Dive Schedules for 2010

Moonstone

I don't know if it is plain old good luck, karma, or what but, I have been letting you all know through this blog what dives I aspire to dive in the upcoming year. Now it seems, as the dive schedules are being posted that most of the dives I want to dive are on dive shop, dive boat or dive club schedules. To see that fellow divers have read my blog, and then actually put those wreck destinations on their dive shop or dive boat schedules means the world to me. This shows me that my blog is doing its job....to inspire others to dive. Thanks!! I guess there is some truth to the old saying "If there is a will, there is a way"!

I am looking forward to being on those trips with all of you whom share the same passion for diving the wrecks I want to dive. See you out there this year on the Cayru, N.Pacific, Freighter, Varanger, Moonstone, Arundo, and Terror Wreck. So far, I am signed up to dive the Moonstone, Arundo (twice), Cayru and Varanger. Lets see if I can manage to get too all the wrecks that set out to dive this year...

Me on the
Moonstone- 1990

Seagirt 9/20/90

The Seagirt is an intact clammer that sank in 1990 and we were some of the first divers on it. We went out on the Down Deep (Capt. Bob Meimbrese) and had a real productive day. I wrote in my log that the wreck had lots of cables to get hung up on and the wreck creeked since it wasn't quite settled into the bottom yet. It sits in 70' of water. All the divers together got a total of 7 portholes, 2 swing plates, 2 brass horns, a lantern, a compass and the box it goes in, cage lights and a bell (not the boats bell but another type of alarm bell). I actually got a cage light and the bell on my own and sent it up in my own lift bag. At the time that was real big for me. I'm not one that works with tools well. These are the few pictures of I have of that memorable day. I went back to this wreck years later and it was encased in mussels and sits on its side. Nothing like seeing a wreck upright and then going back and seeing it listed to one side.

Gulftrade, City of Athens & Brian C

Gulftrade Stern 1990














City of Athens 9/15/90



























Brian C on the Down Deep

Various Dives 1988-1991

I am slowly scanning these old slides from 1988-1991 into digital. See if you can recognize some of these old time divers. It is definitely hard to remember everyone's name. One of the biggest rewards of looking through all of these old photos is to realize the large amount of diving I actually did back then as well as today. I forgot a large amount of the dives I had done. At least I can say...I lived my life and I know I touched a lot of people. Since this process is painstakingly slow, I'll add more photos each week over the long winter. I am working on a Nova Scotia and Honduras/Antigua slide show that will be up soon.


Red Bricks- Deadeyes

Bow of Gulftrade 8/4/90 on the Robin

Northern Pacific 1988- Robin

Mowhawk 9/18/90

What do you see here?

My First Parkway Drysuit (1990)

Modeling on the way home!


Tolton 8/15/90

Macro

Resor 1990

Nothing Like Dive Gear Under the Tree

Santa doesn't always bring me dive toys, but this year I must have been good because I feel like I hit the goldmine!  I got a new Aqualung Legend Supreme regulator, a Dive Rite Nitek Duo computer and a second regulator is in the works (either an Apex or Scubapro).  I feel like I was fully outfitted with all new dive gear.  I am really excited about the regulator and I hope it breathes as nice as it looks.  Now I can't wait to go diving and try it out.  Too bad Santa didn't bring me a dive vacation to somewhere warm too.

Perhaps this is a sign that my health will remain well and I will be able to do a lot of diving in 2010!

Merry Christmas & Peace in the New Year

I wanted to wish all of those whom share this love of  wreck diving with me a Merry Christmas!  I know I am wishing for a few dive toys under my Christmas Tree this year.  We'll see what Santa brings!  I also wanted to wish everyone Peace and Happiness in the New Year.  

I have been working diligently on converting my old dive slides to digital and will be posting them throughout the winter.  The hardest part is trying to remember when they were taken and what wreck they were on. In reviewing these slides, it makes me sad to see those old divers that used to be a regular part of my diving adventures whom are no longer in my life.  I miss them and wish I could dive with them again.  They made me happy. If I could only figure out how to freeze time....Here are a few sample pictures:

Me hugging a morey eel!

NJ lobster

Something Warm to get you through the Winter-Ultimate Getaway 2006

Now that we have the long winter ahead of us, I'd thought I'd post a slide show from a trip I took in the Florida on the Ultimate Getaway liveaboard. We dove the Oil Wreck (140') and the Baja California (120') in the Gulf of Mexico. The diving was awesome, full of marine life and we all enjoyed some great artifacts. I am not fond of liveaboards so it took some convincing to get me to go and luckily we were blessed with calm seas the entire trip.

