Patron Tequila

Thank you Mom, Patrick and Gina for the Patron Tequila in the mail.  Perfect birthday gift so I'll put it next to my computer at work

Just created my page about running

I have posted some of the GPS trails that I have ran and enjoy running in my page about running. This year I'm not running many new trails due to some minor injuries I suffered last year so I have been sticking to some conservative, short and soft trails. Hopefully in the future I will be able to participate in more running events and run new trails.

 

Once I get time, I'll update my page about diving with some cool pictures, statistics, and places I have dived.

Tubing Round 2

This weekend we went to Scottsville, VA to go tubing again.  What we learned from the first time we went is that we needed more beer so this time around we had plenty.  If you see the photos, we start very calm and then go picture crazy at "Pere Rock".  Pere Rock is the rock that Catalan empire took over.   Shortly after we passed Pere Rock, Pere nocked off my sunglasses and they were gone for good.    Dinner was good, the fire was good, and the night's sleep was good (at least for me), everybody else was a bit cold.

Tubing 2

Flotsam & Jetsam

Today I received my new babies, Flotsam & Jetsam (two Worthington X8-119 steel tanks).   I do admit I did spent a while trying to think up names for them.  These were my other choices:

• Deco & Narc


• giddily & giggly  -- confusing, but funny


• Cheeky & Chops


• Fish & Chips  -- i do hate fish and chips


• Bonnie & Clyde -- too common


• Borat & Bruno -- ha ha ha


• Cheech & Chong -- too common


• Chaos & Control  -- too geeky


• Ron & Jeremy -- When I double them up, I don't like the idea of having Ron Jeremy strapped to my back


• Emile  & Gagnan -- too historical


• romus & remulus


• Starsky & Hutch -- The name of my previous cats


• Alexander & Lodygin -- complicated and historical


• Rucking & Fetarded -- stupid


• don & quijote


• Glenn & Quagmire


• And other names people would find offensive :-)

The specs of each tank (source 1 & source 2):

Service Pressure  3442 psi / 230 bar
Nominal Capacity (metric): 14.8 liters
True Capacity (imperial): 123.0 cu ft.
Buoyancy FULL (salt water): -10.9 lbs / - 4.9 kg
Buoyancy EMPTY (salt water): -2.0 lbs / -0.9 kg
Weight Empty 42 lbs / 19.0 kg
Outside Diameter: 8.00 in / 203mm
Cylinder Lenght: 24.0 in / 60.1 cm

 So, for a while I been diving with Faber Low Pressure Steel 95s, some 100s, 120s, 65s and Al 80s,  and I think it's time I got myself my own pair.   I have been looking for tanks where their height does not exceed 25 inches and it's able to hold quite a bit of air at 3000, but can take more if filled higher.   I was considering getting a Faber 95, which is slightly shorter than the 119 by 0.2 inches and weights 4.8 lbs less.  The Faber 95's service pressure is 2640, but some divers (e.g. cave divers) over pressure them so they reach 129.5 cu ft at 3600 psi.   I probably won't be over pressurizing my 119s past the service pressure of 3442, but if I were to over pressurize them to 3600 then it would hold 128.6 cu ft.  Even though the dimensions are almost the same, I felt more comfortable with the 119 since it seems it’s a stronger tank with thicker walls even though it holds a little less air than the Faber 95 at the same pressure and also weights more when empty.

North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores

Since our second ocean dive got canceled due to bad weather, we went to the {en:North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores}.  The aquarium is really good, they have playful otters, turtles, frogs, snakes, sharks, etc.  The aquarium also has a touch aquarium where you can touch skates and rays.  Here I am touching some of these playful pups.

In addition, the aquarium has a really cool living shipwreck.  Here is a excerpt from wikipedia:

Most of the larger creatures inhabit the Aquarium’s centerpiece exhibit, the 306,000-gallon Living Shipwreck. Along with hundreds of schooling fishes and other animals, they create a swirl of constant motion around a replica of U-352, a German submarine that lost a World War II battle with a Coast Guard cutter off the North Carolina coast.

