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Posted: 11/3/2020 1:00:37 PM EDT
[#1]
Originally Posted By floridahunter07: Interesting... I wanted to check out Pennyroyal Scuba Center (quarry) in Hopkinsville, Kentucky about three years ago... carted all my dive shit up there and due to the thermocline I decided against it (late August, wanted to do some sort of deeper dives than your average cave dives you get around here but IIRC the water temps would've been in the high 40's or mid 50's at the depth I wanted to dive to (100+ feet) and in a 5/4mm wetsuit? Nah fam  Originally Posted By floridahunter07: Part of me either cannot or refuses to give up the aspect of feeling cool & refreshed when I get done doing a cave dive in the springs via wearing a wetsuit. A drysuit definitely does not give me the same feeling and I don't feel as "clean" after wearing it, but the one I had was also pre-owned and didn't fit worth a flip, so that might have had something to do with it. lol Either way, F going into water that's less than 65 degrees with anything but a drysuit. 67-68 is as cold as I've been in while diving (swam in some creek water in NC that might've been 50 degrees or so, wearing board shorts one time... never again) and it's all I care for at this point. Warmer water can take the same path away from me too, I can't stand feeling like I'm getting into a bath. Y'all oughtta try beach diving in Southern California. Surface water temp might be in the low 70's in the summer.  90% of my diving was done in 5mm Farmer John wetsuit; the only time I dove dry was when we went to extreme depth (150+). |
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Posted: 11/5/2020 11:42:33 AM EDT
[#2]
You guys can’t take the cold and I can’t take hot.
Off to OH this weekend. Solo instructor is cave trained and is going to put me through some cave drills. Last diving before class. Going to take two weekends off to chill and rest up. |
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Posted: 11/5/2020 11:56:51 AM EDT
[Last Edit: HeavyMetal]
[#3]
I spent yesterday again at the Gray quarry. I was the lone diver for most of the day. Three dives with a total of 3:14 bottom time. All three of roughly the same length.
I noticed reviewing my electronic dive log for last Saturday I had accidentally went into deco on my last dive. My computer may be set too conservative as I doubt I was truly in deco. I wondered why it made that safety stop last so damn long. I was almost out of back gas when I finished. I did have a 30cuft safety bottle if I needed it. The bottom of the quarry fluctuates between 60 and 70 feet. I hung an 80 at 15 feet off the entry pier this time to practice keeping depth in open water while on deco. Those dives would have been perfect for Nitrox. Sadly, I only had air. I am a bit fatigued today. It was very clear with vis north of 40 feet. I could see the bow of a long sunk boat from the stern and a school bus from end to end. I should have picture later tonight. Stick a fork in my 2020 dive season. Short of winning the lottery, I am done. |
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Posted: 11/5/2020 2:29:37 PM EDT
[#4]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Marie: You guys can’t take the cold and I can’t take hot. Off to OH this weekend. Solo instructor is cave trained and is going to put me through some cave drills. Last diving before class. Going to take two weekends off to chill and rest up. I love cold, as long as I'm dry. Soon as I'm cold and wet, I'm done.
