TimeOut

Hello All,

Haven't posted for a little while as I took 12 days off to head to the North-East coast of Bali for a break from work. A friend and I headed to the tiny town of Tulamben to dive the wreck of the USAT Liberty, which was torpedoed off Bali in the latter stages of WW2. The ship lies about 40m off the beach in a depth of about 30m maximum. No wonder it's so popular. That said, it was (relatively) off-season so the place was quite quiet. Not that a 100+m wreck could get that busy...

Anyway, a quick selection of the better photos from the trip.

 

Something happened on the Upload. I'll try to post more.... This message has been edited by BDLJ on 2009-11-09 00:43:59 This message has been edited by DRMW on 2009-11-09 09:27:28 This message has been edited by DRMW on 2009-11-09 22:48:29

This message has been edited by patrick_y on 2009-11-09 00:16:14

I pressed "Update" instead of the uploader. A couple came up, then the server quit. I'm trying to post more...

This time I hope the photos upload OK...I think the server doesn't appreciate the file sizes and cut off some of them, so here they are....There's lots more as it's the first use of the camera's new underwater housing.  But given the file sizes and the time to upload, I edited severely...

If you haven't been to Bali, I recommend it (just stay far, far away from Kuta)

If you plan to go to Bali and aren't certified, go to Tulamben and do your OW course. Open Water on wreck? I wish I'd done that.

If you plan to go to Bali and are certified, then it's a must, many places offer free NITROX...not that my air consumption warrants it yet, ahem....

 

 

Do you have more photos? I'm hoping those three photos are just the appetizer.

Hello BDLJ,

Your scuba adventure is awesome, thanks for sharing the pics.  Must be amazing to see all the sea life and be able to interact with them.  How far are you rated to dive?

-MW

...to 40m.

Which is basically the limit for recreational (non-technical) dives.

The main or "absolute" limit is maintaining your No Decompression Limit. Which, fundamentally, means you have absorbed enough Nitrogen to require decompression stops to ensure you do not suffer from DCI (The Bends). The deeper you go, the greater your Nitrogen absorption and the shorter the time you can spend at that depth. Also after repetitive dives (we did up to 4 dives per day), your body retains enough Nitrogen to further reduce your NDL time. You shouldn't be bumping up against your NDL at any time.

At 30+m this can be minutes. Not much time to take in the sights or deal with any emergencies. Not that at greater depths there is all that much to see compared to the shallower reef dives. Plus on the deeper dives you also have Nitrogen narcosis to contend with.

Another limit is Oxygen toxicity. Which on air (21% O2) and at a PPO2 limit of 1.4 is about 56m. You can go deeper, but that depends on how comfortable you are with exceeding the 1.4 limit...

Note that actual reasonable depths depths of recreational dives are dependent on many factors, including the temperature, visibility, currents or surge, the gas mix, your fitness and ability, etc. These are harder to assess, hence the need to understand the "technical" limit and then judge the dive itself. For example, a swim-through at 20m, in tropical water, in the day. No problem. At night, at 33m, with a half-full tank, on a second dive....do you have the time to deal with any complications?

All of which serves to demonstrate why all those 1000m+ watches make me shake my head.

Hi Ben,

now i know you're certainly not claustrofobic ... not even in an abandoned hospital.

Diving must be very fascinating (i can't even swim) but oh so dangerous (well, that's what people say), i lost a friend two years ago while diving.
I'm glad you had a great time and returned home (your home and the PuristsHome) safely ... .

Greetings,

Filip

great work..

Bali is heaven..

having seen these pics i know that i want to learn to dive once i've sorted things out. i fully appreciate its dangerous, but i've done dangerous things all my life. diving is, to me, the underwater version of motorcycling, freedom, excitement, beauty and a bit of danger all in one.

glad you had a good time.

best

Graham

Hi Graham,

One of my best holidays ever and the best diving I've done. Bit tiring though as some days we were doing 4 dives (before brekky, before lunch, mid afternoon and a night dive)....afterwards it was beer time, so after doing that a few times it was a little of a relief to move to Padang Bai and just the 2 boat dives per day. Went back to Tulamben for the last 2 nights, though. Too much fun.

Your comparison with motorcycling is apt. And like motorcycling, yes, it's dangerous, but that danger can be contained (to a certain extent) by how much risk you're willing to take. With diving, I'm glad I'm a little older and wiser (ahem) than when I raced bikes.

