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Spellweaver

Anovan and Khajj

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The Undying

Dust

Swizzle In, Swagger Out

The best fish and chips are definitely to be found at the Swizzle Inn. We stopped in twice for lunch. The whole place is covered from wall to wall with graffiti.  Magic marker, carvings, pen, pencil, chalk, everyone who walks in leaves their mark it seems. Every table and chair is carved.We are now packing, we need to switch rooms for one night before we go. It’s good bye pool house. This place was sweet. We cooked breakfast every morning and a few lunches and dinners as well which saved us money. It’s impossible to really explain how expensive food is in Bermuda. After a few days here you learn to appreciate produce prices back home. Two days ago I lost the wheel lock for the moped which is gonna cost us. The thing went flying off my basket and we couldn’t find it on the way back.

It’s funny listening to the news. A lost dog or cat makes the news. Some guy growing pot on his porch, a bar brawl. It’s so small time it’s pretty amusing. It’s like everyone knows each other. The island is like a small town. Rob is still obsessing about the lost cat by Spittle Pond. There are loose chickens and roosters skulking about. Hell, they have the run of the golf course. This morning it’s raining, pouring actually. We might take the rain slicker and walk around Hamilton for a bit. Not sure yet. We have to move out of the pool cottage by 10.

The picture above was taken at Cooper’s Island Nature Reserve. It used to be the US Naval Base but it’s been recently reopened as a sanctuary for marine life and birds. Clear Water Beach lives up to it’s name. The water is calm, super clear and it’s deserted. Only a few locals head out to this beach and middle of the week we had it to ourselves. We put our fins and masks on and swam to the nearby island lingering along the rocks. We saw such an amazing display! It was like being in an aquarium. The water is so clean you get anemones right off the shore. We found an impressive assortment of fish, crabs, urchins, unusual shells and coral. There is so much going on under and near the rocks! This was a good find.

Last night we ate at a place called “The Mad Hatter” it was kind of an event money wise and the locale was totally difficult to find. We circled and circled around the “Robin Hood” pub until I finally broke down and asked a local. Where is this place?!!! Apparently even the locals have a rough time finding this restaurant. The food was outstanding and we had a bottle very tasty Pinot Noir. One of the charms of the place, aside from the great chow, is that there are hats hanging from every inch of wall. Throughout dinner guests can be seen impersonating damsels in distress, cowboys and Indians, sultans, pirates, pimps and more. It has an Alice in Wonderland theme and one of the coolest things was everything is sort of served in tea pots. For example our wild mushroom soup came in a tea cup, the broth was poured out of a tea pot and the creamer was sweet coconut milk. Pretty nifty.

We kept our fingers crossed that it wouldn’t pour and as luck would have it the rain was just ending on the way back. Earlier during the day as I drove through puddles my engine stalled which was pretty dicey. In Bermuda you drive on the left. It’s pretty hilly and the roads have a myriad of sharp bends and blind corners. Staying alert is very important but riding around on two wheels is part of the fun of the island in my opinion.

The nights we stayed in we watched the two seasons of HBO’s Rome. I rather enjoyed it. Too bad they canceled the show after the second season. My favorite character of course is Titus Pullo even though he’s a crazy bastard. He’s passionate and loyal with the morality of a pirate. The sets and costuming for this show were just amazing. Hopefully the network will consider making a movie to finish off the series. It’d be a shame to leave it unfinished. Great characters, lots of bloodshed and debauchery. Let’s face it Romans make for great Television!

Diving the Wrecks

Auspicious day they say, 9/9/09. We won’t see another date like this one for at least another century. We’ve been in Bermuda since September 1st. The days move slowly, languorously between sun and ocean. This morning we completed two more dives totaling four. We dove L’Hermine and the “Fossil” wrecks today and the Marie Celeste and Minnie Breslauer yesterday morning. The dive down to the Minnie was fraught with some seriously strong drift current that disoriented us quite a bit. That was a tough dive down to 65′ and we had to fight some serious and unusual South Shore current. Some of the divers on the boat didn’t even get to the wreck site and had to be towed by another boat. At the end of the dive there were some older divers that didn’t risk the surface swim and held on to a buoy until the boat turned around and came back for them. They were so wiped from fighting the current they stayed on the boat for the second dive. It was rather strong.

