WaterLog
Spring 2009
Special Travel Issue!
This is a double length edition of the Water Log, dedicated to the trips we have just come back from, as well as the upcoming trips.
This issue has pictures and stories from the Cozumel trip we just got back from, a write-up about the Bahamas trip from December, plus information about upcoming trips and classes, and info about the new UnderSea Adventures Dive Team. Enjoy!
Great Times In Cozumel!
We recently traveled to the beautiful island paradise of Cozumel, Mexico for a week of diving bliss. 20 local divers made the trip, and boy did we have fun!
Despite some chilly weather (mid 70’s) and a bit of wind, the trip couldn’t have been better. Visibility was great, the food was good and plentiful, the hammocks were comfy, and the diving was spectacular. We saw groupers, shark, turtles, barracuda, sea horses, morays, flying fish, octopus, and a ton of other beautiful fish!
Our group ranged from the hammock lovers (1 dive all week) to the hard care dive nuts (18 dives) who had to be dragged from the water kicking and screaming.
The following pages give a brief look at our exciting trip.
We hope to see you there next time!
Nitrox, Advanced Class and Fun Dives
We are offering a NAUI Nitrox class and an Advanced Scuba Diver class this month! Already have your Nitrox and Advanced certification? Well, we are also offering ‘Fun Dives’ aboard LuJac’s Quest at the same time.
Want to extend your bottom time, lessen your surface interval, and maximize every dive? Become an Enriched Air Nitrox diver! You will learn how to choose the proper blend of Nitrox for your dive profile, determine maximum depth limits for your Nitrox mixture, analyze your breathing mixture,
and plan and safely execute each dive.
Or are you a beginning diver who wants to take your skills and experience up a notch? The Advanced class is what you’ve been looking for! Its one classroom and pool session, then a 6 dive weekend. You will do night, navigation, boat, and deep dives, plus more! This is the quickest way to get experience in a wide range of conditions.
Or just come along and enjoy a day of great diving off the dive boat! Call for details.
Do you want to be more a part of the diving community? Do you want to have a pool of buddies to dive with? Do you want to have more local dives activities?
Then the new Dive Team aspect of USA might be what you are looking for. We are designing this around the needs of the Tri-Cities diving community. We realize that tropical paradise dive vacations aren’t in everyone’s budgets. Some of us just want to get together and do a river dive, or attend a fish ID or other seminar.
Our members will get discounts on air fills, equipment, trips, and more, plus monthly free dive activities!
Benefits of being part of The Dive Team:
· 15% off Retail Price on in Store Merchandise
· Monthly Team Specials
· Discounts on Dive Travel Including San Juan Trips
· Free Summer River Boat Dives
· Equipment Seminars by Manufacturer Reps
· 20% off Air Fills, including Nitrox
· Social and Educational Events
· Pool Equipment Checks and Skill Refreshers
So come in and ask about joining the Dive Team, and lets go diving!
Bahamas Trip
A group of us ventured to dive in Freeport, Bahamas, during the week between Christmas 2008 and New Year 2009. Although there were no walls to dive we saw plenty of shark and other fish, explored coral heads full of sea life, dove to several boat wrecks and walked on white sandy beaches. The dive shop was on the resort premises so it was easy access to our dive boat for daily two-tank dives. Besides diving, we spent time checking out the local shops and restaurants. We took one day doing non-diving activities: driving to the National Park, walking to a cave, and taking in the local scenery. What was great about the trip? Exploring the island, diving in new places, eating coconut French toast for breakfast and sitting outside in the evening enjoying Greek food (we went to that restaurant twice!) The best part was spending time with the group members: Jill and Gene Bruns, David Vladimiroff, Donna and Mike Noski, Andy, Anita, and Marja McChesney.
Devil's Throat
Thursday’s dives brought us to Devil’s Throat! This is a fun deep dive that involves swimming through and under some massive coral formations in caves and caverns, only to emerge on a breathtaking wall that drops off into the deep blue abyss.
The group split into two for this, with some opting to stay on top of the reef. Dark holes are not everybody’s cup of tea.
