Diving in the Mississippi

[pattcatt]

I was thinking about diving in the Mississippi around some sunken Confederate or Union Warship sites. Mainly I was wondering how legal this was, and if anyone had had negative or positive experiences doing this very thing.

Btw this is my first post so Hi everyone.

 

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[digging440yrs]

Welcome aboard

 

[Jason in Enid]

The Mississippi river is flowing mud and the bottom is most likely a tangle of trees and garbage. Are you trained in commercial diving?

 

[pattcatt]

Trained, no. A self taught hobby, yes. I know my limits when diving so I can get by in the river in good conditions.

I figured I would find some maps of wrecks and track currents to nearby areas where detecting looks promising. I assume if I actually find an intact ship it would be long since looted.

 

[Truth]

I'm around the Mississippi River in News Orleans and it a terrible idea to even go in the river around here. The undertows and currents are way way to dangerous.


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[Tom_in_CA]

Trained, no. A self taught hobby, yes. I know my limits when diving so I can get by in the river in good conditions....

It sounds like you've scuba dived in these areas before. And have experience in this type diving.

Then ... forgive me for the silly question .... but once you're under the water, with an underwater detector, .... is there really anyone around (like watching you or whatever), IN THE FIRST PLACE ? I mean, who's underwater to care ?

 

[alabama11]

Good point truth. Safety first.

 

[Truth]

Good point truth. Safety first.

That river is nothing to play with. I assumed everyone knew that. Lol


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[Jason in Enid]

That river is nothing to play with. I assumed everyone knew that. Lol


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Well, the OP is self trained in SCUBA, so I'm sure he's ready to just jump right into the Ol' Miss like he claims.

 

[treasuresalvor]

No Way. You might know your limits but the river can take you out at anytime.

 

[GarbageCollector]

No offense intended, Patt, but that sounds like a terrible idea. And I'm pretty sure anything in a waterway belongs to the state, unfortunately.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

No offense intended, Patt, but that sounds like a terrible idea. And I'm pretty sure anything in a waterway belongs to the state, unfortunately.

Well gee, don't stop there Garbage-Collector. The same can be said for ANY speck of land ANYWHERE. City parks, county parks, state parks, federal parks, etc.... It falls under the boiler plate obligatory language that dis-allows harvesting, collecting, taking, removing, etc..... Anything that's a natural feature of the park (and cultural heritage items, ie.: old coins) WOULD fall under that.

So gee, let's all stop detecting at all public land ?

 

[Uaplumber23]

"Self Taught" + Mississippi River = Disaster

Not only are you endangering yourself, but also the Public Safety Divers that will be recovering you. Take a diving class and get certified to start. The more you learn, the more you'll realize what you don't know.

 

[SD51]

Grew up in MN. The state where the mighty Mississippi originates. You can literally step across the river at the headwaters area. That's about the only part of that river where I would ever get my feet wet.

 

[mlutz]

Trained, no. A self taught hobby, yes. I know my limits when diving so I can get by in the river in good conditions.

I figured I would find some maps of wrecks and track currents to nearby areas where detecting looks promising. I assume if I actually find an intact ship it would be long since looted.

Take it from a retired US Navy Diver... Do not do it. The currents are miserable (Been there), visibility is zero, If you do not have a support vessel flying the correct flags (ALPHA) the coast guard will get you. No means of communication topside, no one will know if you get hung up. As stated above there is a jumbled up mess down there that once caught in, will be your grave. The current gets wicked. We didn't even mess with currents above 0.5 of a knot in SCUBA. We had other options (Surface Supplied). My vote= Bad idea.

I think that most, if not all, CW vessels that have sunk are protected sites. Much like the USS Monitor off the coast of NC.

 

[Davers]

I was thinking about diving in the Mississippi around some sunken Confederate or Union Warship sites. Mainly I was wondering how legal this was, and if anyone had had negative or positive experiences doing this very thing.

Btw this is my first post so Hi everyone.

Love your Ambition ..
Welcome to the Site.

Now ill read the reply's.

 

[Davers]

Well gee, don't stop there Garbage-Collector. The same can be said for ANY speck of land ANYWHERE. City parks, county parks, state parks, federal parks, etc.... It falls under the boiler plate obligatory language that dis-allows harvesting, collecting, taking, removing, etc..... Anything that's a natural feature of the park (and cultural heritage items, ie.: old coins) WOULD fall under that.

So gee, let's all stop detecting at all public land ?

Dang Tom!
Harsh (but just a tad).
The Garbageman dose IMO need to get out of the ( The Gov't) owns it all Mind set tho.

 

[Davers]

Op.
I think you have gotten some great advice.