The Minnie was a 300 foot English steamship that sank on her maiden voyage on New Year’s Day 1872. It is known as Bermuda’s most unlucky wreck. She departed Portugal bound for New York loaded with a shipment of cork, wine, dried fruit and lead ingots. Her crew of 24 was in good spirits and there is speculation of whether they had been drinking when they hit the south breaker. Intending to use Bermuda as a landmark the captain urged his ship close to shore. He didn’t have the proper navigation charts or a map of the waters. Cruising at full speed (15 knots) the ship crashed into a submerged reef one mile offshore. Not realizing the extent of the damage, the captain tried to back the ship off the breaker which immediately caused the ship to begin to sink. A good portion of the hull had collapsed. As help arrived they tried to tow her but made the situation worse. Today she lies on her starboard at a depth of 40′ - 70′. I wish we had less current at this site. We didn’t get to see the stern but we did see quite a bit before heading up. We had 40 minutes to explore the site and look around.

Half hour later found us at the Marie Celeste, not to be confused with the well known ghost ship (Mary Celest). It was our second time diving this site so we knew it pretty well. We were a bit beat up and sea sick from the long surface swim back to the boat after the Minnie but we managed to recover to tackle the next dive. We switched tanks in record time and I felt really confident with our training. This would make our 17th dive. The Celeste was a swift steam paddle-wheeler. She was used as a blockade runner during the Civil War to trade guns, ammunition and needed supplies to the troops in the South. On September 13, 1864, under the command of Captain Sinclair she was being steered by the very competent John Virgin, a local who was renown for knowing the reef remarkably well.  She made an unusually fast run through the East End Channel along the South Shore. John Virgin was told to slow down and he confidently said he knew every “rock” in the sea. Moments later the ship hit a reef and sank unusually fast. The only casualty was the cook who ran back to the kitchen. Both her paddle wheels are easy to spot as well as her boilers. We spent a good chunk of time looking around before we headed back to the boat.

If you are interested in the Ghost Ship story of the “Mary” Celeste, take a look at this video. While researching the blockade runner I came across this other similarly named ship which I found fascinating.

This morning we were grumpy to have to get up early for another day of diving but the day was gorgeous. We hoped on our mopeds and headed out to Sommerset Bridge which also happens to be the smallest drawbridge in the world as it fits only a mast. *grin* Blue Water Divers is a pretty decent dive operation but today I must say the rental gear was iffy. I had a leak in the hose to my BCD and my depth gauge read 0 just about everywhere. I stayed with Rob during safety stops and such. Both dives were pretty shallow and the boat was not nearly packed like the day before. We had plenty of room.The first dive was to the “Fossil” at a nice 30′. We were able to hang out and explore the reef for quite a bit while enjoying what was left of this 17th Century wooden wreck. The site is known as the Fossil because the ship was, strangely enough, carrying fossilized remains back to Europe possibly for study. We had almost an hour to explore, that is the benefit of shallow dives.

Fifteen minutes later found us at the site of L’Hermine. This ship was a 300 foot French warship complete with 60 cannons. The dive master said that if we were able to find the 59 still in the water we’d owe him a beer. We counted maybe 21. It is a shallow wreck in about 35′ of water with tons of cargo and cannons littering the sandy bottom. She carried 495 soldiers on board. By today’s standards she was the equivalent of an aircraft carrier. They were sent to enforce French claims to Mexico. L’Hermine arrived in Habana in August 3, 1837 and within 3 months 133 of the crew had been afflicted with yellow fever.  Seeing as how they were unfit to fight, they were recalled to France. On December 3, 1838 the captain edge close to Bermuda hoping to shelter the ship from bad weather when he struck the reef. We saw the famous “cross” formed by two cannons as well as the remains of her brick ovens. We also saw a huge puffer fish who was rather shy.

