FAIRFIELD COUNTY DIVING ASSOCIATION

February 2016 Volume 23 Issue 2

Inside this Issue The Presidents’ Corner The Presidents’ Corner by Mike Cassetta by Mike Cassetta page 1 Although the winter was late phere against incumbents, our FCDA Donor I page 2 in getting here, the last few existing officers will be returning days of have seen record- for service including Matt & I as Archie: The Art of Diving breaking low temperatures. De- Co-Presidents, Mark Shannon as page 2 spite the nasty weather, spring Vice President & Paul Gacek as his just around the corner and Treasurer. We are still in des- January Meeting DAN it's almost time to get out there perate need of a club secretary Raffle Winners page 3 and start diving. If you haven't to assist in preparing are already done so; get your gear monthly newsletters. FCDA Member Ads page 3 serviced and ready for some As a reminder, if you have good dives in the Northeast with not yet paid your annual dues, Back to Britannic by FCDA this year. please do so, dues are very rea- Michael C. Barnette Our January meeting was sonable and help us provide the pages 4, 5, 6, 7 well attended. Although our newsletter and support club ac- planned speaker had to cancel, tivities.

Paul Gacek filled in admirably Look forward to seeing you FCDA Donors II page and showed a well-done video Friday February 26th. 5 on a live aboard trip on the Your humble servant.

Carib Dancer in the Bahamas. 2016 Thank You for Our guest speaker for the Feb- Mike becoming a Friend of ruary meeting will be Captain DAN page 8 Bill Palmer speaking on the SS Atlantic. Diving Doctor: Why Did I As a reminder, there is no Get An Unexplained Hit? March Meeting and we encour- by James L. Caruso page 9 age everybody to attend Be- neath the Sea. We are still look- Connecticut Underwater ing to scheduling speakers for Hockey WANTS YOU! the rest of the year. Hopefully page 10 Charlie Blanchette will be able to show his Australia video at 5 Diving Tips For Saving either her April or May meeting. Air page 11 If anybody else has video foot- age or slides of a recent dive Next FCDA Meeting trip, please let Matt or me page 12 know. During January meeting, we held our annual elections. De- spite a toxic political atmos-

Page 2 FCDA Donor The business listed on this page has donated dive gear and dive services to help support the Fairfield County Diving Association.

UPCOMING TRIPS

Curacao Sat, Apr 16, 2016 - Sat, Apr 23, 2016 Sunscape Resort

Truk Lagoon 2016 Sun, Nov 27, 2016 - Sun, Dec 04, 2016 Truk Odyssey

Red Sea (Egypt) 2017 Sat, Nov 25, 2017 - Sat, Dec 02, 2017 Red Sea Aggressor

Archie: The Art of Diving

Page 3 January Meeting DAN Raffle Winners

After watching a video presentation Thanks to New England Dive Remember, you can't win if you Diving the Bahams by Paul Gacek, Center Orbit Marine Dive Center don't buy tickets and you can't buy the club held its monthly raffle to sup- and Paul Gacek for donating to- tickets if you don't get up and come port our DAN Platinum sponsorship. night’s raffle prizes for our DAN raf- out to FCDA events and meetings! The winners were: Aquaseal Ce- fle. ment donated by Orbit Marine Dive Center — Michelle Lapin, Hose Holder donated by New England Dive Center — Toni Morgan, Belt Buckle donated by New England Dive Center — Toni Morgan, Phone Smart Sleeves donated by New England Dive Center — Jim Purcell, McNett Dive Bag donated by New England Dive Center - Toni Morgan, LED Glowstick donated by New England Dive Center - Toni Morghan, Pink Dive Snorkel donated by New England Dive Center - Mike Cassetta, Wreck Spool do- nated by Orbit Marine Dive Center - Michelle Lapin, Princeton Tec Light donated by New England Dive Center - Doug Reitmeyer, Bahamas Video donated by Paul Gacek - Matt Rownin, $10 Gift Certificate donated by New England Dive Center - Doug Reitmeyer and a $10 Gift Certificate donated by New England Dive Center - Jim Purcell. FCDA Member Ads

Hey - have you got a non retail-diving business that you’d like to share with fellow members of FCDA? Get your business card size ad in the FCDA monthly newsletter “Surface Interval” for only $50.00 for one year. Give your business a boost and help support the production of our monthly newsletters. For more information, write to FCDA, P.O. Box 3005, Fairfield, CT 06824 or email to [email protected].

