August 10 2014 dive # 926 & 927

August 10 2014 Dive # 926
Today would be considered the "perfect summer day". Hot, sunny with a gentle breeze.
We had a chock-o-block full boat today. Fred, Chris, Pete, Andy,  John (from froggies), Myanna, Linda, Charlie (from Newburyport) AND the Navy guys with the rebreather and hard hat helmet for today's UW filming. Whew!
Russ K lent me his working double-hose reg and an antique plate glass rubber mask that we could use in the "history of diving" UW  filming.
 I will admit I was a little nervous using this equipment at first. I needed to go slow and visualize using this mask and double hose in order for it to "work". The mask had no nose peice nor my needed prescription. It was a little floppy but it seemed to work ok so long as I kept it straight on my face without any sudden movements. The double hose worked OK too remembering to keep in mind that I had no depth guage nor air guage. I used just a back-pack with no BCD as well and black rubber fins.
After I got used to it, I felt incredibly unencumbered. I had no excess equipment dangling. The mask had a large clear field of vision despite no corrective lenses. I only used 14 lbs of weight on my weight belt. I might have even got away with just using 12 lbs.
Chris had the UW camera rolling with me, as the 1950s diver and Victor as the 2014 high tech diver with his dive computer, dry suit, guages, gizmos and high tech rebreather. Chris said I looked  like a little mosquito coming up to a giant transformer.
Water temp was in the high 60s and viz about 10 feet. We were anchored in Folly cove.
The filming with the hard hat didn't work today due to technicalities. The helmet weighed 70lbs so it was difficult to manage it. Another day for that.
dive # 927
Everyone ran out of air. I, incredibly had 1000psi left in my tank (I only had 2000 to start with) so I figured I would do a short dive. I still wore the fins and back-pack but I used MY mask and reg. Andy spotted a blue shark here a few weeks ago so I NEEDED to do some exploring.
Close to under the boat was the BIGGEST lobster I've ever seen. I've seen "biggin's" before with Larient but nothing like this. You would need three guys to lift it. The claws were bigger than a space aliens head. It was massive.
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*I thank God everyday for having this privilege to enjoy this diving activity with my friends.
With that being said, sadly, we recieved the awful news that one of our dive buddies, Anna Krowczynska, passed away on a dive trip near Monhegan island in Maine on saturday. She was a kind,tough, funny, friendly girl with a very "distinctive" voice. It is such a great loss to lose "one of our own".
She will be missed by all in the scuba community.