Lake Travis Dive Report (Austin, Texas)

[TexasMike]

I dove in Lake Travis for my first time this Saturday (05/19) to get my deep dive in for my PADI Advanced cert as well as checking out a new (for me, anyway) dive site.
Location was near the Mansfield Dam where the Lower Colorado River Authority has set up some nice facilities for divers to enter and exit the water.

Conditions were very nice. From all of the past rain, the lake is very full with the water coming almost to the top of the rock painted with the dive flag. This also makes the dive platform at a depth approaching 60'.

Water temp at the surface was a nice 77 degrees F, with a thermocline at about 33-35 ft dropping to brisk 58 degrees. Vis was a 15-20 feet in the shallows, dropping to 5-10 at 50-60 feet. Topside weather was overcast with slight wind and 85 degrees.

The entry point was very crowded in the morning with a large group (about 30 people) of open water students.

All-in-all, good diving conditions and fun was had by me and Ron Carlo's staged deco class.

--TexasMike

(Oh, and many thanks to Ron & JoLynne for letting me tag along with their class to get in the deep dive and to vicariously soak up all of the information covered during the breifs and debriefs).

 

[BetterLateThannever]

TexasMike,

Thanks for that report. It's the first such I have seen posted on Lake Travis. Sometime in the near future (crossing fingers)I will be down there doing my OW dives for my PADI OW certificate.

For me, the whole motivation to learn to dive is a trip I am taking this fall which includes one day in Cozumel. The idea of diving the Caribbean with it's abundant marine life and high viz is my driving motivation. Therefore, I haven't been too thrilled about the prospect of diving in Lake Travis or any other fresh water site for that matter.

However, the more research I have done over the past month or two I have come to realize that most people seem to do most of their diving in lakes, rivers and quarries, so I may need an attitude adjustment on this point.

Thanks again for taking the time to post.

Jim

 

[Natasha]

HI Mike,
Thanks for the report. I was in Austin, Texas on May 19th. We played around the downtown area. I wish I would have had time to dive the lake. The topside weather was great that day. Now that I read your report I'll have to make time for a dive in the next trip.
I loved Austin by the way. It was my first time there.
:sunny:

 

[TexasMike]

Jim & Natasha --

You are most welcome. I frequent several boards and plan to post my log entries of the dives I do. This way I can share with others my experiences and encourage diving in general.

When you live in the Dallas area as I do, lake diving is about the more frequent you can get. And while it cannot compare to blue water dives, it can help you prepare for the various environments that you would encounter out in the big blue ocean. Such as limited visibility, negotiating problems such as fishing lines, and just improving your diving skills over all. And it's usually simpler to get to freshwater locations than blue water. Check around, there are lots of interesting places for you to dive in Texas and the central USA.

Over the summer, I plan to spend many a weekend out at the Athens Scuba Park (www.athensscubapartk.com) doing both general diving, and taking many of the advanced courses I can towards my eventual master diver cert. Anyone who reads this is welcome to join me an my friends out there. When you come, just ask for the "Sand & Sea Scuba" or "ScubaDillos" and you will be directed to the right places.

Thanks for your kind replies!!!

--Michael

 

[BetterLateThannever]

Mike,

If I can stay healthy long enough to finish my certification, I too will probably visit Athens Scuba park this summer.

I have been checking around for the best local diving clubs. I have visited the Scubadillos website a few times to get a feel for the activities and interest of the members.

One of these days maybe we'll bump into each other.

Later

Jimbo

 

[TexasMike]

The 'Dillos are a good group to be with. They are very active in the local dive community and do a lot to promote diving and to provide opportunities to dive. They have divers of all skill levels and ages.

They also offer lots of opportunities for blue water trips.

I've been with them since February and have learned a lot and made lots of good friends. And had lots of fun (most important).

--TexasMike

 

[carlislere]

For those Texas divers that come to Lake Travis the following URL will give you current lake level and temperature gradient to 60 feet. Click on the Current link to obtain the temp graph.

http://www.arlut.utexas.edu/~esdwww/test_fac/lakedata/index.html

RonC.

 

[BetterLateThannever]

Thanks RonC.

That's a serious thermocline below 30ft.

Jimbo

 

[tracydr]

I'm going to San Antonio next week. Thinking about taking a day to get to the ocean on a dive. Is there anywhere that has some decent 1/2 day diving like Corpus or Galveston?