Train Wreck Nekkid man, Massive Wows and SMB "incident"...

Dive Log - 07/20/2008
Dives 31 and 32

I had been itching to get out to the boat again and tried to fill it up but in the end it was just me and Matt (Jared flaked out , the flaker) and of course Leia and Maddy who planned on being typical pre teen girls and giggle for the 6 hours on the boat. I had started to get comfortable diving as Ive been diving the same spots and always from the shore. Heck my other trips on the boat we went to the same spots to cause they are "classic" sites but this time we decided to hit the oasis so I was dying to get to Sunday. I was due to pick up my tanks Saturday after Co Bears birthday party. Although I had gotten tanks from them before they didn't get my credit card info before, and well that is the problem. I don't have one, so thank god Oak Hill was still open and had some available, and I begged Nathan to make the long drive there to save my day of diving. Once Sunday a.m. rolled around I got to annoy the girls by waking them up very early, then got to embarrass them in the car by singing loud and poorly and topping it off by waving to everyone we saw and blowing kisses. Its a small payback considering how they act in public with me. Once arriving to the marina I realize we forgot the sunscreen and towels and *gasp* the Dimwit shirt, but Robert of course came through for us and had extra of everything. I swear Robert is the most awesome SCUBA diver ever (Besides Water God ) he really is passionate about his boat and tries to think of anything someone might forget and has it ready for us. I felt bad when Jared didn't show up so we waited till 830 he didn't seem like the type to stand us up. Come to find out he had a good reason to so its all good. We did stop by Windy Point and I got to see Nic my old instructor and say hi to a few people before getting back on the boat.

The girls were in heaven, they thought the boat was so cool, and Robert even let them play the music they like versus us old people music. He was very accommodating to the needs of non-divers as well which just shows his level of commitment to Lake Travis Scuba. As we were heading to our first spot I find out that we pass by Hippie Hollow, and as we are driving I asked for the binoculars ... what a stupid move. Its like a train wreck, I only saw the guy from the side, I must say the fat tans well. but major ewwww. Once on location I decide to get in the wet suit in the water, which was new for me. It was a blast, not as easy as I thought but easier then when above water. Plus all I had was a 7 mil with this temperature, I needed to be in the water to survive. After getting all hooked up and air on (YAY 3100 psi) our plan was to just follow the rocks around and Robert was going to follow the bubbles. Diving with Matt is great, I feel a higher amount of pressure to be a "good" scuba diver with him, he has so much more time in the sport and also dive numbers that its an honor to continue to be welcomed to dive with him but it does add to my nerves and the need to maintain skills and improve enough to keep him wanting to dive with me. I like feeling a bit of pressure to be better, even if its me putting the pressure on myself. Matt just likes to dive, just wants to dive and never has voiced anything but praise and advice. This also will be my first time attempting to use a dive reel. Matt has one as well. I get a run down of how to use it them we start descending. Im to light so Robert throws me some more (last weekend I dived without a wetsuit) (oh yea he didnt throw them, Im not that great at catching...) and down we go. Almost as soon as we get down Matt finds a fin. Then shortly after he finds a ten dollar bill and an anchor. Im in to much of a dream world to actually find anything, I was in love with the oasis wall, there were many fish, and even a few I hadnt seen before. After we surfaced to bring up Matts first anchor of the day we get back down, and as we are coming around a bend with a overhand I see Matt pointing down and low and behold I find the missing link of the water world, this huge mean looking catfish is swimming below us , and I find myself SCREAMING into the regulator, the freak fish was HALF my length, and his head was as wide as my torso. With wide eyes I look back and forth from Matt to the fish, in shock that he was right in front of us. Although it felt like an eternity it probably was only in our presence all of 5 seconds. Holy batman spit it was scary but awesome.

One of the things I felt so stimulated by was the fact that this was not the "Lake Travis" I knew, the contours of the rocks, and grotto's were different, and with just following the cliff line for the first time , everything coming up was like Christmas morning, ohhhh look I unwrapped a huge tree, yea the tree was a bit scary because by the time it came into view we were right on top of it. It was that same exact tree we see in Polgergist, ya know the one thats outside the boys window...yea that one. It was interesting to see, and very surreal to realize I needed to be aware of my body in relation to all the tree. Once we get towards the end of our dive I find out that I only have a few hundred psi less then Matt, I take a moment to "go me go meee" for air consumption and try to get stable to start the smb. The amount of silt I uplifted while trying to hover and work, breathe in, reg back, breathe in, let go ...click click... click...click....hook back up was pitiful. Even the fish were blinded. However I did succeed and so there was a small amount of pride. However the second time I did it on dive one was not so great, I hooked the two brass pieces together and so once inflated holding the handle made me go up as well, within a few feet I had to suck it up and let it go, Id prefer to pay for the potentially lost reel then bypass my safety stop. Regardless if it is an "option" I still unless unable to will continue to stop at 15 feet. So bye bye pride. However the reel was floating and waiting for us so I did not have to pay for anything.

Once onboard the boat I asked if we could just continue the oasis after the SI, it was just that awesome to me and there was still so much wall to explore. By now the girls are all about the boat and jumping off and holding the line. Its nice that they are having a blast, and both are talking about their class that ChrisPete will be giving them this week. Even though Chris is the only one I fully trust to give her Scuba I am getting nervous, Robert helps ease my fears even more and the girls seem more ready then ever. I tell Leia that if she passes Scuba I promise to bring her on the boat once a month. While on SI we eat and Robert drives us around the dam area and gives us a bit of education on the dam and the area.

The second dive of the day was finally fruitful for me as far as stuff went. I found my first anchor (Im gonna paint it lol) and also an A.C. D.C. cassette tape. Also barely visible on it is "For those about to rock, we salute you" . Yes I find these corny treasures amusing and they are displayed on my desk as I type this. Seeing them brings me back to the moment I reached out and as the silt floats away I see this item someone left for me to discover. Neat huh? Then the most awesome thing of the day happens, Matt asks me how much air I have left and I tell him 1000 and he says "Me too" holy bear burps I consumed as much air as someone with as much time in sport as I have time in life. The excitement of that moment is hard to put into words. I love the feeling of progression, I love knowing that at least in some areas I am becoming a better diver. That moment is short lived as I prepare for my Darwin Award... the smb reel. Oh how glorious is thy...I for the first time of the day it goes smoothly, so smoothly that when I get the second breathe into it in all the excitement I let go of the regulator and watch it float up, then the bubbles are becoming less and I realize what I did, as I reach the regulator I have no air left to purge I for the first time know what it feels like to have no air left, for the first time diving I saw a glimpse of what its like to have no choice but to start to breathe in water, which thank goodness by that time the reg was back in my mouth and my reward was a bit of water up the nose followed by sweet sweet air. I didnt panic though, and I learned a huge lesson about getting to happy in the water. Somehow once surfaced I drop the reel though, and head down to get it thinking I can stop it before it hits bottom. Although I realized what I was doing I probably shouldn't have gone down. I did stay with the line and saved the reel, Matt met me at about 20 feet on my way up.

Well theres probably much I am forgetting to write about but I must get back to the "reel" world. What I carry most from Sunday is the new appreciation for the Lake, and all the new things I learned. Im on my way to hitting 50 dives by end of August, maybe one day I can convince Nathan to actually dive to, considering I now have as many dives as him and he has more time in the sport.