C oper River Dive Charters

Site: Name: Old Bone Yard
River: Cooper River

Coordinates: N32 59.328 W79 55.528

NOAA Tidal Station: General Dynamics/ Cooper River
Charleston Harbor Tidal Station Differences
Times: High +1 hr. 40 min.
Low +1 hr. 24 min.
Heights: High *0.84, Low *1.11

Best Dive: Some of the best times to dive here are about one hour.
prior to the tidal flow ebbing and one hour after that tide starts it flood
flow. Visibily can be nbearly zero here at times when the tide flow is at
a stop..

Description: Approximately 1.5 miles above the Bushy Park Landing you find the “Old Bone Yard”. The fossil bed here lies near the east bank of the river just north east of the salinity monitoring station (small white building at waters edge) and extends almost mid river just past channel marker 105.

Dive Briefing: Best to arrive here on a stopping ebb tide and then dive the start of the incoming flood tide. But dives here can easily be done on the start or stop of either ebb or flood. Dive mid river at marker 105 and work your way south near the east bank on an ebb tide. The fossil bed is also at mid turn in the river and a little east of the turn. Divers have been dive this turn for years and it still gives up fossil after fossil.

Hazards: Heavy Boat Traffic - Tug Boats and Barges and Recreational Boaters. Stingrays often seen in this section of the river along with other wildlife. Bottoms currents here are often stronger than surface currents. Many divers have surfaced here and complained of the rough currents when diving this site at cresting flood tide. Visibility can be as low as a few inches also during the flood tide, hey that why its \black water diving!

Shipping Hazards - Ocassiomally large ships may pass through this area and with deep drafts. One such ship The Salamina from NAVESCO shipping hailg from Pamama has a draft ot 7.06m (24 feet) a Lentgh of 188.79m (400 feet) and the beam width of 15.3m (52 feet). These ships haul materials in and out of Nucor Steel's Berkeley Plant. Examine the pictures below of the Salamina and see the draft unloaded when arriving at Nucor and whike being loaded.

Divers should consider air management while diving this area and manage air supply wisely, saving at least 1000 psi for escape should a large vessels pass overhead. If low on air divers should swim towards the nearest shore and get in the shallowest water as possible. Depths here mid-river run between 40 and 55 feet. Tugboats pushing barges and large vessels can be heard easily and when your hugging the bottom can vibrate the water column and the bottom. If you have enough air supply and are in 40 to 50 feet of water stay down hug the bottom and allow the vessel to pass, again if low on air go to the nearest shore. Tugs with barges usually hug the east bank when traveling up or down river.