tlessard:
Probably would be a good idea to get Mike involved at some level if he's willing. He knows Lake Travis like the back of his hand. Has anyone contacted him?
The Great Travis Traverse
- Thread starter mkiiisupra89
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Probably would be a good idea to get Mike involved at some level if he's willing. He knows Lake Travis like the back of his hand. Has anyone contacted him?
I haven't approached him about this in particular, but he topped off the O2 for our 50% deco gas the day Mike and I found the line. I asked him if he had been down into the riverbed before...his answer was, of course, yes...I'll probe him next time I'm in the shop...
FIXXERVI6
Contributor
Well I'm off for florida, I won't be back down to travis for a few weeks, at that time I'll probably inspect the line for break's etc when I get back if someone hasn't done it before I get there.
I'm willing to join in and help you guys out with this one. Mike is out at the Flower Gardens for the Coral Spawn, but will back in the shop on Saturday. I know he will be more than willing to lend his expertise. He also has a side scan on his boat, so we could take a look at the bottom before diving it.
Igodeep:
Cool! We're making a recon dive back to the line to follow it out and back on thirds Saturday morning...will report anything of interest...
Trey
Now that I would like to see.Igodeep:
Willie
Moore, Lutz, and I hit the line Sat morning. We made it past 2 PVC posts and I'm guessing about half way to post 3. The line connecting post 1 and 2 was buried in about 1-3 inches of silt. When we reached our turn around mark, I raised up in the column slightly and gave the line a good yank upward. This should have freed the line so it is exposed all the way to post 3, which should yield better vis since future divers won't have to pull it out of the muck.
After the turn, I was delighted to see that the line between post 1 and 2 was now taught and hovering about 6 inches from the bottom. I think this was a product of my having cleared all the "fuzz" off the line as I was pulling it out of the silt, and so decided to clear the rest of the line from post 1 back to the tie-in at the shore. I'd like to hear from the next diver to see if the line from tie-in to post 1 is now taught and hovering? If not, I think a few wraps around post 1 should bring it back into tension...
Vis was good on the way out and fair enough on the way back after pulling the line. I had a max depth of 172ffw this time, as the lake is on it's way back to normal. Bottom temp is still a balmy 72 degrees.
Other points of interest: I believe the middle of the riverbed is somewhere just after or before post 2, as this was the greatest registered depth and the depth began to decrease slightly on the way to post 3. Also, the post heads are exposed only 6-8 inches from the bottom...so I think the flooding put some serious silt deposits into the lake. Probably to the tune of about 3-4 inches +. Finding the tie-in is very easy by dropping down the chain from platform 3 to the old bank and following that to the tie-in. Great dive!
After the turn, I was delighted to see that the line between post 1 and 2 was now taught and hovering about 6 inches from the bottom. I think this was a product of my having cleared all the "fuzz" off the line as I was pulling it out of the silt, and so decided to clear the rest of the line from post 1 back to the tie-in at the shore. I'd like to hear from the next diver to see if the line from tie-in to post 1 is now taught and hovering? If not, I think a few wraps around post 1 should bring it back into tension...
Vis was good on the way out and fair enough on the way back after pulling the line. I had a max depth of 172ffw this time, as the lake is on it's way back to normal. Bottom temp is still a balmy 72 degrees.
Other points of interest: I believe the middle of the riverbed is somewhere just after or before post 2, as this was the greatest registered depth and the depth began to decrease slightly on the way to post 3. Also, the post heads are exposed only 6-8 inches from the bottom...so I think the flooding put some serious silt deposits into the lake. Probably to the tune of about 3-4 inches +. Finding the tie-in is very easy by dropping down the chain from platform 3 to the old bank and following that to the tie-in. Great dive!
FIXXERVI6
Contributor
Bottom time at turn was about 21 minutes. We're thinking of diving halfs plus 500 on the next dive, since we are in a soft overhead environment and swimming due east will get you home quite easily if you need to ascend through the water column. I'm fairly confident that I can make the end of the 500ft line and back w/o a scoot if we do that. Also, comming straight up through the trees on the way back cuts 3-5 minutes off the return trip, which adds some extra safety margin. For example, 21 minutes out only took 16 to come back to the tie-in.
We're all diving double 120s or better, and our average swimming RMV is about .65 if that's of any further assistance. Give a report if you dive it this week...I'm hoping to hit it again sometime this week myself...
