Just Got back from Florida Caves.

dived Peacock "Big Cave" and "Peanut". Also did Telford (yuck) and Cow (wow) and Orange Grove (nice). Altogether 11 dives and a great week. I'll post some detailed reports tomorrow.

Wow....welcome home!

You got Yahoo mail....I lost your other one in the crash

Originally posted by Campana
Also did Telford (yuck) and Cow (wow) and Orange Grove (nice).

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First time I dove Telford I hated it. Second time I fell in love with it!

Roak

Originally posted by roakey

First time I dove Telford I hated it. Second time I fell in love with it!

Roak

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Telford is very fickle. It's the usually first to blow and last to clear. It's just starting to clear from the last big intrusion of river water a month or so ago.

I dove it a couple of months ago when it was really clear and it was great. We staged it and got to ~2900ft. Very nice cave. The most varied cave passage in the area. It goes and goes too.

Hey Campana, were you at Orange on Sat??

DSAO!!

like 8:30 A.M. I sincerely hope you didn't see me or follow close behind me. Do you ever have one of those dives where you just can't get it together? Well I did. I had trouble with my bouancy and with tying off to the permanent line. Almost called the dive. I'm not very experienced at this stuff and felt way, way better by the end of the week. Looking back on the first couple of days makes them seem long ago, cause later on I felt just fine, relaxed, and enjoyed the caves a lot more. Actually, Orange was my litmus test of how I was doing. We kept coming back there, it was about the right level for me. Peanut was the most fun, with all the pull and glide, and the Big tunnel was totally relaxing, but Orange was just challenging enough to be a good measure of my progress as an aspiring caver. I could feel myself getting better as time went by, but Saturday was my first dive there, and I wasn't doing too well.
I assume you were there. Sorry I missed you.
D

We avoided it for the weekend because of all the locals out there. Rumor has it that they will cut your line, break out your truck windows, and steal any gear you leave. Mike, who has been down here before, really wanted to do it, so we did. Monday, all that was left of the locals reveries was a bunch of beer cans and trash, some pretty good looking women's sandels, and some panties in the trees. So, we humped our tanks down there and got into the tunnel, and the vis was very poor. This cave has low clearance (for newbies) and lots and lots of silt. To make matters worse, the line is sunk in the silt, so if you go on the line, you are commited to being on the line, cause you're going to pull up a ton of the black stuff with the line. It was sort of like poking on an octopus till he shoots his ink. I felt sorry for Kelly, who was behind me, I knew she would hate my guts before this day was over. So we got to the first sink, and Mike jumped it, and I hoped it would open up, but it didn't, just got worse. It was just pitiful. I could barely see K's light behind me, and Mike was moving a little fast, so I was trying to split the distance and keep both in sight. We rounded a bend and I signaled "hold" to Mike to let K catch up, then called the dive. Turned out Mike was calling it as well; it just wasn't opening up. We might have gotten about 400' in. Later, at Dive Rite, a guy told us that no one was diving it; it had flooded and was still too junky. We had to agree.

Kelly appeared pretty angry and/or frustrated when we surfaced, she just stared off into space. I don't know if she was angry with me for stiring it up, or just upset about the dive. After a while, we talked it over. Some dives aren't meant to be.

Anyway, I've got something to look forward to for next trip!

Dave

Originally posted by Campana
Peanut was the most fun, with all the pull and glide,

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I love the Peanut Tunnel! I like the smaller tunnels better for some reason.

Originally posted by Campana
like 8:30 A.M. I sincerely hope you didn't see me or follow close behind me. Do you ever have one of those dives where you just can't get it together? Well I did. I had trouble with my bouancy and with tying off to the permanent line. Almost called the dive. I'm not very experienced at this stuff and felt way, way better by the end of the week. Looking back on the first couple of days makes them seem long ago, cause later on I felt just fine, relaxed, and enjoyed the caves a lot more. Actually, Orange was my litmus test of how I was doing. We kept coming back there, it was about the right level for me. Peanut was the most fun, with all the pull and glide, and the Big tunnel was totally relaxing, but Orange was just challenging enough to be a good measure of my progress as an aspiring caver. I could feel myself getting better as time went by, but Saturday was my first dive there, and I wasn't doing too well.
I assume you were there. Sorry I missed you.
D

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Nahh, I don't think that was you we saw. We were just starting our second dive at around 12:30 at Orange and two guys were coming out. They had steel O2 deco bottles they left in the basin while they were in cave. They had signs on them saying DO NOT REMOVE. We did our first dive at Olsen. Did you get in there while you were down? It's a ***** getting down and back up but worthwhile! There are only a couple of very small sections of Peacock I haven't seen yet and I've got more than 20 dives there! It's definately one of my favorite caves! Glad you enjoyed it!

Ohh, the first time I dove Orange it scared the bejesus outa me. Don't know why, I just had a baaad feeling. It was one of my first cave dives past Intro cert. In the area past the "canyon" someone had silted it a little and there was a kind of haze in the water that made it really spooky. The next dive there it was fine and has been ever since. There are several side less traveled tunnels that are very beautifull. Good technique required there! ;^)

DSAO!