On Tue, 17 Oct 2000, Ed Graves <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>Hi all,
>For grins & giggles I signed up for a wreck class. Anyone who knows me
would be saying now, "you've got to be kidding, you hyperventilate in a
crowded elevator". But we all have to push our comfort zone sometime.

Ed, You've got to be kidding <BWG> Goodonya!! Way to go!
Now that you've caught the bug you need to work up the FF points & zip over
to Truk Lagoon ... then build up from there to prepare yourself for some
very serious diving at Bikini Atoll.
Before I die (hopefully not for a long, long while yet ;-)) I want to dive
there on the Saratoga. I regret turning down the invitation to accompany a
dive group heading there from Perth a few years back :-( Silly me missed a
golden opportunity but I felt being the only female in the group would put
the men out a bit having very basic accommodation at that point and the
operation only open to the public for a couple of months. I know the guys
jokes would have been quite risque but little did they know I hang around
with Dr.s who are even worse in the joke dept ... and I enjoy a good joke :-
)

>Our class dove the "HMCS Saskatchewan DDE 262" off of Nanaimo, Vancouver
Island, Canada.

One of the main dynamite gurus from the HMCS Saskatchewan wreck project
came over here to Perth to help us with advice on how to sink our HMAS Swan
properly. Fortunately she went down literally settling the same way with a
very slight list to one side.

A couple of marine biologists in our UW photo club have just completed
their survey on her as an artificial reef. Our club has a roster system
where we volunteer to go as helpers to help them measure, count, take
samples, etc. They are presenting their results to the club in the new year
so it will be interesting to track the status of things as more and more
marine life appeared on and around the wreck.
EG fish counts, video footage of growth on the wreck taken on a quarterly
basis, photos dating back to when she first arrived here in Perth, during
the clean-up stage (my clothes were so black with oil & other crap I
literally peeled them off & put them in the rubbish bin), the day of her
sinking, our annual club photo competition winning shots, etc.

<snip of the kiwi shears>
>"Tech" divers describe this type of 'wreck' as an underwater jungle gyms,
screw em I say, I had a kick ass time and can't wait to do it again.

Glad you are enjoying just another underwater pleasure ... not everyone's
cup of tea, but to each their own I say :-)

>I'm still pumped from the dives.  Unfortunately my computer got seriously
bent on the 3rd dive. Poor thing<g>. I blame it on operator error, but the
computer I was born with told me I was to finish the dive & even do a 4th.
I knew the risks & accepted them as any self-sufficient diver should.
>Alive & kickin...well kind of,
>Ed

Well Ed, keep on kickin ;-) Glad to hear that computer between the ears is
in fine form too :-))
Viv