how wants to dive? I do I do!!!

Yesterday we did a last minute night dive at alki cove 2. At about 95 feet we saw something huge buzz us. I thought it was the elusive 6 gill shark. It turned out to be a harbor seal and it played with us all the way though our safety stop. We also saw a big rat fish.

Any way who wants to get wet this weekend? Maybe some of you got a northwest dive book for Christmas. Somebody pick a site and we will go exploring.

Happy Holidays

Scott

November Bench Dive

Let's Go Bowling!
Wednesday, November 18th: 6:30pm
20th Century Bowl, 1411 North State Street

Bowling, Bowling, Bowling let's go bowling!!! Meet at 6:30ish at the bowling alley downtown, yo! You can eat and drink there. Welcome to all, divers and non-divers. Pretty cheap night, $2 for shoes and $3 per game (per website).

Join us! Who's in so we can get the appropriate amount of lanes?

Diving Anyone?

Anyone want to go diving this weekend? Looking for a buddy or want to join a group? What is a happening out there?

Heading to Porteau Cove, meeting @ Gone Diving 8am. Who's interested? This is Canadian's Edmonds Underwater Park.

Any other suggestions are welcomed.

Chuck

4th Annual Underwater Pumpkin Carving Contest

October 24th • 9am @ Rosario Beach

We are going to be hosting a favorite event of ours, under water pumpkin carving. We will meet at 9am @ Rosario Beach, the carving will began @ 10am. There are rules to be followed.

1) Must have a buddy, cannot enter water by yourself. If you don't have a buddy we can provide one for you. (We must know if you need a buddy before the day of the event)
2) Bring your own pumpkin but DO NOT pre-clean/gut or pre-draw/trace your pumpkin. You may get any size you want.
3) You will have one hour to gut your pumpkin (on land), trace (if you desire) and carve your pumpkin underwater. Only the carving will be done under the water.

We will be taking orders for long sleeve T-shirts up to the day of the contest. If you would like one please pre-pay. They are going to be black this year with orange writing.

We are going to be providing rentals only at 50% off. Must have your gear ready to go before Saturday. We will NOT be meeting at shop in the morning. Must return gear that day to get your 50% off discount. Discount will not be valid for gear returning the following day. All rentals are on a first come first serve basis.

What about after the carving? We are going to have a potluck. Bring your favorite fall dish. If you want to do a chili cook off, shout it out!

Let Chuck know if you have any questions or concerns. Get your name up on the list so we know how many are showing up.

October Bench Dive, October 21st

October Bench Dive
October 21st, 2009 • Wednesday, 6:30pm
call or stop in for directions

Turtle (Amanda) is hosting this get together. This is going to be a Fondue party, BYOF to share.

She has one fondue pot that she is making a white cheese fondue with apples. Suggestions of what we need would be an oil fondue for meat, dessert fondue and other cheese fondues are also welcome. This is also BYOB event. You may bring potluck items (fall theme) to share also with the group.

Maybe we can talk Ben into sharing his Costa Rica trip and photos. Or anybody else who has recently traveled and would like to share stories and photos.

We will also be discussing the upcoming Under Water Pumpkin Carving Contest that will be held at Rosario Beach, Saturday October 24th.

group dives for rest of the year

Oct. 17th salt water state park (tacomaish) Oct. 24th UNDERWATER pumpkin carving Deception pass state park Nov.7th Porto Cove Provincial Park (Canada) Nov. 21st Keystone Dec. 6th Scotts 40th Birthday dive Skyline Wall ( very advanced dive must be comfortable with depth and current) MUST BE IN THE WATER AT 8:30 AM!!! Jan. 2nd polar bear dive at someplace new you guys figure it out and get back to me maybe hood canal All dives leave shop at 8AM except Birthday dive that will be 7AM

No buddy needed please RSVP to the shop

Goin' Diving?

So who's going diving this weekend? Any cool spots?

Feel free to shout out if you're looking for a dive buddy.

Remember, it doesn't matter if it's raining if you're underwater...

Bahamas!!

I am back and let me just apologies now for all the !!'s to follow, I just get excited sometimes.

This trip was AWESOME!! It was sooooo much fun. I really had very low expectation for the week long cruise in the Bahamas. I was told to plan for camping on a sailboat. Since we did lots of camping this summer I was well aware of what camping was like while diving. Well, lets just say, camping is much different in the Bahamas!!

The Blackbeards, 65' sailboat the Pirates Lady was the adventure to write home about. It was amazing, the crew fabulous, and the diving and water time off the hook! If you are looking for an inexpensive weeklong diving cruise in the Bahamas with 3 meals a day, snacks, wine, Sands beer on tap, cooler full of wicked rum punch, constant nonalcoholic watering hole, up to 5 dives a day (if you are fast enough), snorkeling, free diving for lobster, fishing off the back boat, rope swinging into the sea, sitting in the sun, staring at the stars, being lulled to sleep by the sounds of the water lapping on the boat rocking you into sleep, than this is the trip for you.

We have so much stories and so many details that I was debating on how much I should indulge over this blog. Since I tend to ramble on and on and get really excited sometimes and start just making up words, I thought the best thing to do is have our next bench dive to be our Bahamas brief. We will have a slide show and story telling time. We can answer any questions you may have about traveling to the Bahamas. It was great!! I can't hardly wait to tell you all about it. Gosh, the best time was making it my goal to leave every person I talked with a smile. Customs people don't really like to smile. Especially if you are using a camera in customs, whoops. I traveled with my pony bottle through the airport which got lots of screaming in yelling when I boarded the plane, good times. And as always, when anyone first meets me they might think that I might be having a bit of a stroke with my happy hands. They are annoyed by the bubbles that ignite from my laughter. They get really really annoyed when they break out into the happy hands themselves!! Haha!

We made new friends and learned new jokes. If you haven't already seen any of the photos from the trip, it is because you are not a friend of mine on facebook. What is your hold up? So if you are looking for a sneak peak before our Bench dive, September 30th, 6:30pm. Become my friend on facebook or come by the shop and I will love to share with you our adventure. Did I tell you that it was amazing!! Cause it was!

September Bench Dive

It's been a while since we visited Extremes Sports Grill on Meridian. Since they have the video screen upstairs, Charlynn and the gang will be showing off their pictures from the Bahamas. From I have seen so far the diving was fantastic.

