Manta Vlog: Ohio!

Hey everyone!

This week we have a special vlog for all of you. It is a follow to last week's installment.  Enjoy!

New Adventures

Hi Blog Buddies!

Whew! Busy week—what else is new? The highlight was, of course our first Team Manta road trip to Ohio. Tater, Josh.0, Artsea, Hottie, Batesy and PG rounded out the group for our 878 mile odyssey to explore Gilboa and Whitestar quarries in the Toledo area. 

The first diving day, we went to Whitestar, in Gibsonburg, a 15 acre manmade lake with an average depth of 40 ft. We got maps and talked logistics with Rich at the dive shack and got the lay of the land the night before, so we were ready for action on Saturday morning. We were pleasantly surprised to find a parking spot fairly close to one of the entries and we had plenty of room to set up our gear and make a nice “base of operation.” The divers in the area were very friendly and willing to give us hints to make the most of our dives. This is a wonderful place to get certified, with several suspended training platforms. The beauty of suspended platforms is that any sediment can fall through the cracks leaving nothing that can decrease the visibility for the students. Some of Whitestar’s attractions include numerous boats, a cop car, a swingset and silly things like the 7 dwarves, gnomes, and super heroes tucked in the rocks. With prior permission, advanced divers can dive through a tunnel, starting at 80ft to the bottom of the quarry at 50ft. The visibility was not that great, due to a series of storms , but still about 15ft.

The next two days we spent at Gilboa Quarry in Gilboa, OH. This spot knocked my socks off with the visibility! You could stand on the deck at one of the entry points and look down at the training platform at 20ft. In all, I think we had about 30ft vis! From where we entered, we could even see the tail end of the Grumman Gulf Stream turbo prop plane. Divers can swim right through this plane and check out the cockpit. Next to the plane is a Sikorsky helicopter, also open for swimming through. In a few fin kicks, there is a school bus. As we approached it, the resident trout become excited and start swarming, expecting to be fed. (Apparently you can purchase fish food and lots of divers like to create a fish frenzy by feeding these ravenous creatures!) This made for some really funny photos! There are also boats, cars, and a minivan to look at, all connected with rope, though with the visibility as good as it was, there was really no need for it. Like Whitestar, Glilboa had spacious suspended training platforms. I can imagine divers in training, waiting their turns to flood their masks, and looking out to see the bus, sailboat or microbus beaconing them, giving a glimpse of what is in store for them after their once their certification is earned! Mike, the owner of Gilboa allowed us to leave the trailer on site overnight, and even let us come in Monday morning to dive before the park was officially open. Monday we had the place to ourselves, and the vis was even better! There is a deep area in this quarry, too, but divers must submit a deep dive plan to dive it. We did a little tour along the wall and saw a paddlefish!

Photo by Sheryl Brandes

Photo by Sheryl Brandes

Without a doubt, we had a blast and plenty of laughs, the trip being the perfect “decompression” from crazy stuff at work, family stress and whatever aggravates us. One question we got from local divers was with all the places to dive in our area, why would we make the drive to Ohio? The simple answer is “because it’s there,” but it really is about trying something new, meeting some new people, and some quality time with friends.

GUEST BLOG: Matt's Open Water Adventure

This week, we have a guest Blogger, Matt Wozniak.  Matt recently earned his open water certification and is now looking forward to some dives on the Great Barrier Reef.  I asked him to share his experience in Manta Divers’ open water course.

Matt, the diver!

What is it like going through the PADI Open Water Diver course and becoming a certified diver?

It was an adventure and a half. From reading the instruction manual to my final open water dive, I was enthralled.

After receiving my manual from the dive shop and a short drive home, I instantly started to read, take notes, and answer all the knowledge reviews in the manual. The reading which is a bit long is probably the most grueling art of the class because the diving isn’t actually tangible yet, but it has to be done. The knowledge you learn from the reading is indispensable and really helped me through the classroom as well as the water. Next came the classroom sessions where the other students and I reviewed what we read and took several quizzes and a final over the entire manual. All this classroom stuff sounded a bit frightening and overwhelming to me at first, but once in the dive shop, those feelings drifted away. The quizzes were not overly difficult, and during the class, I got to breathe through a regulator for the first time and put together a whole scuba unit by myself which allowed me to see the finish line, when I would be a certified diver.

The fun part. The DIVES. My first breath underwater is something I just cannot explain because I did something that the human body wasn’t meant to do, but, yet, there I was in a pool underwater and not drowning. I broke down a limit and discovered a whole new world. 

The confined dives in the pool are almost the same as a class, but it’s just underwater. We went over basic skills in this controlled environment to make sure we understood what we read and went over in class. One student would complete the skill then the next student would perform the same skill, and this went on until every student completed each skill. These dives are a rehearsal for the open water dives.

