Bell Island, Richmond?

[6gunsal]

I dont know how long its been accessible for, but I recently went there with my fam and saw that there is actually a granite quarry in the middle of the island.
Other than being a total PITA to get gear over there, does anyone know if its divable?

 

[H3LlIoN]

I love Belle Isle. I spent my time in Richmond free climbing that granite wall on the other side of the quarry, and swimming the rapids. That place is awesome. As far as whether or not it's dive able, I'm not sure. It is swim-able, although the water in there is basically stagnant, so you'd have to scrub your gear and watch for infections afterwards... I'd imagine it'd be a good place for a zero-viz dive though. I just tried calling the info number, and no one picked up, but that number is 804.646.8911 in case someone else wants to try. I've also spent some google time trying to get info on the quarry, but I'm falling short.

Here is a pic of the quarry: Picture of Quarry Lake on Belle Isle, Virginia

Hope that helps. I will say that, if you go over to Riverside Drive on the otherside of the river, as opposed to the Richmond side, there is a much larger and shorter bridge than the flyover walk path that is on the richmond side. It's also wide enough for a small hand cart, or perhaps you could get one of those baby strollers that attaches and pulls behind a bike. The access point I'm talking about reads as "Police Access to Belle Isle" on this map: http://www.jamesriverpark.org/images/general_location_map_belle-isle.jpg
although it is not strictly just for police, it's just the only way on to the isle big enough for an ambulance. Have fun, report back. Maybe we could get some freshwater clams to clean it up if it proves worth it. I'll post back with more info if I can find anything.

 

[H3LlIoN]

just sent the following e-mail to the park manager, will post back with his response when I get it.


Ralph,

It’s been a long time. Hopefully this e-mail finds you well. I was wondering how deep the quarry is on Belle Isle, and whether or not SCUBA diving is allowed. Thank you,

- XX

 

[Drewski]

WOW!

You've got to be DESPERATE to dive THAT quarry!

Although, I'd be interested just to see what the heck is in the bottom of it. It's been there through the Civil War when the island was a Confederate Prison, so ya just never know what you might find.

People swim the river all the time, so I can't see why they wouldn't let you "swim" the quarry.

Ask the Richmond Dive Club if anyone's been there...

GOOD Luck!

 

[6gunsal]

haha, I'm mainly just interested in what may be down there. Anytime I see a body of water I always imagine what could be down there.
I agree, the whole island is pretty neat, although I've heard too many horror stories about people drowning and getting caught under rocks to feel comfortable swimming in the james.

 

[Sinbad the Diver]

That would be a neat concept to dive given the old prison there. Interestingly enough, my Great, Great Grandfather or something like that (my Grandfather's Grandfather) was a prisoner there for about 6 months. That would make it doubly cool for me (theoretically at least). The other thing I wonder if there has been any archiological dives done there, I imagine a lot of stuff from the prison was tossed in as the Feds came to town at the end of the war.

 

[H3LlIoN]

This is the response to the above quoted letter from the Belle Isle manager...

"------
Most of the Quarry on Belle Isle is 8 to 10 feet deep, but the center/south dips to 19. We do not allow scuba diving at the site because there are some historic features at the bottom that we do not want disturbed ---- but it doesn't matter much because the visibility is extremely poor anyway. There is a great deal of plankton in the water and that naturally restricts visibility to under 1 foot during the best of conditions, but there is also a 2 or 3 foot layer of silt at the bottom. The slightest disturbance kicks this up and quickly creates zero visibility.
Ralph White
Park Mgr"

Makes me wonder what the "historic features" are.

just sent the following e-mail to the park manager, will post back with his response when I get it.


Ralph,

It’s been a long time. Hopefully this e-mail finds you well. I was wondering how deep the quarry is on Belle Isle, and whether or not SCUBA diving is allowed. Thank you,

- XX

 

[H3LlIoN]

Well, I wondered, so I asked. My email below:

"Ralph –

I appreciate the response, and respect the wishes of the park service. Curiosity has the best of me though, and I was wondering if you could tell me what kind of historic features are down there? Belle Isle history information on the web is scarce at best. Thanks,

- X"

and his response was:

X-
Some old court evidence --- items from murder trials. We're preserving the containers as virtual "time capsules."
Ralph

Kinda creepy!

 

[6gunsal]

wow, thats pretty cool. Thanks for the research H3LlIoN!

 

[H3LlIoN]

No Problem man. He basically said that's what they used to do with old court evidence before modern day destruction processes were created, and the stuff would gradually get covered with silt.