox to visit the ruins at Chichen Itza.  That was Awesome.  and who could forget the day trip to Peleliu!  the dives were great and the land tour was awe inspiring!

[WreckWench]

I have been quality and not quantity as well.

 

Roatan--OK not quality but not the group's fault just the resort was less than acceptable. We made the best of it however.

Truk/Palau--Twice!!!!  Now this is quality!!!

Bonaire--Great trip.

 

So the count is 4.

 

No matter how nice the resort if the water smells like sulfur due to time of year then it 'sucks'. But fortunately that was the early days.... we are and have been 'sulfur free' for years now!

[WreckWench]

 

 

Well let's see

2009 Bonaire , I got my Extended Range cert on this trip

2009 Halloween in Cozumel

2010 March my first Beneath the Sea show I don't think I've missed one since!

2010 July, North Carolina

2010 June Cozumel/Cenotes/ Holbox

2011 Apr-May Truk and Palau

2011 Oct Grand Cayman With my beautiful girl friend Lisa!

2014 Feb Truk and Palau

Did a Dutch Springs Happy Hour dive day that a couple of us put together.  May do another one this year if anyone is interested.

I worked the Baltimore dive show a time or two.  What did I miss?  

 

 

WOW!!! You get around don't ya darling! But at least you do it in the nicest and wettest places!   AND for your friendship and support over the years!

 

 

I knew I forgot some!! the add on trips!  I stayed an extra day in Holbox to visit the ruins at Chichen Itza.  That was Awesome.  and who could forget the day trip to Peleliu!  the dives were great and the land tour was awe inspiring!

 

Add-on trips are ALWAYS great! 

[WreckWench]

GUESS WHAT?!?!

 

Everyone in this thread/topic should post HERE and have a chance to win prizes and $$$ for sharing their favorite SingleDivers.com story!

[Jerrymxz]

"Memories"

 

This is long, but it's a story I wrote detailing my first trip to dive the wrecks of Chuuk in Truk lagoon.  It's just a portion of the article that I hope to get published at some point.  It is my absolutely finest memory of diving with SingleDivers!

 

 

Prior to our arrival I had contacted the Odyssey and arranged for a set of AL80 doubles and a pair of AL40 sling bottles. After we boarded and were settled into our rooms during the first orientation briefing they called my name then showed me the doubles and asked me what station I wanted to set my gear up. The Odyssey has a whip system to fill tanks at your station so you never have to move tanks or re-set your rig, a great help when diving for a week. All I had to do was remove one first stage and the next time I came back the tanks were full.  Then a quick check on the O2 analyzer and you’re ready to go again.  On the deeper dives I carried one of AL40’s with 80% O2 that I used to accomplish any deco obligation I had but to also minimize the amount of nitrogen loading I carried by doing long safety stops on the high O2 gas.  I wanted to minimize the amount of nitrogen loading I was carrying throughout the week as I’m not 20-something anymore and real help is a long way off; rather safe than sorry.  My technical certifications, all from TDI, allowed me the flexibility to explore deeper and if I wanted to stay longer or explore some feature I have the training and gear to safely do decompression dives on high oxygen concentration gasses.  I didn't do any long mandatory decompression dives, but I did run 6 or 8 dives into deco that for the most part cleared on the ascent. I kept my Shearwater Predator and my secondary computer very happy and never got out of the water unless both were well clear. With the hang bar setup on the Odyssey, the abundant marine life, plus the 87 degree water temps the hangs were very relaxing. I was comfortable in a .5mil neoprene full skin all week.

During the entire week the divemasters were available to escort divers to any of the notable sites in and around the wrecks. Each wreck also has a small collection of artifacts that the local dive operations have recovered and placed high on the wreck that make for some very interesting photo ops. Plus the divemasters also point out all the interesting life that has taken over almost every square inch of available space on the entire outside of all the wrecks making for great macro photo opportunities.  During the dive briefings Captain JJ posts drawings detailing the shipwreck and the dive site, Giving highlights and hazards as well as standard dive brief fare of depth and layout.    

 

The dives themselves were as challenging or benign as you cared to make them.  The penetration opportunities are almost limitless but there are also a myriad of outside artifacts and interesting things to see.  All the wrecks with the exception of the Fumizuki and the I-169 submarine have a ton of relief.  Most dives my buddy and I would go deep early until we were playing with deco then work our ascent up the structure to limit or eliminate our deco obligation.  The majority of the upright ships still have masts and kingposts that extend many feet above the decks that are absolutely covered in coral and marine grow of every description. Several come within just a few feet of the surface and are readily visible from the deck of Odyssey. These made for great ascent paths and off gassing locations.  Everyone on the trip spent many long enjoyable minutes slowly swimming around and around these pillars of life looking at the incredible diversity of creatures clinging to every inch of usable space as we ascended in the tropical waters.

 

Several of the more memorable wrecks were the Yamagiri Maru with her cargo of huge naval gun shells that were so carefully stacked in the hold that even when she rolled completely over on her Port side the shells are now standing on the shaft galley. The Fujikawa Maru has fighter aircraft wings, fuselages, engines, spare parts, plus trucks, a bulldozer and many artifacts.  Some of the more interesting artifacts are the bow gun which was made in England and still has its ID plate attached.  Arguably the most famous residence of the Fujikawa is the air compressor affectionately known as R2D2.  Penetrating the skylights into the engine room is a dive not to be missed for it’s the easiest way to get to the machine shop where R2D2 resides.  Light pours into the engine room from several large openings and the overhead volume above the massive engine cylinders is a sight to behold. A word of caution is in order here as an errant fin touch will foul the great vis for a couple hours and make you rather un-popular with the picture taking crowd.  Good buoyancy control and horizontal position in the water are the order of the day.   On the main deck are located several memorials placed there over the years that also warrant a few minutes contemplation

 

Dives on the Fumizuki and I-169 were both everything I had hoped for.  The submarine I-169 is a much bigger boat then the U-352 I’ve come to know.  I’ll not go into it here, but the story of her sinking is one of those ironic footnotes of war that a little digging will uncover for you. The Destroyer Fumizuki was sunk on the night of 17 February after taking severe damage at Rabaul and transferred to Truk for repairs.  At the time of the attack she only had one partially operational engine and many hull plates buckled and twisted, that even today, records the efforts required to put her permanently out of action. Two great dives that were over far too soon.  Both ships are worth a second look and will be high on my do-over list when I return.

 

Only the last deep dive of the week on the San Francisco Maru did I truly plan and execute what I would consider a formal tech dive. The dive plan was created on my lap top with V-Planner and run times written on a wrist slate. By this time of the week most people had developed the confidence to do the deck at 150 FSW.  On the deck there are three small Japanese battle tanks creating probably the most iconic photo op and recognized artifacts in the lagoon. Plus all the holds are packed full of the materials used to make war. On this dive extra air tanks were placed on the deck, at 30feet and another 80cuft on the hang bar at 11fsw. NO one needed any of it but it was reassuring to those unaccustomed to dives to these depths that it was readily available. Captain JJ and the divemasters divided the divers into two groups with 15minutes between splashes. They stayed above the wreck and kept an eye on the dive to ensure issues didn’t escalate into serious problems.

 

Everything went well for my buddy and me on the first penetration of the number one hold where the inter-deck spaces are jammed full of hemispherical shaped beach mines, artillery shells stacked like cord wood and various other crates of nasty’s.  During the dive brief Capt JJ told us of a rusted out bulkhead between the first and second hold that saved us the ascent out of the first hold, traverse of the deck and decent into the second hold.  After a circumnavigation of hold one I pointed to the spot I thought the short cut was located. My partner gave me a confidant ok and nod so I led the way between decks and just like it was briefed my Greenforce canister light illuminated a large hole in the aft wall. (I love it when a plan comes together)  We proceeded through into the second hold where Stephan finds two perfect juice glasses that we hold up for a quick photo and a mock toast before we carefully return the glasses to their previous resting place.  The investigation of this hold yielded cases and cases of square finned aerial bombs, many miscellaneous cases of munitions and aircraft parts.  But the highlight of hold two in my opinion is a perfectly intact upright air-cooled radial engine of the type used on fighter aircraft half buried in the silt and debris. By this time in the dive we had several minutes of deco obligation and Stephan’s bottom time was getting short so we started our ascent to rendezvous with the first group of divers.

