TexasMike
Contributor
[red]Terrell Springs Dive Report
Divers:[/red] The ScubaBoard.com Texas Swamp Dive Team! (aka Michael Farlow (TexasMike), Tom & Michelle Vyles, BJ & Lynette Hudson (Corsair and Mrs. Corsair), Dez Lyons (Texass), and Tabatha Meyer (our mystery diver!))
[red]Location: [/red]Terrell Springs, just a bit northwest of Terrell Texas (approx 40 miles outside of Dallas per the highway mileage signs). Take HWY 80 to Terrell, pass through town, look for a Texaco on the left, there is a small dive flag sign pointing to the left, proceed 7 miles to the next sign, turn right, and the entrance to the property is on your left, marked with a large dive flag on the gate.
When we met for Breakfast at the Golden Corral in Lewisville, the weather was a classic Texas thunderstorm with rain coming down in buckets, and lots of thunder and lightening. And it got heavier as we worked our way out along I-30 leaving Dallas. Visibility was down to just 50 feet, and we havent even donned our tanks yet!! :loopy: But if we are going to get wet anyway, a little airborne water aint going to stop determined divers.
We arrived on site to find a nice lady sitting out in the rain patiently awaiting our arrival. Entrance fee was just $15 and she informed us that a portable air compressor was on site (yaaay!
) and air fills were the typical $5.00. Divers are issued wrist bands to indicate that you have paid your entrance fee. A gravel drive and large gravel parking area have been installed as well as port-a-johns. Off to the side of the road was the large cabin cruiser that will be sunk as a dive attraction. We found to our nice surprise that the rain kept away the other divers and we have the place to ourselves.
The site is still a bit primitive, but shows lots of promise. There are lots of areas where tents could be pitched should you desire to stay on site. Only one area on the road side of the site has large amounts of trees. So if you go and plan to stay the day, a sun shelter is advised.
The site is an abandoned gravel quarry that is feed by a reported three deep springs. The water area is about 2-1/2 times the size of Athens Scuba Park. Currently two platforms have been installed. One is at 20 feet and the other at 45 feet. The decks are 10 feet off of the actual bottom so that when they are used during instruction, silting can be kept to a minimum.
After a quick look at the newly built dock and the older pontoon fishing barge that has been pressed into service as a dock platform, we choose the barge to dive off of. So after setting up our sun (oops, I mean RAIN) shelters, we carry our gear to the barge and return to the shelters to put our wetsuits on. Then we gear up and jump in.
[red]Dive 1: [/red]Start Time: 11:48 Weather: Overcast, light rain. Starting tank pressure: 2500psi Ending Tank Pressure: 900psi Bottom Time: 39 minutes Max Depth: 51 feet. Planned profile: Descend on the 20-foot platform, swim to the 40-foot platform, and any other exploration as we go. Surface air temperature 74 degrees (due to rain), surface water temperature, 79 degrees. Thermocline at 22 feet, dropping temp to 60 degrees. Exposure Suit: 3 mil full suit over polartec shorty dive skin, booties, 1.5 mil gloves, & 3 mil beanie. Gear: Zeagle Ranger BC and Zeagle 50D Regulator (Note: Reg was loaner from Harold Banard of Sand & Sea Scuba since mine was in the shop due to a free flowing 2nd stage. Weight: 14 lbs. Fins: Tusa Impress (Note 2nd dive where I switched to Scubapro Jets)
After a surface swim to the buoy marking the 20-foot platform, we descend on the line to and gathered on the platform to do a buddy and equipment check. Water temperature was a very warm 79 degrees. Lots of sunfish, perch and black striped bass greeted us on the platform and would try to nip at your bare finger if you wiggled it worm fashion. Michelle complained later that as she was diving, she felt a tugging at the end of her short braids. These were the perch trying thinking they were a snack. Visibility from the surface to the platform was about 10 feet, but somewhat cloudy. The land owner later told us that this was due to the rain runoff from the parking lot.
The platforms are about 10 x 10 with expanded metal decks and 3-foot raised railings along each side. Because of the smaller size it got crowded very fast with seven divers on it. Dive classes using these platforms will have to be kept small to afford enough room. But there was still enough room for us to get some pictures (photo link will be posted soon)
The next part of our profile was to swim to the deeper platform and to discover just how deep this place was. Before descending to the platform, we had taken a compass bearing to the 40-foot platform. I was appointed to lead, so after reminding everyone of the bearing I headed off. Initial depth was 19 feet, but since I navigate better if I can see the bottom, I dumped the rest of my BC and finned downward. At 22 feet, the water got real cloudy dropping the vis to the end of my arm, then we hit the thermocline head on! In the space of 4 feet we noticed about a 15 degree temperature drop as we descended. :cold: But while it was cold, and we all got an "ice cream headache" that wore off after a bit, the trade off was improved visability to 20 feet. Due to the cloudy layer, the ambient light was noticeably dimmed but still enough to see and navigate by. None of us had a real powerful dive light this run, but it would be something to try next time.
