The Aeolian Sky Haunted?

OK, Sunday morning, UKRS #100, Chris Bell and myself are having an
enjoyable dive on the Aeolian Sky. Our W is bouncing about in
moderately nasty sea conditions somewhere above, really nasty weather
(an 8) is forecast to be 'on the way' so dive time is politely requested
to be limited. Even 'Deco' Steve Jones.

It is a tad dark down there, viz is two or three metres (none of the
eight metres that the Kyarratoo lot were fantasising about yesterday),
the rough weather is causing a substantial swell even right down on the
seabed, and the grapple is caught on the keel side - but it doesn't take
us too long to get oriented and dip over the hull to the interesting
bits.

We are somewhere amidships, about 20 minutes in and somewhere around
9/10/11 on the Wreck tour sketch (
http://www.divernet.com/wrecks/pics/0501aeolian.jpg ), admiring the huge
winch gearing when both of us hear a foghorn. We look at each other.
So what does that mean? A recall? Woody has already said that he
doesn't have a plan for recall. Has something sufficiently bad happened
that they are improvising? A hurricane?

It doesn't repeat. Five minutes then up? OK. OK. We swim on for
another minute or so, then the horn sounds again, much louder. And
again. And again. We also hear an engine revving, somewhere close.
Up? Up. We both quickly bag off and start to wind up, a brief set of
safety stops and back into the light. Rich's head appears close to us,
Megan and Steve are already getting on board.

We get back on board, Woody claims no knowledge of horns blowing (I
leave it to the reader to imagine his exact phrasing), no recall is in
place. But we aren't the only divers to hear it - others have gone
through the same mental process as us. But still others have heard
nothing - including Al on his RB, who ought to have been able to hear
better than us noisy bubbleblowers.

So what gives? Could a section of tortured hull have been moving in the
surge, perfectly impersonating a foghorn? Did the others who heard it
also hear it at the winch? Were we buzzed by a sub? Or could a phantom
crewmember still be haunting the Millions of Rupees lost somewhere in
the Sky?



Cheers,
Huw
--
http://www.huwporter.com


--
Posted via Mailgate.ORG Server - http://www.Mailgate.ORG

Huw Porter wrote:

> So what gives? Could a section of tortured hull have been moving in the
> surge, perfectly impersonating a foghorn? Did the others who heard it
> also hear it at the winch? Were we buzzed by a sub? Or could a phantom
> crewmember still be haunting the Millions of Rupees lost somewhere in
> the Sky?

Not knowing the dive site I couldn't say, but I've heard similar noises
to what you mention on some of the blockships in Scapa - and put it down
to the current moving bits of wreckage around. The current does rip
around some of them...

As to some hearing it and others not, I've noticed that sometimes I can
hear really well underwater, and other times I can't - dependent on how
"wet" my ears are at the time - occasionally I seem to trap an air
bubble in there and get exceptionally good hearing, otherwise it is
normal. Maybe some had "good" hearing and some had bad.

Ben


--
Ben Panter, Edinburgh
My name (no spaces)@bigfoot which is a com.

> We are somewhere amidships, about 20 minutes in and somewhere around
> 9/10/11 on the Wreck tour sketch (
> http://www.divernet.com/wrecks/pics/0501aeolian.jpg ), admiring the huge
> winch gearing when both of us hear a foghorn. We look at each other.
> So what does that mean? A recall? Woody has already said that he
> doesn't have a plan for recall. Has something sufficiently bad happened
> that they are improvising? A hurricane?
>
I was around the 10 point on the same map.. and was actually inside a
little when I heard the 'horn'.

rich

my buddys wing 'groans' quite loudly when air moves around inside it at
depth, when mildly narked that bloody thing groaning away doesnt help my
state of mind at all. maybe the noise you heard was something like that?
regards
martin i dont believe in ghosts middlemiss



"Ben Panter" <See@the_end.not> wrote in message
news:4083E973.30109@the_end.not...
>
>
> Huw Porter wrote:
>
> > So what gives? Could a section of tortured hull have been moving in the
> > surge, perfectly impersonating a foghorn? Did the others who heard it
> > also hear it at the winch? Were we buzzed by a sub? Or could a phantom
> > crewmember still be haunting the Millions of Rupees lost somewhere in
> > the Sky?
>
> Not knowing the dive site I couldn't say, but I've heard similar noises
> to what you mention on some of the blockships in Scapa - and put it down
> to the current moving bits of wreckage around. The current does rip
> around some of them...
>
> As to some hearing it and others not, I've noticed that sometimes I can
> hear really well underwater, and other times I can't - dependent on how
> "wet" my ears are at the time - occasionally I seem to trap an air
> bubble in there and get exceptionally good hearing, otherwise it is
> normal. Maybe some had "good" hearing and some had bad.
>
> Ben
>
>
> --
> Ben Panter, Edinburgh
> My name (no spaces)@bigfoot which is a com.
>

"rich" <rich@nospam.co.uk> wrote in message
news:c60p46$ss2$1@new-usenet.uk.sun.com...

