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From Dr Deco . . .
I know many of you wonder where I've been. Well, I've been in the water, sort of. I think I've already got my money's worth out of my annual membership at BSC, with ice diving and assorted other fun trips. I've taught 2 open water classes, did a scuba presentation at St Leo's science club, visited Beneath the Sea, and did 4 Discover Scubas. Nothing really exciting, and others with better journalistic talents have filled you in on the details.
Now for the good stuff...
The good doctor and his trusty sidekick, "Caveman" Nast, spent the past weekend in glorious North-central Florida at Ginnie Springs. Weather was a steady 85 and cloudless, reason enough to rub shoulders with the southern belles and gentlemen. Once again we saw way too many tatoos on way too young a crowd. The area is very dry and dusty, but nothing a few Buds couldn't wash down.
We decided to devote the entire weekend to Ginnie, staging aluminum 80's and carrying double 95's filled with 32%. Friday, we arrive on site by 5:00PM and did a quick refresher dive to check our technique and gear. My light had developed a short and my Mares was bubbling a little. A couple of O rings and some solder did the trick. Viz is 100+, water temp about 70, and the flow out of the cave was strong, but manageable.
Our second dive was longer. We took the Expressway tunnel, which was anything but. We did 4 jumps back to the mainline and turned on thirds at 1500 ft penetration. After a 6 minute deco stop, we emerged at 11:30PM to typical Ginnie sounds, peeper and bull frogs in the water and blasting heavy metal and rebel yells from the woods.
Saturday morning we decided to try some 30/30 trimix. Although the cave maxes out at 100 ft, we were wondering if a little helium would make the diving any different. After spending 60 bucks on a fill, the answer is no. Nitrox is all you need to keep the deco and the narcosis down. Dive one was a test run of my underwater video setup. Swimming upstream in Ginnie makes you feel like a salmon. The current is ripping for the first 400 ft until we pass the Keyhole restriction. We suck down 1/2 of the 80 cubic foot stage bottle in that first part of the cave. I shot video on the way out as we drifted back to the entrance. We found out that having Mike in the picture gave the video some interest. Then we can "critique his technique" when reviewing the tape. Watching dark cave rock and empty guideline slide by is as boring as watching an egg boil.
Dive two was done on the recommendation of Rich at Cave Excursions East, our fill station of choice. He explained how to find the Siphon tunnel. The line is hidden under an overhang and not marked by double arrows. We were told to watch for a skid mark in the clay where someone dragged a stage bottle. I swam right past, but the Caveman spotted the tunnel. Pretty good eyes, Mike. We traveled a few hundred feet down the Siphon tunnel before calling the dive.
Dive three was also suggested by Rich. We were to stay on the mainline, jump to the Shortcut tunnel at 1000 ft, swim past the bats, jump to the Hillier tunnel, then end at Double Domes- air domes where you can "surface" and talk. Well, we couldn't find the Shortcut Tunnel, so we missed the bats, but we made the Hillier tunnel anyway. We never made the Double Domes before hitting thirds. I guess that's a goal for next trip. I had a good laugh as we did our final deco. My trusty VR3 got me out of the water with 11 minutes @ 15 ft, while Mike's Nitek 3 made him off-gas at 20 ft for 7minutes then 10 feet for 25 more minutes! He keeps complaining that I should be bent, getting to surface so much sooner than him! Thanks, Pal.
All in all a great trip. We even off gassed for 18 hours before the flight home. Five cave dives with Mike, who's trim is as good as it gets. His new dry suit and his December Trip to the Mexican caves really made a difference. Speaking of Mexico, I have Steve Gerrard all to myself next week. I'm going back to Puerto Adventuras, Mexico, for a week of cave scooter diving. Can't wait! 80 degree crystal clear water, no flow, tons of stalactites. I'll have a report when I return.
I'd recommend cave diving to anyone with 100+ dives and good bouyancy. I'd be happy to teach PADI cavern specialty with the checkouts at Ginnie. Remember not to drink the cave water- it is truly addictive. Dive Safe
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