Vortex, beyond the grate

[Spd 135]

I am gonna make a day-trip next Saturday (04-26).* I am gonna scooter to the grate and sidemount beyond it.* What the depth is beyond the grate?* I need to make sure for my gas mix.* I dove it about 8 years ago, but backmount could only get me a few hundred feet.* I don't have the time to go to the Mill Pond and I have been meaning to dive this anyhow.* Thanks, Mark

[JE]

Mark,

Why waste your time & efforts & $$$ on Vortex-? That was one of my first overhead dives, & it really didn't impress me that much. The mill pond is where its happening. You'll have a much more enjoyable time there. I've never been to the Mill pond, but that is Russells favorite spot..{Sludge}...drop him a note and ask him what he thinks. Whatever you decide, have fun & be safe.
Later............

Jack E.

[Taucher-Tom]

hello Mark,

Jack is absolutely right, there´s no need to take a scooter to Vortex. I don´t even know if it´s allowed at all to take a scooter to Vortex. MMP should be your choice.

I´ve been to both of them in November.

More information about Vortex can be found in a thread posted by bmoore237 on 02.07.08

[Spd 135]

I spent last week at the Millpond, (JB and Hole upstream).* I dove, Vortex, beyond the grate years ago and it was nice new cave.* It was much nicer, and prettier, than the cave to the grate.* I am looking for info on depth and distance since it has been mapped over the last few years.* The Millpond is a great place, this is just something closer and different that I can sidemount.* I only have a day and I will save 2 hours in driving.* I am only scootering to see if the adjustment I made is what I want and also to get to the grate quicker.* There IS a method to my madness.*

[FW]

Mark,

Nice meeting you at JB last weekend. I did a little search for you (Vortex + gate) and see that the first part, past the gate, is less than 120', but drops below 165' past the 3rd restriction.

[Spd 135]

Mark,Nice meeting you at JB last weekend. I did a little search for you (Vortex + gate) and see that the first part, past the gate, is less than 120', but drops below 165' past the 3rd restriction.You too Forest.* I am thinking I will dive 32% and let depth be my plan based on that.* When I dove it in 2000 it was really pretty past the grate.* I hope it still is.* I guess I will find out.* See you at Edd's.* Mark

[ajimmythekid]

The only reason I dove vortex is because we had the kids on the trip, but too see the system for the first time is cool. I don't think you will really need a scooter though, the gate is like 200' back, we spent most or our time messing with the ells about 300' past gate, but there is a real nice 45 deg fissure in there, mostly sand bottom & fyi We kept the lock and the key with us during the dive


22-Jun-07 Vortex 11:01 12:05 1:04 131' Jim & Bobbi No past 2 nd restriction / lock gate suckes
22-Jun-07 Vortex 13:09 14:07 0:58 119" Jim & Bobbi No tied off & looked at flats by 2 nd res.

[RAL]

You too Forest.* I am thinking I will dive 32% and let depth be my plan based on that.* When I dove it in 2000 it was really pretty past the grate.* I hope it still is.* I guess I will find out.* See you at Edd's.* Mark


Scooters ....scooters...we don't need no stinkin scooters in Vortex:smt064
RAL

[Spd 135]

Scooters ....scooters...we don't need no stinkin scooters in Vortex:smt064* RALI guess you didn't go to work yet.* I know I don't need a scooter, but it will be a good chance to see how it rides since we changed the weighting, plus.............I just want to.

[Taucher-Tom]

hello Mark,

I have a map of Vortex, Eduardo Taran gave it to me last November.

pm if interested

[RN]

You can always call Vortex and ask them to look at the map on the wall. IIRC, though, after the gate it starts getting deeper pretty fast. You won't make it very far on 32% if you plan on staying within MOD. If you do scooter in there, make sure you hide the scooter inside the gate. Otherwise you're likely to come back and find some OW divers scooter the basin. BTW, you can plan on about 2 minutes on scooter before the gate, not enough to really assess it. And if you're there on a weekend, it may not be safe to scooter the basin with all the OW checkouts happening there. Get up an hour earlier and drive to Marianna.

[Spd 135]

You can always call Vortex and ask them to look at the map on the wall. IIRC, though, after the gate it starts getting deeper pretty fast. You won't make it very far on 32% if you plan on staying within MOD. If you do scooter in there, make sure you hide the scooter inside the gate. Otherwise you're likely to come back and find some OW divers scooter the basin. BTW, you can plan on about 2 minutes on scooter before the gate, not enough to really assess it. And if you're there on a weekend, it may not be safe to scooter the basin with all the OW checkouts happening there. Get up an hour earlier and drive to Marianna.

As for the scooter, I can swim it to the cavern if I have to. It is mostly trimmed out but I made an adjustment and never dived it after since we swam Hole. 2 minutes will be fine and I even thought about padlocking it to the grate (lol). I may blow air on what is left in my bottles and work with that. It should give me about a 26% mix with will give me a little more depth. The big deal is I want to dive beyond the grate because there isn't a lot of traffic there and what I saw before was pretty. I also want to bring my daughter and son so they can swim. There is plenty of time to dive the Mill Pond. This is a loose end for me and to me life is about a lot of small adventures and to see where they go. BTW I think we met at JB around Thanksgiving or Christmas, by the ladder. Thanks for the info.

