Completed

Da Wolf · 06-10-2007, 06:33 PM

Well I completed my OW certification on Saturday afternoon. We went to a local rock quarry to do 4 dives; 2 on Friday afternoon, and 2 on Saturday morning. I was not impression with the selection of our OW location at all. The bottom of the quarry was covered on a muddy silt film and when 8 of us got to the bottom visibility went from about 8 feet to about 6 inches. At 30 feet the water temp was a mind numbing 63 degrees. Even with a full wet suit and being down for more than 15 minutes, I was freezing cold. These conditions were also present on Saturday morning when we moved to a different location. On our 4th and final dive of the weekend, they allowed us to conduct a "fun" dive. But there really was not anything for us to go and do or even see. Everything was below 30 feet (which was very cold), and if you got within 2 - 3 feet of anything on the bottom, the silt would get so stirred up I could not see my hand in front of my face. I even remember almost running into the wall of the quarry. But now that it is all over and done with, I can look at it this way. At least when I go to the ocean it will NOT be that bad. But at least I can say I have experienced the 0 visibility situation and "should" be more prepared for it if/and when it happens. But now I look forward to ALL my future dives.

MgicTwnger · 06-10-2007, 07:12 PM

Mind-numbing 63 degrees???!!! Lots of us would kill for that. And most quarries are heavily silted. Get a thicker wetsuit, or better yet, a drysuit.

Incidentally, congrats.

**glynneco** · 06-10-2007, 08:11 PM

63? That's practiically blue water. I saw 42 at 72ft in Haymarket quarry today. 7mil ..... hmmmm .... I'm thinkin' a sissy vest ..... cheaper then a dry suit and could help. Of course if I wait till July it will jump to 50-52!

0-15 ft vis? even if there was somthing down there you would have missed it. Welcome to the exciting world of quarry diving. If you ain't got mud on your suit how can it be divin' ?

Da Wolf · 06-11-2007, 01:03 PM

Yeah, 63 degrees may not seem cold to y'all. But it is for someone who is use to 75 - 80 degree water. And yes I would agree a thicker wet suit was needed. I had a total thickness of about 4mil on mine, but it still was not thick enough.

Scuba Mama · 06-11-2007, 02:13 PM

Congrats

, your right at least the quarry diving is done. I had two friends diving with me this week end in 7mm suits and I was diving dry. One bail because she was to cold. I never noticed the cold. I went deeper then my group the more I dive dry the more I like it. I do agree with you having to sit still and wait in a 4mm in 63 degree water bites. Vis was not bad, we stayed away from the beginner area. Trust me it gets better. We had things to see a 35' boat, a swim through made of pipes. The cat fish were in good shape and plenty of them. I went to Haigh Quarry in Kankakee, IL. Not all quarries are the same, yes, some are really better then others.

Da Wolf · 06-11-2007, 02:40 PM

I hope there are better ones around here than that one. There were things down there to see. I know there was a cabin cruiser boat, a car, and a very big swim through pipe down there, but the vis was so bad on them though you had to at least 4 feet from them to even see them and even closer to get a really good look at them. And then you run the risk of stirring the silt up to where you could not see anything. So, it was not a very fun dive. But as said before, at least it is over and done with now. Even one of the platforms we were on to do some of our skills fell apart while we were on it, and floated to the surface. Just a poorly maintained area, IMO.