To Pearl Lake we go!

The open water dives are truly the highlight. My dives were in the pond next to the RecPlex and Pearl Lake. In these dives, you also have to complete similar skills to the one completed in the pool, but it is just so different. There’s sand, seaweed, and fish around you when you’re completing the skills. These dives are real so there’s a sense of danger almost, and I became really excited which elevated my breathing so much that I finished 3 tanks in 3 dives. However, while I was at depth, it was breath-taking. I swam past a couple of boats, an ice cream truck, and a submarine! I got into a staring contest with a fish; the fish won, but I was right in its face!

It’s just a totally different world underwater. And being able to stay down there for an extended period of time with scuba is something everyone has to try once. It is absolutely amazing and absolutely worth it.

Thanks Lisa and Mike for teaching me how to dive safely and how to really experience the underwater world.

Matt Wozniak

P.S. Always go to the bathroom before suiting up!

Six Things to lLook for When Planning a Dive Vacation

Of course, divers and non-divers alike will enjoy a Team Manta tropical vacation, with all the details already figured out and the promise of a fun group of divers to hang out with, but what if you are charged with planning your own trip?  Here are six things I think about when researching new destinations.

Number 1

How long will it take to get to destination? If you only have a week to get away from the job, relax and dive, dive, dive, then a destination that will require 2 or more days to reach may not be the best choice.  The need for a couple of days’ travel is understandable when you are traveling from here to, say, the Pacific, but less popular destinations, though they may be closer, may also take extra time to reach.  The airlines will make frequent trips to popular places like Cozumel or Grand Cayman, but the lesser traveled spots, such as Dominica usually will require an overnight somewhere along the way.  I am not saying to rule out these more remote destinations, because if they are hard to reach, they are likely more pristine, but you may want to wrangle a few more vacation days to make it worthwhile.

Number 2

What are the diving conditions? Just because you are headed south, don’t assume the water will be warm. Remember that ocean currents can bring cool water even to places with scorching temperatures on the land. When researching the water temperature, be sure to specify the month that you will be traveling to take into account the seasonal differences.   The water temperature, of course will impact your choice of exposure gear.  Find out if there will be current, whether it is generally a mild current, or if you will be doing drift dives.  If you are drift diving, do not leave home without a surface marker buoy and a whistle or some other device to signal a boat at the surface.  What is the visibility? Visibility can change with the season, and you may not want to take a trip to some distant location only to have the same visibility you can get at a local quarry.  Diver forums can be a helpful resource but the information can be a bit biased. In order to obtain the most reliable information about this stuff, contact a local dive shop in the location and ask the experts.

Number 3

Is it all inclusive? All inclusive packages are nice in that they remove the unknown of how much you will be spending on food.  The down side is that you lose some of the adventure of local dining and rubbing elbows with the locals.  All-inclusives are nice too if you plan to have an aggressive dive schedule that may not allow for long meal breaks.  On the other hand, if you, for example, you would like to only dive in the mornings and explore or relax in the afternoons, then a breakfast only or an all on your own package would be the ticket.

Number 4

Is there shore diving near the resort?  I love to shore dive and feel that availability of shore diving adds value to your dive package, but be sure to get particulars.  It really does you no good if the reef is far from shore or if the shore diving spots are on the other side of the island from your resort, unless, of course, you have a vehicle.  You may want to get information on the relative difficulty of entry and if there are local restrictions as to where or when you shore dive.

Number 5

Are there biting bugs?  The thing with warm, sunny destinations is that bugs like them as well as we do.  If the location has biting bugs, it is not a deal breaker, but you need to prepare.  It is good to know if they have no-see-ems, mosquitoes, or other biting insects so you can plan on delegating some of your luggage space (and weight) to bug spray.  If you are headed to a malarial area, you will definitely want to bring repellent with DEET, but if you are only worried about nuisance bugs, Avon’s Skin So Soft may be do the trick without the stinky smell.

Number 6

Where is the nearest chamber?  No one expects to have a dive accident, but it is prudent to locate the nearest recompression chamber and consider the difficulty and expense that may accompany a trip for treatment.  I really recommend DAN insurance for a fail-safe in case of an accident.  In some countries, you will not even get treatment unless you can come up with the cash to pay for it!  If the chamber is not close by, you may want to hedge your bets by planning your dives a little more conservatively.

These are a few of the things I consider when choosing a dive destination, and I’m sure there are more.  These six are a good start, though.  You need to figure out what your travel priorities are and ask the right questions of informed individuals.  Finally, do not forget that you may have to take into consideration the wants and needs of your traveling companions, especially if they are non-divers.  I hope this helps the next time you plan a dive trip!

Wazee Diving? Why Yes! He Was!

