To be fully transparent, the purpose of this trip report is to try to spur more interest in trips to a fun diving area that appears to be lagging in comparison to past years.
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I was working with a student on Advanced Nitrox and Decompression Procedures, and we could not leave until Saturday morning. We arrived at the Blue Hole in the afternoon, and it was great to see old friends in Justin's group when we arrived. The Blue Hole is looking good. The removal of the old snorkel over the cave entrance seems to have done wonders for the general health and visibility of the system. I was there a couple of months ago, and the grate over the cave was covering the ground on all sides. That is not true now. There is a growing hole on the side away from the wall. I don't know if it is erosion or intentional actions of people wanting to get past the grate. If it is intentional, it won't do much good. That grate was placed by one of the most experienced cave diving teams in the world after they were unable to get past the large rocks that were placed in the opening years ago to prevent access. The cave beyond those rocks is quite a serious affair, and no one without proper training should even think about it. My student and I did some preliminary dives to get some of the more basic requirements out of the way and went home after dark to get ready for the more serious diving on Sunday.
On Sunday we were out at Rock Lake, and it was clear that I was not the only one who had not been there for a while. The grass was deep all around the entrance. It did not look like anyone had been there for quite some time. The lack of recent activity was also evident on the dives. The top of the lake is rimmed with vegetation that drops very tiny leaves as they die. This creates the characteristic landscape of the lake. As the vegetated upper slope changes abruptly to a cliff plummeting to the depths below, the vegetation hangs over the edge in a way that makes you wonder about the hanging gardens of Babylon. Below that the pruple-black walls are interrupted by ledges on which this fine beige silt collects, often with purple selenite gypsum crystals poking through. That was not what I saw this weekend, though. That fine, powdery silt had even collected on the rough edges of the walls, turning the dominant color from purple-black to beige. Swimming within 5 feet of the wall, as you usually do, is all it takes to create the mild current that shakes that dust from its precarious hold and drops it to the depths below. At one point I came upon a length of cave line hanging from above. It was covered with that silt. I moved it gently, and the silt came off, staying in place in the shape of the line like a ghost until it slowly began to drop.
September is usually the month for the warmest water there in the upper level, which too often means a thick algae bloom over the top of a thermocline. Swimming beneath the thermocline is like flying a plane beneath a cloud layer. This year was different. Yes, there was a warm water layer and algae bloom, but it was very mild. The visibility was about 25 feet in the middle of it, and much better, of course, below it. The water below the thermocline was even fairly warm. I got a balmy 63° F.
The two of us had the place to ourselves, and you cannot imagine a more serene setting for your diving. The weather on Sunday was beautiful--sunny and calm without being too hot. Monday brought a rare cloudy day, which was welcome for surface intervals in a dry suit. There was an occasional mist on our last dive, and it was just starting to rain lightly when we finally pulled out at the end of three great days in Santa Rosa.
I cannot end this without once again praising Stella, the queen of Santa Rosa. We were done late on Sunday. She had told me to call her when we needed her, and she came as soon as she could to fill our tanks for Monday. Without her and her unbelievable willingness to do whatever it takes to help people with their dives, it would not be possible to do the things we do there.
.......................................................
I was working with a student on Advanced Nitrox and Decompression Procedures, and we could not leave until Saturday morning. We arrived at the Blue Hole in the afternoon, and it was great to see old friends in Justin's group when we arrived. The Blue Hole is looking good. The removal of the old snorkel over the cave entrance seems to have done wonders for the general health and visibility of the system. I was there a couple of months ago, and the grate over the cave was covering the ground on all sides. That is not true now. There is a growing hole on the side away from the wall. I don't know if it is erosion or intentional actions of people wanting to get past the grate. If it is intentional, it won't do much good. That grate was placed by one of the most experienced cave diving teams in the world after they were unable to get past the large rocks that were placed in the opening years ago to prevent access. The cave beyond those rocks is quite a serious affair, and no one without proper training should even think about it. My student and I did some preliminary dives to get some of the more basic requirements out of the way and went home after dark to get ready for the more serious diving on Sunday.
On Sunday we were out at Rock Lake, and it was clear that I was not the only one who had not been there for a while. The grass was deep all around the entrance. It did not look like anyone had been there for quite some time. The lack of recent activity was also evident on the dives. The top of the lake is rimmed with vegetation that drops very tiny leaves as they die. This creates the characteristic landscape of the lake. As the vegetated upper slope changes abruptly to a cliff plummeting to the depths below, the vegetation hangs over the edge in a way that makes you wonder about the hanging gardens of Babylon. Below that the pruple-black walls are interrupted by ledges on which this fine beige silt collects, often with purple selenite gypsum crystals poking through. That was not what I saw this weekend, though. That fine, powdery silt had even collected on the rough edges of the walls, turning the dominant color from purple-black to beige. Swimming within 5 feet of the wall, as you usually do, is all it takes to create the mild current that shakes that dust from its precarious hold and drops it to the depths below. At one point I came upon a length of cave line hanging from above. It was covered with that silt. I moved it gently, and the silt came off, staying in place in the shape of the line like a ghost until it slowly began to drop.
September is usually the month for the warmest water there in the upper level, which too often means a thick algae bloom over the top of a thermocline. Swimming beneath the thermocline is like flying a plane beneath a cloud layer. This year was different. Yes, there was a warm water layer and algae bloom, but it was very mild. The visibility was about 25 feet in the middle of it, and much better, of course, below it. The water below the thermocline was even fairly warm. I got a balmy 63° F.
The two of us had the place to ourselves, and you cannot imagine a more serene setting for your diving. The weather on Sunday was beautiful--sunny and calm without being too hot. Monday brought a rare cloudy day, which was welcome for surface intervals in a dry suit. There was an occasional mist on our last dive, and it was just starting to rain lightly when we finally pulled out at the end of three great days in Santa Rosa.
I cannot end this without once again praising Stella, the queen of Santa Rosa. We were done late on Sunday. She had told me to call her when we needed her, and she came as soon as she could to fill our tanks for Monday. Without her and her unbelievable willingness to do whatever it takes to help people with their dives, it would not be possible to do the things we do there.