As sad as it may sound, an hour after getting off the dive boat we could be found in the Dockyard chowing down on some Bermudian fish and chips. HUMANS!!! LOL

I will write more later, I have lots to tell.

My Crazy Weekend

Carmy’s birthday party was a huge bash! We drank, we danced and made complete fools of ourselves. It was so much fun I decided to host a friday night dance off at my place two weeks later. That went off without a hitch and we have so much alcohol left over! Maybe more partying lies ahead. It was great though, we partied Friday night, went to a Buddy Guy and BB King concert on Saturday and made rather lavish dinner reservations on the Monday night before leaving to Bermuda. Pretty epic way to start a vacation! I’m in Bermuda now writing at 2:39 AM. I am so not sleepy. Decided to finally add something to this entry. It’s great, not like I have much to do tomorrow but hang out, sleep late, enjoy.

Totally and utterly bored

Distracted. Sleepy. Bored. The clock ticks slowly by and I feel my sanity slipping. My mind is not at the job, it’s elsewhere, possibly in the gutter. My computer chugs along and it’s so slow it saps all my energy. Opening files, saving files, everything is a gigantic chore that I just don’t want to do. I sit here and rock back and forth in my chair, wondering when this piece of crap will be replaced. On the positive side this machine has never left me stranded in color wheel hell. It has never frozen or otherwise lost my work. Knock on wood.

I don’t feel any particular shade of anything at the moment. I’m a blank slate for the world to paint on. I wish it would. My mind wanders off to “Child on Board” window decals and I wonder who invented that. Are they now retired on a private island? Brain is all over the place, buzzing. Lighting here, then there, sparking useless synapses of fluffery! Yes that’s not even a word! I’ve just made that up. Isn’t it wonderful? I’m horribly bored, in fact, I can’t remember when I was more bored! Days crash into one another. I just noticed I started this blog last year! A whole year has passed and what have I accomplished? Not much to say for myself.

Same man, same job, five pounds heavier. That sucks. I might be bordering on depressed right now. Ten to five and I can’t wait to go! Seriously. My ear is still bothering me from the dive and I haven’t even bothered to go to the doctor. To think I might be risking hearing loss and I’m just complacent. I was scared of type 1 DCS on Monday. Both my hands were numb and it hurt to breathe real deep. Kind of freaked me out.

Today I discovered an RSS reader as part of Google. I mean, I knew about RSS and feeds I just never bothered to actually subscribe to any much preferring to go to the actual site and read. It’s gotten to the point though that throughout my day I don’t have time to hop around from one site to the other so the reader makes it easy. Sometimes I tend to be so behind trends! I should really embrace much more of this considering the industry that I’m in but I guess I can’t be bothered. I deleted Facebook, absolutely abhor twitter and just recently (as of a year) started blogging in the traditional sense. Updating HTML manually is just so time consuming, it’s not worth it.

5:11! Thank the gods all mighty. I need to flee!

Apparition

O shadowed void, O heartless hate
What slice of heaven must I forsake?
For dewy kisses upon lips, or feathery caresses along my skin?
What senseless fantasies you inspire,
What desperate symmetry does this fire require?

O darkened wood, O moon-lit lake
What must I do to quench this loveless ache?
Between my thighs, my bosom  heaves with longing to partake,
To savor the wicked pleasures of the night
To bite, to feed, to fly, to free the light that you ignite

O recite those words I yearn to hear
As your blood flows like ruby tears
Tonight you’re mine, a sweet delight
Beneath these waves I’ll hold you tight,
Devour your soul, your dreams, your fears
Like the eloquent music of the spheres,
We become a velvet, sorrowed tune
Beneath the yellow, bright-eyed, jealous moon
Your loss of life flows down my throat
Slacked with thirst…

I am so cursed!

