It’s no secret freediving has enjoyed a tremendous surge in popularity in just the past few years. Long fins, camouflaged wetsuits and all the other trappings of freediving are showing up everywhere. Unfortunately, most of the people we see using it have no idea what they are doing and, as a consequence, die all too frequently.
You may be cave diving in north-central Florida this weekend after all. As of today, most of the region’s popular cave systems are either open or about to open. The only exceptions are Devil’s Eye and Ear, and (possibly) Little River. And, according to Ginnie’s Facebook page, they are shooting for opening this coming Tuesday, September 26.
The other day, I got an interesting comment on a photo I posted way back in December. The photo (shown below) is a still-frame capture from a You Tube video. The video was actually pretty good, showing both diving and a specific destination in a positive light. Unfortunately, that’s not what many viewers are going to remember.
What is the best strategy for cave diving in north-central Florida on busy summer weekends? Cave explorer Win Brown may have summed it up in one word: Don’t. Seriously, if you can limit your summertime cave diving to weekdays, you’ll be happier for it. Unfortunately, that’s not an option for many people.
The latest news in what I will simply refer to as the Eagles Nest Incident is that the victim’s father wants the state to “close” the cave to prevent further tragedies. Personally, I think that’s a great idea — just like I think closing all public schools will prevent further masacres like the ones in Newtown and Columbine. Yeah, right…