National Aquarium, Baltimore, MD | National Aquarium, Baltimore, MD |
March 1, 2008
Dive Reports
From Annette...
Twelve people traveled to Baltimore this past Saturday to do dives in 2 different tank exhibits at the aquarium in Inner Harbor, Baltimore. This was the first aquarium dive scheduled by Diver's Descent Scuba. Atlantic Edge Dive Center in Gaithersburg, MD hosted the 12 divers, providing instruction and gear for the 2 dive experience. Dives were completed in the Atlantic Coral Reef tank and the Ray tank. All the participants received the distinctive PADI specialty Aquarium Diver at the completion of the dives. The day begins at 3:00 pm with a classroom session focused on the mission of the aquarium, conservation, reef fish identification, and a dive briefing on what to expect (and what is expected of you) as you dive in the exhibits. Then the group takes a tour of the tanks from the dry side to familiarize everyone with the animals you'll encounter in each tank. Then it's back down to the basement to gear up and get ready to dive. The group is split into 6 person groups and each group of 6 does a half hour dive in one of the tanks, then the groups switch to dive the other tank. Mask, fins, boots, and wetsuit is required for each diver. Gloves are provided if the diver doesn't bring their own. All other gear is provided by Atlantic Edge Dive Center. The water temperature in the tanks is a chilly 77F. The depths are shallow, 13ft max in the Coral Reef tank, and 8ft in the Ray tank.
Everyone enjoyed their aquarium experience. Most had family and friends along with them watching from the dry side of the glass. Many went out to dinner after their dives at one of the Inner Harbor or Baltimore City restaurants, and a few made it a weekend getaway by staying Saturday night in one of the many hotels in and around Inner Harbor. This was a great experience to find out what it's like to be a captive fish in an aquarium (admit it, we've all wondered what it would be like to dive in the tank when visiting an aquarium). The visibility in the tanks was substantially better than Bainbridge, and also much warmer than Bainbridge on March 1st. For a couple of the divers in the group, this was their first opportunity to dive in salt water with tropical coral reef fish. And since these fish are not afraid of divers, it really gives you the ability to get up close and personal with some creatures that you would be hard pressed to even see in the wild (leopard shark, butterfly ray, large rough tail rays, and a big friendly green turtle). If nothing else, this experience gives these divers some interesting conversation for the water cooler or cocktail party.
Congratulations goes out to the following divers on completing their PADI Aquarium Diver Specialty:
Chantal Atnip
Robert Atnip
Chip Barkman
Ken Barkman
Dennis May
Tim Barry
Jeff Kinsey
Dennis Church
Jim Miller
Paul Paulsen
Frank Lynch
Lee Millard
Diver's Descent will be scheduling another aquarium dive next year, most likely February or March 2009. It's a great way to get a warm water dive in during the cold months of winter that's only a short drive away from home. Keep watching for information on dates, and if you are interested act fast because this year's trip sold out quickly!
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From Lee Millard...
I thought my first “dive” of 2008 was worthy of a dive report. If you can survive the NASCAR –esque driving of the Baltimore inhabitants the Baltimore Aquarium is a great place to visit when diving in Bainbridge is out of the question. We entered the aquarium at 3 p.m. through the exclusive employee entrance, no long lines there. After meeting our instructor we were escorted to a classroom for a lecture on fish identification and dive briefing that lasted about an hour. Following the briefing we went out to the two tanks we would be diving to get a lay of the land from the dry side. The two dives would be in the Atlantic Coral Reef Tank, a 13’ deep tank shaped like a large donut with a walkway descending through the center of the donut. This tank contained various large and small fish from Groupers and Angel fish to small Tangs as well as a large Green Moray Eel. The second dive would be in the Ray Tank, a large 8’ tank with a sandy bottom. The main inhabitants of this tank were various Rays including two very large Spiny Tailed Rays, a large Leopard Nurse Shark and Calypso a large Green Turtle.
At about 5:30 we suited up and ½ of the group headed to the Ray Tank and the other ½, myself included, went to the ACR Tank. First thing to know about the Atlantic Coral Reef Tank is that there is no coral in it. It’s all fake; apparently the natural light needed to sustain coral also grows algae very quickly. It was a very interesting perspective to see people looking at you through the glass of the aquarium. The most enjoyable part of the dive was kneeling on the bottom of the tank picking up the coarse sand off the bottom and making a sand shower for the fish to clean themselves in. Most of the fish were very interested to see us and not the least bit apprehensive about getting close. I was also fortunate enough to see Oscar the Green Moray for a brief moment as he snuck up from behind me, swam directly underneath me easily within reach and headed to a small cavern within the reef. A very brief but exciting moment as we were very clearly instructed in our dive briefing on specifically how we could interact with Oscar. Hide your fingers, he could be hungry!
Our second dive was in the Ray Tank. This tank actually has a swirling current in the center of it as water is pulled through the bottom filter. The most beautiful inhabitant being the Leopard shark showed little interest but was enjoyable to watch. The Rays all seemed a bit more curious and at times too curious as a 10’ Spiny Tailed Ray is a bit intimidating. Calypso the turtle made his/her rounds and allowed most of us to scratch its shell. They are not sure the sex of the turtle yet because it is too young but I’m thinking female as it seemed to be in love with Frank Lynch.
We finished our diving around 7 p.m. a very enjoyable and interesting experience as well as a new PADI Cert. “Aquarium Diver” to add to the collection. If you enjoy aquariums or haven’t had an opportunity to do much salt water diving or just want to see what it’s like to be on the other side of the glass (I didn’t notice any annoying taping) you should give it a try.
