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Ralph's Florida Trip January
1-4,2010 (Trip Report and Photos)
"Trip Report.
Friday 01/01/2010 –
01/04/2010 (Friday – Monday).
Year 2010 Dive Season.
Geographic Location:
Crystal
Springs (Manatee Snorkeling) and
Williston,
Florida (Cavern Diving).
Background. Flight from
Hagerstown,
Maryland to
Sanford
International
Airport (Orlando)
Florida. Used:
http://www.allegiantair.com/ This airline leaves late every Friday night
(i.e. except 12/31/2009 which was Thursday night) and get you to Sanford
International Airport near Orlando Florida and you can return early evening the
following Monday back to Hagerstown, Maryland. Drove from the airport to Days
Inn at
Crystal River
Florida (i.e. about 2 hours).
Crystal
River,
Florida: This is the busiest time of the year
here at this location with respect to Manatee diving. So plan accordingly by
scheduling ahead of time if you decide to do these series of dives. The cavern
diving was pretty much desolate while I was there. Also make sure you bring a
coat as advised by the dive provider at this time of the year for their location
in
Florida because of the early morning
departure for Manatee diving. Lastly during my time there they experienced the
coldest weather in the past several years (i.e. it did freeze over night).
Notice the surface temperatures mentioned below during the day.
I used the following dive provider at Crystal River, Florida for both
Manatees and Cavern Diving:
http://www.birdsdivecenter.com/index.html
Dive 81.
01/01/2010 (Friday) Early
Morning
6:15am departure from dock to go to
Three Sisters Springs in
Crystal River
Florida. Manatee Snorkeling was performed.
With the short turn around time with the late night flight and early morning
Manatee departure, slept on and off through Thursday and on plane. Participated
in Manatee Awareness Specialty from SDI. 6.5 mm suit and hood were worn.
Surface Temperature 61 degrees. Calm Freshwater 72 degrees. Depth 5-15 feet.
1 Hour being around Manatees. Watched a 10-15 minute DVD on Manatees before the
snorkel participation. The DVD indicated not to pet their mouths or tail
sections. Anywhere else is ok. You slip into the water minimizing splashing or
noise because that scares the Manatees. You are just wearing a 6.5 mm wetsuit
and no weights. Remain still and the Manatees come to you. I observed at
least 30 Manatees while snorkeling. The dive provider mentioned above leaves at
6:15 am to get to the site well before all other providers. This provider is
located directly on the dock area and you ride a pontoon boat that has a
Captain. When finishing the snorkeling adventure the other providers were
showing up. Go early to have the best encounters. The boat ride to the
location was idle speed and takes about 15 minutes each direction.
Dive 82 & 83. 01/02/2010
(Sunday) Early Afternoon. 2 tank dive. Blue Grotto. Cavern Dive. 6.5 mm suit
and hood. Surface Temperature 57 degrees. Calm Freshwater. 72 degrees in
Grotto. Nitrox 32% used both dives. Aluminum 80 tanks used. Depths: 91 & 92
feet respectively. 3000 psi to start and 1000 psi on conclusion. Both dives 45
minutes. In cavern diving the rules at both locations were 1000 psi (i.e. from
a 3000 psi tank) to see the cavern sites and 2000 psi to start the return to
the surface with 1000 psi on conclusion. All you need is OW certification.
This set of dives represented my first experience in cavern diving. It was
fun. The owner of the dives shop (i.e.
http://www.birdsdivecenter.com/index.html ) is Bill Oestreich and he
accompanied me on all my cavern dives because I just needed a dive buddy. He is
a Technical Instructor for both Cavern & Cave Diving and CCR training. I found
out he has had clients from around the world (i.e.
Russia, countries in
South America, and the US Military in the past). The
website for my first two cavern dives is the Blue Grotto and is shown below:
http://www.divebluegrotto.com/
Dive 84 & 85.
01/03/2010 (Sunday) Early
Morning/Afternoon. 2 tank dive. Devils Den. Cavern Dive. 6.5 mm suit and hood.
Surface Temperature 56 degrees. Calm Freshwater. 72 degrees in cavern. Air used
both dives. Aluminum 80 tanks used. Depth 47 feet both dives and 41 minutes and
47 minutes respectively. 3000 psi to start and 1500 psi to finish. This cavern
dive had some areas that were slightly tight going through but still passable.
The website for this cavern is shown below:
http://www.devilsden.com/
The bottom line is to obtain
exposure to cavern diving in a safe area, consider going to Williston
Florida (i.e. for Blue Grotto and Devil’s
Den) and go to
Crystal River
Florida for Manatee snorkeling. It is easy
to get to and cheap."
Ralph
Photo Gallery
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