Spirit of Underwater Encounters

By Virginia Huerlin Long Cross

Moving to Whidbey Island, surrounded by the Pacific Ocean, I met Monte Merserve and this is where the first chapter begins. Since then I still teach ARC Swim Lessons to others, and became a PADI Swim Instructor teaching scuba diving for fifteen years .
Since then Ive been Scuba Diving around the world and meeting new friends in the World of waters. In this book I share stories of these underwater encounters both exciting and exhilarating. I also provided photos of these events, including my dive of a lifetime adventure in Antartica. ~ Virginia Huerlin Long Cross (PADI #3271) ~

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Dec 9, 2015
• ISBN: 9781514426333

Virginia Huerlin Long Cross

INFORMATION ABOUT AUTHOR- VIRGINIA HUERLIN LONG CROSS PADI #3271 ‘FLIPPER’ Also American Red Cross Water Safety Instructor Trainer All my life I’ve loved the water ever since my parents signed me up for ARC swimming classes when I was a wee one. My Dad, tried to teach me, but didn’t know the techniques in training. It was more of sink or swim approach with my Dad trying to really help. It was then my Mother enrolled me in the Red Cross program. You see, my Mother didn’t know how to swim, although she had been out in the water in a row boat many times. She realized that I would be out in the water for the rest of my life loving it. So the first swim class started at Lincoln Park in Spokane Wa. as I remember it. From there my Mom would press her nose up against the screened in public swimming pool and watch me learn how to swim. I remember the test day when it came to swim across the deep end of the pool, the whole width. The pool was freshly refilled with ice-cold water and the sun didn’t come down over the bluffs until late in the morning. I remember my Instructor asking the whole class if any of them felt ready to take the final swim test. Well, being little and didn’t want to miss out on the test, I raised my hand and said ‘yes’. I could have waited a couple more days when the Class was over with, but I didn’t understand and signed up the early test. It was my turn! The Instructor was standing on the pool deck. My Mother’s nose once again pressed against the screened in area watching. Well I made the plunge into the cold water and started to swim across the width in the deep end. Half way across I went down and sank to the bottom of the pool. There I was, knowing my Instructor would come down and rescue me. She did. The test was cancelled for me and my Instructor was heaping mad at me cause she had to dive down in that cold water to rescue me. I was confident she would, but I failed the test. I did however two days later was able to retake the test again, only the water was by now warmer and I did make the swim across the deep end of the pool with success. This taught me a lesson something I will never forget. Later in years at 18 yes, I became a Swim Instructor and well remember the feeling of water over my head. It made it easy for me to understand how other little ones learning to swim, might feel for the first time. After all four feet standing in the water at a pool and then learning how to float on your back could feel like you were four hundred feet deep to a kid. This taught me how to teach first class swim lessons hands on experience with out fear, and to learn to love the water. Later on, moving to Whidbey Island, surrounded by the Pacific Ocean, I met Monte Merserve and this is where the first chapter begins. Since then I still teach ARC Swim Lessons to others, and became a PADI Swim Instructor teaching scuba diving for fifteen years at The Principia Upper School. Since then I’ve been Scuba Diving around the world and meeting new friends in the World of waters. This is my love now to share some of my experiences and joy throughout the world. I am currently teaching International students swimming where we all learn to hug the water and make it our new best friend with Love! Blowing bubbles with joy. ‘Flipper’ [e-mail] Virginia Huerlin Long Cross PADI#3172 NOTE: YEARS 2014-2015, 14 GOLD MEDALS was won at Senior Olympics each year in swimming, showing it can be done. Held at St. Louis Mo. VHC Picture and Records are attached. “FLIPPER”

Book preview

Copyright © 2015 by Virginia Huerlin Long Cross. 541538

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015918925

ISBN:   Softcover            978-1-5144-2632-6

             Hardcover           978-1-5144-2631-9

             EBook                 978-1-5144-2633-3

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Rev. date: 06/27/2016

Xlibris

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

Contents

Chapter 1   Island Sea Jesters - First Diving Club on Whidbey Island

Chapter 2   My Six-inch Bladed Knife

Chapter 3   OCTOPUS ENCOUNTER

Chapter 4   OCTOPUS, BOULDER CLAMS, SEA ANEMONES

Chapter 5   Langley Sewer System on Whidbey Island

Chapter 6   Diving Police Investigation at Possession Point

Chapter 7   Diving with Two Military on Home Leave

Chapter 8   Letting Go of the Anchor Line

Chapter 9   Police Work on Stolen Money Vault

Chapter 10   Persianing off Whidbey Island

Chapter 11   Diving on a Sunken Russian Freighter

Chapter 12   Trinidad Diving Tobago with a World Renowned Diver

Chapter 13   Winter Diving

Chapter 14   Lost at Sea—What Next!

