We’re at a point where there will be some more pictures, but none underwater yet. That’s coming. Off to Table Rock Lake!
Doug
Doug is a certified instructor who really loves taking people diving. He also has a boat docked on Table Rock Lake. He wanted to get some dives in during the Independence Day holiday weekend, so he posted in the Diventures Scuba Club group looking for anyone interested.
I would have thought Doug’s boat would be packed to the max, but he ended up stuck with just my son and me. We were thrilled. One on one time with an instructor taking us to some new sights and sites was a great opportunity. It helped that Doug is a nice guy, and our discussions were quite enjoyable.
Way Too Early for Me
We met Doug at 7 AM, which required getting up at around 5 AM. You can tell my level of enthusiasm for scuba by noting that I wasn’t grumpy about getting up at what I (and sensible people) consider to be an ungodly hour. I’ve always felt you should only see 5 AM if you approach it from the other side, preparing to crash after a late night.
Duck Island
Doug knew something critical. Table Rock Lake has a lot of boats, and the first dive site is in a spot that sees some traffic. By going early, we managed to dive there safely with minimal traffic. This first site is next to a place called Duck Island.
Google maps calls it “Chrystle Cay” but everyone calls it Duck Island because the Ducks (amphibious surplus military vehicles converted for civilian use) would stop there all the time on their tours. Those tours no longer happen because of a horrible accident about six years ago. I wondered if we’ll see the commonly used name change since Duck has a negative connotation around here now in people’s minds.
Doug grounded his boat on Duck Island, secured it, and then we got ready to dive. Since I’ll be recording every dive I do, I’ll put a section at the bottom of the page with equipment details. For you experienced divers, it’ll be pretty boring at first.
We followed Doug to a line and then followed that to a boat sunk in the channel between Duck Island and the dock for the Showboat Branson Belle (it’s a great dinner cruise with good food and a fun show). There was a very noticeable temperature shift when we dropped below the thermocline, but the visibility improved considerably. We explored the wreck, a 25-foot cruiser, and then headed back.
Rather than a safety stop, we just slowly followed the line up the slope of bottom until we reached Doug’s boat. Doug explained that to us and it was a nice way to do it as we didn’t even notice we were doing it and I had no problems with my ears. I surfaced just a few feet away from Doug’s boat. I did burn through a ton of air. It was a 25-minute dive, but I used most of my tank. Gabe and Doug both still had quite a bit left.
Spoonbill Bluff
Spoonbill Bluff is not too far away from Duck Island. There’s a bluff on the shore that continues down into the lake. There’s a line that leads to a sunken sailboat and there are a couple of statues down there as well.
I’m glad we had a guide. I never would have found the beginning of the line to the sailboat. Between the newness of diving and the poor visibility, I had trouble seeing it even after Doug found it.
Between dives, Doug provided some suggestions on my air consumption that helped tremendously. This second dive was 40 minutes, and I used the same amount of air as the first dive.
We had to swim through a forest, or at least it felt like it. There were a ton of very slender (1 inch diameter) trees or something growing there on our path. That was a new experience for, but pretty cool to see. The sailboat itself was pretty cool. It had some nice carving on the side and there’s a story. Supposedly, the sailboat belonged to singer/songwriter Burl Ives.
We again returned up the slope seeing more sights as we returned to the boat. This was my longest dive, to date, at 40-minutes. Doug was an incredible guide, and our conversation was very enjoyable. I hope we get a change to dive with him again. He had some great advice for me on my buoyancy as well as my breathing. Doug also encouraged us, complementing us on where our skills were at that time. We left both sad to be done diving for the day but greatly encouraged by the experience. I’m looking forward to seeing more of Table Rock Lake.
Equipment Used Today
I used my person gloves, hood, boots, fins, mask, snorkel, and socks.
Rental Gear Used:
Regulators: Scubapro, not sure of the exact model.
BCD: Scubapro Hydros Pro with Air2.
Weights: 24 lbs.
Tanks: 80 cubic foot aluminum.
Exposure: 3mm.
Duck Island Dive Details
Maximum Depth: 49 feet
Length of Dive: 25 minutes
Water Temperature (average): 63℉
Visibility: 5 feet above thermocline, probably 15 feet below it.
Aquatic Life: Perch. Maybe some others but I’m still learning to identify them.
Dive Notes: We followed a slope down to the boat and a slope back up, which was nice as it made sure our descent and ascent were both slow and steady. Visibility was huge pain. When behind our guide, I had to focus on keeping his fins visible or it was easy to lose him until we dropped below the thermocline.
Spoonbill Bluff Dive Details
Maximum Depth: 49 feet
Length of Dive: 40 minutes
Water Temperature (average): 70℉ this is higher than the Duck Island dive only because we didn’t spend as much time as deep as we did on that one.
Visibility: 5 feet above thermocline, probably 15 feet below it.
Aquatic Life: Perch
Dive Notes: Visibility was more of an issue on this one. We spent more time at a shallow depth, and the trees didn’t help. Doug had to track down one of us or the other a couple of times. We did remember our training – lose your buddy, look around for a minute, then surface. It worked just fine but interrupted an otherwise nice dive. My hands were really hot in the gloves on the first dive, so I left them off for this one. I should have left them on. I didn’t realize how cold it really got below the thermocline, and it was a little uncomfortable.
