http://forums.deeperblue.com/blogs/ Blogs about FreeDiving, Scuba Diving, Spearfishing & Technical Diving - DeeperBlue.com en Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:36:03 GMT vBulletin 15 http://forums.deeperblue.com/images/misc/rss.jpg http://forums.deeperblue.com/blogs/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/deeperblue-forumblogs/~3/1310uahctpA/ Sun, 18 Oct 2009 18:25:29 GMT I have put off trips to Florida this year, waiting for a special trip that has not gone through. I've needed to get out of Illinois for some time though. Now I have a reason.

I will be helping DeeperBlue at DEMA this year. I'm so excited to get to go to the show. I will be taking my camera, blogging, and Twittering about what the event while there. I am wanting to do an interview with Martin Stepanek too. I have not asked him yet, but I am forming some questions in hopes he will have time.

I look forward to seeing a lot of people I've met online, here on DB and other places, like Facebook.

It's just under 2 weeks away and I'm excited! I'll be visiting my parents around the show too and getting a few shallow dives in. Should be fun. ]]> ILDiver http://forums.deeperblue.com/blogs/ildiver/dema-nov-4th-7th-im-going-deeperblue-188/ http://forums.deeperblue.com/blogs/ildiver/dema-nov-4th-7th-im-going-deeperblue-188/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/deeperblue-forumblogs/~3/fGpUuf4Rm7s/ Mon, 05 Oct 2009 14:38:56 GMT A few weeks ago I helped a fellow instructor finish a class of three scuba divers with their open water certifications. All three had quite a bit to overcome. They had barely begun to swim a year ago. This year they decide to take scuba? Well, one of the three had a serious fear of the water... A few weeks ago I helped a fellow instructor finish a class of three scuba divers with their open water certifications. All three had quite a bit to overcome. They had barely begun to swim a year ago. This year they decide to take scuba? Well, one of the three had a serious fear of the water and she was flat out impressive doing her open water dives.

These same three decided they wanted to do Advanced as well. I was not certain at the time if I would be teaching or if Mark would follow up. I knew we had a pool session and I asked if I could invite this group to come play in the pool and get more comfortable. Jan was ok with it and the three of them jumped on the chance. earlier in the week I mentioned to the two ladies that I wanted to work more on the skin diving. (cricket noise here)

I was looking forward to this day all week. We went straight away to the deep end of the pool and just worked on weight and trim. There was not much to work on. All three were trimmed well. They went to the bottom and did their fin-tip pivots and swam around. While swimming I had them "lose" their regulator, they did great. I had them to swim around and flood their mask...again, great.

Now was the time I was waiting for. They took off their gear and just snorkeled around the deep end. I showed them the entry a couple of times and watched them. We spent a little time getting proper weighting for the pool. The gentleman picked up the skin diving rather quick. The two ladies once they got the weighting corrected started to come along quickly. I could not stop smiling, it was awesome. They were so worried about this and they are doing great! I kept giving them minor corrections and letting them cheat some things in the name of comfort. The feeling of pride I had, I can't describe. Watching them enjoy the skin diving and have fun with it and to keep wanting to press on.... It makes me smile writing this.

Three open minded people willing to try something outside of their comfort zone. Sharing something I LOVE. Today was an absolutely incredible day for me! ]]> ILDiver http://forums.deeperblue.com/blogs/ildiver/why-i-teach-pride-187/ http://forums.deeperblue.com/blogs/ildiver/why-i-teach-pride-187/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/deeperblue-forumblogs/~3/DhSoVNr3Vf0/ Tue, 29 Sep 2009 00:43:57 GMT Well it has been a month or so since I have been in the water. August has been cool and dry and work was plentiful so I put in long hours. The sun is starting to disappear earlier enough that I have noticed changes in my internal clock, there is an urge to do some favorite things one last time... Well it has been a month or so since I have been in the water. August has been cool and dry and work was plentiful so I put in long hours. The sun is starting to disappear earlier enough that I have noticed changes in my internal clock, there is an urge to do some favorite things one last time before hunkering down for the winter sooo this obviously means diving!!

I went out to the 7 acre gem I found in the middle of cornfields Saturday night. I took my Worlds smallest fishing pole from Coleman and an aquarium thermometer along with some weights and bobbers to check on conditions. OK, I spent all day at a seminar and also just needed to go relax for a while. There were three guys there doing a little fishing when I arrived. The pole was a hit with them and did a great job breaking the ice but, they still thought it was odd that I was fishing with a thermometer. One of the gentlemen was transient construction company installing wind mills who seemed interested when I asked if any of them dive or would they be interested in learning.

The first cast went short and the second went long and the third with weights and bobber went just right. I checked the temperature twice at 15 minute intervals to see if there was a change and it read 65 both times.

Sunday open with the sun rising in the East so it was already a good day, the clear sky was just a plus. Packed my gear and arrived for a dive about 11:00. Much to my surprise was the construction guy from last night. He was just sitting there. I would like to think he cam down to see if I was for real, but somehow, I just think its his hang out place when he is working this neck of the woods. The sun was warm, no one around so I lounged enjoying the shy confidence I was experiencing towards the up coming solo dive. Thirty minutes later I slid into the water with great style. Twenty yards out I took my first little dive and well damn! I was fooled again. I would have sworn I had at least fifteen feet of visibility looking at the water Saturday night but it was only ten foot and this time it didn’t open up below the ten foot mark.

