Florida - an unforgettable cave diving school

After completing the caving course in Mexico I knew that my fascination with this type of diving would not end only with training. On various occasions, I talked to Tomek Stachura, Jacek Lubowiecki and Robert Klein about caves and their penetration. I decided that the Florida caves would be the perfect place to continue the path started in Mexico.

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I agreed the date of the trip with Alex Warren – a Polish expat living in Tampa, Florida. Alex is an excellent cave diver who has discovered and rigged kilometres of new passages in many caves. As it turned out later, a great passionate diver, a great friend and an excellent teacher.

Jurek and I landed in Tampa, Florida on 29 August 2008. The next day, our skills were tested by Alex at Manatee Spring Catfih. Diving took place in a very strong current, which was a big surprise for me. The technique of swimming in such conditions, requires working your arms! Fighting and swimming by force, causes quick breathlessness, as Jurek found out on his first dive.

We spent the next 6 days at Ginne Springs, penetrating from Devils Eye the maze of beautiful corridors to Entrance Coat Hangers, The Dome Romome, Hiller Tunnel, White Room, River Intrusion Tunnel and Peacock Springs Cave Syst.

Take a look at all the photos from Christian’s trip: gallery Florida 2008

The first days were very difficult. I had never before fought against such a strong current in a cave. The technique of diving against the current is to pull yourself up on your hands and quickly escape under the ceiling of the corridor, where the current is much less strong. After a few days, the pads of all my fingers were scraped to the bone.

Alex discussed every dive with us and worked on improving our technique of ripping out the cave every metre. After a few days, the current, the force of which was ripping off the mask, was not much of a problem for us. We learned to walk on the ceiling and push off the rocks with both our arms and legs.
We returned to our beautiful rented cottage on the Santa Fe River very tired late in the evening.

Larry, is a man who exudes calm. A very humble – in his own words – tough guy from Alabama. He moved like a cat underwater and was amazing despite his age.

I especially remember the dive in the White Room, where he planned a route for us that was a real maze. I’m proud of myself that despite the many traps set, Jurek and I managed to swim there and back without any help. This dive made me realise that a pair of divers must work together and if a partner makes a bad decision, the reaction must be immediate. On discussing the dive Larry stressed that we worked super together and the route he chose was deliberately very difficult.

Take a look at all the photos from Christian’s trip: gallery Florida 2008

Dives at Ginni Springs are twin 2x18l plus stage with bottom gas and decompression gases which are left on the handrail.

Towards the end of our stay in Ginnie we swam upstream 2800 feet. We chose the longest passage, with the least current. As we swam we had two extra stages each with bottom gas. After finishing the dive and decompression, an American who met us on a scooter far from the exit asked where we had our scooters. To our reply that we were without, he made big eyes and replied that he had been diving here for several years, but had never met anyone this far without a scooter! Always coming back from inside the cave was a great pleasure. We swam downstream with maximum braking and enjoyed the beauty of the labyrinths.

After returning to Tampa, we performed two dives at Eagols Nest. The dives were respectively the first: 169min including 40min of bottom time at 70m, and the second: 124min and 25min at 80m. On one day we did Down Stream to end Lockwood Tunnel and on the second day we did Up Stream Fast Super Room. Fabulous! For me it was the dive of a lifetime. The visibility and sensations were amazing. We used the following gases: TMX 15/45, NX 32, NX 50, OXY.

We made our final farewell dive at the Becon Woods System Wayes Worold. A cave with very narrow passages and lots of restrictions.

To sum up, we made 15 wonderful, thrilling dives in the caves of Florida. Alex turned out to be a sensational guide and teacher. I owe him a lot. Practically the whole two weeks was either diving or diving topics.

I know that sooner or later I will visit there again. This time with a scooter. The cave dives have made me a more experienced diver. I am impressed by Alex’s professionalism. Two weeks of great new experiences and wonderful impressions. I would like to thank you Jurek for diving with us.

Best regards Chrystian Przybylski.

Take a look at all the photos from Christian’s trip: gallery Florida 2008

Source: Own initiative