My Cave Diving blog... On my way to the Abe Davis Award.

[The Chairman]

I should spend a bit of time writing about our host, Mighty Mouse, aka Natalie Gibb and her operation, Under the Jungle. She has coordinated our housing, helped us find great places to eat and really clued in on what type of diving we would like to do and what would be appropriate to do. She really does a great job matching the diver to the cave in terms of qualifications, skills and expectations. In addition, you simply can't find a more intense guide, and I mean that in a great way. Your day with her is orchestrated to maximize the fun while keeping the stress off of you. She really believes in streamlining the entire process so that you make the stops you need to make (gear, gas, food, etc) without feeling like you're running around for ever. At the cenote, she's constantly making sure that we have everything and that we're comfortable with the process. Her pre-dive briefing is exceptional, both in it's thoroughness, helping you to understand the cave as well as to understand the history behind it all. Once in the water, she has the most methodical briefing, even when there are interruptions and even more interruptions. Every piece of gear is discussed, the jumps gone over, turns, diver order and signs to be employed so that there is absolutely no question about what you are about. At the end of the day, she gives a written synopsis of each system you dove so that there is no question about what you did. She's earned the nickname 'Mighty Mouse' by being small in stature but HUGE on service.

In addition to her great service, she's starting to use Aurelio, a Mayan Sherpa/Guide who really made the entire day wonderful and shortened the process considerably. While I've had DMs and even Captains on boats try to assist me from time to time, I've never had someone to simply carry gear from one place to another. He's still learning English, but he's trying to communicate the best he can. He knows when you've finished with your tanks and he asks you politely if they are ready. Then while you're setting up the last bit of kit, he's running your tanks down to the water. Once there, he helps you don your gear, and is ready on the other end of the dive to help you get out. As awesome as that is, the best part is his detailed knowledge of the jungle. He can give you the Mayan and most of the Spanish names of every critter and plant you can come in contact with. If you're like me and love to know the plants and flowers you're looking at, he's the real deal and a real joy to be around!

 

[TSandM]

Natalie's awesome. Watching her sit down, slip into her doubles, and then STAND UP had my jaw on my knees.

 

[The Chairman]

Natalie's awesome. Watching her sit down, slip into her doubles, and then STAND UP had my jaw on my knees.

Which is why we call her Mighty Mouse.

 

[LiteHedded]

Natalie's awesome. Watching her sit down, slip into her doubles, and then STAND UP had my jaw on my knees.

hurts my knees thinking about it

 

[TSandM]

Well, she wasn't in 104s . . .

 

[shoredivr]

Sounds like a great cave guide and Sherpa!

 

[The Chairman]

25: 08/26/2015, Ginnie Springs, High Springs, Fl. I had recently done some back mount doubles diving on SB's Spree4All and wanted to get my sidemount gear put back together. It was kind of a shock to realize that I did not not have a dedicated doubles reg, but then I hadn't dove back mounted doubles for 5/6 years. I spent most of the morning configuring gear and decided to go with Dive Rite's tank harnesses instead of my homemade ones. It was a comedy of errors on my part. It was just before lunch when I felt I was ready to descend. I wheeled down to the dock just by the Devil's Eye and saw that they had removed one of the steps. Crap! There were tubers clogging up the one that was left, so I waited five/ten minutes for them to clear and started to gear up in the water. Everything went well until I went to the last clip on the last clamp. It's usually so easy to find by seeping the tank with my fingers, and I was perplexed at how the cleaner design of the Dive Rite harness was stopping me from finding it. I finally unclipped the top and pulled the tank up to see what the problem was. The clip was missing. So off came the other tank, the helmet, the mask, fins the other tank and I went and got the mysterious clip I had found on the table earlier. Grrrrrr. Putting the clip on in the water was easy and soon I was on my way.

As some of you know, I am using wireless AI to monitor my gas. At the moment, I am using two Hollis VT3s with transmitter #1 on my left and transmitter #2 on my right. I had intended just to switch gases on the two PDCs when I switched breathing, allowing each to monitor the gas I am on. If there is a way to switch gasses before you splash, I don't know how to do it. So, when I reached the Park Bench, I switched my left handed PDC to transmitter #2... and got nothing. No sync. Then I went to my right handed PDC. I got the exact same thing: a failure to communicate. Wow, it's never failed me before so maybe it needs a battery. I stayed on the right and called the dive, did a five minute safety stop herding 6 tiny flounder around the bottom of the Devil's Eye and swam to the exit. There were tubers blocking the exit and it didn't look like it would clear, so I made the long swim back to the other dock... the one closer to the cars. That's when I figured out why #2 wouldn't sync: it wasn't even there. Grrrr. It was still on my recreational reg. So, I made a bowl of Ramen noodles with chicken, put on the transmitter and mentally kicked myself.