When: Wednesday, September 30 at 6:30 pm

Where: Extremes Sports Grill

What: Bench Dive and Bahama Brief

(That is the closest I could find to a Bahama Brief)

Bench Dive August

KICKBALL PARTY!!
August 19th, 6:30pm, Bloedel Donovan, next to train.

Austin and I are co-hosting a Kickball party for our next bench dive. Let us know if you will be joining us so we can fill up our team roster. For those that don't know Austin, he is 11 and he is awesome. He is inviting all his buddies so I need to find my buddies and beat him in a game of kick BALL!!

Who can make it? Please invite all your diver friends and most of all non-diver friends.

group gone diving

OK divers here is your chance to have some fun under water!!

Aug. 1st Brakett's landing or edmonds meet at 7:30 am

Aug. 22nd Langley tire reef for a crab cookout get your licenses and goodie bags. meet at 8AM

Sept 13th Keystone meet at 8AM.

I'm sure there will be other diving chances just ask!!!

Ft. Warden Bound!

So who all's hitting up the Group Gone Diving/Camping trip to Fort Warden (Port Townsend) this weekend?

Anyone want to carpool?

Who wants to go diving? WOOT!!

Anacapa Island, from Ventura, CA

July 18 - David Fayram took the Raptor dive boat out to Anacapa Island, from Ventura, CA, with 12 other divers and a boat crew of 4. Visibility was not great, but way better than the NW in algae bloom, so I was excited where the locals complained. We took 2 dives, both just off the island.

It is a protected sea lion preserve, so the place was loaded with playful sea lions, both in the water and out. We were nearly always accompanied by at least one sea lion, whipping around us, blowing his/her own bubbles, checking us out, daring us to follow. On the second dive, I came nose-to-nose with a sea lion on the sea floor at 30 feet - never knew their eyes were so big!

We also had loads of sea hares and scallops, and a variety of fish. We followed a rock formation to a large, scallop-encrusted arch, and slipped through the arch and back on surges. And we explored 25 foot high kelp forests with sea lions zipping in and out.

The Raptor is a fast boat, designed just for diving. Kind of a bumpy ride out, but we got to the dive site quickly, and they provided excellent fresh food. As my first dive outside the NW, it made for a fun 2-dive day.
________________________

Thanks David for the report! If anyone else is traveling and would like to share their trip report with us, please email me @ info@gonediving.org. Pictures are great also!

Shrimp on the Barbie!

When: Wednesday, July 22nd @ 6:30pm.

Where: Charlynn's Casa (Call for Directions)

This is a BYOM(eat) and BYOB(eer) barbecue. We also need to have other food too so if you have a good dessert or salad recipe make it and bring it. Let's not have everyone bring chips but a few bags would be good. Post what you might want to bring.

The actual barbecue cooking device will be provided as well as plates, napkins and forks.

Badminton will be one of the entertainment options so bring your shuttlecocks!

Sun keep coming

Looking for dive buddies this weekend? Brian MacKay is looking for someone to dive with this Saturday. I am taking Open Water divers to Alki, Cove 1 on Saturday and Sunday - good ol' Langley. Scott is planning on Rosario Beach at 8am on Sunday. If anyone is interested you can post or give me a call at Gone Diving (360.738.2042).

Conversation for the week: What is the strangest thing you have seen underwater? (Must be something YOU have seen while diving, not on TV.)

Me: Second day for an open water student. Him and his buddy were diving Langley and the vis was not so great. He had 6 lights on him (all on) and his buddy had none. That was how Disco got his name. We were afraid planes where going to land on him!

Share!

Grey days are perfect for underwater

I hope you all are enjoying our cooler weather. I have to admit last Friday for our Crab Fest at Langley, it was way to hot to dive in a dry suit. I thought about it for a moment, about diving in a wetsuit. I think that is the closest I got, just thinking about it! Anyways... who is up for diving this weekend? I hear some people are headed out tonight for Skyline around 8ish. I am teaching some new divers this weekend, the exciting world of breathing underwater. Ahhh... remember the first sounds of the regulator when you took your first breath off scuba.

For me it was not easy. I had to practice just breathing off my snorkel sitting on my couch for a few days. What kind of stories do you have? Tell us about what it was like to take your first breath under water. I would love to hear your responses!

For this months bench dive, Kevin and I were talking about doing a BBQ and our door games. What you do think about BBQ/potluck at my place. We can play Badminton, maybe Frisbee golf. Give me some ideas. The planned date is Wednesday, July 22nd @ 6:30pm.

Give me some feedback, please on two things.
1) BBQ Bench Dive
2) What was it like when you took your first breath under water on scuba. Semi-Closed circuit Closed circuit or open. What ever the experience was, share.

chuck

Florida Keys Trip Report

My wife and I recently did five days of diving in the Keys from June 14 - 18, 2009. We dove four days with It's a Dive at the Key Largo Marriott and one day with Looe Key Reef Resort and Dive Center. It's a Dive offers a significant discount at the Marriot if you book through them. The Marriott is a decent resort with a large pool area.

Day 1: June 14, 2009

We were scheduled to go out on the afternoon boat with It's a Dive. We walked over to the shop located in the center of the resort in the morning and checked in. They had our reservation on the calendar and were expecting us. I asked for a tour of the shop and back room. They have a real clean setup with two compressors and banked air and nitrox. The shop is truly first rate. We purchased a five trip package which worked out to $65 a trip which included two tanks and weights. You can trade in dives for jet ski rentals too.

The boat left promptly after the 12:30 check-in by the other divers. We did have 24 people on board including some snorkelers but their boat the Seastar has a ton of room and never felt crowded. The boat has four exit points two of which have ladders but from the top step of the ladder you can easily enter with a giant stride. This made for quick exits and entries.

The trip to the reef requires going through a mangrove channel and some canals as the Marriott is on the Gulf side of the keys. I read on Scubaboard that this added significant time to get to the reefs and wrecks but everyday we beat every boat out to the dive sites.

Our first dive was at Anchor Chain. It was a nice and easy first dive with the water temperature holding steady at 83 degrees. Diving in board shorts and rash guard is nice change from our drysuits in the Pacific Northwest. At the end of the dive I watched a pair of spiny lobster dance around for a while.

