Chillin Out in Ohio!

     After taking a fun and relaxing winter break with family and friends I am back on the road for 2009!  My first stop in 2009 was Port Clinton, Ohio.  That's right... Ohio in the middle of January!  I spent a little over a week there with Patrix Heschel, completing my PADI Instructor Development Course and going Ice Diving.  Rod and Jenny Althaus from New Wave Snorkel & Scuba Center in Port Clinton were gracious enough to host Patrix and I for the IDC.  Patrix and I worked our butts off keeping warm and getting through all the classroom material so that we could go ice diving at the end of the week.

     After a week of sub-zero temperatures (Fahrenheit, not Celsius!) we had plenty of iced-over bodies of water to choose from.  Patrix, Dave Gwin (another New Wave instructor) and I headed over to Gibsonburg, Ohio to dive in the White Star Quarry.  Our chainsaw refused to start so we used heavy steel spud bars to break a large triangular opening in the 5 inch thick ice.  The water in the quarry was 35 degrees and crystal clear.  Visibility was easily in excess of 100 feet and the dim light that filtered down through the ice and snow gave the dive an incredibly beautiful and surrealist feel to it.  I want to thank Patrix, his family, Rod, Jenny and Dave for making my trip to Ohio so much fun.  It was a great learning experience and I really enjoyed the challenge of learning to safely dive under ice.

Sunset in Port Clinton