Rules about Scavenging

[Mud Diver]

I have never once been checked while exiting the river.. but it is a matter of conscience, being that there is an old civil War bridge and a sunken river boat, I want to make sure that I am not messing up something of archeological significance. Of course with strong currents and very low viz I don't have a lot of say as to what I end up banging in to!! It's still a lot of fun though, so if any one wants to visit Chattanooga and go diving look me up.

 

[Firefilly]

Hi Mud Diver

While my boyfriend is just recently certified, we will be getting in several dives over the next few weeks to help solidify skills (pond, quarry and TN river down by us, in that order) and then will be ready to travel.

ChooChoo is just a couple of hours drive and your description of finds sounds like great fun. Maybe we can hit you up in August? I'm thinking by then you will have gotten your answers so maybe we won't all wind up in the slammer after the first dive :-D

Give me a yell if interested and we can work out a convenient time.

 

[Mud Diver]

That would be fun, however I would caution putting a recently certified diver in the TN River, at least down where I am. The currents can be quite strong at times and the visibility is very limited, add 200 years of garbage and debris and you come up with a little hazardous diving. It is very easy to get separated, my dive buddy and I have often surfaced after losing each other and be anywere from 50 to 100 yards apart in a very short amount of time. We have to incorporate tethers and other techniques to stay together and keep a close eye on each other. It is a very fun dive (at least I think so) but it can be a little challenging. Just some things to consider before jumping in.

 

[Firefilly]

...caution putting a recently certified diver in the TN River...currents can be quite strong at times... visibility is very limited... incorporate tethers and other techniques... keep a close eye on each other... very fun dive (at least I think so)

I agree that it sounds like great fun

Thanks for the tips! Once I'm certain he's comfortable in fairly good conditions (we are very close to the Madison quarry), we plan to join a diving group in Florence that dives the TN River twice a week to get some experience in one of the calmer areas. Hopefully, we'll be ready to tackle your area in a month or so, assuming we can dive as frequently as we currently plan.

Thanks again :-D

 

[Mud Diver]

Sounds great, come on up!