ODC July 2014 Newsletter

[Owatonna Divers Club]

ODC News Letter Owatonna Diving Club PO Box 232, Owatonna MN 55060 July 27, 2014 Upcoming Events July 30 – Aug 2                          Bayfield August 7th                                  Compressor Training August 8th – 13th             Mackinac Straights August 23, 24                            DUI Demo Days August 22nd – 25th                       Milwaukee October 4th, 5th                           Advanced (Crosby) October 10th – 12th                      Fall North Shore October 25th, 26th                        Gilbert (Ore-B-Gone) Every Thursday, 7:30                 Pump Nights

2014 Owatonna Dive Club Officers President – Troy Matejcek Vice President – Denny Javens Secretary – Bob Kierski Treasure – Jim Zabel Board One Year – Jeff Kirchner Two Year – Pete DeGrood Three Year – Delbert Kepka Club Meetings We encourage all members, family and new students to attend the monthly club meetings to share experiences, laughs, and ideas for future dives, as well as the state of the club. We meet at 7:00, (usually) the 2nd Tuesday of almost every month.  Our next meeting will be Tuesday, September 9th.  All are welcome to attend.   August Meeting and Pump Nights Because of the conflict with the Steal County Fair, there will be NO August Monthly Meeting.  The pump night that was canceled for that week has been un-canceled – There will be a pump night that week.   Bayfield (Gateway to the Apostle Islands) Camping at Little Sand Bay Campgrounds is filling up fast. This is a Drive-to-Dive and Family Camping event for the club. If you are interested in going, there is a signup sheet at the clubhouse, or contact Don Matejcek.   I have not gotten any feedback on things people like to do, or avoid while at Bayfield.  So unfortunately, I don't have any information to pass on in this newsletter.   But, as always, there will be S'mores by the campfire, and the annual Fish Fry.  If you plan to attend just the Fish Fry, please contact Don Matejcek so he knows how many people to expect.   Pump Night Operators Needed!!! We need a few more people to volunteer to be in charge on Thursday Pump nights.  We will be holding a training session August 7th during the usual Pump Night..  Even if you're just interested in learning more about compressor maintenance and operation, we encourage members to attend this.  No need to RSVP, just come down to the club house about 7:30.   Mackinac Straights The Dates for the Mackinac Straights has been set – August 8th – 13th.  Denny, Corey, and Steve have been talking about going to the Shipwreck Preserve in the UP of MI for a while.  I don't know a lot about the trip, but I'm guessing that if you're interested, you should contact one of those three guys, and you should probably do it soon.  I'm hoping they'll have a camera along and will be willing to share their experiences in the August Newsletter and at the September 9th meeting. Milwaukee Trip Much like Lake Superior, Lake Michigan has many historical shipwrecks that are in divable range.  Members of ODC are organizing a trip to Milwaukee to visit/dive some of those ghost ships.  Augusts 22nd - 25th.  There is a Signup Sheet at the club house.  Please contact Corey for information.   DUI Dry Suite DEMO Days If you are in the market for a new dry suite, or… if you've wondered what it would be like to dive in a dry suite, DUI has an opportunity for you.   Each year DUI travels to different areas demoing their standard suites as well as their latest dry suites, undergarments, and other related dive equipment.  If you are dry suite certified, you can try the suites on your own.  If you're not dry suite certified, DUI will match you with an instructor.  For $15, you can try as many suites and undergarments as you have bottom time and air for, even the new Blue Heat undergarment.  And… DUI puts on a free BBQ lunch.   DUI Demo Days are August 23rd and 24th at Lake Wazee.  If you're interested, you can just stop out.  But it would be best to contact Bob Peoble to get more information, and directions.   DUI provides the dry suites and undergarments.  You provide the regulator, BCD, weights, and tanks.     September Event Needed July is almost over.  August is full of dive event.  It would be great if we could put together a September trip or day outing.  If you have a September day or weekend open and want to go diving, or if you have ideas about where we should go, please send me a note.   Advanced Open Water The PADI Advanced Open Water course is a good way to expand the knowledge and skills you learned during the PADI Open Water class/pool and checkout dives.  The emphasis of the PADI Advanced Open Water course is more on the dive experience than the book work, so there is generally more underwater time, than class and book time.  Many dive charters require PADI Advanced Open Water certification (or equivalent) to go on dives deeper than 30 feet.  If you are planning a dive trip this Fall, Winter, or next Spring, you may want to consider getting your PADI Advanced Open Water certification offered by Owatonna Divers Club.  Our fees are significantly lower than anyone… anywhere, and you'll spend your vacation enjoying your dives rather than getting a certification.  If you are interested, please contact Corey M.   The Advanced Open Water dives are conducted in the abandoned mines in Crosby MN.  There is camping available at the Portsmouth Campgrounds, as well as the Municipal Crosby Campgrounds, and there are other lodging options.  Even though this gives you the opportunity to complete your Advance Open Water Diver certification in one weekend, it is not necessary that you do so.  You can do as many or as few dives as you want, and complete the rest at some other time.  We have the Advanced Open Water in October so that the weather is still fairly warm, and the night dive can be done at a fairly reasonable time (sunset will be around 6:45).   Building Maintenance There has be quite a lot of progress on the inside maintenance projects.  