Since there was a group from another boat on the top of the reef, Ariel opted to take us into Devil’s Throat from the bottom of the coral formations. We formed into a single file line, hoping that the person ahead of us didn’t kick up silt, and swam into the blackness. The passages and chambers head steeply down, with occasional light filtering down through small holes overhead, to emerge on the wall at 120 feet. Here we regrouped, counted heads. Then we moved up a few feet and headed back into the blackness of another cave, to immerge later back on the top of the reef. We then soared over and through beautiful and massive formations for the rest of the dive. It was a breathtaking dive!
Twilight and Night Dives
On Monday afternoon a group of us went out on some extra dives. Twilight and night dives off the boat.
When we hopped in at the first location, the sun was still rather high in the sky, but when we exited, it was sunset. A quick hour of SIT and we were back in, this time in full darkness. The moonlight and light from shore was bright enough in the crystal clear waters, that you almost didn’t need your light. Quite a few of us spent half the dive with out lights out.
Highlights of the dive: Watching David Inscore try to sneak down to 120 feet without Larry noticing, and watching Larry scold him in underwater hand signals and facial expressions.
Pictures, Pictures, Pictures...
I'm working on getting them here... Use your imagination in the mean time.
The Wreck Dive
A good sized group of us went out one afternoon and dove the wreck of the Felipe Xicontenantl near Chankanaab underwater park.
The ship is 183 feet long and 33 feet wide and rests in 70-75 feet of water. Oddly enough, it used to be deeper and farther out, but was pushed in during the last major hurricane a few years back.
We descended in two groups off the port stern, took a look at her propeller, then proceeded up the port side before dropping into a dark hatchway. Ariel was leading the first group of us, and Carla and her group were a few minutes behind.
We penetrated the wreck, which is pretty clean and open inside, and swam through just about every room and corridor on all decks. There was a lot of marine life living inside, on and around the wreck, which was sunk as an artificial reef.
After we had toured the interior, we had a few minutes to play around on the outside of the ship, while Ariel jerry-rigged the ascent line, which had been broken off. As we did our safety stop, we could see the dark shape below us, streaming bubbles through dozens of holes as evidence of our presence in the black interior.
Diving In Cozumel by Marja McChesney
One week in Cozumel was not enough time! This is a “must repeat” trip. The diving experiences that I enjoyed most were looking at the beautiful varieties of soft and hard coral, the sea horses, sea turtle, southern stingrays, barracuda, tropical fish such as angelfish and parrotfish, groupers, grunts, squirrelfish, trumpet fish, spotted drum, spotted goatfish, spotted and green morays, firework, “donkey dung” sea cucumbers and even a squid just to mention a few. It was fun to watch the other divers like John Petty often upside down trying to capture on camera what he saw under the coral or David Bruns and Larry Inscore exploring places where the rest of us didn’t dare the go. I really enjoyed the narrow swim-throughs in tunnels such as the Devil’s Throat where you came out to a wall at a depth of 120 feet. Drift diving was fun because I just got go move along with the current relaxing and watch the seascape pass by below.
The food was absolutely scrumptious! We could eat salads, fresh fruit and salsa and chips any time of the day. There were three meals included even with a vegetarian option that I enjoyed. Sometimes my friend Jill Bruns and I would eat inside, sometimes outside, or upstairs in the dining room for dinner. The coconut ice cream was a big favorite of ours.
Shopping was such fun with Jill! She must be the Queen of shopping. While I went diving she walked to town and found great bargains. After lunch we would walk back into town and go to some of the same stores for more fabric, jewelry and souvenir shopping. We made friends with the salespeople in the shops and had pictures taken with them.
A couple of unexpected events happened! The wind was strong enough one night to actually blow my 3mm wetsuit off its hanger outside my room and carry it into an alley between our Scuba Club Cozumel property and the neighboring property. The other event was on Jill’s and my return trip home from Seattle to Walla Walla. When we came out of the fog for our landing, we discovered that we had been diverted to Pasco! No one aboard knew of the change until we saw the airport. Apparently the change was made due to freezing fog in Walla Walla. Now I just dream of how nice it would be to lay in a hammock back in warm Cozumel eating coconut ice cream with Jill!
