Post by Tusker on Jan 15, 2023 10:52:46 GMT -8
Happy New Year all, I’m, very glad to be back on the forum. It’s been a busy few weeks between the holidays and the start of my (last) winter term at school.
Shortly after Christmas my dad and I volunteered to drive my twin brother down to Florida, as he graduated in December and has since headed to Spain to play professional soccer for a few months before returning. As part of the trip, we got some diving in.
On 29 December I packed and left my apartment that afternoon to drive down to South Carolina to meet them. We left there at about 8:30 PM and arrived in West Palm Beach the next morning, where we waited for high tide at the Blue Heron Bridge. I dove my Aquamaster and tested out the Healthways J-valve I rebuilt. (My rebuild of it is also a thread here, thanks to again Herman and John for the parts!) With the water below 20 ft max depth, we outfitted my brother in my modern equipment. He did a Discover class earlier in the year and this was part of our plan to get him hooked on the sport.
The current kicked us around plenty and there wasn’t much to see under we got under the bridge supports, a depth of about 15 ft. We spent the last part of the dive slowly swimming around the pylons observing the wildlife.
He didn't do too poorly for someone who had previously spent about thirty minutes underwater. We helped him work on buoyancy and trim, and he had a great time.
The good news is that my valve worked properly. The bad news is that the old inflator hose gave out on my horse collar and I have to figure out a replacement. Luckily I did not lose the inflator itself. It wasn’t an issue on this dive but I like to have the option of surface flotation, particularly when diving further from access points to shore of some kind. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
The next day we drove down to Key Largo in order to do two dives on the Spiegel Grove. This was our first time offshore, and it did not go as planned. Surface conditions were a touch on the rough side with waves cresting at about 4-8 ft and choppy seas. We were first in the water and as soon as I hit the surface I was stung in both hands by a Portuguese Man o’ War. It was not a pleasant experience. My dad got caught in part of the tentacle as well in trying to help me push it away. We returned to the boat and after a few minutes were the last into the water to begin our dive.
Conditions on the Spiegel Grove were excellent with visibility of about 30-45 ft. A reef shark and moray eel formed the highlight of the experience as my dad soon fell ill as part of a reaction to the sting. We surfaced up the first line we found as he was about to be sick. The following events were embarrassing, and we felt the appropriate amount of stupidity. We did not die nor commit any dangerous actions, so we consider those pluses.
After returning, we drove down to Islamorada to visit the History of Diving Museum. It was a great stop.
Having dropped my brother off, we dove northwest in order to stop by Blue Grotto in Williston. This was mostly an excuse to wash off our dive gear. My dad vetoed the broken horse collar for Blue Grotto. I could and should have used a Conshelf I brought in my A3 bag though — I had a 21 first stage with broken plastic seconds and the shop I bought my dad’s Christmas present in threw in a Conshelf XIV and USD Otter BC with it. We ended up having the best dive of our trip and enjoyed seeing the on-site turtle, Virgil.
Rather disappointedly, I ended up having to use my modern Aeris BC and Cressi MC9. I got the Aeris and Cressi from the LDS that certified me after doing my OW, but have never really enjoyed using them. The Aeris works all right, but I’ve never liked how jacket BCs have fit me. I need to find something different for when I have to use modern equipment. James’ cutting board may be my first attempt.
Things have since slowed down, so I’m glad to have caught up on the board. I’ve unfortunately neglected three projects that I would like to complete (my Calypso, HW GL, and the SP MkV I’m working on for my dad — Herman if you read this I need to give you a call!) as I have recently found a mid-1990s Specialized Hard Rock next to the dumpster at my school apartment and have begun working on rebuilding it.
For anyone interested, I’m planning on converting it to something more commute/tour oriented. I’ve stripped it down to the frame and am planning on painting it in the next week or two. I’m mostly going to reuse many of the existing Shimano parts while swapping out a few parts like the stem, headset, and handlebars for things I like more. I owe everyone here a big thanks — without your encouragement towards working on regulators, I don’t think I would have felt comfortable taking on this project.