Re-sounded some old ground but 24 feet was about the deepest I found. Took my first “deep” dive looking for the bottom but ran into the thermo cline and the disappearance of all light. I hung out several feet above the line for a bit and then floated to the surface. The appearance of the thermo cline was unexpected as the previous dive with the borrowed fisherman in a boat had me measured to thirty seven feet. I decided to try and better measure the thermo cline depth and well I got distracted playing and never managed to get a good measurement. I did find a fish crib a plastic oar stuck two feet straight up out of the mud, lots of apple snails and the plug to the pond. Yes sir ladies and gentlemen, it was a long floating rope tied to the bottom, what else could it be but the plug to the pond!

The dives were easy but I didn’t go through the thermo. A real water proof flashlight may be in order but I really want a dive watch. I found my neutral is right at twenty feet which makes me think this thermo is like the dirt warning track in center field, nature’s way of saying not to plow my head into the muck. It was cool to hang out at neutral two feet above the thermo going head first down the beach slope.

Just as I was packing up three people came down, one was with a kayak the other two had suits and were there to swim train.

The answer is yes I asked if any of them would be interested in diving and one asked for some info so I left it under her windshield wiper. Keep your fingers crossed it would be nice to have a partner.

Will go out either next weekend or the following one, I so make it a rule!!! ]]> slimsteve http://forums.deeperblue.com/blogs/slimsteve/diving-little-gem-cornfields-186/ http://forums.deeperblue.com/blogs/slimsteve/diving-little-gem-cornfields-186/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/deeperblue-forumblogs/~3/XImZRhpuzLM/ Thu, 17 Sep 2009 00:33:31 GMT I am self proclaiming that I have attained enough skill to be considered an intermediate freediver. Work has been brutal lately last Sunday was the first day off in three weeks and to exhausted to even consider diving. Still trying to locate a someone within the Quadcity area of Iowa/Illinois to... I am self proclaiming that I have attained enough skill to be considered an intermediate freediver. Work has been brutal lately last Sunday was the first day off in three weeks and to exhausted to even consider diving. Still trying to locate a someone within the Quadcity area of Iowa/Illinois to dive with and until I do I am limiting myself to 35 feet of depth. I am hoping to do some scouting of Muscatine, IA sandpits for clandesine dives. I have purchased a large military surplus backpack in case there is a need to hike into the farside of these sand pits. ]]> slimsteve http://forums.deeperblue.com/blogs/slimsteve/reclassifing-my-skill-level-183/ http://forums.deeperblue.com/blogs/slimsteve/reclassifing-my-skill-level-183/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/deeperblue-forumblogs/~3/3HbV3hRJodA/ Mon, 14 Sep 2009 01:08:28 GMT This weekend did not look good, saturday was rainy cloudy day and they said sunday was goign to be the same, so i did not make plans to go to the spring. My parents have been off since tuesday and had gone nowhere because they didnt have a budget for it. Sunday morning comes and its semi cloudy... This weekend did not look good, saturday was rainy cloudy day and they said sunday was goign to be the same, so i did not make plans to go to the spring. My parents have been off since tuesday and had gone nowhere because they didnt have a budget for it. Sunday morning comes and its semi cloudy with white clouds and blue skies, i complained how i had lost the chance to go, but my parents decided to go, so i joined them. We also brought cooler to make BBQ and food and chairs.

Once we got there it was empty because the weather forecast i guess nobody went. the skies did not looks good but it never rained, only drizled for 5 min. Me and my dad got started on the BBQ, some guy next to us helped us dry the BBQ pudle inside, he had been there 2 hrs before us, and he had a family of at least 15 kids n people.

BBQ got going, smoking like crazy my dad threw in some prokchops and some Batata ( bah-tah-ta!) which is a root similar to potatoes but much more sweeter and orange, and some yellow plantains. I been following a strick vegetarian diet in order to loose some weight and get in shape, but today, sorry, BBQ porkchops and plantains dont hold for anybody. I also had soda...I confess i'm guilty.

The rest of my family joined in soon there after. My dad's nephew is about 38, and he has a kid of 10 and a girl of 15. We went swimming into the spring. when we where about to go into the water there was a manatee. relatively small, i would say young he didnt have any scars from propellers. all alone, everybody was harassing him but at least not in a aggressive way more like everybody wanted to pet him so he was hiding under the stairs at the platform.

I figured it was only a matter of time before the forest Ranger showed up and kicked everybody out of the water and handed a fine or two, so i quickly drag my "long cousin" ( his dad is my cousin do i dont know the denomination lets leave it at that) into the water and up river. we got to the spring and since this kid ( i say kid because he behaved worst than one) was asking me 1000 question per second, I think a auction seller would fit it well.

I did some dives but just like last week the river was up and the spring was gushing water like crazy. On top of that there was about 15 divers there. Divers sometimes have the tendency that because they can stay at the bottom, the cave belongs to them. well i made my dives around them, one of them gave me a look because i touched his fins as i was descending with mines. Notice I said touch, barely scraped not hit or push. I guess those are camouflaged 24K gold fins he was wearing. I made a crying gesture with my hands in my face as I went up. The bottom i got to was about 50 ft, with the sing at 63.

I also did not have much time to dive because my "long cousin" could not reach the bottom sides like I did because the water was high, and he swims like crap, and even with snorkel he was fussing and just could not do it right. So i took him into the top of the spring vent and pulled him down into the log area so he could see down the hole, and also taught him how to fix his ears. I was surprised he learned that, yet he could not understand the principle of how a snorkel clears the water out the bottom by air etc. I also did the superman to him, which means he would go under water i would grab his foot and push with my fins "power" so he would just fly under water into the spring. It was pretty cool.

We swam downstream, he pointed me to every single living thing on the water that I've seen 50 times every time I've been there, which is many. I collected some shells, from the sand etc. As we where goign down stream i was looking at the bottom for shells, went to grab one, when I looked up BAM!!! Mr Manatee showed up, just all innocent looking at me. Remember he was medium size, young. the size of a extremely obese person. I did not expect him, i saw him and screamed under water AAHAHAHAHHAAHHA!!!!

