Is Ginnie Springs good for OW?

[Jayde323]

Hubby and I dove Ginnie about 70 dives after out OW cert (we had our rescue cert at the time). I thought I was pretty smart by reading about the Ballroom first, but it did nothing to prepare me for the dive. All the reading I did really didn't mention that it was not lit inside, and of course I assumed it was since all the pictures I saw of inside the Ballroom were lit. DUH! I am a bit claustrophobic at times, so we took our time going into the Ballroom. I became a bit panicky when I realized it was dark...I mean REALLY DARK when you are near the grate. I was prepared with my light, but to say the least, the darkness caught me (and my claustrophobia) off guard. I was able to keep my wits about me (thanks to the Rescue class!), but I did not stay in the Ballroom for long. We have since been there a few more times (and going there this weekend too), and I have really enjoyed the ballroom. Overall, I WOULD NOT recommend it for a newly cert diver.

 

[john738]

I would recommend Troy, great open water spring dive, depth all the way to 70' with a good entry platform. Not alot of fish to see in the spring itself would be the only downside but for someone without alot of experience it provides a great place to dive and get in some bottom time. Best of all is its a state park which means cheap ($10) to dive and they have showers/restrooms and gear cleaning facilities. I can take the whole family (5 divers) with a park pass and keep my costs down while still getting a great dive.

 

[Digger54]

I was not impressed with Ginnie for an open water dive. It's just too tiny. I can understand the appeal for the caver, though. Blue Grotto was much more enjoyable for me.

As one suggested the drift dive on the Rainbow River is fun, relaxing. Great visibility.

Vortex Springs may be farther than you want to drive. Visibility was not so great at Vortex the couple of times I have been there, but that may be due to dive classes churning up the bottom.

 

[BekaLynn]

I would recommend Troy, great open water spring dive, depth all the way to 70' with a good entry platform. Not alot of fish to see in the spring itself would be the only downside but for someone without alot of experience it provides a great place to dive and get in some bottom time. Best of all is its a state park which means cheap ($10) to dive and they have showers/restrooms and gear cleaning facilities. I can take the whole family (5 divers) with a park pass and keep my costs down while still getting a great dive.

Troy is on our list of places to dive for sure... the hubby has wanted to dive there for as long as I can remember. Sadly though, it is closed to divers as of right now. I just called and they said they are thinking of opening it back up on Monday. So we'll need to plan that one for another weekend... actually right now we are looking at either Devil's Den or Manatee Springs.

 

[BekaLynn]

Hubby and I dove Ginnie about 70 dives after out OW cert (we had our rescue cert at the time). I thought I was pretty smart by reading about the Ballroom first, but it did nothing to prepare me for the dive. All the reading I did really didn't mention that it was not lit inside, and of course I assumed it was since all the pictures I saw of inside the Ballroom were lit. DUH! I am a bit claustrophobic at times, so we took our time going into the Ballroom. I became a bit panicky when I realized it was dark...I mean REALLY DARK when you are near the grate. I was prepared with my light, but to say the least, the darkness caught me (and my claustrophobia) off guard. I was able to keep my wits about me (thanks to the Rescue class!), but I did not stay in the Ballroom for long. We have since been there a few more times (and going there this weekend too), and I have really enjoyed the ballroom. Overall, I WOULD NOT recommend it for a newly cert diver.

Thanks for the input... I may stay away from it for now. I know I have no interest in cave diving as of right now... but cavern does look appealing maybe in the future after I've had some bottom time, and feel more comfortable with the basics.

 

[Dive-aholic]

I dove Ginnie many times when I had just my OW cert. Its a fairly large cavern that allows OW divers. Bring a light if you plan to dive it. The entrance is kinda small enough for 2 or 3 divers at once to enter. Silt is not much of an issue it settles fast. Compared to blue grotto the cavern is MUCH smaller. Blue grotto's cavern is huge with a huge opening.

If you and your buddy are comfortable with diving in an overhead setting you will be fine. Make sure you monitor your air. Leave enough air for you + your buddy to exit incase of an air emergency. Don't find yourself at the bottom of the cavern with 500 PSI in your tank. Max depth at Ginnie is about 50-55 feet at the grate. Flow is heavy at the grate but goes away quickly when you move away from it.

Some other non overhead dive sites good for OW divers are:

Troy Springs
Orange Grove Sink (Part of Peacock Springs)
Crystal River
Devils Den

Here is a picture of the entrance to the main ballroom at Ginnie Springs I took awhile back to give you an idea of the opening.

Please don't encourage or recommend divers not trained in the overhead to go into overhead environments. OW divers have died in the Ballroom as well as many other caves. We just had a couple of fatalities in the Tampa area of 2 divers who were diving beyond their training and limitations.

To the OP, I commend you on looking for open water sites. Unfortunately, there's not a lot in the area you are looking other than the springs you already mentioned. Rainbow River is a great place but you will have to schedule a boat to take you up the river and follow you during the drift. Check out the table I created on this page. I've categorized all the springs I've been to according to the type of diving that would be safe to do at each one. This is all from the perspective of a cave instructor. A couple of caveats: Morrison, although farther than you want to travel, is closed to diving right now; Orange Grove is only open to OW divers with an instructor present; and as someone already has pointed out, Blue Springs/Orange City is currently closed to diving due to the manatees.

Also, for anyone having any doubts about whether you really need training to cave dive or not, check out the videos on this page and read my sig line.

 

[del_mo]

I am diving Paradise Spings in Ocala this Friday , If you are interested PM me , we will be there @8:30

Are they open? My wife and I spent 45 minutes outside their gate a couple of weeks ago and they never opened. I phoned the number on their "for sale ($2.3 million)" sign - the number that said "for diving, call...." . Just an answering machine and no return phone call.

Good luck.

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

FWIW, there are two "Blue Springs". I've done the dive at the Blue Springs in Volusia County a few times, its two attractions are the manatees and the cavern, so not much to see there if someone isn't interested in those things. I have been there a few times in winter (when I was blown out for ocean dives) where they wouldn't let you dive because the manatees were hanging out near the entrance for divers.

Actually, there are more than a dozen "Blue Springs" in Florida.

 

[cinder4320]

Orange Grove is only open to OW divers with an instructor present;

Seriously? Since when?

My husband and I dove there a lot before our cave certifications and the entrance signs and Janet (ranger) never required an instructor.

Miranda

 

[SandyRobinson]

As others have said, Rainbow River is a nice drift dive - best I can remember depth is 10 to 25 feet and viz is good.

In my opinion, if you were comfortable in Blue Grotto, then Ginnie Springs (Ballroom) would be a good dive for you. Ginnie is safer than Blue Grotto. It is shallower - tough to get over 50 feet these days compared to 90+ feet at BG. There is little or no silt - only small pieces of shell and limestone that quickly settle when disturbed compared to some nasty black silt in some places at BG.

If you have never dove Ginnie, they will require you to watch a short video. I believe they require you to take two lights per person and exit the Ballroom after you have used 1/3 of your air.

Also at Ginnie, you can also do a drift dive (depending on conditions) down the Sante Fe starting at Little Devils. Be aware that if you start a drift dive from the Devils area, you can not take lights without the appropriate overhead certification.

Have fun.