Quarries - What's up with that?

[TMHeimer]

I didn't get OW certified until moving to the coast in 2005. No interest at all in diving the lakes of northern Manitoba all those years. I can see that quarries can be very good for training, etc. Can also see that would get really old and that divers like me, who will not be furthering their training would quickly lose interest in diving them. You do what you can do.

 

[rhwestfall]

You ever see a freshwater jelly?

Eyes Wide Open!

Appreciate what you may have available.....

 

[60plus]

I occasionally dive my local quarry (capernwray) just to keep my hand in and the visibility is better than the natural lakes. The sea near me is not fit to dive in, like diving in coffee as one nearby club described it. I have talked to several divers who have pretty well given up diving in the UK. They cite cold water, effort of using a drysuit, travel, boat and entry fees, bad weather, variable tides which may prevent a dive after a long journey. They prefer to save their money for dive hols in the canaries and southern europe.

 

[caruso]

A big part of diving is all about the feeling of weightlessness, of flying, of peace and quiet, and of seeing the world in a different perspective. I totally agree that there's not all that much of interest in swimming through a sunken schoolbus, or peering inside a sunken rowboat or even swimming in and out of the compartments of a sunken plane. But it's still something you don't get to do every day and it always beats a great day at work.

 

[northernone]

Exactly!!!

I dive primarily for sensation, not the view...

That said, I seldom dive quarries back home, prefer blackwater river diving.

A big part of diving is all about the feeling of weightlessness, of flying, of peace and quiet, and of seeing the world in a different perspective. I totally agree that there's not all that much of interest in swimming through a sunken schoolbus, or peering inside a sunken rowboat or even swimming in and out of the compartments of a sunken plane. But it's still something you don't get to do every day and it always beats a great day at work.

 

[Steve_C]

I like being under water. There is also a social aspect. Meet some buddies. Cook some food. Lucky enough to have two good quarries (Fantasy Lake and Mystery Lake) within 30 minute. Go to ocean when I can but that is further.

 

[doctormike]

 

[Steve_C]

Nice viz. Was that typical or one of those special days?

 

[Barnaby'sDad]

Quarries are a great way to “scratch the itch.” Some people (myself included) don’t have another option within an hour or two.

One big plus with local quarries is that you don’t have to tie up a significant amount of time if you’re just wanting to go for a dive or two. Ex. One quarry...I drive about an hour, setup my gear on my tailgate, walk x < 50’ to the water, and hop in.

It doesn’t get much better than that if you don’t have a lot of time off and/or you don’t have hundreds of dollars to burn at the moment.

 

[doctormike]

Nice viz. Was that typical or one of those special days?

Well, as you can imagine, it varies. They had a bad year this year - big algae problem. We actually cancelled a photo class we were running. But that's not typical. Usually the vis is pretty good, especially if you keep away from the areas with a lot of OW training going on. And it varies by season - best vis is usually in the spring.

I have a bunch of other videos showing similar vis, with more of the attractions (sunken cars, boats, planes, etc...).