Do you ever marvel at the way some people have a talent for repurposing things, like the bath tub that has been transformed into a planter, or the warehouse that is living another existence as a paintball gaming area?  Well, I cannot drive past a large hole without wondering how fun it would be to fill it up with water and dive in it. Thanks to some forward thinking individual,(or happy serendipity), we get to experience that very thing at Wazee Lake in Black River Falls, WI.

From sometime in the mid 1960’s to 1983, about 850,000 tons of taconite pellets were taken from the quarry in Brockway, WI, just east of Black River Falls, to supply steel production operations.  When the steel market crashed, so did the taconite quarry business, causing the Jackson County Mining Company to cease operations at the quarry.  After the heavy equipment was removed, the pumps that relieved the quarry of 800 gallons of water per minute, were turned off and the hole began to fill.  The resulting body of water was named Lake Wazee, “wazee” meaning tall pine in Ho-Chunk language.

Today, Lake Wazee is part of the Jackson County park system’s Wazee Recreation Area, a haven for hikers, ATV enthusiasts, as well as fishermen, swimmers and of course scuba divers.  Lake Wazee, Wisconsin’s deepest lake, with a maximum depth of 355ft, has developed into a great place to scuba dive, with training platforms, underwater forests, a small wreck and several fish cribs to explore. Native fish species include, brown, brook and rainbow trout, bluegill, suckers, walleye, warmouth and smallmouth bass.  The water is exceptionally clear and there are nice shaded set up areas, providing the setting for a great relaxing day of diving.

I am always fantasizing about places I wish could be flooded and used for diving, but I doubt they will ever flood Chicago’s magnificent mile so divers can swim through the stores, so I will be happy with repurposed rock quarries.  Team Manta has an outing planned at Lake Wazee the first weekend in August.  We will drive up on the 2^nd and then dive the 3^rd and 4^th.   I hope you will join us.  New divers are welcome!

Hanging with my Gnome Boyz!

A Diver's High

Hello to my blog followers!  I was listening to a story on PBS about runners and how some evolve from someone who is dragging themselves out three times a week to run “because it is good for them” to someone who runs 5K’s, Tough Mudders and triathlons and loves it.  I got to thinking that diving is like that for many people.  They start out taking the course because it was on their bucket list, their partner wanted to do it, or they thought they would like to dive on their vacation, and before they know it, they are diving fanatics, living from dive to dive.

Now, I was hooked on diving from the beginning, but I thought that I would only be doing it in clear, warm saltwater.  After all, what is there to see in a lake?  However, my eyes were opened when I really started to explore the lakes and quarries in my own back yard. I found lots of interesting animals: snails, bass, bluegill, walleye. When I encounter something I cannot identify, I take a photo and do research when I get home.  I found interesting artifacts from abandoned ice houses, logging operations and farms.  I discovered the fun of lifting these found objects and moving them underwater.  I also learned that with the right gear, it is not at all cold! 

Like the athlete who experiences a “runner’s high,” I experience a diver’s high--and I am not talking about narcosis!  I always tell people that I can have the worst day, busy, stressful, frustrating, but once I don my gear and descend a few feet into the water—even pool diving can do it for me—I feel a wonderful calm.  The rhythmic sound of my breathing, bubbles expelled from my reg, racing upward to make their escape at the surface soothes me like a lullaby. On those days when my joints are complaining, the weightlessness of diving relieves the pain.   Under the water, no one can complain to me, crab at me or even talk to me.  It is just me and my bubbles.  Shutting off the talk seems to waken my vision somehow.  I guess that is why I get such a kick out of the strange stuff we find in the lakes!

For some divers, diving a wreck is the equivalent to a runner doing their first road race.  They find themselves curious and excited to do it, but nervous.  Is it too deep?  Will I get stuck inside? Will I get lost?  The boat attaches to the mooring and after the briefing, the divers gear up in preparation to step off into the water.  Your heart is pounding as the wreck slowly comes into view.  You take in the view of the entire ship and then swim in for a closer examination, to discover what secrets the vessel will share.  Before you know it, it is time to ascend once again and you realize that your heart no longer beats with trepidation, but with excitement!  You reach the deck of the boat with a feeling of accomplishment and an eagerness to share your experience with the other divers and plan for you next wreck dive.

I guess it’s about keeping it interesting, pushing a boundary, growth.  That is the wonderful thing about diving.  There are so many specialty courses, UW sign language, photography, night diving, drift diving, to name a few, that expand skills and knowledge.   There are so many bodies of water to explore, fresh, salt, clear, not so clear, foreign and domestic.  In short that world, 70% water is out there to explore.  So many places to “get high!”

GUEST BLOG: Neal Skrenes gives the Brac Report

This week's blog is brought to you by Neal Skrenes!

Neal Skrenes: Gentleman, Scholar, and Diver Extraordinaire! 

