My wife and I drove down from Atlanta to check out Ginnie Springs and get in a few practice dives before an upcoming big trip. This was only my second dive trip to a FL spring, the first having been to Devil's Den and Blue Grotto about eight years ago. My wife had never dived in freshwater. We found Ginnie to be disappointing and wonder whether we just didn't do something right. The people at the dive shop really didn't give us a good orientation, though we told them we were newbies at this and asked for whatever advice they thought might be useful to us. The orientation video didn't have any more information than what was available on their web site.
I can understand the allure for the Cave Diver, but for the OW diver there is only so much to see, isn't there? We went into the "Ballroom" or whatever it's called, checked out the grate that blocks the cave entrance, and after maybe 15 minutes of looking around and pointing our lights at the walls we shrugged our shoulders and left. Did we expect too much? Did we miss something? After that, we swam out into the river, which had horrible vis, so we left. We really didn't feel like gearing up again to see the nearby Devil's Eye, etc., because from what we understood that site has even less (or just as little) for the OW diver to see, as OW divers aren't even permitted to carry lights.
Although it was eight years ago and I have been to many more amazing places since, I recall having enjoyed Devil's Den and Blue Grotto in nearby Williston. If I recall, there were some lights and multiple ropes to guide the most casual OW diver to areas of interest. If I recall, we had no problem occupying ourselves for more than 15 minutes there and enjoyed about half a day at each place. I also spent a day diving in Mexican cenotes with a cave diving guide a couple of years ago and thought that was one of the most incredible dive experiences I have ever had. Have my expectations been raised too much by so much great diving?
The experience was also dampened by having to navigate past families with little children swimming in the spring and going up and down the same stairs we used to enter and exit in our dive gear. It was chaotic. Totally different from what we are used to from diving in the ocean. Totally different from what I (vaguely) remember of Devil's Den and Blue Grotto, too.
Are we morons? Did we miss something? Although diving in a freshwater spring is a novelty for me that I kind of enjoy, I think that as OW divers it would be a better use of the time and money we expended in driving 5-1/2 hours from Atlanta, staying a couple of nights in a hotel, etc., to apply those resources to a dive trip elsewhere, like maybe Boynton Beach or the Keys.
For the Cave Diver, I'm sure Ginnie is nirvana, but I think we'll stick to the ocean.
I can understand the allure for the Cave Diver, but for the OW diver there is only so much to see, isn't there? We went into the "Ballroom" or whatever it's called, checked out the grate that blocks the cave entrance, and after maybe 15 minutes of looking around and pointing our lights at the walls we shrugged our shoulders and left. Did we expect too much? Did we miss something? After that, we swam out into the river, which had horrible vis, so we left. We really didn't feel like gearing up again to see the nearby Devil's Eye, etc., because from what we understood that site has even less (or just as little) for the OW diver to see, as OW divers aren't even permitted to carry lights.
Although it was eight years ago and I have been to many more amazing places since, I recall having enjoyed Devil's Den and Blue Grotto in nearby Williston. If I recall, there were some lights and multiple ropes to guide the most casual OW diver to areas of interest. If I recall, we had no problem occupying ourselves for more than 15 minutes there and enjoyed about half a day at each place. I also spent a day diving in Mexican cenotes with a cave diving guide a couple of years ago and thought that was one of the most incredible dive experiences I have ever had. Have my expectations been raised too much by so much great diving?
The experience was also dampened by having to navigate past families with little children swimming in the spring and going up and down the same stairs we used to enter and exit in our dive gear. It was chaotic. Totally different from what we are used to from diving in the ocean. Totally different from what I (vaguely) remember of Devil's Den and Blue Grotto, too.
Are we morons? Did we miss something? Although diving in a freshwater spring is a novelty for me that I kind of enjoy, I think that as OW divers it would be a better use of the time and money we expended in driving 5-1/2 hours from Atlanta, staying a couple of nights in a hotel, etc., to apply those resources to a dive trip elsewhere, like maybe Boynton Beach or the Keys.
For the Cave Diver, I'm sure Ginnie is nirvana, but I think we'll stick to the ocean.