[SuPrBuGmAn]

Its much nicer beyond the grate than before... I dove there this weekend.

Hit 117' before the third(long) restriction. Eduardo says its about 120' at the end of the third restriction. Third restriction is backmountable, but you'll need to put your belly in the sand. The room afterwards is 135' at the bottom, another restriction, which will go down to 150'+ IIRC what Eduardo was saying.

Its about 300' to the grate, then maybe another 350' to the third restriction. The third restriction is another 200', so 850'p-ish to the room that drops down past 135' of depth.

We dove at JB on Saturday and just topped off with air, put me at 30% for diving at Vortex.

[jason]

Here is a map of Vortex. Mike and Sandi Ferrara (for some reason) are not listed on the map, but they were a tremendous help as support divers.

Jason

[Gary]

I am gonna make a day-trip next Saturday (04-26What the depth is beyond the grate

Its a single tank swim to the grate - with no rush. It's about 110' at the grate and about 120' just beyond.

I don't know what it is set up like now but when I did it there was sort of a permanent line. It wasn't obvious right away but the line stopped at the grate - where there is a sharp slope down into the next room. So bring a reel and make sure to run it from the grate if it doesn't continue.

Things change. My memory was from ~1991 - so who knows.

[SuPrBuGmAn]

There's a rubber hose that acts as a guideline to just shy of the grate. 36# line starts about 10' upstream of the gate and continues on.

There is also a large 4" pipe running down the cave right now, it could act as a permanant guideline to the cavern. It runs from the cavern, through the cave(and gate) and past the third restriction.

[Spd 135]

Thanks for the replies.* Like I said before, I have dove there many times and have been a few hundred feet past the grate on backmount quite a few times.* My interest is past there,....... depth, distance, etc. so I can figure a decent nitrox mix and dive it.* I plan on being there between 11 and noon Saturday.* I will be in a pewter Chevy with La. tag.* Last three numbers are 666............................................... .* Mark

[Ben M]

Last three numbers are 666............
Maybe that explains the asterisks. :roll:

[Spd 135]

Maybe that explains the asterisks.* :roll:I don't know why they are there.* Maybe you're right

[Ken Hill]

The back to back arrows past the third restriction are for SIDEMOUNT ONLY. Doubles need to backtrack in order to get out. 32% may be to hot of a mix with O2 deco. /Ken

[SLIM]

I dont know mark, if your scooter is ready for that kind of diving. I mean with all the adjustments that have been made from the first day of diving it can only mean you need to be in a much more challanging place.

Great meeting you and diving with you on all those dives. Hope you got it fixed, you were so close that it only takes minor adjustments to get it dialed in like you are sooooo close to doing. I say just give it to Roger for a few days and let him fix it to save you the time.

Good luck on the dive past the grate, it has been several years since I hve been in there so I am about the same. I do konw it does get to 160 not long after the grate but I betyou will be ready to get us a good report back after this dive.

SLIM

[Captain Bil]

I have to be at Vortex this Saturday (4/26) with some Advanced Open Water Students. My plan is to show up early and get a cave dive in before they arrive. I'll look for you on the beach. I've got a white Nissan pickup pulling a black enclosed dive trailer.

Bil Lindstrom

[Spd 135]

Funny thing happened yesterday. At our annual inservice we were at the NAS Belle Chase, La. using the old runways for training our guys (Certs and recerts) in NAPD pursuit driving and TVI. I had the last new student for TVI (tactical vehicle intervention) and we were switching so he could drive. I walked..............no, almost ran, into the corner of the passenger front door and split my chin. I have four stitches that don't come out til next week. I guess I am gonna have to pass this weekend. I will make it over soon. Hopefully back to the millpond next month

[Slüdge]

Shouldn't you have just used super glue? That way you could dive this week...

[SLIM]

Just put some super glue and some tegaderm to seal out the water, you be ok. Trust me, you trusted me on a dive so why not trust me on this one.

SLIM

[Puttzer]

I have never seen another cave with as many eels as Vortex, even more than Morrison springs..... and I've been diving since 1965. If anyone knows of another cave with this many eels please post.

This is reason enough to dive Vortex.

Richard
Tallahassee

[skip]

The eel population has declined at Vortex over the years, I think. Anyone seen the cavern and cave floor so thick with them that you can't see the bottom? I've seen them like that twice in the last 10 years, but not in the last 5 or 7.

We have an eel in our local quarry. Just one. It's been there about 10 years now. Same species as the ones at Vortex. My understanding is that they are all hatched in the sargasso sea, swim to land where the females swim up-river as far as they can go, then return to the sargasso to breed. the males hang out in the saltwater, sometimes at the mouths of rivers, waiting for the females to return, then join them in the swim back to sargasso. Is this true?

-skip

[SuPrBuGmAn]

skip - from what I've read, thats the way it goes.

Cypress also has a crapload of eels. I've seen Morrison quite covered as well.