SASD Sunset: Site Closure.

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:15:00 +0000

It’s been a long, fun ride since 2003 when San Antonio Scuba Divers started as a group friends looking to dive as much as possible. We have made a lot of lifelong friends, ventured out on some memorable trips, and drank a lot of beer over the years. It is my regret to inform you that I will not be renewing the hosting for www.sanantonioscubadivers.com and the website will be shutting down for good on 4/5/2012.

Blue Water is in at South Padre

Tue, 12 Jul 2011 18:38:00 +0000

I've been seeing reports that the blue water has returned to South Pardre. American Diving are currently running the "Tons of Steel" trips for $225 (2 tanks Clipper/ 1 tank rig) and runing a few Friday rig trips for $125. July-September is the best time for calm seas and blue water on the Texas Gulf Coast.

SASD Summer Social

Mon, 06 Jun 2011 13:44:00 +0000

Texadelphia

Monday June 6, 2011 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM

13111 San Pedro Ave #101, San Antonio, TX 78216

Come out and join us for cheesesteaks, dive stories, and fun.

$2 drafts, $5 pitchers of Ziegen Bock

www.texadelphia.com/

Rain!!!

Thu, 12 May 2011 16:40:00 +0000

We've got rain!!!

Valhalla Missile Silo

Tue, 10 May 2011 14:17:00 +0000

The Dive Site

The Dive Site The Valhalla Missile Silo is one of the most unique dive sites in Texas. It was the home to one of several Atlas Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles Silos built around Abilene, TX during the cold war era. Once the need for ICBMs was gone, the US Air Force started disarming these silos, leaving their concrete husks behind. Nature eventually took over and ground water started seeping in to the silo.

The Location

32.21N, 100.05W best describes the location Valhalla Missile Silo. It’s basically in the middle of Nowhere, Texas off of US-277, surrounded by a field of Wind Turbines. Abilene is the closest city to the site at about 30 miles. I recommend bringing food and drinks to the site to save you the drive.

The Stairs

The only way to the Main Operating Deck is to climb down about seven flights of stairs. I recommend at the end of each dive, bring up you expensed tank to spread out the work load over the day.

The Main Operating Deck

The Main Operating deck is the home of the Staging Area (on the right) and the Dive Platform (on the Left).

The Staging Area

The Staging Area holds a few tables and benches and a full working bathroom.

A few items I would like to bring up are:

The the room is quite dark. There is very little light and found myself constantly using my dive light when trying to set up my gear.
The ground has a lot of dirt that becomes mud after a few dives.
It did appear as if the Staging Area was under construction since there was a lot of building materials lying about. This also posed an issue since there were a lot of sharp objects hiding in the dark that could grab a geared up diver.
Benches and tables are limited and get taken up fast.

The Dive Platform

The Dive Platform is a floating dock about 60ft at the bottom of a wire suspended staircase. Being one who doesn’t care too much for heights, I found this the most challenging part of the dive. As you make the way to the platform, you can fell the stair sway with every step. The platform itself is about 16 ft by 16 ft and will shift based on people moving around or stepping on to the platform. So if you don’t need to be on the platform, don’t. From this point, sit down on the platform, and do a front roll into the water. The platform has a sturdy ladder for exiting the water.

Cold but Crystal Clear…..

The water here is a nice 68-72 degrees year round with crystal water. If you have a good eLED or HID dive light you can wall to wall. The concrete tube is about 60 feet in diameter and has a depth of 130-110 feet, dependent upon the current water table levels.

Access to the Site

The dives can be arranged though the Family Scuba Center Inc in Midland, TX at 432-686-7333. The dive requires a minimum group of 12 with an insured Dive Master.

Key Notes:

The nearest dive shop is Midland, Texas.

No Air fills on site.
Pack a good Save-A-Dive Kit.

Nearest Food is 30 miles away. Pack a lunch.

Google Map:

View Larger Map

Based on a dive trip to Valhalla in 2009.