Vintage Double Hose

Well, another ice dive is in the books at Blue Springs Quarry in Waldron Indiana. Rick Green, Becky, Greg, and myself dived with the aid and surface support of Bob from Indy. Several other divers from Indy also cut a hole on the other side of the quarry and did a dive.
Becky, Rick and Myself all dived 2 hose regs. I busted out the Voit Polaris and Becky and Rick used PRAMS. I went super vintage with my hydroglove sheet rubber drysuit. Unfortunately my hydroglove really leaked on me. I may have to search for a hole or be a little more careful how I seal it up, but despite getting 39 degree water all the way down to my feet I managed a 55 minute dive with s depth of 53 feet. Greg was my dive buddy and he of course stayed in 5 minutes longer.
This was Becky's first ice dive and she came back special from Fla. just to dive with us(she may be crazy). Rick was very helpful to Becky and she braved the elements quite well. The ice was 6 to 8 inches thick and it took Becky and Rick quite a bit of time with Bob's chainsaw to cut the triangle hole(thanks again Rick, Bob, and Becky). The viz was better than 30 feet. The air temp was a toasty 38 degrees and very sunny. That and the wood fire Bob started really helped when I took off my soaked undergarments.
Despite getting soaked it was a great time with great friends. Thanks for the invite Rick and perhaps we can do it again soon!

Sounds like great fun Rob. Anybody get any pic's??? I was under the ice myself yesterday, but I was on a training dive with the FD. Only thing Vintage there was my USD Tri window and my trusty Dacor Olympic 400 polar on my pony.

Jim

swimjim wrote:... Only thing Vintage there was my USD Tri window and my trusty Dacor Olympic 400 polar on my pony.

Jim

Don't forget there actually was one more Vintage item: the Diver.

The diving and company was great. The break in topside temps was a real plus as well.
I was only able to take a few photographs before my camera's batteries gave up the ghost. A brand new set of lithiums await our next trip.






Greg

Greg
You broke the cardinal rule of UW imaging. ALWAYS be sure to start with fresh, or newly charged batteries. Shame on you.

The aggravating part is that I had only taken around 30 photographs on the set of lithium batteries. I am beginning to wonder if the camera is drawing power while in the off mode.

From this point on, I am removing the batteries when the camera is not in use.

Stay tuned for more shots from this upcoming Saturday's planned dives.

Greg

Rechargeable batteries lose power just idling around. I was told that when you first get them put the set in a flashlight and burn them dead. THEN charge them. But you need to be sure they are fully charged when you start. Also, temperature is a major factor. Cold water may just decrease power too much. Unfortunately their SAC rate doesn't compare to you, the MASTER.

Newer batteries don't have the "memory" problem that the older ones did. I think your both right. Greg, you must have a camera that discharges batteries even when the power is off and Allan your right, no battery is going to hold up as long as Greg "the lung" Barlow. LOL

Jim

Greg and I had such a great time last Saturday we decided to do it again this Saturday. Well, we wanted it to be an ice dive but it was a slush dive at best. It is amazing that 6 to 8 inches of ice can melt away in 7 days. We had super warm weather all week and poof it was al but gone. The other bummer was that Greg flooded the camera. You know what they say "It is not a matter of if, but a matter of when you will flood a underwater housing!" So once again we have no pics.
The weather was in the 40s and the water was still 39. I Used my Polaris on my first dive along with the hydroglove. THis first dive was bone dry. I think I finally figured out the secret to using the hydroglove reliably. The main rule is put the mask on under the skirt and DO NOT MONKEY WITH IT! Last week I got in and flooded the mask and cleared it to clean off some fog and that must have messed up the seal or whatever. This Saturday my first dive was 62 minutes and my second was 45 with not a drop of water getting in the suit on either dive. I really like the Hydroglove and think it is superiour to "modern" drysuits. Coupled with my PS DRY GLOVE system the suit is toasty warm and relatively easy to don as compared to modern suits. On my second dive I used the Waterlung Dual Air jsut like the one I am selling. It breathes great and looks great as well. Greg used his PRAM on both dives along with his PS DRY GLOVES he got from theSCUBAmuseum.com. Greg likes to put a little hose in the wrist seal so air from the suit can get into the gloves. IN the gloves he has chemicsal hand warmers that stay tasty warm as long as you have air circulating. I prefer to allow my ps dry gloves to shrinkwrap to my hands as I go deeper allowing me amazing dexterity.
All in all we had a great time and the weather was awesome.

I am now convinced that it was not meant to be for me to take ice diving photographs this winter. First, the dead batteries, now the flood... On a positive note, I placed the camera in an oven for 8 hours at a temp of 140 degrees, and remarkably it is working. Working... With the exception of a water stain on the surface of one of the lenses. I now have a "halo" on each of my photographs. The great news, though, is that the same six-year-old 3.2 megapixel camera now sells for $35-50 in working condition on eBay. I am going to buy a used one until I purchase a new system next fall. Oh, well... S*#t, happens...

With that said, Rob and I had two great dives. There were some areas that had over 35' of horizontal vis.

For those of you who are never used vented dry gloves with chemical hand warmers, you should do so. On the first dive, I didn't use them, and my hands were starting to get cold after around 25 minutes. On the second dive, they were comforably warm for the entire 50 minute dive.

As far as surface conditions go, who would have ever believed that 6-8" of ice would melt in a mere 6 days.

Greg

Sorry for the delayed commentary...but work and travel have been extremely time-consuming.

My first ice dive was fabulous and we had a great time. Even when I over-inflated my drysuit and got trapped against the ice I didn't panic. Then worked through getting the air purged so I could find my way back down. We've done three more drysuit dives in cold water since then, so I am getting some experience in the drysuit.

Yes, Rob, I did experience the face sensations you so eloquently described the last time I saw you... LOL

Remind me to tell you about my scooter mishap next time we dive. I just keep learning.