Page 4 Back to Britannic by Michael C. Barnette

For experienced technical di- a little taken aback when I re- vers, the Britannic is the quin- ceived an invitation to dive this tessential wreck dive. This epic ocean liner from noted wreck Olympic class ocean liner is the diver Richie Kohler with advance sister ship of perhaps the most notice of only one month. famous vessel in history: RMS Unbeknownst to me, underwa- Titanic. Unlike the Titanic, Bri- ter imaging expert Evan Kovacs tannic never carried passengers had hounded the Malta-based, on the transatlantic route. In- Russian-staffed exploration and P.O. Box 3005, stead, the British government filming company U-Group for employed it as a hospital ship more than a year in hopes of Fairfield, CT 06824 with the outbreak of World War joining them in Greece. Affiliated I. In the course of that service, with the Russian Geographical Internet mail: [email protected] it struck a mine deployed by the Society, U-Group had been ex- http://www.fcda.us German submarine U-73 in the ploring and filming Britannic using Aegean Sea on Nov. 21, 1916. a three-man submersible and re- 2016 Board HMHS Britannic now rests on its motely operated vehicle (ROV)

port side in approximately 400 from their research vessel U-Boat Presidents Matt Rownin & feet of water, less than 3 nauti- Navigator for the past two years. Mike Cassetta cal miles off the Greek island of Kovacs hoped to piggyback on Vice-President Mark Shannon Kea. their permit to conduct reconnais- Secretary Vacant Simply put, the Britannic sance in advance of a much lar- wreck is spectacular. Given its (Continued on page 5) Treasurer Paul J. Gacek pedigree and the fact it rests tantalizingly close to shore, one might think technical divers visit the site regularly. But there are even greater hurdles to explor- ing the wreck than its depth. One must first acquire permis- sion from the British owner of the wreck site as well as permits from the Greek government be- fore even considering the sourc- ing of tanks, breathing gas and additional gear needed for div- ing operations. Planning usually takes several months or even a year. And all this is easier said than done. Having participated in a previous expedition to Bri- tannic in 2006, I was well aware of all the bureaucratic and logis- tical issues that generally wreak havoc on planned diving objec- Diver Edoardo Pavia illuminates tives. It is for this reason I was the bridge of Britannic.

Page 5 FCDA Donor Back to Britannic The business listed on this page has donated by Michael C. dive gear and dive services to help support the Barnette Fairfield County Diving Association. (continued)

(Continued from page 4) ger future expedition to Greece. With the apparent support of U -Group and excitement about again visiting the wreck of Britan- nic, we found ourselves headed back to Kea in late June 2015. Accomplished Italian diver Edo- ardo Pavia — driving a van full of tanks, breathing gas, rebreather consumables and other necessary gear across Greece — rounded out our small team. But because of a general lack of interaction and communication between Western divers and our Russian counterparts, we were not exactly sure what to expect upon our ar- rival. Fortunately, our initial meeting any uncertainty we may have stunned by all the tools on board aboard U-Boat Navigator allayed had about the crew or their ca- the research vessel. Aside from pabilities. We were pleasantly the aforementioned submersible and ROV, they had a large chase boat, a multibeam and side-scan sonar, a massive fill station, an elevated dive platform, an amaz- ing clinic with a multiplace hyper- baric chamber, a fully equipped video production station and a diving bell complete with commu- nications, video, hot water and abundant supplies of emergency breathing gas. The diving bell would allow up to two divers at a time to stand up in an air-filled chamber, remove their gear and have a chat or get a drink of wa- ter, all while being monitored by a hyperbaric physician topside. With planned dive times ap- (Continued on page 6) U-Boat Navigator in Kea, Greece

Page 6 Back to Britannic by Michael C. Barnette (continued)

