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Adventures & Training Above and Below the Water!

Gorgeous Weekend at BSC - February 14-15, 2009

And so it was...Tibz and I got in for one dive on Saturday with last-minute 'no planning' and special Valentine's Day dispensation...price paid yet to be determined!
The site was all ours until three guys from MD showed up.  We ventured to the tanker to retrieve my pelican marker while deploying another, more "expendable" surface marker.  Our swim east of the tanker along the hole revealed a nice landmark for deploying a marker line to the tree on the north wall.  And so the plan for Sunday was made...make a b-line for the pole, then run out line NE to the tree to help other deep-qualified and properly equipped divers find the huge tree on the north wall.  It actually is a unique sight to see, if you ask me!  We turned from the pole back to the tanker, checked in on air and deco, and started our swimming ascent in open water on a WNW heading, expecting to run into the point on the south wall; yep, right on, and around the bowl we went to burn off our deco obligation.  A fun, relaxing dive to 91' for 56 minutes, 38F.

Sunday the 15th was a different story, the gang was back: George, Tibz, Mayo, Sherri, Mooney, Katz, Jeff.  Jim and Paul made it too and Mark and Tim reappeared on the site.  Susie and Jim from Lancaster were back for Susie to continue preparation for her forthcoming Antarctic trip.  As we learned, the hole is opening up according to Jeff, Katz and Mooney who ventured down.  The "line gang" of Katz, George, Tibz and me never got below 108' but we could see the guys down below and look forward to soaking up some of that vis on our next adventure.  The line is now in place between the pole and the tree.  If you are properly trained and equipped, you'll know what we're talking about and can now easily find the big tree on the north wall.  After crossing the hole and securing the line to the tree at 108', we ascended the trunk through the branches and started our deco swimming ascent from 65' on the north wall.  Tibz swears he saw a purple turbocharged submarine zoom past him on the way to the exit...George's "chattering teeth" confirmed he was ready to get out and his dry suit was nothing but a blur as he headed west to the road exit.  Another great day on the dive site - 108' for 54 minutes, 38F.

The Swan

He/she was there Saturday and Sunday, flying (swimming) solo.  This is the best pic I could get with my 3x optical zoom on the point-n-shoot:

From Wikipedia:

Swans are birds of the family Anatidae, which also includes geese and ducks.  Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini.  Sometimes, they are considered a distinct subfamily, Cygninae.  Swans usually mate for life, though 'divorce' does sometimes occur, particularly following nesting failure.  The number of eggs in each clutch ranges from three to eight.

Etymology and terminology

The word "swan" is derived from Old English swan, akin to the German Schwan and Dutch zwaan, in turn derived from Indo-European root *swen (to sound, to sing), whence Latin derives sonus (sound). (Webster's New World Dictionary)  Young swans are known as cygnets, from the Latin word for swan, cygnus.  An adult male is a cob, from Middle English cobbe (leader of a group); an adult female is a pen.

Colouration

The Northern Hemisphere species of swan have pure white plumage but the Southern Hemisphere species are mixed black and white.  The Australian Black Swan (Cygnus atratus) is completely black except for the white flight feathers on its wings; the babies of black swans are light grey in colour, and the South American Black-necked Swan has a black neck.

The legs of swans are dark blackish grey, except for the two South American species, which have pink legs.  Bill colour varies: the four subarctic species have black bills with varying amounts of yellow, and all the others are patterned red and black.  The Mute Swan and Black-necked Swan have a lump at the base of the bill on the upper mandible.

I always love our discussions about all things scuba...deep stops come up from time to time, some do them, some don't, some have no opinion and others most certainly do.  The First Quarter 2009 Undersea Journal, PADI's periodical for their professional ranks, ran this small piece as an update as it relates to recreational scuba diving.  I was unable to find more details at their website reference.

Another highly active subject during intervals and at McCLeary's off-gassing sessions is dive computers; algorithms, displays, deco time, safety stop counters, etc, etc, etc...I use the Aeris atmos ai console, air integrated with a compass and quick disconnect.  I also upload all my dives to my PC for further study and analysis, to help me learn more about my dive profile, NDL, pO2, deco obligations, SAC rate and so on.  Uploading is also a great way to "back up" your diving experience so you never lose it!  Here is the profile of Sunday's dive, with five highlighted spots, further described in order, left to right, simply as follow up to our McCleary's brainstorming...

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