Missouri Cave Diving

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Had a blast in them. Definitely looking forward to coming down again when there is better viz.
 
if you dive in missouri which is the better dive for entry level divers cannonball or rouibouix ? and which has better accomidations for those coming from out of state ?
 
najord:
if you dive in missouri which is the better dive for entry level divers cannonball or rouibouix ? and which has better accomidations for those coming from out of state ?

Either is probably ok but for different reasons.

Roubidoux has a fantastic cavern with lots to look at including fish. After only about 400 ft back though it drops down to the deep section which runs between 130 and about 150 as far as I've been...it gets deeper further in.

The Cannon ball entrance can be kind of hard to find if you don't know where it is and the lake can be pretty close to zero vis in the summer. Once you find it though, there's more shallow cave to dive than at Roubidoux. The drop is 700 ft or so back along the main line and there are some side tunnels you can check out.

The cave is big and the pit, as already mentioned in the thread is something to see. The whole cave is big but that pit is really BIG. From memory, the heavy mainline down the pit is anchored at 160 or 170. From there the line slopes steeply down to where the cave narrows and there's a restriction at about 285. I haven't been any further and I probably won't. I'm feeling a little old (maybe just a bit wiser) for high flow restrictions at 285, not to mention what it takes just to get all the needed equipment down to the water and back up again.

The guys with scooters enter at the boat ramp but it's a long HOT swim wearing a dry suit in the summer. The cave is on the cool side but the surface of the lake gets like a lobster boil in the summer. Otherwise, you need to haul your gear down the side of a Missouri mountain (big steep hill with lousy footing) to get to the water.

There are fairly inexpensive and decent motels near both but my wife is the one who know the names of the ones we use though and she isn't here right now.

At Roubidoux, you are required to check in and out at the Waynsville Sheriffs office. There is no cost but they check c-cards and diving is only allowed during certain hours...7 to 7 or something like that...check on it.

Cannon ball is entered from the national forest and as far as I know you can come and go as you please or even camp if you want. You don't need to sign in or anything but if the DNR guys are around and they see that your diving they'll stop by to make sure that you use a dive flag (outside the cave of course).

Recently I had someone tell me that they had some access conflicts with fishermen in the winter. The comparatively warm water from the spring makes it a good place to fish from shore when the lake is cold. I've never had a problem and, in fact, have never run into any one else there (including divers) but these guys traveled all the way there and then couldn't get into the cave because of the people fishing right over the spring.

These caves are a real treasure so be nice to them.
 
najord:
if you dive in missouri which is the better dive for entry level divers cannonball or rouibouix ? and which has better accomidations for those coming from out of state ?

I posted you a few links in the other thread (Muck Divers). MikeF pretty well covered the importand info. All things considered, I'd pick RBD for a first MO cave dive. MHO

MikeF: Did you get the PM I sent you from DecoStop about a week ago????
 
I would definitely recommend Roubidoux to newer cave divers. It has bigger tunnels and is less fragile than Cannonball, so there will be less impact on the cave if your technique is not all it should be. Also, the access from shore is much easier physically, and you are much nearer civilization should you need any help for whatever reason.

theskull
 
Is their a dive shop or a place to get air at Roubidoux. Also what can you tell me about the main line and depth. thanks
 
najord:
Is their a dive shop or a place to get air at Roubidoux. Also what can you tell me about the main line and depth. thanks

There is a shop in Waynesville called Odessey Scuba, phone 573-336-8684. I'm not sure if they keep regular hours or not. If possible, take all the gas you need with you.

The links I posted should contain a pretty good description of the layout. Big nice cavern, about 400' of shallow tunnel at around 45' deep. Then, it drops to about 140-150' deep and continues another 1000 or so feet before dropping again and continuing on.

This is, sort of, how it looks:
http://cavdvr.tripod.com/roubid1.htm

I think the OCDA has produced a much better map, however, that one is not free.
 
steve2281:
I posted you a few links in the other thread (Muck Divers). MikeF pretty well covered the importand info. All things considered, I'd pick RBD for a first MO cave dive. MHO

MikeF: Did you get the PM I sent you from DecoStop about a week ago????

I did sort of. I was on my way out of town when I read it but couldn't reply because my mail box is full. Sorry I didn't get to it sooner but as soon as I get over there and get the box cleaned up I'll reply.
 
Mainline is pretty easy to find at both of the caves.

For cannonball, we actually tied off to a tree on shore so we could sweep back and forth looking for the entrance. Mainline starts right at the entrance, it's really easy to find.

I'm fuzzy on Roubidoux for some reason... I don't think the line was that far in at all, I want to say it was tied to the warning sign for some reason...
 
Omicron:
Mainline is pretty easy to find at both of the caves.

For cannonball, we actually tied off to a tree on shore so we could sweep back and forth looking for the entrance. Mainline starts right at the entrance, it's really easy to find.

I'm fuzzy on Roubidoux for some reason... I don't think the line was that far in at all, I want to say it was tied to the warning sign for some reason...

I never had trouble finding the line at Roubidoux but I saw some divers who went in and ran a line all over the cavern and never found it. I'm not sure about the distance (40 or 50 ft maybe?) but if you go in, straight ahead and down hill you see it.

If you find the spring at cannonball you'll find the line. I don't tie off on shore. I know where to start from and I go straig out along the bottom down hill. When you get to the ledge (about 20 ft) you see the water clearing up. Drop straight over the ledge and you're there.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/
http://cavediveflorida.com/Rum_House.htm

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