Diving in Bonne Terre

[El Andy]

Went to Bonne Terre for the first time yesterday. I would say Altaskier's review is dead on, so I won't repeat it.

Doug, the owner, agreed to do a special dive on Friday for our group since we work on weekends. I really appreciated that he would go to all the trouble of finding a DM and safety diver, plus getting the building open and the lights on, on a day they are normally closed. Our DM was Nate and our safety diver was Dick. Nate was great, he did a very thorough briefing and led a good dive. Dick was very helpful in the safety diver role. He was right on top of it when one of our group started loosing his weight belt at 40'. Overall they were a great team and a pleasure to dive with.

If you're in the area I recommend stopping in and taking a dip. We all left with big smiles on our faces.

 

[nimoh]

Finally got my trip to Bonne Terre in. Well worth it!

The walk down and back up was not nearly as bad as I thought it would be, and I even carried in my own weights.

I am glad I took their advice though and wore my dry suit down instead of carrying it. There is not a lot of room on the platform once they have a few groups down there, and anything stored down there (such as dry clothes) gets soaked.

The dives were a little crowded, we had 14 in our group, but if you keep some distance, it's fine. The water is very clear and there is pretty much no silt that divers can kick up.

 

[modzs]

Queso took out the essence of the post.

Here's the gist of it: I learned to dive there. I hate Doug. I hate the rest of the staff.

 

[trashman]

I have never met Doug but I have talked to him on the phone.He has always been helpfull and treated me in a professional manner.I have done many dives with all of the staff at the mine and have always been treated like family.I was just there last weekend and did The Rotator,City and The Pearly Gates with some divers who were doing their first Bear Trails.Sunday I went back to the Rotator and explored 400 ft. down a tunnel and our last dive was under the Redwood Forrest Room,again exploring an uncharted tunnel.Bonne Terre Mine is not for everyone but for me it is one of the coolest places in the USA to dive.I just did dives 61-65 and I will keep going back 3-4 times per year as long as I am able.