watching inkdiver take an al80 to the back of the head is always fun.
for one of us :mooner:
Ginnie springs - safe for AOW?
- Thread starter ferretchen
- Start date
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
for one of us :mooner:
ucfdiver
Contributor
I've always had an easier time when it's only cavern/cave divers there than when there's OW divers. Not saying all cave divers are perfect, or all OW divers get in the way, just in general. I can promise you that these rules were hammered in our head during my recent intro class.
PfcAJ
Contributor
watching inkdiver take an al80 to the back of the head is always fun.
I'd rather watch LiteHedded take one to the head, at least InkDiver brings food and stuff. Litehedded just hustles me for a ride to Ginnie every weekend.
***ing Clown.
We were there a few weeks ago coming out of the ear but still in the dark.Here comes four o.w divers in headfirst pulling lights they had hid from pockets.One got his fin hung up in the line and pulled it out of placement before getting loose.Two of my buddies went through the opening to deco on the log.I was last,fixin to exit and one of them decided he had seen enough and jumped in front of me to exit.I motioned for the others to exit with him and they declined.So I swam up to the log and the first guy out was gone.No safety stop.Then another one of them came rocketing out past us and straight to the surface.I have never witnessed an ascent that fast.I guess he was alright but lucky.An empty b.c coming out of the ear is important.Stop on the log for your safety stop too.Alot of water gushes from the crack so be ready!
Ginnie has rules about divers which you must follow:
-have to sign a waiver, if you are under 18 you have to have a parent or legal gaurdian there to sign it. No one else but a parent or legal gaurdian can sign. Only other option is goin gto a notary and having them notarize that a parent signed it.
-must have your certification card with you.
-only cavern and cave divers may have lights near the Devil's system. Don't even take them out--on weekends there is staff checking and they will throw you out if it looks like you intend to take the lights in the water with you. Lights can be taken by an OW diver in the Ballroom and I'd reccomend that you take atleast three-one primary, two backups.
-exit the ballroom with apprxoimately 2k psi remaining. (ie: turn your dive at thirds)
-to dive at night in the ballroom, you must have dove there once in the daylight.
Just inside there is a large rope running through part of the cavern. At any point you can see this rope, and find your way out. Flow is strong and silt is not a problem. There is cave zone in the cavern, and you should stay out of it unless you have cave training. Basically, don't go anywhere where you cannot see the daylight at the entrance.
This weekend, Ginnie will be full of drunk campers, fifteen thousand of them, and I would not advise plannign to dive. There are only so many bathhouses and they will NOT be clean. They will be cleaned several times a day but when you have 15k people drinking, it's hard to keep a bathroom clean. The water will be full of tubers, you can probably forget an easy entry into the Devil's system, even though divers have their own stairs, drunk people don't give up their spot on the stairs easily... The lines in the shop will be long (you might bein line for 30 minutes to an hour), and the place will be crowded. Come another weekend or during the week (for Memorial Day, thursday through Sunday is the busy time) and the place will be much less crowded.
Air is $5 for a single tank, $7 for doubles, entrance is $30 if you are anything short of full cave, all those prices are without tax. ($32.10 to get in with tax...)
If it were any other weekend, I'd offer to dive with you when I get off work, but this weekend the rule is "no employees are allowed to use the park for any reason that is not work related" basically, so they won't let me dive after work
And yes, divers have died in the ballroom. If you don't feel competent enough in your diving skills to survive, then don't dive. You are the only one who can make that call and your decision has extremely consequences. Not trying to scare you, but remember the golden rule of diving: anyone can call the dive at any point in time and NO other diver is allowed to criticzie for you it. If a buddy makes fun of you for calling a dive, find another buddy, and I mean that. Diving can kill you quickly and a buddy who makes you want to avoid calling a dive could contribute to your death. Remember: it's all about fun. If you aren't having fun, then stop diving, atleast for that dive.
If you want nitrox, you'll have to go up the street (CR340 to SR47) to Cave Excursions East, or to Extreme Exposure in High Springs. If you go to CEE, tell Rich I gave you directions, he knows me by username
Also, for what it is worth, July is full of plants right now... and visibility in the river seems to be improving, and from my kayak, I'd estimate it to be atleast 10 feet. Can anyone whose done a drift dive confirm that fact? To do a drift you do need a flag, and it'd be great if you'd take a lobster bag and pick up some beer bottles. Make sure you don't miss Ginnie Spring...if you do, stay on the surface and get out at the tube run exit
If you have more specific questions about the park, feel free to pm me. I work there...
(and if you need regulators, Ginnie is selling their old rental regs. $200 for a Scubapro MK2plus and I think...R190 second stages? I can't recall exactly...just rebuilt by scubapro, so they are brand new inside and only two years old outside!)
-have to sign a waiver, if you are under 18 you have to have a parent or legal gaurdian there to sign it. No one else but a parent or legal gaurdian can sign. Only other option is goin gto a notary and having them notarize that a parent signed it.
