| When thoughts turn to scuba diving they normally | | | | I descended slowly to 20-feet and hovered for a |
| dwell on coral reefs, multi-colored fish, and deep blue | | | | moment letting the thermometer adjust, and getting |
| tropical waters. | | | | a new temperature reading. At that depth I recorded |
| And a heavy, longing sigh normally accompanies | | | | 48-degrees. |
| those thoughts. | | | | This particular quarry doesn't get deeper than 23-feet |
| Blue water isn't always readily accessible to divers | | | | except for one small hole that I once registered |
| who live in the mid-west, which accounts for a | | | | 25-foot in. For this dive my maximum depth was |
| majority of those sighs of course. It's kinda tough to | | | | 22-feet. |
| get away from the job for a scuba visit to the | | | | When you're quarry diving you experience some |
| ocean sometimes. | | | | extreme swings in visibility, depending on the time of |
| But that desire to get wet is always with us, isn't it? | | | | year, weather activity, and the number of divers in |
| From the first time we strap a tank on our back, and | | | | the water. |
| slap a mask over our eyes, we're already looking | | | | Sediment from decaying plant life, and other runoff, |
| forward to our next dive outing as soon as our fins | | | | layers the bottom of the quarry, and is rather thick in |
| leave the water. | | | | this particular dive spot. |
| Many of us are addicted to diving, and we dread the | | | | Rain sets the sediment into motion and clouds the |
| possibility of our scuba skills seeking stagnation. | | | | water, lowering visibility. Divers kick the sediment up |
| Ah, but we have our quarries - those rock-walled pits | | | | when their fins create turbulence, sending clouds of |
| of cold water where we gather on weekends to talk | | | | muck flowing upward from the bottom. |
| about our most memorable diving adventures, and to | | | | This day a couple of visitors to the campground that |
| immerse ourselves in that anti-gravity experience we | | | | adjoins this quarry were cruising around in a |
| call scuba. | | | | paddleboat, which stirred some sediment into motion |
| Quarry diving only satisfies our basic cravings though. | | | | also. |
| It's much different than diving in warm, clear water | | | | Because of all this activity the visibility, when there |
| where you see for 50-feet in all directions, and your | | | | actually was visibility, reached no further than a |
| dive-buddy only needs wave a hand to get your | | | | foot-and-a-half. |
| attention. | | | | Quarry diving is often solo diving because of the |
| Diving conditions on Sunday, 25 April 2009 brought | | | | cloudiness of the water. Much of the time if you see |
| those differences noisily to mind. | | | | your dive partner, you're bumping into him or tangling |
| The day was beautiful with sunshine and | | | | fins, which is usually your only indication that anyone |
| temperatures above 80. I started sweating soon as I | | | | is there. |
| put my wet suit on. For a few moments I considered | | | | No, visibility isn't always great, and if you feel nervous |
| diving in only the shorty, and leaving the pants, hood, | | | | about diving alone maybe quarry diving isn't the most |
| and gloves packed away. I didn't, and later was | | | | preferable activity. Still, if I can't make the trip to blue |
| happy for that decision when I realized that my dive | | | | water, any time I have a chance to get wet, I jump |
| length would be shorter without that extra gear. | | | | in. It doesn't completely satisfy my addiction, but it |
| The water temperature at the surface dropped the | | | | helps. |
| thermometer to 63-degrees real quick, which wasn't | | | | I did see a couple of fish this day, but most of the |
| so bad. That was still warm enough that I didn't feel | | | | dive I spent exploring gaps in the rocks, investigating |
| cold, and it even made me more comfortable than I | | | | mud. |
| was in the air, sweating with the suit on. | | | | |