Diving in Roswell

i am thinking about heading over to roswell to dive in the bottomless lake and was wondering if there was a shop there to get fills and such from?
thank you

Southwest Aqua Sports had a club dive there in mid-August. Spoke with Rachel today, but never have asked her if the water was ever any clearer than the time I went with them...?

Let us know how it goes, ok?

Jim Hedges, a great guy and Dive Con sent me this after his trip. I found it VERY informative. You might as well.


Lea Lake
Bottomless Lakes State Park
Roswell, NM
June 17 – 18, 2006

The Lake

Lea Lake was formed by several caverns collapsing in close proximity. The sink holes were then filled with spring water from two sources. First is the Pecos river system which runs from the Southern tip of the Rocky Mountain range and down through New Mexico. The second source is run-off from the Sacramento and Capitan Mountain Ranges West of Roswell. The water from these regions takes approximately 30 years to reach the lake. The soft rock containing salt and gypsum the water filters through leaves the lake somewhat brackish.
The lake’s elevation is around 3500 feet and ranges up to 80 feet deep. Literature will claim that visibility of 50-70 feet is achieved later in the summer. Lea Lake supports a variety of flora and fauna. These include a few endangered species including the Mexican Tetra and the Pecos Pupfish. In the spring, it is stocked with trout.
Get to the lake from Roswell:
·[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]Take US 380 East out of Roswell for 12 miles
·[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]Turn South onto NM 409 3 miles to the park
·[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]Turn right into the park and go another 4 miles

Click here for the Bottomless Lakes Brochure
Camping

The campground has ample sites with most having electric and water. There are also a few tent sites next to the lake by the exit / entry point. All sites have a grill and covered area with a picnic table. There are also sufficient hot showers in the campground. There are a few small trees, but not enough to provide ample shade.
You can reserve a camp site online, but the fees are exorbitant. It is not that popular of a place, but you may want to check the web site for availability prior to making the trip. It is about a 20 minute drive to the nearest hotels in Roswell.
Diving

For diving, the lake has good entry / exit points. One is next to the campgrounds and the other on the opposite side in the day use area. We used the one next to our campsite. It provided an easy walk from the picnic table and has a nice shallow area where divers can don their fins and masks while making their final preparations. About 15 feet from shore, it then quickly drops off to about 20 feet.
The surface temperature ranged from 70 to 75 degrees. Thermoclines were very evident below 30 feet, especially near the springs. Visibility was generally limited to 10-15 feet. However, a few localized spots had less. Hey, what do you expect? It’s a lake. We did see a few large carp, many smaller fish, and evidence of turtles (a shell).
Bernie & Bill

As Ian and I made our way to the lake for our first dive, a couple of divers popped-up. Local guys well acquainted with Lea Lake, Bernie and Bill. Bernie is a talkative fellow and was happy to share with us his extensive knowledge of the environment. In over 250 Lea Lake dives, he and Bill have found cash, dive masks, snorkels, fins, old bottles, and other assorted treasures. They pointed out the area where the springs can be found and where the different underwater features lie. These features include where the where the sink holes can be found, an area called “The Mecca”, a 50’s era automobile, and a sunken boat.
Bernie and Bill then offered to show us around the lake. Sounds like a great deal, a guided tour… if it’s too good to be true… Ian and Bill buddied and I with Bernie. First was a short swim to the springs. Off to a good start, but then they surfaced. Hmmm. They indicated the next area and off we went. Diving wasn’t that great though, things were awfully stirred-up. I got separated from the others in the murkiness and had to surface. The others were sighted not too far away, ahem, on the surface. Bernie said the car was just below at about 15 feet. Went down and found it. It was difficult to make out at first since as it is overgrown with algae. But it was still very interesting… back to the surface.
Next was to swim through a sink hole and meet on the other side. The dive would be about 60 feet. No problem. Away we go and I was determined not to lose Bernie this time. We descend… start making our way, but thing are getting very murky. I can barely see Bernie, crashed into him then into the bottom. Ugh, what is going on? At that point, visibility was just sufficient for me to see Bernie trolling across the bottom using has hands to pull himself through the muck! Vis then went to zero. Somehow, someway, I stayed with Bernie and we made it through. Not a pleasant experience as the thought “what the hell are we doing here” went through my head. Definitely a bit discouraged.
On the second dive, Pat had joined Ian and me. Pat and I have very similar equipment and Bernie had been admiring mine earlier. We were cruising along when someone tapped Pat on the shoulder. Startled, Pat turned to get his first glimpse of Bernie under water. Bernie kept after him and Pat wondered why this large man kept harassing him. Pat, meet Bernie!
Later that evening Ian and I made our way to town where the owner of Inland Divers was gracious enough to fill our tanks. I mentioned that I had met this guy name Bernie. Terry responded “Ol’ Bernie out there stirring things up is he?”
“Ah, yes. That he is.” I replied.
“We’ve been trying for years to get Bernie to put air in his BC. He just refuses.” Terry said.
I then flashed back to something Bernie had said. “My air is for me and nothing else.”
Go figure - Bernie the Bottom Troller.
Trash, Trinkets, and Treasure

