Dive Condition Reports

[Zinc]

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Feb. 13, 2010
Lake Travis - Shaker Plant & Wreck Alley w/ Lake Travis Scuba
Air Temp: warmed into the 50's, very nice sunny day
Surface Temp: 53f
Depth Temp: 51f at Max 119'
Vis: 3-5 feet increasing w/ depth
Lake level: 673'msl - only 8 feet shy of full pool!

K-valve and I went out with Lake Travis Scuba to replace & lengthen mooring lines submerged under the rising Lake Travis.

When we arrived I was amazed and very pleased to see the lake level back up and the boat ramp and sometimes island both underwater. This was the first time Robert was able to pull right up to the ramp and K-valve backed the truck right down to the boat. Tailgate to deck, talk about easy loading! Check out the pics

At Shaker Plant with no downline, we dropped skydive style through the darkness, missing the ledge at 70' and instead hitting bottom at 119'. We headed south to the wall, then up to the line we laid on top last year which led us straight to the Monoliths. It's never been easier to find with the transit lines in place!:cool2:

We replaced the old mooring w/ a new longer one, then headed to Wreck Alley and lengthend the line there on the deep house boat.

It was nice day to go diving, though I now remember why I prefer one longer deco dive to two shorter dives in cold water. Lake Travis is up and it's looking like it will be a great dive season. By taking advantage of the low lake levels to lay line, we can navigate the sites easier now that they're deeper.

 

[carlislere]

Lake Travis Mansfield Park Cove
Water temp: 52 degrees on surface and depth
Max depth: 106 feet
Visability: 3-5 cloudy feet down to 106 feet using 10w canister light
First time I have been able to dive here in a year due to the drought. Dove from below the second stairwell across the cove to the grottos at the farside point. Dropped down to depth to check the vis. A few fish around, but most were lathargic, probably due to the cold.
Below is a picture of the divearea taken with my cell phone today.

 

[driftwood]

Spring Lake, San Marcos, February 14

Temp, same
Vis, 50'+

Did an early dive with Carrielsal starting from Deep Hole to the Training Area. Aaron has cut the weeds from the Landing into Deep Hole making the entry easier. The cut from Deep Hole to Arch Site is still in good shape and could use some minor clearing. From Arch Site to the Dock, wide open as is the path from the Dock to Catfish Hotel. The only area that needs a bit of work is the hump between Ossified Forrest and Little River Bed, just getting a little "tight".

Great to dive with Carrielsal and we did some work on her lake navigation skills. The lady is a quick learner and I would follow her lead on any dive in the lake with confidence.

 

[Phil_218]

2/15/10 @ 3:00 PM
Amistad Lake, Scuba Cove
Weather: sunny 55 (f), northern wind
Water Temp: 50-52 (f), mostly 50
Viz: 10', constant through max depth
Depth: 88'
BT: 48 minutes

Dive #50!!!

Met with Robert from Del Rio Dive Club for an afternoon dive at Scuba Cove (near Diablo East ramp). Water level is still high and about three feet from bottom of walk way. Water was cold, as expected, and 52 (f) at surface. We began the dive by swimming down to the "treasure chest" so Robert could replace the marker buoy which had sunk. See video.


After replacing the buoy we swam over to the boat sitting at 60' and found a small catfish nestled under the boat. We then spent the rest of the dive touring the area and went as deep as 88'. We didn't stay at 88' long, because the water felt like 32 (f) with the neoprene compressed. It had me thinking "I could get a dry suit if I get a second mortgage on the house, max out a credit card, put my right arm on ebay..." We finished the dive with a shallow tour while hanging out for the safety stop.

Viz was about 10' throughout the dive, same as its been each time I've visited this year. A lot of sediment was in the water, partially due to the wind stirring up the banks. For an idea of viz see the video linked above.

Overall great dive and I'm looking forward to doing it again, hopefully just a little bit warmer next time.

Stay safe, stay wet.

 

[Lake Travis Scuba]

Videos from President's Day dive at Aquarena Springs as part of Diving for Science program with Shawn, Mary and Charlie. Plenty of turtles, spotted gar, mexican tetras, and the usual cast of characters. Some of the divers cleared overgrowth and cleaned the underwater webcam housing while others documented the area. Diving for Science provides a wonderful opportunity to dive locally in a pristine environment.

Air temp - low 30's to mid 40's
Water temp - 70*
Vis - 50'

Enjoy.

