Madison Quarry

[docmojo]

I'm on board.. what else can I do to help??

 

[Blake]

i am comming to Decatur in early June, how far is this Quarry from Decatur? and are there other places to dive in that area? i'm not worried about water temps, me and buddy dove here at home Jan 4 in 7mm wetsuits and the water was 0 degrees not frozen because of the speed of the current we were dodging small iceburgs. is there anyone available to dive during the week? i am a AOW diver and i was hoping to get in a dive or two while i am there.

 

[Britt]

i am comming to Decatur in early June, how far is this Quarry from Decatur? and are there other places to dive in that area? i'm not worried about water temps, me and buddy dove here at home Jan 4 in 7mm wetsuits and the water was 0 degrees not frozen because of the speed of the current we were dodging small iceburgs. is there anyone available to dive during the week? i am a AOW diver and i was hoping to get in a diver or two while i am there.

The Quarry is about 20 miles from Decatur, you can go to Better Diver Madison Quarry and there is a driving directions utility on the left side of the page to get directions to the quarry.

Its By June, the water will certainly be too warm for bergs.

There should be plenty of people to dive with, and if not, I have a few AIs/DMs that are always willing to jump in the water so that shouldn't be a problem either.

Last year, we were only open on weekends, but I am working out a different schedule this year, so I might have it open during the week a few days depending on staff availability.

 

[mike_s]

i am comming to Decatur in early June, how far is this Quarry from Decatur? and are there other places to dive in that area? i'm not worried about water temps, me and buddy dove here at home Jan 4 in 7mm wetsuits and the water was 0 degrees not frozen because of the speed of the current we were dodging small iceburgs. is there anyone available to dive during the week? i am a AOW diver and i was hoping to get in a diver or two while i am there.

Most likely Madison won't be open during the week. (Unless he has enough crowd to justify it). Madison may or may not have tanks for rent based on how many people are there and if there are classes, etc. I'd pre-arrange for tanks if you need them. If they don't have any, you can rent them at Dive Sports in Decatur (air, Nitrox, etc).

During June, Madison Quarry should be in the 60's to approaching the 70's (bottom temps), depending on the final water depth. (right now the water is up).

Madison Quarry is about a 15-20 minute drive from Decatur. All interestate and easy to get to.

Other quarries in the area that you can dive.
"Moulton Quarry" may or may not be open. It's about 30-40 minutes west of Decatur. They seeem to be open some years and not other years.

There is a private quarry in Priceville, 5-10 minutes from Decatur, that people can dive in with advance arrangements.

Alabama Blue Water Adventures (Pelham Quarry), just south of Birmingham is about a 1.5 hour drive away. They are open during the week and have a "full service" dive operation on site. (Fills, tanks, gear rental, etc).

Marthas Quarry outside Nashville, is the next closest at about 2.5 hours. It closed last year for "remodeling" (meaning they were blasting rock to sell, new road or something). But I heard it would re-open this year.


EDIT: Britt must have snuck in and replied while I was typing my post.... looks like he might have it open some on weekdays... that'll be cool!

Hopefully we can do some more "4pm after work dives" like we had scheduled there once last year.

 

[Blake]

ok thanks for the info, i knew i could count on that southern hospitality, i love it down in Alabama, big bob's BBQ in decatur is the best, i am sure looking forward to getting in the water when i am there, i wish i was there now, seeing this snow and ice on the lake is starting to really bother me. again thank you

 

[mike_s]

ok thanks for the info, i knew i could count on that southern hospitality, i love it down in Alabama, big bob's BBQ in decatur is the best, i am sure looking forward to getting in the water when i am there, i wish i was there now, seeing this snow and ice on the lake is starting to really bother me. again thank you

If you like Big Bob's BBQ, try Whitts BBQ... it's better, just not as "famous" and not a sit down place but a drive up window. Just up the street from Big Bob's.

 

[Diveral]

Give us a shout when you're down. Several of us would probably join you in a dive. Big Bob's main resturaunt is less than a mile from Mike and my houses. Maybe we could join you for dinner one night.

AL

 

[Britt]

The Madison Water Board has approved another lease for us to open the quarry frthe public on May 2nd.

We will be performing repairs and getting ready for the dive season in April, so if someone wants to dive in April, let us know and we can open it for you. There is not as much to repair as there was last year so the opening date may move up a little depending on how much we have to fix. The biggest issue right now is raising the buoys since they are all underwater and modifying one of the walkways on one of the docks.

 

[Britt]

I went to the quarry on the 17th and took a few photos. They have been uploaded to the main page of the Better Diver Madison Quarry website.

It looks like the back parking lot might be off limits for vehicles for a few weeks (or months) depending on if the water drops.

The water looks really clear and its actually kind of warm, I put my foot in and it wasn't that bad. Dive season might start early this year. I will get temps later this week and post them here and on the website.

We are looking forward to everyone having a great diving season again.

 

[bigken462]

Sounds great Britt. Looking forward to jumping in!!

Ken