2 Dive Report

[Captain Bil]

Sunday 16 Feb: Convict Spring. Arrived around noon, got situated and signed in. The spring pool was a little murky and the run was a little high. I went in anyway, hoping to get some GoPro footage. Wrong. Viz never got better than 10' and was probably less. I went right at the 1st tee, following my normal route and hoping to find clear water. At about p.300 or so (11 minutes in to my ingress), I encountered a fresh collapse. This is a pretty big one. A large chunk of ceiling has fallen, covering the line and partially (at least) blocking any further progress. I filmed the collapse and will post it later. Due to the poor viz and the camera rig, I opted not to investigate any further. It does look passable however, I would just suggest waiting for a better day to check it out. Egress was uneventful. I was disappointed in the dive overall, but happy to be in the water.

Next I rode around looking at a couple of sites before heading to Homosassa. I stopped at Troy and Little River and both are very high. Troy is closed to diving for now due to the high water. LR had a few folks diving despite the high water. I saw bubbles, but didn't hang around long enough to get a report.

Monday 17 Feb: Eagle's Nest. I arrived around 1300. Pond is fairly clear. No one else was around, just the way I like it. I got all the bailouts in the water and was geared up and diving by 1400. The pond was a little murky close to the hole, but reasonable. I dropped down to the debris cone and the viz was much better, .maybe 50'. Headed downstream and set the jump to the Lochwood Tunnel. (BTW, Jason Greenwood's glow in the dark spools are awesome!). As I made my way back, the viz kept improving and when I passed p.600', it was wall to wall! The area between p.600 and p.900 is my favorite because of the massive breakdown all over the floor and the ceiling height. I read a description of Weeki Watchee recently and the writer mentioned it was so big it was like he was flying. That's how I feel about the Nest in general and this section in particular. I stayed back there probably a little longer than I should have, as the deco was racking up, but it was so nice back there I had to drag myself away! I made an uneventful egress and deco, making my usual laps around the 10' line trail. A great dive and the Meg performed flawlessly. I love doing these kinds of dives for $3.00 worth of trimix!

2 final notes: There is still no sign in pad in the box. I'll bring one with me next time and leave it. And, I left 2 rolls of toilet paper in Ziplocs in the box. All are welcome to replenish as necessary. There's not much worse than getting all the way out there, having nature call, and finding you are 2 or 3 Hardee's napkins short of enough for the job!


Sent from behind a pint of Guinness.

[TONY CHANEY]

Very nice report.