The event on the whole was a grand success. The boats were full of contributing divers, and significant money was raised for the cause. Everyone involved worked hard and joyfully, and their efforts paid off. The 40 or so divers all seemed to genuinely enjoy the weekend, and many made sure we knew they intended to come back next year.
Three glorious days of weather allowed a full schedule of wreck diving in the "Graveyard of the Atlantic" where over 1000 shipwrecks lie. I logged dives number 5-10 in my short but illustrious diving career. It's beyond words how cool it is to plunge over 100 feet down into the ocean and gradually see the hulk of a WWII German U-boat emerge from the depths! U-352 sunk 20 miles off the coast of North Carolina in 1942 and remains mostly intact. It's become one of the key attractions in the country for wreck divers. Only thing better than that was swimming past 15-foot-long sharks on the way to penetrating the interior of the wreck of the Coast Guard cutter "Spar". Amazing experience!
Since this trip was solely to develop my neophyte diving skills I didn't have a camera underwater with me, but I am bound and determined that this be the last time that can be said of me: I am utterly inspired by what I saw as to make sure that next time I'm there I can record it in pictures. I did bring some shark's teeth home, so it wasn't totally without takeaway....
Also on this trip was Shane Heath, a Marine veteran still at Walter Reed Medical Center adapting to life as a double-amputee, who Diana Norwood sponsored to be on this trip after having been open-water certified last February in the SUDS program (much more on that coming soon). I did a couple of dives with him and was blown away by his adaptive abilities, but more so by his utterly low-key, get-on-with-life attitude. He's a brilliant and motivated diver, and a truly great guy.
Diving is an activity that demands total concentration, meticulous planning, attention to detail, an ability to multi-task, and not just a little courage and determination. The skills I've gained from diving have made me better at many other areas of my life, and instilled a degree of confidence that few other things have for me.
On my first dive this weekend, after a five month hiatus from my initial series of certification dives in Florida (never deeper than 40 feet), I actually had a moment at the beginning of the dive where I started to feel the panic of not being able to breath normally, of NEEDING to get to the surface to breath freely, of abandoning the dive for the security of the boat.
It was brought on by the unfamiliarity of the environment - minimal visibility, a bottomless ocean beneath me, a mass of other divers on the hang line ahead of me causing confusion for me, and the sheer task load of all that I needed to be in control of with my gear: Fear of the unknown and unpredictable.
I started back up the hang line toward the boat, stopped at 10 feet and just stayed for a couple of minutes hanging on the line. It gave me enough to re-group and start again, at a comfortable pace, and from then on the dive succeeded.
Each dive from then on got progressively better. I adjusted my weights, figured out my buoyancy, cleared my ears and mask, and began to enjoy my surroundings rather than being pre-occupied with the mechanical aspects of the dive.
Of course, you can only do that when you become confident and assured of what you're doing.
My sixth and final dive of the weekend was, without a doubt, one of the highlight events of my life. Chatterton and I were alone on the Spar for almost 10 minutes, and I was able to savor every moment of the dive. We saw over a dozen sand tigers swimming and hovering right next to us, we collected sharks teeth off the deck of the wreck, and penetrated the wreck in two different places, pushing the bar higher of what I ever imagined I would be able to do.
Next time I promise to show you pictures!
I'm posting more pictures on Photoshelter. 
Three Castles (from the 13th century) in the morning fog
Declan crossing the street in Schull, on the southwest coast of Ireland
Phyllida, evening light, in Crookhaven
Two young rascals outside pub in Schull
Chelsea scores first in match with Burnley (don't ask about the outcome). Mark Farrington kindly took us on our first night in England.
Diana and I stop at pub for lunch on first day of London sightseeing. Waiter's doing some sightseeing too!
Two of my favorite people had birthdays recently. I'm not a big birthday guy, but it's always a good chance to celebrate and have a good time.
Fabulous Halloween dinner at the North Carolina Aquarium, complete with underwater ghosts. U-352 replica in the background.
Shane Heath and John Chatterton at the end of the event - still smilin'!
The brains & brawn behind the operation: Christine, from DAN, Bobby, from Olympus, and Diana, founder of the MJN Fund
Shane Heath on board the Olympus as morning light shafts in the salon
Day Two: Captain Bobby Purifoy steers the Olympus towards the dive site - gorgeous sunrises every day!
Day One: John Chatterton and Shane Heath listen to the Divemaster's instructions on the way to the U-boat
