I don't remember where I got this GIF, but that would be an intense moment.

Shit, and a free diver, too. No, thank you.

The Meg series. Much better than the movie, and there are a handful of them all together.

That article in the OP was a good read, thanks.

You weren't EOD at K-Bay were you?

Yep 6th RTB In FL has a full dive team and dive locker just for that.

They check all the rope bridge crossings for debris underwater and sit on the dive boat along with the safety boats during the 'Los Banjos' Santa Rosa Island boat crossing.

Biggest thing we ever saw is snakes and a small gator once while I was there.

Each diver is qualified at the SF combat diver course in the keys.

Always worried about that when spear fishing and having fish in the mesh bag on my hip.

2-3 fish and I am going back to the boat, went in a tug to pull a fish in and was face to face with a fish three times as big.

Luckily for me he wasn't hungry and my catch and I hauled ass.

1985 this was not the case. after the training death of a student safety precautions were stepped way up. Immediately after the training death divers were required to be in fast moving river before any attempted crossings took place. there was a admin halt for a few hours until the body was found. that's the dated info. I remember.

Lots of changes have been made to ensure safety for the students since then.

Had only they done that before...

Some stuff  for you guys on cave diving. Video is dated, but the message is still valid.

Blueprint for Survival by Sheck Exley. From the 80s, but it’s the basis of the rules cave divers use today.

https://nsscds.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Blueprint-for-Survival.pdf

Video - A Deceptively Easy Way to Die

The beginning of that movie had sooo much potential, once the shark got out it turned into a cluster

Seriously it blew me away, one of the best articles Ive read on any subject online

Many years ago I was out off the coast of Maine with my cousin, fishing from a small boat he owned at the time.

We had dropped anchor at one spot and fished for awhile and, after getting nothing, decided to move to a different spot.

So we are pulling in the anchor only to find it had gotten stuck and fouled up on..."something."

We don't know what it is, but try as we might, we cannot free the anchor.  Something heavy, whatever it was.

Then we are thinking maybe it got stuck on a lobster trap down there someplace.

One thing about Maine lobstermen - you DO NOT fuck with their traps.  Some of them are crazy and might even shoot you with one of those Bushmaster rifles they used to make up there.

So after awhile of trying to free the anchor we discuss the situation further.

You can't see a damn thing in that greenish water.

But I am an excellent swimmer.  So I was thinking of volunteering to dive in the water and follow the line down a little with my hands, to try and identify the problem and free the anchor.

Fine.  We decide that's the plan.

I take my shirt and shoes off and am about to jump in the H20, when suddenly...

...that God damned theme song from the movie JAWS starts playing in my head.



And of course, New England waters are where that story was set.

Yeah, fuck that noise.

I tell my cousin "Sorry, but it ain't happening."

We decided to cut the line and he was out an anchor.

I was retrieving some “artifacts” from a wreck once and got tangled up in a wiring harness. I honestly thought I was gonna meet my maker that day.

I still get chills thinking about it.

I started diving in 1992, and over the next couple years got very heavy into wreck diving off Long Island in what is known as "The Graveyard of the Atlantic".
At the same time, I was also on my FD's dive team and was certified in whats known as "black water rescue". Its basically dive rescue without being able to see... anything... Not even your light shining at your face from a foot away. It can be so bad you actually taped a ziplock bag of clear water to your gauge pod so you can squish it against your mask and see how much air you have and your depth...

The visibility in the Atlantic can be as good as 30-50 feet on a great day with calm seas, or it can be as bad as finding the wreck by running into it with your head... And did I mention cold? Yea, even at the end of the summer, at depth, its rare to see temps above 50° at 80'+. The further you go down, the colder it gets at exponential rates. The thermoclines in the Atlantic can go -20° In the span of a couple feet.

So here are a couple good ones from my time in the water...