The manatee did not like that. he pushed his head down like when you hear a explosion goign off and you kind of cover/cover you ears, and get your head down? he immediately proceeded to swim under us and speed away. I managed to touch his tail and as if he wasnt goign fast against the current he got a shot of nitrous and just swam away. I was too tired to keep up with him, and didnt really care anyways, is just a marine cow.

I managed to swim all the way to the swimming area where we got off and jumped into the water. I picked my LC up, he weights like 90 pounds, i threw him into the water like a bag, he then later tricked me and pushed me. There was a snake near the swimming area and everybody either got out to see it, or because it was close ( HELLO! its a friking natural reserve, in the middle of the forest, near a spring, there are snaked and crock and spiders and bugs and ( insert creepy dangerous animal here) all over the place anyways!! It was brown with dark spots on its back and a very distinguished diamond head. Some said it was a water moccasin. the ranger took it out of the water.

When we went back to the pick nick/BBQ pavilion they told us my Dad and his dad where on the way to the spring. my LC sprinted into oblivion as I prayed he slipped in the slippery boardwalk. I walked there and catched up. Once i got there guess who I found again at the corner of the spring vent? MrManatee!! I got to pet him this time, and my dad and cousin etc. The people where not begin suffocating as they where, everyone was just enjoying him as he was. It was funny the manatee started chewing on some kids swimming shorts, everyone touch it was funny but then he realized it wasnt food and when he went away he realized his shorts where shredded. My Cousin (the old one, not the kid one) went to touch him then somewhat hugged him, I reprimanded him and advised him not to unless he wanted a misdemeanor and 500$ fine. he quickly went away of him and so did we.

Once we where there my dad tried to get to the bottom but he got maybe 8 ft. My cousin ( older) was swimming to look at it, he had just discovered weikiwa spring about 2 weeks ago and he didnt even know springs where around. So he was swimming in the sides wasnt aware that there was a huge crack in the middle.I waved at him and he saw me, then I proceeded to do a dive perhaps 30 ft deep then stayed for 20 sec and headed back. Keep in mind when you look on the side I disappear at 13 ft. When i went back he was hysterical and crazy " OMG wow that is crazy no way holy crap, no way i'm goign near that i tough i was in it already oh wow etc etc."

I showed my dad how i went into it and disappeared into the side cave. I cheated a bit because i was breathing from the bubble. Yes i know dont breathe bubbles, but this one i know is really big, enough for my head. Remember 15 divers? they fill that to play with it, so it was fresh too. I stayed down there perhaps a good 1 and half minutes then went out, my dad was of course, impressed and also puzzled as to how i disappeared. While heading down stream i noticed a FAMILIAR sight, a long cylindrical shaped mass of yellow/orange color of compacted material dissolving. It was Manatee poop. I say familiar because my first time in this spring i was swimming downstream and collided with one, not knowing what it was. later i saw a manatee with a piece of it hanging on his poop hole.

As we where out of the spring vent i saw my cousin wife and the daughter heading up stream barely, cuz the girl was too fancy to be in the water so she was hanging in the tube. What followed was a uncomfortable semi-fight between the girl and the boy because the boy wanted to be in the tube, and she did not etc. we kept goign down stream, all 6 of us, my mom cannot swim and does not like warm water too much, so i dont think she likes 68 Deg water too much either. we kept swimming downstream, 6 ppl hanging on the tube from time to time for relief. until we got to the platform. we got out, the kid was jumping off all the time, I did a back flip, etc.

We went back to the pavilion warmed up some more meat ( there goes my vegetarian diet again) ate some more, cleaned and we headed home. Since i'm not used to meat "I quickly fell asleep on the way back, got home did a short workout to relief the guilt of the meat had a coffee and used the Xbox and Netflix to enjoy the rest of the day. Take that weatherman!

Singing off Joel.

PS: yes there is probably many typos in there, but i'm too tired to fix them. ]]> joeldivedude http://forums.deeperblue.com/blogs/joeldivedude/another-weekend-volusia-blue-springs-182/ http://forums.deeperblue.com/blogs/joeldivedude/another-weekend-volusia-blue-springs-182/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/deeperblue-forumblogs/~3/7pR4jcavyrk/ Fri, 11 Sep 2009 23:00:28 GMT Today was a relatively day off, besides from the many chores i had to do, didn't really have any appointments of any kind with anyone, no responsibilities to meet.

Wednesday i passed by the YMCA aquatic center, and discovered a hidden jewel, a sports complex with a gym, a tenis and racketball area, other stuff and a huge 36 lane Olympic size swimming pool, followed by a olympic size diving pool. I asked about the rates n stuff they gave me a tour of the place, they actually have 3 separate pools. a water shop, a gym trainers and a steam room.

The guy then explained me the rates which are somewhat high but not for what they offer. He offered me to apply to the scholarship which they will give me up to 50% off the price if I qualify. then he handed me 3 free passes to the YMCA. today i went over, i just had to fill the admission slip and that was it. I mediatedly i went to strech then to the eliptical trainer, and watched WESH 2 news for the time, a total of 45 minutes. then went to do some crunches and called it off. I then proceeded to the pool.

The water i was told " is kind of cold" but it was as warm as it could be, they have never swim in a spring i think. i swam back n forth icould make it across the pool and back almost halfway underwater doing Apnea Dynamic, swiming in a monofin style with my 20$ semi rigid plastic medium sized fins. I had some fun and then i moved to the deep pool.