Our second dive was on the Horseshoe. There was an instructor taking someone on her last open water dive so we followed them around for a while. The instructor noticed a nurse shark hanging out under a ledge. He spooked it out and swam right toward the new diver who was trying to take a picture not realizing it was headed right at her. I always love watching people try to swim backwards in a hurry. There are also a couple of good swim-throughs here.

Day 2: June 15, 2009

We started out day two on the City of Washington wreck. This is a neat busted up old wreck with a nice variety of life. We then headed over to South Ledge which is a finger and groove coral formation. Another shallow dive but still great.

Day 3: June 16, 2009

The day I have been waiting for since last year; a two tank dive on the Spiegel Grove. Last year we couldn’t dive the Spiegel because the current was just ripping. There was very little current this time and the visibility was awesome. On the first dive we just checked out the superstructure and swam through the bridge area. We were again the first boat there and moored on ball six. This was a two tank dive so it was great to see the other boats leave after the first dive leaving the whole ship to ourselves. There were only nine divers on the boat and it was sunny and clear. It couldn’t have been a better day and the second dive was even better than the first.

Day 4: June 17, 2009

We decided to drive up to Looe Key instead of diving in Key Largo. I did a fair amount of research and went with Looe Key Reef Resort and Dive Center. I chose them because they do a three tank dive with the first dive on the Adolphus Busch and two dives on the reef. I have to admit I was a little nervous with this dive operator after checking them out on Scubaboard. The woman on the phone was a bit harsh and insisted we be at the shop an hour before the boat departs even if we weren’t renting gear. Once we got there I understood why and what everyone had said on the board was true. It was a cattle boat. There were more snorkelers than divers. This was however the same type of pontoon boat as It’s A Dive’s but for some reason their boat was never crowded. They gave everyone numbers that we had to wear on our wrists while we waited to get aboard. The paperwork was the longest I have ever had to fill out for a dive boat. The two women running the check-in were a little rough to put it nicely. Once we got to the boat things got a little better. The co-captains were jovial and gave very thorough briefings. My only complaint about them was they ended up being more concerned with selling concessions then they were about helping divers on and off the boat and never once offered to swap out our tanks. I think this is why the boat felt crowded as well because there was a BBQ and two huge coolers full of drinks for purchase.

The Adolphus Busch was the first dive. We couldn’t even see an outline of the wreck so I knew right away the visibility wasn’t going to be good. It was down right terrible. Maybe 20 feet tops, not like it was on the Spiegel. There was also a serious thermocline at 85 feet which took my breath away at first. It was an okay dive and probably would have been better if we could see.

On the second dive we headed to Looe Key. The captain recommended swimming three fingers over and then working our way back. Let me tell you, I was impressed with this reef. We saw everything that was on my list: groupers, rays, moray eels, nurse sharks, lobster and so many fish. This reef is spectacular. I am still a relatively new diver with only 41 dives but this is what I imagined scuba diving would be like before I started diving. While I was diving I kept thinking how fake I thought the Wii game Endless Ocean was and then I looked around at my surroundings. The visibility however slowly worsened throughout the dive and I noticed the surf picking up on the surface. When we surfaced the captain yelled for us to get aboard. A thunder storm had rolled in and everyone was on the boat except for a few other divers. We quickly got on board and the boat moved out of the storm. This was of course a perfect time for the captains to sell $3 hotdogs and $5 sloppy joes. Let me just tell you they made a killing. There was no need to help us with our gear and earn tips because they made more money selling overweight snorkelers two or three hotdogs each.

We were able to do the third dive but by this time the bottom was pretty churned up. It was still a great dive because the reef is just that good. I will for sure make a trip to Looe Key next time we are in they keys. I might even dive with Looe Key Reef Resort again because despite my complaints the price was right.

Day 5: June 18, 2009

We did our last day of diving with It’s A Dive again and I was glad to be back on a less crowded boat with a laid back captain and crew. Because there weren’t any snorkelers Captain Mike took us out to the Benwood Wreck so we could get a little more depth. Again, we beat every boat to the wreck and were moored right over the bow. This is a great wreck with a max depth of around 40 feet. We cruised up and down a few times looking in all the nooks and crannies. We did our safety stop hovering over the bow. Quite a few boats had shown up at this point so it was nice to get out of there.

Our second dive was on French Reef where we found a couple of swim-throughs. This was nice and easy dive and still had a little more depth than the shallower reefs we did earlier in the week.

Five days of diving and 11 dives later I had my fix of warm water diving. I was looking forward to heading north to Miami and just hanging at the beach and pool for a few days before returning to Bellingham, Washington and the 46 degree water of the San Juan Islands.

Crab Fest 09

Yo Yo divers and non-divers-
Get your crabbing licenses and crab calipers and let us hit the water! This Friday, July 3rd we are headed to Langley, WA to grab us some crab!

We will meet here at 8am and be on the road by 8:30am. If you need rental gear come before we meet to get ready to rock and roll!

Let us know if you are interested in joining us. Maybe we can organize cooking and feeding a bit down there. If you are interested, I can bring crab pot to cook crab in. What do you got?

Tour de Forts

I hope you are getting your camping gear ready for this weekend. Sounds like we have quite of bit of people participating. Just remember, the camp sites are first come first serve. The only thing we provide for the weekend is dive buddies and a chance to meet new dive buddies.

To new comers this year, don't be afraid to join us. We all have the same thing in common, diving, which makes it fun to talk about our stories and planning our future dives. Even non-divers get in on the fun. My favorite is our shore support! I can't tell you enough on how much fun diving is for the family of divers and non-divers. We are only under the water for half an hour or so. The rest of the time is spent topside with stories and great jokes!

I am heading over on Friday afternoon. Shawn and Melissa are planning on heading over Thursday morning. The rest I hear are coming and going all weekend. If you are unable to join us the whole weekend, no worries. You can come for the day or just spend the night. No worries!

July 1st is opening day for Crabbing season in some areas. Langley happens to be one of the areas. We are planning on going diving Friday, July 3rd, to Langley. Must have shellfish license. You can dive for crab or use a crab pot for the non-divers. Be the best of show at your Fourth of July party, show up with fresh crab! The ground is alive with a ton of crab at Langley.

Hope to see you this weekend. Yes, Patty S'mores. They were invented from my friend Patty. That is why they are called Patty S'mores. I am unable to share the recipe over words but only over the campfire. It was a promise I made and I except the same.

Going Diving?

I wish... for me, alas, this is another dry (well, no water anyway) weekend. I blame it on having friends and their weddings.

Anyway, who else is down for diving this weekend?

Don't forget the Fort Casey (Keystone) camping/diving trip next weekend! Those are always epic. Camping + diving = AWESOME! Plus if you raise it to the power of Pattismores, it's ..well... epic.

let's go down!

OK divers lets go diving this weekend!

Place: Keystone jetty
Date: June 14th
Time: meet at 7:30 leave shop at 8:00 AM

Remember all you new divers you have 2 free rentals so this is a great way to get back in the water, no skills to do and plenty of dive buddies.

Don't forget to reserve your camping spots for Tour de Forts!

What is going down?

First week of June, spearfishing still open, who is looking to go diving this week and weekend? Group Gone Diving on Sunday, I heard it was Edmonds Underwater Park. No ling keepers there.

Our Birthday party and Beach clean up were a great success! Thanks for everyone that came out to help clean up our drinking water/lake. The area we cleaned this time did not have as much trash as the areas closer to the boat launch. Since it was a beautiful day on Sunday, the boat launch area was pretty active so no cleaning there.

Tour de Forts is coming up! June 26-28th at Fort Casey/Keystone. Camps sites are on a first come first serve basis. I am heading over Friday mid morning. Who else is coming? You can come for the day, the night, a couple of days or even the whole weekend. Come join us for some great family fun for both the diver and non-divers! I am making Patty-Smores.

Birthday Sale

Party time this weekend at Gone Diving! Doors are opening at 10am. The first 25 certified divers, (with cert card in hand) will get to draw for a chance at getting an extra 5-15% off of one item.

We will be having a seminars with SeaLife talking about the new DC1000 Elite. Bring in your old gear and we will show you how to make it look new again. Brian from McNett will be helping with that hands on seminar. Brian from Bare Sportswear will be on hand to talk about exposure suits. He is also the rep for XS Scuba, Highland Tech Gear and Princeton Tec.

Hourly raffles and door prizes have been generously donated from our vendors. Innovative Scuba, Underwater Kinetics, Oceanic, Scuba Pro, SeaSoft Scuba, Pinnacle, McNett and Gone Diving!

Lake cleanup at Bloedel Donovan on Sunday the 31st, 10am-2pm. Dive Rite is bringing up their dive locker for us to demo gear. Gone Diving is bring up the rental department for free gear rentals for cleaning up the lake. We are also offering free Discover Scuba underwater tours, depending on gear availability. Shop will be closed so come see us at the lake. All gear is on a first come first serve basis. Must have Cert Card in hand.

Divers' Options

It was a great Group Gone Diving last weekend at Saltwater State Park (I'll try and get the pictures uploaded soon). If you missed it, don't despair, there's more opportunities to be had!

The new dive park was great to see, with life just starting to take hold on the artificial structures. It will certainly be great to visit again over the months to see it develop!

Overall it was a nice easy dive; our max depth was about 75', the weather was clear and calm and it was about the easiest beach entry/exit I've seen. Visibility wasn't that great (~10-15') due to the algae blooms but I expect it should be a lot better in the winter...

I'm going to the Gorge for the Sasquatch music festival this weekend, so I won't be diving. We can shed a few tears together... but don't fret, I'll be back and itching to dive!

Now what about all you alls?

Who wants to go diving? Do I hear a BOYHOWDY?!

this is a good dive article

see you all on sunday

Diving for May 17th

OK divers we are going to the new underwater park on Sunday. Amanda and I did an expoloratory dive there on Sat. All I have to say is that you do not want to miss this dive not because of the great life but because you will be able to watch it grow into a great dive site. I'm planning on going back every 6 months to watch it progress. Looking forward to seeing you under water. Just a reminder get your camp spots reserved for Tour de Forts.

So much going down

Hey divers and non-divers!
There is so much going on this month, that if I wrote it all down here you might be overwhelmed. So I will try to sprinkle. hee hee

Cool thing from PADI: Project Aware cards. Help get in on the decision of the next photos that will be coming out.

Our birthday party is coming up on May 30th. I am plannng an awesome event this year. On Saturday, I am going to have Brian from McNett and Michael from Sea Life here. I want to have all you divers bring in your gear and learn how to properly clean, repair and store your equipment. Very informative, it will be.

If you didn't pick up on in that last paragraph the word Sea Life. Let me tell you guys first hand some VERY exciting news. I am now a Sea Life dealer and will be selling these awesome cameras. That means that we will be having Underwater Photography classes and photo seminars! Ya Ya! I am stoked and I hope you all are also!

On Sunday, May 31st. We are going to host another Beach cleanup at Lake Whatcom. That place was so dirty that we need to go back and clean it up some more. 10am we will be at the Lake offering free rentals for those that want to help out. Also, you will be able to demo other gear that you might have been interested in. For example: 3 different kinds of split fins, masks, back inflate BCD's, full jacket BCD's, different drysuits and regulators. Okay, I will bring the camera's also and have a photo contest. Kyle was talking that he wanted to put together some kind of obstacle course. That sounds like fun. Of course, you must show proof of your certification level for the gear usuage.

We have our Bench Dive at Boston Pizza, May 13th. Group Shore dives May 17th to Salt Water Park, Lingcod spearfishing season opening May 21st, SeaDragon on June 21st, Tour de Forts starting up in June 26-28th at Fort Casey, Bahamas in September and wait for it..... BonAire for Christmas! Heck ya!

Plus, on top of all those actives, we have some EXTRA awesome savings from Scuba Pro and Oceanic! Scuba Pro's Pro Deal ends May 31st. That is a FREE MK25/S600, yes I did type FREE. It is free with purchase of the Galileo Sol dive computer and any SCUBAPRO BC equipped with Air2, a $682 value and a kick a** regulator system.

If you are looking for something a bit more budget minded and don't need a professional setup. Oceanic has a great budget package for $749.95! That is a OceanPro BC, GT3 Sport Reg, Alpha 8 Octo and VEO 100 Combo computer package. That is on top of the Oceanic $50 Rewards program going on until August.

That is just a bit of the exciting things happening. I had to tell someone. My mind was filling up with this information and I needed to get it out. I am sure there is more still in there.

Divers' Options

WHO WANTS TO GO DIVIN'??

