December Trip [Archive] - Cave Diver's Forum

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mag3

11-27-2010, 11:14 PM

Hi all. Hope you're enjoyed your Thanksgiving feast as did I. So much so, that I need to work off some of these extra calories. And what better way to do it than.... what else... diving! :-D

Thus, my next trip to Cave Country. I will arrive from the Autotrain on Sun. 12/5. I will be based in Live Oak for this trip which, hopefully, will make some new and different sites available (JB, Madison Blue, WSPSSP, Little River, etc). I can hang around Kathy's as well, although I won't be staying there.

I'm looking for buddies that are willing to do "Intro/Doubles" level dives, especially during the week days. I'm already booked on 12/6, 12/11 & 12/12.

I'll be staying "in country" until 12/15, but I'll also be visiting my dad in the Bradenton/Sarasota area until 12/18 when I go back to Sanford to take the Autotrain home. Hopefully I can meet some of you Sarasota area CDF'ers as well.

Please PM if you can join me. Would like to meet as many of you as possible.

And I promise,
"01001001
01110111 01101111 01101110 00100111 01110100
01110011 01110000 01100101 01100001 01101011
01100010 01101001 01101110 01100001 01110010 01111001 00100001"

:rollguy

Hope to see ya! :)

Slüdge

11-27-2010, 11:37 PM

It'll be okay on the 11th - we'll have an engineer along to translate.

11-28-2010, 03:41 PM

Who needs a translator? "Iwon'tspeakbinary!".

01010011 01101111 01101101 01100101 00100000 01110011 01110000 01100001 01100011 01100101 01110011 00100000 01110111 01101111 01110101 01101100 01100100 00100000 01101000 01100001 01110110 01100101 00100000 01100010 01100101 01100101 01101110 00100000 01101110 01101001 01100011 01100101 00100000 00111010 00101101 00101001

Slüdge

11-28-2010, 03:47 PM

I need a translator if I don't have this page handy:

http://www.convertbinary.com/

Half-Fast

11-28-2010, 05:55 PM

01010100011010000110010101110010011001010010000001 10000101110010011001010010000000110001001100000010 00000110101101101001011011100110010001110011001000 00011011110110011000100000011100000110010101101111 01110000011011000110010100100000011010010110111000 10000001110100011010000110010100100000011101110110 11110111001001101100011001000011101000100000011101 00011010000110111101110011011001010010000001110111 01101000011011110010000001101011011011100110111101 11011100100000011000100110100101101110011000010111 00100111100100100000011000010110111001100100001000 00011101000110100001101111011100110110010100100000 01110111011010000110111100100000011001000110111101 101110001001110111010000101110

mag3

11-28-2010, 06:15 PM

mag3

11-28-2010, 06:16 PM

MORGAN

11-28-2010, 07:19 PM

Can't you guys count any higher than 1? :)

Mike

Half-Fast

11-28-2010, 07:46 PM

Can't you guys count any higher than 1? :)

Mike

Digital circuit design is for people who can't count over 1.

(Did I mention I'm the analog design assurance manager for Lockheed Martin - Missiles & Fire Control? Among other duties...)

11-28-2010, 07:52 PM

Digital circuit design is for people who can't count over 1.

(Did I mention I'm the analog design assurance manager for Lockheed Martin - Missiles & Fire Control? Among other duties...)

Somebody still uses analog? :rollguy

MORGAN

11-28-2010, 07:56 PM

In my college years a group of us that used to "dry" cave together were all biology majors with the exception of one physics major. He used to tease us by saying: "Biology...the science for people who can't do math!"

Mike

CaveBuddy95

11-28-2010, 08:47 PM

Is this the geek section of the forum? Cool! Do you take on foreign geeks?
I don't do math but love biology... :)

Slüdge

11-28-2010, 08:49 PM

For some reason that reminds me of Ron Bear's definition of the lottery: A tax on people who are bad at math.

Half-Fast

11-29-2010, 12:23 PM

Somebody still uses analog? :rollguy

As long as there are electronics, there will be power supplies. And as long as electronics have to interface with the outside world, there will be ADCs and DACs. And I'll be glad when this damn digital fad is over. :)

Half-Fast

11-29-2010, 12:24 PM

Is this the geek section of the forum? Cool! Do you take on foreign geeks?
I don't do math but love biology... :)

I dunno.... After all, you can't spell GEEK without EE.

mag3

12-03-2010, 04:35 PM

Hi all. Hope you're enjoyed your Thanksgiving feast as did I. So much so, that I need to work off some of these extra calories. And what better way to do it than.... what else... diving! :-D

Thus, my next trip to Cave Country. I will arrive from the Autotrain on Sun. 12/5. I will be based in Live Oak for this trip which, hopefully, will make some new and different sites available (JB, Madison Blue, WSPSSP, Little River, etc). I can hang around Kathy's as well, although I won't be staying there.

