First Dive Trip Without Instructor - Need to Rent Gear & Help Planning

A friend and I recently got our Cavern Diver certifications. We plan to go diving at Morrison Springs this weekend. We need to rent gear/air/nitrox and I want to understand the layout of the cavern before going so that I can plan our dive(s) to reduce the chances of bends/narcosis. I was considering using some dive planning software if it exists, or just referring to an online dive table, but then I realized I don't really understand how to read the various cavern maps of Morrison springs I have found online.

I know that we plan to do 2-3 dives, probably 45 minutes max each on Sunday and Monday.

Halp! ;-)

Cave Adventurers in Marianna is your closest real dive shop. They're an hour or so away from Morrison. If you go there you ought to consider spending a day checking out the cavern in Jackson Blue, if you've never seen it.

With the rains, I would assume that Morrison will be under well before this weekend. Make sure you contact the park and find out the water levels.

EDIT, I looked at the river gauge here

https://water.weather.gov/ahps2/hydr...tae&gage=carf1

I would look for an alternate location.

I'd be really surprised if Morrison isn't totally blown out right now. I'd suggest Jackson Blue instead unless you can confirm it's not flooded. If you're set on Morrison, Vortex does rentals and fills and they're only 15 minutes away. In terms of the actual layout, there are two cavern areas. You'll see a log over a pit in the center of the basin. Off to the side around 40ft is a small cavern area that doesn't go too far, but it's interesting to poke around in. The main cavern is down a bit further and has a smaller entrance. If you haven't experienced flow yet, Morrison can kick your ass. I usually have to vent my wing and my suit completely just to descend. Pull and glide is your friend here. Once you're in, the flow goes away. It's a pretty big room with a large sandbank on the far wall. Ceiling is around 50ft, bottom is at 80-85ft. Sediment is pretty much exclusively sand, so it's pretty hard to kick anything up. Your average depth won't be much more than 70-75', so just run tables if you're not using a computer. On the way out, make sure you vent everything before exiting. One of my buddies calls Morrison "the embolizer". I've seen people shot out of that thing like a cannon all the way to the surface because they weren't prepared for it and reacted slowly.

Again, it's probably covered up by the river, so I'd recommend Jackson Blue. But if the conditions are somehow good, that should help out a bit.

OK so you guys are saying the entrance to the springs will be totally inaccessible due to flooding. Hmmmm.

We will be staying in Destin. Anything closer to Destin than Jackson Blue???

Vortex Springs is essentially on the other side of I-10 from Morrison.

Vortex Springs it is then... Can I rent BCD / regulator set / computer / cylinders there?

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Originally Posted by CavernFrog

Vortex Springs it is then... Can I rent BCD / regulator set / computer / cylinders there?

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you're going by Edd's. Grab all the gear you need there. Call them today/tomorrow and see if they'll cut you a deal for pickup friday, dropoff whenever you come back since you'll only be diving 2 days. Will sort out your light dilemma too.

Give Vortex a call.

http://www.vortexspring.com/vortex-spring

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Originally Posted by tbone1004

you're going by Edd's. Grab all the gear you need there. Call them today/tomorrow and see if they'll cut you a deal for pickup friday, dropoff whenever you come back since you'll only be diving 2 days. Will sort out your light dilemma too.

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Spoke with Edd last night. He may not have full kits to rent as he is taking gear to an event this weekend. I already ordered my lights online (Big Blue) but will get the rest of my gear from Edd and of course if I ever want a more powerful spot light for full cave I will go to Edd.

If you are diving single tank backmount you will have better luck at Vortex or one of the open water shops in Panama City Beach or Destin. I would think Vortex can hook you up. Edd or Rob up in Marianna will mostly have doubles setup.

Vortex and Morrison are your best cavern dives. The river backs up over the opening to Morrison and you would have almost no natural light. There are a few other small caverns closer to Destin but they require a boat. You could rent a canoe and go to Cypress Springs as it is a nice open water / small cavern dive but it might be blown out like Morrison. The canoe / kayak rental places around Vernon could tell you that.