Next weekend (MAY 9-10... yeah, I was lazy and edited the last Divers' Options post instead of making a new one. What of it?) is Mother's Day, on Sunday. Don't forget to get her some flowers or a card. Or maybe a sweet sea urchin shell or a ling cod dinner... that you scored while diving of course!

How 'bout it? Where do you want to go?

Carpooling is always an option and is always encouraged!

May Bench Dive - Boston's: The Gourmet Pizza

Attention all divers and non-divers who support divers:

I am getting a jump on the May Bench Dive.  

Where: Boston's Pizza in the Bellis Fair Parking Lot

When: Wednesday, May 13 @ 6:30 pm

They have a ton of tvs to watch plus a pool table.

See you then.

Divers' Options

SO when/where do you want to go diving?

The SeaDragon last Sunday was probably a blast... I missed it, so I have little salty tears on my cheeks. If you do too, don't fret. There's more diving to be had! (I'm sure it wasn't THAT great anyway... I tell myself that so I don't sob as hard).

We have some new Advanced Certified divers now too I believe. Congratulations!

Lots of people, lots of places, no excuses. (Well, one or two excuses, but they're always really lame).

Who's got the urge to submerge?

Northwest Dive and Travel Expo - Bench Dive

As Chuck mentioned in a previous post, next weekend, April 24 - 26, is the Northwest Dive and Travel Expo at the Tacoma Convention Center. This will be this month's Bench Dive.

The Expo doors open at 10:00 am, I propose we leave the shop by 7:30 or 8:00 am on Saturday to get down there in time for door prizes, etc. Coordinate with Chuck if you want to go down on Friday for the treasure hunt.

Please post what you want to do. I can take two people as I will be driving.

Can't wait!!

Divers' Options

Hey! Who's crying over the missed opportunity to go diving this last weekend on the Campbell River trip? Not me, I went! And it was AWESOME!

If you're lamenting, don't worry, there's still chances to go do some great diving. Check out the SeaDragon charter coming up...

Wanna go diving this week/weekend?

When?

Where?

Edmonds on Sunday? Langley on Saturday? Porteau Cove on Friday? Either/any/or?

Day one from Quadra Island

First of all if you were on the fence about coming up here, you missed out on some amazing weather and world class diving. We got up at 6 AM some of us had a bowl of Cheerios before the dive. Our first dive was Copper cliffs. This was a true wall dive as the cliffs go both above and below the water. The cliffs have natural copper deposites in them so they have a blueish green tone to them. The visablity on this dive was about 70 feet. There was a very lite current that pushed us along the wall. We saw lots of different sponges and pulumose anomes. Tere was also some nice over hangs to explore. Josh and Joe had a close encounter with a harbor seal. We were back by 9:30 with a warm breakfast waiting YUM -Scott

The Gully was our second dive, and even more amazing than the first. We headed out at about 11:30, and since I had stepped on and broken my sunglasses at the dock, the sun came out to brighten everything up. Visibility was amazing and with the extra sunshine, no light cannons were necessary. The Gully had a rubbley bottom of about 40-50 feet and was absolutly covered in life. I had "strawberry fields for ever..." playing on repeat in my mind. There were strawberry anenomies everywhere! So much life to see. It felt very peaceful. Scott found a gigantic Puget Sound King Crab that everyone loved. There was a nice 0.5 knot current that breezed us along. The gully turned into a wall as we drifted south and that great feeling of flight came back as we gradually came up for our safety stop. The boat picked us up and we were back at the lodge eating lunch 20 minutes later. Awesome! -Josh

Divers' Options!

(formerly Dive Buddies Weekly) ...What do you think of the name change? I like to think of "Divers'" as "diverse" since there's so many great people to go diving with and so many great places to diving!

This last Sunday, Jake, Amanda and I dove at Porteau Cove in B.C. and it was awesome. The sun came out and it turned into an incredibly beautiful day! Thanks to Jake and Amanda for being great dive buddies. Saturday a group also hit Edmonds for some excellent diving action.

So when/where do you want to go diving this week?

diving for this weekend

Hey divers it is getting warmer so lets go diving.
You have two dives to choose from this weekend on Sat. the 28th Eric E and I are going to Edmonds underwater park leaving the shop at 8AM.
On Sunday Amanda and Jake are going to Portue Cove.
So break out your gear and get ready to dive.

Bench Dive on Wednesday

Here is everyone reminder of our Texas Hold em bench dive. You can see all the details in the original post below. Meeting at Gone Diving after 6pm. One table will be playing for a buy in.

Please let me know who is planning on attending so we can plan properly. I wonder who the card shark is going to be?

Dive Buddies Weekly

Well now... here's the latest chance to check out who/where/what/when diving opportunities. Don't see one that suits you? Make one! Shout out your when/where desires and find a buddy!

For example: "I would like to go diving on Saturday. I would like to go to Edmonds/Keystone/Langley/etc/etc/etc/etc/etc. Anyone else??" OR "Hey, I want to go diving and my weekend is wide open! YEAH! WHOOOOO!" OR "I like long walks on the beach, sexy dive gear, going down and getting wet." ...oh...wait... uh, well, that still works as well! You get the idea.

Pretty easy, huh?

There's a Banditos charter this weekend, check with the shop for open spots. Last I heard there was one left...

Oh, and congratulations to the new Open Water divers! Whoo!

Let's go div-IN!

Softball Anyone?

Gone Diving has been playing softball for about four years and we still are not that good. We sure have a lot of fun, though. We play Friday evenings starting, I think April until end of July.

The cost is $20 to play. If you are interested in playing on our Co-ed team, must be at least 18 yrs old, let me know. Last year we won our division... kidding. We have a practice time some time before we start. Yeah, we don't really do that either. We are just a group of overgrown kids that like to play recess with their friends.

Ladies, I am booking that trip to the Bahamas with Black Beard cruise. I am looking at the dates of Aug 29- Sept 4 (Labor Day) or (After Labor Day) Sept 5-11. Let me know if you like one time over another. I am leaning towards the later September. Andy Eye Candy is going to go work for them and I have requested him to be our personnel servant!! Who is in?

Dive Buddies Weekly

Sorry for the delay...

So with out further ado, here it is!

When/where do you want to go diving?

Check with the shop, but I've heard rumor of some blow-your-mind deal on gear... And if you've ever been drooling over a Galileo, and/or you need something like, say, a MK25 and a S600 and/or that spankin' new BCD... you might very well be interested.

So what better way to enjoy some d-i-v-i-n, than with some lovely new gear?

Where/when? We all know the WHY!

Edmonds? Keystone? Skyline? Porteau Cove? Langly? Where?

Bench Dive: Poker Night

It's time for another Bench Dive. So we though we could do something different this time so Group Gone Diving is hosting a Poker Night at the shop. There will be a $5 buy-in and at least one table will be just for fun. BYOB and everyone can chip in to order some pizzas. Bring your poker faces.

What: Poker Night

When: Wednesday,

March 25 at 6:30 pm

Where: Gone Diving

Next time we will have an Underwater Poker Night!

Favorite Dive Movies

While flipping through the channels this week I came upon the movie "The Deep" staring Nick Nolte, Jacqueline Bisset, and Louis Gosset Jr (with a really bad French accent.)  Surprisingly there was some really good dive sequences.  For being filmed over 30 years ago I was amazed at how little and much dive gear has changed.  The regulators and tanks look very similar to what we use today.  The major difference was the BCs or lack there of.  The tanks were just attached with a harness and weight belts were worn.  I guess buoyancy was mainly controlled by breathing.  There was even a night dive sequence and the underwater light wasn't much different than what I have now, just not an LED.  Anyway, if you can catch the flick or find it on DVD, I think you will get a kick out of it.  

What's your favorite dive movie?

Here is a few I found on Scubaboard:

Beneath 12-Mile reef
The Frogmen
Raider From Beneath the Sea (1964)
Manfish - starring Jane Russell
Creature from the Black Lagoon
Jaws 
Easy Come, Easy Go
Thunderball 
Never Say Never Again 
Blue Water, White Death
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
The Deep 
Deep Star Six 
Sharks Treasure (1975) 

The Abyss

The Big Blue

Sphere

Zombie Holocaust

Open Water

Men of Honor

Aliens of the Deep

Deep Blue Sea

Finding Nemo

The Life Aquatic

Into The Blue

The Cave

Girls Gone Diving

Funny story. I got a call on Monday at the shop. This gentleman starts laughing and says, "We were looking for you on Saturday at Edmonds UW park. We didn't see you!" I had to tell him that we were never planning on going there. Unfortunately, I might have led them on a bit! I did mention that I had more calls from the guys wanting to know where we were going than girls.

Amanda, Carrie Anne, Staci, Natalie, Joanna and myself hit the big city of West Seattle. We ended up diving Cove 1. We were planning on Cove 2 but it was crazy and nobody was at Cove 1! Toilets all to ourselves (that is underwater).

Joanna and Carrie Anne were our shore support. The four of us hit the waters and played around under water for a bit or two. This is a nice and easy site since you don't have to worry about tides or currents. We saw three different kinds of nudibranchs: diamond back tritonia, three-lined nudibranch and white-lined dirona. Sea pens, shrimp, fat henricia; sea star and english sole. It was pretty enjoyable.

What do you think that our next Girls Gone Diving we go on Black Beard's cruises in the Bahamas around September? I am in.

Dive Buddies Weekly

Here it is, your chance to connect with like-minded dive buddies for some d-i-v-i-n'!

Who wants to go where when?

Why? Because the urge to submerge gives rise to sink! (Ok, that was bad...)

But you get the idea.

Diving! Let's go!

Darn, it is cold but sunny!

If anyone was wondering how the Sea Dragon was last weekend. Drool over the awesome sunny pictures. Diving in Howe Sound is a lot of fun especially with a fun group of divers. We had some students doing their Advance class that weekend also. I found that 15lb weight bag that a certain DMC lost helping with a Search and Recovery Class in Lake Whatcom. They can tell you the story but yes I do have some mad S/R skills!!

With it snowing yesterday, I did a little sole searching (keep your comments to yourself). I was thinking how nice it is to dive dry. It is really quite the experience to dive under water and come up to snow all around you and be warm. So I am going to put together a Dry Suit Bonanza month. With Bare's awesome free undergarment offer with purchase of a dry suit. I thought, since I am a huge SeaSoft fan, what could Sea Soft offer. Bruce and I talked and he through out a crazy offer! Not just a free undergarment but also a free set of ankle weights and (yes and) a free dry hood! You are setup to dive warm and dry. Ohhh, ya!

Now let me see if I can work up a dry suit seminar from both Bare and SeaSoft on the same day. That way you can choose the suit that would work best for you. If you have any curious questions about this, let me know. I will do my usually enews and blast to let everyone else now about this. Since you are fans you get in on the special deals first!

Girls Going Diving:
Must have gear together by Saturday morning. Just so we don't have to meet at 6am. We will meet at 7am and be on road at 7:15am. Whoop Whoop!!

Dive Buddies Weekly

Well, last weekend was a little slow (at least for me)...

Where/when do you want to go diving? I hear there's a Girls Gone Diving group on Saturday. Should the boys "man up" and go diving somewhere too?

Man, it's hard to follow that post about the pink and white fins... I keep seeing those things tracing in the back of my retinas. WOW.

Shout out, find a dive buddy. Let's go D-I-V-I-N' !!

Cool New Colors

WOW. Dreams have been answered! Check these babies out.

This is a real photo of some real Twin Jets that I just got in. They are of course a limited edition. That is White and Hot Pink Twin Jets!!! I am picking myself up a pair of the white fins. I have been told by some of my students that I am a bit stealthy under the water. So, for classes, I will be rocking these new white Twin Jets. Ya Ya!! NickD thinks he wants the pink ones.

What do you think? 80's are back and proud! I am thinking about going to the store and picking myself up some Aqua Net and going to work on some BIG hair, feathered of course.

Dive Buddies Weekly

Another week, another opportunity to go diving!

Well, it looks like there's lots of great trips coming up... Campbell River, the Sea Dragon, Banditos charter, and the kick-ass Girls Gone Diving (No Boys Allowed, unless you provide a ride, food, beverages and gear humping *ahem, not that humping* service).

No, you cannot use the "but I don't have a buddy!" excuse anymore. Shout out your when/where diving desires and find a like-minded dive buddy.

(I will now refrain from doing a Pauly Shore "Buuuuuuuuudd-y!")

