kidsdream
Contributor
This is a trip report that may be of interest for those thinking about getting into cave diving.
After last months Cavern and Intro to Cave Diving certifications, I wasn't exactly enamored with this facet of diving. My skill level combined with the high flow emanating from the springs that make up the Ginnie Cave network, just were not all that inviting.
But I am not one to give up on something without really giving an new endeavor a chance. So Chrisp and I made plans to meet up in High Springs Friday afternoon - a 400+ mile drive from Key Largo. There were tentative plans to hook up with some other divers, but in the end it was just Chrisp and myself. My thanks really goes out to Chrisp as his comments, suggestions and words of encouragement were sincerely appreciated over the 2 full days we spent diving - a better buddy one could not find.
Details:
Unbelievably Chrisp was less than 2 miles behind me after I hit I75 just South of Ocala and he was rendezvousing from Fort Myers. In less than an hour we had checked into the Cadillac Motel in High Springs.
The Cadillac Motel bills itself as an Old time Highway Motel and I emphasize old. But the rooms are clean and large. The full size fridge and microwave ovens in the room are a plus. The car did not come with the room...
After getting a some fills at Amigos a uber friendly 24 hour fill operaton
and an early dinner we were ready to hit Peacock Springs http://www.floridacaves.com/PeaockMapFull copy.pdf first thing on Saturday.
Peacock offers a variety of entrances to its system of caves as well as some "sinks" that provide mid point opportunities to surface mid dive (we never made it to those points).
We started out at the Orange Grove sink entrance which is covered in Duckweed early in the day before the divers have a chance to stir things up. This unappealing surface condition covered crystal clear water that we enjoyed at the beginning of our dives.
The stair and path system at Peacock is first rate. They even have changing rooms to help in donning your drysuit undies and the like.
The rock formations above ground don't do justice to what this caves system has to offer.
On the first day we made two dives at Orange Grove and then moved over to the the Peacock 1 basin and did 2 dives on the mainline. This system is totally different from Ginnie, basically no flow; so buoyancy control is key as the bottom is primarily silt and clay that is easily disturbed. Some areas that look like rock are just protrusions of clay built up over the millennium. By the end of the day I was tired, but I was starting to feel a bit more comfortable in this unique environment. Oh yea, my line skills still suck, but I am working on it.
After a bit of a bonfire at Wayne's and a pretty iffy dinner in Fort White we did go to the Great Outdoors restaurant in High Springs for a couple of cocktails. Recently remodeled to a level that is rarely seen even in major cities - this classy eatery seems a little out of place in old High Springs. We even ran into Naked Ed himself (with cloths) sitting at the outdoor bar.
As some what of an anomaly, Ed doesn't drink beer even though his name is on the label.
On Sunday we returned to Peacock. After a warm up dive on the Peacock 1 mainline we did a dive on the Peanut line. All I can say was fantastic. Things finally gelled for me on this dive.
Interestingly the Peanut line includes a narrow passage about 150' into the cave. While much narrower and restrictive than anything of any distance than I had dove before, the nature of the pace it demands just made me feel totally comfortable. The area goes on for a about 150' I would estimate. Right before it dumps down back into a wider passage, we came upon some other exiting divers who were really mucking up the place. Three of the four were diving rebreathers, but while they may know something about the equipment, their cave diving skills left a lot to be desired. That seemed to be a common theme, as a high percentage of rebreather divers certainly did not seem qualified to be in an overhead environment. I think the ability to go long distances with minimal gas concerns is a dangerous lure for many of these divers. In the end we made over 800' into the Peanut line, my longest passage to date.
After quickly getting out of the water (I had to pee like a race horse), we decided to go over to Little River and try that system for our last dive. Little River is locating in a what I believe to be a county park that does not charge any sort of entrance fee (Peacock charges divers $10/day). Little River basin is somewhat flooded. While this negatively effects the vis. in the basin' it does reduce what is normally a high flow cave to a very manageable level. This cave system also was much deeper than the sections we dove at Peacock. Our max depth was 97' on this dive.
I hope I haven't bored y'all too much. I am certainly not going to give up diving the Oceans and Great Lakes any time soon, but I also will be making other sojourns back to cave country in the not to distant future.