Second wreck dive in the ocean in my new dive adventures. Wreck called the R.C. Mohawk. Several miles out in the middle of the ocean off the coast of NJ. The dirt is around 110', the wreck is mostly broken down, no overhead, but loaded with all kinds of lobsters and various sea life. Visibility is about 10'-15'. Not bad for this area. Surface is shitty with 3' rolling waves, cloud cover and grey stormy looking skies. So typical day for Long Island wreck diving...
Down at depth with my normal dive buddy, (best friend, and fellow FD dive team member) as we are swimming around, we see a small sand shark come up out of the dirt and chase after another small fish. My buddy swims after it to watch the outcome, and I swim after him. We probably didn't swim more than 10 or 15 yards, but it far enough we lost sight of the wreck, and neither one of us was running a line since there was no overhead (we both had reels, but neither one of us tied in). So we both think we know which way we swam, and make a 180° turn and head back. The bottom is featureless, no rocks, no hills, no waves in the sand, no nothing. Well, we guess wrong. We swim for 10 yards, and nothing. We swim another 10 yards and still nothing. Annnd we are out of time. We didn't have the gas for more searching without going into a deco situation, so we decide we need to head up. Only problem is, we have no anchor line, and also have nothing to tie into to run an up line. So we have to surface and do a drift hang for a safety stop, since at this point, we are at the absolute limit on the tables. So we hold on to each other and head up, level off at 15' for a few minutes and then head up to the surface. We break the surface and can't see the boat... l spin around, and its no where to be seen... I ride a wave up and kick as I reach the top and I see it... probably 500 yards away. The current has pushed us over a quarter mile from the boat. In shitty seas. We blew up our wings, and laid back and kicked... the waves were bad enough we had to keep our regs in our mouths because every minute or so a big wave would roll over us and dunk us. It seemed like the boat wasn't getting closer so we both unbuckled our wings and flipped over and used them like kickboards. That worked much better and we finally made it back. That was probably the longest swim of my entire life. After that dive, I ALWAYS ran a reel on a wreck, even if there was no over head.

My one and only night time wreck dive came years later, and was a single night dive on a wreck called the Stolt Dagali. Dirt is at 130', but you could touch the top of the wreck around 80'. I had dove on this wreck a couple times before and visibility was normally really good, about 40-50' was not infrequent. A recent NE storm had kicked up the bottom and on this particular night, the vis was only around 10', with a ton of particles in the water. Like driving in a blizzard at night with your high beams on.
But it was glass smooth on the surface, and almost zero current. It was still a decent dive that I enjoyed, right up till the end... I was diving with 7 other guys on this trip, although all of us were diving "solo". For most of the dive I could hear other divers around me, either breathing or bumping into the wreck. As it was a single dive trip, I had planed a long deco dive with a set of doubles on my back, and a sling bottle with a 50/50 mix for deco. My plan had me hanging at a first stop depth of 40', then every ten feet as I went up with an increased stop duration as I went up.
So I'm at my second stop at 30', and clipped into the line just literally "hanging out" a couple feet off the anchor line. Its pitch black as I have my lights turned off, and just have a cyalume stick zip tied to my cross bar on my tanks. Its glow is barely perceptible if I turn my head all to way to the side. Just hanging there when all of a sudden something bumps into my tanks on my back. Not a crash, just a bump. Felt like someone trying to squeeze past me in a narrow hall. I figured it was another diver coming up the anchor line and they didn't see me. No big deal. I turn on my light and pan around my feet and dont see anything but some bubbles coming up from the guys below me. I spin around in the water and shine my light out and there I see it. A shadow about 10' in length, just close enough that I could tell it was a shark, but too far to see what kind. It slowly circled around me, and stayed the same distance away as it did. Then it cruised a little further away to the point I couldn't see it anymore. I pretty much freaked... I wanted to blast to the surface, but I knew if I did I would get seriously bent and spend the next couple days in a chamber if I survived the ride. So I turned off my light, I closed my eyes and tucked up into a ball (I was thinking I didn't want to lose and arm or a leg). I was alone on that line for what seemed like an hour but was probably only 10 minutes before another diver came up next to me. When I moved up to 20', there was several guys already there so I was safe and the feeling of doom quickly faded away.... But that was the first and only night dive I ever did out in the middle of the Atlantic.

And I give the cave divers here mad props. Y'all got some balls. I have always said F#*k that, I don't like caves, don't like going into caves on land, and sure as shit don't wanna dive in one. I have a few friends that cave dive. All have "oh shit stories". Some that got silted out and got out by pure dumb luck, and some that were trained enough to save their own asses. No thanks, not for me.

