Diver Dave & the Denver Aquarium – Episode 7 (Shipwreck Part 2)
In which our hero learns the difference between theory and practice - Part 7 of Several Installments. My 4th Shipwreck dive – feeding the Sawfish was the main course on the menu, with an appetizer of scrubbing down the window in Section 4. Bill M was my trainer, with Bill H as backup. Wiping down the main window was bit of an adventure – Bill M positioned himself with the fending tool and swam beside me as I pulled myself along. Since this is the main window that looks onto the arena, the sharks...
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Diver Dave & the Denver Aquarium – Episode 6 (Shipwreck Part 1)
The Sharp, the Sleek, and the Nosy - Part 6 of Several Installments. Oddly enough, the Shark tank (“Shipwreck”) is one of the most tranquil exhibits at the Aquarium. From the Dive Platform there are two reef exhibits to left and right (Sections 1 and 2), while the open ‘arena’ where the sharks are stretches out in front (Sections 3 and 4). While the sharks and Great Barracudas can (and do) swim right over the dive platform and the reef areas, it’s considered bad form for a diver to be free swimm...
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Diver Dave & the Denver Aquarium – Episode 5 (Reservoir)
Fresh Water, White Hunger. Part 5 of Several Installments. Reservoir is a relatively narrow exhibit – about 17’ deep by 20’ wide, and full of catfish, gar, pike, sturgeon, and bass. Setting up the siphon was much the same as for the other exhibits, although we control the pump, rather than having to call Life Support to turn it on and off. As I was getting in with my instructor, Sara W, we noticed one small gar lying on the bottom step, right next to the riser. It was so still we were concerned ...
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Diver Dave & the Denver Aquarium – Episode 4 (Pathways)
In which Diver Dave finds himself between a rock and a hard place. Part 4 of Several Installments. Diving in the Pathway exhibits is very different– they’re very shallow (no more than 7 or 8 feet deep) and very narrow, much too narrow for standard scuba gear, so we have to use a ‘hookah’ system: two tanks mounted on a cart, with about a hundred feet of hose leading to our regulators. After positioning the cart so that we can see the air pressure gauges thru the windows, we climb over the acrylic...
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Diver Dave & the Denver Aquarium – Episode 3 (Dining Room)
In which Diver Dave encounters mermaids without the benefit of hallucinatory influences. Part 3 of several installments. Diving in the Dining Room is a fairly quiet affair, but it has its own unique challenges. All of the critters are fed by the Aquarists at the surface, so the divers only need to scrub and siphon. It’s the only large tank that we have to enter from the 2nd floor, so we parade thru the exhibit hall in our wetsuits, to the delight of the kids (and young at heart). Past the ‘Staff...
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Diver Dave & the Denver Aquarium – Episode 2 (Under the Sea)
In which our hero embarks on the long wet road to Volunteer Diverhood at the Denver Downtown Aquarium. Part 2 of Several Installments. Having proven my mettle in the Dining Room exhibit, I was now eligible to begin the DTAQ Diver Academy program, along with being committed to a minimum of two dives per month for a minimum of six months when I completed the course. Diver Trainees are expected to start their training with dives in the smaller River tanks, before progressing to the larger and more ...
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Diver Dave & the Denver Aquarium – Episode 1 (Qualifying)
Being a harrowing tale of the adventures of one diver as he attempts to become a Volunteer Diver at the Denver Downtown Aquarium. Part 1 of Several Installments. I was first certified as an Open Water Diver in 1974, in Southern California when I was 14. While my diving adventures took me to Northern California, the Hawaiian Islands, and the Bahamas, due to a variety of financial, transportional, marital, and familial circumstances I didn’t complete my Advanced Open Water certification until Apri...
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