Savannah River Dive - N. Augusta S.C.

[diveprof]

Great river dive today. Vis at the Lake (Clarks Hill/Thurmond) is poor as the lake is turning, but the river is very clear. We dove N. Augusta Boat Landing today. We had 15'+ vis, maybe even 20' in spots. Lots of fish life- Huge school of bass, many turtles, carp, and other stuff. Water temp is 60 degrees. N. Augusta is a little shallower than our other river dives with a max depth of 16'. It is in the fall line of the river. The bottom has boulders and sheets of rock, toppled trees/logs extend out into the water near the shoreline creating an interesting dive. Current was mild. We are diving it again tomorrow at 1p. The river should stay clear as long as there is no significant rain.

 

[Lee Taylor]

Have wondered about that river when I cross the border bridge from SC to GA. Does not happen often but I sometimes drive from Charleston to Atlanta. Spoke with a river diver here in Charleston at the annual Cypress fossil show. Said he dove in a area close to what you are referencing. He had some nice Megalodon sharks teeth for sale. Said it was low viz and he had to feel around in the mud for them.

I am not much of a cold water diver so I end up hanging around Scubaboard trying to entertain myself

tks for the posting. It is an attractive river

 

[diveprof]

Have wondered about that river when I cross the border bridge from SC to GA. Does not happen often but I sometimes drive from Charleston to Atlanta. Spoke with a river diver here in Charleston at the annual Cypress fossil show. Said he dove in a area close to what you are referencing. He had some nice Megalodon sharks teeth for sale. Said it was low viz and he had to feel around in the mud for them.

I am not much of a cold water diver so I end up hanging around Scubaboard trying to entertain myself

tks for the posting. It is an attractive river

I believe that the diver you spoke of probably found the teeth further down the river. I've not heard of folks finding teeth near here. Old bottles, indian artifacts yes. The bottom here is more sand, very fine sand (clears quickly) and rock. We consistently have 8' or so of vis, more when there has been no rain, less following rains. This isn't cold water diving. Cold water diving is February when the air temp is in the 20s, the lake has 2-3' seas and the water temp is 42.
We had another great 98 min. dive today with good vis and lots of marine life.

 

[smokn']

I'm interested in diving the river sometime. Where's the boat dock at?

 

[diveprof]

I'm interested in diving the river sometime. Where's the boat dock at?

There are several good dive sites in the Savannah in Augusta. The one we dove this past weekend is from the boat ramp in Riverview Park in N. Augusta (off Buena Vista). We also enjoy the long drift dive from 5th st to the Boathouse/old marina (about a mile downstream).

 

[smokn']

Ok, I know where that's at. Thanks.

 

[SC_Hoaty]

Thanks for the report, Diveprof. Sounds like you picked the perfect weeked. Today's rain will probably kick it up. Do you expect it to clear by next weekend? I wasn't sure how long it took to settle.

I was reflecting on our lake dive earlier this morning - fun times - thanks!

 

[diveprof]

When the river is clear, we often dive it over the lake in the winter as it is shallower and therefore there is less compression of the wetsuit. Last weekend was great. We had a fair amount of rain, but not heavy or fast (at least where I was). My plan is to check the river out Thursday afternoon. I'll let you know where we are diving.

 

[SC_Hoaty]

Thursday is a nogo for me, but I'm looking forward to your report!

 

[diveprof]

Actually what I meant was I will see what the vis looks like Thursday (not diving) and let you know where we will be diving this weekend in case you are interested.