Free Diver Death at Ginnie Springs (Dogwood)

[D1V3R]

"Junior from U.N.F. died in a snorkling accident in Ginnie Springs yesterday morning."


I just heard this on the news and I need to go to school, so i dont have time to find the article, but Im sure one of you guys will.

[mfascuba]

This was posted on "the Deco Stop"

Article published Aug 21, 2005
Man found dead in Ginnie Springs cave

A 20-year-old University of North Florida student was found dead Saturday morning in an underwater cave at Ginnie Springs after he apparently went free diving by himself early in the day, according to the Gilchrist County Sheriff's Office.

The body of Matthew Ross Lund, of Jacksonville, was discovered by Ginnie Springs divers in Dogwood Springs, one of the springs at the park, according to a news release.

This marked the second death in three months tied to Ginnie Springs. Deanna Hatchell, 31, of Clearwater, was seriously injured at the beginning of June when a large section of an 80-foot oak tree fell on her campsite at the park.

Hatchell later died from her injuries at Shands at the University of Florida.

Gilchrist County Sheriff David Turner said Lund's girlfriend notified the sheriff's office that Lund was missing early Saturday morning when she awoke to find his mask, snorkel and swim suit missing. Lund had last been seen by other campers around 7:30 p.m. or 8 p.m. Friday.

Lund's car was found parked next to Dogwood Springs, and his body was found by the divers around 8:15 a.m. in an underwater cave. "No foul play is suspected," Turner said.

When Lund's body was recovered at nearly 10 a.m., he was taken to the Medical Examiner's Office in Gainesville. His father, who lives in Martin County, was notified by the chaplain of the Martin County Sheriff's Office.

Staff writer Karen Voyles contributed to this reporter.

[Jay]

I edited the title to reflect that it was a free-diver.

My condolences to the family and friends.

[Gary]

Did a dive at Dogwood to check out the site of the accident and see if I could enter farther in the system than I had in the past (with my new sidemount rig and AL40's).

The entrance to the cave at Dogwood I can remember breathholding myself in years past. It's fairly easy to hold one's breath and swim down to about 25' where a line drops back down a sharp drop against the back wall and corkscrews CCW back underneath. For anyone with tanks on their back that's the end - there's no way farther and even with AL40s sidemount it was far from roomy. Long ago I used to think that ledge down was impassable, even without tanks.

From there the incautious freediver (who didn't have tanks) would have been able to squeeze down the back wall and into the corkscrew to where there is a small room at about 35' and a tiny no-mount hole (39') from which the flow comes.

Unfortunately, there is also a second crack leading upwards from the spot on the rocky floor where you drop out of the corkscrew. I hear the free diver had a small handheld light with him and probably had a short while to look around before deciding to return to the surface. It seems almost certain that he chose this second, more obvious but impassable, crack in the ceiling as his likely route of exit - rather than the more hidden one by the back wall with the line running through it. His small light and limited time to make a decision was likely a factor in picking the wrong exit.

There is no chance that he would have gone farther than this first room as the hole further on was more than half choked with stones large and small. It took me about 15-20 min of digging these stones out of the way before I could pass my chest and upper body through the hole - even with both my tanks removed and held in front of me.

To give you an impression of the size of the no-mount hole even after digging, I had both AL40 tanks clipped together and pushed through in front of me, arching my back and squeezing through belly crawl on the remaining loose stones. Mostly through - my butt mounted slimline HID light actually held me up from going farther through the hole. I got a good look at the passage ahead. I was able to reach back behind me through the hole and feel the canister on my butt held up against the lip of the hole. I could have removed it but decided I'd had enough and backed out (not wanting to have to think about digging my way back out again if I went through completely). 28 min, 40 ft max depth, 34cuft gas used

[D1V3R]

I'm surprised anybody would freedive through the first restriction; i hear it's fairly tight, but i've never been to this spring so i don't know.

When you reach the first room, is there any light from the entrance at all?

[Gary]

I should have turned off my light to check that. It looked like there possibly might have been light coming down the 2nd crack which was more direct to the surface - but not enough to notice over my own light - even at 4 in the afternoon. It's just around 2/3 corners though so I imagine if I turned everything off and my eyes adjusted to the dark some glow should have been visible light back towards the exit.

However, for the freediver there probably wouldn't have been any visible light either way since it would take some time to adjust and it sounds like he went in sometime after 8PM - even though he wasn't found missing 'til the next morning.

[Angie Reim]

Wow! That's a good dive report. I can picture it in my mind. Tough dive. If you had trouble getting your lean, tiny hinie in there - that's a tight squeeze. Thanks for publishing it. My condolences to the family & friends of that freediver. It's sad.

[phishfood]

Gary, thanks for the description. I myself have done breathhold dives into Dogwood in the past. I have also lain awake at night thinking just how easily I could have gotten jammed up with no time to work my way loose. That is one very tight cave. I don't recall exactly how far back I made it, though I do remember seeing the line for a short distance and having to contort my body just so to pass a turn. Remind me never to do that again.

[Gary]

Remind me never to do that again.

Remember never to do that again!

[normblitch]

Wow! That's a good dive report. I can picture it in my mind. Tough dive. If you had trouble getting your lean, tiny hinie in there - that's a tight squeeze. Thanks for publishing it. My condolences to the family & friends of that freediver. It's sad.

Had an opportunity to see some of Berman's video of the Dogwood push about a month ago...absolutely stomach turning...pushing ahead with dub 30's into "conduits" slightly smaller in x-section than a torso...If anyone saw the videos of the Missouri cave at the CDS Workshop in May, picture THOSE, but SMALLER!

Norm