I don’t like night dives at all. Did two at the local quarry during my night specialty three years ago. Horrid experience. Then there are the skeeters. I was bitten bad. If I don’t ever do another night dive, I won’t be sad. Cave diving is in the dark, but it’s totally different in my mind.

Its funny, I have no problems with wrecks and being inside, even if its out of sight of any light and its pitch black. No issues with black water, and have done rescues at night, but in 20 or 30' of water near the shore or in a marina... not 20 miles out in the ocean... Something about being in the open ocean, at night and hanging on a line with who knows what just out of sight. Its like the ultimate horror movie when you know there is something just waiting to jump out of the dark and grab you. I think the night time makes the mind think the worst, and hanging on an anchor line just clipped in with your jon line, you get bored and the mind wanders.

Caves always make me think, at any minute, something can shift and its game over, and you won't know until you try to leave. I tell myself inside a wreck I can probably find another way out. My 20+ years as a firefighter has ingrained in my mind if you are stuck in a man made structure, you can go around something, move something, or break through something to get out. But in a cave, its one way in and one way out.

I know in reality, many wrecks are just as dangerous, and a guy I had dove with on several occasions died on the Andrea Doria years ago. He was one of the best trained and best equipped divers I ever met. He got turned around in a silt out and his line got tangled in some of the structure. When he tried to leave, he missed the door and went down the wrong corridor, got lost and ran out of air. Horrible way to go. Took a team of 4 guys searching to find him, and 4 more to get him out. But at least his family had some closure and knew what happened.

Shit happens, and when it happens 230' below the surface, things go bad real fast.

I love wreck diving, but I don’t have to worry about things that can eat me in the Great Lakes. I’ve poked around in enough wrecks that the mine I dive in doesn’t bother me. Mind you, they drove big trucks into it. There’s no really narrow stuff

This account reminded me of a 'learning' experience when I was younger and dumber.

It wasn't exactly open water, but the family went to the beach. I was maybe about 10 - 11y/o. Had been taking swimming lessons since about 7. Several other families on that stretch of beach.

One of the families with younger children had been playing with a beach ball in the shallows, and the little 4 or 5 y/o girl was crying because the beach ball had gotten away from them, and was being carried out to sea. Being a young dumbass, I thought that I was a decent swimmer and decided to play 'hero' and get the beach ball for them.

By the time I reached the beach ball, and turned around to head back to shore, I was surprised at how far out I was. I then proceeded to swim back to shore, against the rip current that had swept the ball (and me) out to sea. Fortunately, I had the beach ball to use as a flotation device.

By the time I finally made it back to shore, I was completely exhausted.

After returning the ball to the family and collapsing on the mats my family had out for our stuff, I discovered that my dad had witnessed part (or maybe all?) of it. He said, "Well, that was dumb. Did you learn anything from that?". "Next time, don't swim out after a $1 ball. And if you ever get caught in a riptide, don't exhaust yourself swimming directly against it. Swim perpendicular to it until you no longer feel the current pulling you out to sea, THEN swim back to shore". Gee, thanks dad. I wonder what he would have done if I'd slipped under the surface when I was still 100+  yards out?

It's not that he wasn't a loving dad, he just tended to be of the 'school of hard knocks' mentality, and figured that 'hard lessons' tended to teach best. Still,  if I'd lost hold of the beach ball from exhaustion or getting hit with a cramp, I doubt anyone would've made it to me in time.

Something to think about when hanging on the anchor line with your jon line-
Ever see a crappie jig setup?
Let me know if you think about bait next time.

Ha!
I have heard it referred to as "Snack on a string" when there are sharks around...

I wonder if anyone makes a bcd that looks like a red and white bobber?

Paint your tank red and white, like one of those spoons, or maybe a flashy chrome finish.    

I would name those guys Johnson and Evinrude.

Did a snorkel under/around the 7 mile bridge in the keys.  Right at tide change, middle of summer, nothing but 5 foot plus long tarpon EVERYWHERE.  All you could see.  Was awesome..

Chrome split fins for the win!

Attached File

El Presidente?

@jerrwhy01

Yes, I’m weird as fuck.

@rockdiver

Surprise, surprise - long time no see. I’m intro to cave certified now.