(Continued from page 5) proaching six hours, the diving bell radically increased safety compared with conventional open -water decompression while also offering a great diversion from the monotony of decompression stops. The enhanced safety provided by the in-water monitoring and the diving bell had special signifi- cance in light of Carl Spencer's fatal dive on May 24, 2009, while leading a National Geographic expedition to Britannic. Spencer was an extremely competent technical diver and was very fa- miliar with Britannic; the 2009 project was his third expedition to The well-appointed clinic aboard U-Boat Navigator Kea. He had also led or partici- pated in numerous other techni- ing with the tools we now had at an efficient communication proto- cal diving expeditions, including a our disposal, his death perhaps col with the topside crew and 2007 venture to the liner Carpa- could have been prevented. worked through potential scenar- thia, rescue ship to Titanic, which About 24 hours after I landed ios for future dives, we were rests at approximately 500 feet in Greece I was suited up and ready for Britannic. about 200 nautical miles off the ready to splash on the wreck of Britannic, however, was not coast of Ireland. Yet he passed the French liner Burdigala to con- ready for us. Over the next sev- away on a dive that, at face duct a checkout of my gear. eral days we encountered very value, should have been routine Meanwhile, our entire team was strong currents that prevented for someone with his experience. evaluating the operations of the U diving. On the first day, the ROV Unfortunately, he made a series -Boat Navigator, while I suspect and submersible confirmed a of mistakes that culminated in the Russian crew was ensuring three-knot current all the way to him breathing from an improperly we weren't a bunch of crazy the wreck. Current is not usually labeled cylinder, resulting in an in Americans (and one Italian) in- a deterrent for live-boat opera- -water seizure from oxygen toxic- tent on killing ourselves. We suc- tions, which utilize drifting de- ity at approximately 120 feet. cessfully completed a shakedown compression, but the Greek per- With no good options, support dive on Burdigala, which rests at mit mandated a moored diving divers rushed Spencer to the sur- a little more than half the depth platform. We lost two more days face in hopes of treating him in of Britannic, and interacted with to strong winds that made the the expedition vessel's hyperbaric the submersible and ROV at sea conditions inhospitable, to chamber. Tragically, all efforts to depth. On a second dive to the say the least. Because of the save him were unsuccessful. Dur- wreck, we included the diving bell short timeframe for this small- ing our initial inspection of U-Boat in operations to test and familiar- scale reconnaissance trip, we Navigator, we realized with heavy ize ourselves with it prior to em- were now down to a single day to hearts that had Spencer been div- ploying it on a much longer, dive the massive liner. deeper dive. Having established (Continued on page 7)

Page 7

Back to Britannic by Michael C. Barnette (continued)

seemed as if the surreal scene (Continued from page 6) umbilical line. On the bottom, Fortunately, the stars aligned Pavia and I were tasked with was an elaborately fabricated and the Aegean presented us running a line from the diving Hollywood production. All too with spectacular conditions on the bell out to our area of opera- rapidly, 40 minutes ticked by, and last day. Leveraging considerable tions on Britannic to expedite we began making our way toward skill and experience, and aided by Kovacs' and Kohler's assigned the diving bell. En route, we all multibeam sonar and navigational project. Our task completed, we took one last minute to say good- software, the U-Boat Navigator proceeded to inspect the bridge bye to both Britannic and our crew secured a three-point moor- area of the magnificent wreck friend Carl Spencer. ing directly over Britannic's and confirm the presence of Ecstatic from our successful bridge, exactly where we wanted several key artifacts and fea- and productive dive, we slowly to be. We knew where we were tures for future work. Being fo- crept toward a surface that was on the 880-foot-long wreck even cused on the various tasks at 280 feet and almost five hours before we entered the water. Our hand and consumed with cap- away. For me the time passed position was confirmed with the turing the wreck in both still im- quickly as I replayed the dive in deployment of the submersible, ages and video, I occasionally my head and reflected on the en- ROV and diving bell, all of which had to force myself to stop, put tire remarkable experience. After fed live video to the dive vessel's down the camera and just take completing our lengthy decom- control room. There was nothing in the magical scene laid out pression obligation, we surfaced left to do but suit up and dive in. before me. In the muted but tired, yet thrilled, having com- Splashing into the cool Aegean clear blue water was a massive pleted all our goals and objec- waters, we initially used the structure with almost 100 feet tives. In doing so, we furthered ROV's downline to descend out of of relief, portions illuminated by Spencer's vision for exploration of the surface current before trans- the piercing lights of the sub- this iconic shipwreck and finally ferring over to the diving bell's mersible and ROV. It almost answered a question that has baffled historians for 99 years: Why did Britannic sink twice as fast as its more famous sister ship? We were also content in knowing that we had conducted one of the safest and best- supported technical dives on Bri- tannic to date. Having forged a strong friendship with the crew of U-Boat Navigator, it's safe to say we are all giddy in anticipation of future work on Britannic.