You're welcome.

Campbell river

OK divers here is your chance to experience what I think is the best diving ever.
I'm sending this to blog followers and facebook fans first. You guys will get first dibs, but you must act quickly because it will fill up fast when I send it out to our whole list. I only have about 9 spots left. The private rooms are already filled. All that is left are bunks. You have until this Saturday 2/21/09 to get your deposits turned in to hold your spot.

Details
April 9th to 12th (this is Easter weekend) you can come for any or all of the days. I'm planning on leaving on the 9th and diving on the 10th, 11th and 12th.
The cost is 185.00 US dollars per day. This includes lodging, diving, meals and air fills. Nitrox, tips and transportation are extra(2 ferry rides).

Dive Buddies Weekly

Well now, it looks like this next Saturday is Valentine's Day. If you love your dive gear and want to show it a good time, why not take it diving?

Shout out your when/where's to find a buddy!

Oh, and Edmonds was pretty fun last week, FYI for those of you that missed it. Incredibly calm water, great visibility, oddly easy parking... Good times! Thanks to Amanda and Justin for being great dive buddies!

So when/where do YOU want to go diving?

February Bench Dive

When: Wednesday February 11  at 6:30 pm

Where: The Quarterback Pub & Eatery

It's time again for our monthly bench dive.  We seemed to have missed January but let's all get together for some food and drink, maybe some billiards.

See you there!

Navy seeks more training off Washington coast

Hello Folks,

Could you post as soon as possible this article about the Navy proposal to intensify their training programs in the Puget Sound and open coast? There are only few days left for members of the public to send the Navy their comments and the Navy on-line form does not seem to be working.

Navy seeks more training off Washington coast
Seattle PI | Blogs, Mike Barber 1/23/09

I have also found this old article published by

South Whidbey Record

Jul 29 2008
The Navy is in hot water again, this time accused of indiscriminately killing fish in order to conduct training for bomb disposal teams.
The Navy is being sued for exploding ordnance in Puget Sound waters, allegedly killing thousands of fish, including federally protected species such as Chinook salmon.
The Navy, however, said training for its explosive ordnance disposal teams is essential for both military and civilian purposes.
A lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Seattle today under the federal Endangered Species Act.
The Navy sets off between 180 and 300 underwater explosive charges each year in some of the most sensitive waters of Puget Sound, according to documents released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility.
“The Navy has been repeatedly warned but apparently feels it does not have to comply with laws unless it is sued,” said Adam Draper, an attorney for the group.
“We are not trying to block Navy demolition exercises; we are simply trying to induce the Navy to train without creating needless carnage,” he said.
“The Navy doesn’t need to destroy Puget Sound’s wildlife at the same time they are training to protect us,” added Kurt Beardslee, executive director of Wild Fish Conservancy. “Juvenile salmon and the food web of Puget Sound would be much better protected if the Navy would simply take the measures suggested by the government’s own scientists.”
Several times each month, the Navy detonates live explosives deep underwater to provide training for its divers in destroying and disabling mines.
The detonations also harms marine life, the lawsuit claims.
In one exercise involving a five-pound explosive charge set off near Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, observers counted 5,000 dead fish on the surface but estimated that up to another 20,000 fish died and sank out of sight to the seabed.
Since 2002, the National Marine Fisheries Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the two civilian agencies charged with enforcing the Endangered Species Act, have urged the Navy to undertake alternative training practices to minimize damage to marine life, such as using bubble curtains or other containers to minimize blast impacts, or conducting the training in quarries, lakes or the open ocean rather than in the waters of Puget Sound.
The Navy has come under repeated criticism in recent years for using sonar during training off the Washington coast, which some say can harm whales and other marine mammals.

Thanks

Betty Bastai

Girls Gone Diving

Saturday, Feb 28th.

Ladies, calling all the ladies! We are hitting the waters. Get your gear out and get ready for some scuba diving! I am up for anything. We can go over to Friday Harbor and do a boat dive. We can go to Canada and do a boat or shore dive. Since I tend to get around a bit, that is for dive spots. Give me some suggestions.

Dive Buddies Weekly

Here's that thread again... you know, the one where you find like-minded individuals that want to go diving with a buddy?

I think one plan, is for this Saturday at Edmonds Underwater Park. Good place for some fun easy shore diving. If you've never been, I suggest you go. Max depth is about 35 - 40'. Lots of stuff to see. Also a great place to work on your buoyancy skills.

You can also shout out your alternative when/where suggestions or preferences to find a buddy or two (or several!) to join!

Oh, and as a reminder, get your annual regulator service done! Especially if you have Scubapro regs; they're getting really tight with their free parts. If you lapse on your yearly servicing, the parts aren't free anymore. Good news is, once you get them serviced, you're back on track and they should be free next year (provided you remember to do it...).

Find a buddy! GO DIVING!

Now how cool is that? Seriously.

Deep Diver Specialty

Last weekend my wife Christina and I got our Deep Diver Specialty while aboard the Naknek out of Friday Harbor. The course, taught by Instructor Charlynn Sutton, was spectacular. I have to admit that I was a bit nervous before the first dive and the thought of going below 100 hundred feet seemed like a long way down. Charlynn put us at ease and the first dive went perfect. I ended the dive with around 500 psi as planned and we dove to 115 feet. I felt the effects of Narcosis for the first time. I wouldn't say I felt drunk but everything did seem to take more time and thought to accomplish. I found myself really having to concentrate even to just to check my computer.

At our safety stop on the first dive we parked right next to a Puget Sound King Crab. I was quite surprised that we found one. These guys are huge. We even say a baby King Crab on our next dive.

The real benefit of taking the Deep Specialty is not that we are now certified to dive to 130 feet (which we did on the second day of diving) but that we learned how to plan our dives for such depths. This course was really a confidence booster and I can't wait to get in the water again.

Before the class I purchased a pony bottle which I highly recommend owning when going deep. On our second dive I switched to the pony for practice and it was reassuring to know that I had another 10 minutes of air in case I had an emergency. I think this is a must have for all divers. A pony bottle isn't that expensive and easily mounts to your main tank using the same strap on your BC. If you decide to upgrade your primary regulator, keep your old one and use it on your pony or pick up a used one at a discount from Gone Diving's rental stock.

One other thing to note is that all rentals are 50% off from Gone Diving if you are enrolled in a course from them.