Vortex has a small dam in the spring run that helps keep the tannic water out. There is Devil's Hole on the Econfina but it is a sinkhole with a sidemount cave off of it. Honestly Vortex or Jackson Blue will be your best options

I plan to stop by Cave Adventurers on Friday to pick up some of the gear, then dive Vortex on Sunday and Jackson Blue on Monday. My dive buddy has 40 years of experience diving Florida caves. I would enjoy meeting and diving with folks from this board.

One thing I am not sure of is if CA will have the single-tank back-mount gear that me and my buddy need to rent. If they don't, where should I go instead? I will be based in Destin for the weekend and driving back to Atlanta on Monday, stopping by Jackson Blue.

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Originally Posted by CavernFrog

A friend and I recently got our Cavern Diver certifications. We plan to go diving at Morrison Springs this weekend. We need to rent gear/air/nitrox and I want to understand the layout of the cavern before going so that I can plan our dive(s) to reduce the chances of bends/narcosis. I was considering using some dive planning software if it exists, or just referring to an online dive table, but then I realized I don't really understand how to read the various cavern maps of Morrison springs I have found online.

I know that we plan to do 2-3 dives, probably 45 minutes max each on Sunday and Monday.

Halp! ;-)

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Are you trolling?

If not, here are some tips you'll find helpful when planning your cavern dives and not knowing all the information about the dive site.
- Run a line and you can always find your way back, even if you don't know the layout
- If you invest in a depth gauge, set it to FT and ensure the numbers stay less than 100, you'll avoid narcosis
- If you read your tables and make sure your average depth and bottom time are below the limits, you'll stand a good chance of not getting bent
- vPlanner, Decoplanner, etc exist for dive planning software, but those are for decompression dives and mostly overkill for a cavern

For single tank ow gear just go to an open water shop. There are a few in Destin and Panama City Beach. Did you check with Vortex? I would guess they rent gear but I am not sure. You should call a few shops but I would highly suggest you leave out the cavern diving part. Just say you are wanting to do some shore diving. If they ask where just say St Andrew's State Park. If you are wanting to rent some ow gear up in the Marianna area you might try Rob @ Chipola Divers if Edd can't help you. Rob might have something laying around. You could also sling a single al 80 sidemount as both Rob and Edd have demo sidemount harnesses.

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Originally Posted by bamafan

For single tank ow gear just go to an open water shop. There are a few in Destin and Panama City Beach. Did you check with Vortex? I would guess they rent gear but I am not sure. You should call a few shops but I would highly suggest you leave out the cavern diving part. Just say you are wanting to do some shore diving. If they ask where just say St Andrew's State Park. If you are wanting to rent some ow gear up in the Marianna area you might try Rob @ Chipola Divers if Edd can't help you. Rob might have something laying around. You could also sling a single al 80 sidemount as both Rob and Edd have demo sidemount harnesses.

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Cave adventurers, and probably Rob, have single 80s. Not sure if they have backplates for them. When I was an open water diver, I had my own backplate with camband so I could use single 80s that had no backplate.

Whats the over/under this guy leaves marianna with a brand new sms75, an uwld light, a set of deep6 regs, two sets of steel 85s, and a really strong interest in a sm rebreather?


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Originally Posted by rddvet

Whats the over/under this guy leaves marianna with a brand new sms75, an uwld light, a set of deep6 regs, two sets of steel 85s, and a really strong interest in a sm rebreather?

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AND signed up for an intro to cave class hopefully!

CavernFrog: will try to get out there to meet you and go for a cavern dive if scheduling works out.

Congrats on completing Cavern. Kudos on planning your first trip. You'll love i! Besides, this is where you actually learn to cavern dive.

If Morrison/Vortex are blown out, you can enjoy a couple of days of excellent long dives within Cavern limits at Jackson Blue. The cavern area is HUGE. You can experience several very different cavern dives in there without trying very hard.

If you're doing 3 dives a day, first dive, run your line around the right side of the cavern, near the wall, until you hit your 130 linear foot mark. Next dive, run the line around the left side. Next dive, split the difference and run it up the middle. The experience is different -- almost seems like a different cavern -- depending on where you are. Go s-l-o-w and sightsee. Look up at the ceiling, too; tons of fossils up there. Remember: most of the cavern is not along your line; it's to either side and above. Sightsee and savor the cave.

