Ginnie Springs--did we miss something?

[iztok]

Standard operating procedure in Mexico

I guess not in FL? MX is fly time, FL is drive time.

 

[metaldector]

As a cave diver I find the Ginnie Springs experience interesting. That said, I always am puzzled by the OW folks diving the Eye or Ear. It's a small opening into a vast underground river and they get to experience 30' deep in the ear at best with walls 10 feet on either side. The summer crowds are mean, and borish, and damn inconsiderate of others. The Ballroom is fine for the open water diver but limited in every aspect. Were I planning a trip to Florida to take a cavern or cave course I'd recommend Ginnie, but for open water divers, go to the coast and leave the fresh, cool, springs and caves to those who know how to use and enjoy them.

 

[SkimFisher]

It was my understanding - as the result of two very recent conversations - that OW divers were not permitted in the Ear and Eye - only the spring run. This is the reason for the "no lights" rule - to at the very least discourage it. Obviously, they can't physically STOP an OW diver from heading in, but the scuba police at Ginnie are usually very watchful. I have scene them reprimand OW divers for entering before.

I'm cavern certified, but I've never done either despite having spent a lot of time at Ginnie - so correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[Lorenzoid]

It was my understanding - as the result of two very recent conversations - that OW divers were not permitted in the Ear and Eye - only the spring run. This is the reason for the "no lights" rule - to at the very least discourage it. Obviously, they can't physically STOP an OW diver from heading in, but the scuba police at Ginnie are usually very watchful. I have scene them reprimand OW divers for entering before.

I'm cavern certified, but I've never done either despite having spent a lot of time at Ginnie - so correct me if I'm wrong.

Well, at least as of a couple of days ago, the orientation encourages OW divers to check out the Devil's Ear and Eye--without lights, as you mentioned, and no doubt without entering any overhead spaces. The video shows the pretty "stained glass" effect seen by looking up. But even from the video and descriptions we read on their web site and elsewhere of what an OW diver can see/do in there, it was clear to us that pretty much all we would be able to do is stop in one place and look up! Perhaps do a drift dive back to Ginnie in the near-zero-vis river that's full of debris and families in inner tubes. So we didn't even bother with the Ear and Eye, as that would have meant another tank, moving the car, gearing up again, etc. At that point, we decided that our afternoon and money would be better spent on a few beers on the patio at the Great Outdoors restaurant in town.

It sure ain't Mexico.

 

[Scuba_Jenny]

I didn't mean my post to come off as a general bashing of Ginnie Springs. I was just voicing my disappointment at throwing a few hundred bucks in gas, hotel, admission, air/weight rental, and two days of our time at what Scuba Diving mag touted as a good weekend "drive and dive" trip. We had a 5-1/2 hour drive each way, and that was too much to justify what Ginnie offers the OW diver. As I mentioned, I did a similar trip years ago to Blue Grotto and Devil's Den and vaguely recall having had more fun and there being more for the OW diver to see. I know the allure of cave diving--as I mentioned, diving with a cave guide in Mexican cenotes and seeing haloclines and amazing rock formations was truly other-worldly. But having done things like that I don't really see how I could get much enjoyment from just barely entering what turned out to be a pretty dull-looking cavern, looking around for 15 minutes, and leaving.

Oh well. Live and learn. I suppose if I had asked for opinions on SB whether it was worth going to Ginnie I would not have gotten a clear concensus. There is always some amount of enjoyment in even a brief dive in a new place, so why should anyone discourage another diver from checking a place out? But weighed against the time and expense, it was just a folly to make a weekend excursion to Ginnie Springs from Atlanta.

So, my question is this: did you post on SB your intention of going to Ginnie Springs and what there is to do for the OW diver? Perhaps if you asked first, this could have been avoided. I know for me, if I am driving 5 1/2 hours to dive, I want to make sure it's worth my while and have a good idea of what to expect.

 

[vladimir]

Since you mentioned it.......

While no magazine can equal the old "Skin Diver" for hype and BS, I tend to take with a grain of salt any glowing recommendations next to the full page add for the property/supplier mentioned/profiled in an article - just sayin'

PS The best was an article in "Skin Diver" written by the operators wife - like she was going to point out anything bad, or even had a shred of objectivity - guess its better to abandon all sense of objectivity - "SD" was one of the worst magazines ever written. Not surprised they are out of business.

Yes, one of the worst ever written...but among the best ever photographed. You can't deny that the cover of Skin Diver tempted you on the newsstand--otherwise nobody would have ever bought it twice.

 

[DennisW]

Frankly, freshwater caverns and springs are just plain boring. I don't do deep dark holes so I have only been to the springs a couple of times. Just not worth the time for me unless I am already there for some other reason (There is an annual family reunion at Oleno State Park). I normally dive the ocean for what I can see on the reef. So, I completely understand your disappointment in the springs.

 

[Lee Taylor]

Ginnie has its place in the Scuba world.

You are 5 hrs from Coastal SC, and NC is just right up the road. I personally prefer the boats, blue water, sea life, ledges, shipwrecks, etc. You may want to look eastward in the future.

 

[tstormdiver]

One of my recent favorite dives was in the spring run of Little Devil, the Ear & Eye. Whilst the others in my group (full cave divers or cave Instructors) went on an adavnced cave dive, I (being only Intro to cave level) puttered around in the run practicing valve drill & working on my buoyancy control. I saw several river turtles & at one point I saw the bottm move slightly. When I investgated, I found they were little 2- 4" fresh water flounders. They were everywhere. I started chasing them around for a while & had an absolute blast! I also watched some of the OW classes going on. My dive was only 5ft deep, but I practiced & played around for about 45 min. I guess I just figured out how to make my own fun.

 

[AquaExplorer]

I completely disagree.

For me, part of the joy of diving is experiencing different environments and seeing things I've never seen before. My wife and I drove about 2 hours to get to Ginnie Springs and it was well worth the drive, despite not being cave certified. The water was crystal clear. Coming from the NE I had never dived in water so clear before. I found the limestone formations beautiful and the mercury-like trapped air inside the ceiling of the caves very interesting. The tanic color of the Santa Fe, where it meets the spring water and creates a stained glass effect is unlike anything I had ever seen. Heck, I even enjoyed the grim reaper signs. This trip made me see the allure of cave diving, which I had not really understood up to this point.

Same here. Loren my wife and I did Ginnie Springs about a month and a half ago...and we are the same as you. OW only, newly certified (about a year) and not many dives. We went down on a Friday night and did three dives at Ginnie Springs. Two in Ginnie and one in Devil's area.

This was a tune-up/get back in the water dive for an upcoming ocean trip. I can say that we thoroughly enjoyed it, hell we just enjoyed DIVING period, but to do it in crystal clear water, do some "cavern" diving without being cavern certified, exploring, and yes, having fun watching the tubers/snorklers looking down at us while we sat on the bottom and waved at them was fun.

I will say the water was cooler than my wife normally likes, and we only had 3mm suits, so it was HARD to talk her into the third dive at the Devil's area. However when we got out she was like "I am so glad you made me do that, that was fun!" We entered the cavern at the eye, watched some cave divers enter the caves (no way Jose for me), got to try and crawl down the ear with all the water pushing up at us, swam the channel to Little Devil, swam UNDER the tubers (LOL..I so wanted to pinch some butts).

Again...it is all about what you want. My wife is a macro girl, she loves going slow and looking for little things, so the springs worked.

Would I do it again? Sure. Can I see your point as well? Yup...but again it is all of what you want out of things, and for us, as a tune-up dive and a new experience, it was great!