Jacob
Shortly after Christmas my dad and I volunteered to drive my twin brother down to Florida, as he graduated in December and has since headed to Spain to play professional soccer for a few months before returning. As part of the trip, we got some diving in.
On 29 December I packed and left my apartment that afternoon to drive down to South Carolina to meet them. We left there at about 8:30 PM and arrived in West Palm Beach the next morning, where we waited for high tide at the Blue Heron Bridge. I dove my Aquamaster and tested out the Healthways J-valve I rebuilt. (My rebuild of it is also a thread here, thanks to again Herman and John for the parts!) With the water below 20 ft max depth, we outfitted my brother in my modern equipment. He did a Discover class earlier in the year and this was part of our plan to get him hooked on the sport.
The current kicked us around plenty and there wasn’t much to see under we got under the bridge supports, a depth of about 15 ft. We spent the last part of the dive slowly swimming around the pylons observing the wildlife.
He didn't do too poorly for someone who had previously spent about thirty minutes underwater. We helped him work on buoyancy and trim, and he had a great time.
The good news is that my valve worked properly. The bad news is that the old inflator hose gave out on my horse collar and I have to figure out a replacement. Luckily I did not lose the inflator itself. It wasn’t an issue on this dive but I like to have the option of surface flotation, particularly when diving further from access points to shore of some kind. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
The next day we drove down to Key Largo in order to do two dives on the Spiegel Grove. This was our first time offshore, and it did not go as planned. Surface conditions were a touch on the rough side with waves cresting at about 4-8 ft and choppy seas. We were first in the water and as soon as I hit the surface I was stung in both hands by a Portuguese Man o’ War. It was not a pleasant experience. My dad got caught in part of the tentacle as well in trying to help me push it away. We returned to the boat and after a few minutes were the last into the water to begin our dive.
Conditions on the Spiegel Grove were excellent with visibility of about 30-45 ft. A reef shark and moray eel formed the highlight of the experience as my dad soon fell ill as part of a reaction to the sting. We surfaced up the first line we found as he was about to be sick. The following events were embarrassing, and we felt the appropriate amount of stupidity. We did not die nor commit any dangerous actions, so we consider those pluses.
After returning, we drove down to Islamorada to visit the History of Diving Museum. It was a great stop.
Having dropped my brother off, we dove northwest in order to stop by Blue Grotto in Williston. This was mostly an excuse to wash off our dive gear. My dad vetoed the broken horse collar for Blue Grotto. I could and should have used a Conshelf I brought in my A3 bag though — I had a 21 first stage with broken plastic seconds and the shop I bought my dad’s Christmas present in threw in a Conshelf XIV and USD Otter BC with it. We ended up having the best dive of our trip and enjoyed seeing the on-site turtle, Virgil.
Rather disappointedly, I ended up having to use my modern Aeris BC and Cressi MC9. I got the Aeris and Cressi from the LDS that certified me after doing my OW, but have never really enjoyed using them. The Aeris works all right, but I’ve never liked how jacket BCs have fit me. I need to find something different for when I have to use modern equipment. James’ cutting board may be my first attempt.
Things have since slowed down, so I’m glad to have caught up on the board. I’ve unfortunately neglected three projects that I would like to complete (my Calypso, HW GL, and the SP MkV I’m working on for my dad — Herman if you read this I need to give you a call!) as I have recently found a mid-1990s Specialized Hard Rock next to the dumpster at my school apartment and have begun working on rebuilding it.
For anyone interested, I’m planning on converting it to something more commute/tour oriented. I’ve stripped it down to the frame and am planning on painting it in the next week or two. I’m mostly going to reuse many of the existing Shimano parts while swapping out a few parts like the stem, headset, and handlebars for things I like more. I owe everyone here a big thanks — without your encouragement towards working on regulators, I don’t think I would have felt comfortable taking on this project.
Jacob