GSEP TRIP REPORT – August 4-5, 2007
Submitted by: Chuck Noe
On this weekend, eight members of the GSEP and one new support diver met in Del Rio for our third team dive event of 2007. Working dives were conducted on-site Saturday only.
Participants included:
- Driving out of Houston – Chuck Noe, Rick Aurich, Ryan Despain, Martin Pollizotto, and Larry Hack.
- Driving out of Austin – Mike Gault, Gregg Tatum, and Jesse Armantrout.
- Driving from College station (actually vacationing with his wife near Del Rio) – Ray Kamps.
We experienced some vehicular trouble on Friday’s drive out with my GMC van towing the Swamp Yacht. As we approached San Antonio the van began vibrating as we sped down I-10. Within 20 miles of the initial vibration, it continued to worsen to the point where safety became an issue. We exited the highway and made our way to a service station where upon close inspection we found the right rear tire to be significantly out-of-round (with a significant bulge on the tread). These are 10-ply tires (load range E) that run with 80 psi of air, and this one had apparently suffered an internal cord failure. We located the most convenient Sam’s Club (who warranted the tire) and had 2 new tires installed before heading on to Del Rio. This put us about 2 hours behind schedule, but we still arrived by 10:00 p.m. so it wasn’t all that bad. I’m very happy that the tire didn’t actually “blow out” on the highway (with 1,500# of gear and a boat in tow).
An “undisclosed” member of the GSEP was reminded of the fact that it’s illegal to drive 79 mph (in a 65 mpg zone) when he received a speeding ticket on the way. Ouch! You guys should take it easy as the team doesn’t reimburse such expenses.<g>
On Saturday we met for breakfast as usual at 7:00 a.m. for our team briefing before heading to the lake. A few minor changes were made to the preliminary dive plan.
After Martin and Larry set the 20’ deco cylinders Ryan joined them to set the 70’ bottles before continuing their dive. The 3-man team first collected a couple of 3-liter water samples in the clear water before swapping out the Hydrolab unit in the Well. Ryan and Martin proceeded down the Fire Hydrant Tunnel to re-deploy a Sensus Ultra unit while Larry stood watch near the FHT’s entrance. Before exiting, the team cleaned marine growth from the SU located on the lake bottom outside the cave. This team accomplished all their objectives without much difficulty.
While the first team completed their 20’ deco stop I made a shallow dive to retrieve the Hydrolab from them so Ray could change batteries in the external pack as soon as possible. The second team, consisting of Gregg and myself, began our dive shortly thereafter with another Hydrolab, another Sensus Ultra, a set of pitons w/hammer, and 2 safety bottles (to be left in the cave). Gregg led into the FHT and neared the restriction as I clipped the 2 safeties on the terminal line past the “Y”. The flow was quite strong and the restriction had accumulated a significant mound of rocks in our usual passage prohibiting Gregg’s further penetration. He backed out and I made an attempt at passing, but after initially snagging the Hydrolab on the ceiling piton I was too tired to work my way through the restriction. I retreated to the Well where Gregg and I exchanged wetnote comments. After a brief rest, I headed back down the FHT with (only) the Hydrolab which I deployed just past the “Y”. I continued on to the restriction where I worked my way through. Using RyanE’s previous (successful) technique, I worked on clearing the restriction for the next team by “pulling” the gravel and rocks in towards me as I lodged myself in the opening. This method allowed me to “flatten” the restrictive mound, but my attempts at digging a trough were foiled as the gravel above continued to slide into any cavity I created. At this point, I exited to join Gregg for our exit and ascent. We checked all the hot-water-deco outlets as we made our way up the deco line. As the warm water filled our wetsuits at each stop I was thankful for Jesse’s watchful attention to the heater unit above. While we continued our deco Jesse came down to check on us before getting his own first look at the cave opening.
On the third dive, Mike and Rick began their descent with hopes of navigating their way down through the Crevasse to deploy a new pull-line there. I signaled to Rick (as I exited) that the conditions were difficult and they soon discovered that it would be impossible to complete their task. Mike encountered difficulties similar to mine in the restriction and Rick held ready to assist if needed. They turned the dive once it was obvious that the conditions made our objectives unattainable.
On Sunday morning one of our divers awoke with back pain that became severe as he prepared to leave for our breakfast meeting. A few of us assisted him in seeking medical treatment at the local hospital before notifying the others who were already at breakfast. The remaining team members met at the hospital to check on our ailing member, and at that time we decided to cancel Sunday’s dive. Further information regarding the back injury will be disclosed at that member’s discretion.
In light of the difficult conditions, the GSEP performed well in the completion of a number of important tasks. The water samples that were collected provided valuable pH data for Ray’s ongoing science work, and the instrument deployments further our understanding of GE’s recharge dynamics.
I encourage other team members to post separate trip reports detailing their personal observations.
Thanks again to all the divers for your outstanding and safe work. And thanks to all the GSEP supporters for everything you contribute.