Diving Florida caves

[trimixdiver]

Hi guys looking to do cave dive Florida after our Mexico trip 5 days before DEMA, will have a car but need a central place to stay close to caves , was looking at Amigos to stay and dive heard there are caves close by with some not to far away...
Caves that we like to dives:
Telford Spring System
Peacock/Orange Grove Cave System
Cow Spring
Little River
Devil?s Eye Cave System
Manatee Spring Cave System
Jackson Blue

Looking at 2 dives each day if possible will be sidemount diving.

Tony
Ps forgot to mention we are coming from OZ land so not familiar with these sites.


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[bamafan]

Jackson Blue is about 3.5 to 4 hours from the rest of the caves you have listed. The rest are fairly close together. Telford takes a boat or a swim / scooter upriver. It is probably 200 - 300 meters upriver from the boat ramp. Cathy at Dive Outpost as well as Cave Excursions just down the road from her have places too. They are close to Peacock. Wayne's places are closer to Ginnie, Little River and just down the road from Jug Hole. Jackson Blue is close to Marianna, Fl and there is Twin Cave and Hole in the Wall cave on the same pond. Personally unless you are scootering Hole in the Wall and Twin are much better swimming dives. Also I think Madison Blue is better than Manatee for a swim dive under normal conditions.

[Kelly Jessop]

Hi guys looking to do cave dive Florida after our Mexico trip 5 days before DEMA, will have a car but need a central place to stay close to caves , was looking at Amigos to stay and dive heard there are caves close by with some not to far away...
Caves that we like to dives:
Telford Spring System
Peacock/Orange Grove Cave System
Cow Spring
Little River
Devil?s Eye Cave System
Manatee Spring Cave System
Jackson Blue

Looking at 2 dives each day if possible will be sidemount diving.

Tony
Ps forgot to mention we are coming from OZ land so not familiar with these sites.


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A central place to stay would be Lake City, it is close to the springs, has nice motels/hotels at a reasonable price, a lot of dining choices, and is close to I10 for the trip to Jackson Blue. Personally if you want to do Jackson Blue, I would pick up camp, and stay in that area since it is a fairly long drive to dive, and turn around and drive back.

[trimixdiver]

A central place to stay would be Lake City, it is close to the springs, has nice motels/hotels at a reasonable price, a lot of dining choices, and is close to I10 for the trip to Jackson Blue. Personally if you want to do Jackson Blue, I would pick up camp, and stay in that area since it is a fairly long drive to dive, and turn around and drive back.

What cave sites are close to Lake City, remember we are going to DEMA afterwards.


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[trimixdiver]

Jackson Blue is about 3.5 to 4 hours from the rest of the caves you have listed. The rest are fairly close together. Telford takes a boat or a swim / scooter upriver. It is probably 200 - 300 meters upriver from the boat ramp. Cathy at Dive Outpost as well as Cave Excursions just down the road from her have places too. They are close to Peacock. Wayne's places are closer to Ginnie, Little River and just down the road from Jug Hole. Jackson Blue is close to Marianna, Fl and there is Twin Cave and Hole in the Wall cave on the same pond. Personally unless you are scootering Hole in the Wall and Twin are much better swimming dives. Also I think Madison Blue is better than Manatee for a swim dive under normal conditions.

So your saying some of these dives are to far from entrance ?


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[bamafan]

So your saying some of these dives are to far from entrance ?


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Manatee and Jackson Blue both have pretty good flow under normal conditions. Manatee's visibility is normally not that clear. I have been told it is best to dive it during a flood. Jackson Blue is normally crystal clear and has some descent dives in the front part of the cave but you will need to know where to go. The better dives in Jackson Blue start about 700 meters back. Getting there without a scooter is not fun under normal flow conditions. Jackson Blue has also had the crap beat out of the front of the cave as it is the easiest accessed cave in that area. Personally I think the best swim dive in that area is Bozel. It takes a boat to get to but is worth it in my opinion. It is also a better sidemount dive than backmount.

[Kelly Jessop]

What cave sites are close to Lake City, remember we are going to DEMA afterwards.


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Lake City is a +/- 30 min drive from Madison, Peacock, Cow, Telford, Little River, and Devils, and approx. 60 min from Manatee. Lake City is 10 miles away from I 10 which would be the fastest route to Marianna for Jackson Blue if you are inclined to do that commute. My suggestion would be to open Google maps and look at the distances. Peacock/Cow/Telford are located on the Suwannee river just north of Mayo on highway 51, Little River in Branford, Devils in High Springs, Manatee in Chiefland, Madison not far from Lee, and Jackson Blue in Marianna.

[trimixdiver]

Manatee and Jackson Blue both have pretty good flow under normal conditions. Manatee's visibility is normally not that clear. I have been told it is best to dive it during a flood. Jackson Blue is normally crystal clear and has some descent dives in the front part of the cave but you will need to know where to go. The better dives in Jackson Blue start about 700 meters back. Getting there without a scooter is not fun under normal flow conditions. Jackson Blue has also had the crap beat out of the front of the cave as it is the easiest accessed cave in that area. Personally I think the best swim dive in that area is Bozel. It takes a boat to get to but is worth it in my opinion. It is also a better sidemount dive than backmount.

Sounds like most dive sites you need a DPV to get to the good stuff, what's Bozel like to get into?


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[bamafan]

Here is a very good video of Bozel that Patrick Widmann and Phillip Lehman did of Bozel. It is one of the best swim dives in North Florida if the conditions are good (no flooding )

https://youtu.be/4nrTl4SsSHM

[trimixdiver]

Here is a very good video of Bozel that Patrick Widmann and Phillip Lehman did of Bozel. It is one of the best swim dives in North Florida if the conditions are good (no flooding )

https://youtu.be/4nrTl4SsSHM

Looks like a awesome cave how do you get to hire a canoe and where is the entrance to the cave is it far from where they put the canoe in ?
Definitely want to do this cave I think the problem would be how to find these cave sites I mean 1st time over that way Florida!


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