any1 drift dive silver or rainbow river?

[cra2]

Has anyone done a drift dive in the Silver or Rainbow Rivers?
Need to know how/where/when/what to expect, etc.
Thanks

I'm sorry if this info is already on the board somewhere but I'm having trouble finding it using the search features of the BB.

*praying on knees for the conchdivers database to be ready soon*

 

[GrierHPharmD]

I've done it many times, and always have a nice, relaxing time of it. It's clear water, sand bottom, river drift diving, suitable for newbies. You take a boat upstream from the park and put your gear on standing on a sandbar, then just let the river carry you back. The boat follow you and acts as a surface marker. I took my wife and children last time, and they snorkeled and free dove while I was on scuba. It's beautiful, the way the bottom just drops out from under you in the clear cool water.

Here's a nice little description:

http://www.floridacaves.com/Rainbow.htm


Here's my log entry for my last time there:

6/1/03. 81 minutes. Temp = 73 degrees

Drift dived with Captain Charlie Slider (Aquamarine Images 888-732-2692) took us upriver & ran dive from surface. Put in at KP hole park

Max depth was 22 ffw @ main spring boil. Saw other boils/springs @ 9,21 & 18 ffw.

Picked up several smal fossils, saw lots of bass, including 1 large (12") black bass in a small cavern. Also saw 2 turtles & 1 large catfish in 19 ffs cavern.
Explored multiple "popcorn boils" & fossil beds, spotted caverns & spring boils from the surface.

$29.50/person. Great Operator. Will use him in the future!

 

[cra2]

thank you for the quick, complete response.
Unfortunately I'm just a bundle of questions.
Neeeed morrreee DATA. "Number 5 is Alive."

a) do you know what it's like in summer like this?
too crowded, unsafe?
b) can you charter a "follow" boat for only 2 divers?
c) can't you put in at some place called KP Hole or something and do it without a boat? or vice versa?
d) could one canoe up, and drift back holding the canoe line?never done that - I imagine the unmanned canoe would get caught on every log and blow into every bank & drag you around under water.

I've done it many times, and always have a nice, relaxing time of it. It's clear water, sand bottom, river drift diving, suitable for newbies. You take a boat upstream from the park and put your gear on standing on a sandbar, then just let the river carry you back. The boat follow you and acts as a surface marker. I took my wife and children last time, and they snorkeled and free dove while I was on scuba. It's beautiful, the way the bottom just drops out from under you in the clear cool water.

Here's a nice little description:

http://www.floridacaves.com/Rainbow.htm


Here's my log entry for my last time there:

6/1/03. 81 minutes. Temp = 73 degrees

Drift dived with Captain Charlie Slider (Aquamarine Images 888-732-2692) took us upriver & ran dive from surface. Put in at KP hole park

Max depth was 22 ffw @ main spring boil. Saw other boils/springs @ 9,21 & 18 ffw.

Picked up several smal fossils, saw lots of bass, including 1 large (12") black bass in a small cavern. Also saw 2 turtles & 1 large catfish in 19 ffs cavern.
Explored multiple "popcorn boils" & fossil beds, spotted caverns & spring boils from the surface.

$29.50/person. Great Operator. Will use him in the future!

 

[rdougmatthews]

I've kayaked the Silver River, and I'm pretty sure that the most interesting parts (including the headspring and a good mile or so down from it) are off limits to swimming and diving. From what I could see, the part of the river that's open would have been less scenic underwater (but is amazing on the surface). However, if you did go, boat traffic wouldn't be too big an issue -- the entire river is actively enforced as an idle speed, no wake zone.

 

[GrierHPharmD]

Let's see if I can hit everything:

A. I've been there a different times of the year and never encountered bothersome crowds. There are a few tubers and a few fishermen, but everybody's always been pretty well-mannered on the times that I've visited.