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Posted: 11/5/2020 4:38:37 PM EDT
[#5]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By HeavyMetal: I spent yesterday again at the Gray quarry. I was the lone diver for most of the day. Three dives with a total of 3:14 bottom time. All three of roughly the same length. I noticed reviewing my electronic dive log for last Saturday I had accidentally went into deco on my last dive. My computer may be set too conservative as I doubt I was truly in deco. I wondered why it made that safety stop last so damn long. I was almost out of back gas when I finished. I did have a 30cuft safety bottle if I needed it. The bottom of the quarry fluctuates between 60 and 70 feet. I hung an 80 at 15 feet off the entry pier this time to practice keeping depth in open water while on deco. Those dives would have been perfect for Nitrox. Sadly, I only had air. I am a bit fatigued today. It was very clear with vis north of 40 feet. I could see the bow of a long sunk boat from the stern and a school bus from end to end. I should have picture later tonight. Stick a fork in my 2020 dive season. Short of winning the lottery, I am done. My season ain’t over! As long as I have no issues with the cave diving, I hope to be either diving at the mine or at one of the OH quarries, barring bad weather. I planning on taking my ice diving course in early March. |
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Posted: 11/5/2020 8:59:46 PM EDT
[#6]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Marie: You guys can’t take the cold and I can’t take hot. . I love diving in swim shorts and a long sleeve skin guard. Even better if I'm freediving. It feels like I'm a feather in the wind. It's cathartic. Putting on a wetsuit is like wearing a straitjacket. |
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Posted: 11/5/2020 9:35:16 PM EDT
[#7]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By TailHunter: I love diving in swim shorts and a long sleeve skin guard. Even better if I'm freediving. It feels like I'm a feather in the wind. It's cathartic. Putting on a wetsuit is like wearing a straitjacket. I don’t even like diving without a hood! Everything is TOO loud, I’m so used to wearing one. Never without gloves either. I’ll wear my 4 year old hood that’s super thin now and reef gloves when it’s warmer at the quarry. |
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Posted: 11/7/2020 10:58:35 AM EDT
[#8]
Have a pair of Lp85s on order from DGX. Won’t use them for class but after...
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Posted: 11/7/2020 1:02:49 PM EDT
[#9]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Marie: Have a pair of Lp85s on order from DGX. Won’t use them for class but after... I pulled out my set of old school LP95's this week. I'd forgotten how heavy those damn things are! I've also pulled out all of my equipment reference manuals and tools. Time to study up! |
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Posted: 11/7/2020 1:52:13 PM EDT
[#10]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By corruptor: I pulled out my set of old school LP95's this week. I'd forgotten how heavy those damn things are! I've also pulled out all of my equipment reference manuals and tools. Time to study up! And big, too! I have a friend who dives them doubled up for Great Lakes wreck diving. My knees ache just watching him walk them around at the quarry, let alone coming up the boat ladder. Ouch |
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Posted: 11/7/2020 6:35:13 PM EDT
[#11]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Marie: Have a pair of Lp85s on order from DGX. Won’t use them for class but after... It will be a toss up between those and your LP-50's as to which one you like better especially if you can get cave fills for them. |
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Posted: 11/7/2020 7:14:54 PM EDT
[Last Edit: Marie]
[#12]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By jerrwhy01: It will be a toss up between those and your LP-50's as to which one you like better especially if you can get cave fills for them. I wouldn’t have bought them if I couldn’t get cave fills. Turns out the guy I’m diving with tomorrow has a pair I can dive (he does SM, too). My cave instructor’s shop’s SM instructor has offered a pair to borrow so I have two sets for class. I didn’t want to go into class with unfamiliar tanks, but diving them tomorrow should help a lot. I’m going to run diving the new 85s in class by instructor next week. She’s doing a cave class this weekend. First one of the season. And I’m willing to buy another pair later on, too. |
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Posted: 11/8/2020 8:08:49 PM EDT
[#13]
LOVE the 85s. Buddy shortened my bungees some and that made a huge difference. They trimmed out beautifully. He said he’d never seen me look that good. Too bad he forgot his go pro.
 I’m being loaned a pair and I’ll dive them for class. Instructor has no issue with it. Might end up selling a pair of my HP80s. Not sure. |
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Posted: 11/8/2020 9:53:41 PM EDT
[#14]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Marie: LOVE the 85s. Buddy shortened my bungees some and that made a huge difference. They trimmed out beautifully. He said he’d never seen me look that good. Too bad he forgot his go pro. I’m being loaned a pair and I’ll dive them for class. Instructor has no issue with it. Might end up selling a pair of my HP80s. Not sure. Get a transfill whip. On those days when your dives are more recreational and you're diving your LP-50's a cave filled 85 will bring those LP-50's up to about 2700 PSI thus giving you a normal filled LP-50. It's a great thing for those out of the way places where you might not have access to fills. |
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Posted: 11/8/2020 10:14:49 PM EDT
[Last Edit: Marie]
[#15]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By jerrwhy01: Get a transfill whip. On those days when your dives are more recreational and you're diving your LP-50's a cave filled 85 will bring those LP-50's up to about 2700 PSI thus giving you a normal filled LP-50. It's a great thing for those out of the way places where you might not have access to fills. I already have one. Thanks for the idea! |
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Posted: 11/12/2020 12:35:37 PM EDT
[#16]
Transfill whips are awesome. I do some shallow dives sometimes in the springs around here with my AL40's using the DECO 22lb bladder I have, a piece of bungee looped in an X across my back (run arms through on both sides and hold valves in the bungee), and a weight belt with 6 pounds and two drop D-rings on it.