See you in the sound!

Dive Buddies Weekly

Hey! I have to tell you, this last weekend was AWESOME! And by that, I mean IT WAS FREAKIN' AWESOME!! The charter we took out of Friday Harbor was superb... the dives were amazing! Plus it was fun to kick it in Friday Harbor all weekend with some cool divers and non-divers.

The Deep Specialty class did great, and now we've got some fresh new Deep divers! Also, I think we will soon have some new Dry Suit cert divers on Feb. 5th... those hardy folks (brave?) diving in wet suits were shivering envious of the rest of us in our dry suits during the surface intervals. If you (or a friend) want to get into diving now, you can add the dry suit cert to your open water and end up saving $125... That pays for the dry suit cert by itself, plus some.

Haven't heard yet how Langley went for folks on Sunday... hopefully that was fun as well.

Let's see what this next weekend has in store....

Who wants to go diving?!? YEAH!!

Dive Buddies Weekly

Some folks are going on a sweet weekend (24th-25th) charter out of Friday Harbor... as of now, I think there's still a spot left, if you're interested. There will be deep diving / wall dives. Great opportunity to get your Deep Specialty. Must be part of the Deep class or already have Deep certification.

Also heard some people might be going up to the Vancouver Aquarium for a dive expo... no diving involved, but a great way to meet some potential dive buddies.

Who else wants to go diving?

January bench dive

Hey divers,

Next weekend the 24th we will meet at the dive shop 9AM to car pool up to the divers weekend at the Vancouver Aquarium check out their web site to see the cost and if it interests you. This would also be a great chance to show your non diving friends or family what our sport is all about.  On Sunday I have heard rumors of some diving going on but do not have anything concrete yet keep an eye out here or on facebook fans of gonediving.

Cozumel in December

Everyone has been asking me how the trip was and to be honest with you, it was FABULOUS! I am so sure leaving again next year for the holidays. If you are interested in joining us let me know. Now is the time to put your destination request in.

Cozumel, if you have never been, go. It is very easy and fun diving. Scuba Club Cozumel was a wonderful place to stay at. The diving was great. Lots of turtles swimming and eating around. My favorite was all the really cool swim thrus that we went through. It was amazing. All you had to do is drop into the water and go with the flow. Scott and my last dive was an expressway that put us way ahead of the rest of our group. Which was planned, I didn't ditch anyone. It was funny to pass by some people like they where swimming still. You can choose an easy current or a much faster one if you drop off down the wall a bit. Good times.

We will be doing a bench dive at Rob and Laurie Hoyts house. Jake brought me his hard drive full of photos to get ready for the slide show. I am putting that together so we can share some photos and stories. Look for that to come.

On another note, let me just say that our divers that we have trained absolutely rock! Scott and myself got to stay an extra day longer than the rest of our group. (We really liked the Seattle airport so much and decided to extend our stay there.) We got to dive with another group of people that were not our divers. Antonio was still our divemaster so he was used to both Scott and I. They other divers needed some help. I noticed how easy Antonio had with our group compared to this other group. You guys have got some skill!

I really could go on and on but I will save the stories for later. If you would like to hear them sooner come on by and visit me. I would be glad to share.

Sounds like some people would like to go to Hawaii around the end of June. Is anyone interested in that or maybe somewhere else? Let me know. I am ready to go again.

Eric Ellingson travels

Charlynn

Just a quick note to say thanks for the scuba training. Had my first two warm water dives between Christmas & New Years in Mauii. Once I had enough weight I did an 80' dive then a 45' at a ship wreck. Very cool being up close to Manta Ray's and turtles and hundreds of tropical fish. Lots of time snorkeling with the family too. Great reefs with tons to see. Hope go on a trip with ya soon here in this frigid water.


Eric Ellingson

CJ Morgan & Brady Korthuis travels

This was an email sent to me by CJ Morgan about his travels to the Bahamas last month. If you have any stories or notes on your travels, please send them to me.

Hey Gone Diving Team!!!

This is CJ (Carl) from class this past summer. Just wanted to let you know that I have been keeping up on my diving. Brady and I and his family went to Nassau, Bahamas last month and had a blast. We spent 3 days diving with Stuart Cove's and his crew. It was great. We saw James Bond Shipwrecks, BBC World News Tugboat Wreck, and a few more famous sites. On the third day we took part in the Shark Adventures that they are world famous for. That was amazing. Imagine swimming along and having a 5-9 foot Carribean Reef shark come up behind, in front, next to, above or under you! It was amazing. Also we saw their wall which goes from about 35 feet down to about 6800 feet! Yes I said 6800 feet. If any of you are interested we have a 20 minute video that shows us swimming with and around the sharks as well as the shark feeding which brought in about 50 or so sharks from the area. Here they fed them bait and we all sat in a circle watching and taking in the once in a lifetime experience. It was truly amazing. The visibility was outrageous compared to the great northwest and so much warmer too. Oh man. I don't know if I like it here as much. Just kidding. Can't wait to see you all. Ill try and stop by next time I am in town.

Talk to you all soon.

CJ Morgan

Dive Buddies Weekly

Well, I guess the visibility wasn't too bad this last weekend. Sounds like it cleared up pretty nicely once you dropped below 20'.

Who's up for diving this weekend (or anytime this week) ?

And on a side note, who do you know that wants to get certified to go diving? Do you have a friend, or family member interested?

They may look at you like you're nuts, but now's a great time to get certified.

Seriously, visibility is the best in winter. Dry suit certification can be added to your Open Water and they can go diving with you! Check at Gone Diving for the actual dollar amount and the full deal, but basically you can save a crap ton of money if you do the dry suit cert in addition to Open Water... something like $125 I think.

So now, who wants to go diving?

Dive Buddies Weekly

I missed last Saturday's dives at Whytecliff in B.C. which was a bummer. I would've loved to get into some of that snow. Apparently there was 8" accumulation while folks were there! SWEET!!

I did hit the Skyline dive in Anacortes on Sunday though; it was my first time there and it was radical. Gotta say it's pretty sweet when you can hit the exchange and get pushed out, then pulled back in. That's another one I'll have to do again. I think we got an 82' max depth on that one.

So where would you like to go this week or weekend?

As usual, post your "I WANT" here and find a fellow like-minded buddy!

Who has the urge to submerge?