Ginnie Ballroom blown!

[T. Bix]

Thursday we were sitting in the eye finishing up our deco obligation and noticed overhead the water looked "smokey" seemed weird but you see new stuff all the time! After finishing up we decided to swim up the run toward little devil like we sometimes do.... it was zero! I don't mean cloudy I mean zero viz! it seems that there was some massive rain storm while we were under which isn't exactly ab-normal and the system seemed okay at least up to this point. I stuck my gear in the van and decided to go join my two sons down in the ballroom and see how their practice was going. I quickly geared back up and as I made my way to the water I noticed the basin looked a little "milky" no biggie right? sometimes lots of rain will do that.... As I dropped down into the opening I was shocked to see that I couldn't see! It was like swimming in a big ole bowl of milk maybe more like skim milk than whole milk but none-the-less the viz was gone! I slowly made me way down toward the grate and upon reaching 44' there was no grate in sight.... one more fin kick and there it was right where it was supposed to be but definitely not visible from 5' away. On the plus side my boys are both mid-west quarry divers and had no idea that 5' was horrible viz in there and were calmly going about practicing. I guess it musta been some percolation from the surface or river intrusion but it really took me by surprise.

[floridakid]

The vis actually blows there occasionally due to collapses beyond the grate

[Capt. Tyler]

Ive only seen it like that one time and it was after a huge downpour. Got back to the grate kicked around then turned to exit and vis was down to 10'. Makes you remember that even though you are in the "safe" ballroom it is still an overhead environment and anything can happen.

Stay Frosty!

[JCGoodwin]

Sounds like wreck diving watching the dirt darts do their best.
Some even bounce off the boiler on the way down!
Wish I was kidding but alas tis the truth!

JCG

[gasdiver]

So dirt dart is a new one on me and I've been diving for 35 years...

Definition for dirt dart:

Web definitions:slang for an overloaded diver who has either improperly set his buoyancy compensator, or whose mechanism has failed, causing him to rapidly plunge to the seafloor immediately upon entry into the water.

[stairman]

Ive never heard of that happening. Im thinking its from rain since the 2 caves arent connected but Ive been there in heavy rain and never had that happen.

[RN]

Oh com'on guys! This has to be BS. After all, Ginnie is open water safe, right?!?! Open water divers can dive there without cavern training because it's always perfect conditions!

[gschaut]

Ive never heard of that happening. Im thinking its from rain since the 2 caves arent connected but Ive been there in heavy rain and never had that happen.

The cavern may not be connected by a swimmable passage, but they have to be hydrologically connected. They are just too close and in the same aquifer.

[jj1987]

Oh com'on guys! This has to be BS. After all, Ginnie is open water safe, right?!?! Open water divers can dive there without cavern training because it's always perfect conditions!

OW safe just means you can charge more than $30 to get in.

[stairman]

True Im thinking of maps Ive seen which squeezes down to no mount but probably not no body.