8 Hours on a Bus Anybody?
A few of the more adventurous among the Cozumel Travelers went on a trip to the Mayan ruins at Chitzen Itza. It required a taxi ride to the pier, an hour long ferry ride to Playa Del Carmen, then a 4 hour bus ride to the Yucatan’s interior. They departed at 6:45am and returned at about 10pm. Whew…
A side trip included a dip in a cenote.
Senior Frog's Night
On Friday night, for David’s birthday some of us went out to Senior Frog’s in town. The night started slow, there being only about 15 people there, counting our group of 8. But then a cruise ship pulled in and the taxies rolled into town in an endless line. The place was soon hopping and a live band came out and played some pretty good cover music.
There was some dancing done by the Inscores and Marina, while the rest of us watched. A few of the white guys out on the floor made enough of a spectacle that we were thoroughly entertained.
Marina learned that when a waitress carrying a bottle of blue mystery juice comes and offers a shot, you may not want to agree…
As the picture shows, both Marina and David were shocked and stunned by what followed. We laughed so hard that it hurt.
What a fun night. Thanks to the Elizabeth, John, John, Larry, Kim, Marina and Linda for a fun birthday night out.
Upcoming Dive Trips
4 Day Live-Aboard in the Channel Islands, July 19-22
UnderSea Adventures is once again heading down to S. Cal for a live-aboard trip with Truth Aquatics. This time we are booked on the Vision, the flagship of the Truth Aquatics fleet.
This trip will be a 4 day diving marathon.
We depart from Santa Barbara and go south to San Clemente Island where we will make our first dives. Then we will work our way north to Santa Catalina Island and finish our dives at Santa Cruz Island, which is one of the North Channel Islands.
This is the best time of year for diving with playful sea lions and through spectacular the kelp forests!
Price: $845.00 Per Person
Limited to 15 Divers
No Equipment Is Furnished
Package Includes:
· 4 Days of Boat Diving
· Unlimited Air Fills
· National Parks Fees
· 3 Meals a Day
· Hot and Cold Beverages, Snacks, Fresh Fruit, Cookies, and Candy Anytime
· Your Own Private Bunk Complete with Curtains, Pillow and Blanket, and a Reading Light
· Hot Showers!
Call us for details and to sign up. Hurry, spots are going fast!
HMCS Mackenzie Wreck Dive May 24-25
We are once again going up to beautiful British Columbia to dive the awesome HMCS Mackenzie.
The Mackenzie is 2,880 tons and 366 feet long, She was an anti-submarine destroyer was built for speed (28 knots). Her armaments included limited surface and anti-aircraft weapons, two inch guns, homing torpedoes and mortars. She carried a complement of 210 officers and men.
The Mackenzie was sunk as an artificial reef on September 16, 1995 on the north side of Gooch Island, about 4 miles east of Sidney, BC.
Her keel lies in 90-110 feet slightly listed to port. The radar tower stands in 30-40 feet and the upper deck 55-65 feet. The Wreck is accessible through large openings cut prior to her sinking for divers to safely explore some of her upper decks. The lower decks are more enclosed, and only wreck penetration certified divers should attempt entering these areas.
This dive offers an excellent opportunity for the advanced wreck diver and the relatively new diver alike. Overhead environments can be dangerous. Only those properly trained should attempt to penetrate wrecks.
Call us to reserve your spot and to get more details on this excellent trip opportunity.
Cozumel 2010
It’s official. Cozumel is too much fun to not go back next year. Dollar for dollar, there are not many places that can compete for the great diving, great resort and fun activities.
So mark down February 2010. We will be going a few weeks later this time, to catch warmer weather and Carnival, but exact dates are still TBA.
Tulip Dive
Join us on Sunday, April 19 for some dives. Come early or stay after to go to the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival that is going on this whole month!
Enjoy the beautiful tulip fields and many local activities, then join us for a 3 tank boat dive aboard Lu-Jac’s Quest.
Does the husband/wife not dive? Maybe you can get away with diving while he/she goes to the festival! It’s worth a try.
For more info on the festival go to http://www.tulipfestival.org