Did a black out dive today

[River Hound]

Dove the confluence of the Sacramento and American rivers today.We had a lot of rain last weekend so they opened up nimbus dam to three times the water flow we have been having so today I checked the water levels of the American and they lowered it.One thing I didn't think about was the Sacramento backing up in to the American.the spot that I dove is normally 5 to 10 feet today 20 to 25 feet.Hiked about a 1/4 mile up river to my spot and the trail led me right to the water I didn't have to hike down the rocky levee.That was cool.So I start my dive and I can see my hand streched out in front of me.flippers didn't do me much good cause I am crawling down the bank and its getting darker now I cant see the numbers on my computer or my hand anywhere.But I am in the spot.Get the detector going I am holding the middle of dd coil to scan.Found some targets but pin pointing wasent easy.first two were round things I stuffed in my wetsuit third dug down deep and gave up at about a foot fourth was easy fishing weights.I called it quits only used a third of my tank but that was enough.the to round thing ended up being clams some how I missed my targets oops.drove out to the point on the confluence first thing I saw was 2 seals and a fifty foot tree floating by looked over at the fishing weights and just smiled turned out to be a cool adventure for a couple hours on a rainy morning.That's my adventure

 

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[OBN]

Dag, I can only dream of doing that....Kewl....

 

[sparkydog]

Well, you didn't exactly hammer the gold and treasure but I absolutly understand the satisfaction and enjoyment that such an adventure brings. I'm turning 67 next month and haven't dived for decades but I was scuba diving on ocean wrecks in the Atlantic costal waters at 19. I have done some fesh water snorkeling with my detector and may very well go for recertification and buy some very basic equipment to dive the fresh water swimming areas around me. Reading about it only reaffirms how much I want to do it!

 

[bigscoop]

Blackout? Water? The closest I'm going to get to doing that is a hot shower with the lights turned off. Wait a minute, now both of those are actually sounding a bit freaky.

 

[KEYSHUNTER]

hey ,reads like you were solo, i hope not, just RIVER HOUND had a 19 year old drown down this way with a tangle line that trapped him and his buddy tried to save him...only 40 foot of water and they just wanted dinner...dive knife was to dull to cut him free..and this was clear water..just sayin be safe HH

 

[Mainelypulltab]

That is good advice Keys Hunter. Here is where I differ a tad. Not too many folks dive where I live and if they do, they do not want to watch me detecting. So, for my own satisfaction (if you will), I dove down about 22 feet and took all of my gear off, grabbed a breath and slowly surfaced. Grabbed a breath and went back down and put all of my gear back on. I spoke with the folks who trained me and told them what I had done. I explained that I dive to detect and pick up trash. They said I should be fine and not to dive in deeper depths. I know anything can happen in 1 foot of water and you should always have someone with you. Heck, I teach this to young folks each summer. The hard part is I love the water and I understand the risk associated with diving. I keep calm and dive on. Thanks for the reminder though and very sorry to hear about the lad losing his life.

 

[River Hound]

MainelyPulltab I agree with you No body wants to dive the river metal detecting with me and the river I dive tops out at 30 feet Its a total solo thing yes their are dangers but I could drop everything but not likely .Ive had about every malfunction you could have.a few years back I had a bc where the stiching holding the tank to the bc wore out I couldnt afford a new one so I tied it all up.the younger dudes in the dive shops didn't even want to put air in my tank the owners new me just laughed.Ive had tanks slip out before but that darn thing got my buddy right in the nagen in fast water. I bet my buddy would tell you some time its best to be solo no damage it was all fun.I know theirs some serious divers on here please don't take it wrong. During those broke years hanging out at unemployment beach drinking beer and diving ever day Life was beautiful

 

[wrecker]

I can't wait for springtime to come and do a few solo dives again. Nothing special, normally just around piers and under jetties, maybe 30- 40 ft max. depth. Anyway I feel more comfortable and safe alone than beeing responsible for a group of beginner divers or students. I worked as a scuba instructor for years and did far more than 5000 dives, most of them as the guide or instructor for beginner level divers. Loved the job but now I prefer diving solo and to enjoy myself.

 

[JAD]

Solo dives for me as well. Know your limits and be best prepared for anything that can happen.

All the dive training organizations have Solo diver courses now, it's not that taboo anymore.

I've honestly did more Solo dives, then dives with a buddy. I've also been paired up with "dive buddies" that were incompetent on a good day and down right dangerous on a bad day.

Not that I don't like diving with a good dive buddy, it's just there is absolutely no one around my area that detect/dives. Scrounging for old bottles on the other hand I've been lucky enough to have met a Dive Master that loves it as much as I do.