Cypress Springs(12-28) and Vortex Spring(12-29) Pics

[SuPrBuGmAn]

Cavern opening at Cypress Springs

Freshwater Eel - notice the shells embedded in the limestone - pretty nifty - Cypress Springs

Drunk looking fish, not positive on what it is(I think some kind of bass), but they are in all the caverns along the panhandle springs. This is in Cypress Springs

You can find more from this dive at http://www.suprbugman.com/gallery/album45

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

In the cavern at Vortex

Better shot of a freshwate Eel at Vortex

Another shot of one of those weird fish in the cavern at Vortex

You can find more from this dive at http://www.suprbugman.com/gallery/album46

 

[alcina]

Looks great! Is this with the replacement system or something else?

Have to say those fresh water eels give me the heebie-jeebies for some reason :11:

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

This is a borrowed setup - SeaLife DC310 w/external strobe

I have pics to ~20 dives on my gallery website, the majority taken with this camera. The camera belongs to a friend of mine who rarely dives - which works in my favor.

I should have another Oly by the end of Jan or early Feb *crosses fingers*

 

[chickdiver]

*Geology Lecture*

The shells you see are fossil remants of the vast coral reef that once was Florida. The limestone and dolomite that form Florida caves eroded over timed due to the action of carbonic acid and water flow exposing these fossil remnants. Some caves have more than others. Jackson Blue, for example, has numerous sand dollars and sea biscuits embedded in the walls, as well as fossilized elkhorn coral littering the floor. Farther back in the system one frequently sees sea biscuits lying in the silt on the floor. I once found a shark's tooth (a large one) embedded by the edge of one root in a rock on the floor in the Banana (terminal) room there- the tooth still had enamel. Sally Ward spring in Wakulla Springs State Park has a large boulder in one tunnel. Upon closer inspection one finds it is actually a fossilized brain coral.

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

Cool, thanks for the info - very interesting

 

[SeaYoda]

My arms gave out before I got all the way to Cypress and Beckton was too tannic to take pics in so all I have are topside of the canoe trip. It was a challenge to keep water drops OFF the lens this trip . Later in the day my attempts failed.

Morning at Vortex - Ice on the table and Steam on the water

Cypress tree along flooded Holmes creek

 

[SeaYoda]

The Boys - Mikey and Mat - They liked the trees better than the open creek for some reason

The Girls - Darcy and Liza - I never did get a "face" shot of Liza, she kept hiding

The final leg - as the sun goes down on Holmes creek

It was a great trip!

 

[louisianadiver]

Hey, suprbugman. I thought Cypress Springs was bought by a water-bottling company and closed to divers. Did you have to get special permission to dive there? -Clay

 

[SeaYoda]

Hey, suprbugman. I thought Cypress Springs was bought by a water-bottling company and closed to divers. Did you have to get special permission to dive there? -Clay

My 2 cents worth of info:

The land is privately owned but the waterway belongs to the public. You can only get to the spring by canoe and the land surrounding it is off limits. It seems the bottling company never got the permits they needed. The only bad thing is that there is no land access to the spring - but this has the silver lining that there are no crowds either .