The coldest temperature was recorded by Dezs computer at 61 degrees. This is cold enough to recommend at least a 5 mil suit or even better a dry suit. Though I was fine in my 3-mil as I swam, I did get a bit chilled whenever we stopped to look at something. Also, the colder water at this deeper depth meant no fish.
The bottom is very silty, but deep enough for my computer to register a max depth of 51 feet! Finally after swimming the shallows of Athens Scuba Park, we have a place to log some deeper dives. Along our swim we discovered several canyons where the rocks would poke out of the silt and it was possible to get a bit deeper. These outcroppings made it easier to navigate since I could spot a landmark along the way and swim to it. After about a 8 to 10 minute slow swim (I was trying not to silt out my buddy following me by keeping my finning to slow short kicks), we actually found the platform!! I was proud of myself for navigating this 70 yard swim in limited visibility and actually finding my objective. Since I was the first to reach the platform, I had the fun of sitting on the edge and waving my clasped hands like a victorious prize fighter as my buddies swam up.
Dez (Texass) later reported that as we were swimming in trail, he could feel a very slight current when he stopped finning and just glided. I didn't feel any push, but did notice that one cheek did feel a bit colder for a bit. We reckoned that we must have passed close to one of the springs that feeds the lake.
After re-grouping, we noticed we had lost Tom & Michelle. But no one knew where they were. We later found out that Tom wasnt wearing enough neoprene and got too chilled and they remained above the thermocline, and explored off in a different direction.
After exploring around the platform, we spontaneously started practicing hovering. I quickly determined that I was overweighted since at 35 feet (and not far from the buoy line marking the platform) I couldnt find the sweet spot with my BC and lung control so I yo-yoed a bit. BJ, Lynnette, Dez, and Tabatha did a bit better, and it was both fun and good to practice. I strengthened my skill at monitoring my depth with my computer since I had no visual reference. After a bit we all indicated that we were getting a bit chilled and did an air check. Everyone was okay, but we decided to return to the barge. Following a quick surface to shoot a bearing, I descended back to the group and we ascended to 15 feet to do our safety stop while swimming. Coming back up through the thermocline was very nice, like slipping into a warm bath on a cold morning. The fish quickly found us too and escorted us back to the barge.
Everyone exited safely, and we got our tanks filled, and had lunch while we sat out our surface interval.
Second dive report in just a bit after I finish typing it. -- TexasMike
Divers:[/red] The ScubaBoard.com Texas Swamp Dive Team! (aka Michael Farlow (TexasMike), Tom & Michelle Vyles, BJ & Lynette Hudson (Corsair and Mrs. Corsair), Dez Lyons (Texass), and Tabatha Meyer (our mystery diver!))
[red]Location: [/red]Terrell Springs, just a bit northwest of Terrell Texas (approx 40 miles outside of Dallas per the highway mileage signs). Take HWY 80 to Terrell, pass through town, look for a Texaco on the left, there is a small dive flag sign pointing to the left, proceed 7 miles to the next sign, turn right, and the entrance to the property is on your left, marked with a large dive flag on the gate.
When we met for Breakfast at the Golden Corral in Lewisville, the weather was a classic Texas thunderstorm with rain coming down in buckets, and lots of thunder and lightening. And it got heavier as we worked our way out along I-30 leaving Dallas. Visibility was down to just 50 feet, and we havent even donned our tanks yet!! :loopy: But if we are going to get wet anyway, a little airborne water aint going to stop determined divers.
We arrived on site to find a nice lady sitting out in the rain patiently awaiting our arrival. Entrance fee was just $15 and she informed us that a portable air compressor was on site (yaaay!
) and air fills were the typical $5.00. Divers are issued wrist bands to indicate that you have paid your entrance fee. A gravel drive and large gravel parking area have been installed as well as port-a-johns. Off to the side of the road was the large cabin cruiser that will be sunk as a dive attraction. We found to our nice surprise that the rain kept away the other divers and we have the place to ourselves.The site is still a bit primitive, but shows lots of promise. There are lots of areas where tents could be pitched should you desire to stay on site. Only one area on the road side of the site has large amounts of trees. So if you go and plan to stay the day, a sun shelter is advised.
The site is an abandoned gravel quarry that is feed by a reported three deep springs. The water area is about 2-1/2 times the size of Athens Scuba Park. Currently two platforms have been installed. One is at 20 feet and the other at 45 feet. The decks are 10 feet off of the actual bottom so that when they are used during instruction, silting can be kept to a minimum.
After a quick look at the newly built dock and the older pontoon fishing barge that has been pressed into service as a dock platform, we choose the barge to dive off of. So after setting up our sun (oops, I mean RAIN) shelters, we carry our gear to the barge and return to the shelters to put our wetsuits on. Then we gear up and jump in.