If they're full prior to me starting, one steel tank can top it off to where I can spend most of the day out there just floating around weightless... it's kinda nice. lol |
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Posted: 11/12/2020 1:58:24 PM EDT
[#17]
The new kiddies arrive today.
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Posted: 11/12/2020 3:16:43 PM EDT
[#18]
Actually, I went back Monday. Done for real now.
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Posted: 11/12/2020 11:18:12 PM EDT
[#19]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By HeavyMetal: Actually, I went back Monday. Done for real now. Getting too cold for you? |
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Posted: 11/12/2020 11:19:08 PM EDT
[#20]
The new kiddies are all rigged up and waiting for their trip to the mine.
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Posted: 11/12/2020 11:35:32 PM EDT
[#21]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Marie: Getting too cold for you? It was 65, it will start dropping fast with the oncoming cold snap. 60 is my limit, no need to push it. I used to dive down to 55 but was only good for one dive at that temp. Usually colder than shit air-wise at that water temp. I have some really nice pics if I can get them hosted. |
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Posted: 11/13/2020 12:31:10 AM EDT
[#22]
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Posted: 11/14/2020 8:58:29 PM EDT
[#23]
Spent the day getting my gear (minus drysuit and undies) ready for class. All good to go, except charging batteries a day or two before I leave.
Ran to a dive shop in the area that services Apeks and got my XTX50 necklaced second stage converted to left hand hose feed. |
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Posted: 11/19/2020 10:35:20 PM EDT
[#24]
I just ordered another pair of 85s from DGX. Will have them Tuesday.
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Posted: 11/19/2020 11:17:24 PM EDT
[#25]
Glad to see you are still enjoying it! This was always such a neat thread.
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Posted: 11/19/2020 11:55:15 PM EDT
[#26]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By KingRat: Glad to see you are still enjoying it! This was always such a neat thread. Thanks! Never thought I’d be doing a cave diving class!
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Posted: 11/20/2020 9:12:06 AM EDT
[#27]
Started to get a cold last night. Really congested. I doubt it’s the plague since my last non-grocery outing was eating at a OH restaurant on 11/7 when I was there diving. Just been grocery shopping since then.
Let instructor and class buddy know in case we have to postpone. Hope we don’t have to. I really need to do this now. Taking my Zyrtec-D allergy meds that I take daily anyway. Flonase. Becoming one with the Neti pot. Lots of OJ and chicken soup. Pounding water and lots of tea, too. |
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Posted: 11/21/2020 8:24:12 PM EDT
[#28]
Posted 2 of my HP80s for sale. I've got too damn many tanks
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Posted: 11/22/2020 10:33:17 PM EDT
[#29]
Marie, I've got like twenty tanks. I suspect I'll end up with ten more since I am getting back into cave diving. It's all a matter of storage space.
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Posted: 11/22/2020 11:13:22 PM EDT
[Last Edit: Marie]
[#30]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By HeavyMetal: Marie, I've got like twenty tanks. I suspect I'll end up with ten more since I am getting back into cave diving. It's all a matter of storage space. I’m shocked but I sold my tanks to someone local less than 24 hours after I posted them on FB. Didn’t think they would sell that quickly. I have a small one BR place. My tanks stay in my LR. At least the 50s and 40s are easy to lean against the wall in a corner. I’ve still got 4xHP80s, 4xLP50, 4xLP85, and 2xAL40. |
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Posted: 11/23/2020 1:11:54 PM EDT
[Last Edit: FB41]
[#31]
When I was an active instructor, I had 45 tanks. 30 AL80's, 10 AL50;s, 2 steel 72's; 2 steel 105's and 1 AL15 pony. I used the 105's and pony for personal extreme deep diving- the rest were used in instruction.
