Category: Technical Diving

Fantastic visibility on wreck of Pinthis

macado
Tied into the Pinthis, seas were glass

I had nothing on my schedule for Sunday and no definitive dive plans. This is one of those rare times when it pays off to keep your last minute options open. I was talking to Heather about something unrelated and she mentioned she had a last minute cancellation on her Sunday trip to the Pinthis.   Of course I immediately jumped on the spot. The Pinthis is one of my favorite New England wreck dives. The Pinthis was a steel coastal oil tanker that that collided with the steamer Fairfax…

Gear Review: Light Monkey Bailout Attachment System (BAS)

macado

When I was at Beneath The Sea (BTS) I stopped by the Light Monkey booth to look at some new products. Consequently, I purchased the Light Monkey Bailout Attachment System (BAS) for use with my rebreather.  Now I’m finally getting around to writing a quick review. I know it’s ultimately just a bunch of bungee, webbing and large rings but I think it’s a pretty slick setup.   All things considered, it’s compact, unobtrusive and the large rings are easy to find and manipulate with thick dry gloves. You can…

Wreck of the Herbert with NADE

macado

I was originally scheduled to dive the Coyote (~175ft) with Northern Atlantic Dive Expeditions (Gauntlet) but the offshore forecast wasn’t looking so hot with 3-4ft swells and heavy fog predicted so Heather opted to run to the wreck of the Herbert instead (~100ft) . Not a huge deal. At least with rebreathers you have nobody wasting a 150 dollar trimix fill on a 100ft dive. I was just happy to be on a boat and not blown out for a change. Since I had already packed my car for the…

My CCR Cave Diving Course with Paul Heinerth

macado

A little background information first.  It was a while ago that I started my “full cave” journey.  In March 2012 I took Cavern/Intro/Apprentice with German Yanez in Cozumel, Mexico.   He was a great instructor and I really enjoyed class with him but this was all on open circuit and to be perfectly honest I haven’t dove doubles frequently enough in the last two years to want to complete my full cave on open circuit.  I still dive OC but I just prefer to be on a rebreather for most dives…

Trip report: World-class wreck diving in Presque Isle, MI with Shipwreck Explorers

macado
Molly V

I will just start by saying it’s been a really busy summer and I haven’t updated this blog as much as I had hoped but I wanted to write a trip report as I just got back from 4 days of diving in Presque Isle, Michigan.  It was some of the best and well preserved wreck diving that I’ve ever done. Seriously the diving up in Presque Isle, MI and in Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary is so worth the trip that I’m already thinking of skipping a warm water vacation…

New York Central 14-II & Chester Poling with Daybreaker

macado
Matt on Chester Poling

I had two nice dives today on the Daybreaker.  We dove the Pug and the Chester Poling since Matt was doing a helitrox class with Sang and Eric on their rebreathers.  I think John may have been tagging along for Advanced Nitrox/Deco Procedures training as well. We had surprisingly decent visibility on the New York Central 14-II which tends to have crappier visibility in the summer.   The good thing about the New York Central 14-II aka Pug wreck is that the hull is largely intact so it’s an extremely…

Rebreather surgery completed, kitten even tried helping..

macado

Because my rEvodream (secondary redundant ppO2 monitor) had died on me during my last dive I decided I would do the right thing and install a new one.  When I was in Florida in March I actually bought a brand new “used” rEvodream from AddHelium because I knew my current rEvodream was acting up.  It was basically brand new because someone had removed it to install a Shearwater NERD on their rEvo. It didn’t take very long to install. Hardest part was fishing cables through. Maybe 1 hour or hour…

Brenton Reef Lightship (LV39) or bust with Daybreaker..

macado

I had a great dive today on the Brenton Reef Lightship (LV39). Matt and Marissa nailed the shotline drop and we were right on it. Since Matt was having some slight technical difficulties I decided to join Josh and Nate on their dive.  Diving with them is always great because that means you’re almost guarantied entertainment and some good pictures especially with Nate 🙂  It’s like having your own personal photographer. Visibility was at least 25ft in some spots judging from horizontal distance from strobes. Brenton Reef Lightship (LV39) Max…

A weekend of tech diving: From Alma Holmes to the USS Bass

macado

I had a great weekend of tech diving though I didn’t take a camera or GoPro since I just figured I would enjoy the dives without looking at life through a viewfinder.  The water temperatures are finally beginning to warm up into the 50s signaling to me that at least summer is finally here. On Saturday I went out with the Gauntlet (North Atlantic Dive Expeditions). It was literally a last minute split second decision since my car was loaded from the night before and I wanted to dive. I…

Trip Report: Morehead City, NC diving with Tortuga Charters

macado

It’s been a while since I updated this blog..I guess I’ve just been too busy actually diving than arguing aimlessly on the Internet about it..   Anyway I just returned from my annual Memorial Day long weekend trip to Morehead City, NC for diving with a small group of friends.  We decided to try a different charter boat this year and went with Tortuga Charters run by Capt James Rosemond. Long story short but Capt. James runs an excellent six-pack charter operation. Hopefully we will use his charter again next…