Living and diving in three-quarter time

[Capt Jim Wyatt]

Cave Country Lodging -- Where to stay??

Santa Fe River House - 10 minutes from Ginnie Springs



Travelling to High Springs? Need a place to stay? Check this place out. Gwen & I lived here since 2005, we are keeping it and renting it out to cave divers & their friends and families.

More photos and a more detailed description available on the website linked above.

 

[The Chairman]

I've stayed there: it's a nice place.

 

[Capt Jim Wyatt]

comparison of two tech dives - cave versus wreck




I have uploaded the dive profiles of two relatively technical dives I did within the past 2 weeks with students.

The top one was done on the second deck (That means one deck below the main deck) of the Spiegel Grove in Key Largo.This dive was one dive of an Advanced Wreck class

The bottom one was done today as a swimming dive to Double Domes at Devil's Eye/Ear. This was the final dive of a Stage/cave diver class.

The Spiegel Grove dive is pretty much a square profile, while the Double Domes dive is more multi-level.

The average depth of the Spiegel Dive was about 15 feet deeper - and the bottom time was substantially less due to boat constraints, gas volumes available and the fact the Double Domes dive was a stage dive using cave filled Low Pressure steel tanks.

CNS% was 12% lower on the Spiegel Dive. Water temp was 16 degrees lower at Double Domes.

Ascent rates were equivalent. Breathing gasses were the same. EAN30 or thereabouts. Deco PpO2's were equivalent.

The deco stops were much easier in the cave as I pinned myself to the overhead at 20 feet by filling my drysuit with EAN30 and just waiting - where as on the Spiegel Grove dive I held myself fast using a Jon line in order to deal with a .75 knot current.

Now you may ask: What is the point of these comparisons? My point is that the cave dive was longer because we had the gas & no boat / time constraints.

Your analysis of the differences between these two dives will be welcomed.

 

[Capt Jim Wyatt]

This video is of Luke installing a jump line at the top of the Roller Coaster at Ginnie over the the line that runs to the "Bats". I think he did a nice job with his buoyancy & posture. His reel was not spooling smoothly, however. Pay close attention to the fact that his knees are bent with his fin tips pointing up, not down to the silty bottom. Also pay attention to the fact that he is head down slightly, this gives the cave diver an edge in not stirring up the bottom.

Nothing is "dangling" from his gear, things like spg's, reels etc etc cannot dangle while cave diving.

[video=youtube;fBI4pzHGsPM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBI4pzHGsPM[/video]

 

[Capt Jim Wyatt]

This past week I had a good time running a cavern and basic cave class here in cave country. Quite a wide variety of people. One participant is a NSSCDS instructor intern. One participant was renewing an expiring NSSCDS Basic Cave card and the other two, one of whom is a US Army sniper with a few tours in Afghanistan & the other a race car driver were taking the classes for the first time. It was a cool weekend.

The videos were taken during their classes.

[video=youtube;pERrkAF0r8Q]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pERrkAF0r8Q[/video]


[video=youtube;aDzFVlzCE3c]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDzFVlzCE3c[/video]

Headed back to the Keys for a few weeks to teach some Tec classes. Come join us at Ocean Divers.

 

[The Chairman]

It makes me home sick for the caves, Jim.

 

[Capt Jim Wyatt]

[video=youtube_share;r7u_V-sB-8g]http://youtu.be/r7u_V-sB-8g[/video]

Swimming through the bridge and the Combat Information Center.

 

[The Chairman]

Jim, do you ever remember specific events or discussions while swimming around her? It would kind of spook me a little, especially if the other person had died.

 

[Capt Jim Wyatt]

Jim, do you ever remember specific events or discussions while swimming around her? It would kind of spook me a little, especially if the other person had died.

Yes of course. But no one died while I served on her.

 

[The Chairman]

My dad flew off the Yorktown, which is moored (stuck???) in Charleston. While he didn't die on the ship, when my son and I were walking on the decks, I could not help but try to see him in his every day life way back when. I'm sure after living on the SG for two years, that you are reminded of scenes long past.