Do you have a minimum viz or temp for a dive?

[ScubaSixString]

68ºF year round for just about all the FL panhandle springs. Try Morrison next time, less people, less artificial, and a better chance for less visibility LOL IMO Morrison kicks the crap outa Vortex!

I was certified in the springs..... great places.


Perhaps you can help me out. My instructor....long ago, referred to one we did one of out open water checkouts as "Blue Spring" Shaped kinda like a sock and supposedly had the opening into the cave system proper closed by explosive. Is that an accurate descripition of Morrison Blue? Because i can't find a blue spring that fits that description but Morrison Blue seems to.

Vortex was rather "Disneyworldish"

 

[Mo2vation]

No limits. Only safety and experience dictate where and in what I'll dive.

---
Ken

 

[Web Monkey]

For you, nobody else's limits matter, except yours.

Most of us dive until it's too cold, too hard to see, or too deep.

For some people that's 75 degree water and 50' viz 40 feet deep. For others it's 33 degrees, 5' viz and 200' deep. It all depends on what you've been trained for, what you're comfortable with and what you'll have fun doing.

Mr. "80 cubed" is entitled to do what he wants, also, however some of coolest wrecks and creatures hang out in colder water, with poorer viz.

It all dpends on what you're willing to put up with for what you want to see.

Terry

New to the sport and trying to define my personal limits on diving. I've dove in 68 degree water so far and was ok with it. Not sure how much colder I would like to go than that. But recently I did a dive where the viz was about 3-4 feet and didn't really enjoy it too much. Kinda like closing your eyes and swimming around in the pool. I think a lot of the enjoyment of the sport is being able to actually see something for me.

I talked to a rather knowledgeable diver lately who told me at this point he was an "80 cubed" diver. Needed 80 foot depth, 80 foot visability, and 80 degree water temp or he wasn't really that interested in going anymore.

What about you, do you have limits on what you will dive?

 

[novisdiver]

These preferences you speak of really depend on where you live and the finances you have available. Here in the North you don't have much of a choice as vis rarely gets above 20-30', average is about 10 to 15. Temps in mid summer at the surface are about 70 degrees and at depth low 50s or less depending on depth and site.

For me, my limit for wetsuit is 35F water, and vis I don't really have a preference as long as it's safe. I've done zero vis shore diving with some pretty nasty surf, which was a wild ride, but I certainly wouldn't recommend it to anyone. Air temp preference is always warm weather, but when you live in the North and dive in the winter time, that's a novelty too.

 

[Dive-aholic]

No limits. I've been in the low 40s so far (still looking forward to hitting the 30s). I've been in water so mucked up, the only reason I knew my buddy was still there was because I felt him (S&R). I have gone to lakes only to decide that I just didn't feel like getting in. That was more of a location thing than a conditions thing.

What enjoyment do you get out of a 2 foot visability dive? Is it more like a challenge thing where you can be proud of the accomplishment afterwards or is there something enjoyable to do in a 2 foot viz dive? I can't see it.

I guess at this point, scuba is all about what I can see underwater. If there's nothing to see, then I'm not interested.

It's just all about being under water and breathing from a reg. There's nothing better, even in cold, dark water.

I was certified in the springs..... great places.


Perhaps you can help me out. My instructor....long ago, referred to one we did one of out open water checkouts as "Blue Spring" Shaped kinda like a sock and supposedly had the opening into the cave system proper closed by explosive. Is that an accurate descripition of Morrison Blue? Because i can't find a blue spring that fits that description but Morrison Blue seems to.

Vortex was rather "Disneyworldish"

You're talking about Blue Spring in Orange City. It's about 45 minutes north of Orlando. Check out this link. I dove there last May and the water level was down about 15-20'. It made for a heck of an entry into the spring. The current was ripping.

 

[nessum]

Nope.
So far... the coldest I've been is 39*F, but I'm reasonably certain that one day I'd at least like to try my hand at ice diving... so I imagine I'll go colder. Normally I'm in about 45-52 degrees...
And viz. I've been in what I'd say qualifies as zero viz. You can usually get under it... but sometimes it doesn't really want to clear up no matter what depth you go to.

