March 17th: Stan picked me up at home to begin the long drive down to Luraville, FL. We loaded gear & away we went. We took turns driving & kept each other alert by talking to each other. We stopped in Live Oak for some dinner at a Mexican restaurant. Good food, good service & reasonable prices. We then went to Cave Excursions to pick up the linens & key to the trailer we were renting. It was one of the smaller trailers (2BR, 1- 1/2ba), but since there was only going to be 3 of us there, it wasnt too big a deal. Stan has been a mentor to me whilst I came up through Intro & going through me Full Cave. Joe, the other diver in our group, would not be joining us until late the next day. Joe is a good diving buddy of Stans &
.. I found out about a year earlier, a long lost, dear friend of my parents:shocked2: (what a small world
. Whod a thunk? Meeting up with someone I havent seen in almost 30 yrs (yes,
. I was only about 9 or 10 yrs old) while cave diving,
of all things)
. With the diving reports, I do not have my log book with me, so I do not remember depth/ bottom time stats on each dive,
. Sorry
. I can report that depths were between 52ft & 96 ft & bottom times ranged between 68 min.- 111 min.
March 18th: Stan & I decided to do some warm- up dives at Peacock Springs. First dive we went up the Olsen line to the Nicholson tunnel, turned left on the Cisteen line, back to the main line to complete that circuit. An interesting dive, as I had never been that way before. The second dive we went up the Peanut line, past the restriction to the Olsen/ Challenge line We turned right towards Olsen & continued for about 300 ft, when I got a bit hung up on a low ceiling. We turned the dive at that point. That was a distance record for me, of about 2200 ft & I was still 200psi from 1/3s. That Evening, we met up with Joe, in Live Oak at the Brown Lantern Restaurant. Such good food there. Poor Joe had a rough night, as the roll out beds in the trailer were terrible & the sofa too soft. He finally found a way to sleep after a couple of hours rearranging things
.
March 19th: Back at Peacock for Joe to get some tune- up dives in. The first dive we went up the Peanut line again, past the restriction, onto the Challenge/ Olsen line, however, this time we turned left on the line. We went up the line about 500ft before turning (we were just tired of swimming). I still had 100 psi to 1/3s. That was once again, a distance record for me.
I had been suffering from a bad sinus/ tension headache all day & it was really interfering with my ability to keep my head in the game:ermm:. I was so distracted by the headache, I missed a couple signals flashed at me by my buddies (not cool)
. I opted to sit out the second dive of the day, to rest & try to get rid of the headache. The guys told me they had gone up the Olsen line, to the Nicholson tunnel, to the Cisteen Tunnel to near where the Cisteen sink was. I was able to get rid of the headache (thank goodness) & was feeling much better by the next day.
March 20th: We went to Little River. All 3 of us went the mainline, to the mud tunnel, back to the main line, up the serpentine line & back out via the Merry- Go- Round tunnel. On dive 2, Stan & I went through the mud tunnel again, up the Merry- Go- Round & then took a jump to a short cut tunnel through the center rock, back to the Merry- Go- Round line. While we did that, Joe had decided to scooter Little River, solo. We met up with him a couple of times. We all 3 came out at the same time. By then the basin was packed full of kids swimming & having a good time. Even had a couple kids jump on top of me, using me as another rock, whilst I was hovering just a few inches below the surface. Not a big deal on my part, hopefully none of them hurt themselves, those cylinders are very hard. Good dives & I got to see more of Little River than Ive gotten to see before. :blinking:
March 21st: We went to Madison Blue. We each took 2 sets of double cylinders, so that we did not have to leave to get fills. Dive 1, we did the Godzilla Circuit. I had attempted it before, but that earlier dive was turned before we could complete it. We made it this time.
Some of those passages where what I could call a bit low. It was a little concerning, but nothing to cause any kind of panic or anything, just not entirely comfortable with it. The Godzilla room was fairly large & deep with a very silty bottom, I did get to see the little Godzilla toy on the side wall & Joe was able to snap a couple decent pictures of me. Dive 2, I lead up the main line to about 850ft. Joe had to sit out because a wrist seal came unglued & his suit flooded in the basin, before the dive. I got one peek at the Half Hitch restriction & decided I was not comfy with the idea of leading through such a formidable looking area:worried:, so I turned the dive. Madisons vis was 40- 50 ft to about the 300 ft mark & then unlimited past that.
