patowmack divers

Welcome to Patowmack Divers

Patowmack Divers is a social group of people with a common interest: SCUBA DIVING!! Our members are male and female, from 20s to mid 70s. Our diving experience ranges from recently certified to retired instructors from warm water photographers, to deep wreck technical divers, and cave divers.

Patowmack Divers arranges several dive trips per year to locations off Virginia and Maryland seashores, Outer Banks, NC, and other great dive sites in the United States, the Caribbean, and beyond. Group purchasing power allows us to enjoy discounts on charters, rentals, and accommodations. We are also active in preservation, research, and environmental protection. We take full advantage of the aquatic expertise in the DC metro area for speakers at our meetings, including such diverse topics as Underwater Archeology, Reef Ecology, Treasure Hunting Expeditions, and Aquarium setup and operations.

We also have an annual Pasta Pigout to enjoy fresh pasta, good sauce, good wine, and good conversation.

Where We Dive

The short answer is anywhere. Club dive trips can be two divers or a dozen. Our recent dive trips include local quarries, West Palm Beach, Cozumel, Puerto Rico, Belize, St. Vincent, Palau, Sidapan, the Philipines, and Indonesia.

2024 Meetings

Patowmack Divers meets the first Monday of the month, unless it's a federal holiday, in which case we will select a meeting date to work with club members and Mylo's.

We are now holding hybrid meetings giving divers the option of joining us in person at Mylo's Grill (6238 Old Dominion Dr., McLean, VA 22101) or on Zoom We a social half hour starting at 7:00 pm. This is a chance to talk, order drinks and food, etc. The meeting starts with club business at 7:30. Our meetings usually end between 9:00 and 9:30 pm.

Wednesday, September 11, 2024

After club business, club member Jim Christenson will talk about his experiences diving the Cocos Islands and share his video footage of the diving there.

Monday, August 5, 2024

After club business, we will have a discussion with Kelly Johnson-Arbor who visited us last year to talk about decompression sickness and COVID. This time she will tell us about the things we should be watchful for in our fellow divers that might indicate decompression sickness.

Monday, July 1, 2024

After club business, our main feature will be presented by Gloria and Eric about their trip to Grand Turk.

Monday, June 3, 2024

Our main feature will be presented by Ed about the Blue Heron Bridge in Riviera Beach, FL and is entitled “The bridge, sunny 80+, warm water 80+, 20'+ milky visibility makes for a perfect early May dive trip.”

Monday, May 6, 2024

Rhonda will present “Rhonda’s Most Excellent Adventures - Antarctica and South America”.

Monday, April 1, 202r

After club business, there will be presentations from those of us who went to Cozumel, MX in February.

Monday, March 4, 2024

After club business, I will present a few photos (some land and some underwater) from my trip to Hawai’i last October.

Monday, February 5, 2024

Erik Petkovic will talk at about the U-1105, which is sunk in the Potomac. His talk will start at 8:15 pm following club business.

U-1105 is a modified Type VII-C German submarine built at the Nordseewerke Shipyard in Emden, Germany, and was commissioned in the Kriegsmarine. Nicknamed "Black Panther", U-1105 was one of only 13 submarines outfitted with an experimental rubber skin known as Alberich. The skin was designed to evade Allied sonar - an early stealth technology.

During U-1105's only war patrol, she torpedoed the British frigate HMS Redmill killing 32 crewmen.

U-1105 surrendered at Loch Eriboll, Scotland at the end of World War Two and was a sought-after war prize for study of its unique rubber skin. After radar, snorkel, and noise trials by the British Royal Navy, U- 1105 was transferred to the US Navy which used U-1105 for explosive testing.

A 250-pound depth charge sent U-1105 to the bottom of the Potomac River in 1949 for the sixth and final time. U-1105 remained lost to history until she was re-discovered in 1985 in 91 feet (27.7 meters) of water. U-1105 is the most accessible U-boat off the US East Coast.

Monday, January 8, 2024

Following club business, Kris will show some pictures from Hawaii and Eric will talk about how the bends and caisson disease became understood."

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