The Graveyard Shift / Trip Report

[Robert Ordner]

Trip Report

A dive to touch the past….I just had the good fortune to hook up with friends Bill and Cindy Reasor out of Atlanta for a afternoon of diving at Lake Jocassee South Carolina. The location is stunning with beautiful Mtns all around and two superb dives to be experienced. Having lived in Atlanta for several years prior to my OW cert I had not had the pleasure of this great resource.
The dives were conducted via a specially modified pontoon that worked exceptionally well. The DM managed to locate the buoy via GPS and myself, Bill Reasor and suited up….we dropped down to 134 feet to the graveyard….old tombstones and graves and a landmark cedar tree made navigation easy…it was strange (or was it narcosis) looking into a buried past…soon it was time to head back up and that we did…switching to nitrox at 90 feet a nice slow ascent followed with a little extra time (5 minutes) at 15 feet, we felt fantastic and motivated.

A nice surface interval led to the Chinese junk dive, as well, a nice area to explore. Vis was great on both dives and an exceptional time was had by all. We finished up the dive just in time to experience hurricane Dennis pound the Cashiers / Highlands area.

Two great dives located within an easy morning drive from Atl. Having now re-located to the North West, Spokane WA I would encourage any divers visiting the area to check out Joccassee, just a great situation with those friendly Southerners.

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

Great report, sounds like a site really worth looking at

 

[H2Andy]

wow.... that is just too cool

very eery, though, i bet

 

[Robert Ordner]

It is a treat and the price is right, about $30 for the boat and two dives...I will be going back when I visit the South.

RTO

 

[outlaws]

Yeah Bill does an excellent job and his ladder is the best I've ever seen. The graveyard is cool. The first time I dove it we got there real close to 5 pm and it was clouding a bit. About the time we hit the graveyard the sun went behind the clouds and it got dark! It was spooky!
Dive Safe, Dive Often
Butch

 

[Rick Inman]

I dive with Robert here is Spokane on a regular basis. Bob is OW certified. Before he went on this dive, we discused it, and I suggested that he should not make the dive, that it is outside of his training.

What I'm wondering is why a dive opp would take a guy who is only OW ,that they've never dived with, on a dive to 134', then switching to an O2 enriched pony bottle at 90' (he's not nitrox, and had never dived a pony) as part of the dive plan.

Just asking...

 

[Sloth]

Sounds like a blast, I've enjoyed my dives in Jocasse.

I must admit I am wondering what your dive profile looked like. From the way you described it, it sounds like a planned deco dive.

Obviously, you came out of it none the worse for wear but I'd be a little more careful in the future in regards to what conditions you let someone put you into.

From the limited training I've had in advanced nitrox and deco procedures I wouldn't want to be in a situation that would require any required deco stop or gas switch. The gas switch alone is troubling.

Just my thoughts, take it for what it is.

Mark

 

[Quetzal]

Ah, Quit pissing on his trip!

I dive with Robert here is Spokane on a regular basis. Bob is OW certified. Before he went on this dive, we discused it, and I suggested that he should not make the dive, that it is outside of his training.

What I'm wondering is why a dive opp would take a guy who is only OW ,that they've never dived with, on a dive to 134', then switching to an O2 enriched pony bottle at 90' (he's not nitrox, and had never dived a pony) as part of the dive plan.

Just asking...

 

[Rick Inman]

Ah, Quit pissing on his trip!

I hope you're joking. One of the purposes of Scubaboard is to discuss diving safety. Many people - including myself - learn from these discussions, and in some cases, accidents might even be avoided, which I'm sure you would agree is a good thing.

Of course I talked with Bob before making this post. But hey, thanks for contributing.

 

[JKSteger]

I for one like to read the reports and EVERYTHING anyone has to offer. I am just a "young grasshopper" here and am learning alot.

I think that Bob was just telling us about a cool trip he had and how he had alot of fun. I don't think anyone is raining on his parade here at all. Bob made a few statements that raised an eyebrow or two...possibly a red flag. IMHO it's good that we discuss the risks involved and such as people like me will learn from seasoned veterians.

Glad you had a good time Bob, but now we know how very important it is to stick with what we are trained and experienced to handle. If you enjoyed that I think it's time to look into a deco class.

Happy and safe diving,
Jeremy