Anyone dove this system? Any details. Always see the sign when I am at Peacock.
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Convict Spring
Anyone dove this system? Any details. Always see the sign when I am at Peacock.
Convict Springs
Is on the grounds of the River Rendevous lodgings 386-294-2510. It is posted as 'NO SCUBA DIVING". You would have to call the new owners and see if you could get permission to dive there. I've never dove this springs. Perhaps others could tell you more.
'You can say what you want about the South, but I ain't never heard of anyone wanting to retire to the North'
no diving
I've been there, just a couple of weeks ago, and talked with new owners and rusty, the dive manager. they do not permit cave diving in the system. It is small, silty, sidemount only (if you could dive it), nearly no viz due to suwannee river tannic....
If you haven't seen the spring, it's been lined with concrete to serve as a very small (10feet diamter) swimming pool. lounge chairs on concrete deck around. deep pool, no run (siphons and/or no flow). Signs posted no scuba, no cave diving, no exceptions.
New owners are struggling to get compressor running (boat launch available for river scuba, fishing, etc.), restaurant open, etc., and would really like more cave divers camping and/or staying in lodges and cottages (a couple of new ones).
"Learning the techniques of others does not interfere with the discovery of techniques of one's own." B.F. Skinner, 1970.
It has 2054 feet of mapped passage. I don't suspect they would allow you to cave dive there even if it was as wide open as Wakulla. Yet your patronage is still welcome to stay on the grounds and fill their coffer.
Convict springs
The previous owner let me dive it. It is best as a side-mount solo dive. Pretty and silty going in. Coming out is on the line- I don't care how good your technique is. Bill Rennecker did a video of it. Copies should still be around somewhere.
Re: Convict springs
I concur. Good dive, solo or with a non-siltmonster buddy.Originally Posted by BillBowden
There is a video of it, Bill may have copies if you ask him.
Joe
It has a decent cavern thats about 30-40 feet long and about 3-6 feet tall and very silty, flow varies depending on the aquifer charge at the moment. At the end of the cavern it makes a sharp left and down. There is/was a T there. Stay left and there is a series of three restrictions about 1 foot tall to work thru then it opens to very silty passage about three foot tall and periodically goes thru more restrictions. There are several T's that will get you into even tighter siltier stuff, so if they let you dive be careful what you get into. That first T in the cavern, if you go right it becomes no mount and some serious line traps.
If you get back about 300 feet the passage becomes very rocky. What out for one limestone boulder that is hollow - looks like a big egg you have to over and hopefully no one will ever break it.
Rennakers video gives a good idea of what to expect, I'm sure he has a copy he'd let you look at.
Re: Convict springs
I've been in there once...you about summed it up
It's bad luck to be superstitious.
I think Bill Rennaker and a friend made a video of their dive a number of years back. It was "toight". I always imagined once I got some sidemount experience I would try it one day. Who knows. It was pretty though.
Owner may let experienced sidemounters in on a case by case basis.
Max depth was about 31' steady for most of cave and gets shallower farther in. Somewhat delicate, fairly silty.
Entrance is a low bedding plane and slity. Too tight to be clean but it's not a crawl - opens up a little bigger after about 100'. Several neat rooms including a room with a root sticking out of the ceiling and some with hollowed out shells of rocks.
Several restrictions along the way (short clean and easy with a lttle care) and a few choices of direction. More branching after about 1100'.
Exit bedding plane is wide enough that you can get out of your buddy's silt but you'd have to get off the line a ways.
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