To Narced,
a good day is 10-20ft viz in Victoria? Really? Are you talking about summer?
Cuz a good day in summer here in Vancouver is 10-20, but.... as winter approaches. Once we got under a little bit of plankton soup today my buddy & I had probably over 25 feet of viz. And I've easily seen over 60ft of viz in the winter at many local dive sites.
I've been to the island a few times only to discover better viz. But never to Victoria. I would think it would be better as well...?

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

I was certified in the springs..... great places.


Perhaps you can help me out. My instructor....long ago, referred to one we did one of out open water checkouts as "Blue Spring" Shaped kinda like a sock and supposedly had the opening into the cave system proper closed by explosive. Is that an accurate descripition of Morrison Blue? Because i can't find a blue spring that fits that description but Morrison Blue seems to.

Vortex was rather "Disneyworldish"

Morrison's cave entrance was dynamited shut a few decades ago, it definately fits the description in that manner. Sock shape? I dunno about that, unless looking from above at the spring run, maybe? There are tons of springs reffered to as "Blue Springs", the closest one NW FL is Jackson Blue Spring in Merrits Mill Pond(Marianna), however, its cave system is wide open for people certified enough to explore it. There's also Madison Blue, Blue Spring on the Wacissa, Orange City Blue, and more; but they are further into FL.

Morrison is no more than 10miles South of Vortex as the crow flies. The basin funnels down and drops to a small cavern at 35' and then another very large cavern opening at 50' with depths to ~90'. You can see where the cave entrance used to be, there is still a small vent with alot of flow coming out. The blasting wire is still present and winds down underneath alot of sand/rock rubble from when it was blasted. There is another vent in the cavern that is supposedly possibly side mountable or more likely, no mountable. I've never seen anyone go in though. A hellovalotta flow coming out of either vent.

You're talking about Blue Spring in Orange City. It's about 45 minutes north of Orlando. Check out this link. I dove there last May and the water level was down about 15-20'. It made for a heck of an entry into the spring. The current was ripping.

As far as I know, without being there, the entrance to the cave system at Orange Cities Blue Spring has never been blown to prevent entry.

There are several "Blue Springs".

 

[CIBDiving]

Zero and slush - I'm rather put off by a rolling boil too

 

[ScubaSixString]

You're talking about Blue Spring in Orange City. It's about 45 minutes north of Orlando. Check out this link. I dove there last May and the water level was down about 15-20'. It made for a heck of an entry into the spring. The current was ripping.

Morrison's cave entrance was dynamited shut a few decades ago, it definately fits the description in that manner. Sock shape? I dunno about that, unless looking from above at the spring run, maybe? There are tons of springs reffered to as "Blue Springs", the closest one NW FL is Jackson Blue Spring in Merrits Mill Pond(Marianna), however, its cave system is wide open for people certified enough to explore it. There's also Madison Blue, Blue Spring on the Wacissa, Orange City Blue, and more; but they are further into FL.

Morrison is no more than 10miles South of Vortex as the crow flies. The basin funnels down and drops to a small cavern at 35' and then another very large cavern opening at 50' with depths to ~90'. You can see where the cave entrance used to be, there is still a small vent with alot of flow coming out. The blasting wire is still present and winds down underneath alot of sand/rock rubble from when it was blasted. There is another vent in the cavern that is supposedly possibly side mountable or more likely, no mountable. I've never seen anyone go in though. A hellovalotta flow coming out of either vent.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Dive-aholic
You're talking about Blue Spring in Orange City. It's about 45 minutes north of Orlando. Check out this link. I dove there last May and the water level was down about 15-20'. It made for a heck of an entry into the spring. The current was ripping.



As far as I know, without being there, the entrance to the cave system at Orange Cities Blue Spring has never been blown to prevent entry.

There are several "Blue Springs".

Thanks guys

IT was a couple o hours from orlando. Perhaps the attached pic (sorry its drawn from memory (and this was 10 years ago) will help. Supposedly there is a $5000 camera system under the rock that was dropped over the cave entrance (if that urban legend helps id the place.

 

[Dive-aholic]

...As far as I know, without being there, the entrance to the cave system at Orange Cities Blue Spring has never been blown to prevent entry.

There are several "Blue Springs".

My bad. I missed the part about the entry being blown. I read sock shaped and thought of Orange City Blue Spring right away.

The attached pic looks like Orange City Blue Spring, too, kind of.