German WW II U-352 & U.S.C.G.C. Spar

For the 4th of July, I traveled from Rawlings, VA to Morehead, NC (5 hours) to do some wreck diving and watch the great fireworks show.   The fireworks were great and lasted about 30 minutes, which is one of the longest shows I have seen.  On the drive to Morehead, VA from Rawlings, VA we passed a lot of tobacco farms (shown on the left) since we had to cut through some farm roads.

We originally planned for 4 dives, but the last two were canceled due to bad weather so it was a shame because the first two were some of the best dives I have done so far.   With the first two dives I broke my deepest record so far and got to see lots of fish and sand tiger sharks.

First dive: German WW II {en:U-352} submarine.

My Max Depth: 112 ft / 34 m

My breathing gas: 30% oxygen nitrox mix

Time: 29 mins

Decompression stop: No, 2 minutes away from a mandatory decompression stop.  Performed a 8 minute safety stop at 15 ft / 4.5m for the sake of extra safety.

Visibility: Very good

Temperature: Upper 70s F / low 20s C

Location: Click here

Description (Wikipedia):

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Unterseeboot 352 or U-352 was a type VIIC Nazi German U-boat that served in the North Atlantic during World War II. It was launched on 7 May 1941 under the command of Kapitänleutnant Hellmut Rathke, with a crew of 49.

In January 1942, U-352 began active patrols in the northern Atlantic toward the United States of America. Operating chiefly out of St. Nazaire and Kiel, U-352 was ordered toward the eastern coastline of the United States on 7 April 1942. The United States Coast Guard cutter Icarus intercepted and sank it on 9 May. Thirty-three crewmembers survived, were taken prisoner, and served the remainder of the war as prisoners of war.

The U-352 lies in about 100 feet of water off the North Carolina coast. She sits at a 45-degree list to starboard.

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This site was discovered in 1974 by Olympus owner and Captain, George Purifoy, and several friends. The history behind this site has been televised and featured on the History® Channel, and is one of North Carolina's best known dive sites.

Second dive: The {en:USCGC Spar (WLB-403)} wreck

My Max Depth: 105 ft / 32 m

My breathing gas: 30% oxygen nitrox mix

Time: 35 mins

Visibility: Very good

Temperature: Upper 70s F / Low 20s C

Description:

The Coast Guard Cutter Spar was sunk as a diver friendly wreck, the180ft long and 37ft wide Spar sits upright in 100ft of water and is completely intact. The Spar got its name from the US Coat Guard Motto "Semper Paratus, Always Ready" which was an appropriate name for the Coast Guard buoy tender commissioned June 1944. Making port at various locations up and down the Northeast US, the Spar was one of the most awarded vessels in the Coast Guard fleet and served in a variety missions during its 50 year service including submarine hunting and oceanography assignments. After being decommissioned in Feb of 1997, the ship was sunk as an artificial reef off the coast of Morehead City. Now home to Sand Tiger Sharks, the Spar is a very popular site since it sits upright and has lots of opportunities for penetration.

Here is a better video than what I took of the Spar, courtesy of Olympus Dive Center.  Click "HQ" if it does not play.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4f0pPNCFpac

Camping at Rawlings

This weekend I went camping to Lake Rawlings to get some dives in and enjoy the outdoors.  On this trip I wanted to try out my new NeoSport 5mm wetsuit and I regret buying it since it's such a pain to put on compared to other wetsuits I have tried.  I would return it, but it's too late now since I'm going to need it for the ocean dives at Morehead, NC early next week.  Also new on this trip is Rich's new grill that is attached to the back of his truck.  Check out the pictures.

During our bottom of the lake dive, Rich found a titanium knife which is very odd considering that knifes are illegal in the lake.  I found a 1 lbs and 4 lbs weight near the deepest part of the lake.

Also, check out the cool RV with the scuba flag on it: