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Post by diverdown1955 on Sept 13, 2005 17:02:51 GMT -8
Dan, way back in the dark ages I had one of these. I believe it was by swimaster and was called "PACIFICA". I hated the damn thing. you would exhale to clear through the large purge and it would instantly fog. I plugged the sucker up with wet suit material and suit cement. That worked, alite rinse of magic spit and It was improved two fold. Not one of my favorite masks.
diverdown1955
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Post by SeaRat on Sept 13, 2005 19:37:14 GMT -8
As a diver and underwater naturalist, I have been asked "What do you see down there." It's a fair question, but people really do not understand the underlying life that is right beneath their feet, under the water's surface. We, as divers, can get to see that, but not too many are looking in the right places. I have shown some of the fishes that are in the river in previous posts. However, I like to look small, and see what is in the "food pyramid" below the fish. That is, what is the smaller vertebrate and invertebrate life that can be observed on a macro level. And here is where the richness of life is visible, if we only look. I'll give you four examples from the last five or so dives. First, I observed the red-sided shiners mating early this summer. I was really happy, as I had not seen this phenomina since I left Roseburg and the North Umpqua River in 2001. But when I came back to photograph this behavior in the Clackamas, it was already too late. The mating occurs when the water temperature reaches about 65 degrees F, and it had been there for awhile. The fish had stopped mating, and when I swam downstream to the rocks just under the lifeguard's tent, I noticed that juvinile red-sided shiners had already hatched and were in the very shallow, bright waters near the rocks. I was able to get a photo, and to see just how small they are, you can see the specks in the water that are floating around are big enough for them to eat. This is the normal "snow" or detritis that is in fresh water. Here's the photo of the juvinile red-sided shiner ( Richardsonius bolteatus (Richardson): The rocks underwater are sometimes very interesting. If you look at most freshwater rivers in the Western USA, many of the rocks have a covering which looks like a matt. In reality it is a freshwater sponge. These are the most primative of the multi-cellular animals (yes, they are animals, not plants). They sometimes have symbiotic algea living in their tissues, and are therefore green. But the ones in this photo were too deep for the algea to grow, and so are yellow. They feed on very small, sometimes microscopic plants and animals in the water by filter-feeding. Water is drown in the small pores (ostia) and go out the large tubes (osculum). They also provide habitat for other small animals to live on and grow. Here's the Spongilla freshwater sponge: The rocks themselves provide habitat for a number of insect larva, and plants. I have not yet been able to classify this plant, but I believe it to be a one of the mosses. On the rock beside it are egg capsules (lower right of the photo). Finally, and more obviously, are snails which abound on the rock surfaces. They eat the algea and other plants, and sometimes I see their trails going several feet around the rock surface (0.5 meters long). They are in the Phylum Mollusca, Class Gastropoda, which means mouth-foot, and are easy to see. Their mouth is in their foot, rather than what we experience when we put our foot in our mouth (just kidding). They keep the rocks clean, and are a big part of the ecology by eating dead things (you can see them on dead salmon at times too). In some parts of the world, they harbor a parasite which infects people, but not in the Western USA. Here's the snail: There small examples of life are much easier to approach when using vintage double hose regulators. Of all my dives this summer, the only one with a "modern" regulator was the dives I made with the UDS-1 system. My reason is that the bubbles coming out behind the diver provide a lot of vibration insulation, and these small critters are not disturbed by my breathing. My favorite regulator for this is the Aqua-Lung Overpressure DX regulator, with the hose-within-a-hose venturi. It is a very quiet regulator, and performs extremely well. Tomorrow, I'll talk more about the vintage regulators that I used on these last dives of the summer season. Photos Copyright 2005, John C. Ratliff John
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Post by SeaRat on Sept 13, 2005 20:20:55 GMT -8
Hey John! ...Thankyou for inspiring me to start river diving. Here I was, getting all depressed because gas prices started limiting my ocean diving 3-plus hours away, when right here 4 miles away was the Feather River. Let's see... On my first dive I found a set of old WWII dogtags: one was a man's and the other was a woman's. I looked up the last name in our local phone book and there was only one listing for it. I went to the address and knocked on the door. Turned out that a boy about 15 years old had lost them about two weeks before while jumping off a rope swing. They belonged to his grandparents and he was wearing them as keepsakes. He was so happy and surprised when he saw them in my hand and said he thought he'd never see them again. I was glad I took the time... BCNU, Terry Terry, I'm happy that I had something to do with your diving close by and local in the rivers. I've found it very satisfying too. I did want you to know that one of my co-workers read your post, and it helped her to smile in a fairly stressful environment we have right now. Thank you for sharing... John
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Post by jrvance on Sept 14, 2005 6:00:59 GMT -8
while i did not dive with vintage gear i had 6 great dives in turks and caicos during the summer.
my favorite dive was to 85 feet or so where i saw a couple of sharks and a lot of large tropical fish
on one of the dives some of the other divers saw a hammerhead shark
i wish i had seen that
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Post by SeaRat on Oct 11, 2005 21:28:30 GMT -8
I had a dive a few weeks back with my twin 42s, and my DA Aquamaster. Yes, I finally figured out what was wrong with it and caused the air leaks. It was a combination of three things:
--The intermediate stage pressure was too high. --The exhaust duckbill did not go to the center of the diaphragm. --The demand lever was set too high, and the diaphragm pressed down on it.
So I corrected the interstage pressure, and took the bottom box off the regulator. I replaced it with the one from my DA Aqualung, with the screw-in exhaust. And I bent the demand lever down ever so slightly so that the diaphragm would not hit it. The result, a very nice dive with my U/W camera, and several very good photos of the fish at High Rocks. When I get some time, I'll post the photos of the fish.
John
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Post by SeaRat on Nov 16, 2005 17:20:54 GMT -8
The last few weeks have been pretty wet here, and so undivable in the river. I may head for the river this Saturday, and if so, will post here.
John
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Post by duckbill on Nov 16, 2005 22:00:35 GMT -8
Come on down here and dive the Feather with me John. So far the few rains we've had have not raised the river stage significantly yet. I found the California Department of Water Resource's web site which gives hourly river stage information. Now I can go online and see if the river would be diveable. For now, though, I record the stage height information in my log book for future reference regarding water current speeds in relation to the stage height. So far, in my usual spot I have found a sunken boat, car, and pickup truck. I've seen bass, catfish, shad, salmon, and many other fish I can't yet identify. What is a good resource for river fish identification? I even found a 7" female red-eared slider at 14' putting around on the bottom. I picked her up to get a good look and measurement, then followed her for a ways until she came to rest under a small branch. I was with her a total of 45 minutes when I started to get a good chill from just sitting still for 35 of those minutes watching and waiting. I was trying to time how long she could hold her breath. So, 45+ minutes. No doubt she was someone's released pet. They are not native here. 10 years ago I would have brought her home with me.
Regarding freshwater sponges- Where I dive here in the Feather River, the bottom is silty/sandy with large mud clump boulders and ledges. I think if I go over to the Yuba River which feeds into the Feather a few miles north of here that there are real stone boulders there. When I get up that way I'll keep my eyes open for the sponges. Do they just grow in mats, or do they ever form balls or branches? Do they grow large enough to really be used for any "sponge purposes"?
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Post by SeaRat on Nov 25, 2005 19:54:26 GMT -8
Well, I've really wanted to dive, but I got a nasty cold and have stuffed up sinouses. So, no can do yet. I don't dive solo unless there is no health problems or potentials. Duckbill, the freshwater sponges don't form branches like in salt water, unless you look small--some are there, but only about an inch or two above the colony. The colony itself forms a covering, or mat, on the surface. It could be rock, or branches of a tree in the water. Concerning where to look for information about fishes of North America, I use the W.B. Scott and E.J. Crossman book, Freshwater Fishes of Canada, Bulletin 184, Fisheries Research Board of Canada, Ottawa, 1973. This is a very comprehensive book. Another is the Peterson book: www.amazon.com/gp/product/0395910919/103-9356436-6271806?v=glance&n=283155&v=glanceBut there are many on-line resources now: www.geocities.com/scosmo451/fish_of_north_america.htmwww.nanfa.org/bccdiversity.shtmlwww.utexas.edu/tmm/tnhc/fish/na/naindex.htmlJohn
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Post by duckbill on Nov 25, 2005 23:35:43 GMT -8
Hi John, I'm sorry to hear you've been under the weather recently. I hope your holidays weren't too dampened by your illness. I also hope that you will not find yourself "under the weather" by the time you're not under the weather any more! Thanks for the information on the sponges. I'll have to start looking for some. I just hope I can tell the difference between sponges and sunken moss. I wonder if the sponges do better deeper or colder/warmer. I haven't had a chance to check out your fish identification links yet, but can hardly wait to when I have a bit more time. Thanks again, get well, and dive before it really starts raining!
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