Category: SCUBA

New Gear, New Start

So at the start of this year the plan was to get back in to SCUBA diving. Then COVID-19 shut everything down. I decided a few weeks ago to no longer let that be a stopper.

I decided to upgrade my BCD to the Aqua Lung Dimension to support my local(ish) dive shop and move over to back inflate. My old dive shop closed down while I was away from the sport.

I need to get a dive medical if I want to take any classes. Classes also appear to be a little challenging to do while maintaining social-distancing. I had someone talked into getting certified so I could have a go to dive buddy. That will be an on going project.

I’ve also started thinking about where I want to go with diving and ended up starting on a Leisure Pro Wish List. I’ll be buying most of it locally but this is a good way to track things.

There is a group in the area that dives in a small lake once a week that it probably a good place for me to work with weight & trim.

Looking forward to logging some more dives after several years off.

New site, new home, & out of the Guard

Moving my blog site, buying a house, and closing out the Military chapter of my life. Making big plans to get back into SCUBA.

Just putting up a real quick note just to get things rolling and verify my account is all properly set up.

So I’m 80% of the way through getting this new blog set up and looking the way I want. I need to do a lot of work on the photos section. My SCUBA blog was previously at divingbrian.wordpress.com. That will probably stay up a few more weeks until I make sure that everything is looking good and then will have a single redirect page.

I’m finally moving from being a renter to a home owner. Some time next week I should be closing on my first ever house. Very exciting, very scary. And once I close there is a lot of time that will go into doing some electrical upgrades and installing networking etc.

I’m also now officially retired from the Michigan Army National Guard. I had been burning out on that for some time and I am fully embracing the beard. Still undecided on what to do with my hair. This should mean more free time but work is going to be crazy into the fall.

Next year will be my return to SCUBA. I think I’m going to try and do some refresher training this fall, the PADI ReActivate will probably be a real no-brainer but it will make the new dive shop I’m going to (old primary shop closed) and make them more comfortable when I try and get Deep and Wreck certified next year. My gear has been unused and well stored since last service so I’m comfortable just doing the tank vis. I’ll probably only vis 1 tank and get the rest done in the winter to have them all ready for a full dive season.

Discover Rebreather

Last Saturday I had the chance to do a discover rebreather dive at an area pool with Aquatic Adventures of Michigan. I got to try out a Poseidon MK VI. Both Tom and Steve are very knowledgeable and were very helpful in answering any questions.

Having done a fair amount of research prior to taking this and listening to the presentation at Great Lakes Shipwreck Festival I expected that it was going to be something I enjoyed. I underestimated just how nice it really was.

First off I am a bit of an air hog. My SAC has been improving over time but it is still a bit high; on a CCR this is no longer an issue. Longer bottom times and less weight to haul around. Both good.

Fixed PO2: Having a good understanding on the benefits of nitrox – mostly more bottom time. The CCR takes the benefits to its max while not impacting max depth the way nitrox will.

Weight: Diving HP120 tanks when doing open circuit the weight difference is amazing. Less gear to move to the dive sight, the gear you move weights a LOT less. The other thing about having less bulk is I felt way more maneuverable in the water. The ability to flip, roll, and hang upside down was great fun.

Only drawback was that, as the instructors pointed out, buoyancy control is totally different. I had some major issues initially with starting to become positively buoyant when I didn’t want to. I had this mostly sorted out by the end but I know it would be a major focus when I take the rebreather class.

The price isn’t as bad as it might seem if you plan on diving enough and with tri-mix. Which is my intent in time.

All I all I loved the experience and have added a Poseidon 7 to my wish list and the class as the next one to take after I take shipwreck and deep.

My SCUBA wish list would really be helped out by winning the lottery even more so than before.

1 lost year of diving, 1 or 2 more to go.

Well I just realized that I haven’t updated this in some time. I also noticed that I only got 6 dives all last year. On top of all of that, I even paid for a wreck diving class that I never got to take. I’ll have to make sure I fit that is some how.

Quick update. My work obligations due to our current mission basically take 2 months out of the summer. Plus one weekend a month. So I’m really looking at a very constrained schedule to start with. Add on school and that I’m a broke student and it gets even worse. This however will come to pass. We are on the mission a limited number of years and I will graduate with my BS of Computer Science December 2014. I’ll just have to get in what I can fit in until then.

On the plus side I seem to be able to make it to more shows this off season than last year. I made it to the Shipwrecks and Scuba in November and enjoyed all of the programs as usual. Most of the speakers they get every year are really top notch. This year’s keynote was amazing. Fabien Cousteau is a very dynamic speaker and was there in person rather than remote from Aquarius thanks to the government’s inability to keep running.

I’m also going to make it to Great Lakes Shipwreck Festival later this month. I’m really looking forward to it. I missed that show last year because of NG drill. And as the year before that. I haven’t figured out which of 2 speakers in the same time slot I want to go see.

I need to update my digital logbook on here as well.


Image used under CC from Julian Lim

Can someone please add 6 more weeks to the summer?

Can someone please add 2 weeks each to June, July, and August?

It seems between the weather, work, school, and the National Guard this is not going to be a good season for me.  I got a March Dive in.  The April flew past… Then May… Now I’m away for training, will have a 3 week break, then more training.  I hope next summer will be better.

I could look at this as a sign to scratch up the money for a dry suit, but the school thing also equates to a lack of random extra money.

I have gotten my techBuddy from the Blue Buddy Kickstarter but so far it has remained as dry as I have.  The interface and construction look great.