[Leica] This one bounced

[wendythurman at gmail.com (Wendy Thurman)]

It's a very technical pursuit.  Ginnie Springs is now a privately owned
operation that caters almost exclusively to the cave-diving community.
There are several systems there and none of them are grated.  Only divers
certified by the National Speleological Association or the National
Association of Cave Divers are allowed in the water with lights.  Peacock
Springs, one of my favorites, is watched over carefully by the Florida State
Park Rangers.  There are hundreds of others one can "sneak dive" but
thankfully the word has gotten out- don't do it unless you are trained.
Through self-policing and training, the community has eliminated most of the
deaths.

Carrying only one light in a cave system is asking to die.  Three at minimum
are required, divers must have a continuous guideline to the exit, and the
rule of thirds is adhered to with regard to gas consumption- when one-third
of the gas has been used, the dive is turned and the divers exit.

Wendy



On Sun, Oct 25, 2009 at 9:44 PM, H. Ball Arche <h_arche at yahoo.com> wrote:

> I wouldn't have gone in there for pearls.
>
> As it was explained to me, the danger was in the seductive clarity of the
> water - you could see so very well ahead of you that you didn't realize how
> the silt stirred up by your passage completely obscured the tunnel behind
> you. Especially as you got into the more narrow and complicated confines of
> the system, which consisted of several springs a couple of hundred yards
> apart above ground, but linked by a maze of caves beneath. The attempt was
> to dive from one spring mouth to the next.
>
> A guy I knew once came upon another diver in there floating still. He
> grabbed the arm of the other's wetsuit to have his hand close down around
> bone, and a fish squirted out of the cuff. That was his story, at least.
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----
> From: Ric Carter <ricc at embarqmail.com>
> To: Leica Users Group <lug at leica-users.org>
> Sent: Sun, October 25, 2009 11:32:59 AM
> Subject: Re: [Leica] This one bounced
>
> dove ginnie back then--maybe the scariest thing I ever did.
>
> my dive "buddy" decided he wanted to see how dark it was and turned off our
> only light with out telling me.
>
> ric
>
>
>
> On Oct 25, 2009, at 12:19 PM, H. Ball Arche wrote:
>
> >  In the '70's the Ginnie Springs cave complex, near Gainesville, used to
> take a couple of divers every year until they put a grate across the main
> spring mouth. I knew guys that would sneak in and dive there at night.
>
>
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