Manatee Mon 8 Aug 2016

[Troglodyver]

My dive buddy Jeri and I are spending a few days introducing some skilled open water divers to the Florida springs. Though we'd originally planned to dive elsewhere this afternoon, we opted for Manatee.

Only 4 other divers there when we pulled into the parking lot; they exited the water after silting Catfish Hotel to a milky haze. Flow was strong enough to clear it before we splashed.

Water level 6 inches above the platform at the top of the ladder.

We showed our buddies around Catfish Hotel, then left them in open water as we did a short, impromptu cave dive. Ran a line to the gold line, then upstream. Flow was not bad; you could swim against it when there were no handholds. Viz good enough to (usually) see the walls from the gold line even with light on medium power. Water was clear, with the usual particulate flowing downstream. 20 minutes up stream. Rode the flow 15 minutes back to our line. Spent the balance of the hour putting around the cavern and the open sink. Found a cool place to explore next time we're back.

- Sid

[Jay]

Sounds like a nice relaxing day!

[whodunit68]

thanks for the dive report, Sid. Glad you enjoyed what can be a really nice cave!