I'm looking for buddies that are willing to do "Intro/Doubles" level dives, especially during the week days. I'm already booked on 12/6, 12/11 & 12/12.

I'll be staying "in country" until 12/15, but I'll also be visiting my dad in the Bradenton/Sarasota area until 12/18 when I go back to Sanford to take the Autotrain home. Hopefully I can meet some of you Sarasota area CDF'ers as well.

Please PM if you can join me. Would like to meet as many of you as possible.

Hope to see ya! :)

Bump... I leave early tomorrow morning. Will arrive in Live Oak Sunday afternoon, 12/5.

I will also be overnighting Friday night in the Marianna area so I can do JB on both Fri. 12/10 and Sat. 12/11.

mag3

12-19-2010, 10:08 PM

Hi all. Hope you're enjoyed your Thanksgiving feast as did I. So much so, that I need to work off some of these extra calories. And what better way to do it than.... what else... diving! :-D
Hope to see ya! :)

Well, I saw many of you, including many new faces... :)

Just returned home this evening, and here is the trip report.

BRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!! That about sums it up... I think if it had been a bit warmer, I'd have gotten a few more of you to go diving with me.. Only got in 7 dives this trip... and this was a 2 weeker. My goal is usually 10 dives per trip. But these seven were quite valuable, as I got to dive 3 new systems.

First, a couple of "dial-in" dives at P1 with Jeff Reeves on Mon. 12/6. Got to p.800 on the Pothole line before turning on 6ths. After finishing that dive, Jeff and I decided to do our surface interval "in the water" :-D rather than getting out... Fortuitous, as I got a chance to meet Robert Klein, who was teaching a class. For our 2nd dive, we did the Peanut Tunnel to the breakdown room and back, finished the dive, and froze our 6's off getting out of the water. As an aside, earlier that morning while waiting for the day to get warmer, we walked the interpretive trail. It was great to see it. We got all the way up to the Olsen sink placard. We then tried to go the rest of the way towards the Peanut restriction placard, but we got confused at the fork near Olsen, and ended up going back the way we came in. I understand on "very good authority" :-D that directional arrows will be placed to help people find their way through the trail.

Tues - Thrs was a bust... No takers that day. Just as well, it was COLD! Even colder than the temp at my home in NJ! Nonetheless, there was work to be done. A rite of passage of sorts, getting my first "hydros" done on 4 of my X7-120s. Kudos to Wayne at Amigos for taking care of that whole process, as well as everything else during this trip. But even though I didn't dive during this time, I scored a big plus by being at Amigos at the right time... the same time as Bill Main, who was very gracious in talking to me about how he dives and his likes/dislikes in re: equipment and streamlining. The big take-a-way: Reduce drag as much as possible. Streamline your setup with that in mind.

Fri. 12/10, I drove out to Marriana to dive Jackson Blue. I had hoped to dive JB that Friday and take advantage of the (somewhat) warmer weather, but due to some logistical issues, my intended dive partners were not available. Ah well... But, nonetheless, I got to meet Edd Sorensen & Stacey. Great people and went out of their way to help me.

Sat. 12/11, a different story... Same weather, and my dive buddy showed up and right on time. All frustrations about the previous day vanished, for there he was... with his trusty "Binford" scooter at his side... What better person to introduce me to JB but the JB master himself... Slüdge! As it turned out, we didn't actually need his Binford, because the flow was way down (not that I would know), but compared to P1, it seemed downright pleasant. We got to p.480 (as I recall) in JB before turning on 6ths. Quite an interesting cave. During the surface interval, I met Ken Paramore and Kevin Carlisle, who were teaching/assisting on an Intro class. Both really great guys. Ken reminds me a lot of my cave instructor. For the 2nd dive, we got a little further actually to p.490 before turning. JB is quite the pretty cave, and more spacious than the other two new systems I dove for the first time. And absolute great day, and hopefully a few new friends. Slüdge, one of these days, I'll be able to drive your Binford with you, and otherwise, appreciate the chance to dive any other way, nonetheless.