We're all diving double 120s or better, and our average swimming RMV is about .65 if that's of any further assistance. Give a report if you dive it this week...I'm hoping to hit it again sometime this week myself...
Dove again last night with Moore. We reached the end of the line, notated by a large orange arrow with the initials DWM pointing back to WP!
However, here are some observations:
1) The line starts at a fairly true east to west (270 degrees). From post 1 to post 2, it begins to veer to the right at a heading of about 280 degrees. At this point, it takes a turn for the worse...post 2 to post 3 is at a heading of 300 degrees. So you're pretty much headed out the long way to the opposite shore...very long...
2) Some of the line was still buried on the way to post 3. But, uhhh...there are only 3 posts?!? The line quite clearly ends there...could this be the product of narcosis and 2 years removal from the project?
3) We swam...no scoots, just tanks and fins. As stated before, we are on double 120s or better. End of the line is easily reachable by thirds with this kind of gas on your back. Dive plan (conservatively) looks something like this:
Dive profile:
Start Depth Target Depth Seg Time Run Time
0.00 [fsw] 35.00 [fsw] 2 2 (S-drill)
35.00 [fsw] 160.00 [fsw] 6 8 (Inc time to drop stages)
160.00 [fsw] 170.00 [fsw] 15 23
170.00 [fsw] 170.00 [fsw] 15 38
4) Tie-in is at exactly 155fsw/160ffw right now...stay on the top of the bank swimming to the line, or you will easily miss it and swim under it. There is now a loop of rope at the tie-in for dropping your stages thanks to Moore...remember to use the rule of thirds if you're dropping your stage gas here!
5) I'm convinced that the old shore line is VERY close. Post 3 is in 160fsw, so it's clearly on the way back up...I think if the line were true, we'd be looking at the opposite bank...
6) GO SLOW if you're diving air! I was narced outta my brain last night...slow down, it's not a race (we were trying to cover ground too quickly). You'll reach it by your turn mark, be it gas or time...
7) The reason the line from post 1-2 was taught on the way back from the last dive was because Moore had wrapped it around one of the posts to bring it into tension (he mentioned it in discussions prior to this dive). We did not do this on any of the remaining line as I had planned for this dive...can you say narcosis? Next diver, please do. The hanging line was already covered back with some fuzz after 4 days! :11:
Questions?
However, here are some observations:
1) The line starts at a fairly true east to west (270 degrees). From post 1 to post 2, it begins to veer to the right at a heading of about 280 degrees. At this point, it takes a turn for the worse...post 2 to post 3 is at a heading of 300 degrees. So you're pretty much headed out the long way to the opposite shore...very long...
2) Some of the line was still buried on the way to post 3. But, uhhh...there are only 3 posts?!? The line quite clearly ends there...could this be the product of narcosis and 2 years removal from the project?
3) We swam...no scoots, just tanks and fins. As stated before, we are on double 120s or better. End of the line is easily reachable by thirds with this kind of gas on your back. Dive plan (conservatively) looks something like this:
Dive profile:
Start Depth Target Depth Seg Time Run Time
0.00 [fsw] 35.00 [fsw] 2 2 (S-drill)
35.00 [fsw] 160.00 [fsw] 6 8 (Inc time to drop stages)
160.00 [fsw] 170.00 [fsw] 15 23
170.00 [fsw] 170.00 [fsw] 15 38
4) Tie-in is at exactly 155fsw/160ffw right now...stay on the top of the bank swimming to the line, or you will easily miss it and swim under it. There is now a loop of rope at the tie-in for dropping your stages thanks to Moore...remember to use the rule of thirds if you're dropping your stage gas here!
5) I'm convinced that the old shore line is VERY close. Post 3 is in 160fsw, so it's clearly on the way back up...I think if the line were true, we'd be looking at the opposite bank...
6) GO SLOW if you're diving air! I was narced outta my brain last night...slow down, it's not a race (we were trying to cover ground too quickly). You'll reach it by your turn mark, be it gas or time...
7) The reason the line from post 1-2 was taught on the way back from the last dive was because Moore had wrapped it around one of the posts to bring it into tension (he mentioned it in discussions prior to this dive). We did not do this on any of the remaining line as I had planned for this dive...can you say narcosis? Next diver, please do. The hanging line was already covered back with some fuzz after 4 days! :11:
Questions?
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