Need Info: Merrit's Mill Pond and all the springs that go with it.

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SuPrBuGmAn

Contributor
Messages
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Location
Tallahassee, FL
# of dives
500 - 999
Do they allow motor boats in this pond? I read average depth is 15', if thats correct, I don't think my inflatable will have a problem. Is there alot of boat traffic? How is visibility? Do the springs flood easily since they are all directly off a large body of water?

What do the springs have for OW divers? I understand you can't dive Blue Spring w/o cave cert, but the rest is fair game - I'm not doing any cave diving, but wouldn't mind peaking inside a cavern for a picture or two. Not possible though, is it?

Twin Caves looks to be in the middle of the pond, are they hard to find or is there clear water boiling up enough to locate it on most days? Will an OW diver that knows not to exceed his limits have anything to do while at this site?

Gator Hole... First off, how often can you expect gators? :D LOL Anything outside of the cave to look at?

Shangri La looks nice, but small, there is supposed to be a 35' fissure in 20' of water close by... should allow for a bit of down time, no matter what certification.

What the heck is Hole in the Wall? Other than the obvious... Anything there to expect other than a cave that I won't be going into?

Indian Washtub is supposed to be silty, often, but it still looks to be interesting.


Just gettin some general info - I've done searches online, but they are fairly brief in description.
 
Yes, they allow motors, no it's not 15' deep, Edd rents out pontoon boats for a reason. No boat traffic, viz is excellent, the springs I've been to don't flood.

Jackson would be the best site for OW, the county doesn't allow access through the park, but if you went by boat... One of the better caverns I've seen.

Twin is marked by a dock built into some trees on the right hand side as you're heading towards Jackson, just a depression in the bottom with the cave entrance, this cave is VERY SILTY, I can't stress that enough, you really have no business being inside it unless you're trained and your skills are spot-on. Probably not reason enough for scuba, snorkeling it would be better.

Hole In The Wall is another dock, about 300' past Edd's on the right hand side with another dock, another depression and a very small cavern, if you would even call it a cavern, with a restriction in the "back" to get to the cave, not much to see for the non-cave trained diver, again, snorkeling would be better.

Twin and Hole are not caves to mess around with, they aren't easy-in, easy-out like Ginnie or Vortex, training is a MUST.
 
Thanks for the info.

So I'd be allowed in Jackson Blue as long as I come in by boat, excellent. It looks like this spring is the major attraction, I was just unclear whether or not I would be allowed in it. Stay outa Hole in the Wall and Twin Caves, gotcha, I'll get my pictures without going into the depression.

I think I may try to get out there sometime in February, probably bring two tanks. One for Jackson Blue and the other to hit the rest of the springs combined.
 
The ballrooom (cavern) at JB is supposed to be most awesome, but not divable from shore without Intro to Cave. I want to go.... May need to rent that boat....
 
SuPrBuGmAn:
So I'd be allowed in Jackson Blue as long as I come in by boat, excellent.

Ehh, I don't think it's an 'allowed' as much as a 'can't keep you locked out' sort of thing.

Personally I'm not really sure what's there for the OW diver. I mean, Hole in the Wall is just that... a hole under a rock wall in about 6 feet of water. As for JB, imagine diving a sandy beach. Sure, there's a big hole in the ground, but unless you're going into the overhead, or you just like staring at holes in the ground, you'll probably be pretty much bored to tears in 5 minutes or so. I've not been to the others, but I can't imagine they are any different then Hole.

Morrison was too messy when I was down there to know what it's like, to make a comparison to something you dive vs. what JB and the rest of the mill pond is like. But if I was just OW certified, Vortex compared to JB is like comparing a shore dive to a pool.
 
"Can't keep me locked out" is good enough for me :) I'll find a way to keep my self busy under there.

Morrison is pretty much a sand bowl with a limestone hole in the middle that leads to a small cavern that gets silted and a large one that stays clear due to flow. The basin is surrounded by cypress trees that house all kinds of wildlife. There isn't much to it, but I think its fun :)

I haven't read much about the cavern at Jackson Blue, I don't know how it compares to the cavern at Morrison or any of the other caverns I've dove(Cypress, Ginnie, Blue Grotto, Vortex-hardly a cavern, and Devils Den - its atleast got some swim-thrus). Vortex as a dive site can be fun, but I tend to enjoy myself more at less artificial sites.

As for diving a sandy beach, last time I attempted diving Whiskey Wreck, it was covered with sand - never did find it - still logged over an hour(vis wasn't even all that good). LOL :D
 
Spectre:
Actually I was just thinking about that. Wondering if I'm just jaded as to what is worth getting wet for.
Strange what cave diving does to you, eh?

Lil story... when I started work this past summer I was hugging close to the bottom or the reef, I told one of my cave diving buddies and he's like "Dude, you're not going through the Peanut Restriction, you have 30' of relief above you, use it!"

...oh yeah... :D

When ya coming back down?
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/peregrine/
https://xf2.scubaboard.com/community/forums/cave-diving.45/

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