That is deep! Think I would have worn my brown
trousers! What was the Pisces VI good for depthwise? How many
people? What sort of Vis at that depth. Do they still do that sort
of thing or is it all ROV’s now. How many other working Deep deep
subs are there other than Mir?
I’ll shout the beer. Chs, Hugh
Pisces VI. Bay of Fundy. 4865 feet. BOP inspection. Hyco
manipulator.
Hi Vance, Is it too much to ask for a synopsis. i.e.
how deep, what sort of submersible? What sort of manipulator? Etc Or do we have
to fill you with beer first? Love to hear some of the experiences.
Chs, Hugh
I've turned wrenches deeper than the oil spill in the Gulf, so if
you need a hand during the pre-launch, feel free to ask. I'm available.
I'm in, assuming I can get the sub finished in time. If we're lucky
enough to get flat calm conditions I would love to try outside dives, but with
this protected spot at least we're assured the chance to dunk the subs and give
some rides. Now... I've got to finish the boat first of course. I'm working on
it like crazy. Both inside and outside paint jobs are finished, and
I'm in assembly mode, but some significant parts still need to be built. This
should be exciting as I expect to finish the boat at the convention marina
five minutes before the first dive, and the convention dives will be sea
trials. Better pack lots of duct tape.
May I suggest the next logical step? That's to try and enlist some
of the folks who don't participate much on the email list but do have
operational subs. Back in 2006 we had a convoy of Michigan subs who took a very
long drive and doubled our attendance. They trundled in all in a line, saving
the event. This drive is even longer, but there's the sea at the end of it
instead of a lake. I'm talking about Kyle, Gary Boucher, Gary Sluis, Les, Dan
Brewer, Dan H, maybe even Pierre. I'm sure I'm forgetting some of
you. Jon, I have phone numbers or emails for most of those guys... d'you want
them?
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Item 1: Viz was pushing 10 feet when we were up there Monday. It
could be a little worse and might be substantially better depending on tide.
Bill was going to look at the tide tables back at the shop to see about that.
Incoming is far, far better.....let's hope for that.
Item 2: I'd scrap the idea of boat ramps. It's cheaper, yes, but
the attendant risks of short ramps and drop offs (and the resultant delays if
something goes wrong) suggests that we commit as a group to the sky launch and
be done with it.
Item 3: The old Taylor Creek marina, which is now called Anchors
Aweigh at Taylor Creek, will launch us for $5.50/foot, flat rate. If it's Alex
at 11 feet, then it's $65.50 if my math is right. Maximum load on the fork lift
is 22,000 pounds so if Jim gets down here, we can handle his sub at the same
place. My bet is that Cracker Boy will offer us a 10% break for multiple
launches, so Taylor Creek is roughly half price for the small boats and maybe
just over $100 for Jim. Still the best price I've had all week. NOTE: The two
places are side-by-side and the same distance from the dive site (about 1/3
mile).
Item 4: Jimmy has two boats (a Whaler and a smaller boat with a
hookah installation), either of which can be used for towing. If Jim comes, or
there is a need, we can use Nick's boat (my brother). The boat has roughly the
same windage as an aircraft carrier but includes a pair of 454s which will do
whatever we need for short hauls. If Alex or someone wants to go outside and
try a dive before or after the conference (depending on the weather), we can
probably do that, too.
Item 5: Ditto. Also, the boat has a dive platform, AC, two heads
and a fridge, so lunch and drinks will be centrally located and out of the sun.
It also has awnings over the cockpit, so all you pale skinned kids can get out
of the Florida sun. Trust me, you'll want to at some stage.
Thanks to Vance Bradley, Ken
Martindale, and Billy Odell for their field trip to Ft. Pierce to inspect the
dive location. Here is the latest info we have based upon their trip, but Ken
and Vance please add/retract anything I missed or got wrong.
1) The dive area as shown at http://www.psubs.org/convention/2010/diveloc/diveloc2.html
appears to be more than large enough for us, quiet, and has little to no
current. Average depth is 20-24 feet and is much larger than the dive sites in
either Michigan or Vancouver.
2) The public boat ramp shown at http://www.psubs.org/convention/2010/diveloc/diveloc2.html
has border-line depth for launch/recovery by trailer. I suspect that trailers
with extensions like DanH and Alec use for their subs will be able to make it
work since they can get deeper in the water. For just a regular trailer with no
extension, my gut feeling is that trailer launching is going to be difficult.
Perhaps Vance and Ken can provide more specific info since they personally
visited the site. I will post photos on the dive location web page http://www.psubs.org/convention/2010/diveloc this
afternoon.
3) There are a couple of relatively close marinas with boat lifts. So far the
lowest price I've gotten is $150 per vessel but Vance is working some magic to
see if we can get a lower price for this service.
4) We'll need towing to get the subs to the dive location. Currently working on
that issue to see what the cost will be.
5) Vance has commandeered his brothers 42 foot (I think) cruiser for dive day
and I believe is planning to have this vessel anchored in the area for dive
ops.
Jon
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