O senseless Strife, a lonesome plea
Please I beg you! Darkness flee! Leave me be!
Let him not die, by all the good that’s left in me!
I defy this lustful burning, I renounce this wicked yearning!
Let this fog upon my mind disperse!

Your body glows, your flesh so pure
How much of this can I endure?
I close my eyes, clutching you close,
Clinging to your blessed warmth

O shadowed void, O heartless hate
Lend this angel in my arms a different fate
O darkened wood, O moon-lit lake
With this incantation my life-force break
O recite those words I yearn to hear
Open your eyes my love, my death is near
I fade, I twist, I howl in pain
I lick and lap your gushing vein,
Becoming blackness, the whispers of the sea
O senseless Strife, I beg you hear my lonesome plea
Returning me to the withered banshee,
That ghostly maiden who loves thee
A creature who dwells only…
In your memory

Advanced Open Water Certification: Done!

I got home on Friday at around 6. It was a major rush to pack all the gear for our Advanced Open Water Certification, feed the cats, drop off keys to my brother and head back out to the dive shop for a weight belt and additional weights. By the time we got on the road it was well past 8PM. We stopped by a Panera and bought sandwiches only to land in bumper to bumper traffic on Route 78! All kinds of construction and road delays. We sat in the car a bit grumpy when all of a sudden we noticed the moon was disappearing. We were witnessing a complete lunar eclipse and suddenly didn’t fee so bad about the traffic. We watched amazed as slowly the shadow of the earth reduced the large moon to a sliver and then it was gone. I sat on IM for a while texting some friends as we cursed traffic.

At nearly 11 we got to the hotel, Allentown Sheraton and checked in. We had gotten these great rates through Priceline ($50 a night) for a four star which was great and our check-in process went pretty smoothly. Our room was perfectly situated on the bottom floor right next to the exit which made lugging gear in and out fairly easy!

The following morning after breakfast we arrived at Dutch Springs bright and early to fill out release forms (AKA if you drown we don’t care forms) and get our tank fill tickets and such. Divers are sort of a motley bunch varying in age, gender, weight and appearance. It’s impossible to look at someone and say “diver.” What I like about the diving crowd is that they love to travel and so the conversation is always a highlight as tips and anecdotes are shared and exchanged. Divers are generally very friendly and eager to socialize. I have also found them to be cool and collected even bordering on laid back.

After unloading our equipment (and there was quite a lot) and laying it out on the blue tarp for setup we were met by Klaus, Ray and John, our instructors. Klaus was older, Swedish. His hair was peppered and he had American Indian tattoos on his back and arms. His clear blue eyes conveyed intelligence, warmth and an open sense of humor that was instantly disarming. His accent was great and yes he did say “Ya”! Ray was slight, her frame fragile. She couldn’t have weighed more than a hundred pounds. Her short black hair was dyed with blond streaks and she had all kinds of piercings including a stud in her tongue. She was of Asian descent and her skin was like caramel. She was wearing a bright blue dress and we could so tell she was gonna be the drill sergeant! John was our dive-master for the day and he instantly singled me out as clueless chick I guess but he couldn’t have been more wrong. “Here let me help you with that!” Was he flirting? I think so.

We instantly began to get a move on. Walked down the steep hill to wet our BCD’s in the quarry so we could start setting up our tanks. I was given four extra pounds by Ray and throughout the day another four as my buoyancy needed adjustment. Just to give you an idea of how heavy the gear is, the tank alone weighs 45 lbs. when filled. I was then carrying 16 lbs on a weight belt and another 8lbs in pockets. There there is a 7mm wetsuit with a 7mm jacket, 5mm hood, gloves and boots, plus the weight of the regulator. Then of course there are fins, mask and snorkel!  I equate this gear to what astronauts must feel upon entering earth gravity! Crushing!

