PerlDiver
Contributor
This past Saturday and Sunday, my wife, son, daughter, and I made our first pilgrimage to Martha's Quarry up near Lebanon, TN. What a quarry Mr. Fred has there. First evening, we headed to downtown Nashville to our favorite restaurant - Spaghetti Factory on 2nd Ave to load up on carbs to spend the next day. Yum!
Saturday: First dive was to the rock shaker and crusher. They both sit in a deep "pit" whose walls rise immediately next to their structure. It's pit redefines the terms "dark" and "cold". The shaker and crusher are open structures you can safely swim through. As soon as you poke your head through an opening in either structure, you are able to see one or two accessible exits nearby. They are connected by a conveyor belt which you swim along. Second dive took us to the bus. A storm had ripped away the bouy marking the bus, so Mr. Fred gave me a triangulation formula to find the bus - found it first try, but was not so successful the next 2 attempts. Without a bouy, it is indeed a freestyle dive to find it. And, yes, it is a full-sized greyhoud type bus. Under the viz conditions we were in, I was able to easily see the white bus top when I reached 35 feet. It was so cold that my daughter and I didn't go all the way down to 50+ feet. We stopped at 40 feet and headed back to the surface.
After the bus searches, we swam through the enchanted forest at a depth of about 20 feet. What a spooky place. It looks like an alien world with the trees being the aliens reaching out to grab you. And, if you aren't careful while descending from the surface, that is exactly what the trees will do. We made it down and through just fine and enjoyed the surreal environment. Cliff side/floor was covered with grass and lots of small fish with an occassional medium sized fish looking for lunch. The trees are covered with growth with some being spaced far enough apart that two people can swim side by side between them. Their limbs are extended and dripping with swampy growth just waiting to grab you when you least expect it. At the end of the forest, we had a long north-to-south surface swim back to the pavilion. Ended the day at Outback steakhouse - ah that 12 oz. Prime Rib hit the spot after a day of cummulative surface and underwater swims equating to over a mile.
Sunday: We played follow the leader on our first dive. Back to the shaker and crusher because they are such fun to swim through. My kids especially like those. Then to re-visit the catfish in the open-hulled boat just north of the crusher - mainly for my daughter - yep, the kitty fish was right where we left it the day before with its long whiskers sticking out of its hiding place as it peeped out at us. Then to the full-sized upright outhouse just south of the crusher, and to the camping trailer along the south wall. We then made yet another surface swim to the north side of the quarry to check out the pumping station. Before our air was completely gone, we "snorkled without a snorkle" along the south wall. We had seen something white in the water from the pavilion and wanted to check it out. Along the way, we saw several entertaining objects in the 10-15 feet of water. The object reflecting the sunlight from the pavilion was well worth the swim out there. It is a pair of large boats. One is a sailboat laying diagonally in the water with its mast reaching up to nearly the surface of the water. The other is a large boat laying on its side. The mast of the sailboat reaches near enough to the surface of the water that you wouldn't want to try to surface-swim over it.
Lots of friendly fish. Several catfish, smaller bait-sized fish and lots of medium sized fish that will get right up in your face and stare you down. Viz both days was 30+ feet. A little less in high-traffic areas and a little more in uncharted territory. Balmy 75 degrees above 20 ft, cooling a bit to 30 ft, then getting really cold. Great dives and fun with the family both days.
Want to feel ~50 degree water? Go to Martha's Quarry. There is cool, there is cold, and then there is pain. The temperature below 35 feet was definitely approaching the pain category when not wearing a hood. (Note to self - buy a hood) It doesn't take long to examine the bus when you aren't wearing the proper head attire.
Thanks to Mr. Fred for the hospitality. Tracy and I had a great time, and the kids had an absolute blast. We are already planning our next venture north in the late July or August timeframe.
Saturday: First dive was to the rock shaker and crusher. They both sit in a deep "pit" whose walls rise immediately next to their structure. It's pit redefines the terms "dark" and "cold". The shaker and crusher are open structures you can safely swim through. As soon as you poke your head through an opening in either structure, you are able to see one or two accessible exits nearby. They are connected by a conveyor belt which you swim along. Second dive took us to the bus. A storm had ripped away the bouy marking the bus, so Mr. Fred gave me a triangulation formula to find the bus - found it first try, but was not so successful the next 2 attempts. Without a bouy, it is indeed a freestyle dive to find it. And, yes, it is a full-sized greyhoud type bus. Under the viz conditions we were in, I was able to easily see the white bus top when I reached 35 feet. It was so cold that my daughter and I didn't go all the way down to 50+ feet. We stopped at 40 feet and headed back to the surface.
After the bus searches, we swam through the enchanted forest at a depth of about 20 feet. What a spooky place. It looks like an alien world with the trees being the aliens reaching out to grab you. And, if you aren't careful while descending from the surface, that is exactly what the trees will do. We made it down and through just fine and enjoyed the surreal environment. Cliff side/floor was covered with grass and lots of small fish with an occassional medium sized fish looking for lunch. The trees are covered with growth with some being spaced far enough apart that two people can swim side by side between them. Their limbs are extended and dripping with swampy growth just waiting to grab you when you least expect it. At the end of the forest, we had a long north-to-south surface swim back to the pavilion. Ended the day at Outback steakhouse - ah that 12 oz. Prime Rib hit the spot after a day of cummulative surface and underwater swims equating to over a mile.
Sunday: We played follow the leader on our first dive. Back to the shaker and crusher because they are such fun to swim through. My kids especially like those. Then to re-visit the catfish in the open-hulled boat just north of the crusher - mainly for my daughter - yep, the kitty fish was right where we left it the day before with its long whiskers sticking out of its hiding place as it peeped out at us. Then to the full-sized upright outhouse just south of the crusher, and to the camping trailer along the south wall. We then made yet another surface swim to the north side of the quarry to check out the pumping station. Before our air was completely gone, we "snorkled without a snorkle" along the south wall. We had seen something white in the water from the pavilion and wanted to check it out. Along the way, we saw several entertaining objects in the 10-15 feet of water. The object reflecting the sunlight from the pavilion was well worth the swim out there. It is a pair of large boats. One is a sailboat laying diagonally in the water with its mast reaching up to nearly the surface of the water. The other is a large boat laying on its side. The mast of the sailboat reaches near enough to the surface of the water that you wouldn't want to try to surface-swim over it.
Lots of friendly fish. Several catfish, smaller bait-sized fish and lots of medium sized fish that will get right up in your face and stare you down. Viz both days was 30+ feet. A little less in high-traffic areas and a little more in uncharted territory. Balmy 75 degrees above 20 ft, cooling a bit to 30 ft, then getting really cold. Great dives and fun with the family both days.
Want to feel ~50 degree water? Go to Martha's Quarry. There is cool, there is cold, and then there is pain. The temperature below 35 feet was definitely approaching the pain category when not wearing a hood. (Note to self - buy a hood) It doesn't take long to examine the bus when you aren't wearing the proper head attire.
Thanks to Mr. Fred for the hospitality. Tracy and I had a great time, and the kids had an absolute blast. We are already planning our next venture north in the late July or August timeframe.
