My Diving Experiences

[Teacher Terry]

Northern Wisconsin is my favorite place near Ashland and Hayward. Copper falls state Park is really beautiful.

[Tradd]

So pleased that this worked out for you. You love it, Tradd, so find a way to make diving continue to give you joy. May I suggest that you read The Genius of Women by Janice Kaplan. There are numerous accounts of women who had to take a detour to continue to succeed, and still are doing today and needing to do. Go girl!

That's interesting you posted that. I was thinking back about when I took my sidemount class two years ago. You have to strength thick bungee cord around the tank valve to hold the top of the tank under your armpit. I don't have a lot of hand strength and was having massive issues with it, even when I switched to thinner and stretchier cord. The instructor's response was that I needed to build hand strength. The woman instructor's way for dealing with it? She added a small loop in the bungee cord to make it easier to get a hold on the cord to stretch it over the tank valve.

I"ll check out the book.

[early morning]

Just read through this - I'm so glad, Tradd, that you are continuing to dive. I really enjoy reading about your underwater adventures.

[Tradd]

A friend of mine has his own dive boat and is taking me diving on Lake Michigan tomorrow.

[JaneV2.0]

Things have a way of working out.

[iris lilies]

A friend of mine has his own dive boat and is taking me diving on Lake Michigan tomorrow.

Score!

[Teacher Terry]

Great!

[Tradd]

Had ear issues so needed to abort the dive today but got up close to a thousand foot Great Lakes freighter so that was awesome.

The dive shop owner is not letting up on his postings online. Just keeps piling on me. He is lower than pond scum.

Got the partial refund I wanted from the class. Now waiting on my refund of credits on dive boat account.

[Tradd]

Had an absolutely lovely time with the WI woman instructor. She is just awesome. She spent several hours with me getting my new sidemount (tanks on my side) harness adjusted properly. Got tanks filled for my trip to the Straits of Mackinac this weekend. I'm going to be doing a cavern diving class with her this fall/winter. Overhead environment, but you are still within the light zone - can see the light from outside. Will be very good training for the rest of my diving. They dive a former mine in SW WI all fall and winter. It's a cheap way to keep diving all year round. Wrecks in the spring/summer, mine in fall/winter. If that goes well, maybe an intro to cave class, too. I never through I'd do this! Will really help the rest of my diving.

[early morning]

Tradd, that sounds totally awesome! I am fascinated by the freighters. When I was little, sometimes on vacation we'd go up to the Soo to watch the ships - which were not as large as they are now. It's all fancy now, with viewing platforms under roof, I hear. I've not been since mid 60s. I don't swim, even, but I love the Great Lakes, especially Superior. I really enjoyed your underwater wreck photos and hope you'll share more of them in the future?