movie of the week: Open Water

MegaDude

A couple surfaces from their scuba dive and the boat is gone. There is nothing around them but the wide open ocean. Oh, wait. Not just the ocean. They have company. Shark fins begin cutting the surface. They begin growing bolder and moving closer.

"Open Water" is a decent film shot with pretty horrendous photography. They didn't spend much making this bargain basement flick and it shows. However, the script is good and the tension is very, very intense. The actors do a credible job. I can't imagine what it would be like hoping the boat would return to pick me up, the hours ticking by, watching the fins cutting the water. It was pretty believable to me with minor exceptions. I can't recommend this film since the production values are so bottom basement, but I enjoyed this horror film for scuba divers.

If you don't mind knowing what happens, you can read the real story here:

http://www.michaelmcfadyenscuba.info/articles/lonergan.htm

SheilaM

I Lost my post Dang......
What I said was in 1989 or so we were snorkeling in the Bahamas. I got to following a school of beautiful fish. When I looked up I couldn't see the boat....(wave in my face) I was very

Then I saw the Captain screaming for me to get back to the boat ... I was hell and gone from it

WOW just read it all....HOW freaky they must have been terrified

Steve Egner

Hey Jerry,

I just read the reviews in the McPaper (USA Today). They said, "Low budget, but intense."

I'll have to see it.

Have you read "Shadow Divers" yet? I brought it on vacation, read it, and then logged 5 hours of bottom time on the trip. A great read.

I think that accounts like "Open Water" and "Shadow Divers" should be required viewing/reading for anyone involved in the sport. They're quite sobering.

By the way, we had some great diving up at Orcas Island. We'll be going back sometime in the fall or winter to dive the McKenzie and Church, two Canadian naval vessels sunk in the channel off Sydney. Great viz then, Jerry. Sometimes up to 100 feet, they say, at that time of year. But ccccccccold. Wanna go?

Steve

Princess

But ccccccccold. Wanna go?

C'mon Jer, you aren't afraid of some cold water are you?

MegaDude

Sheila,

It can happen pretty quick. 20 years ago I was diving in Cozumel, about 80 feet down on a wall. The current was very strong but myself and a dive buddy stopped to get a better look at a big morray eel who was sticking his head out of the corral. Within a minute, our entire group and the dive master were gone... swept away by the five knot current. The current was so strong that if you kicked into it, you could maintain a stationary position but not make any headway. It was wild.

I motioned to my dive buddy we needed to find them and we begin swimming with the current next. We were cooking! Suddenly the wall ended, the corral ended and there was nothing but a blue abyss underneath us. We headed to the surface immediately and began waving for someone on the dive boat to pick us up.

The people saw us eventually and picked us up. The boat crew had been getting stoned while they waited for us. Sheesh, guess we were lucky. They lose divers down there every year.

MegaDude

Hey Steve,

Glad you had good diving on your trip! I dove the cenotes down in Mexico...clearest water I've ever seen. 300 foot viz. Had to be seen to be believed, all filtered through limestone rock. The big rooms of stalagtites were amazing. When I get the pics downsized I'll try and post 'em.

Is the diving you're going to be doing later drysuit diving? Do you need a course in using a dry suit if you haven't used one before?

Princess,

Cold water sucks. In Mexico we dove to 100 feet and did not need a wetsuit. It was very comfortable. The cenote water temp was about 72 degrees but that hardly qualifies as cold compared to the diving you do. The only thing I'm afraid of is there won't be any cookies left if I show up.

Princess

The only thing I'm afraid of is there won't be any cookies left if I show up.

I still have 1 1/2 in the freezer so hurry up.

I prefer water that is about 85. You know, swimming pool temp. Oh! I guess I mean I prefer to swim in a swimming pool. Perfect vis and no critters to worry about.

Steve Egner

Jerry,

Is the diving you're going to be doing later drysuit diving? Do you need a course in using a dry suit if you haven't used one before?

I sure as hell hope it will be. But if the fates won't allow, my wetsuit will be sufficient. The ships are resting upright on the bottom at 100' feet, with the interesting stuff around the deck well above that. No decompression bottom times won't allow us enough time to go hypothermic.

I understand that drysuit courses are recommended. Our local dive shops include an orientation dive with any drysuit purchase, but one of my favorite charter guides offers a two-tank drysuit instruction dive as a PADI specialty course, in case I land one from E-bay.

You can rent a drysuit from the charter we'll use in the San Juans, but I believe they require an orientation dive or specialty cerfication before they rent out the suit. Check out their site, www.divesanjuan.com

Having two gear-intensive hobbies (diving and cycling) pretty well insures I'll be well outfitted for neither.

It looks like our plans for Mexico have disintegrated; Air fares for the family are approaching $3000. We'll look into it again in the spring or summer, I'd love to dive those Cenotes.

I'm looking forward to those Pics,

Steve

MegaDude

Steve,

Sorry to hear about Mexico. Make Princess hock her latte machine. But don't tell her I said that!

I'll have to look into the drysuit cert with my dive shop. We have some deep lakes in Texas with intense thermoclines that might be a good place to test something like that out. The last Texas dive site I dove was comfortable with no wetsuit the first 15 feet, a shorty at 30, but I couldn't break past 40 feet without feeling I was being quick frozen. You could see multiple layers of thermos. The cold layer was rippling in appearance, like thick gasoline fumes it was so cold. A drysuit would been nice down there.

I'll check out the website. I understand there are three resident pods of killer whales in the San Juan Islands.

Having two gear-intensive hobbies (diving and cycling) pretty well insures I'll be well outfitted for neither.

Tell me about it. I played around with a Hobie Cat catamaran in Cozumel and now I want one. They just finished making a PAVED six-mile jog/bike trail through a park near me and now I want a bike.

Princess

Make Princess hock her latte machine.

Oh please, he's just as attached if not more.

Having two gear-intensive hobbies (diving and cycling) pretty well insures I'll be well outfitted for neither.

He needs a new bike as much as a drysuit.

movie of the week: Open Water

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