It was a nice night for a cave dive in Promise Sink. Promise is hard to get to and probably not dove as frequently. However, the basin is really nice clear water that just invites a diver upon arrival.
The easiest access to Promise is through being a club member of Wakulla County Diving Club (WCDC). It's very inexpensive and worth every penny. As a club, it is actively gaining access to private land where better access to caves can be had. They are making good progress too. All access for club members is done via a Gate Keeper. This is basically the single representative of the club that is the interface to all land owners. Contact the Gate Keeper for clearance before you head to the site. Simple. Promise Sink/Go-Between, for example, requires a hefty 1/4 mile hump through the woods if you don't know anyone with close access. WCDC has an agreement with the closest land owner that makes the hump approximately 500 feet down a nice car-wide dirt path. It's still work especially when you're bringing scooter, couple bailout cylinders, O2 bottle, and your primary gas supply. But, it sure beats a quarter mile. In the agreement with the land owner, he gets $10 per diver for access. It's worth every penny. Don't think about cheating him out of his money either. He's aware of one group who's not paying and let's just say he ain't happy 'bout it. (Insert sound of shotgun round being loaded)
With gear finally at the water, the fun would begin by entering Promise Sink and heading downstream. It's the deep section. Tie off to the guide line is at a tree limb sticking out of the bottom of the mud in the center of the sink at 50ffw. As the cave was entered, the appearance of white limestone was all around. It would have been a breath taking dive............if the vis had been better. Currently, vis is about 30'. The best way to describe it was "hazy brown". This haze coupled with guide line that appeared to have the build up of silt from a billion years, gave a ghostly impression. The silt was so old their were silt-cicles on the line the entire distance that was covered. The floor of the cave has fine silt throughout.
So, after making the gap located at approximately 500' in, the big cave started. It got wide, tall, and deep. Then, the double lines showed up and continued for the entire distance covered. I'm not sure why the lines are the way they are but it really needs to be fixed. Anyway, with scooter humming along, they were many points that you couldn't see wall-to-wall. Ceiling-to-floor was just barely in vision range at some points too. Other times, it was easy to see. Stops were made several points along the way to take in what could be seen. One thing I noticed about this cave section that is different to many others is the marine life. I saw lots of crayfish, catfish, and eels.
With few arrows on the line, I didn't notice any distance markers on any of the ones I looked at. At approximately 1,500 feet, the dive was turned. I have to admit the double lines were unsettling especially at these depths (160 ~ 200ffw). Plus, TTS hit my limit for this time of night. The downstream exit was smooth. Towards the latter part of deco, I cracked out the MP3 player and listened to my recent upload of fresh tunes.
With deco complete, a run upstream from Promise Sink was made. This is kinda fun on a scooter. I typically don't dive with the tunes playing (only for deco) but I kept them rolling as the wind upstream was made. It was rather enjoyable especially since the vis wasn't any better here either. The nice thing about the upstream Promise side is that it's shallow (25ffw avg). In addition, it's completely different cave; dark stained walls, small passage, and tree limbs taking over the sinks. With the arrival of the third sink, it was time to turn around and head out.
Another great dive....
Note:
If you're interested in becoming a member of the Wakulla County Diving Club, contact John Spicer (Club President) at JSpicer99@Comcast.net.
.
The easiest access to Promise is through being a club member of Wakulla County Diving Club (WCDC). It's very inexpensive and worth every penny. As a club, it is actively gaining access to private land where better access to caves can be had. They are making good progress too. All access for club members is done via a Gate Keeper. This is basically the single representative of the club that is the interface to all land owners. Contact the Gate Keeper for clearance before you head to the site. Simple. Promise Sink/Go-Between, for example, requires a hefty 1/4 mile hump through the woods if you don't know anyone with close access. WCDC has an agreement with the closest land owner that makes the hump approximately 500 feet down a nice car-wide dirt path. It's still work especially when you're bringing scooter, couple bailout cylinders, O2 bottle, and your primary gas supply. But, it sure beats a quarter mile. In the agreement with the land owner, he gets $10 per diver for access. It's worth every penny. Don't think about cheating him out of his money either. He's aware of one group who's not paying and let's just say he ain't happy 'bout it. (Insert sound of shotgun round being loaded)
With gear finally at the water, the fun would begin by entering Promise Sink and heading downstream. It's the deep section. Tie off to the guide line is at a tree limb sticking out of the bottom of the mud in the center of the sink at 50ffw. As the cave was entered, the appearance of white limestone was all around. It would have been a breath taking dive............if the vis had been better. Currently, vis is about 30'. The best way to describe it was "hazy brown". This haze coupled with guide line that appeared to have the build up of silt from a billion years, gave a ghostly impression. The silt was so old their were silt-cicles on the line the entire distance that was covered. The floor of the cave has fine silt throughout.
So, after making the gap located at approximately 500' in, the big cave started. It got wide, tall, and deep. Then, the double lines showed up and continued for the entire distance covered. I'm not sure why the lines are the way they are but it really needs to be fixed. Anyway, with scooter humming along, they were many points that you couldn't see wall-to-wall. Ceiling-to-floor was just barely in vision range at some points too. Other times, it was easy to see. Stops were made several points along the way to take in what could be seen. One thing I noticed about this cave section that is different to many others is the marine life. I saw lots of crayfish, catfish, and eels.
With few arrows on the line, I didn't notice any distance markers on any of the ones I looked at. At approximately 1,500 feet, the dive was turned. I have to admit the double lines were unsettling especially at these depths (160 ~ 200ffw). Plus, TTS hit my limit for this time of night. The downstream exit was smooth. Towards the latter part of deco, I cracked out the MP3 player and listened to my recent upload of fresh tunes.
With deco complete, a run upstream from Promise Sink was made. This is kinda fun on a scooter. I typically don't dive with the tunes playing (only for deco) but I kept them rolling as the wind upstream was made. It was rather enjoyable especially since the vis wasn't any better here either. The nice thing about the upstream Promise side is that it's shallow (25ffw avg). In addition, it's completely different cave; dark stained walls, small passage, and tree limbs taking over the sinks. With the arrival of the third sink, it was time to turn around and head out.
Another great dive....
Note:
If you're interested in becoming a member of the Wakulla County Diving Club, contact John Spicer (Club President) at JSpicer99@Comcast.net.
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