Diving in my backyard?

[DNK]

There are two old brownstone quarries not to far from my house.
See www.terraserver.com (long -76.69054, lat 40.24207).
They are posted as private property, but I'm thinking about trying and find who owns them and get permission for me an my buddy.

Just wondering if anybody has feedback on the idea?
Things to worry about diving in an unknown quarry?
How to convince the owners to let me dive there?
Is it a stupid idea?
What type of legal issues, responsibilities the owners might have or raise?

Thanks

 

[jonnythan]

Sounds like a cool idea to me.

Go exploring. That's what we do with caves...

 

[DNK]

http://terraserver.microsoft.com/image.aspx?T=1&S=11&Z=18&X=890&Y=11139&W=1
try this instead

 

[Amphibious]

quarry = big hole.

could be fun.....

 

[mossym]

wish i had a dive spot that close to me...

 

[Chris Hipp]

Unless the owner has you sign a liability waiver, he could be held responsible if you or your buddy got hurt and decided to sue him.

You and I are probably at the same experience level so if it was me I would definitely take at least two knives, try to find a more experienced buddy and have someone on land, just in case.

Chances are that it is empty but you never know what kind of junk people may have dumped in there before it filled up. Better safe than sorry.

 

[abitton]

Wouldn't diving in a quarry get old fast???

 

[DiveMaster176493]

hey it is a great idea, take some liabiltie releases with you and tell the owner you will respect his property. i bet he will let you dive. next do as chris says find a local dm to go with you and have a shore person around also.

expect water temps around 50 at 70 feet and deeper

 

[Firebrand]

I think a lot of it has to do with how long the quarrys have been there and how long they have been in private hands. I know that some people would dump cars into quarries and report them as stolen. You might find firearms that were used in crimes laying on the bottom, and you may find nothing at all, or you can find the excavating equipment abandoned at the bottom. Make sure you have a good handle on your buoyancy control as some quarries are VERY deep, and you can suddenly find yourself in a decompression requirement with no gas left in the tank to do it. You can expect some serious thermoclines the deeper you go, and you should plan your exposure suit accordingly. Other than that, you'll see a LOT of rocks covered in algae. If there were vehicles dumped, you might have to prepare yourself to come across human remains. Heaven forbid, if you should find that, you are obligated to inform the local police/sherriff department immediately after your dive. Good luck and I hope it's a fun experience for you if you get to dive them.

 

[Paco]

And if you dive it, be sure to post a dive report on this thread.