Manatee Dive-Crystal River FINAL

[captsuzieholstead]

King's Springs is the main Diving spot at Crystal River. The spring is 30' deep, but has a cavern that drops to 50'. There is a manatee statue at 19'.
The cavern has two entrances ~ exits. It's crystal clear, 50' deep and 50' in length with lots of nooks and crannys to peer into. I personally think its a pretty safe dive, but I heard that the diver that died decided to take his tank off so that he could get into one of the small areas that you couldn't fit into with gear on. Once he got in, he couldn't get back out or got stuck, or something to that effect. If you just play it smart and stay in the areas that your supposed to be in, then things are fairly safe. Safety definately won't hender the dive.

 

[simbrooks]

King's Springs is the main Diving spot at Crystal River. The spring is 30' deep, but has a cavern that drops to 50'. There is a manatee statue at 19'.
The cavern has two entrances ~ exits. It's crystal clear, 50' deep and 50' in length with lots of nooks and crannys to peer into. I personally think its a pretty safe dive, but I heard that the diver that died decided to take his tank off so that he could get into one of the small areas that you couldn't fit into with gear on. Once he got in, he couldn't get back out or got stuck, or something to that effect. If you just play it smart and stay in the areas that your supposed to be in, then things are fairly safe. Safety definately won't hender the dive.

I am not saying its "unsafe" to the extreme, i was wondering with that much traffic if this might be a sensible precaution. If it were just me and a buddy i would feel ok doing it without a line, but would probably run one just in case. I heard the diver went in alone, silted out, saw some light up the chimney at the back and tried to get out that way - there was a thread on it somewhere. I know that many in this group have done this cavern and the other commercial "OW safe" caverns (Ginnie, Paradise, Devils Den, and Blue Grotto) so many of them kind of know the drill of the video that they show and some of the protocols about keeping an eye on the line and which way is out. According to Ken, when he and Jarrod did a bit of diveyaking this summer that the viz was something like 10ft in the basin - although that might have been summer algae bloom which might have gone away by now. I do recall it being clear, but if someone gets near the bottom could they stir it up? Just a bit of a concern, i recall Wendy's comments a while back regarding the last organised trip there that there were many in the cavern and no line was run - am i starting to sound like her??? Maybe i should go DIR and leave the board??? :11: Like i said i have only done it once, recall roughly the layout, but certainly it might be overkill or at worst a little extra "insurance".

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

Necessary or not, if you have a caver volunteering to run a line, it would be added insurance for a safer OW dive. Why not take advantage of it?

I'd really like to attend this trip, but I've got to see what my financial situation is going to be like first... Christmas is coming up and all... damned presents to buy. I know I don't have alotta time to figure this out, so we'll see.

 

[Scuba_Jenny]

Hermit Crab and I are in for Saturday snorkeling. I have to be back Sunday afternoon, so no plans so far for Sunday.

 

[CBulla]

It's not much of a cavern... no worse than Ginny

Its a fun dive on a sunny warm day

 

[Corigan]

I'm going to be in Crystal River diving with one of my LDS the 10th-12th. I am going to be finishing off my AOW there. I had already booked the trip before I saw this one get together or I would come out with you all. Would still like to meet up with any/all of you for a meet and greet. Possibly even dinner if anybody is around Friday or Saturday night. Hope you all have a great trip,

Matt

 

[cardzard]

I agree with Suzie and Colin the cavern is pretty much a no brainer dive like Ginnie but it's not as large and if there is a crowd it gets silted up quick as I remember. You would think that the local shops would have ran a permanent line by now since most offer a snorkel/dive tour. I hoping for few boats and large schools of fish looking to get near the spring. It would be great to see the schools tarpon that gather there in the winter. Suzie have you been seeing many schools of fish starting to show up in the bay ? Also how are the manatee #'s looking in the bay ? I seen a picture few weeks ago in the newspaper showing aerial shot of the protected area, you could almost walk across water there were so many. Matt good luck with your AOW.

 

[H2Andy]

I agree with Suzie and Colin the cavern is pretty much a no brainer dive like Ginnie but it's not as large and if there is a crowd it gets silted up quick as I remember.

there are at least three extremely dangerous places in that
cavern for someone with little or no cavern dive training.

specifically, there is a dead-end room that if you go into and silt
it, you may never make your way out. there is also a "cove"
out of the daylight zone that if you get disoriented in (unlikely)
at the wrong time (low air) you might get into trouble.

finally, there is a treacherous shaft that winds its way through
a very silty floor and up several layers of undisturbed sediment
that, if disturbed, will greatly reduce vis. the greatest
danger here is entrapment, as it gets rather narrow.

and, like with all caverns, the main cavern is easy to dive IF
all goes well. IF nothing goes wrong, yeah, it's easy.

IF something does go wrong, do you know what to do?
i can guarantee you that you will not be able to make it to
the surface from the middle of the cavern in one breath.

what's your plan?

is your buddy reliable? will he stay next to you?

guys, any cavern (even the Ginnie cavern) can kill you in
the blink of an eye.

don't take this lightly.

 

[CBulla]

Ahhhhhhh.. well, I didn't exactly take a flash light with me and I'm not the stick my head in holes like a turtle type.. I was thinking it was a hole inna ground that had a statue in it and was quite surprised with the little Florida room type side hole to swim in circles in and out of.

 

[cardzard]

I would agree with you on the fact that there are parts and situations that could be dangerous at King spring cavern. However as with ANY overhead enviorment to dive without a buddy or try to get into small areas filled with silt is plain FOOLISH. I still feel the main cavern with lights and a buddy is a SAFE dive for anyone with good diving practices. Perhaps my "NO BRAINER" statement was not the best choice of words but this is NOT rocket science either IMO. It's just not that big of a cavern.