new cave diver

[PfcAJ]

Gotta shift your mind. Its not the cave. Its what you've got going on upstairs. Your mind is what limits you.

 

[FLSharkMagnet]

AJ, you have to understand the mindset of people who learn in MX. There, it's all about finesse -- don't touch anything, don't kick anything, never leave the gold line. When you come to FL, the first dive into flow is daunting, to say the least. You HAVE to grab and pull -- and if you do it wrong, say goodbye to your fingerprints. You don't have a clue how to read the cave and figure out where the flow is mildest (I'm still not terribly good at this). You haven't flutter kicked in ages. It's easy to get perceptual narrowing and only look for the next handhold -- and end up in the wrong place.

Yes, there is beautiful cave in the front of Ginnie. I honestly love the Gallery, and wish I could figure out how to spend more time there. But getting in is an eye-opener, when you have never done anything remotely like it before.

See, for those of us that learned in FL (and spent a number of training dives at Ginnie), the flow's not that bad.... Jackson Blue, on the other hand, felt like pull and glide into a firehose a couple weeks ago! There's a lot of great cave to see at Ginnie (Devil's System)--even without a stage.
There's also places with little to no flow, like Peacock Springs. FL has something for everyone in the cave diving world!

 

[TSandM]

Yes, I had a BALL diving Peacock for two days, the last time I was there. I had no idea how pretty that cave was! And of course, the other Mill Pond systems aren't high flow like JB. Hole in the Wall is a beautiful place.

Ginnie and JB need scooters, IMO

 

[LiteHedded]

AJ, you have to understand the mindset of people who learn in MX. There, it's all about finesse -- don't touch anything, don't kick anything, never leave the gold line. When you come to FL, the first dive into flow is daunting, to say the least. You HAVE to grab and pull -- and if you do it wrong, say goodbye to your fingerprints. You don't have a clue how to read the cave and figure out where the flow is mildest (I'm still not terribly good at this). You haven't flutter kicked in ages. It's easy to get perceptual narrowing and only look for the next handhold -- and end up in the wrong place.

Yes, there is beautiful cave in the front of Ginnie. I honestly love the Gallery, and wish I could figure out how to spend more time there. But getting in is an eye-opener, when you have never done anything remotely like it before.

Sounds to me like that training is sub par then. Should have Mexico written on the card.

 

[ucfdiver]

I can't for the life of me figure out why someone would go to FL over MX if they had to fly in anyways. If FL is within driving distance, I get it-- I'll dive Jupiter over the Great Barrier Reef too.

Let's review the pro's and cons for the traveling diver.

Florida
- Rental cars are slightly cheaper.
- Site entry is slightly cheaper (Ginnie/JB excluded)
- Flight slightly cheaper
- Helium is cheaper
- Indian Springs (if qualified)

Tourist cave in FL

Mexico
- Pristine cave
- Shallow
- Warmer
- Decorated
- Dining out is slightly cheaper.
- Easily 25x the number of caves open to the public
- Clear year round, no booking a week vacation and having 2 caves to dive with "ok" vis.
- Less driving (rental car cost is made up in fuel)

Tourist cave in MX

With that being said, the flow in Ginnie isn't what it's made out to be. Excuse my pig tail hanging out, but here's a video a friend took a few years ago of a double stage swim in the gallery. The rocks are a life saver. Not sure that I've found anything in Ginnie that would motivate me to blow money on helium in there, but I've only seen the first mile or so of the mainline, and I believe every single BM passage on the front of the map.
https://vimeo.com/6767721

 

[TSandM]

Sounds to me like that training is sub par then. Should have Mexico written on the card.

That's like saying my OW card should say, "Seattle", because I didn't do surf entries. How do you teach someone to manage high flow, when you don't HAVE any high flow? On the other hand, in Florida, you don't get taught things like staying on the mainline to avoid bubble damage to delicate soda straw ceilings, because there AREN'T any soda straw ceilings.

Different environments require different knowledge and skills; no one training environment can teach you everything there is to know. That's why I did my C2 in Florida -- and it's also why I got some good, experienced help to coach me the first couple of times I dove there.

 

[lv2dive]

Yes, I had a BALL diving Peacock for two days, the last time I was there. I had no idea how pretty that cave was! And of course, the other Mill Pond systems aren't high flow like JB. Hole in the Wall is a beautiful place.

Ginnie and JB need scooters, IMO

Hey, you *said* had fun swimming Ginnie the last time you were here!!! .

Ginnie really is not hard to swim once you figure out how, like PfcAJ said. It can take a dozen or more dives to get there, though.

 

[kathydee]

- Site entry is slightly cheaper (Ginnie/JB excluded)

So how much are the entry fees in Fl?

I know caves in Mx where entry fee is only around $5 - the fees range from around $5 to $22 ish.

 

[darushin]

- Site entry is slightly cheaper (Ginnie/JB excluded)

So how much are the entry fees in Fl?

I know caves in Mx where entry fee is only around $5 - the fees range from around $5 to $22 ish.

Ginnie is $20 per certified cave diver and most of the other are state parks and range $4-6 per car

Daru


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[JamesK]

Congratulations. Now you are one of us buttholes! lol