Mid Atlantic Diving Season

[DivingPrincessE]

I was certified in July 2007...so this will be my first time diving all [summer] season long. What I would like to know is when does the "wet" season begin?

Around what date is the water warm enough to dive in a 7mm suit (preferably without hood/gloves). Is the date different for Lake Rawlings vs Millbrook because Rawlings is warmer? When does Millbrook open?

What about other locations? Dutch Spring? Bainbridge? Hydes? other...

This might be a stupid question, but I'm still a newbie so cut me some slack. Does the thermocline move? Last summer it was around 27 feet at Millbrook and Lake Rawling's was around 48 feet (according to my log). Logically, it seems like the thermocline should be at a shallower depth earlier in the season.


Also if anyone is interested in buddying up this season let me know. None of my friends dive so I'm always open to buddies. I talked to a few people this winter that need buddies too, but I plan to dive a lot this summer so the more potential buddies the better. (I have 23 dives under my belt right now)

 

[RAD Diver]

I really can't answer the quarry questions, as luckily I don't dive there often enough.
But 1 thing is if you need to be in a 7mm suit you should also be wearing gloves & especially a hood. These are the quickest places to loose heat.
When you are ready to tackle the coast either post here or watch the forum as I & several others will post dives they are doing. Quickest way to meet new buddies.
We also do several trips to NC each year, between Morehead City, Wilmington & Hatteras. I also try to post those on the NC forum. And I know you look there also.

 

[DivingPrincessE]

Thanks Rad Diver. I actually dove July-September in Millbrook and Rawlings without hood/gloves...because I hate them. Gloves take away my dexterity and I have a lot of trouble using the inflator hose. The hood is just uncomfortable all around and makes clearing my ears difficult. The reason I asked about the thermocline is because I just stayed a couple feet above the thermocline and didn't need the hood/gloves. I would drop below the thermocline if there was stuff to see and would be fine for 5-10 minutes before my ears and hands got cold and then I would just give my "up a little bit symbol" to go above the thermocline.

I don't know if I'm going to hit VA beach this summer, but I def want to check out North Carolina.

 

[Love2Scuba4471]

Hey DivingPrincessE, how often do you get up to Dutch?

 

[aquaman_06]

Hey DivingPrincess,

Here at Deep Creek Lake, MD where I live the season is getting kicked off right now. Mt. Storm Lake about 20 minutes from my house currently is at 64 degrees F. On days when the air temp gets into the low 50's it makes a nice dive. This time of year the viz is better at Mt. Storm then later in the summer season mainly because you won't find large dive schools there on the weekends. On a day when it's nice, even now the diving there isn't bad. By July it will be 88 to 90 and every dive center within a 5 hour radius will be there.

Deep Creek Lake is ice cold right now but as soon as it melts nows the time to dive it. No boats and good viz make it a nice dive though without a drysuit or semi-dry it's too cold.

 

[DivingPrincessE]

Hey DivingPrincessE, how often do you get up to Dutch?

I don't get up to Dutch too often, although I hoping to be there for the DUI demo day in May. Basically Dutch Spring and Lake Rawlings are equal distance from my house (3 hours) and if I'm going to drive three hours I usually head south to Rawlings because it's much warmer than Dutch.

 

[DivingPrincessE]

Hey DivingPrincess,

Here at Deep Creek Lake, MD where I live the season is getting kicked off right now. Mt. Storm Lake about 20 minutes from my house currently is at 64 degrees F. On days when the air temp gets into the low 50's it makes a nice dive. This time of year the viz is better at Mt. Storm then later in the summer season mainly because you won't find large dive schools there on the weekends. On a day when it's nice, even now the diving there isn't bad. By July it will be 88 to 90 and every dive center within a 5 hour radius will be there.

Deep Creek Lake is ice cold right now but as soon as it melts nows the time to dive it. No boats and good viz make it a nice dive though without a drysuit or semi-dry it's too cold.

That's good to hear that Mt. Storm is warm, I haven't been there yet. I read that it was in the 40s or 50s in December...but didn't get confirmation so it may have been a rumor. If I'm not mistaken, the water temperature depends upon how many cylinders (or something) are running at the plant, right? Mt. Storm is only 2 1/2 hours from my house, so maybe I can do some weekeneds there April-June if the other quarries aren't warm enough yet. Do you have any kind of estimate of the typical vis at Mt. Storm those months? I dive at Millbrook most often, so obviously I'm not very picky...but I just like to know what to expect.

Thanks for the responses so far!!

 

[aquaman_06]

BTW,

I think Dutch opens in May although it's pretty chilly year round at depth. In August of 07 when I was there at 65' the water temperature was 49 degrees F. Although I really like Dutch Springs a lot. I think the diving there is nice and while the entrance charge, I feel is somewhat steep we always have a blast there. There's lots to see and it seems like a good atmosphere for training students.

As for wearing a hood and gloves I think you may want to revisit that. Hoods especially are very uncomfortable at first and many new divers reject them. Although with time you can get used to wearing a hood and I typically wear a neoprene beanie even in warm water. Have you ever tried a hooded vest? I don't like the hoods that slip in around the neck of wetsuits but hooded vests I feel are way more comfortable then traditional hoods. Pinnacle makes a merino lined vest that is really great. Before I got my semi-dry I used the hooded vest a lot in very cold water, (30's) and it worked really well. Also a 3mm beanie and 3mm gloves are better then no gloves or hood.

If you ever want to dive Mt.Storm or Deep Creek let me know. I will be there quite a bit once air temperatures get warmer. The lake should be in the 70's by early april maybe late march. Last year on March 27th it was about 71 degrees. I have been to Sterling, VA from Deep Creek and it was about 2 hours and 45 minutes so you could swing Mt. Storm in about 3 hours I would guess. If you needed help getting up there I could meet you in Deep Creek and you could follow me up.

**EDIT** I have seen viz at Mt. Storm when it was 0 and we went home (those days when every dive center on Earth was there) and other times when the viz was 20+ feet. I normally find that once you reach 53 feet and below there the viz often clears and it makes for an exciting dive. Also once you reach some areas of the lake off the platform lines (like the dam wall) the viz improves. Late March early April I would estimate an average viz of 15' or better depending on when you can get up there.

 

[Love2Scuba4471]

Dutch opens up April 5th. burrrrrrr

 

[DivingPrincessE]

Very cool! Thanks for the info. I google mapped my address to "Mt. Storm, WV" and it was 2 hours 38 minutes...of course I don't know how big "Mt. Storm, WV" is. Is there an actual address for Mt. Storm? I would liked to plug it into my Garmin GPS to see if it recognizes the address. If it's 70s in April I will be going there until the other quarries warm up for sure! 2 1/2 hours isn't that bad, plus I tend to go a bit above the posted speed limit. Last year I went white water rafting in West VA, the directions (pre-garmin) said it would take 3 hours and we got there in 1 hour 15 minutes...oops.

Also, I'd like to dive Mt. Storm so I can be in the loop on the conversations about all the vandalism there. I still don't get why another diver would want to break and steal things?