On the way back from Ann Arbor and the U of M Medical Center, I stopped to check out a dive store we have been seeing on our back and forth trips for several years now and had never checked out. Today we stopped in to pay them a visit. Very nice store, the manager was very friendly, and they had a variety of diver propulsion vehicles (DPV’s) not available on the floor at our local dive shop.
As a side note, when I parked and got out of my car I saw something in the road behind my car so I walked over an picked it up. To my surprise what I thought was a hunk of tire rubber was a wallet. I asked in the store if any one knew who so & so was and they were not sure. But I left the wallet with them anyway and as I was backing up to drive away a guy came running out of the dive shop to say it belonged to a guy who worked in the store across from the shop. He then left to return the wallet. This was Friday the 13th, so who knows, maybe I was supposed to stop at the shop today 🙂
Huron Scuba 4816 Jackson Rd, Ann Arbor, MIWall Displays
As a charter member of the Michigan U/W Divers Club and “Dive Mentor” on the ScubaObsessed Pod cast, I was following the daily events around the missing Thai soccer team in the Tham Luang cave in the mountainous northern Thailand and their rescue. Here is an over view of the event and rescue.
On Saturday (June 23) it was reported that 12 boys and their coach of the Wild Boards youth soccer team (aged from 11 to 16) ventured into the Tham Luang cave in mountainous northern Thailand after soccer practice. There they got trapped when heavy rains caused flooding in the route back out of the cave which forced them to take shelter on a muddy ledge +2 miles inside the cave system.
The boys had biked to the cave along with their coach and when they didn’t return home on Saturday evening, their families reported them missing. Family members have held a vigil outside the complex since then. “There has to be faith. Faith makes everything a success, Thai authorities have remained resolutely optimistic that the group has found shelter on dry ground within the cave, and will be found.
Cave Map
On July 2, after nine days in darkness, two British divers, Mr. John Volamthen and Mr. Richard Stanton (both part of the part of the South and Mid Wales Cave Rescue Team) found them. They were found looking gaunt but otherwise offering smiles to the divers and appeared to be in remarkably good spirits.
Just reaching the boys and their soccer coach required a six-hour underground journey in strong currents, pitch blackness and treacherous conditions in the cave. The journey required squeezing through two-foot-wide passages and climbing over boulders several stories high. It has been difficult for even the best divers to navigate the submerged portions of the cave.
Now that they were located, the big challenge was how to get the out of the flooded cave system and the labyrinth of tunnels more than 2.5 miles inside the cave.
Time was critical for they feared that with the anticipated additional heavy rains the area they were in would also flood. As the rescue planning continued the boys were supplied with food, electrolyte drinks, and medicine. Over the time they were in the cave, the oxygen level in the chamber, dipped to 15% percent (normally 21%) so an air hose had been run from the rescue base inside the cave to the chamber where they were in to add fresh air to the chamber.
As part of the rescue plan air and oxygen tanks were being staged through the cave system.
The rescue was not without a fatality. On Friday (July 6), one of the rescuers, a former Thai Navy SEAL diver Mr. Saman Gunan drowned while transporting these air tanks.
The rescue mission started on Sunday (July 8) with divers entering the cave at 10:00 local time and having gotten 4 of the boys out by 19:47 hrs. The mission was paused overnight for air tanks to be replaced along the route but resumed again on Monday
On Monday (July 9) four more were removed from the cave and the remaining 5 were brought out on Tuesday (July 10) and transferred to hospital where the others were.
As a diver I was especially interested in how they were going to extract 13 non-divers from the flooded cave system.
Thai officials had contacted Mermaid Subsea Services in Bangkok, a firm that normally provides equipment for undersea oil and gas extraction. The company was asked to supply diving masks for the kids. Ideally, AGA Divator masks would be used, which cover the entire face and could be specially fitted for children. Each child would be dressed in wetsuits, boots, and helmets. Sources in the rescue operation said that the boys were sedated ahead of the rescue to prevent them panicking in the dark, tight, underwater passageways.
