Cthippo
Contributor
I suspect most of us have them, those dives we would really like to do some day, but also recognize that they will probably forever be beyond our (or anyone's) skill level and risk tolerance.
Here are some of mine...
Big Bend Powerhouse, Las Plumas CA,
The big bend Powerhouse was built on the shores of the Feather River in Eastern California and was fed from water piped 10 miles through a tunnel. When the Oroville Dam was built in the 1950s the powerhouse and the town of Las Plumas across the river were both flooded. At maximum pool level the base of the powerhouse is almost 400 feet deep, but at low water the roof should be about 60 feet down.
Georgia Nuclear Aircraft Labratory
The Georgia Nuclear Aircraft labratory was built in the 1950s to do the basic research into nuclear aircraft engines for the Air Force. Part of the research involved irradiating material samples with their unshielded (!) reactor and then testing the physical properties of those not intensely radioactive materials in a series of four hot cells. Once the laboratory shut down in the 1960s the site was given to the City of Atlanta for a new airport, but turned out to be too hilly. It is now preserved as a park with the entrances to the underground buildings filled in to keep the curious away. But people find a way. It is said that the building they are exploring goes down 7 more levels and may be the former reactor building.
The Wreck of the MS Servant
This is a local one for me and one I have been interested in the longest. The Servant was an ocean-going tugboat of about 150 feet in length that was abandoned on the Everett waterfront sometime before 2003. In the fall of 2007 she broke loose from her mooring, drifted into Steamboat slough and rolled over on her beam ends. The wreck then proceeded to sink into the mud at a 135 degree angle, with only the turn of her bilge exposed above the water on an extreme low tide. This looks like it shoul;d be an easy dive, but heavy currents and zero visibility, coupled with questions about the stability of the wreck probably rule it out.
So what are your "I wish I could" dives?
Here are some of mine...
Big Bend Powerhouse, Las Plumas CA,
The big bend Powerhouse was built on the shores of the Feather River in Eastern California and was fed from water piped 10 miles through a tunnel. When the Oroville Dam was built in the 1950s the powerhouse and the town of Las Plumas across the river were both flooded. At maximum pool level the base of the powerhouse is almost 400 feet deep, but at low water the roof should be about 60 feet down.
Georgia Nuclear Aircraft Labratory
The Georgia Nuclear Aircraft labratory was built in the 1950s to do the basic research into nuclear aircraft engines for the Air Force. Part of the research involved irradiating material samples with their unshielded (!) reactor and then testing the physical properties of those not intensely radioactive materials in a series of four hot cells. Once the laboratory shut down in the 1960s the site was given to the City of Atlanta for a new airport, but turned out to be too hilly. It is now preserved as a park with the entrances to the underground buildings filled in to keep the curious away. But people find a way. It is said that the building they are exploring goes down 7 more levels and may be the former reactor building.
The Wreck of the MS Servant
This is a local one for me and one I have been interested in the longest. The Servant was an ocean-going tugboat of about 150 feet in length that was abandoned on the Everett waterfront sometime before 2003. In the fall of 2007 she broke loose from her mooring, drifted into Steamboat slough and rolled over on her beam ends. The wreck then proceeded to sink into the mud at a 135 degree angle, with only the turn of her bilge exposed above the water on an extreme low tide. This looks like it shoul;d be an easy dive, but heavy currents and zero visibility, coupled with questions about the stability of the wreck probably rule it out.
So what are your "I wish I could" dives?