When you hit your 130 ft linear penetration, stop there, shine your light further into the cave and consider: you can explore that next area -- and beyond -- once you complete Intro. For now, spend the time sharpening your cavern skills and learning the first part of the cave. It'll make your subsequent dives more fun, and will pay off for you in coming years.

- Sid

P.S., where ever you dive, please post a dive report and share your experience with the rest of us.

Thank you for the great feedback folks.

BTW, in my OP I meant oxygen toxicity, not narcosis. Although I'd like to avoid narcosis too! I have PADI basic training in these areas but I plan to get additional training, maybe GUE or TDI, and keep studying the materials to absorb the knowledge more deeply. I love this sport and want to participate for a long time.

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Originally Posted by rddvet

Whats the over/under this guy leaves marianna with a brand new sms75, an uwld light, a set of deep6 regs, two sets of steel 85s, and a really strong interest in a sm rebreather?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Hopefully he doesn't fall into that trap.

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Originally Posted by bamafan

Hopefully he doesn't fall into that trap.

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Agreed. It would be a terrible thing to walk out with all the equipment, and not have a suitable computer as well....

How 'bout that Shearwater Teric eh????

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Originally Posted by CavernFrog

How 'bout that Shearwater Teric eh????

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It is more suited to wetsuit diving in my opinion. I just don't see the benefit in it. Hopefully it floods the market with used Perdix and Petrels

Here is the statement from the company:

Other than the obvious difference of the wrist-watch form factor, the Teric includes several features not found found on the Perdix:

AMOLED display - vivid, bright colors reminiscent of the Predator offers exceptional readability underwater along with a user configurable Big Layout display setting to enable larger fonts that can eliminate the need for "gauge readers".
Haptic (vibration) and audible alarms - can be disabled to minimize annoyance.
Scratch resistant Sapphire Crystal display window - along with stainless steel bezel protected with a vapor deposition carbon coating for an elegant and durable finish.
Four button situation adaptable logic menus - also configure one of the buttons to give you one press access to certain dive or watch tools like compass, stopwatch, deco planner, log tagging, etc.
Blue, Green, Pink, White, Yellow - dual color wrist bands are options and standard 22 mm watch strap size makes many 3rd party options available. DGX also offers classic NATO and Depth Compensating Slide Release wrist bands.
Wireless rechargeable battery – users have no need to open the body thus reducing chances of flooding. This also eliminates the risk of damage from a depleted primary battery that begins to leak acid.
Timepiece mode - the Teric can be comfortably worn as a stylish daily timepiece with a selection of watch faces.
Free Diving mode - ascent and descent indicators suitable for free diving along with configurable logging intervals as short as 1 second.
Home screen options - Instead of a mini compass on the home screen you can have a North Arrow moving around the outer edge. You can also customize tissue graphs to appear on the home screen during the dive. Many other dive mode home screen customizations are possible.

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Originally Posted by CavernFrog

Wireless rechargeable battery ? users have no need to open the body thus reducing chances of flooding. This also eliminates the risk of damage from a depleted primary battery that begins to leak acid..

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They need to do that on all their computers.

Back from my trip. Had a great time at both Vortex and Jackson Blue. Awesome experience meeting Edd and Jay down at Cave Adventurers. Can't wait to go back ASAP. Definitely will be pursuing more training at some point. For now I would like to get more diving experience practicing my buoyancy, propulsion, trim, etc...

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Originally Posted by CavernFrog

Back from my trip. Had a great time at both Vortex and Jackson Blue. Awesome experience meeting Edd and Jay down at Cave Adventurers. Can't wait to go back ASAP. Definitely will be pursuing more training at some point. For now I would like to get more diving experience practicing my buoyancy, propulsion, trim, etc...

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If you liked them go to Mexico and you will be blown away. Also the majority of the Mexican caves are low flow so it is better for perfecting your buoyancy, trim etc.

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Originally Posted by CavernFrog

Back from my trip. Had a great time at both Vortex and Jackson Blue. Awesome experience meeting Edd and Jay down at Cave Adventurers. Can't wait to go back ASAP. Definitely will be pursuing more training at some point. For now I would like to get more diving experience practicing my buoyancy, propulsion, trim, etc...

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Jay's a good kid. He's always helpful and happy even when he's stuck doing all the crap work. He always deserves a good tip cause he's one of the hardest working guys at any dive shop. And he never complains about being Edd's errand runner