Chapter 15   Test Dive with Humble Humility

Chapter 16   D6 Bulldozer Rescue

Chapter 17   Adventure Scuba in Crater Lake

Chapter 18   Diving with a Killer Whale

Chapter 19   Huerlin’s Underwater Rescue Breathing Technique

Chapter 20   Sea Anemones Wild Swim into the Deep

Chapter 21   East Side Swim Race—Whidbey Island

Chapter 22   Antarctica and South Pole

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

VIRGINIA HUERLIN LONG CROSS

nickname: ‘FLIPPER’

PADI #3271

auphoto.tif

Also American Red Cross Water Safety Instructor Trainer

All my life I’ve loved the water ever since my parents signed me up for ARC swimming classes when I was a wee one. My Dad, tried to teach me, but didn’t know the techniques in training. It was more of sink or swim approach with my Dad trying to really help. It was then my Mother enrolled me in the Red Cross program. You see, my Mother didn’t know how to swim, although she had been out in the water in a row boat many times. She realized that I would be out in the water for the rest of my life loving it.

So the first swim class started at Lincoln Park in Spokane, WA as I remember it. From there my Mom would press her nose up against the screened in public swimming pool and watch me learn how to swim. I remember the test day when it came to swim across the deep end of the pool, the whole width. The pool was freshly refilled with ice-cold water and the sun didn’t come down over the bluffs until late in the morning. I remember my Instructor asking the whole class if any of them felt ready to take the final swim test. Well, being little and didn’t want to miss out on the test, I raised my hand and said ‘yes’. I could have waited a couple more days when the Class was over with, but I didn’t understand and signed up the early test.

It was my turn! The Instructor was standing on the pool deck. My Mother’s nose once again pressed against the screened in area watching. Well I made the plunge into the cold water and started to swim across the width in the deep end. Half way across I went down and sank to the bottom of the pool. There I was, knowing my Instructor would come down and rescue me. She did. The test was cancelled for me and my Instructor was heaping mad at me cause she had to dive down in that cold water to rescue me. I was confident she would, but I failed the test. I did however two days later was able to retake the test again, only the water was by now warmer and I did make the swim across the deep end of the pool with success.

This taught me a lesson something I will never forget. Later in years at 18 yes, I became a Swim Instructor and well remember the feeling of water over my head. It made it easy for me to understand how other little ones learning to swim, might feel for the first time. After all four feet standing in the water at a pool and then learning how to float on your back could feel like you were four hundred feet deep to a kid. This taught me how to teach first class swim lessons hands on experience with out fear, and to learn to love the water.

Later on, moving to Whidbey Island, surrounded by the Pacific Ocean, I met Monte Merserve and this is where the first chapter begins. Since then I still teach ARC Swim Lessons to others, and became a PADI Swim Instructor teaching scuba diving for fifteen years at The Principia Upper School.

Since then I’ve been Scuba Diving around the world and meeting new friends in the World of waters. This is my love now to share some of my experiences and joy throughout the world. I am currently teaching International students swimming where we all learn to hug the water and make it our new best friend with Love! Blowing bubbles with joy.

NOTE:

YEARS 2014-2015, 14 GOLD MEDALS was won at Senior Olympics each year in swimming, showing it can be done. Held at St. Louis Mo.

Chapter 1

Island Sea Jesters - First Diving Club on Whidbey Island

A diving club was formed by Monte Meserve, an art teacher at Langley High School on Whidbey Island. Mr. Meserve brought a lot of divers into the Island Sea Jesters Club by showing his interest to the school children and locals. The club grew by leaps and bounds while I was there and kept growing even after Monte moved away. The club was formed back in the early 1950s with most of the members living on Whidbey Island. I became a part of it after Monte invited me to come watch him dive down off at Langley Dock one Sunday right after church. Of course I went down to the ocean front and watched him dive in his dry suit. I became quite impressed seeing him come up and feeling great. I felt his hand which had no glove and he was warm as a toast. Then Monte asked me if I would like to try it out. Of course I snapped at the chance; he climbed out of his dry suit and I climbed in with my imitation fur coat and all, right from church. He showed me how to let all the air out of the suit by letting the air bubble up by my face by popping the rubber open slightly. Well, I went down under the cold ocean waters—ranging from 42 to 44 degrees—year-round and I came up delighted and warm in the wintertime and was sold on becoming a skin diver from then on. I bought his dry suit from him and he later wore a new ‘wet suit’. From then on, I was hooked on diving.

That dry suit I used for three years until my friend, who lived in Seattle, showed me how to make a pattern for a new wet suit. Then I made my whole family wet suits, which included my husband Paul, two sons David and Jim, and myself. My little girl was very little at that time, and she finally grew big enough to start wearing one of her brothers’ wet suits. In the meantime, she carried our ‘divers flag’ wherever we went. It became a family gathering for all of us. This is how I got started in the world of diving, right here on Whidbey Island, where I lived and raised my family. This is where my adventures started, and for this I wish to give special