Aquarena Springs Feb. 15, 2009 - 1
Aquarena Springs Feb. 15, 2009 - 2
Aquarena Springs Feb. 15, 2009 - 3

 

[Phil_218]

2/21/10 @ 11:30 AM
Amistad Lake, Scuba Cove
Weather: @ 70 (f), sunny with 20-25 knot winds
Water: 52-54 (f)
Viz: 8'
Max depth: 80'

I met Randall, a fellow member of San Antonio Scuba Divers, for a dive before heading off to work. We planned on doing a boat dive at Castle Canyon; however, we opted to change to the alternate site due to high winds.

After the delay we drove to Scuba Cove and geared up. The dive profile was planned to drop down on the "Treasure Chest", swim on a heading of 270 to the first boat, then drop to 70' and follow the contour on roughly the same heading to locate the second boat which was to be sitting at 60' at bow and 80' at stern. The turn around point was planned for either when we reached the second boat or 1800 psi, whichever came first.

After gearing up we slipped into the water and surface swam to the marker buoy set on the "Treasure Chest" by Robert of Del Rio Dive Club. We checked our bearing and began the decent. Nice slow decent onto the "Treasure Chest" and began swimming towards first boat. We arrived at the stern of the first boat on target and stopped to review the boat before continueing down to 70'.

We dropped to around 74' and followed the contour towards the cliff and located the second boat as planned. I had not seen this boat since my OW checkout dives (water level was lower then) in July 2008 and was excited to see Randall's navigation planned worked exactly as planned. We explored the boat for a little while then began our return trip.

The return had been planned to slowly ascend and conduct our safety stop while swimming back to the exit point. We began our descent by following the bottom up to 40', 30', then 20'. At one point we stopped for a little while at 20' and hovered to finish the safety stop. I was able to set perfect bouyancy at 20' and closed my eyes for a little bit. I felt like I was about to fall asleep and decided I need to keep moving before I did. That's what happens when you're diving with 4 hours of sleep.

We finished the safety stop and ascended right at the exit point. It was a great dive and had me thinking about calling in sick to work so we could get a second dive in.

Great dive and I couldn't have asked for a better buddy.

Stay safe, stay wet.

 

[shaggie]

Lake Travis- Windy Point
Feb 20, 2010
first dive- 40 min, max depth 102 ffw avg depth 65ffw.
second dive 1:05, max depth 40 ffw avg depth 30 ffw.
Water temp 50 deg
vis 6 ft below 40 ft, 3 to 4 above.

The lake level is way up! Not many steps down to the water now. The vis is getting better to, especially down deeper-I didn't even have to hold my hand in front of me to keep from running into trees, boats, rocks, etc. Temp's a little cold though-IMO dry suit country. Although there was a trio of very brave wet suit divers that showed up for a very brief dive while I was there. Now it's off to Seattle.

 

[carlislere]

Lake Travis Mansfield Park Dive Area
Wind: 15-20+ from southeast, white caps on the lake.
Lake level: 676.3 MSL
Water temp: 52 degrees on surface and depth
Max depth: 76 feet
Visability: 3 cloudy feet down to 30. From 30-40 a clear 6 feet, below 40 feet was 4-6 depending on where I was at the time.
At the dive area, the water is at the base of the handicap ramp. The four steps below that are underwater. At the cove, the water is at the base of the second stairwell. At the dive area, the shallow sailboat is at 39 feet and the deep sailboat is at 54 feet.

 

[Lake Travis Scuba]

Checked out the large houseboat that sank at Volente, depth 107', temp 52*, vis 5'. Have it marked on GPS for future dives. Marina plans to move docks very soon, they currently are above the boat.

K-Valve raised the blinds in the rooms to bring in more light.

 

[driftwood]

Spring Lake San Marcos
March 4, 2010

Temp, same
Vis, 60'+
Spring Flow, 260cfs+
Dive Site, did the loop from the Training Area to Deep Hole

With the spring flow at 260cfs, the current in Riverbed is strong enough for a slow drift dive. Perfect working pace for clearing algae. Aaron and the staff divers have started clearing the west bank from Riverbed down to Catfish Hotel. Great stretch of bank with a lot of rocks and the perfect place for a 'critter hunt'. If you get assigned that site, be sure to take a light so you can see way back into the holes.

The lines at Arch Site are looking a little ragged and need to be replaced. The cut between Arch Site and Deep Hole is still in good shape (someone has actually widened it a few more feet.