Gaurav, Dan, and Dhruv (left to right) after their dives
Dhruv, Gaurav, and Dan visited Crusty's quarry on the second CMUx dive trip this season. There was less of a crowd than before, with more classes and fewer families. This time, we brought along a tarp. Thanks to some new equipment and rented 5mm wetsuits, it took us over an hour to get equipped and into the water -- it was noon when we started our first dive.
We swam out to a training platform and sank down to 6m, and the thermocline was not unmanageable thanks to the thick wetsuits and boots. Unfortunately, because of the nature of the quarry, visibility was poor (no more than 12'). From the platform, we attempted to navigate to the plane by compass, but (somehow) missed an 8' high aircraft tail. After resurfacing to find our bearings, we managed to find the boat and then the bus. We spent our time attempting to navigate in the dark, testing out a new underwater flashlight, and just practicing our finning technique.
For the second dive, we visited the aircraft, an underwater pirate display, and then briefly a boat. This was fun! Gaurav also learned a valuable lesson at the end, when he dropped a fin in the water. Fins are designed to be neutrally buoyant in seawater, but the fresh quarry water is less dense and the fins sink in them. After a crash dive, we were able to recover the missing fin at about 8' of depth, just before it was swallowed up in the foliage.