Blue Grotto Pictures

[SeaYoda]

Blue Grotto in Williston Florida is a crack in the earth with a cross section that looks like a lightening bolt. The first drop takes you to about 50'. On the ceiling of this area there is a diving bell with fresh compressed air that you can pop up into and talk to your buddy. The second drop goes down to around 100' - I got to 97' on my computer, my deepest dive so far. The second drop takes you in on one side of a rock wall and back up on the other. I found it very interesting to watch divers at this site, they seem to like being vertical more often than not. They stand on the bottom and look like they're mingling at a party. Water clarity was not so great and Gulf-Gulper saw the only "critter" (one cave crayfish) so the pictures are what they are.

 

[PaulChristenson]

Williston, FL has got to be warmer than Williston, VT...

 

[alcina]

Looks like great formations!

 

[havnmonkey]

It is a great dive... and i've heard if you are the first divers down,before the silt has been stirred up, the water clarity is superb! My pics look similar to Yoda's; I just wish it wasn't as a popular a dive as it is so I could get some clearer shots.

http://www.scubaboard.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/44174/cat/1528

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

Great pics SeaYoda, Darcy and I were in central FL this weekend as well. Dove Ginnie, Alexander, and Paradise as well as some snorkeling with the manatees. I'll try to get some pics posted later.

 

[SeaYoda]

We were going to hit Ginnie on Sunday but thought it was too far so we tried manatee but it was full. We ended up back at Devil's Den. We were thinking about going to paradise Monday but opted for manatee instead because it was on the way home and timing was right. I'll be posting those pics later.

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

We did Ginnie Sat, snorkeled Crystal Rvr Sun and dove Alexander as that afternoon. We dove Paradise Mon morning and had the place to ourselves until the very end of our 87min dive

 

[SeaYoda]

What did you think of paradise? A couple that dove with us on Saturday was not impressed. They said viz was bad so maybe that was what gave them a bad experience.

We tried to go to 40 Fathom Grotto on Sunday and Monday with American Pro in Crystal River. They were booked up. I wonder how good that is.

 

[KidK9]

I was down there 2 years ago and did a day at Ginnie, a day with the Manatees (for my fiancee....well, and myself ) and a day at Devil's Den. We wish we had one more day. So....in May, we're going back down for a nice little road trip and camping. Going to do Devil's Den (1 day), Ginnie (cavern training - 2 days), Blue Grotto (1 day), and Key Largo (2 days) for the Spiegel Grove and Christ of the Abyss.

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

What did you think of paradise? A couple that dove with us on Saturday was not impressed. They said viz was bad so maybe that was what gave them a bad experience.

We tried to go to 40 Fathom Grotto on Sunday and Monday with American Pro in Crystal River. They were booked up. I wonder how good that is.

Viz was great on Monday morning at 60'+(owner says it would be 200'+ vis by Friday since it doesn't get dived much during the week). I read that you need to dive the site early to get the most out of it(meaning it gets kicked up quickly), figured Monday would be the best bet and it seemed to have worked out for us.

The dive itself was pretty fanastic, just a big ole cavern, with lots of fossils hanging out of the wall Its not nearly as scarred up as Blue Grotto, but there is some graffitti unfortunately.

I thought you had to dive 40 Fathom's with a guide? Can anyone just go and dive it?