March 22nd: Joe was upset at not getting to do the second dive at Madison Blue, so we went back again with 2 sets of cylinders a piece again. Dive 1: we swam up the main line, past the Half Hitch (I did not want to lead, but did not bother me to follow through that restriction) to the 1300 ft marker when we turned the dive. I was still 200 psi from 1/3s & just 100 PSI from Joe & Stans pressures. My air consumption is improving massively! I was getting into "the zone".:zen: I wound up having to sit out the second dive because my Right regulator would not seat into the cylinders DIN valve. It seemed like there was something wrong with the threads preventing it from screwing in all the way & sealing:cussing:. After rebuilding my regulators & trying other regulators out on that post, with no success, yet they worked on other posts & cylinders, I had to sit out while the guys went & had a blast. Ran into Cam G. from Scubaboard when we got back to Cave Excursions, & got to meet his family, while we got air fills. Great to see ya again Cam!
March 23rd: Joe had to leave for home, so he wouldnt be diving with us. Got quite a laugh when we realized Joe had left his drysuit, undies & wing out to dry from the night before
. Luckily he was only 20 min out when we called him. Stan & I went to Ginnie for our last day of diving. I decided to lead Stan to the White Room for the first dive. I was rather nervous about it because I had only been there once with my instructor & had attempted it 3 other times, but had to turn it because of gas limitations
. After an initial mix- up in the junction room, we got going on the line & when it made the 90 degree bend, I knew that was where I needed to tie off. I went straight ahead & found the room (YESSSSS!!!):dance3:. We spent about 10 minutes in there looking around before heading back. When I went to take up the reel I noticed that the winding knob was gone (just great). I wound up having to reel up about 250 ft of line with my finger tips. I did well until the last 25 ft, when the line jumped the reel barrel & brids nested. Oh, well,
. I tried. I just wrapped it up, tied it off & stowed it.:blush: Dive 2: I lead up the main line to the Junction room where we switched from a single stage to our back gas. We made a jump off the main line onto the Hill 400 tunnel. We swam up to the 1300 ft marker before I turned the dive on 1/3s. After looking at the map, I was only about 50ft short of the Bats hanging nearby (Darn it!)
., but I refuse to violate 1/3s for almost any reason except an emergency. We made our way back out. Overall a good week of diving (except when I had to sit out). I learned a lot, had a blast & improved my air consumption. We got back to the trailer, cleaned up gear, packed & rested for the journey back home in the morning.
March 24th: The bittersweet return home. We left Live Oak about 7am & I was home by 5pm. Now Im counting down the days until I go back in mid April!:daydreaming:
. With the diving reports, I do not have my log book with me, so I do not remember depth/ bottom time stats on each dive,
. Sorry
. I can report that depths were between 52ft & 96 ft & bottom times ranged between 68 min.- 111 min.March 18th: Stan & I decided to do some warm- up dives at Peacock Springs. First dive we went up the Olsen line to the Nicholson tunnel, turned left on the Cisteen line, back to the main line to complete that circuit. An interesting dive, as I had never been that way before. The second dive we went up the Peanut line, past the restriction to the Olsen/ Challenge line We turned right towards Olsen & continued for about 300 ft, when I got a bit hung up on a low ceiling. We turned the dive at that point. That was a distance record for me, of about 2200 ft & I was still 200psi from 1/3s. That Evening, we met up with Joe, in Live Oak at the Brown Lantern Restaurant. Such good food there. Poor Joe had a rough night, as the roll out beds in the trailer were terrible & the sofa too soft. He finally found a way to sleep after a couple of hours rearranging things
. March 19th: Back at Peacock for Joe to get some tune- up dives in. The first dive we went up the Peanut line again, past the restriction, onto the Challenge/ Olsen line, however, this time we turned left on the line. We went up the line about 500ft before turning (we were just tired of swimming). I still had 100 psi to 1/3s. That was once again, a distance record for me.
