Blown out of Miami,,,,,,

[Terry]

                     Went down last Thur. to MIA to enjoy a week of wrecking between West Palm Beach and Key West, but the wind kicked up the seas enough that everything got cancelled until Tue. so headed north up to the caves instead. I haden't been back in the caves for more then 20 years, when Brad Graske of Vets Salvage Diving ran his trips there and was curious how things had changed. Heres what I learned,,,,
                    No stopping at the toll booths in Fla. anymore they just photo your liscense plate as you cruise thru, and then mail you your bill.
                    Peacock Springs is now, Wes Skiles Peacock Springs State Park, $8.00/ to get in and dive, leave your c-card, and receipt on the dash, only open water diving allowed is at Orange Grove Sink, but it had 50' of blackwater (under the ducweed) due to recent rains, but visibility cleared up to springs normal by the entrance to the upper cave system at 60'. Peacock #1 was as good as it was years ago, thou now its a State Park so no scooters allowed, and no getting out at either Pothole or Olsen Sink, (except in an emergency) due to erosion concerns. No solo diving, gotta be out by 5pm, so no night diving at all. Real decent dive shop within a mile of the parks entrance, with whatever you want for NoX mix, other then that surrounding area of Luraville is like a scene cut straight out of Deliverence.
                    Troy Springs, just out of Branford, is also a state park now, but no lights allowed, real strong flow due to the heavy rains, and also she was the only 1st magnitude spring we dove. Cool to see the remains of the Civil War steamship Madison intentionally scuttled in 1863 (again), the wood is in remarkedly good shape for being submerged almost 150 years. They do block off the springs flow where it meets the Swannee River to keep boat traffic out, (that was how we use to get to it in the Zodiacs, to keep from the long wank to the parking lot) you want to bring a cart as shes a football field walk with the gear up their zigzag 4' high railed path now.
                    Little River Spring, was county, now a state park, still just as decent as ever, nice concrete walkway all the way around it and also around the flow out to the Swannee. The concrete entry path into this spring is super slippery with algae though, (watched a guy crash with his drysuit and twin 104s on his back on the way out) so opt to climb in and out on the natural rock bottom instead, much safer, just as easy, and a little shorter.
                    Paradise Spring in Ocala, still private land, $30/head/day, still the same as it was, but with real johns and outside showers and hoses to rinse the sand off. By far the most fosslls to see, still embedded in the ceiling and walls. One guy was practicing with his scooter, and I can see why the state cancelled it for vis. alone, he hit the throttle too close to the bottom, and cancelled vis. like 20 students in a basic class.
                    Real nice dive shop in High Springs, and NoX or any trimix you want. The springs are a 7 hour drive out of Miami, safer now with nice walkways, and real limits on open water cert. ( the Devils Spring system in Ginnie) are closed to them alltogether. It was good to see them again.

[freedivernd]

Geez man I want your job.. Wait.. What is it and would I have to make any kind of a long term commitment? 

[DetectorGuy]

In September of '11 we stopped by that dive shop in Luraville near Orange Grove Sink to get "cave fills" in the 40 tanks we brought down for the Damn Yankee Spearfishing trip. Good shop to get a "full tank" at, even though there was a fatality associated with a "cave filled" tank that came from that shop just before we got there. You hit the nail on the head about the area surrounding seeming like an electrician crew  :-X backwards. Did you stop in the little store/cafe there? They have the cave system painted on the tables. Duck weed was thick as hair on a dog when we were at Orange Grove Sink last year too.

[Terry]

                  Ohhh, ya John, that little store in Luraville, we stopped to get some ice and beer there, you listen to the conversation at the tables there a little bit, and you'd swear (as a Yankee) you could wind up squealing, like a pig. We stayed too clear of the tables to see the map, but I read that the Peacock system is now the 24th longest underwater cave system in the world. I never heard anything about any fatality's, well other then that of the late Wes Skiles, and what might be happening there. Did have a ranger talk to us about the duckweed in Orange Grove being non-indigenous, and they didn't want it to spread. That made me wonder because it was there 25 years ago, and we went from spring to spring with it covering us, and never heard about it, until now. It spread out nice from divers bubbles but the blackwater kept you from being able to see the steps on the way in and out. Did come across a little freshwater flounder, least one that was living in freshwater, about the size of a silver dollar in Troy Spring.

[DetectorGuy]

If you hear banjo music... try to keep up to (or prefferably pass) the person in front of you. Here is a short video of Orange Grove Sink from 2011: