GLENFWB
Contributor
I will post some of my pictures later:
Shagman and I decided to make a trip to the Mill Pond for a weekend of diving. I made a trip Friday to Marianna, Cave Adventures to meet with Ed, and get my new Nomad rig fitted and ready to dive for the weekend. Ed and Gordon were very helpful (as usual) in helping me get everything together, Nomad, new regulators setup, and cam bands on my 108's. I got everything together and headed back home with visions of sidemount dancing in my head as I tried to sleep.
I met Shagman at Cave Adventures at 9 AM, he got gas and we headed to JB for a couple of dives. We were happy to see that Jackson Blue had cleared up from the day before. JB was not it's usual unlimited visibility, it was milky and we estimated viz. to be somewhere around 40-50 feet. But, considering that many of the caves in Florida are flooded or blown out, we were very happy to have that much viz.
Ed from Cave Adventures came down to JB and helped me get my Nomad situated before I made my first dive. After Ed made a few adjustments, and I swam around the basin while testing things....Shagman and I headed in to JB for a short dive. We kept things simple....Shagman ran the reel so I could focus on sidemount diving.
My first dive in Sidemount
We ran the reel to the gold line, then we just explored around the cavern. I was also testing a Dive Rite 700 LED can light. I am trying to decide which light to purchase, so I was testing the 700 LED on Saturday, and was going to test the 15 Watt HID on Sunday.
In preparation for Intro. Cave class, Shagman and I decided to use sixths since he was using doubles and I was sidemount. After we hit turn pressure, we slowly made our way back out of the cavern. After we surfaced we reviewed our first dive in doubles.
Josh Hanging at JB Entrance
It was a beautiful sunny day so we decided to eat some sandwiches at JB while taking a short SI. Kenny P. was there doing a class with BigKen462 and Bamamedic. We ran in to all of them numerous times Saturday and Sunday. We all tried to hit alternating sites on the Mill Pond. We didn't want to interupt them while they were doing training. Look forward to hearing from them how their class went.
After a SI and some grub Shagman and I headed back in to JB for another dive. I brought my camera in the water this time. Shagman carried it with him to take a few pictures of me in sidemount. I wanted to see how my trim was working out and how my tanks were situated in the water. We tied the camera off to the gold line because I did not want to be task loading with a new sidemount and a camera. I picked it up on the way out and snapped a few pictures while exiting JB.
Glenfwb entering JB
Shagman in JB
We packed up our gear and headed to Cave Adventures for some fills. After fills Shagman and I decided to head over to Hole in the Wall to make a dive. Shagman brought his inflatable boat and motor. We headed to Dayloop boat launch. Shagman can setup his boat in no time. We filled the boat and headed across the pond to Hole in the Wall.
As we pulled up to the platform we noticed a guy in a kayak up against the shore looking in the hole in the limestone. The guy told us, "Hey, I found a Hole in the Wall". Shagman and I started laughing and told him that is exactly what this site is called. He had no idea there was a cave below the area he was looking at. He was a tourist staying at the camping area up by the dam. We told him in his honor we would start calling this location....Hole In The Wall! Okay, it was funny at the time!
We hit the water and found Hole to be pretty clear at the entrance. Shagman tied off to the log outside the entrance and we headed in toward the back. I was actually very excited to dive this site. I wanted to see if I could get through the restriction without touching the top or bottom in my sidemount. Going in I glided through but, still did the pull and glide.
We explored around the cavern for a while, tested the LED light some more, and explored some fossils, and generally stuck our head in any holes we found. Shagman was still running the reel so I headed back out first. I was pretty excited that I was able to go with the flow and made it through the restriction without touching to much.
We still had a little daylight, so we decided to head over to Twin Caves. When we got there the platform was occupied with some fishermen. We decided not to battle them for the spot. We headed to ShangraLa, saw how milky it was and decided to call it a day.
I was ready for some food. We packed up and headed over to the luxurious Executive Inn to get a room. When we got to our room we found Kevin Carlisle was staying in the room beside us. After shooting the breeze for a while with Kevin, we decided to make our regular trip over to Old Mexico. We reviewed the day over food and made a plan for our dives Sunday.
Sunday morning we met Stasia (Cumfieldhockey) at Cave Adventures at 8 AM. While getting fills Bugman and Dale arrived. Bugman had the Miss Jellyfish tied up at Ed's docks. In honor of Stasia's birthday, Shagman, Stasia, and I decided to rent a pontoon boat for the day. I was going to test a 15 Watt HID light but Ed's loaner was not back yet. So, Ed asked me try his 24 watt HID he had for sale.
Wow, what a great light. That light sure lit up the cave entrance at Twin!! Shagman and I were both impressed with this light. If you want a strong HID, talk to Ed about the 24 Watt that Dive Rite makes exclusively for him....pretty sweet!
Loaded Up Pontoon Boat
Stasia Moving Gear
After some discussion, we all decided to head over to Gator Hole for our first dive. We loaded up the pontoon boat, Dale and Mat loaded their boat and we all met at Gator. There is not platform at Gator so we found a place under the trees to put the pontoon so we could get back on the boat without to much effort.
Gator Hole
Five us headed in to Gator Hole together. Stasia, Mat, and Dale were heading in to the cave, while Shagman and I headed back to do some exploring of our own. Gator is a messy cavern because there is a lot of grass that goes farther back in to the cavern because there is a dry cave over much of the cavern you are diving. It is pretty cool to stick your head up above the water in places and see dry cave above you.
Shagman and I explored for a while and headed back out to the boat. We recalculated, and headed back in for another dive and decided to practice some different skills. We all met back at the boat, laughed at Bugman while he crawled back in the Miss Jellyfish, and decided to head to Twin Caves. After a short ride to Twin we geared up and had the same plan.
The three cavers would go in to the cave while Shagman and I would explore the cavern. We made two dives at Twin. It was really great on the way out to see the
large number of brim that were hanging out by the cavern entrance. I kept thinking what an awesome picture it would make if I had my camera....I left it in the boat because I knew I needed to really focus on bouyancy in Twin so as not to silt the place up. Shagman and I were really pretty proud that after two dives at Twin, the visibility in the cavern was still pretty darn good.
I was happy with the way my sidemount performed in Twin...I really like the 24 Watt light, but I am not sure I can justify the extra expense.
Shagman and I decided to call it a day. We knew it would be getting late after we got fills. The weather was starting to get pretty nasty, so we decided to call it a day, get fills, settle the bill, shoot the breeze at the shop with everyone, and then head back home.
Shagman with Camera in hand
We had a great time diving, and as always we had a great time visiting with old and new friends. Thanks to Ed and Gordon at Cave Adventures for all the help.
Shagman and I decided to make a trip to the Mill Pond for a weekend of diving. I made a trip Friday to Marianna, Cave Adventures to meet with Ed, and get my new Nomad rig fitted and ready to dive for the weekend. Ed and Gordon were very helpful (as usual) in helping me get everything together, Nomad, new regulators setup, and cam bands on my 108's. I got everything together and headed back home with visions of sidemount dancing in my head as I tried to sleep.
I met Shagman at Cave Adventures at 9 AM, he got gas and we headed to JB for a couple of dives. We were happy to see that Jackson Blue had cleared up from the day before. JB was not it's usual unlimited visibility, it was milky and we estimated viz. to be somewhere around 40-50 feet. But, considering that many of the caves in Florida are flooded or blown out, we were very happy to have that much viz.
Ed from Cave Adventures came down to JB and helped me get my Nomad situated before I made my first dive. After Ed made a few adjustments, and I swam around the basin while testing things....Shagman and I headed in to JB for a short dive. We kept things simple....Shagman ran the reel so I could focus on sidemount diving.
My first dive in Sidemount
We ran the reel to the gold line, then we just explored around the cavern. I was also testing a Dive Rite 700 LED can light. I am trying to decide which light to purchase, so I was testing the 700 LED on Saturday, and was going to test the 15 Watt HID on Sunday.
In preparation for Intro. Cave class, Shagman and I decided to use sixths since he was using doubles and I was sidemount. After we hit turn pressure, we slowly made our way back out of the cavern. After we surfaced we reviewed our first dive in doubles.
Josh Hanging at JB Entrance
It was a beautiful sunny day so we decided to eat some sandwiches at JB while taking a short SI. Kenny P. was there doing a class with BigKen462 and Bamamedic. We ran in to all of them numerous times Saturday and Sunday. We all tried to hit alternating sites on the Mill Pond. We didn't want to interupt them while they were doing training. Look forward to hearing from them how their class went.
After a SI and some grub Shagman and I headed back in to JB for another dive. I brought my camera in the water this time. Shagman carried it with him to take a few pictures of me in sidemount. I wanted to see how my trim was working out and how my tanks were situated in the water. We tied the camera off to the gold line because I did not want to be task loading with a new sidemount and a camera. I picked it up on the way out and snapped a few pictures while exiting JB.
