Quarry dives...do you log them as "official dives"?

[BKP]

Yep.

some quarry dives need and develop more skills than calm shallow reef dives. For example, we have a quarry close, depth over 250', temperature year round is in the lower 40's under the thermocline, with some artificial wrecks and fish. If you only dived tropical reefs, you should find some nice challenges on that site.

Absolutely. The viz in our local (within 3 hour drive) quarries is all over the place (depending on the depth, and site -- complete blackout in some, at depth). In one quarry it averages about 10-20 feet, but clears to >60 feet at 100 ffw depth. However, it can be the best way to do the low-viz checkout in AOW, and get your navigation skills down. Clear (and warm) "open" water can seem like a walk (or kick) in the park, after a quarry dive...

No doubt it should be logged...

 

[desiredbard]

I even log my pooldives since they are mostly new equipment tests

 

[wardric]

Just found this slideshow on the web of the quarry I was talking about (flinkote)

http://community.webshots.com/slideshow?ID=423210938&key=eBztRu

 

[paddler3d]

I'm going to the Bahamas next week, so I'm finally going to experience what it is like not to turn into a human torch so you don't freeze your butt off underwater!

The quarry dives in my region will likely test more skills than diving in the tropics.

Bouancy is a bit trickier in fresh water...
41degrees at 110ft ffw, a bit chilly...
Quarries do have mild currents...
Multiple thermoclines...
Visibility can be 0-40ft...
Since there is not much to "see" you find a lot to do, i.e., drive the bull dozer at 65ft, shoot the hoe or move the toilet, uses your dive reel to get back to the deep boat, so on so forth...
You need to find the platform at 30ft bering 160 and you've got 70 meter swim too it, you get to work on those navigation skills...

When I got certified my instructors joked that if you can dive these quarries, you can dive anywhere. So minus the sharks, I'd have to agree, although those bluegill get pretty aggressive...

My dive buddy, a.k.a, girlfriend, has finally come to the realization that she is going to be a warm water diver, after we got over the ear issue and descended to 48ft with less than 3ft of vis and she decided to practice the Emergency Swimming Ascent....right. Here inner monolouge told her to eject.

Log your dives as you see fit, but I'd say count those quarry dives! Especially when you here some of these folks in these forms talk about how they won't dive if it is less than 50ft of visibility and cold!

 

[DivingCRNA]

My dive buddy, a.k.a, girlfriend, has finally come to the realization that she is going to be a warm water diver, after we got over the ear issue and descended to 48ft with less than 3ft of vis and she decided to practice the Emergency Swimming Ascent....right. Here inner monolouge told her to eject.

Sounds like my wife. I have had her at 60 feet with 3 foot vis and she hated it! She does not get WHY I am taking the drysuit to the quarry on Saturday....Oh well! More air for me! And at least she lets me go

The big upside is that you still get to take dive trips to the tropics and you only have to carry one person's gear at the quarry/lake. Everyone knows that the husband/boyfriend is the SCUBA gear pack mule!

Dive on, dude!

 

[brutus_scuba]

I would say 100% without a doubt if I saw a log book without quarry dives but I knew the owner had dove in a quarry I would consider his book incomplete. Other then current i can't think of much that makes a quarry dive easier then the ocean dives. As a matter of fact I think it's good for me that I have dove quarries as much as I have the silt bottoms are great practice for frog kicks and what not to make sure you're not silting up the bottom, and while most people talk about being bored with what sits on quarry bottoms I really enjoy diving Quarries especially ones where you can see the parts of the quarry that used to be operational one near me still has semi truck scales, another a rock crusher, and you can see where roads were cut out of rock they're very entertaining dives I love them. And navigation can be learned very effectivly in a quarry b/c you can work on navigation over long ranges and see how you do b/c if you miss it you're still with in a surface swim of shore. All in all quarry dives are very good LOG EM

 

[k4man]

Brutus,
sounds like you've been looking at my logbook

And, I can tell--aside from your name--that you've seen the Ohio quarries like Portage and Gilboa. Rock on!!

Fellow Ohio Diver
Kevin:14:

 

[Hoosier]

It is a joke, isn't it. If we can't count the quarry diving, I still should be in OW level

Yeah... I am in mid-west......

 

[BSea]

Everyone knows that the husband/boyfriend is the SCUBA gear pack mule!

That's why I never complained when my wife didn't want to start diving.

 

[jpsexton]

If I did'nt log quarry dives I would only have logged 12 dives.

As a matter of fact I would'nt even be certified since my checkouts were done in the quarry. :11: