Ginnie Springs Trip Report - 12/17/05

After much changing and attempts to bail, eventually four of us showed up on a rainy and cold saturday morning to head off to Ginnie Springs for some cave and cavern diving. Almost no one was at Ginnie due to the weather, which was good when you were in the water, but pointed out who the smart people were ( not us). Regardless two of us who were cave divers headed into the devils ear, while the two OWs puttered around in the basin. Flow was typical, temperature typical and we swam to about 500 feet in, before returning slowly and checking out some side features, then exiting through the eye to find our OW buddies waiting. After giving them a view of the cavern, we all froze to death getting from the water to the warm showers.

After some hot choc, and topping off with nitrox, we headed back into Devils for a farther penetration to 1000ft, where devils opens into a huge room which swallows up our lights. Then, we dropped off the OW divers at the ballroom so they could check out the cavern there. By then it was pouring down rain, so we headed home for the most dangerous part of the day, getting on the highway.

Full report and pics can be found here - http://northfloridadiver.net/triprep/gin1205/gin1205.htm

This was certainly one of the better dive trips I've been on. Although the weather conspired against us, the water was warm, and the trip into the ballroom was surreal. We were the only two divers in the spring, and the only two in the ballroom.

Jon, thanks for the use of the HID. It made my buddy's experience a lot more fun. It was the first dive I've ever led, and I was very happy to show him around in there. He did a great job, and I had a lot of fun. Glad we did this.

OOOOHHH, PF, you got to the ballroom! MAJOR envious vibes here.

TS&M, this was my third trip into the Ballroom. I do it every time I'm at Ginnie. This was my first time taking an HID in there though and not just my pitiful backup light!

While it is typically a no-no for non-cavern certified divers to enter most caverns, this one is considered "OW Safe" whatever that means. I've been in two other caverns, but have either just swam around near the entrance, or have entered with several cave divers while still having my own light, and a firm idea of where the line and exit was.

The diving in N. FL. opens up tremedously with a cavern certification, and is something many people here pursue quite soon after OW or AOW. Living in your area, I don't know that this would be as useful. I'm thinknig of moving my timetable up on my Cavern class from next fall to next spring, just to have more freshwater systems available to me.

As a side note, I've had some people ask why I have those reflective bands and letters on my tank. If you look at the pics on Jon's site, and see the photo with me suiting up, you'll see why. For those of you who dive in the murk, it REALLY helps people locate you, and know who it is they are looking at.

Where do you get your reflective bands? They look as though they would be very useful in PNW murk as well.

I got that at Home Depot or Lowes. Came in a roll, but it wasn't enough for two tanks.

TSandM:

Where do you get your reflective bands? They look as though they would be very useful in PNW murk as well.

Click to expand...

I have been thinking about using the reflective house numbers for the MOD markings on my deco cylinders, I read a post either here or over at the deco stop about that and it makes good sense to me, at least in a cave.

Mark Vlahos

Not sure if you follow what GUE is up to or not, but they've gone to these numbers a LONG time ago. Personally, I think it makes terrific sense for either stage/deco bottles or lettering the tanks. Any gilmmer of light and they just light up tremendously. In daylight they even give back a slight reflective quality and make reading things easy.

I have them on my singles as well as doubles. On the doubles tanks, I have them on the side, just above centerline so that the name can be read from the side, and you can see the reflective surface from above the diver as well.

I've seen some divers put smaller versions with their initials on their can lights as well just to add some reflectivity in case they get a light shined on them from below. I also have my initials on the bottom of my fins.

Nope, not GUE. They have lots of really good ideas, and I think that it is good to sit back and analyze the gear, I just think that there is a little more room for flexibility. Besides I like my computer since it always displays the time, and depth... never locks me out, not that I bend it, but I can still choose to follow it or tables.

Mark Vlahos

Mark,

While I won't turn this into a GUE plus or minus debate, they *DO* use computers and track time and depth with them. They just don't use them for deco information.

I do agree they have a lot of good information. And yea, some if it is pretty rigid, but most of it is straight Hogarthian to be honest. At least as far as the gear is concerned.