Glenfwb entering JB
Shagman in JB
We packed up our gear and headed to Cave Adventures for some fills. After fills Shagman and I decided to head over to Hole in the Wall to make a dive. Shagman brought his inflatable boat and motor. We headed to Dayloop boat launch. Shagman can setup his boat in no time. We filled the boat and headed across the pond to Hole in the Wall.
As we pulled up to the platform we noticed a guy in a kayak up against the shore looking in the hole in the limestone. The guy told us, "Hey, I found a Hole in the Wall". Shagman and I started laughing and told him that is exactly what this site is called. He had no idea there was a cave below the area he was looking at. He was a tourist staying at the camping area up by the dam. We told him in his honor we would start calling this location....Hole In The Wall! Okay, it was funny at the time!
We hit the water and found Hole to be pretty clear at the entrance. Shagman tied off to the log outside the entrance and we headed in toward the back. I was actually very excited to dive this site. I wanted to see if I could get through the restriction without touching the top or bottom in my sidemount. Going in I glided through but, still did the pull and glide.
We explored around the cavern for a while, tested the LED light some more, and explored some fossils, and generally stuck our head in any holes we found. Shagman was still running the reel so I headed back out first. I was pretty excited that I was able to go with the flow and made it through the restriction without touching to much.
We still had a little daylight, so we decided to head over to Twin Caves. When we got there the platform was occupied with some fishermen. We decided not to battle them for the spot. We headed to ShangraLa, saw how milky it was and decided to call it a day.
I was ready for some food. We packed up and headed over to the luxurious Executive Inn to get a room. When we got to our room we found Kevin Carlisle was staying in the room beside us. After shooting the breeze for a while with Kevin, we decided to make our regular trip over to Old Mexico. We reviewed the day over food and made a plan for our dives Sunday.
Sunday morning we met Stasia (Cumfieldhockey) at Cave Adventures at 8 AM. While getting fills Bugman and Dale arrived. Bugman had the Miss Jellyfish tied up at Ed's docks. In honor of Stasia's birthday, Shagman, Stasia, and I decided to rent a pontoon boat for the day. I was going to test a 15 Watt HID light but Ed's loaner was not back yet. So, Ed asked me try his 24 watt HID he had for sale.
Wow, what a great light. That light sure lit up the cave entrance at Twin!! Shagman and I were both impressed with this light. If you want a strong HID, talk to Ed about the 24 Watt that Dive Rite makes exclusively for him....pretty sweet!
Loaded Up Pontoon Boat
Stasia Moving Gear
After some discussion, we all decided to head over to Gator Hole for our first dive. We loaded up the pontoon boat, Dale and Mat loaded their boat and we all met at Gator. There is not platform at Gator so we found a place under the trees to put the pontoon so we could get back on the boat without to much effort.
Gator Hole
Five us headed in to Gator Hole together. Stasia, Mat, and Dale were heading in to the cave, while Shagman and I headed back to do some exploring of our own. Gator is a messy cavern because there is a lot of grass that goes farther back in to the cavern because there is a dry cave over much of the cavern you are diving. It is pretty cool to stick your head up above the water in places and see dry cave above you.
Shagman and I explored for a while and headed back out to the boat. We recalculated, and headed back in for another dive and decided to practice some different skills. We all met back at the boat, laughed at Bugman while he crawled back in the Miss Jellyfish, and decided to head to Twin Caves. After a short ride to Twin we geared up and had the same plan.
The three cavers would go in to the cave while Shagman and I would explore the cavern. We made two dives at Twin. It was really great on the way out to see the
large number of brim that were hanging out by the cavern entrance. I kept thinking what an awesome picture it would make if I had my camera....I left it in the boat because I knew I needed to really focus on bouyancy in Twin so as not to silt the place up. Shagman and I were really pretty proud that after two dives at Twin, the visibility in the cavern was still pretty darn good.
I was happy with the way my sidemount performed in Twin...I really like the 24 Watt light, but I am not sure I can justify the extra expense.
Shagman and I decided to call it a day. We knew it would be getting late after we got fills. The weather was starting to get pretty nasty, so we decided to call it a day, get fills, settle the bill, shoot the breeze at the shop with everyone, and then head back home.
Shagman with Camera in hand
We had a great time diving, and as always we had a great time visiting with old and new friends. Thanks to Ed and Gordon at Cave Adventures for all the help.
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There were a lot of pieces of turtle shells and the place we turned at there was a big turtle shell several feet long. I guess the gators got the turtles!
Finally!
