Haigh Quarry August 16th

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Zman96

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Location
Illinois
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My dive buddy and I will be there at about 9 am to do 2 or 3 dives. This is our first dives here. We are really interested in continuing our buoyancy work, using some new equipment and seeing a few of the sunk items. Where is a good place to base camp from?

Brian

I meat to say where is a good place to set up base camp on the shore.
 
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I've been to Haigh a number of times. Check out the map they provide:
Quarry Map - Haigh Quarry - The Place for Scuba Diving in Northern Illinois
(Notice, North is on the left-hand side.) The only entrance to the water in the quarry is on the West side. On that side, there are two "main" entrances to the water. One is from the "beach" and the other is from a floating dock. The "beach" is sand mixed with crushed stone, not so easy on bare feet or equipment. The pro's to this spot, easy access to the water and exit. It is close to the buoyancy course. Close to the shallow end. If you get their early, you can park really close, if the operators of the quarry allow you. It is also close to the food stands. The con's: This is a very small area with lots of congestion. If you're going to setup there, be sure to put down a tarp to protect your equipment and feet and weight the tarp down (it can get windy). It is in direct sunlight all day long and it can get hot.
The floating dock is directly to the south of the "beach" and it is surrounded by grass. Pros: It is a tree shaded area, for the most part, and is much cooler then the beach. Grass is nice to walk around upon. You can park somewhat close, if you get there early. You can setup a canopy. The dock has benches to gear-up. You can practice your giant stride entrance. Much deeper water (30+ feet) to enter. Easy access to the sunken boat, The Flamingo, the LARC and other things. Cons: Much Colder water, the spring source is very close. It can be kind of dark at times. Buoyancy course is a long swim away.

Overall, check out their web site for more details. They provide grills there, so you can grill if you bring food and charcoal. They have wooden park benches everywhere, which is helpful to gear-up, but try to leave them for other people while you are diving.

My advice, bring a cooler and plan on getting there early. Before you arrive, stop at the giant K-Mart which is on the way there. It has a HUGE supermarket in there. Stock up on liquids, food and ice. Cool?
 
My dive buddy and I will be there at about 9 am to do 2 or 3 dives. This is our first dives here. We are really interested in continuing our buoyancy work, using some new equipment and seeing a few of the sunk items. Where is a good place to base camp from?

Brian

I meat to say where is a good place to set up base camp on the shore.

Zman... I'm gonna' be up there too... if ya' see a fella' running around in a 3 mil EVO shorty drop over and say hi... I'm working as junior DM with a class all day... but always have time to say hello... ... AND IF YA' FIND THE DRAIN PLUG DEFFINATELY LET ME KNOW... I'VE FOUND IT ONCE... HAVEN'T LOCATED IT SINCE...

J.R.

(btw... the west dock is a great place to do entries... a lot of classes use the ramp off the beach... personally I like to use the dock for entry and the ramp for exit...)
 
The drain plug is south of the LARC. It's not far off, but it sits behind a little mound, so you might not see it right away. If you start from the stern of the LARC, you'll probably run over it, but the terrain isn't too flat, so the navigation is harder. If you start from the bow of the LARC, you'll see the mound first. If I recall correctly, it's about a 2 minute swim from the LARC.
 
This was my first time diving here and it was very good. My buddy and I are both newer divers, so we were just trying to work more on our skills. We set up by the south dock with easy access to the water. The first dive we went to the flamingo and the Lrc, max depth was 50' and 59 degrees. Viz was very good on the Flamingo you could see the entire length of the boat, the LRC's viz was not as clear. Second dive was just to dive the wall and to try out my dive buddies new camera, 51' max depth 58 degrees 42 minutes. All in all we had a good couple of dives and got a good chance to hone our skills.

Brian
 

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