dive saguaro???

[RYCO]

i know im not going to find it.... but maybe?

my secretary was out at the lake 3 years ago. she was at a permanent structure and droped something of great centimental (sp?) value. i know its a snows chance in phoenix ill find it, but i told her i would try. anyone want to go? im thinking tomorrow (friday) around noon or monday. i must also warn you that ive done a total of 4 dives and they were for my OW cert, just with in this last few weeks. so im as green as you can get.

 

[RYCO]

anyone know a place to rent an underwater metal dector? in mesa az?

 

[Dive-aholic]

Where in the lake did she drop this item? I haven't lived in Arizona for over 2 years and it's been longer since I've done a dive in Saguaro, but the visibility sucks there and it doesn't get any better at depth. What's the depth of the area she dropped it? There are some minor currents in the lake and a deeper area would mean quite a large search area. Also, after 3 years, it's likely that this item is under several feet of silt. My advice is to get a lot more experience dives before you attempt to do this dive.

 

[AzAtty]

Rob's quite right. After three years, it's buried for good in Saguaro and it will take an act of a particularly beneficent deity to find it. Under normal conditions, Saguaro is extremely low visibility--like a foot. The best visibilty I've seen is 10 - 15 feet, but that was once. Below 10 feet it's a night dive at high noon (lights don't help much), and it will only get worse once the silt gets stirred up. Unless you're in touch contact with a buddy, you're essentially diving solo and in the dark.

If it's a "permanent structure" that means the fishing dock or the boat docks. The fishing dock is surrounded by boulders, rip-rap, and silt. Not to mention the monofilament line, lures, and hooks that adorn the area. If by some good fortune it did not land in the silt, it may have fallen into the many nooks and crannies around the rocks. I don't know how stable the rip rap is, and I haven't worked up the courage to experiment by poking my hands into the spaces between the rocks.

If it's at the boat docks, I wouldn't even bother trying.

Depending on where she dropped it, a metal detector may not do you any good. There's a significant amount of metal ore in the rocks around Saguaro; so much, in fact, that in some places a compass doesn't work properly (I've personally experienced this). You'll likely have a bunch of false hits.

Before you even consider attempting an underwater search in Saguaro, do some "no visibility" dives with an experienced buddy. Saguaro can get scary.

 

[fkostyun]

This was taken in sept - visibility was horrid, and could barely see. all lighting is a hid can light.

Photo's were taken ~2 feet from object. object was placed in lake 3 months before photo's.

 

[pdelannoy]

Don't do it Ryco. It gets really tricky when the vis goes to zero. Go to Lake Pleasant instead. There are lots of people diving this weekend. There are posts regarding Burro Island and I'm sure people will be at Vista Point and Besmeyer Point.

PD

 

[RYCO]

Don't do it Ryco. It gets really tricky when the vis goes to zero. Go to Lake Pleasant instead. There are lots of people diving this weekend. There are posts regarding Burro Island and I'm sure people will be at Vista Point and Besmeyer Point.

PD

i just wish she would have dropped this item in pleasent.......

 

[RYCO]

This was taken in sept - visibility was horrid, and could barely see. all lighting is a hid can light.

Photo's were taken ~2 feet from object. object was placed in lake 3 months before photo's.

what is that?