Shallow Diving

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Hey all. So, I got a basic open water SCUBA cert in Guam around 2007-2008 while I was on deployment. Thought it was something I'd use often, but I never did anything other than that.

Anyways, we just inhereted some land in Tennesse from my wife's grandmother that has a decent sized pond on it (3-4 acres). At its deepest it's around 40 feet, averages around 15-20 ft. I'm curius to dive the pond because Grandma and the other few families in the area have an ... interesting past.

Any suggestions on the best gear to get for it? Since I'm pretty far from any SCUBA shop, I'm thinking surface-supplied is best. And no, I don't want to snorkel this thing, it's huge!

Biggest water threats are old metal parts (neighbors junked their old cars in the pond, but that's a different issue) and water-moccasins. Any help is appreciated!

 

[Southside]

I would suggest retking an Open Water scuba rcourse to remember the necessary safety precautions. That will also teach you about the different pieces of gear and what to look for. Be careful.

 

[John C. Ratliff]

Hey all. So, I got a basic open water SCUBA cert in Guam around 2007-2008 while I was on deployment. Thought it was something I'd use often, but I never did anything other than that.

Anyways, we just inhereted some land in Tennesse from my wife's grandmother that has a decent sized pond on it (3-4 acres). At its deepest it's around 40 feet, averages around 15-20 ft. I'm curius to dive the pond because Grandma and the other few families in the area have an ... interesting past.

Any suggestions on the best gear to get for it? Since I'm pretty far from any SCUBA shop, I'm thinking surface-supplied is best. And no, I don't want to snorkel this thing, it's huge!

Biggest water threats are old metal parts (neighbors junked their old cars in the pond, but that's a different issue) and water-moccasins. Any help is appreciated!

Diving in Tennesse will be much different from diving Guam. You will need to deal with cold, limited visibility, and most probably diving solo. Since its been over ten years since you've dived, a refresher course is in order, and/or a solo diving course. Diving a freshwater pond may seem less hazardous, but is not.

Surface supplied is probably not a good option due to maintaining the hose, and possible entanglement. If you decide on surface supplied, please include a bailout bottle, with a quick disconnect, in case of bad entanglement issues.

These ponds usually have limited visibility, especially on the bottom. Buoyancy control is critical to keeping the limited visibility there, as just touching down on the bottom will stir up silt and turn limited visibility to zero visibility almost instantaneously. Practice with zero visibility (a blacked out mask) in a pool is good practice. Let the instructor know the type of diving you are hoping to do, so (s)he can put you through your paces in that kind of environment.

Solo diving is a whole different situation, as even while buddy diving in this environment, separation is very easy without a connecting line, and then you are essentially diving solo.

There is probably a lot of "junk" on the bottom, some of which it sounds like you are interested in. But this same "stuff" in limited visibility, is also a hazard to you. You will need a full wetsuit, for protection as well as warmth, including gloves of some sort.

Best wishes, and get that training, then re-evaluate your capabilities as well as your wishes.

SeaRat

 

[diversteve]

Some ponds on private land here - mostly cattle farms - were also a convenient place to dump old barbed wire so carry a good pair of heavy duty cutters.

As mentioned above, touch the bottom and watch the viz go to nothing immediately. It even happens in less active lakes.

 

[Bubblesong]

I called a local dive shop about how to approach diving a pond on my mom’s property in Florida and they warned of old trees with fishing line mess.
My plan is to drop a video camera on a cord off a kayak to see what the visibility is for depth first. If there are trees and entanglements to snag the camera, then better the GoPro than me! If it turns out I can’t see due to alge, what’s the point?

 

[Diver-Drex]

You got your OW cert ten years ago and don’t have a single dive after that, correct? You’re planning to buy gear and dive a pond with near zero vis and likely multiple entanglement hazards and do it solo? Please do not do this. Take a refresher course, get some (a lot) diving experience and do some research into what it would take to take a solo course and execute solo dives.
Even after that, doing a solo dive in those conditions is not recommended. A new location with no vis, entanglement hazards and no surface support/safety diver is not a good scenario even for experienced solo divers.

 

[Rob9876]

Agree with what others have said: there seem to be a lot of risk elements (low vis, entanglement hazards, solo, surface air, etc.) for someone who is still a new diver with training over a decade ago. I'd definitely suggest a good bit more training before doing this.

What part of Tennessee are you in? I'm in East Tennessee, and there are a surprising number of dive shops and quarrys where you can refresh your training and get further training in a safer environment.