Blue Hole, NM logistics?

[dwaters]

We're starting our family "road trip 2009 plans" aka: "no where near ocean diving" and I'm trying to get in a dive somewhere, somehow, please just one dear So bottom line is..... if I were to stop in one mid. month Sunday afternoon in May, would I be able to rent BC, tank, wieghts, find a buddy and enjoy the BH for a dive or two??? I own a 7mm and 3mm full suit...which would be better? And for ya'll in CO., we are planning to drive to Colorado Springs the next morning... long enough SI for the altitude changes? Thanks for your input and if ever in So.Cal. feel free to hit me up.

 

[Jasonmh]

Hi Dwaters, I will try and answer your questions.
You will definitely want to use the 7 mm in Blue Hole, water temps are about 60-62 year round. Finding a buddy shouldn't be too hard. I could meet you out there if you need a buddy, you can find others on here that would be willing, and there are usually quite a few people out there on a May weekend too. On the rental issue, if you own your own BC I would definitely bring it, probably weights too since it is a road trip. Renting a tank should not be a problem.
I'm sure some CO divers will be able to answer your question about the altitude, but my opinion is that if you are doing 1 or 2 dives on Sunday, you should be fine for the mountain passes you will be driving through the next day.
Good luck and maybe we will see you on your road trip.

 

[robint]

We're starting our family "road trip 2009 plans" aka: "no where near ocean diving" and I'm trying to get in a dive somewhere, somehow, please just one dear So bottom line is..... if I were to stop in one mid. month Sunday afternoon in May, would I be able to rent BC, tank, wieghts, find a buddy and enjoy the BH for a dive or two??? I own a 7mm and 3mm full suit...which would be better? And for ya'll in CO., we are planning to drive to Colorado Springs the next morning... long enough SI for the altitude changes? Thanks for your input and if ever in So.Cal. feel free to hit me up.

Some weekends there are people at BH, some weekends there aren't any.... Stella is only there to rent and fill tanks if there are people already there or who call and ask her to be there. She has a full time job during the week and only does this on weekends if she is going to make money. She has a tiny trailer with a compressor and some rental gear, but not alot. If you need anything more than tanks, I would bring it. So, that said, be sure that if you arrive on a Sunday afternoon, you have checked here a few days before to make sure there will be divers there and that her compressor is up and running.

We used to live in CO Spgs and drive down for diving on Friday, back on Sunday. Our rule of thumb was if we finished diving at 11am, we would drive north and stop for lunch at Pizza Hut in Las Vegas, NM for an hour. Then we would stop for ice cream at Raton Dairy Queen before we would drive over the Pass. We did this for 3 years and no one in our groups ever had problems. We did hear of people getting bent when they dove all day (like on a Saturday), left BH, and drove straight over the Pass without any stops. One was an instructor I know and she went to the chamber.

We now live in Albuquerque, so not as much altitude gain on way home but we do have to cross a hill pass getting back into town. We try to sit about 2 hours after diving at BH either doing log books or eating lunch, then the drive is another 1+ hour drive to the Pass. No problems.

There is nothing for your family to do at BH while you dive. No food either. So be sure you bring food and entertainment.

Water at BH is 60 degrees year-round. That means a 7mm suit or drysuit. Air temp is a big factor in how cold you get between dives.

If you haven't seen my videos of Blue Hole, follow the links under my signature.

robin

 

[ABQdiver]

We're starting our family "road trip 2009 plans" aka: "no where near ocean diving" and I'm trying to get in a dive somewhere, somehow, please just one dear So bottom line is..... if I were to stop in one mid. month Sunday afternoon in May, would I be able to rent BC, tank, wieghts, find a buddy and enjoy the BH for a dive or two??? I own a 7mm and 3mm full suit...which would be better?

Like the others have said, you will definitely need the 7mm unless you're really resistant to cold. The waters in S Calif waters are similar temps.
Like Robin said; Stella has some rental gear but not a wide ranges of sizes.
Depends on when you're thinking of coming. We are typically there on the third Sunday for a few dives, so that might work out if you are there on May 17th.
I've got an extra BC (ranger) and a set of regs you can use. Depending on your size and weights, we can probably take care of that too.

And for ya'll in CO., we are planning to drive to Colorado Springs the next morning... long enough SI for the altitude changes? Thanks for your input and if ever in So.Cal. feel free to hit me up.

At approximately 5000' above sea level you will need to treat this as an altitude dive, adding 4% per thousand feet to your actually water depth. We always tell divers that you need to wait until your a "C" diver according to the tables which allows enough off gassing to minimize the risk of problems before leaving Blue Hole.

Let us know if you can make on the 17th, I'll join you!

 

[dwaters]

Thanks for all your inputs.... as always, the SB gang pulls through. Looks like it will be Sunday the 17th of May when we hit that area, so I will let ya'll know when I'm sure and looks like I'll bring my gear to try out fresh water diving.... Thanks again!!!!

 

[Jasonmh]

Yeah, let us know, hopefully we will see you.

 

[NudeDiver]

I dove there with a 5mm suit and it was no problem at all. If you HAD a 5mm, I'd say it would be fine - but if your choices are a 3mm and a 7mm, I don't see any reason not to bring the 7mm.

 

[Tjack]

Hey Dave, great to hear you are going to make it out to New Mexico. It was good diving with you off the Scuba Cat during the Wrinkles event back in November '07. The Blue Hole is an excellent dive as well as Perch Lake nearby. You can rent tanks and weights on weekends but BC might be a bit iffy. Maybe someone can provide Stella's cell phone number for more info on rentals? There are interesting things to do around Santa Rosa for the familly as well. There is an old Car Museum as well as a scenic drive south of town that provides a glimps of Old New Mexico. The Lake City Diner has decent New Mexican cuisine. The Best Western Adobe Inn is a popular motel as well. If you have camping gear there is great camping at Santa Rosa State Park. You will need to adjust your dive computer for elevation of about 4500 feet, but driving to Colorado Springs the following day is no problem. I will try to make it down if I am in the area, otherwise finding a buddy should be no problem on a Sunday before 1pm. Hope to see you there.

 

[dwaters]

Hey, tjack...wow it has been awhile...good to hear from you again...I need to get some fresh water dives in and I remember you telling about the BH so I'm looking forward to it. I'll pop back in when time gets closer. And I'll dive with you any time you're in So.Cal. ... just hit me up.
..............................
Thanks again for all your inputs!

 

[RonFrank]

I think your questions have been answered! I will try and make it down on May 17th as it sounds like the making of a fun weekend.