alexander springs hidden items (right forum this time)

[tech108diver]

Hi guys. My dive buddie and I did a dive at blue and alexandere springs last weekend. This was our second time at both springs. At Alexander we arrived late in the afternoon 6pmish and most people had already left leaving a crystal clear spring. Anyway we dove the main spring area and came across a cave (if you have been there you know what I'm talking about) that you can go 10-15 feet into before it gets to dark to see. and right at the edge of the light we found two waterbottles tied with a string. One just had sand to weight it down the other had a note that said to sign your name and hide it again. So we did read Tracys note but we had no pen to sign with and re hid it just a bit deeper in the cave. So Tracy, if your on this board WE FOUND YOUR HIDDEN BOTTLE!!.

Oh and also we found a golf ball that said " you found it, now hide it"
and I think its in a spot where only a diver can pick it up.

Anyone know about these two items?

Is this a common thing to do among the diving community.

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

Heh... I wonder how long thats been going on, I didn't notice either when I was there in March(or April?) - absolutely doesn't mean they weren't there though...

Fun!

 

[DebbyDiver]

Ohhhhhh, I dived Alexander about six or so years ago, it was magnificent, definitely a do-again!! But I don't know a thing about your finds.

 

[smatterchu]

My DH just found the golfball on Sunday!! I saw him holding it and wondered where it had come from...

He said he re-hid it over by fissure with all of the water/bubbles. We thought that was cool, but never thought we'd hear from anyone else who knew about it.

 

[tech108diver]

nice...

hide that sucker good. I'm going back for it in a month or so

 

[yukoneer]

Do tell more about Alexander Springs. What's it like? whats the cost? whats the accommodations (airfill, etc)?

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

Its in Ocala National Park, entry is less than $10(I wanna say $5?). No onsite dive shop or fills, but there is a little concession I believe. There are clean bathrooms, changing rooms, showers, ect. The spring itself is pretty much all open water except for a small overhang some reffer to as a cavern and a vent with some line running through at the bottom(I have no idea how anyone got through it). The majority of the spring is shallow, very shallow, almost where you can walk around it. Near the vents it does get ~25-30'. Spring pumps 96 million gallons a day(if I remember correctly) which usually keeps the water crystal clear. There are quite a bit of underwater vegetation and lots of fish of a wide variety to look at. Supposedly this is a good place to find aligator too(I've been too unlucky to come across any myself). Its a nice, cheap, easy, fun dive. Theres a decent but short trail that runs around the spring basin as well that IMO is worth walking(takes ~30min or so).

 

[tech108diver]

I 2nd everthing you just said Supr. It is 5 bucks to get in/dive and if you go in the afternoon 5-7pm when most people are out of the water the viz is just about total, pretty much as clear as water can be. its a great first dive for a new cert or just a easy fun dive for a group. There are a ton of grills and tables to relax and enjoy the day.

 

[scubafool]

One of my favorite places to dive. The nearest fills are in Mount Dora, at C&N Divers, but that is still a good distance away, so plan on bringing enough tanks with you. Even with a single 80, it is easy to get an hour dive time in, since the deepest depth is 25', and there is plenty to see in depths of less than 5'.

I usually start my dive in the shallows, and swim UW out to the edge of the boil area, drop down, goof around for 45 minutes or so, than head up and parallel the far bank, looking in underneath the weedline at the fish that like to hang out under there.

The deeper boil area is a mishmash of currents, one pretty good one from the side, with another boil blowing straight upwards. Smaller boils dot the floor of the basin, and over a sand ridge is another decent sized boil at a depth of about 15'. The basin can get rather mucked up when a bunch of divers get in there kicking it up, which is why early, late, or during the week are the best times to dive it.

The walk down from the parking lot is rather long, but doable. Expect to find sand and grit in bodily orifices and places on and in your gear that you weren't aware existed for at least a week, especially if you dive there when a class is going on. If you go on a summer weekend, go early or late, as the parking lot fills up rather quickly, at which point they start turning cars around.

Bring a kayak or rent a canoe, and take a short excursion down the spring run. The water stays clear for quite a ways, and you never know what you might see.

Of the springs that allow diving, this is one of the prettiest, and probably has the least hassles involved with diving it.

 

[jeandiver]

OOOOOOoooooooo
You had to mention the SAND PART , didn't you Fool !!! :shakehead
I still probably have sand left from the LAST time I dove Alexander ...

I love the place btw !!!

Da Beano

P.S. So now we have bottles to find ... Hmmm....