On Feb 15, Dan, Steve and I departed Austin at about 1045 am and headed for Marianna, FL. This would be the first trip to Merritt's Mill Pond for Steve and for me, but Dan had been there a number of times before. We arrived about 1245 am on the 16th. Lee, who was going to be diving with Dan on this trip, had already arrived and we went straight to the trailer and got some much appreciated sleep.
We arrived at Cave Adventurers the next morning at nine and there was ice on the water. I am not sure what the temp was but it was cold and there was a wind blowing. We rented a pontoon boat from the shop and headed out to Jackson Blue.
Merritts Mill Pond is a 202-acre impoundment with crystal clear water with Cypress trees lining the banks. It varies in width from 100 to 400 yards and is 4.5 miles long. Average depth is 6 feet with a maximum channel depth of 12 feet. It is fed by a number of springs, the largest being Jackson Blue.
Dan & Lee would be doing staged scooter dives into the caves in the area, Steve was taking his cavern class and I was just going to hang out and enjoy my first trip to Jackson Blue.
I managed to make quite a few trips into this beautiful cavern over the three days and took lots of pictures and video. Water temp was 68 df and visiblity was incredible. This was by far the largest of the 5 caverns I have been in so far and contained large limestone boulders and lots of fossils. I found a max depth of 51' and it was about 35' at the top of the boulders. The entrance is quite large, about 5' x 25' and then narrows to about 12' x 5' before opening up into the cavern which I estimate is about 50-60' wide and over 150' long.
I have posted 45 pictures here
and will get some video posted soon. Here are a few picts and a couple of links with information.
Willie
We arrived at Cave Adventurers the next morning at nine and there was ice on the water. I am not sure what the temp was but it was cold and there was a wind blowing. We rented a pontoon boat from the shop and headed out to Jackson Blue.
Merritts Mill Pond is a 202-acre impoundment with crystal clear water with Cypress trees lining the banks. It varies in width from 100 to 400 yards and is 4.5 miles long. Average depth is 6 feet with a maximum channel depth of 12 feet. It is fed by a number of springs, the largest being Jackson Blue.
Dan & Lee would be doing staged scooter dives into the caves in the area, Steve was taking his cavern class and I was just going to hang out and enjoy my first trip to Jackson Blue.
I managed to make quite a few trips into this beautiful cavern over the three days and took lots of pictures and video. Water temp was 68 df and visiblity was incredible. This was by far the largest of the 5 caverns I have been in so far and contained large limestone boulders and lots of fossils. I found a max depth of 51' and it was about 35' at the top of the boulders. The entrance is quite large, about 5' x 25' and then narrows to about 12' x 5' before opening up into the cavern which I estimate is about 50-60' wide and over 150' long.
I have posted 45 pictures here
and will get some video posted soon. Here are a few picts and a couple of links with information.
Willie
