Showing posts with label diving. Show all posts
Showing posts with label diving. Show all posts
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Onna Dive
Waaaay back in early September Burr and I had the opportunity to get in a few dives together. The last one we did together was at Onna Point; incidentally, it is also the last dive I photographed. When I originally transferred the pics from the camera to computer I hit a snafu and thought that I had erased them. To my happy suprise when I did some picture transfers last week, I found them! So, here's a few pics of Burr and me at Onna Point, Okinawa, Japan.
Monday, August 25, 2008
The Sea Turtle
They say that you never forget your first... and I'm not sure that they were referring to seeing your first sea turtle on a scuba dive, but I KNOW I'll never forget my first!
Yesterday, I dove Toilet Bowl with a buddy. And the dive was INCREDIBLE. Probably the coolest, most scenic, best dive I've done since I started. And I saw a Sea Turtle! It was... I don't know... words... AWESOME. And not in the "surfer dude" sense of the word, but the "event inspired awe within me" sense of the word. The Sea Turtle was quite large, and moved with grace and majesty through the water. I was so excited to finally see one, because I've heard from many others just how fantastic the experience is.
The Toilet Bowl dive is one that I will definitely repeat. The entry and (especially) exit are a little dicey, but completely manageable with proper planning and survey of the sight. Actually, I wasn't able to do a second dive there yesterday because the weather changed and made the exit too dangerous. But the one dive was worth the drive to the sight and I am SO GLAD that I had the opportunity.
dive on!
rmf
Yesterday, I dove Toilet Bowl with a buddy. And the dive was INCREDIBLE. Probably the coolest, most scenic, best dive I've done since I started. And I saw a Sea Turtle! It was... I don't know... words... AWESOME. And not in the "surfer dude" sense of the word, but the "event inspired awe within me" sense of the word. The Sea Turtle was quite large, and moved with grace and majesty through the water. I was so excited to finally see one, because I've heard from many others just how fantastic the experience is.
The Toilet Bowl dive is one that I will definitely repeat. The entry and (especially) exit are a little dicey, but completely manageable with proper planning and survey of the sight. Actually, I wasn't able to do a second dive there yesterday because the weather changed and made the exit too dangerous. But the one dive was worth the drive to the sight and I am SO GLAD that I had the opportunity.
dive on!
rmf
Saturday, August 23, 2008
In Retrospect...
I probably shouldn't have done the dive I did this morning. The waves were breaking up against the seawall, and the only people going into the water were surfers... no other divers... not a good sign. But alas, I was with a group of Marines and we were all really itching to get into the water... so we did!
We did our dive at "Junkyard" -usually a benign spot with pretty coral and fishies- but today it was ROUGH!! We got sloshed around by the waves going out to the drop off, and once we got under the water the current was still strong. You know you're in for a hard swim when even the fish are swimming sideways! At times, in the current, I felt like I was on a treadmill. I was kicking my feet, but staying in the exact same place! We finally got deep enough to actually swim, but the visibility was pretty poor and with the exception of two other divers, the rest of the group was straight out of their Open Water classes! So I was preoccupied with keeping them in my sight and making sure that we all stayed together and watched our air. On the upside, I saw two seasnakes and two blowfish. And I think I spotted Nemo again!
The swim back in was even more tough than the swim out. I kept getting battered by the waves and pushed back from where I wanted to be. At times I just pulled myself along on the reef! When I finally made it back to my car, I was very certain that I would NOT be doing a second dive and fairly sure that I shouldn't have even done the first one!
It has to be said, though, that Marines Do It Better. Breathing, I mean... The guys I was with today didn't suck down their air quite as quickly as some of the members of the other Service Branches with whom I've had the pleasure of diving! Go Marines! I was the only girl (again) but had a really good time despite the poor dive conditions. I just hope on the next big Marine Group dive, Burr will be certified and able to join us!
On the upside of only doing one dive; I was home by eleven and got to soak up sun and read on the roof for a couple of hours this afternoon before going to the POPs beach party. Life really doesn't get much better...
rmf
We did our dive at "Junkyard" -usually a benign spot with pretty coral and fishies- but today it was ROUGH!! We got sloshed around by the waves going out to the drop off, and once we got under the water the current was still strong. You know you're in for a hard swim when even the fish are swimming sideways! At times, in the current, I felt like I was on a treadmill. I was kicking my feet, but staying in the exact same place! We finally got deep enough to actually swim, but the visibility was pretty poor and with the exception of two other divers, the rest of the group was straight out of their Open Water classes! So I was preoccupied with keeping them in my sight and making sure that we all stayed together and watched our air. On the upside, I saw two seasnakes and two blowfish. And I think I spotted Nemo again!
The swim back in was even more tough than the swim out. I kept getting battered by the waves and pushed back from where I wanted to be. At times I just pulled myself along on the reef! When I finally made it back to my car, I was very certain that I would NOT be doing a second dive and fairly sure that I shouldn't have even done the first one!
It has to be said, though, that Marines Do It Better. Breathing, I mean... The guys I was with today didn't suck down their air quite as quickly as some of the members of the other Service Branches with whom I've had the pleasure of diving! Go Marines! I was the only girl (again) but had a really good time despite the poor dive conditions. I just hope on the next big Marine Group dive, Burr will be certified and able to join us!
On the upside of only doing one dive; I was home by eleven and got to soak up sun and read on the roof for a couple of hours this afternoon before going to the POPs beach party. Life really doesn't get much better...
rmf
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Dive Report
On Saturday I got to do my first dive in over a month. It was AWESOME!! I went with Burr and one of his co-workers, Paul. Gabe also came. Paul suggested that we do the dive at Horseshoe Beach; that was fine with me, because I had never been there and it's always a good idea to go to a new dive site with someone who's been there before. Burr and Gabe got to hang out on the beach while Paul and I dove, because neither of them have their dive certs yet. My camera had a low battery, so I don't have very many good pictures, but here's a little sample of what we saw.
Horseshoe Beach
Me!
Sea snake
Paul
Just a note to any divers out there thinking about diving Horseshoe. It's a bit of a swim to get from the beach out to the reef where you can drop down. Be prepared for a tough current, take your time, and don't panic in the waves. Go with a buddy. This is not the site to be a rebel and dive alone! Enjoy the sights! We went left on the first dive and saw seasnakes and fishies... on the second dive we went right and saw two octopus, fishies, and gorgeous coral!
Have fun,
rmf
Horseshoe Beach
Me!
Sea snake
Paul
Just a note to any divers out there thinking about diving Horseshoe. It's a bit of a swim to get from the beach out to the reef where you can drop down. Be prepared for a tough current, take your time, and don't panic in the waves. Go with a buddy. This is not the site to be a rebel and dive alone! Enjoy the sights! We went left on the first dive and saw seasnakes and fishies... on the second dive we went right and saw two octopus, fishies, and gorgeous coral!
Have fun,
rmf
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