-must have your certification card with you.
-only cavern and cave divers may have lights near the Devil's system. Don't even take them out--on weekends there is staff checking and they will throw you out if it looks like you intend to take the lights in the water with you. Lights can be taken by an OW diver in the Ballroom and I'd reccomend that you take atleast three-one primary, two backups.
-exit the ballroom with apprxoimately 2k psi remaining. (ie: turn your dive at thirds)
-to dive at night in the ballroom, you must have dove there once in the daylight.
Just inside there is a large rope running through part of the cavern. At any point you can see this rope, and find your way out. Flow is strong and silt is not a problem. There is cave zone in the cavern, and you should stay out of it unless you have cave training. Basically, don't go anywhere where you cannot see the daylight at the entrance.
This weekend, Ginnie will be full of drunk campers, fifteen thousand of them, and I would not advise plannign to dive. There are only so many bathhouses and they will NOT be clean. They will be cleaned several times a day but when you have 15k people drinking, it's hard to keep a bathroom clean. The water will be full of tubers, you can probably forget an easy entry into the Devil's system, even though divers have their own stairs, drunk people don't give up their spot on the stairs easily... The lines in the shop will be long (you might bein line for 30 minutes to an hour), and the place will be crowded. Come another weekend or during the week (for Memorial Day, thursday through Sunday is the busy time) and the place will be much less crowded.
Air is $5 for a single tank, $7 for doubles, entrance is $30 if you are anything short of full cave, all those prices are without tax. ($32.10 to get in with tax...)
If it were any other weekend, I'd offer to dive with you when I get off work, but this weekend the rule is "no employees are allowed to use the park for any reason that is not work related" basically, so they won't let me dive after work
And yes, divers have died in the ballroom. If you don't feel competent enough in your diving skills to survive, then don't dive. You are the only one who can make that call and your decision has extremely consequences. Not trying to scare you, but remember the golden rule of diving: anyone can call the dive at any point in time and NO other diver is allowed to criticzie for you it. If a buddy makes fun of you for calling a dive, find another buddy, and I mean that. Diving can kill you quickly and a buddy who makes you want to avoid calling a dive could contribute to your death. Remember: it's all about fun. If you aren't having fun, then stop diving, atleast for that dive.
If you want nitrox, you'll have to go up the street (CR340 to SR47) to Cave Excursions East, or to Extreme Exposure in High Springs. If you go to CEE, tell Rich I gave you directions, he knows me by username
Also, for what it is worth, July is full of plants right now... and visibility in the river seems to be improving, and from my kayak, I'd estimate it to be atleast 10 feet. Can anyone whose done a drift dive confirm that fact? To do a drift you do need a flag, and it'd be great if you'd take a lobster bag and pick up some beer bottles. Make sure you don't miss Ginnie Spring...if you do, stay on the surface and get out at the tube run exit
If you have more specific questions about the park, feel free to pm me. I work there...
(and if you need regulators, Ginnie is selling their old rental regs. $200 for a Scubapro MK2plus and I think...R190 second stages? I can't recall exactly...just rebuilt by scubapro, so they are brand new inside and only two years old outside!)
The advice here is good, and it's great you know you need training for new or different diving environments. Caverns/caves are particularly unfriendly without the right training.
Just keep in mind the Ginnie is the exception to the rule - most nice, pretty, inviting caverns/caves are not so safe. Unless you were able to take cavern/cave training, you won't have enough of an understanding of the environment and your abilities to make a decision that another site is safe or not.
Have a great time...
Just keep in mind the Ginnie is the exception to the rule - most nice, pretty, inviting caverns/caves are not so safe. Unless you were able to take cavern/cave training, you won't have enough of an understanding of the environment and your abilities to make a decision that another site is safe or not.
Have a great time...
Yes Memorial day is the busiest weekend of the year.The drunks do not bother me,never have,50% of them are female.If they are too slow to get aboard there tube just help em out.Sometimes we lay on the bottom and watch the tubers drift over us.Some sites are better than others.Occationally Ill take my backup reg and purge it upward just under a pretty tuber.You can watch em kick and hear em scream.Im not a crowd grouch .Most of the topside going-ons are quite entertaining.
One thing I forgot.While there is generally a gentlemans agreement not to mess with other divers stuff,Ginnie is the exception.Do not anything of value laying around.These are despirate times for many and used scuba gear is easy to turn for cash.
ucfdiver
Contributor
Guys, we're hosting a competition. Bring balloons in your dry suit pockets. Fat girls on tubes are 1 point, hott girls on tubes are two. Keep record of how many you hit and win a prize. Devils ear earns 2x the points due to the flow as devils eye does. Attaching a knife and poping a tube that might have hit a diver discussing his/her dive plan in the run earns double points as well.
Actually, screw it, I'm going to Orange grove
Actually, screw it, I'm going to Orange grove
Similar threads
