Cold water diving off the Oregon coast
By Dana Africa
July 19, 2004
Unless it’s balmy outside with no threat of rain, we generally stop
before going back to camp at the local laundromat and throw the wetsuit
in a big dryer on a low setting. Even my dry suit undies benefit from
this thorough drying. For just a few more quarters, we get absolutely
dry dive gear to put on in the morning.
Returning to camp we start a big fire, string up the clothes line and
hang up the little items we want fresh in the morning (gloves, booties,
etc.). Then we sit around the fire melting the bottoms of our shoes as
we clean the cameras and discuss dinner. By the time dusk is falling,
our gear is clean and dry, and the cameras are ready to go diving in
the morning. Now we can wander over to the camp where all the spear
fishing divers are, with bowls and spoons in hand. If we arrive with
some cookies, a little beer, or just some high spirits, chances are
good we won’t have to crank open a can of Campbell’s tonight.
So many weekends have been spent in this marvelous manner I have lost
count. I can recall times when the weather was so cold we resorted to
moteling it, or when it blew rain horizontal carrying sand that left
tide lines on the side of my car where I slept. There have been
torrential downpours that have broken up to let sunlight stream through
at seventy feet below. The next day, visibility was so bad we canceled
the dive and sat on the boat watching gray whales feed and frolic an
anchor’s throw from the bow.
This ocean off Oregon can be mountainous and forbidding, but she can
also be as gentle and alluring as any ocean south. Either way, she will
always be cold water diving. You can combine diving and camping if you
use good sense, keep your respect for nature’s greatness, and dive
within your limits. Who knows - you may not only start a long
relationship with cold water, but end up camping out to get the big
picture of what life’s all about.
SCUBA COOKIES
-half pound of butter or margarine
-a large dollop of vegetable shortening (use lard if you are
frighteningly macho)
-a cup of white sugar
-a cup of brown sugar
-a big squirt of vanilla and another of lemon juice
Stick this all in a mixer and beat until “fluffy”
Add one at a time:
-four eggs (chicken is good, but seagull will work in a pinch)
Beat this mixture until it is as light as you feel when you take your
gear off.
Mix separately:
-about four or five cups of any kind of flour (rye is kind of severe . .
.)
-two teaspoons of baking soda
-two teaspoons of salt
-a shy teaspoon of cinnamon
Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture, mix together. Now add about
three cups of anything you want to the dough . . . here you’re on your
own. Be creative and don’t be afraid to experiment. Most divers are so
hungry after diving cold water you could feed them generic, bulk-style,
dog biscuits and they’d love them. Okay, okay . . . I’ll get you
started:
Add chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, M&M
candies, walnuts, pecans, macadamia nuts, pine nuts, sunflower seeds,
almonds, peanuts, chocolate dipped nuts, raisins, dates, dried
cranberries, oatmeal bran flakes . . . get the idea? Don’t try to use
all this stuff in one batch because you will run out of dough to fill
the spaces between the additions, but do mix and match as the mood
grabs you.
Bake these in big dollops in a 350F oven for about 12-15 minutes. After
they’re completely cool (if there are any left), they freeze very well
in airtight plastic bags.
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