If for some reason any part of this gear rubs you the wrong way, as rental gear is bound to, your diving experience will suffer. Immediately after entering the water for our Peak Performance Buoyancy dive I got a horrendous cramp on my right leg. I had to wait for that to subside but the stress of this gave me a totally strange pain in my upper left shoulder. To top things off my snorkel came loose and I didn’t have it on the surface which sucked since we were waiting for a good twenty minutes for the first group to finish before descending. This was not a good way to get started. We had to swim through a diamond reef watching our buoyancy with additional weight which I negotiated just fine. I lost a fin underwater during this dive and luckily Klaus caught it. It just came right off! I was able to put the fin back on and finish the dive. The whole dive was stressful and I went through quite a bit of air in 30 minutes, much more than I normally do.

To my surprise, someone had found my snorkel and put it on the dock. For the second dive I did some serious adjustment to my gear and while my leg still hurt I felt much better. Underwater navigation was a bitch. Our second dive involved navigating a perfect square with a buddy, ten kick cycles each way. My turn with the compass was good, I was able to focus and get us back to the platform while Rob watched the depth but when we reversed I had a major issue with depth and really became scared when I couldn’t find the valve on my BCD to let air out. I felt myself floating to the surface which was bad! This can be lethal. I was focusing so hard on the gauges (mind you rental equipment was off by 10′ at least!) that I lost track of direction. Compass navigation rarely ever comes into play but still, this was a failure on my part. I felt like that was a total fail and made note of what I did wrong.

I have to say this was the first time I had become completely disoriented underwater. The visibility was low and I lost my cool for a second and really didn’t know which way was up or down. I was glad I DID NOT panic and finally got my bearings but I need to really watch buoyancy much better in future. My biggest fear is to rise to the surface too quickly in an uncontrolled ascent!

We had lunch after our second dive and went over knowledge reviews. John and I discussed what had gone wrong and how to correct it. He was extremely positive and did manage to instill me with confidence. By the time we were done and dropped tanks off to be refilled it was past 2:30 PM. We made it to the hotel by 3PM where we took a nap for a bit. Some experts say that tiredness and fatigue are sub clinical DCS symptoms but I think lugging all that heavy stuff was primarily responsible. We did our safety stops and were properly hydrated but that is not to say that you can’t get bent in 10′ of water.

At around 6PM we grabbed dinner and headed back to the quarry to pick up our tanks for the night dive. We began setting up right away, attaching lights, testing equipment etc. The quarry was peaceful as the throng of divers were gone mostly. I had no problems during the night dive and enjoyed it immensely. All of my equipment was fine, my buoyancy was near perfect and it was just an amazing dive! Magical in fact. This dive reminded me why I got into this to begin with. We went over signals and got comfortable with the lights and darkness. The bubbles themselves came to life. I can only imagine how gorgeous a night dive along a reef must be!

The following day I didn’t waste any time suiting up. We got there and I was ready to go. Our wet suits didn’t dry very well in the bathtub which was unfortunate. I felt so grimy it wasn’t even funny. By 9AM we were back in the water for our deep dive.  During the descent I pinched an ear and got water trapped under the hood which was bad. At least I know what I should have done differently. The dive itself to 70′ went well and we did our drills underwater. It was funny to feel my reaction time slow down from the cold and the depth. Write my name backwards? What? The water was cold!  By the time we made it out my right ear was aching quite a bit. Great.

One more dive to go! The wreck reel was a fiasco. Rob tied the reel and swam out and before we knew it the thing was tangled up and he was sinking to the bottom. Fine manual dexterity goes out the window in the cold. Ray and I finally managed to get him untangled and get him back to the proper depth. His mask had almost completely flooded. I had no issue with the reel and quickly got this drill done. We went from a sunken school bus to a fire truck to the platform and back. This dive was pretty good and I had no issues. On the surface, however, my ear was aching bad. Luckily we had just completed our Advanced Open Water Certification and no more dives would follow.

I’m keeping close tabs on my ear to see if I’ll need a doctor. Hopefully I won’t. My body aches from lugging all that gear but it’s not that bad. I have a couple of bruises on my shoulder from carrying the tank and on my shin…but it’s all good. Got my cert! Woot!