Winter diving in the South

[diveprof]

Another great dive today. Nice and sunny and the lake has warmed up a whole degree (51 degrees). Five of us dove. We were diving steel 80's today. We dove to 90' for 50 minutes and did not use lights. Vis was 12'+. We began our dive heading North towards the 40' ledge. We stopped at the ball of hydrilla @ 25'. Lots of small fish there. We then dove the 40' ledge and dropped down to the angel statue at 54'. We went through the trench (could see both sides clearly with no light). We dropped down the wall to 90' and swam North. We then made our turn and swam up through the forest (remains of small trees sticking up at 75'). The trees were a bit surreal in the low light at that depth. We continued South towards the trench. Passing the trench we angled downward to the 80' wall. The wall was very clear and very nice today. In the dim light (we used no lights) it was quite dramatic. Had to keep a watch on the computers as we were within a minute or two of deco. We passed the dive flag log and headed to the missle (airplane fuel drop tank @ 82'). Then we began our ascent up the slope to the airplane @ 35'. Vis was great on the plane and there were several large bass. We completed an extended safety stop on the rocks and made our exit. I tried out my new 7mm gloves today. They kept my hands very warm and aren't too difficult to use (Henderson Hyperstrech). The Aiken group joins us tomorrow for our afternoon dive. Gotta love this weather.

 

[diveprof]

Another great dive today at Clarks Hill (AKA Lake Thurmond). Vis may have been the best this season yet. A challenging dive today as those participating were well experienced. We tend to plan our dives based on the level of the least experienced person, but help folks move forward with their experience. Today's dive was to 105' for 1 hour 2 minutes. We all dove steel 100s (pushing the deco limits today). A beautiful Sunday afternoon. Air temp was 62 degrees, H2O temp 51 degrees. Vis may have been the best I've seen this winter- at least 15', maybe more in some spots. The tradeoff of diving the cold water is the great vis. We planned to cover some territory today so we did a 5 min surface swim North, before going on scuba. We descended to the 15' dropoff and swam to the large ball of hydrilla that has had a lot of fish lately. Hundreds of small fish there today. We then dropped down to the 40' ledge. What great vis and more schools of small fish - nothing big, but lots of the small guys. We decided against using dive lights unless needed today. Its not that we are cheap on batteries, but with suspended paricles as you get in lake water, sometimes allowing you eyes to adjust to the dimmer light actually means more to see than with a light "cannon" that simply reflects light back to you when it hits the suspended particles. Plus, the boulders, exposed tress and stemps look more dramatic in dim light. From the 40' ledge we dropped down to the angel statue at 54' and onward to the trench. Exiting the trench we headed North along the 65' ledge. I wanted to see if I could get the "forest" (small standing trees) and the 100' wall on the same dive. We were succesfull. Again great vis diving among the trees at 75'. We dropped down to the 100' wall and found a large cat at 102'. He wasn't interested in moving about so we watched him a bit the swam on down the 100' wall. It is one thing to be able to dive Cozumel and Cayman at 100' with no light, but I was fairly amazed at the light penetration in Clark Hill lake that allowed us to dive at 105' with no lights. We angled up to the 80' wall and swam along it to the drop tank, then angled upward to the 3 big rocks at 54'. We spent a couple of minutes here (deep stop). All the rocks were visible at once today and had lots of small fish around them. From there we went to the large pool filters at 42', then upward to the 15' drop off. We did an extended "safety stop" of 15 minutes to reduce the nitrogen loading. We (still at 15' ) swam over the plane which was al lmost fully visible at 35'. We could even see the bass swimming about. We finished along the rocks of the dam (again more small fish) and made our exit. Though it is not Cozumel or Cayman, it is pretty good local diving for a $3 air fill.

 

[diveprof]

