Name some decent open water sites in cave country

[Paladin]

The Ballroom is a fantastic dive. We spent one whole day devoted to exploring it. The people we met were all very nice but, then, it wasn't a weekend. Things might be rowdier on the weekend.

The Santa Fe River is an underwater trash heap. The bottom is covered with cans and discarded refuse of all kinds. It was not a pretty sight.

 

[JamesK]

The Ballroom is a fantastic dive. We spent one whole day devoted to exploring it. The people we met were all very nice but, then, it wasn't a weekend. Things might be rowdier on the weekend.

The Santa Fe River is an underwater trash heap. The bottom is covered with cans and discarded refuse of all kinds. It was not a pretty sight.

A lot of cave divers from the local community spend a lot of time doing trash cleanups from the river bottom. Just a month ago boat loads, literally, of trash were removed from the bottom. It is a never ending story.

 

[RichmondKYdiver]

Headed down to do Peacock 1, Orange Grove, Eye and Ear the first week of Jan. My son will be doing Devils Den and Blue, will chime back in with a report.

 

[shoredivr]

A lot of cave divers from the local community spend a lot of time doing trash cleanups from the river bottom. Just a month ago boat loads, literally, of trash were removed from the bottom. It is a never ending story.

Thank you all.

 

[SSIdiver]

SSIdiver, sorry about your car. Unfortunately, there are very few places I would consider "safe parking", and pretty much anywhere that my car is out of sight is not "safe parking", so that's going to be true 100% of the time when you're diving.

Paladin, make sure you let us know how Ginnie was, it's one of the top spots I'm looking forward to this spring.

Hey wasn't your fault but thanks anyway . I grew up in Ocala so I can't disagree with you about there being few safe places to park lol

 

[CamG]

Been to most that have been named and enjoyed great dives OW and cave where they were dive-able.
Only issues I have had in parking lots were in March around spring break time and I have had two that were less than favorable!
They have lead me to seeking out my Utah personal concealed carry permit so that I can carry my weapon with me.
In the afore mentioned incidents one was beyond all control and a weapon would not have done any good unless you had a team of law enforcement.
This was a isolated incident that we made it out of by simply walking quietly away not waisting time getting out of there!

I have been around some violent drug induced behavior before but this was out of control and wide spread enough that it was obvious we needed to get out of there immediately before bullets started flying!
Ginnie even on Spring break was not this bad!
Been to littlle river when it was a bit rough but again never till Spring break time.

I have found that common sense approach getting your dive in before the afternoon time will keep you out of most the action.
Ginnie around the springs is pretty good even at busy times it is the back camp grounds that can get a bit rough at times.
That being said in March a mask fell from my buddies head and before I could swim over to fetch it, it was gone!
The pool was clear full of kids and one snatched it and took off!
Lesson learned!

CamG

 

[JesperS]

Hrrrmm....I was planning our trip for my son's spring break week. =/

 

[vioch]

Fort Lauderdale and Jupiter have some of the best diving anywhere, let alone in Florida.

Which city, what dive shop and dive sites would you recommend for 1-2 days OW diving at the end of January - early February
Just diluting 2 weeks of cave diving with 1-2 days of ocean diving seems to be a good idea for me.

Thank you

 

[ucfdiver]

Which city, what dive shop and dive sites would you recommend for 1-2 days OW diving at the end of January - early February
Just diluting 2 weeks of cave diving with 1-2 days of ocean diving seems to be a good idea for me.

Thank you

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[Paladin]

I finally got around to editing a few clips from Ginnie Springs. I mounted my little Nikon CoolPix L20 on top of a 205 lumen Princeton Tec Shockwave II dive light. Not the best setup, but I guess it was better than nothing.

Diving Ginnie Springs - YouTube

At 1:50 my 14 year-old son is just inside the entrance to the cavern and my 27 year-old son is just outside, getting ready to come in. There were quite a few other divers there when we were and the bottom got stirred up but it cleared surprisingly fast.

I have just bought a Sony Action Cam and a 500 lumen video light that I want to try out when the weather gets warmer.