Eagle's Nest Trip Report

[K Mejean]

Greetings Y'all. I just thought I would throw out a little trip report. I did Eagles Nest yesterday with Bert from Tampa Adventure Sports as part of my Advanced Nitrox and Deco class. This was my first time at EN so I don't have anything to contrast against but they tell me it was on of the best days they have had in a long time. Viz was about 80' down in the cavern. THAT PLACE IS F'n HUGE!!!!!!!! We dropped down to 147feet did some drills and skill work and then slowly worked our way back up. The total dive time including deco stops along the way was 47 minutes. I had a 26% mix for my back gas and switched to 02 at 20 feet.
If you guys are near the area and want to give it a shot now is the time. Like I said they told me that this kind of viz is rare. Well worth the drive into the woods and fighting the damn bugs.

 

[Doc Harry]

Got your EN ear infection yet?

 

[K Mejean]

No not yet. I'm keping my fingers crossed that I don't. I don't need any ear problems.

 

[karstdvr]

If you guys are near the area and want to give it a shot now is the time. Like I said they told me that this kind of viz is rare. Well worth the drive into the woods and fighting the damn bugs.

Not to be a party pooper,but Eagles Nest is an advanced level cave dive due to depth and deserves a lot of respect,especially due to the number of experienced cave divers it has claimed. The NACD recently made an ardent effort to contact local shops that were treating this an OW dive site,but it is deceptively simple,and many people have lost their lives there. "Give it a shot" is something I'd reserve for Ginnie cavern,Vortex etc,but not Eagles Nest. The last recovery at Eagles Nest resulted in a two day effort,and one of the recovery divers getting bent so the family could have closure.

 

[K Mejean]

[GOOGLE][/GOOGLE]

Not to be a party pooper,but Eagles Nest is an advanced level cave dive due to depth and deserves a lot of respect,especially due to the number of experienced cave divers it has claimed. The NACD recently made an ardent effort to contact local shops that were treating this an OW dive site,but it is deceptively simple,and many people have lost their lives there. "Give it a shot" is something I'd reserve for Ginnie cavern,Vortex etc,but not Eagles Nest. The last recovery at Eagles Nest resulted in a two day effort,and one of the recovery divers getting bent so the family could have closure.

I didn't know that about EN. When I said it though I was referring to the cave divers. I am on the cave divers section. I didn't post it in the usual open water section of the area. I might not have said it but my intenet was to let Cave Divers know the viz was great.

 

[sea2summit]

[GOOGLE][/GOOGLE]

I didn't know that about EN. When I said it though I was referring to the cave divers. I am on the cave divers section. I didn't post it in the usual open water section of the area. I might not have said it but my intenet was to let Cave Divers know the viz was great.

Your post is about deco procedures not cave diving.

I do hope to be at a level to dive eagles nest someday but as already stated it's sort of a big deal to put it mildly.

 

[stairman]

Many folks on here just click new posts and read about all sorts of things scuba related. It would seem fitting to warn divers about the extreme depths that can be disguised by the clear water. I dont see hoards of OW divers trekking thru the mud to dive it but it only takes one fatality to end someones fun.

 

[Meng_Tze]

.... I dont see hoards of OW divers trekking thru the mud to dive it but it only takes one fatality to end someones fun.

Not hoards, but I have seen a few. I echo Karst Diver's comments. It is a deceptive system that goes deep rather quickly and due to the low flow seems easy.

 

[karstdvr]

Many folks on here just click new posts and read about all sorts of things scuba related. It would seem fitting to warn divers about the extreme depths that can be disguised by the clear water. I dont see hoards of OW divers trekking thru the mud to dive it but it only takes one fatality to end someones fun.

I agree,plus lose access to a site that has been difficult to regain. There have been several fatalities since it reopened,plus there was an issue with a regional dive shop encouraging OW dive trips. If this becomes a hassle between fatalities and trying to police the site,then the easiest thing is to close it down. In my opinion Eagles Nest is a site for people that are full cave trained,have trimix training,and have some experience as well. I don't say this to prevent cavern/intro level divers from having a site,but that this place by history is not forgiving when mistakes happen,and mistakes result in calls to the coroner.

 

[K Mejean]

Allow me to appologize for making it seem like it was not a big deal. That was not my intent. I really didn't realize that it was that big of a deal. I see your point about OW divers just popping in and getting the wrong idea about the site and while I would like to think that they would have more sense than that I'm sure there are some that do not. The site can definately get out of hand very quickly if one is not careful. I stand corrected and will watch carefully to make sure I word my future reports better as well as give some definition of the dangers that the site holds.