sonofzell
Registered
Greetings, everyone - new member & first post here, looks like a great community!
My daughter and I are new divers, NAUI certified in 2017 with just 8 dives logged each. We're both absolutely in love with it... the only downside being that our schedule just doesn't quite allow for us to get wet nearly as often as we'd like!
The question I'm posing is: What are the guidelines/restrictions/safety concerns in diving in "uncharted" lakes? I may not be using the proper terminology, so hopefully this example will help to clarify:
Friends of ours own a home on the shore of beautiful Lake Wynonah in Eastern PA. We typically visit them once a year, spending most of our time in (but not under) the water. As we've snorkeled and swam in this lake so often over the years, the obvious question is "can we dive here?". Unfortunately, my research has been inconclusive, both for this specific lake and for "public" bodies of water in general. So while I don't expect anyone here to have a definitive answer about this particular (privately owned) lake, here's some more broad concerns that I'm hoping I may find some guidance with:
1. Legal Restrictions: I surely appreciate respecting any restrictions on privately-owned waters, however, for public lakes, rivers, bays, etc., what is the "rulebook" for understanding if they can be dived legally / safely? It's surprising to me that I haven't found any clear governance - if it weren't for the frequent comments on boards like this suggesting "go practice in your local lake", I would just assume public waters were off-limits.
2. Safety Considerations: To date, all but one of our dives have included a DM or were part of an organized group. Ideally, I would like to invite some other, more experienced divers to join us, but if that doesn't work out, what specific concerns would I need to consider? A surface buoy, compass & first aid kit are obvious items, but I'd surely hate to omit anything critical.
3. Disclaimer: Perhaps this should have been listed first LOL - I do want to stress that I have no intention of jumping into every lake or river I can find, and my common sense would surely not allow me to dive without the proper information to be safe. This is really just an inquiry about one particular lake with which I am familiar. Lake Wynonah is a crystal-clear, 175-acre beauty with depths to 90' and tons of freshwater fish; IF I can verify that I can dive it legally and safely, it would be an incredible opportunity to get dive/practice time during our visits there.
I appreciate any advice or guidance anyone has to offer!
Cheers,
Kirk
My daughter and I are new divers, NAUI certified in 2017 with just 8 dives logged each. We're both absolutely in love with it... the only downside being that our schedule just doesn't quite allow for us to get wet nearly as often as we'd like!
The question I'm posing is: What are the guidelines/restrictions/safety concerns in diving in "uncharted" lakes? I may not be using the proper terminology, so hopefully this example will help to clarify:
Friends of ours own a home on the shore of beautiful Lake Wynonah in Eastern PA. We typically visit them once a year, spending most of our time in (but not under) the water. As we've snorkeled and swam in this lake so often over the years, the obvious question is "can we dive here?". Unfortunately, my research has been inconclusive, both for this specific lake and for "public" bodies of water in general. So while I don't expect anyone here to have a definitive answer about this particular (privately owned) lake, here's some more broad concerns that I'm hoping I may find some guidance with:
1. Legal Restrictions: I surely appreciate respecting any restrictions on privately-owned waters, however, for public lakes, rivers, bays, etc., what is the "rulebook" for understanding if they can be dived legally / safely? It's surprising to me that I haven't found any clear governance - if it weren't for the frequent comments on boards like this suggesting "go practice in your local lake", I would just assume public waters were off-limits.
2. Safety Considerations: To date, all but one of our dives have included a DM or were part of an organized group. Ideally, I would like to invite some other, more experienced divers to join us, but if that doesn't work out, what specific concerns would I need to consider? A surface buoy, compass & first aid kit are obvious items, but I'd surely hate to omit anything critical.
3. Disclaimer: Perhaps this should have been listed first LOL - I do want to stress that I have no intention of jumping into every lake or river I can find, and my common sense would surely not allow me to dive without the proper information to be safe. This is really just an inquiry about one particular lake with which I am familiar. Lake Wynonah is a crystal-clear, 175-acre beauty with depths to 90' and tons of freshwater fish; IF I can verify that I can dive it legally and safely, it would be an incredible opportunity to get dive/practice time during our visits there.
I appreciate any advice or guidance anyone has to offer!
Cheers,
Kirk