The remaining dives went well. Pat and I employed the DIR finning techniques and avoided creating the zero vis scenario experienced with Bernie. Even with Ian dragging his fins though a few spots, we had no major issues. We did start finding a few things, cans, bottles, and assorted trash. We snagged a turtle shell, full unopened can of Dr. Pepper, a shoe, swimming goggles, and $$$$$$. Yes, I found 2 bucks on the bottom!
Ian’s big prize was the turtle shell. It turned out to be very fragile and broke in the bag with other items. He also wanted to drink the Dr. Pepper and placed it in the cooler. Don’t tell him, but it somehow founds its way into the trash.
Inland Scuba Divers

For dive support, Inland Scuba Divers is about a 20 minute drive from the lake. The owners, Terry and Mary Davis, are willing to open their shop and fill tanks on Saturday evening when they are in town. I would recommend contacting them ahead of time to confirm they will be available. They also rent tanks for the weekend. The charge is $8 for two day tank rental and $4 for refills. Here is their contact information
Inland Divers
Shop phone: (505) 623-5015
Web site: www.inlandscubadivers.com
Terry Davis
cell: (505) 626-9504
home: (505) 624-2333
email: welive2dive@yahoo.com
Mary Davis
cell: (505) 420-0442
Recommendations

Lea Lake is just that, a lake. I have said before and will always believe until proven otherwise. Every dive site has its own uniqueness to experience. This still holds true. It was my first foray into the low vis lake diving world. It was very disconcerting at first, but once adjusted and distanced from Bernie, the dives were enjoyable. There is plenty to see under water and treasures to be plundered.
Due to the low visibility, divers should prepare appropriately. Primary and secondary dive lights are in order as well as a compass. A dive marker would be overkill as there are small paddle boats on the lake, but no other boat traffic. Fishing lines should not be a problem. Due to the small sizes of most and presence of endangered fish, no fisherman or any signs of fishing line were observed.
This site is a great place to work on low the visibility skills and navigation. I would be happy to return and explore further. Maybe I could actually “see” The Mecca this time. A thought occurred to set up a navigation challenge. Create a fun course to find the springs, the car, the boat, and Bernie.


Jim Hedges

We tried it once Kev, viz was one inch if that.

that was a great write up. thanks guys for your help

bigred177:

that was a great write up. thanks guys for your help

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You coming to Santa Rosa next weekend for the gathering & dives? I have to pick up my pony & reg Tuesday at Southwest...

im not going to be able to make it, were playing massachusetts and ill have to be on the sideline. i would much rather be there diving though. when are you going to be down there, i need to stop by and talk to them about their advanced nitrox and deco class. you should come dive lea lake with us when we head over that way.

bigred177:

im not going to be able to make it, were playing massachusetts and ill have to be on the sideline. i would much rather be there diving though. when are you going to be down there, i need to stop by and talk to them about their advanced nitrox and deco class. you should come dive lea lake with us when we head over that way.

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When will I be at Southwest? Tuesday afternoon around 5pm I think. Let me know about the viz at Lea. That <1 inch vis really was not much fun for me, and then - what are you going to see? But with the camping facilities there, could be a fun outing.