If you ever do your course, do it somewhere in SEAsia. Aside from the flights, it's relatively cheap, the water's warm and the marine life is amazing. I'll try to meet you somewhere.

B

Excellent post, Ben. I have never tried diving, but I clearly should. Do you have any more photos of the shipwreck? Do you wear a mechanical watch for fun/backup as well as a 'dive computer'?

Pleased you had a safe and great  time.

Andrew

Andrew,

I'll try to load some more up tonight.

As for diving, if you do decide to, I'd recommend doing the PADI OW on-line then head somewhere warm and tropical to do the practical stuff.

I usually wear a Suunto dive computer on the right wrist and a Citizen Aqualand on the left (lots of back-up functions on the Aqualand) with a little clipper dive compass on the strap.  (refer to photo of me hanging from SMB). I did bring, this time, my old '75 Seiko 6105-8119, but only wore it on the last few dives (forgot I had it) but did get it down to 31m. Sadly, I have no good shots of it (grrr, only side shots, no dial ones). But I'll see if I can crop something reasonable to post.

Some more shots around the wreck and of marine life....

Andrew, if you ever plan to do your Open Water course, please tell me, either here or overseas, my offer to Graham is extended to you - I'll try to meet you there (any excuse to go diving, I'm not any great shakes but I want to see some of those watches underwater! ) Dive Trip Dive Watch GTG....Can't think of anything better.

 

Oh and the only decent (cropped) shot I could find of my 1975 Seiko 6105. All refurbish by my goodself. Mechanism, Seals, etc. Good for a dive of 31m...I can find better of the Aqualand, but that's - heresy - quartz....
This message has been edited by BDLJ on 2009-11-10 00:17:37

...were taken with a old 7Meg Canon Ixus in a 40m WR case....Nothing special and no problems at all.

The hard bit is getting close enough (like for the pygmy seahorse) and still enough (my bouyancy....) to get a good shot. Thank god for big memory cards...

 

No message body

Thanks Ben,

 

Very kind offer. Parachuting and diving are things I should get around to trying; too easy to get stuck with the ‘routine’. And I don’t think there has been a ‘dive watch GTG with diving’, so that’s a great idea. Check out this Friday’s “Wrist Parade” as I may have something appropriate to share.

 

Thanks for finding a shot of the Seiko. Nothing better than to see a ‘tool watch’ being used as it was intended.

 

I enjoyed the shots.

 

Andrew

Your pictures are truly inspiring!  I think the idea of space travel is interesting, but why go to space when so much of our own planet is still a mystery to us?  Your underwater adventure looks like it was amazing!  Nudibranchs are some of my favorite creatures so thanks for sharing a picture of one.  I also loved your pygmy seahorse photo.  It's so incredible that we are still discovering new species every year.  Your barracuda photo sent shivers down my spine, as it brought to mind an encounter I had with one while snorkeling in Key West (no people or fish were harmed in the incident, but let's just say I felt it was stalking me as I swam).

Thanks for sharing your wonderful experiences with us!

Cheers,
Daos

Including THE biggest Nudibranch I've ever seen. About 6" long, yellow, covered with purple and white "clumps"...

Taking photos of pygmy seahorses was a real treat. Especially when you use the flash. Underwater (that photo was taken at about 28m) the coral and the seahorse just look blue with darker spots. With some light, the red returns. Magnificent.

That Barracuda did stalk us! On one of the night dives, we were kicking parallel to the wreck slightly against the current and out of interest I swung the torch from surveying the wreck to out into the depths...straight into the face of the Barracuda...which was about 2 away. Quite a start to see it's big silver head and teeth so close, surrounded by blackness...

Good to have you back, too.

Well, I'm glad you emerged unscathed from sharing space with a barracuda!  They have very intimidating faces.  I hope you'll post more nudibranch photos.  They are so colorful and lovely! 

It's good to be back online.  I'm still not fully unpacked yet though.  My watch repair book is in one of a dozen identical boxes now.  Ugh.

Daos

wonderful holidays in Bali.

Cheers,

Patrickh

A pure piece of ( Natural ) Art!

Thanks for the escape, my friend.

Best,

Nicolas

....during idle time on the safety stops (which can be dull going through for the 3rd time for the day, particularly in blue water), I recalled time2tic's great 60m dive with the JLC....and thought "I have to get Nico's Polaris down here...."

A Polaris in its element!

Best,

Nicolas

Hope you had a great time!

Stephen

...it would also be practice for the Egiziano that's on it's way to you. My dive computer is 63mm   

Thanks
Luc