Dive spots in central/N. Florida

[jwalko]

Hi all;

Looking for some advice. I'll be in central Florida (about 1 hour N of Orlando, just south of Ocala) July 15-22 and am looking to find some place to dive. There will be between 2-4 of us. 2 are newly certified and 2 are experienced. I'll have my daughter w/ me, who is Jr. OW, so she'll need to stay in about 45' or less. I realize this kind of limits us, but was wondering if there are any good dive charters, or springs that I should check out. We are probably OK driving an hour or so to the dive spot, but don't want to make the drive to WPB or other S. Florida dive spots.

I have heard diving in springs is really great, but know nothing about it. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks;


John

 

[H2Andy]

you'll be close to Paradise Springs, in Ocala ... it goes down to 120 feet
for those of you who want to go deep, but you can stay shallow in the basin.

however, it's overhead. while they don't require anything other than OW
training to dive there, it may not be the place to take a child.

you can go north to Williston and dive either Blue Grotto or Devil's Den.
these two are also overhead, but you can dive with only an OW cert.

Further north, you can go to Ginnie Springs. they have some drift diving,
also a large cavern dive with only OW certs. also, you can tube down
the river.

SE of you, close to Daytona on I-4 is Blue Spring in Orange City. you can do an
OW dive down to 60 feet or so in a nice cracked fissure.

or you can keep going to Daytona and do a two-tank ocean dive,
but they will be diving in 79-90 feet of water.

there's no shore diving in the Daytona area.

 

[jwalko]

Andy:

Could you describe a little more about what you mean when you say it is an overhead environment? I assume these places aren't caves, but are their overhangs and such?

What is there to see? Keep in mind my two types of diving have been in S. Florida (lots to see) and quarries (nothing to see...well not entirely true, but you know what I mean). I have no idea about the springs, but think I woudl like to dive them based on some of what I have read here.

Just trying to determine if I can find a place where I can dive w/ my daughter, who is very comfortable in the water, but probably not ready for anything too technical (such as stong currents, navigation, etc.). I want to err on the side of caution. It is amazing to me how you start to think about things differently when one of your children are invovled (smile).

Thanks;


John Walko

 

[H2Andy]

"overhead" means that you are in a large, but enclosed "room"

basically what you would call a cave (though not strictly so under
cave diving definitions)

there's a few fish and lots of rocks to look at. mostly, you just do it to dive
in perfectly clear water.

there are no strong currents or navigation issues. but you will be diving with
rock over your head.

 

[prittykitty]

May I add Alexander Springs to the list? It may be a little basic for experienced divers, but it may be more appropriate for newly certified divers. It's in Ocala National forest, maxes out at just under 30 ft. and has minimal currents. Have fun wherever you go!

 

[H2Andy]

alexander springs is quite pretty. there's a local nut (Scubafool) who loves the place.

but it gets old after a few dives, though, for me

but i certainly would dive it once or twice, for the experience

one advantage of Alexander is that it is open water diving

 

[Land Locked]

Hi John,
Like Andy said, the diving at Devil's Den and Ginnie Springs are cavern type
diving, yes you are in a hole but you can see light and know your way out.
These two are favorites of mine for taking KPP divers for a "New experience."
They can get boring after a few dives, but a MUST see! These are NOT dives
for the claustrophobic!

 

[scubafool]

alexander springs is quite pretty. there's a local nut (Scubafool) who loves the place.

but it gets old after a few dives, though, for me

but i certainly would dive it once or twice, for the experience

one advantage of Alexander is that it is open water diving

I saw something new there Monday.

Alexander is probably your best bet price and location wise for the younger divers. The only other place I would reccomend would be Ginnie, but the price is considerably higher, $5 and a little change at the one, and $27 at the other. If you do go to Ginnie, and you have the option, do it on a weekday, as it gets crowded on a summer weekend.

 

[scubafool]

Hi John,
Like Andy said, the diving at Devil's Den and Ginnie Springs are cavern type
diving, yes you are in a hole but you can see light and know your way out.
These two are favorites of mine for taking KPP divers for a "New experience."
They can get boring after a few dives, but a MUST see! These are NOT dives
for the claustrophobic!

There is a reasonable amount of diving that can be done in the OW at Ginnie. The Ginnie basin and run, Little Devil and the run, Devil's Eye, and Devil's Ear all have OW sections that are worth checking out if you are there.The river is clear enough at present to be divable as well, though you need to use a diver down flag when doing so.

 

[Land Locked]

I saw something new there Monday.

Alexander is probably your best bet price and location wise for the younger divers. The only other place I would reccomend would be Ginnie, but the price is considerably higher, $5 and a little change at the one, and $27 at the other. If you do go to Ginnie, and you have the option, do it on a weekday, as it gets crowded on a summer weekend.

Crowded on the weekend, no problem! I teach the SpiderMan Cesa! When it get's
packed with divers, inflate your BC, go to the ceiling and CRAWL out!