Sunday August 13, 2000 : A small group from Patowmack Divers Dive Club went down to Lake Rawlings this past Sunday, 8/13, for some fine (!) quarry diving. Despite rainy weather up in the DC-area, it was mostly sunny in Rawlings, save for a few sprinkles. Our 3-man buddy team entered the water around 11am and swam on the surface to the far end of the 20+-acre quarry. The temperature on the surface was 84 degrees!! It's a lot farther than it looks, so we had a leisurely swim, conserving energy by swimming on our backs, enjoying the beautiful blue sky and clouds. Once we reached the far end of the quarry, we descended down the wall to 40 feet. A visual distortion at 30 feet wasn't necessary to tell us that we had hit a thermocline! Guilhem motioned to ascend a bit, and I signaled John D. to go up to 27 feet. We followed the perimeter of the quarry, all the way back to the entry ramp. Along the way, we were escorted by a hefty bass who would stop and wait for us whenever we paused. One pause was for a dead frog laying upside-down on an outcropping. Another stop was to get a pebble out of John's bootie (not his butt!), and we moved along. We reached a newer "wreck" a small cabin cruiser with a pilot house tall enough to stand in. We hit our max depth of 53 feet while there, noticing the chilly water (assumed to be 52 degrees) for less than 2 minutes. Guess why? Brrrrrr! We passed 2 other underwater "wrecks" and the Buick LeSabre and ended up discovering a new edition to the quarry's collection of vehicles - a white Ford escort. The engine and interior had been removed. Guilhem noticed the tires still had air in them. Not anymore! After frolicking about a little more, we exited after 74 minutes of bottom time and had lunch. Our second dive plan was to dip down to the first boat on the "Deep Water Tour", then follow the crest of the wall, visit the school bus, then meander back towards the entry ramp. A small navigation error gave us an opportunity to practice our bouyancy skills in open water. Eventually, instinct took over, and we bee-lined over to the school bus. John took a shot at the wheel, and Guilhem and I had fun tracing the route of air bubbles as they escaped through the roof. We returned to the Escort, then made our way up the entry ramp, watching as 2 divers fed a huge school of bream with some canned cheese. The b*st*rds ditched the spent cans under the training platform, oblivious to the fact that we were watching them! We exited Dive #2 after 70 minutes of bottom time. All in all, it was a fantastic day! The water temperature around 25-35 feet was 74 degrees, which is great since many of the quarry's attractions are in the comfort zone. Visibility well exceeded 30 feet in many areas. The day rate has gone up to $15, from $12 last year, but it's still a great value!! If you've never dived there, now's a great time - the water's warm and the weather has definitely improved.