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I live on Lake Martin in Alabama, a beautiful 44,000 acre man-made lake with over 780 miles of shoreline. The lake was built by Alabama Power in the 1920’s. The local lore has it that the bottom was cleared prior to filling the lake. All those trees were cut, chained to the bottom and left there. I’ve dreamed of recovering those trees. Now, it seems someone is actually doing it:
http://www.lakemartinmagazine.com/articles
Lake Martin is a deep lake - over 185 feet in areas. The water is clear but at depths it is dark and cold. The above article covers diving in the lake. I’ve dove the lake many times, the most recent with Ed Mahan. We dove ‘Chimney Rock’, which is actually ‘Acapulco Rock’, a spot where locals anchor their boats and watch divers jump into the water. We were looking for treasures and if you’re EVER in the need for beer cans or beer bottles, we know the place to find them.
I recommend reading the Lake Martin Alabama Edition of Lake Magazine. It is a great publication about a wonderful location!
Phil
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Charles Kelly writes:
Hey all. We had discussed diving this Sunday, but due to the clam die-off in the river it would probably be best to wait a couple of weeks to get back in. Let’s plan on diving on Sunday, August 5th at 1:00 p.m. I talked with a representative from the EPD and the clams are probably Corbicula Fluminea, an invasive clam that comes from Asia. They are having a mass die off, probably due to lack of oxygen in the water from the drought. While swimming with them doesn’t pose any life threatening problems, bacteria from the decomposing remains could cause skin rashes and you sure wouldn’t want to get it into any cuts or in your eyes. They should be gone in the next week or so, and the water quality should be great for diving again. I will keep checking conditions and keep you posted, but otherwise, I hope to see everyone on the 5th!Charles Kelly
WGUAS
Asian clam, huh? According to Wikipeidia: In Southeast Asia it is known as prosperity clam or good luck clam. Right after reaching maturity they produce eggs, followed by sperm. Even later, they produce eggs and sperm simultaneously. They can self-fertilize, and release up to 2,000 juveniles per day, and more than 100,000 in a lifetime. Juveniles are only 1mm long when discharged and take one to four years to reach maturity. At this time they are about one centimeter long. Adults can reach a length of about 5 cm.
Well, to me in the river with their little dead bodies floating to the surface, it seems like MILLIONS of them and after reading the above, no wonder. Thanks to Charles for taking the time to check on this for us and thanks to the EPD for the reassurance on when we can get back in the river.
Also speaking of the EPD, Charles reported to them the Hydrilla outbreak. They weren’t aware of it and it probably came from someone putting in at the boat ramp. I’m afraid it is too late to do anything about that though. We’ll see.
So, we’re hoping to get back in the River on August 5th. I won’t make that an Event yet until we know more about our dead little friends, so stay tuned.
Later,
Phil
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During our last river dive, Bob McKinley asked me to post the slideshow I created of our trip to the USS Schurz, the Spar, the USS Aeolus and the U352. It is a pretty cool slideshow IMHO so why not? We had a great time. Shot number 23 is a picture of Bob, looking pretty happy. Shot number 25 is a picture of Jeff - not so happy but obviously “ok”.
We have trips like these all the time. I highly recommend you join our group. But please folks, if you join us, come dive with us!
So, Bob, as you requested…
The July 26/27 2006 dive on the U352
Later,
Phil
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You all know the old saying, “some days are diamonds”. Well, in my humble opinion, today wasn’t one of those days. We had a good dive but we really didn’t get a lot accomplished and we didn’t discover anything new. (Bob may disagree with me on the discovery bit – but, again, it wasn’t the best dive I’ve seen on the river).
We were able to GPS locate two new artifacts we’ve recently discovered but I was really hoping for more. We DID have a new member (Rob) show up today and perhaps he enjoyed himself. It can be a disappointing number there on “any given Sunday”. This Sunday, there were only five of us.
I am really CONCERNED about the muscle “die off” we’re seeing in the river. I’ve never seen this before and if something is killing the muscles in those numbers then it can’t be good for me to be there too. We ALL know about the ‘hooch’ and its history!
But, any day in the water is good day, so I have to be upbeat about this dive. I know we’ve got other new members who could have been there – where are you guys?
So, if you’re reading this blog and have recently joined our group, how about commenting on why you haven’t made it to the river? I’m curious.
Later,
Phil
Filed under General, Events, Dive Trips by phil | 0 comments
| July 8, 2007 |
| 1:00 pm | to | 5:00 pm |
Charles Kelly reports we’re planning a river dive at the West Point site this Sunday, July 9th. We plan to be in the water by 1:00pm EDT. (But, you might want to try to get there early - Gary and Phillip Lockhart usually show up early and beat everyone in the water). We look forward to seeing new members on this dive (this is aimed at you Rob - hope you’ll be there). Please bring your full tanks (two if you have them).
PLEASE REMEMBER GUYS - WGUAS proudly serves as stewards of this archaeological site to ensure its protection from looting and vandalism! We are permitted to dive this site by the State of Georgia and it is a location which covers many years of history. BRING ONLY CAMERAS - LEAVE ONLY BUBBLES - we take NOTHING out of the water unless directed to do so by the Georgia State Archaeologist.
So, see you in the River!
Phil
