Lock 21 questions

[Kaos]

Hi all,

Has anyone been to Lock 21 lately? A few of us want to dive it this weekend and I've never dove it, so I was hoping someone's been there lately and could describe the recent conditions. All I've heard or read about it says the viz is bad and there's a lot of current. I've read there are ropes set up on the shore to make getting in/out easier, are they still there?

Thanks for any answers.

I was there last Sunday and this afternoon. Good viz, at least for this site (25 ft), 52 F water, water level has gone down 5 feet since they shut down the damns at Mose-Saunders and Iroquois. Current still ripping though, especially on top of the structure (25 feet).

Have fun

 

[darkstar]

As for current conditions, I did hear that recently since the water level is so low, you can walk out to the buoy through the small bay. Saves a bit of a swim into the current.

Owlbill is right. I was there a couple of weeks ago and the water level was low enough that some divers were standing out of the water right next to the jug. You could certainly walk as fast as swimming through those weeds.

The jug has a hole in it and so not visible from shore. The old line from the jug was completely covered in weed, but someone had recently strung a shiny new rope from the jug to the lock. If your buddies are familiar with the site, finding it will be no problem.

Current, as always was ripping (though not as fast as I've seen it there), and viz was Ok.

 

[CUunderH2O]

Thanks for all your helpful comments. We went late yesterday morning (Oct 31st) and swam out quite far to get past the weeds, as the rope going down ended after about 10 feet. You could stand at that point, and at many others. A fair amount of chop on the surface due to the wind that day added to the exertion. Visibility was pretty crappy at first but got up to maybe 25 ft in a couple of spots. And yes, the current was very strong on top of the structure, so we pulled ourselves back through it using the railings. We found the rope to a jug on our way out (tied to the railing), but the jug was underwater since it had no lid -- is this the one you were referring to, darkstar? We didn't see any 'shiny new rope', but then again, we were ending our dive at that point so we weren't looking for it.

I would definitely agree that this is one dive you don't want to try without someone who's done it before and is familiar with more than one way to get in!

 

[darkstar]

We found the rope to a jug on our way out (tied to the railing), but the jug was underwater since it had no lid -- is this the one you were referring to, darkstar? We didn't see any 'shiny new rope', but then again, we were ending our dive at that point so we weren't looking for it.

Glad you enjoyed the lock. It's probably my favourite shore dive.

The jug I was talking to is tied to something that looks like a fence post in about 5 feet of water. It's the point where a lot of folks swim out to when they begin the dive. From there, a rope leads down the embankment, tied off at several points along the way, until it reaches the top of the wier. The rope is often covered by clumps of loose weeds, so it sometimes doesn't look much like a rope.

 

[CUunderH2O]

From there, a rope leads down the embankment, tied off at several points along the way, until it reaches the top of the wier. The rope is often covered by clumps of loose weeds, so it sometimes doesn't look much like a rope.

Sounds like we ended our dive near that spot. There were so many clumps of weeds on the railings it was hard to find a handhold in some spots. We cleared many of those clumps while we were there, to make it easier for others. I'm sure the rope was there and like you said, we just didn't recognize it as such.

It was a pretty good dive, all-in-all; something different from the wrecks I usually dive.

 

[Kaos]

Sounds like we ended our dive near that spot. There were so many clumps of weeds on the railings it was hard to find a handhold in some spots. We cleared many of those clumps while we were there, to make it easier for others. I'm sure the rope was there and like you said, we just didn't recognize it as such.

It was a pretty good dive, all-in-all; something different from the wrecks I usually dive.

Unfortunately, a weed cleaning on the ropes doesn't last more than 24 hours But I'm sure the others that went by that day did appreciate