I had been suffering from a bad sinus/ tension headache all day & it was really interfering with my ability to keep my head in the game:ermm:. I was so distracted by the headache, I missed a couple signals flashed at me by my buddies (not cool). I opted to sit out the second dive of the day, to rest & try to get rid of the headache. The guys told me they had gone up the Olsen line, to the Nicholson tunnel, to the Cisteen Tunnel to near where the Cisteen sink was. I was able to get rid of the headache (thank goodness) & was feeling much better by the next day.March 20th: We went to Little River. All 3 of us went the mainline, to the mud tunnel, back to the main line, up the serpentine line & back out via the Merry- Go- Round tunnel. On dive 2, Stan & I went through the mud tunnel again, up the Merry- Go- Round & then took a jump to a short cut tunnel through the center rock, back to the Merry- Go- Round line. While we did that, Joe had decided to scooter Little River, solo. We met up with him a couple of times. We all 3 came out at the same time. By then the basin was packed full of kids swimming & having a good time. Even had a couple kids jump on top of me, using me as another rock, whilst I was hovering just a few inches below the surface. Not a big deal on my part, hopefully none of them hurt themselves, those cylinders are very hard. Good dives & I got to see more of Little River than Ive gotten to see before. :blinking:
March 21st: We went to Madison Blue. We each took 2 sets of double cylinders, so that we did not have to leave to get fills. Dive 1, we did the Godzilla Circuit. I had attempted it before, but that earlier dive was turned before we could complete it. We made it this time.
Some of those passages where what I could call a bit low. It was a little concerning, but nothing to cause any kind of panic or anything, just not entirely comfortable with it. The Godzilla room was fairly large & deep with a very silty bottom, I did get to see the little Godzilla toy on the side wall & Joe was able to snap a couple decent pictures of me. Dive 2, I lead up the main line to about 850ft. Joe had to sit out because a wrist seal came unglued & his suit flooded in the basin, before the dive. I got one peek at the Half Hitch restriction & decided I was not comfy with the idea of leading through such a formidable looking area:worried:, so I turned the dive. Madisons vis was 40- 50 ft to about the 300 ft mark & then unlimited past that.March 22nd: Joe was upset at not getting to do the second dive at Madison Blue, so we went back again with 2 sets of cylinders a piece again. Dive 1: we swam up the main line, past the Half Hitch (I did not want to lead, but did not bother me to follow through that restriction) to the 1300 ft marker when we turned the dive. I was still 200 psi from 1/3s & just 100 PSI from Joe & Stans pressures. My air consumption is improving massively!
I was getting into "the zone".:zen: I wound up having to sit out the second dive because my Right regulator would not seat into the cylinders DIN valve. It seemed like there was something wrong with the threads preventing it from screwing in all the way & sealing:cussing:. After rebuilding my regulators & trying other regulators out on that post, with no success, yet they worked on other posts & cylinders, I had to sit out while the guys went & had a blast. Ran into Cam G. from Scubaboard when we got back to Cave Excursions, & got to meet his family, while we got air fills. Great to see ya again Cam! March 23rd: Joe had to leave for home, so he wouldnt be diving with us. Got quite a laugh when we realized Joe had left his drysuit, undies & wing out to dry from the night before
. Luckily he was only 20 min out when we called him. Stan & I went to Ginnie for our last day of diving. I decided to lead Stan to the White Room for the first dive. I was rather nervous about it because I had only been there once with my instructor & had attempted it 3 other times, but had to turn it because of gas limitations. After an initial mix- up in the junction room, we got going on the line & when it made the 90 degree bend, I knew that was where I needed to tie off. I went straight ahead & found the room (YESSSSS!!!):dance3:. We spent about 10 minutes in there looking around before heading back. When I went to take up the reel I noticed that the winding knob was gone (just great). I wound up having to reel up about 250 ft of line with my finger tips. I did well until the last 25 ft, when the line jumped the reel barrel & brids nested. Oh, well,
. I tried. I just wrapped it up, tied it off & stowed it.:blush: Dive 2: I lead up the main line to the Junction room where we switched from a single stage to our back gas. We made a jump off the main line onto the Hill 400 tunnel. We swam up to the 1300 ft marker before I turned the dive on 1/3s. After looking at the map, I was only about 50ft short of the Bats hanging nearby (Darn it!)., but I refuse to violate 1/3s for almost any reason except an emergency. We made our way back out. Overall a good week of diving (except when I had to sit out). I learned a lot, had a blast & improved my air consumption. We got back to the trailer, cleaned up gear, packed & rested for the journey back home in the morning.March 24th: The bittersweet return home. We left Live Oak about 7am & I was home by 5pm. Now Im counting down the days until I go back in mid April!:daydreaming:
