Entry: Diving at the Springs

Drove down to Ginnie Springs this weekend to work on my cavern diving certification. My buddy Mike was the instructor for the event and did an absolutely awesome job. Again, I brought my underwater camera and, although the result are a tad better than last time, they are still kinda blah at best. (Still don't have a red filter or strobe.)

A shot of the first location.

The water above 'the ballroom' (a really nice cave that is blocked off at the bottom by a large grate).

Another shot of the ridiculously clear water.

Did I mention that Saturday was the day when every USF frat decided to hit the springs?

Veronica and Tom (the other students in the course) gearing up.

Me, underwater, setting a primary tie-off before entering the ballroom.

Me, entering the ballroom. Does it seem dark in there? It's darker than you think.

A view from inside the cave.

The aforementioned grate that sits ~60 feet.

My sitting in front of the grate looking all sexy.

Hello, there!

You can see a light from a diver in the cave below and you can see where the spent breathing gases percolate through the rock up to the surface above.

Mike swimming out of the ballroom.

No surprise here!

One of the points-of-entry into our diving area on day two.

Going through some line drills before getting wet.

Just a picture of myself chill'axing on the surface. This was my first excuse to operationally use my doubles tanks. They ain't light!

A random crevice that we did not explore.

I really don't know what this is a picture of. It's either Tom or Veronica and I think we're coming out of Devil's Ear.

A shot of Veronica after one of our dives in Devil's Ear.

Mike recovering the reel at the mouth of Devil's Eye.

Mike, Tom, and Veronica.

Tom and Veronica.

Me, do'in my thing.

Mike, do'in HIS thing.

This was just inside the entrance at the bottom of Devil's Ear. "PREVENT YOUR DEATH. GO NO FURTHER." This is followed at the bottom by "THERE IS NOTHING IN THIS CAVE WORTH DYING FOR. DO NOT GO BEYOND THIS POINT."

The obligatory shot of myself behind the sign.

A shot of some other random diver coming through. Without these lights that we carry, it is literally pitch black.

A shot of some spent breathing gas on the ceiling of the cave. Looked kinda neat. Was weird sticking my head in.

A shot of the percolating gases above the caves pictured above.

Overall, it was an awesome experience! It was great diving with such great people who had such an abundance of experience. I learned a lot about methods of streamlining. Need to get shorter hoses at some point for most of my stuff. Also need a lot more practice with the doubles.

All in all, it was fun! :)