Ginnie 3-18-2012

[RickyF]

I haven't done that much diving in Florida, but each time I have been at Ginnie, it has flummoxed me as to why anyone uses that place for OW training. The river run itself is extremely shallow, so in order to get enough depth to do any "diving", the instructors seem to take the students down the vertical part of the Ear, and into the round basin of the Eye. Going into the cave from the Eye is clearly a major change, but to go from the chimney at the Ear into the cave is a very subtle change. I could see a student, having been there before and done the chimney, ending up in the cave almost inadvertently, and looking around and thinking, "Hey, this is COOL!"

I think there have to be better places to train OW students than Ginnie.

I totally agree! I did my rescue course at Gennie and Devils Den because the LDS grouped it with an open water class. There is a total lack of room for open water classes with all the other divers in the water. The allure I guess is 70 deg water in the middle of winter instead of the 50 degree water at Lake Rawlings. It was my one and only trip there.

 

[KellyR]

I totally agree! I did my rescue course at Gennie and Devils Den because the LDS grouped it with an open water class. There is a total lack of room for open water classes with all the other divers in the water. The allure I guess is 70 deg water in the middle of winter instead of the 50 degree water at Lake Rawlings. It was my one and only trip there.

The Blue Grotto has a large pool (compared to the other sites I saw) with a bit of overhead that isn't out of the light zone. Excellent place for open water as an alternative to Ginnie. Platforms at around 20' maybe 30' to the mud. Down side is it's more expensive ($40 for the day instead of $30)

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Manatee Springs State Park is one I'd consider as well. Large open basin and just a short hop over to Catfish Hotel for a different experience with the duckweed.

 

[openmindOW]

Could someone please clarify what happened at Ginnie. Understand there were two fatalities in Florida yesterday.

Did the Ginnie fatality occur in the eye? What was the diver's certification level?

 

[ucfdiver]

Could someone please clarify what happened at Ginnie. Understand there were two fatalities in Florida yesterday.

Did the Ginnie fatality occur in the eye? What was the diver's certification level?

Open water diver with no overhead training died in the catacombs, which are accessible both via Devils Eye and Ear.

 

[openmindOW]

Open water diver with no overhead training died in the catacombs, which are accessible both via Devils Eye and Ear.

He made it as far as the catacombs? Did his buddy make it out? As it was Sunday, were there a lot of people there?

 

[JamesK]

Open water diver with no overhead training died in the catacombs, which are accessible both via Devils Eye and Ear.

Thanks for the info James. It's hard to imagine how one just inadvertantly wanders in to the catacombs. SMH...

 

[PfcAJ]

The catacombs are right inside the door. Its very easy to end up in there. Its low (no) flow, can get to have quite low vis, is small and can be disorienting for an untrained diver. You can swim right into a section of the catacombs from the Eye, iirc.

 

[Jax]

Thanks for the info James. It's hard to imagine how one just inadvertantly wanders in to the catacombs. SMH...

James, can you estimate how far back are the catacombs?

 

[Jax]

The catacombs are right inside the door. Its very easy to end up in there. Its low (no) flow, can get to have quite low vis, is small and can be disorienting for an untrained diver. You can swim right into a section of the catacombs from the Eye, iirc.

Ah! That is helpful.