[red]Dive 1: [/red]Start Time: 11:48 Weather: Overcast, light rain. Starting tank pressure: 2500psi Ending Tank Pressure: 900psi Bottom Time: 39 minutes Max Depth: 51 feet. Planned profile: Descend on the 20-foot platform, swim to the 40-foot platform, and any other exploration as we go. Surface air temperature 74 degrees (due to rain), surface water temperature, 79 degrees. Thermocline at 22 feet, dropping temp to 60 degrees. Exposure Suit: 3 mil full suit over polartec shorty dive skin, booties, 1.5 mil gloves, & 3 mil beanie. Gear: Zeagle Ranger BC and Zeagle 50D Regulator (Note: Reg was loaner from Harold Banard of Sand & Sea Scuba since mine was in the shop due to a free flowing 2nd stage. Weight: 14 lbs. Fins: Tusa Impress (Note 2nd dive where I switched to Scubapro Jets)
After a surface swim to the buoy marking the 20-foot platform, we descend on the line to and gathered on the platform to do a buddy and equipment check. Water temperature was a very warm 79 degrees. Lots of sunfish, perch and black striped bass greeted us on the platform and would try to nip at your bare finger if you wiggled it worm fashion. Michelle complained later that as she was diving, she felt a tugging at the end of her short braids. These were the perch trying thinking they were a snack. Visibility from the surface to the platform was about 10 feet, but somewhat cloudy. The land owner later told us that this was due to the rain runoff from the parking lot.
The platforms are about 10 x 10 with expanded metal decks and 3-foot raised railings along each side. Because of the smaller size it got crowded very fast with seven divers on it. Dive classes using these platforms will have to be kept small to afford enough room. But there was still enough room for us to get some pictures (photo link will be posted soon)
The next part of our profile was to swim to the deeper platform and to discover just how deep this place was. Before descending to the platform, we had taken a compass bearing to the 40-foot platform. I was appointed to lead, so after reminding everyone of the bearing I headed off. Initial depth was 19 feet, but since I navigate better if I can see the bottom, I dumped the rest of my BC and finned downward. At 22 feet, the water got real cloudy dropping the vis to the end of my arm, then we hit the thermocline head on! In the space of 4 feet we noticed about a 15 degree temperature drop as we descended. :cold: But while it was cold, and we all got an "ice cream headache" that wore off after a bit, the trade off was improved visability to 20 feet. Due to the cloudy layer, the ambient light was noticeably dimmed but still enough to see and navigate by. None of us had a real powerful dive light this run, but it would be something to try next time.
The coldest temperature was recorded by Dezs computer at 61 degrees. This is cold enough to recommend at least a 5 mil suit or even better a dry suit. Though I was fine in my 3-mil as I swam, I did get a bit chilled whenever we stopped to look at something. Also, the colder water at this deeper depth meant no fish.
The bottom is very silty, but deep enough for my computer to register a max depth of 51 feet! Finally after swimming the shallows of Athens Scuba Park, we have a place to log some deeper dives. Along our swim we discovered several canyons where the rocks would poke out of the silt and it was possible to get a bit deeper. These outcroppings made it easier to navigate since I could spot a landmark along the way and swim to it. After about a 8 to 10 minute slow swim (I was trying not to silt out my buddy following me by keeping my finning to slow short kicks), we actually found the platform!! I was proud of myself for navigating this 70 yard swim in limited visibility and actually finding my objective. Since I was the first to reach the platform, I had the fun of sitting on the edge and waving my clasped hands like a victorious prize fighter as my buddies swam up.
Dez (Texass) later reported that as we were swimming in trail, he could feel a very slight current when he stopped finning and just glided. I didn't feel any push, but did notice that one cheek did feel a bit colder for a bit. We reckoned that we must have passed close to one of the springs that feeds the lake.
After re-grouping, we noticed we had lost Tom & Michelle. But no one knew where they were. We later found out that Tom wasnt wearing enough neoprene and got too chilled and they remained above the thermocline, and explored off in a different direction.
After exploring around the platform, we spontaneously started practicing hovering. I quickly determined that I was overweighted since at 35 feet (and not far from the buoy line marking the platform) I couldnt find the sweet spot with my BC and lung control so I yo-yoed a bit. BJ, Lynnette, Dez, and Tabatha did a bit better, and it was both fun and good to practice. I strengthened my skill at monitoring my depth with my computer since I had no visual reference. After a bit we all indicated that we were getting a bit chilled and did an air check. Everyone was okay, but we decided to return to the barge. Following a quick surface to shoot a bearing, I descended back to the group and we ascended to 15 feet to do our safety stop while swimming. Coming back up through the thermocline was very nice, like slipping into a warm bath on a cold morning. The fish quickly found us too and escorted us back to the barge.
Everyone exited safely, and we got our tanks filled, and had lunch while we sat out our surface interval.
Second dive report in just a bit after I finish typing it. -- TexasMike