I began swimming at depths and i remained there for a while then head up, after 3 or 4 dives the lifeguard was looking like " wow how does he do that?" i began collecting all sorts of items i found at the bottom. there was about 35 to 40 hairbands, u know? those elastic rubberband like things girl use to hold their hair in ponytails n such?. The lifeguard commented how the dive girls always have a small packet of them when diving because they loose them. I told him we should get a bucket and i throw them in there so there's a "hairband" lost n found.

I tried the diving board once or twice, didnt really trust it, i was scared only did front dive. I jumped from the 30ft high concrete dive board. i hit the water so hard it felt hard on my fingersm thank god i didnt belly flop. I then hit the showers and headed home.

I think I'm gona save and have that memebership. it would be good to workout and swim at depths locally and then its only 20 min to my college, so i can go to class and fits on my schedule. Then on the weekends i can head to the spring and ive deep all prepared and ready.

Singing off, Joel ]]> joeldivedude http://forums.deeperblue.com/blogs/joeldivedude/fun-ymca-181/ http://forums.deeperblue.com/blogs/joeldivedude/fun-ymca-181/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/deeperblue-forumblogs/~3/RfT9D3tlxlM/ Sat, 05 Sep 2009 22:28:27 GMT This labor day weekend i decided to go to my favorite diving spot, Blue Springs.

I woke up at 6:40, and began with a disappointing breakfast. By far the thinnest pancake I've ever had, followed with yesterday leftover oatmeal. I even forgot to drink something with it.

I packed everything and a meal. I packed a small bottle of the best liquid known to man: Koolaid. I also took a banana and A tuna salad sandwich with almonds in the tuna salad. Lots of protein, no fat!

Had a nice 1hr and 40 min drive, this time for some reason the scooter went a little faster, about 3 mph faster. maybe because i used premium fuel.

Got there and it wasnt full. I went for a swim, and took notice that the water was as high as I've ever seen it. It was about 2 ft above normal. It was a struggle to walk upstream. the water did not look too clean. I made my way to the spring head and noticed that the log I slid under was now in contact with water and the following log where people was was way under water. I had to swim around the spring instead of the usual tippy toe walk.

There was many divers in the head, maybe 4 or 5. there where raising up slit by the truckloads. The water had a strange haze to it and there was particulates of algae floating. As I attempted the dives the right ear was giving me trouble, but most impressive thing was the flow.

The spring was gushing water. Before i would just slowly kick my way down to the bottom, long easy strokes kinda float down. Today i was kicking and i was goign nowhere. I had to take the alternate route to get down, and i had to kick furiously just to get down. I managed to get to 40ft deep at the most dives, and one of them i got to 45 ft, but i had to pull myself down. The water also looked very greenish and the visibility was hazed. There was some people in there but not too many

Now check this out. I was standing there, at the edge getting my air, then this guy bounces into me with his raft. It wasnt even a rideable raft it was the type you pull with a boat at speed. Then not only does he bounces he pushes me off the edge and i have to swim my way back. I look at him and say "geez man" in a talking tone, because i donot seek conversation and I constantly get hit by raft, people's arm hands legs, branches, they kick water in my face or hit me with their fins etc. This is his response " sorry man i can't control this u know, what do u want me to do? i said i'm sorry". Imagine that in a person who could give a shit less wether he bounced to me or broke my neck with the raft.

I say " yeah all right" and continue my breathing. then he comes up with this "..........get out of the way man..." quietly.

Sorry, Nice joel has just left.

Joel- "Get out of the way? oh sorry am in YOUR way? Who The F*** do you think you are? do you own this place? do you own the water? you are probably not even from here (FL). out of the way? I was standing here this morning when there wasnt even sun, i was here before you came up that river and i was here before you decided to take off with your raft into me. is this your designated swiming area? NO it is not yours or mine. All i told you was geez because you blatantly knocked me into the deep part and if you said i'm sorry you must have not cared much because i didnt hear a thing. And i didnt raise any trouble with you so who are you to be threathing me like that? u think ur so smart? i'm by my self you have 4 kids with you, you think you want trouble with me? you dont want that raft to magically De-flate do you? do u know who I am? I dont think u wana find out do you? dont come telling me where i can stand or I can't I'm not taking the whole entire 300ft wide pool for myself, I'm standing right here and you have to knock me out? ha?-

Dude-" i wana go downriver man u standing right there in the way, i can't drive this it dont have a steering wheel-"

Joel- well you can launch 5 ft to the side and be on your way, i can't stand there because is too deep this is the only place to stand

dude- well you problem if I hit you again

Joel- (i make the gesture of pulling out something out of my pocket and opening) well is your problem if your raft pierces with my skin when it does, and it will be your problem if my shoulder stabs you and you bleed out" ( as i made the gesture of holding such object in my hands underwater to unclear to see if I had something or not)

I ask the scuba diver who just surfaced
Joel- "Hey scubadiver have knifes right?"
Scuba- yeah sometimes
Joel-right..( i look at him)

Dude- decides to move 8 ft to the side and launch his 2 rafts with his kids.

The rest of the day was a breeze. I swam downstream, made a backflip from the platform at the end. Then relaxed under the shade of the trees. I had my sandwich and koolaid. Used my shirt and backpack as pillows, towel on the floor, put on my headphones and listened to the latest hits for the next hr. ZZZZzzzzZZZZzzz

woke up, went for another dive. as i got in i talked to this girl who appeared to be chilling by herself. she was with family but she doesnt get along too much with them so she just enjoys herself. we got along great since I drive my scooter 60 miles one way every weekend for that purpose. i showed the spring and whatnot, allowed her to use my mask. She was Hot.

well i said bye after some dives i deiced to impress some guys who where diving to the log and back. I told them watch this, i launched from the edge, and began swimming monofin style. I kept swimming and because the extreme flow today i made it all the way across the spring head and down stream to the corner and around. They never saw me surface.

I then dried up, packed and left back home. I had aside salad at Wendys. the salad had 70 calories, the croutons had 170 go figure. Nice day

Another blog next weekend!!! ]]> joeldivedude http://forums.deeperblue.com/blogs/joeldivedude/labor-day-blue-springs-180/ http://forums.deeperblue.com/blogs/joeldivedude/labor-day-blue-springs-180/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/deeperblue-forumblogs/~3/jAd8jkHJKso/ Tue, 01 Sep 2009 02:14:23 GMT Well now that I found a body of water in East central Iowa that has decent clarity I decided to try and find the 50 to 60 feet of water that three people tell me is there. I spent about a half hour bouncing a weight but didn't find anything over thirty. Had several inches of rain the days before and surface clarity was about 7 foot and opened up to 12 below 15 feet. Only surveyed a very small portion so it leaves me plenty of reasons to go back. I am hoping to find deep water so I can then have a place to take someone else and dive for a bit of depth. there are about 350,00 people in the Davenport/QCA area I figure I can talk at least one of them into diving with me.. ]]> slimsteve http://forums.deeperblue.com/blogs/slimsteve/exploring-local-iowa-pond-depth-179/ http://forums.deeperblue.com/blogs/slimsteve/exploring-local-iowa-pond-depth-179/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/deeperblue-forumblogs/~3/diOEbIQPW7Q/ Sat, 29 Aug 2009 21:04:47 GMT This was another successful weekend of diving at Volusia Blue Springs. I started the day bad, since I didnt get any sleep that night, Woke up about 10 times during the night. Ate breakfast, pack some snacks and Head my way north for about 2 hrs drive in my nimble 50cc scooter to Blue springs. ... This was another successful weekend of diving at Volusia Blue Springs. I started the day bad, since I didnt get any sleep that night, Woke up about 10 times during the night.

Ate breakfast, pack some snacks and Head my way north for about 2 hrs drive in my nimble 50cc scooter to Blue springs.

To be a saturday the place was desolated, completly empty. Usually its packed by 9:30, but i got there at 10 and it was somewhat empty.

As I got there I met with other guys who I know from before who freedive at the spring too. they are really equipped with dry suits, hoods gloves weights freedive fins etc.

As usual i went into the water by jumping in, is the only way other than easing into the 68 deg water. I made my way up stream and began to dive. the spring was super clear, there was about 6 other peopel there and none of them had diving gear. The one's that did barely go to the 10ft log before springting out. the visibility was odd, it looked particularly green today. No particulate, about 50-60 ft.

I made several dives, then the freediving guys arrived, we dived for a bit, but I was getting cold so I decided to swim downstream.

As I left i decided to give a try to the Monofin method of swiming. I have dual fins but what the heck! It was super easy, almost natural. I was swiming at an incredible speed. one breath hold got me about 100m ( the current helped :P) I felt liek a friking dolphin or manatee.

I kept swimign downstream liek this, swiming under most people who hwere floating in tubes kinda scared them, to see a large colorful figure swim under them at speed.

I took a break, dried in the sun, had a snack. Then headed back to the spring for more diving. the diving guys where gone, so i just dived for myself. I dove down to the 60ft sing and i looked towards the dark part of the cavern, then i saw two huge glowing eyes. I almost screamed but i kept my cool. there was some divers there with a tiny flashlight and I coudl only see the reflection of their mask which was gold tinted. I made about 5 more dives, passing by the scuba up n down.

Then i decided to head to the small cave at the entrance, about 15ft down. the scuba divers where searchign trough the sediment for fosils, I just looked at them, they waved and continued. Since i only swam down 15 ft then stayed still I was able to stay there for about 2 min. they looked at me again, as if WTF? then before i was goign out i looked above and saw a big air buble.

Now i know what you all say about breathing in those air bubles, but this one is not there at any time. it is only there when the divers fill them with fresh air. and because i was 15 ft from the surface, and far from out of air, I gave ti a try. It was fresh.

So i took a breath, then continued to watch them. they did not notice i took a breath so then they where really impressed. I started to look 4 fosils too. About 1:30 more i took another breath. this airpocket is huge, is about the size of 2 5 gallon water jugs.

After staying there for about a total of 7 or 8 mins under water i came out. Everyoen outside was impressed at how "long i could hold my breath" and as a result i gained a funny nickname " acuadude"

The divers came out shortly after and where also questioning me how much i could hold my breath, and how deep i went.

It was a good day. the only bad thign is that it was really sunny and i have a line where my Tshirt meets my arm. ]]> joeldivedude http://forums.deeperblue.com/blogs/joeldivedude/another-weekend-blue-springs-178/ http://forums.deeperblue.com/blogs/joeldivedude/another-weekend-blue-springs-178/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/deeperblue-forumblogs/~3/1JsEKG3_S1c/ Mon, 24 Aug 2009 00:52:34 GMT This weekend was a good weekend as I went spearing with kevincook at Lake Geneva, WI and as always it was a learning experience but nothing was learned the hard way. The day started at 3:45 AM, beat the alarm by 15 minutes, it seems I always do this when it comes to fun filled days. I was on the... This weekend was a good weekend as I went spearing with kevincook at Lake Geneva, WI and as always it was a learning experience but nothing was learned the hard way. The day started at 3:45 AM, beat the alarm by 15 minutes, it seems I always do this when it comes to fun filled days. I was on the road by five and arrived at the area by 8 and stopped to pick up a fishing license at Wally World, Wallmart that is and this time I got a full year as I will be back in state a couple of times before the winter sets in.

I stopped at Lake Delvin after getting my license to check on clarity just in case Geneva was not good. Visibility seemed to only be about 4 to 5 feet on the south which was the down wind side. After 5 minutes I left and arrived on the wrong side of the lake from where I was to meet my partner. I arrived a few minutes late and we headed off to the South side where Whopperhead recommended we go to. We were in the water by 10:00 AM.

