Harvey's Cave - Wakulla County - 6/29/08

[PacketSniffer]

For those adventurous enough to do Harvey's Cave....

The sink has a 2' vis layer right at the top 6 feet. Once past that, the sink is fairly clear with 40' vis. I was actually able to see a lot of wall on deco this time. Trip to the Aphasia Pit was the typical 25' vis in the passage way. Aphasia Pit was pretty clear; could just barely see wall-to-wall. At the bottom, the restriction nearest the T (7' away) was taken. Everything past that restriction was low, low vis; the kind that sucks an HID light beam right out of the water. I haven't seen it like this before but it was down to 5' with what looked like very fine silt hanging in the water. I was really disappointed at this point because I wanted to further my exploration from the last dive. Ventured forward anyway but sure wish I could have seen it. Total run time was a bit over 3 hours in which about 2.5 hours was deco.

Temps
10'= 72f
20'= 69f
Rest of the cave= 69f except for the bottom of the Aphasia Pit where it starts to get warm again. On the other side of the restriction, the temp gets back up to 71f. Hmmm.....

Caution
A water monitoring kit has been established in the Aphasia Pit at Harvey's Cave on 6/29/08. Nylon line with sensors runs from 110ffw to 240ffw in the Aphasia Pit. Unfortunately, there are not many places to tie off on the slanted, silty, bottom so the line is somewhat close to the guide line. Please be aware of this on your descent/ascent in the Pit. This monitoring program is being done in conjunction with the Rubicon Foundation who lent the hardware.


Cheers,

Richard

[sskasser]

Very nice report, thanks. Thanks for the warning about the sensor as well.

[SuPrBuGmAn]

Sounded like a great dive, thanks for the report

[diveongas]

What exactly are they monitoring the water for? I've heard stories that the upper running cave system leads eventually to a septic system somewhere on the owner's land.

Enquiring minds, and all that....

[aw]

What exactly are they monitoring the water for? I've heard stories that the upper running cave system leads eventually to a septic system somewhere on the owner's land.

Enquiring minds, and all that....

Well, that would fit this cave nicely, and would explain why vis is so crappy (no pun intended). Rename it "The Sh*t Hole", or "The Latrine". haha

[PacketSniffer]

What exactly are they monitoring the water for? I've heard stories that the upper running cave system leads eventually to a septic system somewhere on the owner's land.

Enquiring minds, and all that....

They are monitoring the salt water intrusion trends.

I know nothing about a septic system. Never seen any tootsie rolls floating around either.

[Caver95]

They are monitoring the salt water intrusion trends.

I know nothing about a septic system. Never seen any tootsie rolls floating around either.

You mean the north american cornbacked trout.

[PacketSniffer]

Well, that would fit this cave nicely, and would explain why vis is so crappy (no pun intended). Rename it "The Sh*t Hole", or "The Latrine". haha

The first few hundred feet are always crappy (no pun intended..lol) no matter which direction you go after leaving the sink. I've been in Turtle Passage and the Crystal Room though when the vis was absolutely stellar (100'). That was in November though.