26: 08/26/2015, Ginnie Springs, High Springs, Fl. After lunch, I took a few moments to go over all my gear again, and made a change. Instead of switching gases, I would just set the primary gas on my right PDC to the right tank transmitter. The left was already set. This was nice and it segues well with my diving mentality in dividing left and right logically. Everything felt right as I went off the dock for the long swim to the Devil's Eye. As I was descending into the Eye, it occurred to me how much easier side mount is than back mount... at least for me. I had also had tried a new light mounting system made by Dive Rite. I have a soft hand mount as well as a mount on my helmet. My primary can clip in either place. I have to say that it took just a bit getting used to having my primary on my head. The positioning of the spot was good, and I didn't miss having light be dimmed as I am grabbing and pulling on the rocks around me. In fact, having it on my head is perfect for the beginning and the end where you are fighting the current to get in. But back in the cave, everything slows down and I like my light on my hand. This is a great system if you haven't tried it. I don't even have a Dive Rite can light and it worked great.

Once in the system, I had to say that I found my mind wandering. I'm still learning the Devil's system, but there are some areas I simply know by heart. I made the jump to Hill 400 and found that my heart was too heavy to continue. I turned the dive way before thirds hoping that I would learn that my friend, TSandM had been found. My heart just goes out to her and Peter. Life is just not fair! I'll get further back tomorrow after a good night's sleep.

 

[The Chairman]

27: 08/27/2015, Ginnie Springs, High Springs, Fl. Today I got up early, headed over to Cave Country to get my tanks filled. They do a great job there and my fills are always righteous. Fun folk to hang around too, and there's always something to discuss. Today's topic was the coming Hurricane and how it would affect cave diving. It might be a bit murky in the coming months, so I'm glad I'm here now. Got to see Reggie and his Cave student before I left and expected to see them at Ginnie.

If you don't know this already, the water in the Keys is abnormally warm this year: 88F on the reef. The weather is unusually hot too. I had to get out of there and hit some refreshing water. As I drove to Ginnie this morning, it felt like Fall was on it's way. After hearing that the remnants of Danny had flooded our yard and driveway, encroaching on our kitchen. Even worse, the internet and cable was out, so I am pretty happy that I made the decision to come up for a few dives. I was waved through at the gate and was the first vehicle in the parking lot. Cool.

Set up was pretty rapid compared to yesterday. I had to screw in the regs and then changed the HP hose on my O2 bottle. People started showing up and I even was invited to dive with someone. I didn't really know them, so I opted to dive on my own. Less than a half hour after arrival, I was gearing up on the steps by the Eye. Again, I used Reggie's line to enter the cave and again, I had my 21W HID Light Monkey on my helmet, leaving my hands free to scramble down and in. Once in the Gallery, I went high and gently moved thru to the lips. The higher and slower you go here, using pull and glide, the less air you use. I made it to just past the park bench before I did my first switch. Things felt great as I made the jump to Hill 400, using Dive Rite's new Cookie reel to close the gap. I really like those and they make everything easy. At this point I swapped my primary to my soft mount on my hand. The flow is a lot less in here, and while I'm doing a pull and glide, it's a lot gentler. I am seeing a lot of damage back here. I'm guessing that it's from scooter impacts and the white breaks stand in contrast to the dark brown.

Things went really well at that point, breathing was in control, trim felt great, my mind was clear: life was good. I got a good giggle as I passed the Bat Cave. I think there's an additional bat hanging there from the last time I passed it. I was another 200 ft and approaching thirds though when my primary winked out. Grrrr. I reached for the right back up on my helmet and must have pressed the button too long as I got this strobe effect. 2 phunni! I'm looking around at the cave for a couple of seconds thinking that I needed some dance music to really complement the effect. Time to turn the dive, so I turn off the strobe and turn it back on as just a light. It's always interesting how a cave's character changes under a different light. As I pass the Bat cave, I swap between back up lights. These are the 'Piglets' made by HOG. I was surprised to see how much brighter one was over the other one. I left it on the left backup, picked up my spool and proceeded out. As I was ascending at the Devil's Eye, I saw a couple of divers that were at the parking lot running a line going in. They observed great cave protocol and allowed me to exit first! Thanks to Sandy and Caroline! I had racked up 9 minutes of deco on O2 and had fun finding and pestering the flounders. After 1:02, I was back at the steps.

Back at Cave Country Dive Shop I asked if they could test my Light Monkey. After a discussion, and since my 21 W lights were @ 6 years old, I opted to head up to Light Monkey and give them a visit. Jon loaned me a Light Dude LED to check out which is cool. I am glad I did, too! They've moved their operation, but I still found them! You can't hide from ol' NetDoc. I left both of my Monkeys with them, where they will replace cords, switch boot, charge & test (replace?) the batteries and test the chargers. How cool is that? I simply love those lights and glad I'll still have them. Then Joel loaned one of their 21W LEDs to keep until I get my HIDs back. I'm going to call this afternoon's dive since it's after three and head on over to the Wyatt's for dinner. I'll see Miss Ginnie in the morning!

