I arrived at Ginnie at 8:15 and was looking for company to dive before 12:00 after which D was planned to show up if his ears will recover after yesterday's blockage. There were serious people at the Devil's parking lot carrying electric fans with big black motors with handholds perhaps to keep fans tight close to face. They all had properly wired and marked stage bottles and they were screwing second stages with their hands so me poor stroke was afraid to ask again to dive with them... There was friendly and polite brittish guy who however already was headed up to the Devil's stairs to enjoy warm 68F water.
Chief cavediver of a large crowd that arrived on 2 vans and numbers of other cars replied that he will keep in mind that some illegal alien in blue fleece is looking for a diving buddy. He pointed to my newbie's OW rig that i set up for a brave solo drift at Santa Fe: "Is it your set up over there?". I proudly confirmed that it is mine and not asking more questions went down into the steaming Little Devil with a camera attached to my butt. Entrance to the no-mount cave was blocked with branches but now i'm convinced that it is truly no-mount cave. I took some pics from the bottom of LD. I think it would be a really good place to shoot pics on some more sunny day than it was today (gotta tell Normblitch to check it out!). Than i drifted down by Devils' Run making unprofessional silt and chaising largemouthies. I poked around Ear and deco-ing diver trough tanic acid looked disapprobatory at my DIR snorkel. So i floated down the river and picked up some beer cans and almost missed Jenny's run. I spoted a school of huge gars before i pull-and-glided into the main pool. Main pool was a mess. There were at least 20 OW students who were working hard to make truly nasty conditions for the arriving cavern class. I quietly tried to sneak into the cavern but was smashed down to the sand from above by serious cavern instructor. Whatching tiny white snailshells and limestone crums dancing in front of my mask i started to understand why solo-divers wear helmets (maybe i should wear butt-blinkers too). To add to my horror his students were all armed with reels and approaching so i digged outa sand and rushed to hide myself in ceiling cavity above the Grates and enjoyed the rest of a show. Time was ticking and it was already 12:10 so i climbed upstairs and jogged back to Devil's parking in freezing 50F cold air.
D was driven to the Devils' by his truck and wife.
He was still recovering from a cold that he got diving with John days before.
I was introduced to the diver John who prefers to spend valuable and short american vacation time in strangiest places like Pleacock or Ginnie. Assembling my normal gear i noticed a van parked next to my
pregnant skateboard Echo. The guy was nobody but Duncan Price itself! So i had a historical chance to introduce myself (as it was required) and ask my stupid questions about British Sidemount Style (that is originally american) and to look at his gear pieces. Duncan and Cindy Buttler (which me idiot figured out too late that that lady was her!) were experimenting with sidemount rebreather built by Duncan from Draeger's intestines. Duncan was so nice and polite despite my embarrasing struggles to speak English to him. Meanwhile D set up a diveplan (he has big laminated expensive map in his truck) and we went down through the Eye to hide our 02 bottles behind big rock and to pull-and-fly through the Lips Keyhole. We passed some double arrows and couple reels leading to Hill 400. It was clear, warm, so exciting and enjoyable and i felt so much safer than being on I75. D does all the jump reel work, John lights up the cave and i'm just having a great time to look around rocks where mainline dissapears. I noted that i consumed 600 psi before we jumped to Rollercoaster within 14 mins. I have over 300psi left until thirds, we jump to Shortcut, the Bats are still in place and we swim down by current along Hill 400 line where holes in the bottom filled with wet cold water and mysterious parallel lines are fading in holes of the right wall. We are back on mainline and coming up to pick up D's jumpreel at Rollercoaster. Cramps are paralizing my both legs and i'm thinkin to signal-or-else and simultaneously wondering how many month would it take to save lunch money for TLS350. Reel is spooled back by D and cave wind carries us to the exit and we picked up our bottles and climbed up into the Eye to breath some oxygen during safety stop (max depth 99Ft, total time 59 mins). D's wife is right there to tell us that some nasty giant 6Ft local male beaver marked his oaks along Santa Fe (no more solo drifts down to Jenny for me). D is leaving his last week buddy John to me dangerous russian stranger and soon his Ranger makes parking spot available.
The both rest of us did our re-fill at Blinkin Lights and John complained about some feeling in his ears. There is whole bunch of sidemount tanks in that bathtub today and it takes a time until John finally gets long high pressure hose to the rearend of his truck. We geared up at sunset and another crazy looking sidemounter J who works for some respectful gear manufacturer joined us on our second cave plonge. Through the Ear along the line that was hanging loose after the couple geeks with scooters swam out. J fixes the line wrap. We jumped to the right to the Bones Line via first shortcut before recognizable double arrows and got to the Bones Room. J runs reel to the White Room since there is no line. Somehow i hit depth 100' and then i dropped my stone into the pile of rocks and we swim around and i read the message on that test-tube in the White Room and try to translate it in russian. John told me that he dropped his stone earlier because it took to much EAN32 to compensate the weight and it occupies all his hands anyway. Thanks J for a nice job who did all that reeling force and back! We swam back to the Bones Line and proceeded to the Mapple Leaf. There was conveniently left someone's else reel hangin and we jumped and i was 200 psi before my thirds. I call the dive anyway and John answers me with a finger and J agree with him. John told me later he felt nausea and started to have a bad feeling however he didn't signal and it seems like he doesn't remember if he hit thirds before the jump to the Main Line. We were taken by current to Keyhole and on the way out we saw Rollercoaster and Hill 400 jumps and nice holes in the bottom filled with wet cold water. J took left Keyhole Bypass and i managed to squeeze after him meanwhile John decided that he already had enough at Leaf and carrying that rock so we met him 5 seconds later in a room between Lips and Keyhole. Non stoping we picked up our deco bottles and were washed out into the Eye where John and me did safety stop at 15 Ft sharing my 02 bottle. Again it was no deco, max depth 100' and total runtime 49 mins. J waives goodbye to us from his 20Ft stop and we swim to stairs. GS's hot showers rocks! John found a company for the next day of diving and i rushed to drive to I75 to call my family that i'm still allright and to fully admit my guilt of "stuck again in Ginnie". We briefly checked that all of us visit CDF and exchanged nicks and i drive away making parking spot available for more arriving sidemounters. J offers me my favorite drink but it's too late, sorry, next time certainly! Campfires are blinking in woods which means modern seminoles don't afraid of mad male beaver either.
Thank you all guys for a wonderful company and hope to dive with you again anytime soon.
Please forgive my alien English,
ARY,
russian guy with doubles
made off different cylinders