Sunday, 12/12. Another day, another new system (Madison Blue), and a new friend, Matt Bull (SuPrBuGmAn). And even though the flow was down, it was still kicking. Watch your step on those steps though, the algae is a killer :-D. The flow here was stronger than JB, but from what I'm told still down. We entered via the main entry and took the immediate left turn. Madison Blue is a bit tighter than JB, but after negotiating and some effort, we made it to the p.400 marker before turning on 6ths. There were a few other teams in there as well, and as we approached the Stop sign, I saw a reel that looked a lot like mine (which Matt placed for me), and some light at the end of the tunnel. But it wasn't, as Matt pointed out. A good lesson to be learned... Learn the features of the cave. If I had recalled the hard left turn I made a the beginning, I would have remembered to make a hard right before seeing day light, and the reel Matt placed. Also, mark your reel distinctively so you can tell it's yours, even in zero viz. As it turns out, the reel I saw was one that was laid by a team entering the "rabbit hole" (the light I saw initially). I see now what my mentor was saying about entering via the rabbit hole. Once you reach the gold line (and tie into it), turn "left" not right to continue on the main route, lest you end up back at the vent of the main line.

During our surface interval, Matt provided some excellent tips to improve my skills, all of which I appreciate. And, a chance to meet some new folks. I met Jeano Beano (jeandiver), who was doing some surveying, Guy Bryant, our own tomhauburn, Ary, and some others. It was nice to have met all. Tom, sorry your photography didn't go as well as you'd have liked.

The 2nd dive Matt and I got a bit further, almost to p.500 (ie. the hard left just before the p.500 marker). This time, I remember to proceed past the Stop sight and turn hard right before exiting. It also helped that the reel I saw in the 1st dive (from the rabbit hole) had been pulled. :) Anyway, a great day, a great system, and again, some new friends. Matt, I'll send you the e-mail about joining the WCDC...

Monday, 12/13, and yet another new system, Little River. I had the pleasure of diving with my cave instructor, Larry Green. As it turns out, we were also accompanied by Ron Aiello, currently of the Atlanta area, formerly from Erie Pa. I was middle man on the three man team, with Larry leading on entry. Flow was actually a tad stronger than Madison, but, from what I'm told, down. We dropped our deco bottles just inside, and then proceeded along our way. Little River is some gnarly cave! Lot's of little twists and turns. And a lot of places to pull/glide. Necessary, as I understand, when it's at full strength. We got past "Table Rock," and all the way to the 1st "T", where we turned. Ron led on the way out, and had said in the pre-dive briefing that he would ascend the "chimney" at LR very slowly, which he did. We did 10min. or so of Deco, even though I had not accumulated any on the X1. It was a bit of a struggle maintaining position near the vent while decoing, but we did OK. It's always a pleasure to dive with Larry because he always makes you better, simply by enforcing the very basic rules of diving - S Drills, air shares, proper gear configuration, doing things the same way all the time. It's a tough standard to follow, but it's that way for a reason. And truly enjoyable dive and day. And if I may offer congrats to Ron, who, as it turned out was earning his "Intro to Cave Instructor" ticket on this dive. Glad I helped in my "Student from Hell" role! :-D

While in cave country, I stayed at Penny's cottage in Live Oak. I couldn't have had a more pleasant experience there. Cynthia (CynthiaP here on CDF) and her husband David go well out of there way to make their guests as comfortable as possible. The cottage sleeps six comfortably and has all the amenities one needs including Cable TV, WiFi, HVAC (and the heat was well appreciated) :-D. If you're looking to stay in Live Oak, I highly recommend them. You can pm Cynthia here on CDF.

Another excellent trip, albeit not a lot of diving done. But so much more important were the friends I made. Another excellent trip home on the Autotrain, and the highlight was having lunch yesterday with our own SSKasser! Shirley, I'll be back, and we will dive! I'll remind ya. Remember, I know how to pester! :-D

I wish I could say when I will be back, but that depends on getting clients for my business. But for how ever long it takes, I will get this done. For now, everyone have a great holiday season, and a prosperous new year. Stay Safe, and get some dives in!

Regards,
Arnold.

sskasser

12-20-2010, 09:46 AM

Great meeting you, Arnold, and great report! I'm glad you had a good time. Next time...we dive! :)