> I was around the 10 point on the same map.. and was actually inside a
> little when I heard the 'horn'.

Inside, Rich? You? Surely not!

Cheers,
Huw
--
http://www.huwporter.com - email is huw@ this domain

"Huw Porter" wrote

> It doesn't repeat. Five minutes then up? OK. OK. We swim on for
> another minute or so, then the horn sounds again, much louder. And
> again. And again. We also hear an engine revving, somewhere close.
> Up? Up. We both quickly bag off and start to wind up, a brief set of
> safety stops and back into the light. Rich's head appears close to us,
> Megan and Steve are already getting on board.

Best guess, based on the events you share, is that it was somebody else's
recall. Presumably, the engine revving was not from your boat, suggesting
that there was at least one other boat in the area at the time.

Second best guess is that somebody had a Hammerhead or similar underwater
alert device and was signalling their buddy.

Worst guess, it was somebody's regulator. I've got a Sea Hornet regulator
that has a horn like buzz in the second stage. Unfortunately for me, it's
only servicable in Australia, and I'm a long way from there. Regardless,
it's a great conversation piece.

Lee

>
> Second best guess is that somebody had a Hammerhead or similar underwater
> alert device and was signalling their buddy.
>
Huw,

Wasn't Nigels Wing inflate horn was it?

*YOU* know how loud THAT is

DaveA


--
Posted via Mailgate.ORG Server - http://www.Mailgate.ORG

>> We are somewhere amidships, about 20 minutes in and somewhere around
>> 9/10/11 on the Wreck tour sketch (
>> http://www.divernet.com/wrecks/pics/0501aeolian.jpg ), admiring the huge
>> winch gearing when both of us hear a foghorn.

>I was around the 10 point on the same map.. and was actually inside a
>little when I heard the 'horn'.
>
>rich
>

Spookie!

I heard something in Saturday, I was following the false shot line up just
after Digs parted with her blob ready to go.
"Coo wee" Was that Digs? A look around, up and down the shot line expecting to
see her taking the easy way up, nobody about! I got to about 20m when I felt
squeese and realised me and the line were sinking- more air in suit- still
sinking, air in wing just held me level! There must have been a huge down
current after the Sky.

I was expecting to see the compressed buoy and a cluster of overweighted divers
sinking down to meet me, eventually I found a 5ltr bottle, Ah! not our shot
line. I blobbed off and regained some progress to the surface without fighting
the tide, I heard what sounded like a female voice trying to get my attention
again, looking around, up and down for Digs- nothing, I get narced at 40m,
enough to make me twitchy but not seeing fairies, this was less than 20m!
"coo wee" she called again. I was approaching an hour in the water and was
convinced someone was coming down my line to check me out. Nope! I had a bounce
with the down current so decided to ascend slowly and hang at 6 for a few min-
Even then I heard the "Voice" I could see the surface, I started to wonder if
Jen was up yet. I surfaced eventually and was glad to see all 5 of the others
aboard.

So it appears there are some big lumps of metal creaking about down there, was
it inteligent enough to copy the natter of rebreather divers? She may have been
bubbling at us for years without being noticed.

Lee Bell wrote:
> Best guess, based on the events you share, is that it was somebody
> else's recall. Presumably, the engine revving was not from your boat,
> suggesting that there was at least one other boat in the area at the
> time.

*shake head*

We were the only boat on site, the only other boat going out in that
direction turned back due to the weather, or rather people's reaction to
the weather, it was still quite divable. We started the dive in a 4,
although there was alot of swell remaining from the previous night, but it
had turned into a 5-6 on surfacing.

Al.

"middy" <martin@middy.free-online.co.uk> wrote in message
news:nFUgc.34504$Y%6.4462202@wards.force9.net...
> my buddys wing 'groans' quite loudly when air moves around inside it at
> depth, when mildly narked that bloody thing groaning away doesnt help my
> state of mind at all. maybe the noise you heard was something like that?
> regards
> martin i dont believe in ghosts middlemiss

A wing that causes at least three groups of divers to cut short??? Now
that *is* a noisy wing!

Cheers,
Huw
--
http://www.huwporter.com - email is huw@ this domain