Reprinted from Alert Diver Fall, 2015.

U-Boat Navigator’s three-man submersible explores the wreck of Burdigala.

Page 8

2016 Thank You for becoming a Friend of DAN

Date Feb 9, 2016 From Broyles, Garrett [email protected] To fcda [email protected]

Dear Fairfield County Diving Association,

Thank you for donating $800.00 to DAN through our Friend of DAN Fall Giving Campaign. Your participa- tion in this program is essential to DAN’s unwavering effort to make every dive accident- and injury-free.

This year we dedicated your contribution to DAN’s Oxygen Grant program, which supports a key aspect of DAN’s vision: to ensure that oxygen first-aid equipment and people trained in its use are at every dive site. Your gift will help us increase the number of oxygen units available, develop maintenance tools, as- sist with training and, in cooperation with our global regional offices, expand the program worldwide.

In 2016, we will continue to work on new initiatives that can improve the safety and enjoyment of this great sport, and we are thankful to have you involved as a Friend of DAN. If you have questions regard- ing your donation or other dive safety initiatives in development at DAN, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Thanks for your continued support,

Bill Ziefle President and Chief Executive Officer Divers Alert Network

Garrett Young Broyles Executive Assistant DAN, Inc. Phone: 919.684.2948 ext477

Page 9

Diving Doctor: Why Did I Get An Unexplained Hit? by James L. Caruso

Q: I GOT AN UNEXPLAINED tial missions use higher-risk ta- tices. HIT. WHAT COULD HAVE bles than those used for routine While it’s important to under- CAUSED IT? tasks. stand the causes of DCS, it’s A: I am glad you used the Other factors that affect the not always possible. If you had newer term — “unexplained” — development of decompression a true unexplained hit, you rather than the one we used in sickness include hydration shouldn’t dive until you undergo the past, “undeserved.” The status, strenuous physical activ- a full medical evaluation. older term implied that anyone ity before/during/after the dive, who sustained a mystery hit repetitive dives, and impaired James L. Caruso is a 30-year (symptoms of decompression local circulation as would occur veteran of the U.S. Navy, serv- sickness without obvious cause) with injuries. The risk of devel- ing as ship’s doctor, undersea surely must have done some- oping decompression sickness medical officer and flight sur- thing wrong during the dive to certainly increases as the diver geon. His experience includes a earn such an outcome. The re- approaches no-decompression fellowship in Diving and Hyper- ality is that two divers can com- limits, and would be greater for baric Medicine at Duke Univer- plete an identical dive profile a diver who spends the majority sity Medical Center; today he is under identical conditions with of the dive at those limits. The Denver's chief medical exam- only one of the divers develop- bottom line: Diving has associ- iner. ing symptoms of decompression ated inherent risks that are sickness. Alternatively, the minimized, though not com- Reprinted from Scu- same diver can perform the ex- pletely eliminated, by excellent badiving.com - March 7, 2015 act same dive on two different training and conservative prac- days and end up with different outcomes. In dive training, it is not al- ways emphasized that dive ta- bles — and therefore dive com- puters based on the same algo- rithms — have a failure rate. The original U.S. and Royal Navy dive tables were derived from mathematic calculations and tested on very fit, muscular military divers. It may also be a revelation that the tables were not meant to be infallible, and some of the depth/bottom-time combinations were validated using a minimum number of test dives. In fact, the latest U.S. Navy tables use probabili- OFTEN, DECOMPRESSION SICKNESS CAN BE A RANDOM EVENT, AND ties; it is acceptable that essen- THE CAUSE REMAINS UNKNOWN.

Page 10

Connecticut Underwater Hockey WANTS YOU!

Looking for a great way to have fun and stay healthy? No experience or equipment is required. Anyone who likes swimming, freediving, SCUBA, will enjoy this fun non-contact team sport.

