Anyone ever dive Blue Spring in Missouri?

[wb4tjh]

I'm just reminiscing, but was wondering if anyone has ever been diving in Blue Spring, Missouri? It's has been owned by the state since the late 1960s, but I dove it with a friend in the fall of 1966 when I was in college. There were no regulations on diving there then. It was crystal clear, and we made a bounce dive to about 200 feet. It was my first experience with any kind of cave diving. It was a bit frightening then, I remember, and I have never been back there. I have always wondered if anyone else had ever been in there? I remember the water was so clear that day, that from the entrance of the spring 90 feet deep, you could clearly see someone swimming on the surface.

 

[sskasser]

Check these guys out. I bet some of them have.

Midwest Diving Destinations - MidwestDive

Good forum, friendly folks.

 

[JDostal]

Are you talking the spring that is now called Cannonball? It is located in what is now lake Wapapello..... it is quite deep and very big. Gorgeous cave.

 

[Altamira]

Your post brought back a lot of good, and sometimes scarry memories. My friends and I also dove Blue Spring on numerous occasions in the mid-60s before it was handed off to the State. We also dove most of the other well known springs in southern Missouri and a did a fair amount of cave diving in very little known cave systems. However we generally stayed at 100' and above in Blue Spring primarily because we were very concerned with getting narc'd, and the unbalanced Voit regulators (with no octo) that we used were like trying to breath through a garden hose at that depth. Getting to 200' must have been a real challange considering the very basic nature of dive equipment that was available back then. After quitting diving in the early 70's because it was too hard to manage a diving schedule that was compatible with my Air Force and then airline pilot schedule and family commitments, I am finally getting back to diving at the ripe age of 64. I am now the proud possessor of an OW card and will be going to Bonaire in a couple of weeks. Thanks for resurrecting the memories.

 

[wb4tjh]

Are you talking the spring that is now called Cannonball? It is located in what is now lake Wapapello..... it is quite deep and very big. Gorgeous cave.

No. Blue Spring flows into the Current River.

 

[wb4tjh]

Your post brought back a lot of good, and sometimes scarry memories. My friends and I also dove Blue Spring on numerous occasions in the mid-60s before it was handed off to the State. We also dove most of the other well known springs in southern Missouri and a did a fair amount of cave diving in very little known cave systems. However we generally stayed at 100' and above in Blue Spring primarily because we were very concerned with getting narc'd, and the unbalanced Voit regulators (with no octo) that we used were like trying to breath through a garden hose at that depth. Getting to 200' must have been a real challange considering the very basic nature of dive equipment that was available back then. After quitting diving in the early 70's because it was too hard to manage a diving schedule that was compatible with my Air Force and then airline pilot schedule and family commitments, I am finally getting back to diving at the ripe age of 64. I am now the proud possessor of an OW card and will be going to Bonaire in a couple of weeks. Thanks for resurrecting the memories.

I was using a U.S. Divers Royal Mistral double hose regulator , and it was no problem getting air at depth, but I did experience a bit of nitrogen narcosis. It scared me, and we did not spend but a minute at 200 feet. I NEVER went that deep again. That was also my last spring/cave dive. It was just too risky, dangerous and plain foolhardy. I was in college at the time, and when you are young, you tend to do risky things. After that, I stuck to the sunny side of 100 feet.

 

[mstueven]

I'm just reminiscing, but was wondering if anyone has ever been diving in Blue Spring, Missouri? It's has been owned by the state since the late 1960s, but I dove it with a friend in the fall of 1966 when I was in college. There were no regulations on diving there then. It was crystal clear, and we made a bounce dive to about 200 feet. It was my first experience with any kind of cave diving. It was a bit frightening then, I remember, and I have never been back there. I have always wondered if anyone else had ever been in there? I remember the water was so clear that day, that from the entrance of the spring 90 feet deep, you could clearly see someone swimming on the surface.

Pics and video of local cave divers exploring Blue Spring...

Ozark Cave Diving Alliance Home Page

and a couple others you might recognize.