March 30th 2013 eleven of us began our journey from Kenosha at the ungodly hour of 2:30 a.m. with a limo ride to Chicago O’Hare airport. Check-in was at 4 a.m.; the usual lines, waiting, document- and baggage-checking that dive travelers have come to expect were all part of the morning. Our route was Chicago to Atlanta, where we met up with four more of our group, then on to Grand Cayman, where the final two members of Team Manta flew with us on a Twin engine DeHaviland DHC-6 "Otter" - our ride to Cayman Brac.

Cayman Brac is the smallest of the three islands that make up The Caymans; Grand Cayman & Little Cayman are the other two. It is about 12 miles long, with an average width of one mile.

Its terrain is the most prominent of the three Cayman Islands due to "The Bluff", a large central limestone outcrop rising steadily along the length of the island up to 140' above sea level at the eastern end. The island is named after this prominent feature; "brac" is a Gaelic name for a bluff.

From the new airport we were transferred to Cayman Brac Reef Resort - our home way from home for the next week - and checked in. The rooms were very modern, having been renovated in 2009 courtesy of Hurricane Paloma. The island was hard hit in November of '08 when 90% of homes lost their roofs, and the original Cayman Brac Resort was demolished. It was the last existing hotel on the island and as a result the island was closed to tourism for almost two years.

After dropping off dive bags and blue jeans in our rooms, we proceeded to the dive shop to show dive certification cards, fill out forms, put some Nitrox in tanks for Sunday's diving and learn more about the diving operation before dinner.

The resort is very well laid out for diving visitors. The rooms are of a shotgun design with a porch that faces the pool area; many also have a view of the Ocean. Next to the pool is the bar/game area. It's also where they host a weekly outdoor movie, crab races, a trivia contest and barbecue.
 

You can also tour a Bat Cave.  You know, you think that it would be better hidden....

Dinner was in a dining hall and very upscale compared to some all-inclusive resorts that are more like Dive Camp. In addition to a regular chef who organized a delicious breakfast buffet starting at 7 a.m., cold cereal, fruit, breads, meats, hot eggs on buffet for breakfast, or, if you had time you could have omelet to order. There was plenty of juice, coffee & tea and cold water on the tables. Lunch and Dinner worked the same way - a buffet that varied every day with a special choice of meat sliced to order. Mario, their excellent pastry chef, was busy so there were always three different choices for dessert. Mario was such a hit with Team Manta that we organized an impromptu serenade extolling his virtues the last night we were there. You can check it out here.

The dive shop personnel collected our gear from outside our rooms on Sunday morning and brought it to our assigned boat for the week, Big Sister, where BJ & Brett switched off as captain & dive master; these two young men were outstanding hard workers. They provided what they called valet diving: You put on your skins, mask and fins at the back of the boat, they brought your gear and placed it on your back, so all you had to do was fall into the water. I had knee surgery a few years ago and choppy seas are always my concern when getting back on a boat. Bret and BJ were happy to hoist my gear out of the water so all I had to do was climb up the ladder. The most strenuous thing those of us using Nitrox had to do all week was to ensure that each day we had three tanks for which we had checked and marked the mixes.

A well run and well organized Big Sister!

The dive briefings were comprehensive and BJ or Brett would also stop under water and point out small to macroscopic marine life (easy to miss if you're not trained or experienced in finding it). We did three dives a day, except Friday when we did not do an afternoon dive, two before lunch and one after for a total of 18 dives. The water averaged 80F, so 3mm or 5mm suits (for the more cold blooded) were adequate. One morning dive also was a preparation for a night dive on Tarpon Reef so that it would be familiar territory to explore in the dark. Thursday morning we dove the M/V Captain Keith Tibbetts, also known as the former Cuban Navy Koni II Class frigate designated 356. The video is here.

There were lots of land-based activities in the evenings. A ping-pong table was available. One night an excellent fish identification movie shot at the resort by the local videographer previewed underwater sights for which to look. On different days there was a land crab race, trivia contest, bingo. Internet and television were also available. I used the former to keep in touch with my wife, sending her daily trip reports and photographs for her web page. If you'd like to see some of the photos and critters I saw
visit the website.

On Friday some of the team traveled to Little Cayman and did two dives there Penguins Leap & Randy's Gazebo - I elected to skip that trip to stay back wash and dry my gear and relax a bit. After lunch some of us did an island tour visiting some of the historic and scenic parts of the island. We were
hoping to see some wild parrots, but they all must have been hiding that day. Our last night at the resort there was an outdoor barbecue (a weekly occurrence).

Saturday morning we had to rise quite early (4 a.m.) in order to get to the airport in time for the first leg of our trip back home. This was uneventful trip back to Chicago and then home.

It was another trip with a wonderful group of divers - proving yet again Manta Divers are "More fun than regular people". Cayman Brac is a destination to which I would return.