After last months Cavern and Intro to Cave Diving certifications, I wasn't exactly enamored with this facet of diving. My skill level combined with the high flow emanating from the springs that make up the Ginnie Cave network, just were not all that inviting.
But I am not one to give up on something without really giving an new endeavor a chance. So Chrisp and I made plans to meet up in High Springs Friday afternoon - a 400+ mile drive from Key Largo. There were tentative plans to hook up with some other divers, but in the end it was just Chrisp and myself. My thanks really goes out to Chrisp as his comments, suggestions and words of encouragement were sincerely appreciated over the 2 full days we spent diving - a better buddy one could not find.
Details:
Unbelievably Chrisp was less than 2 miles behind me after I hit I75 just South of Ocala and he was rendezvousing from Fort Myers. In less than an hour we had checked into the Cadillac Motel in High Springs.
The Cadillac Motel bills itself as an Old time Highway Motel and I emphasize old. But the rooms are clean and large. The full size fridge and microwave ovens in the room are a plus. The car did not come with the room...
After getting a some fills at Amigos a uber friendly 24 hour fill operaton
and an early dinner we were ready to hit Peacock Springs http://www.floridacaves.com/PeaockMapFull copy.pdf first thing on Saturday.
Peacock offers a variety of entrances to its system of caves as well as some "sinks" that provide mid point opportunities to surface mid dive (we never made it to those points).
We started out at the Orange Grove sink entrance which is covered in Duckweed early in the day before the divers have a chance to stir things up. This unappealing surface condition covered crystal clear water that we enjoyed at the beginning of our dives.
The stair and path system at Peacock is first rate. They even have changing rooms to help in donning your drysuit undies and the like.
The rock formations above ground don't do justice to what this caves system has to offer.
On the first day we made two dives at Orange Grove and then moved over to the the Peacock 1 basin and did 2 dives on the mainline. This system is totally different from Ginnie, basically no flow; so buoyancy control is key as the bottom is primarily silt and clay that is easily disturbed. Some areas that look like rock are just protrusions of clay built up over the millennium. By the end of the day I was tired, but I was starting to feel a bit more comfortable in this unique environment. Oh yea, my line skills still suck, but I am working on it.
After a bit of a bonfire at Wayne's and a pretty iffy dinner in Fort White we did go to the Great Outdoors restaurant in High Springs for a couple of cocktails. Recently remodeled to a level that is rarely seen even in major cities - this classy eatery seems a little out of place in old High Springs. We even ran into Naked Ed himself (with cloths) sitting at the outdoor bar.
As some what of an anomaly, Ed doesn't drink beer even though his name is on the label.
On Sunday we returned to Peacock. After a warm up dive on the Peacock 1 mainline we did a dive on the Peanut line. All I can say was fantastic. Things finally gelled for me on this dive.
Interestingly the Peanut line includes a narrow passage about 150' into the cave. While much narrower and restrictive than anything of any distance than I had dove before, the nature of the pace it demands just made me feel totally comfortable. The area goes on for a about 150' I would estimate. Right before it dumps down back into a wider passage, we came upon some other exiting divers who were really mucking up the place. Three of the four were diving rebreathers, but while they may know something about the equipment, their cave diving skills left a lot to be desired. That seemed to be a common theme, as a high percentage of rebreather divers certainly did not seem qualified to be in an overhead environment. I think the ability to go long distances with minimal gas concerns is a dangerous lure for many of these divers. In the end we made over 800' into the Peanut line, my longest passage to date.
After quickly getting out of the water (I had to pee like a race horse), we decided to go over to Little River and try that system for our last dive. Little River is locating in a what I believe to be a county park that does not charge any sort of entrance fee (Peacock charges divers $10/day). Little River basin is somewhat flooded. While this negatively effects the vis. in the basin' it does reduce what is normally a high flow cave to a very manageable level. This cave system also was much deeper than the sections we dove at Peacock. Our max depth was 97' on this dive.
I hope I haven't bored y'all too much. I am certainly not going to give up diving the Oceans and Great Lakes any time soon, but I also will be making other sojourns back to cave country in the not to distant future.
. 