:14: Life is good. "Mud" (read "lake") diving can be fun.
Our group started today at 10am. Air temp was already 70 DEGREES and it was SUNNY -where's my sunglasses and beach chair! Water temp was up another degree (53 degrees). Vis was the best this year so far: 15-20'. We were diving wet today in 7mm suits, gloves and hood and 80's steel. We actually made two dives - the first to 105' for 58 min. and the second to 76' for 50 min (did get a bit cool and we did end early - you are supposed to feel your toes right?).
Dive 1: We began our dive with a brief surface swim north to the 15' dropoff. Dropping down to the ball of hydrilla that we have seen on previous dives at 24' we found it covered with small fish. Heading down to the 40' ledge we passed the swimming pool filter and began swimming along the rocks of the ledge. On the large rock with the small rock on top we found a small cloud of fish. Along the rest of the ledge we saw a number of small groups of fish down to 58'. We cleaned off the angel statue today and headed into the trench. What great vis. From the trench we went north and descended into the "forest" and on downward to the 100' wall and turned south. This rock/clay wall has 20' relief with large stumps and exposed roots on top. We bottomed out at 105' and spent a fair amount of time on this wall. We pushed Deco today (sunntos barely in deco, others very close). Did I mention that we were doing this dive sans lights!( had'em, didn't need'em). We angled up to the 65' wall for a while and then dropped back down to the 80' wall. We swam the length of the 80' wall and continued onward to the missle (airplane fuel drop tank) at 82'. We then angled upward to the inflateable shark at 68' and onward to the 3 big rocks at 54' (more fish here- deep stop here) . Then we headed south to the airplane in 35'. Great vis today. Several very large bass, sunfish (yeah they were about today). From there we ascended up to 15' and spent about 10 minutes along the rocks of the dam (mucho small fish) and made our exit. We were actually able to warm up between dives. Spring is here!
Second dive went from shore to the 3 big rocks, to the pool filters below the 40' wall and upward to the 40' wall. From there we went over the angel to the trench and back into the forest. We continued north along the 75' ledge and angled upward to the 60' ledge. The "Big Stump" ( stump with exposed roots about 12' X 12') was a cloud of small fish. Great! From the Stump we dropped down the north wall (76') - what a view. We then headed ENE along the wall of the cove and upward through the stumps to the big stump at 20'. We swam the cove for a while at 25' and then to 15' and make our exit in the cove for a short hike back to the parking lot. A great day of diving. Gulf Stream Eagle to the Bahamas in two week, Roatan or Little Cayman (not firmed up yet) this Summer. As I said at the beginnng - Life is Good!:14:

 

[diveprof]

Today's Dive:14:

We dove the East Dam of the Lake Thurmond today. Water temp was 54 degrees and vis was 15'. We were diving steel 80's today and wearing 7mm fullsuits with hood and gloves. Dive time was 1 hour, 8 minutes with a max depth of 87'. We did not journey as deep today as one of the divers wanted to do some photography. We began our dive going to the new pirate flag at 20' and then onward to the airplane at 35'. Bass and sunfish on the plane. We headed North to the missle (airplane fuel drop tank) at 82'. No lights need ed this entire dive. We returned to the plane and did some photography and swam the wall while the photographer took his shots - to the treasure chest and then back shoreward towards the plane. The photographer then headed to shore while the rest of us journeyed to the shark (inflateable)at about 68' and then upward to the 3 big rocks a 54'. Lots of small fish on the rocks. Passing the rocks northward, we found out why. A massive ball of dead hydrilla was 10' away and loaded with small fish - hundreds. We journeyed eastward and up to the pool filters at 45' and to the 40 ledge. Lots of small fish here. I showed John the latest addition to the 40' ledge : a 2' Gnome perched on a large rock. We continued northward along the 40' ledge, again great vis today. We dropped down to the angel statue at 54' and then returned southward along the 40' wall. We angled upward to 25' and saw one of the largest carps I have seen in the lake in years. This carp was about 2 1/2' -3' long and the body was at least 10" (height). This carp seemed surprised but not scared. We swam with it for a minute or two. We then headed to the hydrilla ball at 24'- again loaded with small fish. We finished the dive swimming at 15' for 5 minutes along the bowl (15' dropoff) until we hit the rocks of the dam. We then headed shoreward to complete the dive. We are diving the Savannah river tomorrow (about 8 of us).

 

[scubanick]

hey there diveprof
is there anywhere i can see some pics from some of these dive spots in the lake u are goin to .... sounds neat

 

[Corigan]

It does sound like a pretty cool dive. I would like to come on out and join you one of these days diveprof.

Matt

 

[diveprof]

hey there diveprof
is there anywhere i can see some pics from some of these dive spots in the lake u are goin to .... sounds neat

Here are a few taken Saturday - though not of the best stuff. Just us swimming, the back end of the plane and the pirate flag. Our new photo guy will take more in upcoming weeks and we will post.

Today's dive was the Savannah River drift dive. We dove for 1 hour, 15 minutes. Water temp was 54 degrees and vis was 15'. Max depth was 20'. We did our giant stride entry off the docks at the 5th street bridge and made the short swim to the shipwreck in 15'. There are several stories regarding this shipwreck, but the one I like best is that a rival gang sank this ship during prohibition with its load of liquor. Visible are the bow, part of the decking, and the boilers. From there we made our way toward the South Carolina side of the river. Approximately 1/3 of the way out into the river off the SC side are the remains of the old Hamburg docks. These were the docks where cotton was loaded for shipping to Savannah during the early days. They run the better part of a mile. What remains are the rock and sand base and the pilons cut off about 3' below the surface (would not want to run a boat over these in low water). We swam along the docks until the US 1 bridge. We swam around the bridge supports and then to the Hamburg docks below the bridge. We then angled out to the middle of the river for a ways and then over to the Georgia side. The Georgia side has large boulders and submerged logs and tree limbs. You can swim in and out of the tree limbs. After a ways we ran into the remains of the old Hamburg bridge. The bridge sides, supports and some planking remain. We then moved towards the middle of the river where there are several sandbars (drops of 5-6' drops with no current below the drop - good place to look for old bottles and pottery). We made our exit at the lower docks where the rowers store their gear. Another great dive.

