Date: Tue, 4 May 1999 20:09:13 -0700 (PDT)
From: Jason O'Rourke <jor@shell9.ba.best.com>
To: BA_Diving <ba_diving@lists1.best.com>
Subject: Last of the dry suit tales


So I went to Monastery on Sunday, with water that seemed about the same as
it was the prior sunday on the Cypress Point.  I also subtracted 4 pounds
for the switch back to steel tanks.  

First, the good news.  Whatever happened to cause the leaking on the CP
was just an aberration.  I'm quite sure that it was just not on well, and
the seal is definitely still a little long.  I think I'm going to remove
one more ring and then just deal with it for now.  In any case, I was
quite dry.  

However, I was cold and perhaps underweighted.  The cold is easier to
understand - the dives were much longer (50some minutes each) and included
a swim out of another 10-15 minutes.  But they felt cold from the
beginning, which wasn't true on the Cypress.  The rain may have been a
factor- my comfort suit was a bit damp by the time I was fully suited.
The second dive felt a bit warmer, perhaps thanks to the sun.  Because I
seemed to be underweight, I couldn't inflate the suit as much, so I gave
up some insulation there.  Some has already suggested to me that you make
a choice on how much lead/air insulation you want on a dive.  So I'll
experiment with that while this ocean of ours persists in the 40s.  

Why I was underweight I'm not sure about.  On the Cypress I had 28 pounds
plus two ankle weights on the tank valve - should be 31.75 pounds.  I
removed two 2lb clipons and handed them to the crew, was marginally able
to maintain depth at 12ft.  So perhaps add a pound, but subtract the 4,
making 29 the target for Al, 25 for steel.  But I was having this trouble
with 27.75-28 lbs.  Perhaps the comfort suit was just bulkier today?  

The diving itself was fine.  I'm getting my hovering back, getting used to
the heavy rubber fins.  Monastery swells were moderate, but with a little
patience I was able to find the moment to remove my fins and walk out,
keeping the sand to a minimum.  (I don't want to think about what those
monster berries can do my my valves!

Those of you about to get a dry suit - the ocean has been very good for
initial dives the past couple weeks.  Good viz, reduced surge.  Get going!