SuPrBuGmAn
Contributor
Hurricanes and some pretty bad thunderstorms have churned up the gulf and flooded out alot of the panhandle springs so we've been kind of limited to certain dive sites the last few weeks. I figured Cypress would be one of the only free springs left that wouldn't be flooded. The Choctawhatchee River levels were at 10.5' at Caryville, which is only about 1.5' shy of flood level and just as far over a bankfull(9'). Cypress Springs pushes 96 million gallons a day so I was hoping for the best. It payed off.
5 of us left Robertsdale, AL Sunday morning for Cypress. James Dean, Patrick Davis, and I would be diving while we had 2 snorkelers(Patrick's roomates) as well. We left later than normal so it was already pretty damned hot when we got to the boat launch after a quick stop at Vortex to rent a wetsuit for one of our snorkelers. We had 5 people that needed to get to the spring and I had my Zodiac and James brought his own ride(Ocean Kayak - Caper model), so I shuttled the snorkelers to the spring and came back to pick up Patrick with all of our SCUBA gear. James wasn't far behind us after I arrived from my second trip to get the gear. There were 5-6 other boats at the spring filled with locals fishing, snorkeling, swimming, ect - but not other divers.
Water visibility was excellent as always and the water was cold, especially considering the 90+ºF temps we had outside. One hellova temp change and it affected my camera. The camera got hot and when I put it in the water the inside fogged up and the silicate pack wasn't enough to keep the fog at bay - D'Oh - no UW pics today.
We did two leisurely dives and saw alot of the normal fauna such as bream, bass, freshwater eels, mullet, turtles of different kinds, and even a bunch of big ole crawfish
We goofed around in the cavern, maxing out at 66'. I still think its amazing when I'm back there looking into the little hole leading back into the cave. I can't believe anyone can fit back there but there is a fresh cave line leading back out of site.
By the time we were done our second dive, we were all pretty hungry, no thanks to the grill someone setup across the spring filling the air with the smell of cooked burgers and steaks. We packed our stuff and I shuttled everyone back over to the launch. We finished packing just in time because the skies opened up and it really started to pour. After we dropped the wetsuit off at Vortex we headed to the Hooters in Crestview for a post-dive beer and a bunch of wings.
Had a great time, looking forward to this weekend for even more panhandle spring diving.
5 of us left Robertsdale, AL Sunday morning for Cypress. James Dean, Patrick Davis, and I would be diving while we had 2 snorkelers(Patrick's roomates) as well. We left later than normal so it was already pretty damned hot when we got to the boat launch after a quick stop at Vortex to rent a wetsuit for one of our snorkelers. We had 5 people that needed to get to the spring and I had my Zodiac and James brought his own ride(Ocean Kayak - Caper model), so I shuttled the snorkelers to the spring and came back to pick up Patrick with all of our SCUBA gear. James wasn't far behind us after I arrived from my second trip to get the gear. There were 5-6 other boats at the spring filled with locals fishing, snorkeling, swimming, ect - but not other divers.
Water visibility was excellent as always and the water was cold, especially considering the 90+ºF temps we had outside. One hellova temp change and it affected my camera. The camera got hot and when I put it in the water the inside fogged up and the silicate pack wasn't enough to keep the fog at bay - D'Oh - no UW pics today.
We did two leisurely dives and saw alot of the normal fauna such as bream, bass, freshwater eels, mullet, turtles of different kinds, and even a bunch of big ole crawfish
We goofed around in the cavern, maxing out at 66'. I still think its amazing when I'm back there looking into the little hole leading back into the cave. I can't believe anyone can fit back there but there is a fresh cave line leading back out of site.By the time we were done our second dive, we were all pretty hungry, no thanks to the grill someone setup across the spring filling the air with the smell of cooked burgers and steaks. We packed our stuff and I shuttled everyone back over to the launch. We finished packing just in time because the skies opened up and it really started to pour. After we dropped the wetsuit off at Vortex we headed to the Hooters in Crestview for a post-dive beer and a bunch of wings.
Had a great time, looking forward to this weekend for even more panhandle spring diving.