I also had 5 BC's of different sizes and 8 regulators to go with the tanks; try storing all that shit in a 1 BR apartment . I had to get a storage unit just for it.When I left CA and retired from scuba instruction, I sold all but 5 of the tanks and my personal gear. |
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Posted: 11/23/2020 2:04:42 PM EDT
[#32]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By FB41: When I was an active instructor, I had 45 tanks. 30 AL80's, 10 AL50;s, 2 steel 72's; 2 steel 105's and 1 AL15 pony. I used the 105's and pony for personal extreme deep diving- the rest were used in instruction. I also had 5 BC's of different sizes and 8 regulators to go with the tanks; try storing all that shit in a 1 BR apartment . I had to get a storage unit just for it.When I left CA and retired from scuba instruction, I sold all but 5 of the tanks and my personal gear. I’m on the verge of selling the other 4 HP80s but I need to do some wreck diving with my 50s SM next year before I do that. I can use the 85s for BM single tank if it came to that. The valves on the remaining 80s are really nice so I need to switch them to my 85s. |
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Posted: 11/26/2020 11:38:53 AM EDT
[#33]
Wish me luck! Class starts tomorrow!
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Posted: 11/26/2020 8:05:12 PM EDT
[#34]
Happy Thanksgiving! and good luck! My bet is you will have a blast!
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Posted: 11/26/2020 8:10:25 PM EDT
[#35]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By jpk33: Happy Thanksgiving! and good luck! My bet is you will have a blast! And a Happy Thanksgiving to you! Fun, but also tough. I expect to have my ass handed to me multiple times.
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Posted: 11/27/2020 9:02:02 AM EDT
[#36]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Marie: And a Happy Thanksgiving to you! Fun, but also tough. I expect to have my ass handed to me multiple times. You will. |
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Posted: 11/27/2020 10:39:16 PM EDT
[#37]
Class went better than I expected today. Had a dry glove hole I didn’t know about. Got really wet. Thermolution vest proved its worth. 50F water. 35ish air temp. Classmates are great. Instructor said I did pretty well.
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Posted: 11/29/2020 8:34:02 PM EDT
[#38]
I did it!
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Posted: 11/29/2020 9:03:52 PM EDT
[#39]
Congratulations!
As challenging as you thought itvwould be? |
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Posted: 11/29/2020 9:04:11 PM EDT
[#40]
Congratulations!
As challenging as you thought it would be? |
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Posted: 11/29/2020 9:49:40 PM EDT
[#41]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By jpk33: Congratulations! As challenging as you thought it would be? Sure was! |
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Posted: 12/1/2020 11:22:00 AM EDT
[#42]
I was also really surprised I passed on my first attempt and with no extra days past the long weekend. I really enjoyed it. I was shocked when the instructor said I was doing pretty well. This was HUGE for me. Instructor urged me to do the class and I’m so glad I did.
Funny - a FL trained friend asked if we were allowed to wear gloves for line drills. I laughed my ass off. The water was 50 degrees. We all had dry gloves. There are some artifacts on the floor of the mine - shovels, old bottles, etc. I’ll get to see more on fun dives. No time to really lookey-loo this weekend. This is the mine access pond. The entrance is 25ft deep at the far end of the pond. This is where the trucks used to go down into the mine. There was an early 1900s mine that got connected to a 1950s mine.  I have buddies already to dive with. I’ve dived with a couple of them already. I’m just waiting a few weeks until my new DUI comes in. I’ll go out to the mine to use the access pond to get my weighting down. |
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Posted: 12/1/2020 11:22:55 AM EDT
[#43]
And here’s a shocker! I’m seriously considering doing full cave next winter. Spring/summer is wreck diving. Fall/winter is the mine.
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Posted: 12/1/2020 1:09:01 PM EDT
[#44]
Got the Dive Rite SM reg set I ordered from DGX. Really nice.