 

[The Chairman]

28: 08/28/2015, Ginnie Springs, High Springs, Fl. Day three of diving Ginnie got off early and without a hitch. I got to the site right at 8:00 am and set up was a breeze. I routed the Light Monkey LED to the left and the Light Dude LED to the right. There's no doubt that I'm a social animal, but it was nice to have the place to myself with no interruptions. Five minutes after arrival and I'm heading to the water. Gearing up is easy, and I've gotten used to tighter leash on the butt of Dive Rite tank harnesses. It makes them harder to clip in, but I certainly like how they hang better. Rather than strike either LED as I head into the cave, I use one of my helmet clipped back up lights. I'm definitely slowing things down a bit which is one of my goals, and simply taking more time to look and learn the cave. I turned on the Light Monkey light first and was way impressed. It almost has the same punch as my 21W HID. Great signalling light and there's lots of unfocused light as well. I used it until I got to my first gas switch, which was just before the park bench. Wow, I'm just as impressed with the Light Dude LED, but it's a completely different light. There is no hot spot, just a flood of light. You know, for a solo diver, this makes a lot of sense! Again, I'm impressed how the character of the cave changes with the light. I'm also impressed at how much more I'm seeing. I never noticed all the sea buttons before: they're all over the place! Did the jump to Hill 400, passed 900 arrow (before the bat cave) and to a set of double arrows where I've never seen the jump. I've looked, but never searched. It looks like it "Y"s right there so I ascend a bit and see the jump. I use my second Cookie Reel of the dive and make the jump. Immediately it gets low and wide and I'm glad I'm in side mount. I cross a pile of ancient bones, they look turtleish, but I can't really tell. Then I saw my first troglodyte ever in the Devil's system. Swimming amongst the fossils is a tiny blind crawdad. It's not even an inch. Then I saw another and another and they're getting progressively smaller. I doubt the last one was a 1/4"! Hit thirds, picked a poor place to turn, but still managed without silting out the place. Picked up both spools on the way out, did 12 minutes of deco on O2 and finished an 1:18 dive with absolutely nothing weird happening! I was just a tad bit chilly at the very end, so I might add a shorty on the afternoon dive.

 

[The Chairman]

29: 08/28/2015, Ginnie Springs, High Springs, Fl. Continued my exploration of the Hill 400 jump. I have to say that there's a lot down here to poke your nose into. After the great experience with the Light Dude flood LED, I decided to try out the PV52 Video Lamp that SCUBALAMP had sent me and use the Light Monkey Spot as well, since that will mimic my HID when I get them back. Wow. That was an amazing dive and I ran them simultaneously. I had put on one of Dive Rite's universal light mounts on the PV52 so I could switch from hand to helmet mount easily. I double looped a clip on it so I could clip it off when I didn't need it. Here is what the light looks light without the Dive Rite clip.

SCUBALAMP PV52​

As it turns out, the 5000 lumens is simply too bright if you are close to the object. It will burn your retinas right out, so I backed it down a notch and it was wonderful. The spot highlighted distant objects, like arrows and jumps, while the half output allowed me to see all the cool fossils in the cave without squinting. I made it back to 1600 on the Hill 400 jump turned on thirds and started to play on the way back. In addition to the two levels of white light, the PV52 has a red light for spotting and UV for that cool 60s Hippie Fun. Again, seeing the cave in the various lights was cool. Blood red in a cave is just so Gothic, but other than that, it was not useful. When I lit up the UV though, things got interesting. First, it picks up on dissolved minerals in the water. You go from gin clear to a bit foggy. It took me a moment to realize why it did this, and it was a good lesson in the constant dissolution of the cave apart from the phreatic layer. Looking through the fog though, I could pick up the line and arrows like a boss. BAM! They are glowing brightly standing in the dark. The While limestone looks a bit purple and then I spotted a cave critter scoot under a rock. Bright green lines flashed through the water on the bottom and was gone. I had seen a small crawdad earlier and had not thought to try the UV on it... I wonder how they look in black light and I wonder if that's not what I caught a glimpse of. Of course, I had the other primary off when I was playing with the red and UV and I didn't waste time on exit. I just played as I swam. After I picked up my Cookie Reel and was on the main line, I decided to finish the dive under the black light. I was quite surprised at how much yellow paint we've left in that cave. It glows like mad under the UV and it was everywhere. On the walls, on the floor, even some in the corn flakes. There's evidence of thousands of tank impacts in that first 400 feet. We need to step up our collective game in this respect.


I was hoping to make a few more dives this weekend, but TS Erika put an end to that! I left at 4:30 Sat am and am now home. I got two queries for a dive Saturday and my heart felt apologies to both of you, but I'll be back soon. Overall, I like how the dives progressed these past three days. Re-configuring back to side mount was a pain, but the resultant changes I made had a positive impact on my skill and fun during the dive. Two thumbs up for the Dive Rite Sidemount Tank harnesses. Two thumbs up for Dive Rite's light clip system. Two thumbs up for both Light Dude and Light Monkey's LED primaries. Two thumbs WAY up for SCUBALAMP's PV52 and two thumbs up for using a helmet mounted light during the dive... especially a flood like the PV52.