Water visibility was 10 to 12 feet but deteriorated to 8 to 10 by the time we got out over 3 hours latter. We did not see a lot of lawfully separable fish for about an hour and half as we worked the docks to the East. I had hoped to see if all my ear equalization practice had paid off know that they weren’t all full of fluid but that was not to be. The boat traffic was such that I did not feel to comfortable going out pass the buoys into deep water. We ended up hunting in less then 12 feet of water. Chased a couple of large perch but they were few and far between and very ski dish. By the end of the dive we had a stringer full of rock bass and one little perch. I did wound two large perch but when I went to pick them up from there stunned state they took off. I was amazed at the number and size of the large mouth that were under the docks.

We snacked on some nicely smoked polish meat with green onion and home made bread that kevincook brought :friday along with some tomatoes I brought and decided to run over to Kenosh, WI. We checked two different places by the yacht club but the South Westerly wind made visibility bad and we never got in the water. We parted ways till the next time as it was about 6 PM.

So here is what I learned on this trip.
1) I got real fast at loading my Sea Hornet 2 band 32 inch gun.
2) That the spear they send with the gun does not have a removable tip so I was unable to switch to a paralyzer.
3) That a water tight float box is a must for licenses, tips and fog drops. Thank goodness kevincook had one.
4) That you need a better way then a rubber band to wrap up unneeded float line.
5) The cut on my nose, :crutch which I did not find out about till I got home, reminded me that equalizing your mask is also important even if you’re only diving shallow.
6) Oh yeah that Lake Geneva is rich man country.
7) I also, thanks to kevincook and the web site he sent me, learned that the water temperature on the West side of Lake Michigan change wildly. Two days before we dove it was 71 the day we dove it was 34 and the day after it was 59 degrees.
8) I did learn there is someplace to get wet near my house.

I did get to test my equalization out today which is the day after the hunt in a pond 15 minutes from my house, that I did not know was there. I was very happy to find that I had absolutely no problem getting to 37 feet. I could have and would have gone deeper but I ran into a thermalcline between 25 and 30 feet and it went totally pitch black by 37 feet. Oh yeah I will now make sure I have a light with me. The pond was no more then a mile and a quarter along the perimeter but I am told it goes to 60 feet in the middle. I was diving alone but talked two fishermen I met launching a small boat while I suiting up to act as type of safety for me. They came over and handled my float line and had instructions to pull like hell if I was not up in 90 seconds.

Now that I have a local place to play, no shootable fish according to Iowa regulations, I will make a big effort to find a local to dive with me even if they don’t know they want to do it yet. I’m tempted to stick a sign along the side of the road advertising for a free dive spear hunter.

Well wont be in the water next weekend but will probably go play in this local pond the following Sunday. I probably won’t get back to Wisconsin for a month or so but plan to do a couple of trips in October and maybe early November.

Time to go shopping for additional gear. ]]> slimsteve http://forums.deeperblue.com/blogs/slimsteve/what-i-learned-weekends-dives-177/ http://forums.deeperblue.com/blogs/slimsteve/what-i-learned-weekends-dives-177/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/deeperblue-forumblogs/~3/L_QeNhOdED8/ Thu, 20 Aug 2009 02:40:16 GMT Recently I started my Freediving hobby, with a small decent diving fins ( not surfing mini fins) and a old mask, and I have been goign to Volusia blue springs state park. I go there every weekend, and started by exploring a cave on the start of the hole. Now i've been concentrating my efforts on holding my breath and goign deep agaisnt the powerful flow to get to the sing at 60 ft deep.

I went there last week many times, 9th, 11, 13 and 16th. Sunday the 16th i met some free divers there who where wearing full body and hood drysuits and some weights. One of them had huge fins, the other some smaller fins like mine and there was Girl with them but she did not like the cold spring water even with dry suit!. too bad, but we talked and they seem to be on the sport, the guy with the big fins was able to touch the sing with me. Hopefully see him again there.

I will be there the 22nd again early to swim most of the day until 2pm then head home. I wear a white n blue surfing style swim shorts and gray plastic fins, say hi! ]]> joeldivedude http://forums.deeperblue.com/blogs/joeldivedude/diving-blue-springs-fl-176/ http://forums.deeperblue.com/blogs/joeldivedude/diving-blue-springs-fl-176/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/deeperblue-forumblogs/~3/hq2LO9PgCrI/ Mon, 03 Aug 2009 02:18:19 GMT I've just quickly skim read an article containing the opinion of a scientist up in the University of St Andrews who believes that we are screwing up the oceans.

This amongst all the other articles I've come accross has really inspired me to write this blog. I'm not sure it will come to any good effect but at least I can vent my anger.

