October Megadive Rez!!! (10/28-30), Ginnie Springs

[jeandiver]

NOOBS AS SHIELDS??? !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :11: :11: :11:

Jean

 

[netmage]

Hey Conch's...

I'll be one of those Noobs in attendance... wearing a Red Shirt - nametag says 'Ensign Expendable'. You guys have a heck of a rep to put up - I'm used to the meet and greets GLWC style....

It'll be my first visit to Ginnie - are there any other weird rules they impose...? I seem to recall no Non-Full Cave divers w/ lights in a certain area... Any limitations on doubles, deco, etc...?

Is the parking anywhere near where we'll be camping, or will we be hauling gear a ways...? Heard a lot of stories about gear disappearing at Ginnie due to the tremendous amount of foot traffic... Would be a pain having to hike back and forth to the car to secure stuff...

-Tim

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

You park at your campsite. There is parking lot in front of the Ginnie Spring area and another in front of the Devil Springs area. The walk isn't long from there. There are also nice restroom/changing room areas at each of these areas(including the camping area) with hot showers.

You have to be atleast Intro-Cave to take a light into the Devil Springs area(Little Devil, Devils Eye, & Devils Ear). Anyone can bring lights into Ginnie Spring's Ballroom, the cave coming from the ballroom(cavern area) has been barred off to keep anyone from penetrating the cave itself.

You can dive deco and doubles, but it won't be much use to you unless you are full cave and dive the caves in the Devil System. They will check for certification.

 

[Corigan]

I'm hoping to be Intro level by the time this event happens, so count me in..

Matt

 

[dive4funOften]

If you want we could have an un derwater treasure hunt with golf balls!

The sites chosen border the primitive camping area so we actually have about ten acres of camping space behind us. The largest camp group we had was about 42 people. I had reserved 5 electric sites and we didn't need them all. If you want your OWN site with electric, it will cost a few bucks extra per night, and you will need to reserve it with Ginnie NOW as they fill up quick! Unless you plan on bringing an RV or Pop-up camper, we have found that these two sites and the extension cords is usually enough for everyone.

A galaxy dive is when people dive the ballroom at night and release cyalume nightsticks into the water. It seems as if you are swimming with the stars. We have now found that;
a) the sticks themselves are a hazard and litter the place heavily
b) the contents are NOT toxic and it is better to just cut open the sticks and let the fluid out.
This also makes for an interesting mix since all the droplets become scattered and smaller and it gives more of an effect when done in front of the grate.

I will be donating my rum to the stash. I will also be picking up some exotic rum, possibly Morgan Spiced Coco.

Plans for the weekend are as follows;
Friday: Arrival, setup, diving. This will be a fend for yourself evening for food. I can give locations for late night dining, and/or make a cooking space available.
Saturday: Breakfast, Diving, Lunch, Diving, Dinner-mostly leftovers from lunch, some other stuff may be added by incoming campers or group decision, pumpkin carves, galaxy/night diving.
Sunday: Breakfast, site breakdown, lunch, diving as available
***NOTE*** If weather is good and the river is clear we may have a CRO-River Tour.
For those of you noobs, it's a river drift dive.
(For you Megadive Vets, bring a flack jacket and an M-4! We'll use the noobs as shields!)

 

[Scuba_Jenny]

Hey Conch's...

I'll be one of those Noobs in attendance... wearing a Red Shirt - nametag says 'Ensign Expendable'. You guys have a heck of a rep to put up - I'm used to the meet and greets GLWC style....

It'll be my first visit to Ginnie - are there any other weird rules they impose...?

Ginnie or the Conchs?
Ginnie rules are easy to find.
Conch rules state that all noobs supply the rum and make sure Vickie stays away from the white wine. Stay away from the firepit, that is Simon's (the fireman) job. You might want to try out for Cabana Boy duty, as Chuck can always use some help. Oh, do not give Andy any money no matter what he tries to tell you. It is susposed to go to me after Ken gets his cut for doing all the planning.

 

[dive4funOften]

If you put this event on the calendar everyone can see who is coming.

