Closing of Millbrook Quarry and "The" Dive Shop in Northern VA

[tursiops]

Good news, Coral Edge Adventures acquired the lease to Millbrook. They've started a crowd funding project to help raise funds for a number of improvements - https://www.rockethub.com/projects/...-s-1-scuba-diving-destination#description-tab

"Millbrook Quarry will also be the regions most environmentally progressive SCUBA diving destination with these improvements planned for this winter/spring season:

• improved drainage control to limit direct runoff into the lake
• water filtration using a gravity filtration system that will also act as a warming method to help lower the thermocline, and employing bio-media techniques used in aquaculturing systems, by early summer
• grasses will be planted and gravel added to make the ingress/egress points safer for divers
• restroom facilities will be added to make it more convenient for divers
• more access to the lake on more days and weekends including this winter
• camping will be available on select weekends.
• emergency services improvements to make the quarry safer for all users"

Looks like they'll be opening it back up this winter too.

BTW - I'm not affiliated with Coral Edge, just a customer.

Good news. I wonder how they are getting around the "no imporvements" restrictions on the previous operators of the site, especially the fourth bullet in the list.

I wish they would institute a policy allowing free instructor access, like Dutch Springs; that would be an advantage over Lake Phoenix and on par with Dutch Springs.

 

[stuartv]

There is not a "no improvements" restriction. It's an "all improvements must be approved by the owner" restriction. The owner doesn't want anything done that will cause the property taxes to go up. The improvements outlined above are not expected to affect the property taxes.

Also, I believe they will be offering free access to instructors who are there teaching. Every instructor who teaches there will first have to go through the new EAP training that CEA will be implementing.

I believe they are also going to setup an office out there and offer tank rentals on site for cheap.

 

[DiverDan85]

Millbrook Quarry
Seems they have new management now and are back open?

 

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

Did a dive there last month.. They are back in business.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

You are not going to be able to do AN/DP in a 55 ft deep quarry. If it's through TDI the cert is good to 150 ft. A minimum of 6 dives are required and at least two must be in excess of 100 ft. If Millbrook only went to 95 you'd have to go somewhere else for at last two of those dives. When I teach it I do seven dives minimum with 4 of them in excess of 100 ft. At least two are in the 120-130 range so it does limit my choices. Fortunately I have Gilboa only 4 hours away.

My understanding is that AN/DP was taught at Millbrook with a waiver.

That was a mixed bag in my opinion. It was dark and cold (around 40 at the bottom even in the summer) with maybe 10-15' visibility, and was in that regard probably more demanding than a 130-150 ft dive in warmer water with good visibility. However it was still a small dive site and the conditions there didn't match the conditions that divers were then using the certification under and it did a poor job of training technical divers to dive off a boat in offshore conditions.

Doing AN/DP offshore either on a weekend charter, or on a longer trip to South Florida or the Gulf made a lot more sense and created a training environment that more accurately reflected the conditions divers would actually be diving under.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

One of the reasons I use a deep quarry up here for it. 130 ft, 36-40 degree water, dim light, and some interesting structures. Very close to what my students will encounter in the Great Lakes where they usually are planning to dive. If I knew they were planning offshore stuff then I'd set it up to do some of the dives off of NY/NJ or NC/SC.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

Jim, I did AN/DP in a very large and deep quarry in Wisconsin for much the same reason - the end use for the training was for Great Lakes wreck diving, in similar depths, temp, lighting conditions and visibility.

 

[WRChadwell]

I don't see a problem "teaching" TDI ANDP at Millbrook. There is a lot more to a well-taught ANDP course than just going deep, and I use Millbrook as the venue for teaching and practicing those skills with my students. The total number of dives made at Millbrook as part of the course is well in excess of the minimum required by TDI standards, and we go offshore to make their final "certification" dives. However, I will second a point made earlier in this discussion that doing a long dive on the bottom at Millbrook, with the cold, dark, and limited visibility, is a far more challenging dive than many I've made at twice its maximum depth in warm, clear blue water.