 

[diveprof]

It does sound like a pretty cool dive. I would like to come on out and join you one of these days diveprof.

Matt

Feel free to join us. We generally dive the lake Saturday mornings and Sunday afternoons. PM me when you can come. But alas, I must give up the lake this coming week and expose my gear to the corrosive properties of salt water in the Bahamas I will smear Clark Hill silt on my mask lenses to prevent agoraphobia. Bring on the lobster and large fish with large serrated teeth for ripping and shredding! We are diving the Gulfstream Eagle. I'll post our trip review in the liveaboard section.

 

[diveprof]

Here are a few taken Saturday - though not of the best stuff. Just us swimming, the back end of the plane and the pirate flag. Our new photo guy will take more in upcoming weeks and we will post.

Today's dive was the Savannah River drift dive. We dove for 1 hour, 15 minutes. Water temp was 54 degrees and vis was 15'. Max depth was 20'. We did our giant stride entry off the docks at the 5th street bridge and made the short swim to the shipwreck in 15'. There are several stories regarding this shipwreck, but the one I like best is that a rival gang sank this ship during prohibition with its load of liquor. Visible are the bow, part of the decking, and the boilers. From there we made our way toward the South Carolina side of the river. Approximately 1/3 of the way out into the river off the SC side are the remains of the old Hamburg docks. These were the docks where cotton was loaded for shipping to Savannah during the early days. They run the better part of a mile. What remains are the rock and sand base and the pilons cut off about 3' below the surface (would not want to run a boat over these in low water). We swam along the docks until the US 1 bridge. We swam around the bridge supports and then to the Hamburg docks below the bridge. We then angled out to the middle of the river for a ways and then over to the Georgia side. The Georgia side has large boulders and submerged logs and tree limbs. You can swim in and out of the tree limbs. After a ways we ran into the remains of the old Hamburg bridge. The bridge sides, supports and some planking remain. We then moved towards the middle of the river where there are several sandbars (drops of 5-6' drops with no current below the drop - good place to look for old bottles and pottery). We made our exit at the lower docks where the rowers store their gear. Another great dive.

I see that the photos didn't attach. Let's try that again.

 

[diveprof]

Our trip on the Gulf Stream Eagle didn't happen as advertised - something about a fine the Captain didn't pay and couldn't enter the Bahamas or so I was told. They offered a Keys trip for the same price - been there done that many times - so we opted for the refund which they gladly gave. So, we dove local today:Clark Hill (AKA Lake Thurmond), East Dam, Evans, GA.
Though the air temp was rather cool today (50s), the water temp was up to 56 degrees:14: ! Today we dove to 105' for 54 minutes with 15' vis. Should have filled my 100s, but I ended up having to dive my HP steel 80' (love the size though). Others dove up to 120s (4 diving today). We began our dive by descending to the hydrilla ball at 24' which was loaded with small fish - big bass not here today - and continued past the pool filters to the 40 ledge. Again, lots of small fish in various parts of the ledge. We arrived at the Gnome at 35' which is situated on a large rock - OK have to tell the story on this one. This guy was placed down last week. One of the group volunteered to carry the "coins" (read creatively made copies of spanish pieces of 8) to put in the upturned hand of the gnome. Well, this guy was wearing heavy gloves and decided to stuff the coins in his BC pocket. At the site, this guy got vertical in the water 1' of the bottom with not enough air in his BC. As the cloud of billowing silt formed at his feet, he decided that since he couldn't get the coins out of his pocket with his heavy gloves, he would just unzip his pocket, invert and let them fall out. Not necessarily a bad idea, but poorly executed given the now ever expanding cloud of silt at his feet. Through braille diving techniques in heavy gloves we did manage to find a few. Don't you just love these moments Well, back today's dive, After leaving the gnome we continued along the ledge and descended to the angel statue at 54'. From there we continued through the trench to the 65' wall. We continued North a ways and then dropped through the forest to the 100' wall. That is where we saw the large catfish. We were doing all this diving with no lights on thus far, but did turn them on to see the cat clearly. He was crusing slowly on the wall and we followed. We swam along the 100' wall a ways with no lights - amazing the light penetration today - and then angled up to the 80' wall. This wall has the greatest relief (15' -20' with boulders scattered at the base). Again great vis. We swam past the dive flag on the log and onward to the missle (AKA airplane fuel drop tank) at 82'. We were bumping deco at bit (one guy in a Suunto was in deco). We angled upward to the 3 big rocks at 54'. Tons of small fish. Did a deep stop here. Then angled southward to the airplane at 35' and hung out a few minutes watching the several large bass. We then headed up the rocks of the dam to 15-17' and completed a 10 minute extended swiming safety stop, before making our exit. Another great day of diving. Forget all these "life extension" vitamins and programs - just grab a scuba tank. I'm convinced that time on scuba adds to one's life!