New User from Tennesse

[smaucere]

Hi All,

Been diving for about a year and reading everyone's posts since then. Just now getting around to posting on my own. I'm a lawyer practicing International Law in Tennessee and Georgia. Been on about a dozen dives, hope to have four or five more done by the end of the summer.

Just looking for practical information and experiences from others.

Did drift dive the Hiwassee river this week at night, that was fun.

Best,

Scott Maucere

 

[Insta-Gator]

Hey, welcome to SB. You sound like a nice guy except for the lawyer thing. But no one is perfect.




:joke:

 

[smaucere]

Except it makes shark dives easier--it's like going to a bar association meeting.

 

[AnotherCaptBob]

So where did you go on the Hiwassee? We've been hitting all the quarries around, and thought about rivers next. Did you go all the way upstream like near Reliant, or closer to the confluence of the Tennessee?

 

[smaucere]

We were up near Reliance. We put in the water about 5-6 miles upriver from whether outfitters are at the railroad bridge. Got on the river about 8p, just as the sun was setting. The cold water and the humid air made the river smoke with thick fog all the way down. When we got to a spot deep enough to dive, we put on our gear and rolled out of the raft. very shallow, maybe got down only 4-5 feet at the deepest. But at night (pitch black, no other people anywhere), it was awesome. lots of curious trout. drift, maybe 3 knots. crystal clear. we took out when we hit the railroad bridge, about 2.5 hour trip.

we also dived a waterfall up on the Tellico river earlier that day. that was not so much fun. viz about 12 inches, filled with boulders and crevasses to get stuck in (and in which I did get stuck).

 

[irishsquid]

Hello and Welcome to ScubaBoard Smaucere! That Hiwasse trip sounds nice. What you think it would be like during the daytime? I've done a few dives Downtown around Walnut to Market St. On a good day it can get around 10-15 ft vis. at the bottom around the bridge supports.

 

[smaucere]

I've not dived the TN river, sounds murky. How deep is it at that point? I hear you can recover old bottles from the original Coca cola plant down there.

I would guess it's much clearer than the TN at daytime, but very shallow (I've heard its maybe 12 feet at some deep pools, but didn't see anything near that deep). It's mostly a series of deeper areas separated by rows of striated rock that stick up and you end up going up and over them as the current takes you into them. It's fun.

 

[irishsquid]

I've not dived the TN river, sounds murky. How deep is it at that point? I hear you can recover old bottles from the original Coca cola plant down there...

It can be murky, you have to get the right day. 25ft is the deepest I've found so far. There are some good finds to be found, but, it's hit and miss. A friend of mine has found a few Civil War artifacts and a case of old Coke bottles.

 

[AnotherCaptBob]

I still owe the Squid (or maybe his brother) a PBnJ sammich from our first trip to Lock Low Min. You'all don't know, but that was the best tasting sammy we ever had! It was gone by the time you crested the hill!

Since then, we've been back about three more time, swam with the paddle fish, visited with Fred at Massey's in Lebanon, Swam in Madison's drinking water outside Huntsville, and Tomorrow we are off to Pelham in Alabama to join Elaine's sister as she completes her certs. (Well.... we are just getting wet, but we will congratulate her afterward!) After each dive, a peanut butter and jelly sammich was consumed. You never know what you start!

I'd be interested in seeing what's under the TN river. I've boated on it for several years, Often wondered what was down there. What access do you use downtown?

 

[irishsquid]

That was my brother's sandwich. We put in at Coolidge Park at the circle. We enter down the steps where the rowers take the boats down. We just drift down to Market St. Bridge, and then circle around the bridge supports. Most of the time we unload, and then I park down at the bridge for when we get out. If it isn't too crowded, I'll use the fountain to rinse off my gear while wearing it. That gets some strange looks.
p.s., I'll let Johnny (my brother) know what he started.