It seems that our society or at least small facets of it keep saying that we are messing up our world and that we need to try and change our habits and reverse the effects that we've allready had on it. But every time I see this being voicedby one one person or another, the following articles the next year just keep saying the same thing, maybe it's the media painting a negative picture and not focussing on the changes that we are actively bringing about. But I'm not convinced that that really is the case, I honestly believe that the majority just don't give a shit about anything outside of their tiny ignorant domains, the very fact that speciallists say that this problem is going to come around and slap us in the face and people still go around abusing the environment for their own intents and purposes, says to me that people have got their heads so far crammed up their asses that they just don't want to listen and are quite happy to go on living their stupid little lives without fussing about what around them. And don't get me wrong, their lives really are little compared to the broader picture, the earth and the universe have been around for christ knows how long and they will continue with or without us. The fact that we are destroying the equilibrium of the planet we inhabit isn't going to change anything- like any population of organisms I reckon our numbers will either keep rising or plateu now instead of later and then we will run out of resources and our species will decline to the bare minimum at best, or become extinct.
I just don't know what to do, I'm finding hope very difficult to come by these days and I'm certainly not going to be finding it in God.
So someone out there, please, leave me a message and give me something to hope for. ]]> Vasco F M Bull http://forums.deeperblue.com/blogs/vasco-f-m-bull/society-always-saying-needs-do-something-about-environment-174/ http://forums.deeperblue.com/blogs/vasco-f-m-bull/society-always-saying-needs-do-something-about-environment-174/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/deeperblue-forumblogs/~3/FdUHteEqFEY/ Sun, 02 Aug 2009 13:21:44 GMT Ah yes the long waited 2009 Wisconsin Dive Palooza report, at least I have been waiting to write this one because to do so means I got to do so. (I am so clever with words when I haven’t completed my first cup of Joe.) Well from start to finish there was nothing but good that came from this event.... Ah yes the long waited 2009 Wisconsin Dive Palooza report, at least I have been waiting to write this one because to do so means I got to do so. (I am so clever with words when I haven’t completed my first cup of Joe.) Well from start to finish there was nothing but good that came from this event. One moment pleasantly and all too easily slid from one to the next just as easily as a diver slides through the water. I’m struggling to try and get pictures to post on this site but go to hosted forums Wisconsin spear hunters to see pictures as well as videos.

I was on the road by 3:27 AM, for the second time, Thursday morning after forgetting the tent and bags as well as the camp cookware tote which I also forgot for a second time. The roads were clear and great sailing until I crossed the Mississippi at Dubuque, then it was mostly dense low lying fog forcing me to 40 mph for about an hour. I arrived at the campground and easily found our site by the gear piled up against the tree which reminded me that I forgot to buy a license when I picked up last minute supplies so it was back into town.

The finer details of the time line are a little confusing as I believe we went diving before I set up camp but maybe not. Anyway it was not long until we were in the water. The visibility was great and gliding out over that cliff with 30 feet of visibility was fantastic. I took a short dive came up and was convinced that fresh water diving has a lot more to offer then just being something to take the edge of my salt water diving obsession till I can get to the ocean. All of a sudden I knew that driving two to three hours to get into fresh water will no longer be a chore.

The divers trickled in and it seems like each time someone arrived it was a good reason to go dive. I really want to thank John, Chris, Peter and everyone else on all the great information concerning technique skills, safety and gear. I learned enough to ensure that I will have plenty to practice on each time I go diving. Ear equalization has been an issue for me and I believe that I limited my dive potential for the rest of the weekend during the first dive session by getting middle ear effusion. Eight days latter and its only about 80% better. It will be interesting to see how I am after the next dive. Despite my ear I have been trying to learn how to do hands free equalization all week and occasionally succeed; And when I do I start tilting my head and hopping up an down a little bit trying to get an air bubble above the fluid in my ear so the pressure can push it out of the ear but it doesn’t seem to work very well. It is quite possible that I have strained some of the muscles in the area as I try to find control of those associated with the Eustachian tube.

Late Thursday afternoon the free divers got the safety gear into the water for the deep divers and it was not to long afterwards that it started to rain lightly which was not a big deal, but a little while latter when I heard someone say,’ that was not a camera flash”, we all got out due to lightening. Friday I spent six about 7 hours in the water and even with my ear was able to get to 25 feet with no issues 85% of the time. Saturday Reason, Randy and myself went to try and clean out a few suckers but to no avail, all we saw were a bunch of large mouth. Did not go in the water again till that evening so I could give my ears a bit of a break. The night dive was a lot less spooky then I thought it was going to be, I guess that is because there are no sharks in fresh water. My glow stick necklace worked pretty good, they all stayed in place and made it easy for people to locate me.

Sunday morning everyone started packing and at the last minute Vladis and I along with Reason and Judy went for one last dive. I needed to get some pictures because I lost my ones from Thursday, still learning the camera.

The ride home went by very fast because I could not stop thinking about the future now that I have meet a bunch of divers and could not help but daydream about what lies ahead.

I just can’t adequately convey how much fun I had nor can I thank everyone sufficiently. I also know that my writing skills are sorely inadequate to fully express the fun I had.

Plans are already underway for at least one hunt preferably two in August in the Southeastern WI area. ]]> slimsteve http://forums.deeperblue.com/blogs/slimsteve/newbie-goes-wisconsin-dive-palooza-2009-173/ http://forums.deeperblue.com/blogs/slimsteve/newbie-goes-wisconsin-dive-palooza-2009-173/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/deeperblue-forumblogs/~3/rMHTC4zDgko/ Mon, 27 Jul 2009 14:58:15 GMT My trip started on Wednesday. I was ready to get away for a little bit, so I left to go see Scott (Whopperhead). He wanted to get to the camp site a day early because it had filled up kind of fast last year starting on Thursday. The campsites are pretty big, so we fit a lot of our group onto one... My trip started on Wednesday. I was ready to get away for a little bit, so I left to go see Scott (Whopperhead). He wanted to get to the camp site a day early because it had filled up kind of fast last year starting on Thursday. The campsites are pretty big, so we fit a lot of our group onto one and a couple onto another site. Scott's brother Randy also showed up on Wednesday night.

Thursday morning we had read that someone was going to show up about 8:00, so we held off on starting our dive. But at 9:30 with no one arriving, we went to the water. We dove the wall and the platforms for a little while. I saw a couple standing by our entry point, so I decided to go back and change to my monofin and see if they were there to see us. Turns out, they were. Reason (Reason on the forums too) and his wife Judy showed up, I'm guessing it was about 10:30. I asked why they were standing around and not in the water. So they went and unpacked and hopped in. From there I don't recall who all came when. Steve (SlimSteve), Vladis (kevincook) Jeremy (WreckRunner) and Peter (Nostres) all came in at various points.