So if your looking for something to do over the winter that is within the United States then, check out the Ultimate Getaway. It was fun!

Press play below and turn up your speakers and listen to the music!!

End of Season Premature, 1 more dive coming up!

Looks like I wrote my end of the season report (see previous post) a little prematurely, one of my new dive friends, Mark Hennessey asked if I wanted to join them on a trip to the Northern Pacific next Sunday aboard the Atlantus. I am still trying to clear my schedule to make it happen but this is one dive I've been wanting to do for a long time. Time will tell whether or not the weather will cooperate and if I am able to go. So stayed tuned there may be one more trip report for the year.

On a side note, last night I was at my favorite Pub, Doyles Poor House and they had this awesome 2 man band called The Skeggs. They are very simple, one acoustic guitar and a set of bongos and boy is the bongo player great. They play lots of Sublime, Bob Marley and also play more recent music like Coldplay with a reggae-bongo twist. I love listening to live music and I really enjoyed their show. Check them out sometime! When I am not diving, hiking or kayaking I like to just hang at the pub for a few and believe it or not, you would be surprised at how many other divers I've run into there. They have good food too!

May the weather Gods do their magic and make the seas in the North Atlantic calm this weekend....

11/20/09....Update...that NE wind is coming again, it isn't looking good for the N. Pacific... Just spoke with Andrew Larsen of the Atlantus and we are going to decide tomorrow...Keeping my fingers crossed.

11/21/09...Dive Blown out! I am disappointed that my last attempt for the year to go to the N. Pacific was blown out but, I don't want to be out there in NE winds either. Now, the season is over for sure.

End of the Season 2009

I've come to admit that the 2009 dive season is over for me. It was a fantastic dive season full of adventure! I accomplished almost everything I set out to do: I am now a certified NAUI Advanced Nitrox and Decompression Techniques diver, although I have dove in this manner for years, I did in fact learn a few things that I did not know before, therefore it was worthwhile; I dove, the Offshore Paddlewheeler which is a wreck I always wanted to dive and that dive was the highlight of my year; I ended up making a total of 14 dives to other wrecks such as the Pauline Marie, Varanger, Catamount, Southern Lilian, Inshore Paddlewheeler, Gloria and Double East.

Although I did not get to the Cayru, Freighter or N. Pacific as planned due to blow-outs, I did get to the Varanger and to the Southern Lilian twice. Brian & Andrew Larsen and Jeff Graham have included me in all of their offshore trips and I am so grateful to have found them and other divers that are interested in diving the same wrecks as I am. It has been very hard for me to start over with a new dive shop and new boats etc. but in the end, I think I have been rewarded with meeting such great people whom believe in me and my diving capabilities.

I just purchased new used tanks from another very accomplished diver whom can no longer dive due to cancer. It is hard to buy gear from someone whom can no longer dive. I will definitely think of him out there diving so he can be there in spirit. I will finally be rid of my double aluminum 80's, now I have two sets of double steel 100's. This winter I will also upgrade my regulators and get another computer and I'll be set of the the next season. Oh yeah...that dry suit, what to do??? Buy new or fix this one? I was wet all season and it has to be fixed!

I want to thank my friends in Diversion Group for a fun time on the Gypsy Blood this year and like I told Helen Bilinski, I wish I was able to dive with all of you more often. Helen said she is trying to plan the North Carolina trip for August next year and maybe we can make it fit into our schedule. Believe it or not I have never been diving in North Carolina.

As I have said many times before, I fully believe things in life always happen for a reason. Although I still do not know why events surrounding my diving happened, I can only assume that they happened to set me free to explore and expand my diving capabilities and experiences. I am still grieving the huge loss resulting from this, and somedays the pain is unbearable, but this season I continued to heal and grow. I accomplished a lot this year and it was not easy. Life is never easy, the harder you work to accomplish something, the greater the reward once you've accomplished it. I am proud of myself and I hope others are too.

I am really excited for what next year will bring in terms of diving. I will try again to get to the Cayru, Freighter, N. Pacific, Arundo and Moonstone. I already put a bid in with Diversion Group for an Arundo dive next season. The others...I'll just have to be patient and hope they show up on someone's schedule.

Check back throughout the winter, I am putting together some slide shows of old dives and old slide pictures Bill & I took years ago. I have one just about done and will be posting it soon. Till next year....