Cave Diving History

[CaveDiver1932]

Dive at Zuber sink later named 40 Fathoms

Any cave divers use old Clorox jugs for lift? Notice the two different types of lights. Do you still take two lights these days?

Zuber Sink 240ft deep. When you go down you use doubles and you get heaver the further you go down..,Your wet suit compresses.. Blow the jug full of air (about 1.5gal) (it will lift over 10lbs) and it will bring you up like an elevator. If you come up two fast dump a little air out and you will slow down. A very cheep way of not expending too much energy and at 240ft you do not want to expend too much energy. A light on the left and a motorcycle battery light on the right (middle)..always take extra lights..
Short Narrated Video Clip:

[FW]

Actually, Zuber was renamed "40 Fathoms".

[CaveDiver1932]

Actually, Zuber was renamed "40 Fathoms".

thanks for the correction. My spelling is awful..
However video narration is correct.

[CaveDiver1932]

The Tusk Recovery Trip early 70’s
Narrated Video: http://www.vimeo.com/8122389

As normal, the weekend dive trip started out very early in the famous TV repair van. With my father driving, they headed to the Kissimmee river to recover a prehistoric elephant tusk.


When they got there, they unloaded the fancy john boat and powerful motor to take them to the site:


This shot was taken on the way up to the site. Nice scenery.


The tusk was located just about the middle of the river in the picture:


Underwater recovery of the prehistoric elephant tusk artifact:
Here they are removing the river bottom dirt and debris from around the tusk. About two inches of the tip of the tusk was sticking out of the river bottom. The rest was buried in the mud and sand. Most divers would have swam right by the tusk thinking it was just an old log.


While removing the mud and sand away from the tusk, it became difficult to take photographs due to the debris clouding up the water.

Off to the left of the tusk, they found a mammoth hip bone. Don’s Rolex watch is sitting on it to give some contrast and reference to the size of the hip bone.


Back to the tusk - the tusk is starting to come out. Notice the color and erosion on the tip that was sticking up out of the river bottom.



Using his body and his Rolex watch as a reference, my father shows the size of the tusk. The tip of the tusk is off to the left. The tusk is over nine feet from tip to the nerve end.


They were unable to get the whole tusk in a photo because if they backed-up too far, the silt in the water would block out the tusk. This is the best they could do:


They took off all their life vests and wrapped them around the tusk.
They then filled-up their life vests with air and lifted the tusk off the bottom to the surface of the river.



Here are a couple of photographs of my father with the tusk on the bank:



Here is the tusk sitting wrapped behind an old truck and sitting on the base of the frame they made for it:


Once they got it back to the shop, they made a case and plaster of Paris mold for it to sit. Here is a picture of my father with the tusk at the shop:


Don with the tusk:


Not sure where the tusk ended up. Hopefully it is on display some place for all to see.
One of the few artifacts I actually saw in person. I believe The Shop was a no kid zone.

Hope you enjoy.

[SuPrBuGmAn]

Very cool, please keep them coming!

[CaveDiver1932]

I have put together another dive recovery trip from the early 70’s. However it is an open water recovery. Would like to view the trip? Post it in this thread or new thread? Or not at all since it is an open water trip?

Most of the divers in this story are cave divers and well known even today in the Daytona Beach FL area.

[FW]

This thread already takes a long time to load.

[gasdiver]

Accident: Florida, Devil's Eye Spring February 7, 1977
Edward Brodesser (28yrs) and James Ketrow entered Devil's Eye Spring on the Santa Fe River in Gilchrist County, Florida at 12:35 p.m. on Monday, February 7. In the cavern they became confused and found themselves separated. Ketrow started back out and found Brodesser, drowned. Bringing Brodesser to the surface, lie attempted artificial respiration, then called for help from nearby persons. The High Springs Rescue Unit was summoned, arrived, and took the victim to the Shands Medical Center where lie was pronounced dead.
Reference: Anon. "Twenty-Eight Year Old Tampa Police Detective Loses Life Diving in Gilchrist County's Devil's Eye Spring" Gilchrist County Journal Thursday, February 10, 1977.
Analysis: Underwater cave exploration is very dangerous even when done properly. In this case it is obvious even from the limited information that they were not using safety lines to define their route.

James Ketrow was my open water SCUBA instructor and he was untrained in cave diving. If I recall, Brodesser was an assistant o/w instructor at the time. This incident occurred while I was taking the o/w class, but I was not at Ginnie when it happened. My father bought me a dive watch from the local dive shop when I finished the class. I found out later that it belonged to Brodesser and he was wearing it when he drowned. I used the watch for 3 or 4 years until it crapped out.

Not much positive history here, but it did help motivate me to get basic cave certified in 86 and full cave in 88.

[YBWET]

Very cool, please keep them coming!

Yes indeed, very cool !

[phreaticus]

I knew Jim Ketrow, met him at the original World of Water on Kennedy in Tampa, in 1978. He got badly bent trying to bring Brodesser out of Devils Eye. He left the shop for greener pastures, as did Will Walters, who mentored me in regulator repair there at the same time. Will was the one, with Bill Cass, who discovered the DiePolder sinks, as well as Buford Sink. I was fortunate enough to dive with these guys then, and through them mneet and dive with Sheck, Mary Ellen Eckhoff, Bill Main, Jamie Stone, Dale Sweet, Jim Lockwood, Steve Foreman, and many other old timers. Will and I even dove together in the past few years at Buford, the Nest, and out in the Gulf. He's the best conditioned 66 year old you could possible meet, as well...still in great shape.