Looking for a great way to have fun and stay healthy? No experience or equipment is required. Anyone who likes swimming, freediving, SCUBA, will enjoy this fun non-contact team sport.

No special equipment is necessary for beginners. Padded gloves (for your stick hand so you don't scrape your hand on the pool bottom) and stick will be provided to beginners. If you have a mask, snorkel or fins bring them, if not let us know and we can provide it for you.

Underwater Hockey is a team sport played through out the world. The level and intensity of play varies from clubs that just scrimmage to clubs that travels to regional and international tournaments. UWH started out in the 50s in Britain as an activity by a SCUBA club to keep n shape during the winter. The sport has evolved from using SCUBA equipment and ice hockey stick to breath holding and stick about a foot long. The puck is lead filled and is placed in the center of the pool. Simple small goals are placed at each end of the pool. Team members start from the wall by their goal and wait for the whistle to start play. The object of the game is to push or pass the puck in to the goal. Flat-bottomed pools with a depth of 8 feet are ideal, but most clubs play in pools where the depth goes from 5 to 13 feet.

It is a great way to stay in shape and is an excellent cardiovascular activity and more interesting than swimming laps.

Beginners will be taught team strategy and positioning, individual puck handling skills such as passing and curling. Breath holding con- ditioning exercises and techniques will also be taught.

NOW PLAYING AT THE STRATFORD YMCA POOL! THURSDAYS FROM 7:15 – 9:00PM

To learn more about UWH visit the Connecticut UWH web page at: http://www.meetup.com/Barnacles-Underwater-Hockey/ Mike Opuszynski, Phone: 203-888-5379 e-mail: [email protected]

Page 11

5 Diving Tips For Saving Air

Do you breathe your tank At 99 feet (four atmospheres) it have to put more air into your BC down faster than your buddy? takes twice as much as at 33 to float it and be neutral. The in- Here are 5 diving tips to help feet. There's absolutely nothing flated BC is larger and requires conserve your oxygen and extend you can do about that except to more energy and oxygen to push your bottom time. avoid being deeper than you it through the water. An extra 1. Fix the small leaks have to be. If you're making a eight pounds of lead means your Even a tiny stream of bubbles transit over an uninteresting BC is one gallon bigger when in- from an O-ring or an inflator sand flat to get to the edge of flated enough to make you neu- swivel adds up over 40 minutes, the drop-off, do it at 15 feet in- tral. and may be a sign of more seri- stead of at 40 feet, and you'll ous trouble ahead anyway. A save air. Reprinted from Scu- mask that doesn't seal is another 5. Minimize the Lead badiving.com - September 220, kind of leak in that you have to If you're over weighted, you 2011. constantly blow air into it to clear out the water. It's also a source of stress, which needlessly ele- vates your breathing rate and thereby reduces your breathing efficiency. Does your octo free- flow easily? That can dump a lot of air quickly. Detune it or mount it carefully so the mouthpiece points downward. 2. Dive More Inexperienced divers are fa- mous for burning through their air supply at a furious rate, so one of the best diving tips for saving air is to simply dive more often. You may not be a new diver, but unless you dive almost every week it's still an unnatural activity. By diving more, your body will get used to the idea, and you'll breathe less. 3. Swim Slowly The energy cost of speed is even more than you might think: Swim half as fast as you do now, and you'll use less air. 4. Stay Shallow Because your regulator has to deliver air at the same pressure as the water, a lungful at 33 feet (two atmospheres) takes twice as much out of your tank as does the same breath at the surface. DIVER DOING DECO STOP

Page 12

Next FCDA Meeting

Friday, February 26, 2016 - 8:00 PM Coast Guard Cottage, South Benson Marina, Fairfield, CT

"The Tragedy of the SS Atlantic"

a video presentation by

"Captain Bill Palmer"

The SS Atlantic was doomed when a treacherous storm blew in after the vessel left New London. Strong winds caused one of the boilers to explode and the steamboat then ran into the rocks near Fishers Island. Some passengers held on for their life, while others jumped overboard hoping to be rescued. Many passengers were swept away by the vicious waves; in all an estimated 50 people were lost. The Atlantic was launched in May of 1846, and was the first steamboat to introduce gas lights on board. Although ranked highly among steamboats for speed and beauty, the Atlantic was not able to withstand the stormy seas of New England.