The dry wall, insulation, and vapor barrier was removed from the east wall.  A small area was removed before the July 15th meeting so that we could discuss the demolition and construction plans at the meeting.  While the water damage extended further up the wall than expected, there wasn't black mold as we had suspected.  The remainder of the drywall, insulation, and vapor barrier was removed during the July 17th and 24th Pump Nights.   We could really use your help.  If you have experience doing this sort of project, your help would be appreciated.  Please bring your tools, and stop by the club house for Thursday pump nights – that's when the work will be done.     Fall North Shore The dates for the Fall North Shore dive have been set – October 10th – 12th.  The North Shore in the fall is a beautiful place.  The campgrounds in the area are still open.  We're planning at camping at the Two Harbors Campgrounds.  They've been working on expending their facilities.  When we drove by going to Isle Royale, we could see the new sites are being used.  There is a signup sheet at the Club House.   Gilbert (Fall Dive) Lake Ore B'Gone (cousin to Lake Woebegone) is an abandoned Iron Ore Mine in Gilbert Minnesota – part of the Mesabi Iron Range.  As the result, the water is usually very clear and there are interesting rocks to look at.  In addition, the local divers have token a lot of time and care into placing many artificial reefs including 2 helicopters, 3 (or more) planes, boats and cars as well as a variety of mining equipment.  In addition to SCUBA, the area is also home of an extensive ATV park.  ODC is organizing its' annual Gilbert trip for October 25 – 26.  There is a signup sheet at the club house.  Please contact Corey for more information. Fall Classes Fall classes are right around the corner.  If you know someone who is interested in becoming certified, Please have them check out the Fall SCUBA class, and Discover SCUBA offered by ODC through Owatonna Community Education.  Our fees are at least 50% less than anyone else, and our program is much more complete and personal.   Membership Please join me in congratulating our latest Lifetime member – Tom Weber.     Mille Lacs Lake Anchor Dive It's been a few years since ODC has made it up to Mille Lacs Lake for an Anchor dive.  This trip was successful on many levels.  There was a good walleye chop.  The winds were pretty strong   The water was very clear.  It was sort of hard to spot the anchors because they were covered in Zebra Mussels.  But 3 of our group came to the surface with at least part of an anchor.  Don threw his back to let it will grow a bit more. Isle Royale There were only 4 of us for this year's trip to Isle Royale – Don, Troy, John, and Bob.  Except for Friday, the weather was nearly perfect while we were there. The lake was nearly calm the entire time.  We arrived at Grand Portage in the afternoon of 7-8.  The sun was out and the forecast was for clear skies the rest of the day, so we loaded the boats and crossed.  We made pretty good time, and got to Grace Island about dinner time.  Troy fogged camp while Don fired up the grill, and John and I moved our gear to the shelters.   When we checked in Wednesday morning at the ranger station, the ranger informed us that Marty (the Moose) had gone to his final resting place.  We found out that Marty was quite old.  The ranger had been on the island for 16 years and Marty had been there when she started.  That's pretty old for a Moose with two eyes.  It's pretty incredible for a Moose with only one eye.   Because we were expecting the lake to pick up as the day got warmer, we decided to take advantage of the calm and dive the outer wrecks.  We headed out to the Rock-of-Ages light house and dove the Cox.  The picture to the right is of John going down the line on the Cox. It appears that Don has a light house cookie growing from his sholder. On Thursday, we headed up to dive the Glennlyon.  The lake was pretty much flat calm the whole way there, our entire stay, and all the way back.  The picture on the left is of the Isle Royale light house just in from the Glennlyon Shole.   We headed in for lunch.  While we were there, we decided to hike up to the big lake in the island – Siskiwit Lake.  The picture on the right is of one of the falls coming from the lake.   The island is full of amazing scenary.  We spent a couple of hours hiking along the river leading from Siskiwit Lake to Melone Bay.  It's amazing to think that very few people make it that way to see what we saw. I did two dives on the America.  It's looking pretty beat up.  There is even more of the upper deck that has come loose and is haning over the port side.  This past winter, the ice was really thick and did a lot of damage.  It's pushed over even further.  The rangers are saying that they don't expect it to stay this well intact much longer.  The good news is… the inside, that is surrounded by steal is still in good shape – just more ascew.  I went into the galley.  The cupboards are still pretty square, just not plumb.   Unfortunately, the weather Friday was pretty miserable.  It rained off and on all day.  The fog rolled in so thick that at times you could hardly see the end of the dock.  In the picture bellow, you can just bearly see the other side of Grace Bay – less than ¼ mile away.   Newsletter If you have a story you would like to write for the Newsletter, or would like to see something in a newsletter, please send me an email at owatonn...@gmail.com. The next Newsletter is scheduled to go out August 31st. Please have any material to me by noon August 30th if you want it in the Newsletter. Dive Safe, Dive with a Buddy! Owatonna Diving Club Classifieds This section is dedicated to club members who have an item for sale or wanted items.  If you have an item, please send me an email at owatonn...@gmail.com.  If your item sells or you have found the item you are looking for, please contact me so it can be removed.   From Bob Kierski (bobki...@charter.net): Catalina 100 Cubic Aluminum Tank – Black Working Pressure – 3300 PSI $50