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Posted: 12/1/2020 6:01:35 PM EDT
[Last Edit: jerrwhy01]
[#45]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Marie: And here’s a shocker! I’m seriously considering doing full cave next winter. Spring/summer is wreck diving. Fall/winter is the mine. Intro gets old real quick, you'll find that 1/6ths goes way faster than 1/3rds. When I did my intro course I went the NAUI route and am very thankful for it. NAUI allows you to dive to 1/3rds and make two navigation decisions be they jump, turns, or some combination thereof. So it basically spits you out at the Apprentice level. A few months after that I did my AN/DP and honestly stayed at that level for a while. Going full cave really didn't open up a lot of cave for me. At the full cave level I could make unlimited navigation decisions, do traverses and, circuits. I did get to do some stages dives at full cave but honestly a stage bottle gets old pretty quick. To go full cave you're going to need to get some type of decompression training. Around here most people on the full cave track either do AN/DP or they get an decompression crash course that allows them to get O2 fills at dive shops in cave country but nowhere else. I had the same instructor for my cave courses that I did for AN/DP and AN/DP was honestly harder and more demanding than the cave courses I took. However, it gave me much better buoyancy control and improved my gas management and planning which helped quite a bit for cave diving. My advice is to go AN/DP then get your Apprentice card out of the way then simply dive. At this point you can dive 1/3 of your gas supply, do deco dives, and some navigation. Then when you've racked up a little more experience get your full cave out of the way. |
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Posted: 12/1/2020 6:19:24 PM EDT
[Last Edit: Marie]
[#46]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By jerrwhy01: Intro gets old real quick, you'll find that 1/6ths goes way faster than 1/3rds. When I did my intro course I went the NAUI route and am very thankful for it. NAUI allows you to dive to 1/3rds and make two navigation decisions be they jump, turns, or some combination thereof. So it basically spits you out at the Apprentice level. A few months after that I did my AN/DP and honestly stayed at that level for a while. Going full cave really didn't open up a lot of cave for me. At the full cave level I could make unlimited navigation decisions, do traverses and, circuits. I did get to do some stages dives at full cave but honestly a stage bottle gets old pretty quick. To go full cave you're going to need to get some type of decompression training. Around here most people on the full cave track either do AN/DP or they get an decompression crash course that allows them to get O2 fills at dive shops in cave country but nowhere else. My advice is to go AN/DP. I had the same instructor for my cave courses that I did for AN/DP and AN/DP was honestly harder and more demanding than the cave courses I took. However, it gave me much better buoyancy control and improved my gas management and planning which helped quite a bit for cave diving. AN/DP/Helitrox will hopefully be done in the spring with same instructor. The cave diving season in WI goes from Nov through April so full cave would be done next winter. ETA: I’m doing TDI. There is no apprentice level. Cavern, Intro, Full Cave. Full is done over two weekends. One guy who is halfway though Full was diving at the mine Saturday. Instructor was filling his dive buddies in about him and she said he was essentially “apprentice.” Instructor has a full time job doing something else (diving/archaeology related) besides running the dive shop, so all training is on weekends. |
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Posted: 12/1/2020 10:20:38 PM EDT
[#47]
How was the visibility? Any current?
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Posted: 12/1/2020 10:33:33 PM EDT
[#48]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By jpk33: How was the visibility? Any current? 20-30ft viz. This is a former lead/zinc mine that closed in the 60s. No current at all. That viz is familiar to me from my quarry diving. |
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Posted: 12/1/2020 11:15:31 PM EDT
[#49]
Did they flood it on purpose (to keep people out of the mine) or did they hit the water table?
Any neat stuff left behind? |
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Posted: 12/1/2020 11:20:47 PM EDT
[#50]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By jpk33: Did they flood it on purpose (to keep people out of the mine) or did they hit the water table? Any neat stuff left behind? When the mine was closed the pumps were shut off. Then it flooded. I’ve seen a shovel. I’m told there are some old soda pop bottles, but I didn’t see those. There is other stuff that I’ve seen photos of but I’m not sure where it is. Just found out my new drysuit is shipping from DUI tomorrow. Should have it early-mid next week. It ships to the Madison, WI dive shop and then I have to drive up to get it. Will go out to the mine access pool to get my weighting down. Instructor suggested that. |
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