Planning a trip to cave country.

[JMB2262]

Me and a group of friends are planning our annual trip to cave country. We have been to many caves, but have missed a few. We would like to dive Manatee this trip. I don't know where I heard this before, but I just want to know if it is true. Do you need a guide to dive Manatee? Or is it suggested if you haven't dived there before? Thanks for the help.

Matt

[Herbie]

No guide required, get a map (floridacaves.com has some you can download free, thx for a great site), Catfish Sink is the most common entrance used (upstream and downstream), Friedmans will give you an entry point farther into the system, bring your best pair of swimming legs and ask the Rangers for any info they have available. Be careful if/when you exit out of Manatees headspring, the flow/volume of water is heavy. Enjoy, this is a big beautiful cave system.

[FW]

...Be careful if/when you exit out of Manatees headspring, the flow/volume of water is heavy...

If I were you, I would go in the main spring first, before trying the downstream from Catfish, especially if you don't go with someone that has done it before. Upstream Catfish is fine, the line is marked like all other popular FL caves, with a warning sign

From the steps at Catfish, go straight until you can see the bottom, then look to the left for the huge cavern. Upstream is to the right in the cavern. There is a short gap between the sign and the start of the main line, so use a primary reel from one of the logs in OW.

[Garth]

This is my third time coming back to look at you photos and each time I am seeing new and more interesting things. Great work to everyone involved.


Garth

[Mark Vlahos]

Manatee is a nice cave. Very dark walls, it absolutely eats your light. If you enter from Catfish just be careful if you head into the syphon. It can pull hard and you need to plan your gas wisely. If you already have experience in strong syphons then you will be fine, if you don't then you need to prepare for it.

If I remember correctly Manatee has a daily maximum of divers as well as a limit of divers in the cave at any one time. The office at the entrance pays attention to these limits, they also hold your c-card while you are diving. You need to park your car and head in to the office when you enter the park.

Have fun.

Mark Vlahos

[FW]

This is my third time coming back to look at you photos and each time I am seeing new and more interesting things. Great work to everyone involved.


Garth

Did you mean to post this in a different thread?

[mdax]

There are important things to consider when diving Manatee.
1. If you come on the weekend show up when the park opens. I prefer 15 min before.
2. Mosquitoes there are no joke, wear long sleeves and pants
3. BBQ joint on the main road right across from the turn off is good

Forrest's directions are spot on. I would avoid downstream from catfish until you've done it the other way first.

[Herbie]

? How many people diving Manatee on an typical (heavy flow) day have made it from Manatee headspring to Catfish sink swimming (aprox470-500 feet length)? What was gas consumption? I personally have never attempted it, my first dives there was with a local who knew the system intimately. We did check headspring first to verify it was clear of any restriction/open for exiting.

[Win brown]

? How many people diving Manatee on an typical (heavy flow) day have made it from Manatee headspring to Catfish sink swimming (aprox470-500 feet length)? What was gas consumption? I personally have never attempted it, my first dives there was with a local who knew the system intimately. We did check headspring first to verify it was clear of any restriction/open for exiting.

I do that dive on a regular basis .. Gas consumption depends on flow . I've done it on low flow days when I only burned 300 400 psi and on higher flow days 500 600 psi . Most of which is is used trying to pull into the entrance .. It's a challenge to get past the entrance but once on the line it's not so bad .. Excellent workout .. Lol

[FW]

Sheck made his students make the dive from the head spring to Catfish, to prove a point. He had them keep track of gas consumption in and out. For the most part, it showed that if you made the dive from the Catfish ends, thirds wouldn't be anyway nearly enough gas to get back out safely. It worked out to be more like fifths.