Join us on Monday, May 2nd for the OTB Dive Club meeting (Blue Water Divers) at the Dog & Cask at 55 Rt. 17 South in Rochelle Park, NJ when I will be presenting further developments on our ongoing expedition diving the Tilly Foster-Deep Flooded Mine. The Tilly Foster Mine is in Putnam County, NY. It operated from 1810-1897. At its zenith, it employed over 300 migrant workers and moved 7,000 tons of iron ore per month. It was the largest man-made pit and deepest in the world at it's close in 1897, at 725' deep. It flooded soon when pumps were eliminated. This mine has never been explored, although International Underwater Contractors constructed a dive platform on pontoons in 1983, and operated a hard hat dive school until about 1990. I have led the exploration since 2014 and has conducted some 66 dives to the mine, in 49 days of diving. With a strong group of technical divers, they have discovered lost tunnels, located stolen vehicles, recovered a safe from one car, and marked many vehicles from the 1920's-1930's that were dumped before World War II. With a maximum depth now at 325', I have been to the bottom on seven dives! I have some very interesting video from some of the dives and will be filling us in on the future plans for this expedition.
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