For the underwater sections, they were strapped to a rescue diver. They readied the mask attached to a tank filled with 80 percent oxygen. Finally, the boys were swaddled in a flexible plastic stretcher, akin to a tortilla wrap, to confine his limbs and protect them from the sharp edged walls. The divers were connected to lines that went to the surface. In all, about 40% of the boys’ journey through the water involved diving and in other parts the water was up to the rescuers’ chests.
Currently the earth supports 7.5 Billion people with the population still climbing. The global population grew from 1 billion in 1800 to 7.616 billion in 2018. It is expected to keep growing, and estimates have put the total population at 8.6 billion by mid-2030, 9.8 billion by mid-2050, and 11.2 billion by 2100. With this increase, the amount of material resources needed to maintain this vast number will be astronomical. Having sufficient food and clean water for the increasing population is becoming questionable. And we have yet come to terms with today’s waste disposal. The oceans and rivers are not meant to be the waste dumping grounds for us today and tomorrow. As divers, this is what we see already.
One of the main places our trash travels to is the North Pacific Ocean Gyre, or as most people known it as, the infamous Great Pacific Garbage Patch. An ocean gyre is defined as a system of circular ocean currents formed by the Earth’s wind patterns and the forces created by the rotation of the planet. Despite its name, there is nothing great about this swirling mass of trash that is four times the size of Texas. This ocean gyre has become so filled with trash, that it was once thought you could see it from space. That theory has since been proven wrong, and is actually worse than we imagined. Much of the trash found in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is microplastic.
Still high and FAST but with 6″ vis in the shallows. Would be surprised if the E-coli levels were not high due to the recent heavy rains like it is at Lion’s Park Beach. Its got to calm down before we start diving the river.
This memorial weekend was the date for the Mermaid Megafest in South Haven, MI. The purpose of this was to break the Guinness World Record for the largest gathering of people dressed as Mermaids. It was open to the general public and all you had to do was make or buy a costume, sign up with free registration, then suit up and show up at the gathering on the South Haven South Pier.
In addition to the Mermaids on Friday they held a Mermaid Eco Action Conference on preserving our natural freshwater resources and the festival is dedicated to promoting efforts to “Protect our Water Wonderland”! Friday’s inaugural event was a one-day educational conference at Lake Michigan College for instruction and innovation in the field of freshwater ecosystem protection. On Saturday they had the Mermaid Gathering, the Nauti Prows Flotilla and Siren’s Ball. Sunday was the Pirate Street Fair. So you had opportunities to see and join in the activities with Mermaids, Mermen, nefarious pirates and sailors
The mermaid fantasy was uniquely positioned to promote public awareness of the challenges our Great Lakes ecosystem face. Mermaid folklore integrated a blend of imagination and science that supports the preservation imperative.
The Michigan U/W divers club participated in the event by providing safety assistance on the surface and on the water by providing pier patrols, boats and kayakers on and around the pier in the event of a mermaid or spectator accidently taking a swim. To document the event, I took a pictures of the participants. Hope you enjoy them.
Welcome Mermaid FestFreshwater Mermaid SocietyPart of the Mermaid gathering
First time basement flooding. Either little rain or Too much! I had a termite problems 20 years ago and a part of that solution was to inject chemicals to kill the termites in the basement floor. The chemical was injected in some 150 plus holes drilled thru the basement floor 4 to 6 inches from the walls. Now today, out of the blue, a majority of the 150 holes drilled and plugged in the basement floor decided to leak or weep over the last few days.
Now I understand that an inch of water over the entire basement floor is nothing compared to having the basement filled with several feet of water but you still have the problem of getting rid of the water and everything that was on the floor like carpets, boxes, many made of cardboard, and the now warping of the paneling.
In addition to those items you still have issues with all the winter clothing stored in the basement that are hanging up off the floor that are now getting damp from the moisture in the air. Between moving all the damaged and wet “stuff” out to the garage and trash, wet vacuuming and squeezing the floor, my back is killing me!