We have sites 40, 41 for Halloween weekend again! Currently reserved a/o 5:04 P.M.!
Check the calendar for more info. Items to bring; as usual, firewood, side dishes, breakfast goodies and omelet stuff, chicken quarters helps, and anything else ya want grilled or cooked! I have a great Jack Russell Taco recipe.
What's that? River otter casserole?
Bring bubblewatchers and divers alike. If we are under post hurricane closure as late as the weekend before, I'll be scrubbing the event. I will not cut it as close as we did last year. Opened Wednesday, Party on Friday.
I expect to see a galaxy dive and possibly a pumpkin carving contest. If kids show, we'll have two pumpkin carves, one topside, one underwater. Looking forward to seeing everyone.

 

[DEEPSEAWOLF]

I posted it on the Florida Conch Divers' calendar the day I decided to do this,
(over a month ago).
Go to October and look at the 28th weekend. It's listed as:
Ginnie Octoberfest/Megadive '05-B
Currently, I am the only one signed up, yet a few people have mentioned they will be coming. I have a guesstimate of twenty plus so far.
Ginnie's rules are posted on their site;
Concher rules get a touch complicated. Some include but are not limited to;
-Do not feed the sharks. Land sharks or otherwise.
(They bite and throw dive knives when agitated.)
-New attendees who have not been with us on a Megadive must contribute something to the booze bin. (Must be a legally obtainable subtance in Florida) No Romulan Ale
-Ammunition for the Columbian River Otter River Drift dive must be in .223 or 9mm.
(Unless you are providing the patrol boat with fuel, in which case you may bring your own defensive weapon.)
-Fellow Conchers are friends, not food.
-Manatees are food, not friends.
-You don't have to swim faster than the alligators, just faster than your dive buddy.
-October 30 is the peak day of Alligator Mating Season, read the signs before you get in the water and for Pete's sake, look UNDER the stairs before entering the water.
-The annual memorial service or Pete "Gator Bait" Newsome will be held at Devil's Eye Spring instead of Ginnie's ballroom due to the high aggregation of poisonous blind cave catfish. (We don't want a repeat of the wet-drysuit event that Simon experienced last May.)
-The disco ball in the ballroom is for visual entertainment. It will NOT be filled with Vodka to entice the Georgia Taofish into doing tricks.

I can't think of anything else right now. I'm sure we'll start a list of misc. gear suggestions shortly.
Ear plugs because of hibernating bears, 12 gauge mosquito repellant, baseball bats for the roaches, armored tents for falling trees...

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

Actually, you posted it under the Public Calender http://www.scubaboard.com/calendar.php?do=getinfo&e=423&day=2005-10-28&c=1

 

[dive4funOften]

Maybe it is just me having a blonde mermaid moment but I do not see it on the conch's calendar?????

I posted it on the Florida Conch Divers' calendar the day I decided to do this,
(over a month ago).
Go to October and look at the 28th weekend. It's listed as:
Ginnie Octoberfest/Megadive '05-B
Currently, I am the only one signed up, yet a few people have mentioned they will be coming. I have a guesstimate of twenty plus so far.
Ginnie's rules are posted on their site;
Concher rules get a touch complicated. Some include but are not limited to;
-Do not feed the sharks. Land sharks or otherwise.
(They bite and throw dive knives when agitated.)
-New attendees who have not been with us on a Megadive must contribute something to the booze bin. (Must be a legally obtainable subtance in Florida) No Romulan Ale
-Ammunition for the Columbian River Otter River Drift dive must be in .223 or 9mm.
(Unless you are providing the patrol boat with fuel, in which case you may bring your own defensive weapon.)
-Fellow Conchers are friends, not food.
-Manatees are food, not friends.
-You don't have to swim faster than the alligators, just faster than your dive buddy.
-October 30 is the peak day of Alligator Mating Season, read the signs before you get in the water and for Pete's sake, look UNDER the stairs before entering the water.
-The annual memorial service or Pete "Gator Bait" Newsome will be held at Devil's Eye Spring instead of Ginnie's ballroom due to the high aggregation of poisonous blind cave catfish. (We don't want a repeat of the wet-drysuit event that Simon experienced last May.)
-The disco ball in the ballroom is for visual entertainment. It will NOT be filled with Vodka to entice the Georgia Taofish into doing tricks.

I can't think of anything else right now. I'm sure we'll start a list of misc. gear suggestions shortly.
Ear plugs because of hibernating bears, 12 gauge mosquito repellant, baseball bats for the roaches, armored tents for falling trees...