Shortly after Jeremy and Peter showed up we did another dive. Since we had 4 new divers we decided to run through a couple of basic safety skills with them "just in case". Getting them on the dive on their back, weight belts, mask off, that sort of thing. Then it was off to dive some more and work on some technique. Another Jeremy (Waterhawk) showed up to round out the Thursday arrivals.

Friday morning we headed out to dive and we setup Jeremy's (WreckRunner) counter ballast system. We got the rig set and started the warmups and them....boom....lightning. Diving was over for a little while. The rain looked like it was going to stay for awhile by looking at the radar. So we headed to town for a meal at Molly's, and we were going to see a movie. The weather turned and we did not get hit with any more rain so we went back to go dive. Jon (Jon) and Ted (unirdna) were there when we got back to Camp. We hauled the counter ballast system back out and returned to what we were doing. The new guys came out to the rig and watched, but we kind of ignored them a bit. We did not want them on the deep rig. It was not an elitist or ego thing, it was a safety thing and also a numbers thing. Four divers on one down line is really the max. It's just too crowded with more. Also, we were there for our dives too. Several of us passed on tips and tricks, but we also wanted to push ourselves. Once the scooters showed up at the rig however, the line dives were done. Jon brought along a couple of fins to try, I was still waiting on the new SporaSub Revolutions to show up (they were overnight shipped, and did not make it til Sat). I will write a couple of reviews separate of the trip report on my thoughts of the C4 Flap and the Revolution fins. So we played around by the wall some more trying different fins and trading comments.

So the campfire was a nice show and tell of gear, along with Ted serving up some fish he brought along. Some good stories were told, not just about diving. We all got to know each other and had a great time. Scott kept texting his girlfriend so I grabbed my phone and started to text him and mess with him a bit. I was actually kind of glad I did not have my phone charger and I could only get it charged here and there. It helped to break (well, weaken) the addiction/reliance I have been developing to technology.

Saturday morning, Jeremy, Peter and I took the deep line rig back out. Scott came out to shoot some video a little later and Randy out to watch. I decided I was just going to be the safety diver. I wanted to work on technique and that as the best way, resign myself to staying shallow. Plus I got to make more drops that way. I did do one drop to 70ft and felt great until I missed a clearing and stopped. Jeremy was not feeling well but still managed to get some deeper dives to around 75 or 100ft. Peter said he was not feeling well and getting leg burn on an 85ft dive. Then as he pressed deeper was feeling better on a 100ft dive. He worked up and said he was going to 140ft. So he started his dive, and I was holding the line and watching my time to start down. I could feel the carabiner sliding along the line. Right at 45 seconds I was about to start my dive. and I felt a thunk. Then the pull as he was coming back up. I thought he was a little fast. The plates were at 135ft. We thought they were at 165ish feet. I hit 33ft and could see Peter about 30ft below me. I positioned myself to be in front of him as he reached me. Once we surfaced and did our recovery I started to climbing across the float to check his watch. 135ft in 1:27. Peter said he felt great and wished it was a deeper line, he had more depth in him.

That was the end of our morning dives. The three of us went from there to a Chinese buffet. Not my first choice, but it was ok. On the way back to the lake we stopped by Wazee Sports to see if the SporaSub fins made it. Keith tells me "no, huh uh. Maybe Monday" WHAT! Crap! "No, I'm teasing, the box is right here" I cut the box open and checked them out right away. We were all impressed with the look, even Keith and he is not a freediver.

So back to the lake to play with the new fins and compare them to others. That bit of diving was pretty much it for me. I decided I was done for the weekend. Some went for a night dive, but I just was not up for it. My mind was done with diving. Not sure what it was but I could feel it coming on the night before and throughout the day Saturday. I was just ready to leave.

We started packing up Sunday morning and I believe we left the park around 11. I got back home around 4 or 5. Still with some daylight I quickly unloaded my gear and went to a friends land to put some rounds through my new Remington .308 and start breaking in the barrel.

Overall I had fun and a good weekend. I met some great new people and got to spend time with friends. ]]> ILDiver http://forums.deeperblue.com/blogs/ildiver/freedive-palooza-2009-172/ http://forums.deeperblue.com/blogs/ildiver/freedive-palooza-2009-172/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/deeperblue-forumblogs/~3/ZjZZgjgHzMA/ Sat, 18 Jul 2009 14:29:49 GMT Time warps are not all fun and games like in the movies. My time to departure error for the dive palooza in Wisconsin feels like a time warp. I have been looking forward to this so much that packing and repacking along with revamping my check list on a daily basis is the only way I can keep from... Time warps are not all fun and games like in the movies. My time to departure error for the dive palooza in Wisconsin feels like a time warp. I have been looking forward to this so much that packing and repacking along with revamping my check list on a daily basis is the only way I can keep from pacing the floor. I am obviously very well in touch with my inner child because I sure feel like a little kid who has been told just before Christmas that it will be delayed for a week.

I wonder if I will be the old man of the dive at the age of 48. I hope that diving with guys who have been doing it for so long won’t be to humbling of an experience. The other concern that pokes its head up from time to time is if this group has that elitist kind of attitude towards new divers. You know that, just stand over there and watch kid situation. I have no reason to think so but when your blessed with being so in touch with the little kid in you, like I am you also can’t have some of the little paranoias that accompany little kids. You know, will they accept me thing.
]]> slimsteve http://forums.deeperblue.com/blogs/slimsteve/no-dive-palooza-patience-171/ http://forums.deeperblue.com/blogs/slimsteve/no-dive-palooza-patience-171/