I get it. When you're heading for a cave, you know and expect it to be dark., but when you enter the water on a sunny day and can't see anything it's wrong.

It's normal, if things don't go as they should.  

Attached File

I was talking about NIGHT dives vs cave diving.

Oh, then feel free to ignore what I just posted.

Yeah that's a hard fucking no

I've been certified for 35 years and taught/divemastered on Oahu for several years.

Not creepy but I did get bit on the lower leg by a moray when crossing a shallow reef.  Fortunately he was a little guy and his teefs didn't penetrate all the way through my wetsuit.  Unfortunately because his teefs angled backwards, he got stuck on the lycra outer layer and we spent several awkward moments trying to get rid of each other.

Been surfing, body surfing, free diving and spear fishing for @35 years.  In the water almost everyday so I've seen a lot.  Sharks, seals, dolphins, rays, etc.   Feeding, playing or mating, things can get  wild.  Even a turtle can sneak up on you in low viz and freak you out.  I always wear neodymium magnets, previously I wore an ESDS band that sends out an electric shock.  Surfed around the world, very attached to my limbs and want to keep it that way.  Also used to surf really sharky places and less sharky places at night.  Ancient Hawaiians have a saying, the sharks come out when the wili wili trees bloom.  That's around October, and I think its when the sharks pup in protected bays.  

Anyway, surfing San Diego years ago, unusually warm waters in the fall.  Something hit my foot, HARD.  I immediately go into shock and reach down to see if my foot is still there.  Fortunately it was, but my bodies reaction was pretty interesting, flooding my body with endorphins in case I needed to make a very difficult paddle to shore.

The Millardsville Quarry right outside of Myerstown is stupid cold....I used to swim there as a kid.

It's actually a private residence now

I grew up in Myerstown

Neat thread, i haven't done scuba but I have gone snorkeling off of Naval Base Guam....it's pretty fucking cool. Looking down at darkness is fucking wild.

Btw fuck Stonefish, first time I saw one and learned what they can do I always made sure I had my reef shoes with me

Not creepy, but funny as fuck.

Went diving Saturday with a friend at a quarry in OH. 40 degree water. 27 air temp. 60ft viz.

Friend is newly certified on a CCR. For the non-divers, that means NO bubbles. Friend heard gurgling and thought he had flooded his breathing loop so called the dive. I had a dry glove leak and that’s no fun in cold water. We were in the water for about 10 minutes.

Friend told me later he hadn’t flooded his loop. The gurgling he heard? MY bubbles.

I was the first open circuit diver he’d dived with since he got his CCR cert.

Marie, secure that buttflap!

??

One of my divers found the scooter of the diver that got killed by a GW iirc about a year later.  Commercial diving

Lost a high school classmate to that practice.  Bad idea. He made it to the shore but bled out there.  Missing a lot of leg.
We used empty gallon jugs and about 25-30' of 1/4" nylon.  You can tow it around, and if you put a loop in your end you can wrap it around coral or rocks to hold it.  Stringer hangs off the jug.

Though I did feed a nice uhu to a blacktip, in conditions I should not have been out in.  I'd never seen the arched back wiggle before and it scared the shit out of me.

I was always spear a nice one to take home and get the fuck out of the water type.

Used to night dive off my little zodi on the backside of Rabbit Island for uhu.  Kinda felt bad spearing the suckers while they were asleep under the ledge,.....almost.

Fuck the ocean. Fuck every bit of that shit. Literally everything about it scares the shit out of me, I want no part of it. I'd rather go to space

I'm guessing The Wall off of Gab-Gab at Big Navy.

There are several dive spots within Apra harbor including the Kormorant/Kisagawa, American tanker, and junkyard

In the mid 1980s I was on my first drive for the open water certification in Florida.  Down about 90 feet or so and a huge shark came around, but luckily it just swam off until you couldn't see it an longer.  The next day was cave diving and I hated it because sand was getting in my wetsuit giving me jock itch.  After getting the certification I only made two more dives and gave it up.  Really didn't interest me much anymore. Seemed like a lot of work for little reward.  

Anyway, I've lived in south Louisiana all my life and spent a lot of time out on the salt water and the only large thing I've ever seen here was big ass gar fish.

Also Extinct by Charles Wilson.

Old Wives Beach on Big Navy