B. I'm pretty sure that the guy I used will take two divers. You can call KP Hole park, and they will refer you to a local dive shop that does pontoon boat tours also. I tend to like the more minimalist approach. The water's a lot clearer with fewer divers.

C. I don't think there's an upriver access available to the public. The river is surrounded by residential property, and I don't think that there is parking or other amenities you would need.

D. I guess you could canoe it, but it's got a pretty stiff (~2 kt) current, and you'd be paddling a mile or so upstream. I'm not much of a paddler, so that might not pose a problem, but with a sit-on-top full of dive gear, I think it might pose a bit of a challenge.


To give you a little better feel for the area, here are two photos from the Lloyd Bailey Scuba and Watersports website. I particularly like the one of the snorkelers. It captures the feel of drifting with the current in that clear, sand bottomed, river. http://www.lloydbaileysscuba.com/rr.html

 

[GrierHPharmD]

Here's another link to a great Springs site. Lots of info and good photos.

http://fn1.tfn.net/~springs/Rainbow.htm

 

[cdiver2]

Here's another link to a great Springs site. Lots of info and good photos.

http://fn1.tfn.net/~springs/Rainbow.htm

Done both from a canoe. Very enjoyable easy dive, just make sure you have a dive flag and the correct life jackets in the canoe. The last time we were there snorkeling we got kicked out as we had the seat cushion type of flotation for jackets and they are not acceptable

 

[GrierHPharmD]

Hi CRA2,

I tried to respond to your PM via email but got spam blocked. Here are your questions and my answers. (My PM box is pretty full.)

thanks for the info on the drift dives in the rivers.
so you've only done rainbow I take it?

Did you use one or two tanks? How much of it did you snorkel, and how much did you dive?

And how long did it take you total? Were you flowing with the current or stopping to check out the details and poke your head in holes and following turtles?

On Rainbow, you said you put in at KP Hole and then the boat took you guys up closer to the headsprings, at Rainbow River state park?

Couldn't you park one car at the park and then drift down to KP Hole and get out where you put the second car?

I did my dives there on a single tank. Looking back at my logbook, it looks like my shortest time was 72 minutes and my longest was 81. I always just use scuba and have never had a problem with gas supply.


As far as the pace goes, I usually take things at a nice, leisurely pace, taking time to go into the small cavern, explore fossil beds on the bottom, stick my fingers into popcorn boils, etc. I’ve never felt rushed. The river current is strong enough to carry you with minimal swimming, but not so strong as to keep you from exploring.



As far as the parking is concerned, KP hole is downstream of the dive. I don’t know anything about Rainbow springs park. I know that you can’t dive the headwaters of the rivers, due to the surrounding area being privately owned.



All in all, it’s an easy dive, and one worth doing. I might suggest going over to Crystal River for a dive into King’s Spring and some manatee swimming if you’re coming to the area from elsewhere. There are several places that rent deck boats, and the cavern dive is sorta nice.



Good luck,

Grier

 

[simbrooks]

Rainbow Springs SP: http://www.floridastateparks.org/rainbowsprings/default.asp They seem to have canoe rentals from the spring, sure you could take it down the river as a float as long as you have a way of taking it back to the park - they dont let you dive in the headspring only the river (hence the reason most people on this drift get off the pontoon boat around a sand bar on the west side of the river near the headsprings) - i would call the SP office and ask about taking in scuba gear and transporting via canoe to the river (you know what i mean) and all after that for the dive.

As for Silver River, there is also a state park there (although its really just starting getting going admin-wise) and when i asked before they thought you could come in with a canoe or kayak and launch (again not dive in the headsprings) there to drift the river. There is another place at the end of the river that also rents canoes and might let you use them see this thread http://www.scubaboard.com/t46847.html for details and you could organise your trip that way.

I have drifted the Rainbow once in the day and once at night, was good both times. Around 65 minutes in the day and we did a shorter dive at night (ie started further down the river) - but this was back in my first few post-checkout dives.