Anyone seen snakes while diving ?

[Oki Dirt Diver]

I had a big water moccasin jump on me on the steps at Madison Blue. I think we both scared eachother and he was just trying to get out of there. You can jump really high w/ double 130's on your back with a poisonous snake on your foot!!

Did you have to do some extra cleaning on your suit that day?

 

[Kunk35]

I've dove with a couple of snakes before, but I won't dive with them again!!

 

[Zinc]

Zinc - is there no suction effect at all when you are near or up against the grates and the generators are running ? I would have thought that the outflow of water would at least hold or draw a diver toward it, and hold you there, not allowing escape ? Thanks.

None, not possible*
The jailhouse superstructures are really large with grates on all sides running the full depth of the dam. Furthermore, the grates I dive on are protecting the flood gates: a tunnel at roughly 540' msl or 140' when lake is full, leads to the actual gates about 50' inside the dam. The tunnel entrance is inside the jailhouse, roughly 20' from the grates.

The gates are rarely opened, and only when lake is flooding, usually only a few gates at a time. I do not dive where the generator intakes are on the far side from Mansfield park, but I'm sure it's the same. In order to have suction, there must be a smaller restriction (the tunnel) but the tunnel entrance is 20' inside the jailhouse structures (@20'X60'X150'), which are way too large to make suction possible. I've attached a small picture...

I have dove inside the jailhouse, down and into the tunnel and touched the flood gates. My buddy K-valve calls this touching the 1ATM, as on the other side is 1 atmosphere pressure, versus 4-5 atmospheres at depth. Diving inside the jailhouse is a restricted overhead environment and should not be attempted by recreational divers. Technical divers w /appropriate training and equipment might find it an adventure. Others think we're just plain crazy...
*Ok, it might be theoretically possible to have flow drawing towards the grates, if flood gates are open, you're down at 140', and even then, it'd be so mild that you wouldn't be "sucked up to the grates." I don't think I'd dive the jailhouse if the flood gates are open, b/c that's just too freaky, even for me

 

[scubashawn123]

I searched TSD for 'snake', and found very few mentions of divers seeing snakes while diving. I personally have not (yet), however on my very fist dive on scuba, my buddy speared one. We had become seperated for a bit, and I had headed to the shore when I became low on air and we were losing daylight. When he exited the water a few minutes after I did, he had this snake on his spear. It was in about 25' of water and coming toward him. Amazing he hit it, and without a speartip (it had broken on a previous dive). Also, this dive we were in Lake Travis, at Tom Hughs Park in October 2008.
Tom Hughs is basically across from Mansfield Dam Park, also off of 620.

Anyone also dive this area ? The water here is also extremely clear, and on later dives here and down to about 71' we found many caverns at various depths, some small, and others so large you could park a couple of cars in. One had an airspace you could poke your head up into. One other question, anyone found the plane at Mansfield Dam park ? Is it safe around the plane, since it is so close to the dam ? Last time I dove there, I could hear the generators kick on in the dam, and it made me a bit nervous - I just don't want to get too close and don't know how close is too close. I would like to find the plane, without finding the dam and the generators...
Thanks !

NO snakes....................only an alligator once on a dive..............

 

[battles2a5]

Did you have to do some extra cleaning on your suit that day?

You betcha. And after the first dive, we had a lightning strike about 20ft from the truck with our tanks on. Blew the computer in the ranger's hut and blew out (literally) every power box in the parking lot. Murphy was out to get us that day. I felt a lot safer in the cave than we did in the parking lot :cool2:

 

[ianr33]

so did he eat the snake or just shoot it for the heck of it?

Do you realise what you did is illegal?

LCRA - Regulations Read section 13

Posting photos of it on the internet is dumb.

(I like snakes. I also dive Tom Hughes fairly often. Would rather not worry about being hit by a stray spear in the lovely Travis murk)

 

[Timeliner]

I think snakes are generally misunderstood. I once met a Rattle Snake at the Valhalla Missile Silo down in the old in the command center and we managed to come to a agreement.

 

[FIXXERVI6]

None, not possible*
The jailhouse superstructures are really large with grates on all sides running the full depth of the dam. Furthermore, the grates I dive on are protecting the flood gates: a tunnel at roughly 540' msl or 140' when lake is full, leads to the actual gates about 50' inside the dam. The tunnel entrance is inside the jailhouse, roughly 20' from the grates.

The gates are rarely opened, and only when lake is flooding, usually only a few gates at a time. I do not dive where the generator intakes are on the far side from Mansfield park, but I'm sure it's the same. In order to have suction, there must be a smaller restriction (the tunnel) but the tunnel entrance is 20' inside the jailhouse structures (@20'X60'X150'), which are way too large to make suction possible. I've attached a small picture...

I have dove inside the jailhouse, down and into the tunnel and touched the flood gates. My buddy K-valve calls this touching the 1ATM, as on the other side is 1 atmosphere pressure, versus 4-5 atmospheres at depth. Diving inside the jailhouse is a restricted overhead environment and should not be attempted by recreational divers. Technical divers w /appropriate training and equipment might find it an adventure. Others think we're just plain crazy...
*Ok, it might be theoretically possible to have flow drawing towards the grates, if flood gates are open, you're down at 140', and even then, it'd be so mild that you wouldn't be "sucked up to the grates." I don't think I'd dive the jailhouse if the flood gates are open, b/c that's just too freaky, even for me

I've been down deep when the generators were running, even on the side opposite of the generators the vibrations were off the chart, it was not a good feeling to have every micrometer of my skin vibrating.

 

[Zinc]

I've been down deep when the generators were running, even on the side opposite of the generators the vibrations were off the chart, it was not a good feeling to have every micrometer of my skin vibrating.

I'm with you there... those are definitely NOT the Beach Boys kind of good, good, good, good vibrations

 

[richerso]

I think snakes are generally misunderstood. I once met a Rattle Snake at the Valhalla Missile Silo down in the old in the command center and we managed to come to a agreement.

OK, I was present at that political summit. I didn't see the actual agreement, per se; but I did manage to see the treaty that was signed :cool2: