Location: Big Tick Sink, O'Leno State Park
Divers:
Michael Poucher, Brett Hemphill
Profile:
85 minutes total
Conditions: 68 degrees
Description: Explored passage to the north about 700 feet. Began low and silty and got larger. Same character as south passage. Ended in a room.
Location: Big Tick Sink, O'Leno State Park
Divers:
Michael Poucher, Jerry Murphy, James Toland, Brett Hemphill (surface)
Profile:
58 minutes total
Conditions: Downstream,
67 degrees, visibility between 10 and 20 feet, seemed to clearer farther back as
we got shallower
Description: First look at this sink. James took the first look to confirm the sink had cave in it and found passage heading north and south of the sink. We then explored south for about 600 feet ending in going passage at 90 feet of depth. We saw many isopods in one area about 550 feet back, and saw crayfish on subsequent dives.
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Location: Sweetwater Lake, O'Leno State Park
Divers:
Michael Poucher, Sandra Poucher, James Toland
Profile:
147 minutes total
Conditions: Upstream, 65
degrees, visibility between 7 and 20 feet, worsening with depth;
Downstream visibility still at 20 to 30 feet.
Description: Line maintenance
in upstream passage and introduction dive for James. Visibility was much worse
than anticipated upstream. Seasonal turnover appears imminent. Floor covered
with glass shrimp, many small (1 foot in length or smaller) white catfish and
cave amphipods observed throughout the system. One yellow bullhead catfish was
seen just past the cavern. Bream appeared to be dying on floor of cavern, may be
related to low water temperature. We swam to the first break in the line and
added about three hundred feet. Completed decompression and swam across basin to
downstream. Walter and Eric had relined the cavern area, bridging a gap. Floor
of cavern was littered with leaf debris from surface.
Location: Sweetwater Lake, O'Leno State Park
Divers:
Eric Deister, Jerry Murphy, Walter Pickel, Michael Poucher
Profile:
271 minutes, maximum depth of 177 feet
Conditions: 71 degrees
Description: Continued relining
of downstream. Relined out to 3000' - going deep, around 180'. Line was
coming back up. New line is running parallel with the damaged old line. Kelley
provided surface support.
Location: Sweetwater Lake, O'Leno State Park
Divers:
Michael Poucher, Sandra Poucher
Profile:
113 minutes at a depth of 54 feet
Conditions: 72 degrees,
visibility was approximately 60 feet
Description: Video wreck dive
on the old Chevy truck.
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Mike holding the Big Reel used on the November 11 dive. This reel can hold 2000+ ft of knotted line. Cookies were added at each 1000 foot and arrows are added during the relining process. Line courtesy of Dive Rite. Thanks guys! |
Sandy working on the camera. Amphibico VH1000 housing and Sony VX1000 digital camera. |
A salamander hiding in the underbrush. See if you can find him. We can't. |
Location: Sweetwater Lake, O'Leno State Park
Divers:
Michael Poucher, Sandra Poucher
Profile:
195 minutes at a depth of 153 feet
Conditions: 72 degrees,
visibility was approximately 30 feet
Description: Continuation of
relining of downstream. Scootered to end of first reel, about 1800 feet, dropped
scooters and stage bottles and continued on backgas. Finished first reel and
tied on second reel, continuing to approximately 2400 feet. Noticeable
temperature change at a potential spring influence at around 2000 feet.
Visibility improved further into the cave.
Location: Sweetwater Lake, O'Leno State Park
Divers:
Eric Deister, Walter Pickel, Michael Poucher, Sandra Poucher
Profile:
165 minutes at a depth of 120 feet
Conditions: 72 degrees,
visibility was approximately 30 feet
Description: Relining
Sweetwater downstream at a constant depth along the right wall. During flooding
the main flow of water (and debris) appears to be along the left wall. By
staying on the right wall, the line should remain in better condition preventing
unexpected breaks. Mike and Sandy ran the line to around 1800 feet, Walter and
Eric made line placements and placed arrows along the line. We did not see the
10-foot alligator that Assistant Park Manager Andy Woolum mentioned was living
in the lake. During deco we checked the car again and found it was a
Chevrolet. After some looking around on the internet, we believe it is a
1920's model car or truck. We plan to get more photographs to help
identify it.
Location: Vinzant's Landing, Santa Fe River, O'Leno State Park
Divers:
Michael Poucher, Sandra Poucher
Profile:
27 minutes open water and cavern
Conditions: 74 degrees,
visibility was approximately 40 feet
Description: Video dive.
Surface, basin and cavern. Sandra was the videographer, Mike carried the video
light and was the subject. Footage of fish in the cavern fighting the flow, Mike
exiting the cavern, darters in the basin.
Location: Vinzant's Landing, Santa Fe River, O'Leno State Park
Divers:
Michael Poucher, Sandra Poucher
Profile:
48 minutes to a depth of 48 feet
Conditions: 74 degrees,
visibility was approximately 30 feet
Description: Cave had been
described as going approximately 300 feet at 30' depth then dropping to 180 feet
in a large terminal room (a room that ends in an impassable restriction). Dive
plan was to continue to the room, drop to 180 feet and survey out. We would
breathe an AL80 stage (Aluminum 80, a lighter weight tank than the steel
tanks usually worn by cave divers) and switch to our side mounts if necessary.
Went in with the flow to between 500 and 600 feet, flow did not slack off when
we approached the large room and actually increased considerable as we
approached the drop off. The line was broken yet again. Mike dropped
over the lip and tied off the knotted line. Sandy decided against attempting to
survey in the strong siphon. 11 minutes and 500 lbs of breathing gas going into
the cave, 34 minutes and 2400 lbs exiting on an aluminum 80.
Location: Vinzant's Landing, Santa Fe River, O'Leno State Park
Divers:
Michael Poucher, Sandra Poucher
Profile:
67 minutes to a depth of 34 feet
Conditions: 74 degrees,
visibility was approximately 30 feet
Description: Dive to reline
system with knotted line for survey and remove old broken lines. Went back to
around 475 feet and tied off. Mike did line maintenance while Sandy surveyed
from the tie off out of the cave. Flow seemed considerably stronger than
previously. With the survey we noted that the cave goes underneath a second
syphon flowing under some roots of trees surrounding the main swallet.
This corresponded with our feeling the the flow actually increased as we got
further in the cave. Most of the dive we were traveling backward or sideways to
maintain position in the high flow. Swimming was very difficult coming out
and pulling was the best way to make progress.
Location: Vinzant's Landing, Santa Fe River, O'Leno State Park
Divers:
Michael Poucher, Sandra Poucher (cave divers), Brett Hemphill, Eric Deister,
Walter Pickel (surface and OW support)
Profile:
52 minutes at a depth of 32 feet
Conditions: 72 degrees,
visibility was approximately 50 feet
Description: Quick dive into
the vortex of a strong siphon. Cleared debris from the opening. Several lines in
various states of damage. Mike did line maintenance while Sandy provided support
and light. Tubular gold limestone very fragile and very sharp. Flow is very
strong.
Location: Sweetwater Lake, O'Leno State Park
Divers:
Brett Hemphill, Michael Poucher
Profile:
190 minutes to a depth of 147 feet, 21/20, 50/25 and 100% (oxygen for
decompression)
Conditions: 75 degrees,
visibility was approximately 40 feet downstream
Description: We scootered to
1800 feet and picked up two stage bottles and then found another break 100'
away. We dropped our scooters at this point, tied in and began looking for
the other end of the line. After about 200 feet of searching we decided
there were too many line issues to try and continue further and it would be
safer to reline rather than relying on line that had multiple breaks and
potential unseen damage.
Location: Sweetwater Lake, O'Leno State Park
Divers:
Jerry Murphy, Michael Poucher, Walter Pickel
Profile:
157 minutes to a depth of 151 feet, 21/15 and 100% (oxygen for
decompression)
Conditions: 75 degrees,
visibility was approximately 40 feet downstream
Description: Went into
downstream to set bottles for tomorrow. Scootered about 500' in and swam to
1800' to drop 4 stage bottles. Jerry dove his rebreather. Deister had a light
failure. Brett had a football game and came up later.
Location: Sweetwater Lake, O'Leno State Park
Divers:
Eric Deister, Michael Poucher, Walter Pickel
Profile:
162 minutes to a depth of 154 feet
Conditions: 73 degrees,
visibility was approximately 40 feet downstream
Description: Went in a repaired
second break Jerry found last week. Looked at an old truck Eric and Walter found
last week. Several glass panels are visible and some of the copper tubing for
the brake lines. After the downstream dive, we took a look upstream and found
the line is broken at around 800 feet before the first T (intersection in the
line).
Location: Sweetwater Lake, O'Leno State Park
Divers:
Eric Deister, Brett Hemphill, Jerry Murphy, Michael Poucher, Walter Pickel
Profile:
101 minutes at a depth of 108 feet, 21/25 and 100%
Conditions: 74 degrees
Description: Went downstream to
check line. Cleaned branches and old line out. Jerry found a break about 300
feet in which we repaired and then found a second break another 100 feet
in. While decompressing, Eric and Walter found an old car in the entrance
opposite of our normal entry point.