Now, as most Michigan divers know, the Southwest Michigan Underwater Preserve (SWMUP) encompasses the shoreline from Holland to New Buffalo near the Indiana border, and as such, it works with the Michigan Underwater Preserve Council (MUPC).
The MUPC is a private, non-profit, volunteer-driven organization, which works with the Michigan’s 13 preserves in fostering cooperative stewardship of the historical, cultural, natural and recreational resources associated with the preserves as well as support and speak as a unified voice for the preserve committees. It then shares these positions to the legislature and other relevant agencies and groups.
One of the most attractive and useful purposes I believe it does is to support and participate in placement of marker buoys on wrecks and provide input and advice on permits and preserve-related research efforts.
With that said, I had the opportunity to attend this quarters Council meeting with members of the SWMUP and WMUP in Ludington. Listening to the challenges the MUPC has working with the 13 preserves was an interesting and informative time worth the 3 hour drive each way.
Afterward, because I had been a participant and contributor, rather than just a spectator, made me think about why was I really there. What thoughts did I have at the end of the meeting? What are my expectations from both the local preserve and council?
With that said, as I understand it, the performance of a preserve is dependent upon three major things: the physical support of interested individuals, the active participation of local divers, and money.
Any organization is only as good as the depth of its membership and the enthusiasm they bring with them. But as I think about the need all organizations have for membership and member retention, it seems to boil down to one point. What is the organization giving members that makes them want to join and remain a member? In short, how do you benefit from being a member of this organization?
Now, I don’t know your reason, but here are a few reasons why some people are active members of the preserves:
• They have a passion for diving in all its various dimensions.
• They have a passion for exploring shipwrecks.
• They want to be active in the search for new shipwrecks, and document its find. (Along with this is the distinction of being known as the “finder” of the missing ship which makes you part of its history.)
• They obtain self-satisfaction from being part of the dive team who places shipwreck buoys on wrecks to make them more accessible to all divers.
• They want to be part of the groups that remove the buoys before the storms and ice of winter, and then and replace them for the spring and summer diving.
• They have a passion to understand why a ship sank, its history, its personality, and its effect on a community, state, and country.
• They want to be a spokesperson and tell the stories of Great Lakes ships.
• They want to ensure the history of the Great Lakes and its marine life is recorded.
• They are looking to the future to see how the health of the Great Lakes impacts those that are dependent upon it for their livelihood, as well as their life in that everyone has a need for quality water.
• They are individuals not physically able to support preserve activities, but are willing to provide material, funding, or administrative support to meet identified needs of a preserve.
I am sure there are more, but the key is participants and members feel that they are being useful and understand their contributions are making a difference in the preservation of the Great Lakes.
If you are a diver, Which one are you?
For more information on Michigan Preserves, visit: www.michiganpreserves.org.
I posted this on FB to see what assistance might be available.
It’s a sunny day and maybe a good day to fly so I am heading out to the airport at 1340 hrs. to see if the taxi ways and runways are good to go. BUT I need an extra person along because with the slick pavement and slight rise at the hanger doors I cannot get the plane out or back in by myself. Anyone want to trade some MANUAL labor for flight time? I can give you an hour heads up once I check the door access.
Engine oil heater plugged in, hanger doors de-iced and opened, and pathway to taxi way cleared and salted.
As you can see, I did have a response and was able to get in a little engine time and a few pictures of Saint Joseph in the Snow and Ice.
The Bluffs & shore ice buildup north of Jean Klock Park — Saint Joseph, MI.Tiscornia & Silver Beach – Winter Wonderland — Off shore of Saint Joseph, MI.
Benton Harbor – Southwest Michigan Regional Airport – Saint Joseph River – Downtown Saint Joseph, MI — Saint Joseph and Benton Harbor, MI.
Marina Island – Saint Joseph River, in Saint Joseph, MI