 

When I was in sight of the divemasters and as briefed I signal to them my intent to go aft for 5 minutes to take a few pictures of the tremendous quantities of anti-aircraft ammo strewn about the aft deck prior to starting my own ascent.   I swam aft over the pilot house taking note of the damage inflicted in the course of the attack and subsequent deterioration from decades in sea water.  As I descended a few feet over the aft edge of the superstructure to compose a photo I glanced at my computers and noted I had just acquired a mandatory 50 foot stop on both computers. At that point I turned my dive and started my swim back forward.  I angled my swim forward and up to arrive at the top of the forward mast at 100fsw.  I had just started my ascent and swim back when in the great tropical conditions I was able to spot the mast and my first waypoint on my planned ascent.  As I approached the mast I could see the up-line attached to the top was rather crowded so as a way to …entertain my fellow divers, I pulled my SMB and at about 50 or 60 FSW I preformed my classic demonstration of how not to deploy a SMB for all to see.  Once that was sorted out I swam near the line to ensure everyone was doing alright.  By the looks in their eyes and smiles barely contained behind their masks, all was well.  Just to prove it isn’t over until it’s over: while leisurely swimming aft toward the hang bar, while towing my SMB, I lost concentration for a bit and as the Odyssey gently swung at anchor it caught my bag and started to gently drag me along.  This caused me to ascend just two or three feet but it was enough to violate my deco stop.  At that point I just dropped my reel so I could sink the couple of feet to get back below my ceiling and continue my swim to the hang bar.   Once the Odyssey reached the end of the swing and started back the other way I swam out the 40 feet or so and retrieved my reel and bag before returning to complete my deco and extended hang.  After the completion of the dive, seated at my station I had 1900PSI in my doubles and 1800psi in my al40.  Although it didn’t go off as perfectly as I would have liked it was of one of the most memorable dives of my life.

 

My total for the week was 22 dives on 13 different wrecks.  It was the most amazing dive week I have ever done.  And yes I'm going back!!  You don't need Tech certifications to go to Truk and have a great time. But no amount of advanced dive training is a waste (IF you have a good instructor).  That being said, I don’t think anyone came away feeling like they missed anything because of their certifications. 

 

Sitting on the sun deck later that evening with several great friends a nice cocktail in hand and enjoying a beautiful hand rolled Puerto Rican cigar looking at the incredible blanket of stars only visible many miles from civilization we reflected on the week of incredible diving we had just concluded and the events many years previous that came together to create this incredible place we had come so far to enjoy. The human remains present on several of the wrecks are a stark reminder of the struggle that took place throughout the Pacific theater during WWII.

 

Each of the wrecks we visited has a tale to tell about its life and its final demise.  If you are willing to take the time to do a bit of research, are observant and while diving in dark places listen to the account each has to tell, You cannot come away unaffected. 

 

 I for one will be back to listen some more.

Edited by Jerrymxz, 26 February 2016 - 03:38 PM.

[WreckWench]

Thank ;you Jerry! I am happy you posted it in our contest thread as well. AND GUESS WHAT???? We will have more than one winner so EVERYONE SHOULD ENTER!!!

[Jerrymxz]

Thank ;you Jerry! I am happy you posted it in our contest thread as well. AND GUESS WHAT???? We will have more than one winner so EVERYONE SHOULD ENTER!!!

Sorry so long but it is the most memorable dives of my life!!  singing a ditty with my buddy at 180fsw was just the cherry on the top!!

[WreckWench]

No apologies needed....they are GREAT MEMORIES!!

 

And the best part?

 

I was PART of them!

[Jerrymxz]

No apologies needed....they are GREAT MEMORIES!!

 

And the best part?

 

I was PART of them!

 

You were one of the BEST parts