Martha's This Past Weekend, REPORTS ?

[PePaw]

So at the very least I would guess CROWDED ?
Was a very dissapointing start to my weekend. Got up early, loaded up all the gear, tarps, food & drink and headed out.
Arrived at the LDS at 10, only to find that they were out of quarry passes and tanks.
No diving for Pepaw and Memaw !

So how was it ?

 

[UTKnox]

Well, it was Martha's, what else can I say? Surprisingly enough, it wasnt that crowded. Granted, I'm used to Vortex on Saturday and having to keep track of 20 or so students. Anything less than that is fine by me, trust me!... There definitely were not as many people as I had expected, but still a sizeable crowd. I was talking to the old fella that runs the place on the way out, and he said (in between ranting about the internet and crackheads, no joke. I really like this guy! haha) they had a couple hundred for the day. Not a bad turnout I'd say.

The water was pretty damn clear, I was surprised to say the least. Pobably a ~30ft viz, little more/little less in spots. Surface temp was ~73*, thermocline was @ ~20ft/62*.

I'm still amazed at the size of the place. The first dive was rather creepy I must admit. It's like diving a ghost town. Quite the site! Overall, we managed 3 dives. First two were around/in the buildings & crusher. Third we made a trip over to the bus. Talk about a swim!

Overall, I really enjoyed Martha's. I'll definitely be back sometime this summer. I'll try and get some pics up later tonight if I have time. If not, you'll have to wait until I get back from Grand Cayman :-D

 

[PePaw]

Thanks for the report.
I'm going to make another attempt to get back on June 1st !

 

[UTKnox]

Sure thing.

June 1st I'm going to be making one helluva attempt to find a way to stay in Grand Cayman, as I'll be leaving the next day

 

[mike_s]

Arrived at the LDS at 10, only to find that they were out of quarry passes and tanks.
No diving for Pepaw and Memaw !

ahhh.... see to me the major reason to own tanks is to not have to hassle with going to a LDS to pick them up the day of the dive and have to take them back in time....


You can still get in the quarry without the pass though... You just pay when you arrive. the passes are just discount passes. Fred went up on the price last year but he donates the extra money charged to a charity Orphanage fund, so it goes to a good cause. I think he might rent tanks there also, but I'd call first to check.

 

[PePaw]

Yep, we could have paid the 30 at the gate. But thought that 100 bucks...60 for entry, another 24 for rental tanks and airfills was a bit much for a couple of dives. We had expected to get two passes for 36 bucks and free tanks from our dive shop. Big difference when you have Maui coming up in two weeks !

And buying our own tanks is definitely going to happen at some point but as you can see from my signature....most of my "expendable" funds this year are bookmarked "warm, clear, water use only !" !

Heck, might pick up a tank for the weekend and just lay on the bottom of my pool and think deep thoughts !