I'm planning a dive trip with a friend and I'm curious if anyone on here has gone diving in Lake Whitney, Texas? We would like an orientation to the water before we dive in. I am finding limited information but it is claiming a good rep among divers.
Howdy- need a little help
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Not my neck of the woods and I've never been there, but if you search google for scuba Lake Whitney, Texas you get various articles. There seems to be a dive shop and diver park there. see The Scuba Park at Lake Whitney
Keep checking back. Some members don't post on weekend. It'd help to put more info in your profile and I hope the Not Certified has changed, but it may well be a good idea to ask the local dive shop about hiring a private DM. I do hope you have DAN dive insurance.
Have a good trip
Keep checking back. Some members don't post on weekend. It'd help to put more info in your profile and I hope the Not Certified has changed, but it may well be a good idea to ask the local dive shop about hiring a private DM. I do hope you have DAN dive insurance.
Have a good trip
I live 20 minutes from Lake Whitney, and for me, it's not worth getting my gear dirty.
Maybe my expectations are either too high, or too easy, but for me, local diving in Central Texas involves driving to DFW Airport and grabbing an American Airlines flight to Cancun.
Maybe my expectations are either too high, or too easy, but for me, local diving in Central Texas involves driving to DFW Airport and grabbing an American Airlines flight to Cancun.
Don, I'll be certified in a few weeks. I'll be holding my card very soon and my friend and I are definitely excited! I found the shop but I couldn't find prices. However I did find a shop nearby with surprisingly low prices. I've been unable to find anything about underwater conditions but I'll continue looking.
Jim, really? That's disappointing but since we are only certified to go 30 ft. right now, lake diving is kind of the only diving we can do. I chose Lake Whitney because it was close so it cut down on inconvenience and cost. I'll have to see how things go with the job search and hope I have money to go further than the waco area. It's good hearing a real opinion. Can you tell me why you didn't like it? Was visibility bad or just kind of a boring dive?
Thank you both for your imput!
Jim, really? That's disappointing but since we are only certified to go 30 ft. right now, lake diving is kind of the only diving we can do. I chose Lake Whitney because it was close so it cut down on inconvenience and cost. I'll have to see how things go with the job search and hope I have money to go further than the waco area. It's good hearing a real opinion. Can you tell me why you didn't like it? Was visibility bad or just kind of a boring dive?
Thank you both for your imput!
Last year we were going to do a deep dive class at Whitney, three instructors went to check it out first, water was like black ink a little ways down. I would suggest going to Clearsprings Scuba Park near Terrell to practice your diving skills.
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...only certified to go 30 ft. What card is that? Ok you are still working on your OW card that limits you to 60 ft, but many don't adhere to that either.
Based on electrix's remarks, go to Terrell. Bad things can happen to newbies who screw up, I survived mine but not all do, and the thot of you guys dropping deeper than you intended, not being able to see any guages or up, etc - gives me shivers.
Cozumel would be a good trip to plan but it's not my idea of an easy site for newbies. Many do go there, most survive, but Clear Springs sounds like a good idea. When I was new, I went to Key Largo to dive the newbie reefs, but I have since discovered ways to screw up in many locations.
Anyway, do make sure all involved have DAN dive insurance, not the cheapest level, and hire a private DM for your first day of diving - something I wish we had done back then, and additionally a good idea for your first ocean dives.
Based on electrix's remarks, go to Terrell. Bad things can happen to newbies who screw up, I survived mine but not all do, and the thot of you guys dropping deeper than you intended, not being able to see any guages or up, etc - gives me shivers.
Cozumel would be a good trip to plan but it's not my idea of an easy site for newbies. Many do go there, most survive, but Clear Springs sounds like a good idea. When I was new, I went to Key Largo to dive the newbie reefs, but I have since discovered ways to screw up in many locations.
Anyway, do make sure all involved have DAN dive insurance, not the cheapest level, and hire a private DM for your first day of diving - something I wish we had done back then, and additionally a good idea for your first ocean dives.
I did my Divemaster training out of shop in Fort Worth in 2000, and we did our open water dives at Squaw Creek (the cooling lake for the nuclear power units near Granbury), and on a good day, the viz might be ten feet. Unfortunately, Squaw Creek was closed to diving immediately after the 9/11 attacks.
I had a chance to go to Possum Kingdom (two dams upstream from Whitney) during that same time and met some of my classmates coming out after their first dive. We talked while I was setting up my gear, and they told me about the viz and the thermoclines, and what you could see (the dead fish layer at thermo 2 did me in), and I politely broke down my gear and got back in my truck and went back to Fort Worth.
The water in Whitney is the same water, and the surrounding geological formations and land use practices are, if anything, worse (more sediment and organics producing).
Call me a snob, but I guess I've been lucky enough to not have to dive in those types of conditions in order to gain experience. Best of luck to you, and wave at me when you drive through Hillsboro on the way.
I can recommend Lake Travis Scuba for boat dives also.
Terrel- Thanks. I'm glad I posted on here before I went diving. Lake Whitney sounds awful! I'll be diving in Lake Travis in SCUBA II. I heard it's a pretty good dive.
Don- it's our rec. diving certification. We were told we can only dive 30 ft. Next semester in SCUBA II we will go deeper. I'd love to go to those places but I have to find somewhere closeby. I can't afford to go too far. I simply don't want my skills to get rusty before next semester. I'll be signing up for DAN very soon
Jim- Thanks for telling me. That's gross
I might have to see if a friend will let me crash at their place if there is no decent dive site around waco. I'm not at all surprised to find out the conditions are bad. I'm just disappointed. If unable to go on a dive, what would you suggest I do during the summer to keep from losing the skills I learned?
Don- it's our rec. diving certification. We were told we can only dive 30 ft. Next semester in SCUBA II we will go deeper. I'd love to go to those places but I have to find somewhere closeby. I can't afford to go too far. I simply don't want my skills to get rusty before next semester. I'll be signing up for DAN very soon
Jim- Thanks for telling me. That's gross
I might have to see if a friend will let me crash at their place if there is no decent dive site around waco. I'm not at all surprised to find out the conditions are bad. I'm just disappointed. If unable to go on a dive, what would you suggest I do during the summer to keep from losing the skills I learned?
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Ok, this is a college course? I suppose the Cert is the old Padi one day certification that left more limits than the current two day OW Cert. Please accept that green OW newbies are just barely safe to learn in real diving, and shore diving can be very dangerous. Hiring a private DM is money well spent at first.Don- it's our rec. diving certification. We were told we can only dive 30 ft. Next semester in SCUBA II we will go deeper. I'd love to go to those places but I have to find somewhere closeby. I can't afford to go too far. I simply don't want my skills to get rusty before next semester. I'll be signing up for DAN very soon
And unless you have very impressive coverage without scuba exclusions, you cannot afford to risk even one dive anywhere without DAN or similar coverage. I hope your Inst signed you up on the free student program that covers you until Cert, but regardless - need it.
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