Meetings

July 4th trip

Submitted by
Doug Ballmann

The trip started mid afternoon on the 2nd with Dave picking up George, Teresa and Doug on the way out of town.  Wiley and Tracy got a one day head start.  We drove to Wytheville and got there in time to actually eat dinner rather than at midnight which is the norm.  On the morning of the 3rd it was up, eat and on the road by 8:30.  Taking our time we get in about 4:00.  Wiley and Tracy spent the day sightseeing and enjoying a trip to see the USS North Carolina battle ship in Wilmington.

We are staying at the Caribbe Inn.  It is a funky little place that was probably built in the 60's.  It has been updated and is decorated with lots of flamingos, parrots, fish and palm trees.  Aqua and pink paint must have been on sale.  The rooms are clean but small and there are a couple of outdoor grills and seating area.  Each room has a fridge and microwave. 

The diving on the 4th was a morning trip on the Captain's Lady.  She was running out of Discovery Diving as a 6 pack.  There were 5 of us and a Marine named Boney on the boat and there was plenty of room.  Capt. Leroy was operating without a mate and was able to grapple the wrecks and unhook like he does it all of the time.  The trip to the Spar was 23 miles from the inlet and took just over 1.5 hours.  The Spar is in about 110' of water, up right and intact.  It is a former USCG boat sunk as a reef.  The sharks love this wreck.  There had to be 25 or more all over this with the biggest close to 10 feet long and lots of them 5 or 6 feet long.  Looked like they were all, or at least mostly, Sand Tigers with the snaggely teeth. 

After this great dive it was off on the long run of 400 feet to the Aeolis.  This is a cable layer that is about 450 feet long on its side in 2 or 3 pieces.  We did the stern section.  A nice dive even though the viz was down from 80' or more on Spar to less than 50'. 

Back to the dock about 2 so there was time for a quick Bar B Cue lunch, a shower and a nap without missing the whole day.  The 5 of us met and walked to The Island Grill just a few blocks from our motel and right on the beach.  A wonderful dinner and out just a4 the fireworks were starting.  Watching the Atlantic Beach fireworks (real close) we could see another set down the beach and then after these were over and walking back there was another set going off. 

Day 2 of diving isn't until afternoon and that hasn't happened yet.  Wiley has absconded with the women saying something about bucking broncos and riding crops mixed with water and a paddle.  We'll see if he shares the pictures.  More as soon as the diving is done...

After the ladies brought a tired and sore Wiley back we grabbed a quick KFC lunch and off to the dive boat.  Captain Leroy was ready for the 2:30 departure (he was hoping for earlier but had a slow morning group). 

We headed out to the Atlas tanker.  The is a big wreck in about 130 feet of water.  There was very little surface current but there was a pretty strong one on the bottom.  The wreck was pretty hard to see for all of the fish.  It was covered in silversides with a pretty good population of sand tiger sharks; amber jacks and cudas also. 

Dive 2 was on the Carib Sea.  Depth was around 85 and again it was hard to see the wreck for the fish.  This wreck has a double compound steam engine (the North Star is a triple but they looked very similar).  I saw the same types of fish plus several nice groupers and a huge angel fish.  Right on top of one of the boilers in a group of urchins I found a sharks tooth.  It was right beside a piece of broken fishing line and when I got it out is had fibers from the line on it.  Our guess was it attacked a fish on the line. 

We all headed back to the same spot looking for the anchor but it had slipped.  Dave and Boney got there first and started up and found the line at 40 feet.  Wiley got separated and did a free ascent.  Doug sent his SMB to the surface and came up with George and Teresa.  Everyone got back on the boat safe and sound so that had Happy Hour starting.  Ask Teresa about the Breezer!!!

We got back in about 9pm, just a few minutes ahead of the rain.  We stopped at the Channel Marker for dinner on the way to the hotel.  Then straight for bed and the early departure for home.

Stuff

Exec Meetings

The June meeting was at Diana's place where a no-nonsense CPR class was combined with excellent food and the usual camaraderie.  Our thanks to Jim Lewis from the Columbus Fire Department for presenting an interesting and useful class.  Let's hope that we continue to use our party skills more that we use our CPR skills.

The next Exec meeting will be at Doug's place on Tuesday, July 22.

Dive Calendar

July 26 and 27 Saint Clair River Run. This trip has no charge for diving so your only costs are transportation, lodging and eating. The St Clair river is in Port Huron MI (about a 5 hour drive from the east side). There is a pretty nice campground to stay at along with several budget motels. This can be some of the clearest water you will dive in but is very weather dependent, a south wind for several days will clear the water up but a north wind will make it very muddy so I always check the weather before departing. Dive shipwrecks right from shore. Dive flags are mandatory. Leave Friday night and return Sunday night so no time off required. Transportation is driving and sharing rides. If you need a ride or have a ride to share I can put you in touch with others on the trip. You need your own tanks and weights for this trip.

Contact Doug Ballmann at dballmann@gmail.com

June 2008 Meeting Minutes

Submitted by:
Lu Ann Howard

Buckeye Divers minutes: June 10, 2008 meeting held at Donatos Pizza.

Meeting called to order at 8:00 by President Sylvia.

May minutes approved 1st Diana 2nd Doug.

Treasurer Report: Dave H gave full report.  $100.00 donation was sent to DAN.