WKPP Exploration: Wakulla, 4 May 2007

true · May 7th, 2007, 06:18 PM

At Casey's request, forwarded from the WKPP team list:

------

WKPP
In typical WKPP fashion the 2007 season has started off with a huge discovery in the Wakulla Springs Cave System. Picking up where we left off at the end of December, Jarrod and I pushed through 2,700ft of some of the smallest, restrictive passageway yet discovered in the Wakulla Springs system with scooters, safeties and drive bottles in tow while at the same time re-surveying the entire section of cave. Approaching EOL from 12/30, we dropped the safeties, switched to fresh drives and fresh scooters and tied in only to push through another 2,000ft of equally silty, small, twisting passageway with depths at each station averaging 285ft. Aside from a warped sense of sanity (a direct result of exploring this cave system for more than 17 years), the flow was there assuring us we were on the right track.

Around 12,000ft from the Wakulla Springs Basin, the cave begin to open up slowly; first 10x10 then 20x20 with swept clean floors and tube like features. At approximately 13,000ft we turned a corner bearing North-Northwest and the cave system blew wide open as the walls disappeared and the flow picked up. Floor depth was approximately 300ft and we followed the left wall as Jarrod finished the first of the Magnum reels we brought on the dive. I traded him another full Magnum reel for the empty one, clipped it off, noted the data at the station and waited for the shot as he headed off into the distance. I was already on my 3rd page of survey notes at that point with no sign this cave was about to let up. I was also in no rush to head back into the small stuff until it had at least 1-2 hours to blow clear. It was time to get to work as we headed into massive conduit bearing North, Northwest and East. Huge limestone features, swept floor, deep and identical in every way to the downstream Turner tunnel explored in June of 2006. This was the real deal after 17 years but how far until we hit the downstream line was the big question.

Disposing of the second reel was significantly easier compared to the first. Survey shots were averaging 200ft+ with one massive shot of 490ft. Following the left wall (reel in left hand) was the standard protocol but I kept looking right for another line in those spots where I could see the wall. We had a short discussion about possibly deploying a smaller #3 reel but felt we had pushed our luck already and it was not time to get greedy. She had been willing to give up enough for one day and the exit would be slow going. We would hit it next from the Turner side and quite possibly end decades of speculation not to mention accomplish one of the main goals of the WKPP.

The score:
6,270ft added
Distance from Wakulla – 16,000ft
Estimate to close the gap to EOL Turner - <5,000ft
Estimate to Turner Sink – 20,500ft
Estimate of traverse from Turner to Wakulla – 36,500ft

The profile:
400 minutes at 260ft average depth
Run Time – 1200 minutes

The team:
Setup to 6,500ft – Mark Garland and Jim Miller. Great to have Mark back in the water.

Safety re-stock – Scott Cox and Mark Messersmith

Surface – too many to name but the best team in the history of the project. Todd Leonard, Sonya Tittle, Hunter Swearingen and Dawn Kernagis kept the trains running on time and the guys took great care of the team and the equipment.

A complete report and details to follow at some point but with Turner scheduled for May 19 we have little time to enjoy the success. The conditions are perfect and the team is ready to connect these systems. You guys are the best.

Casey McKinlay
Project Director
Woodville Karst Plain Project

Devon Rob · May 7th, 2007, 07:14 PM

A connection would be the deserved reward.

*Clare Gledhill* · May 7th, 2007, 07:31 PM

Fantastic news - congrats to all involved - looking forward to the story continuing on 19th

*JohnKendall* · May 7th, 2007, 09:09 PM

Wow, good stuff guys. Looking forward to the next report.

J

Steve Blanchard · May 8th, 2007, 04:56 AM

I can only imagine how exciting it must be to link up up two cave systems. Looking foward to more updates

Thanks

**neilh** · May 8th, 2007, 10:43 AM

Ooo so close!

true · May 9th, 2007, 02:04 PM

The Tallahasse Democrat (aka, the local paper) just posted a story that helps to contextualize how the WKPP's dives are part of a larger conservation effort to protect all of the springs in the area:

Tallahassee Democrat - www.tallahassee.com - Tallahassee, FL.

If only the diving community could convince the reporters and editors of the world that they shouldn't substitute "air" or "oxygen" for "trimix" or "breathing gas" whenever they report on any diving topic... Otherwise, it's a nice write-up about what's going on in the area.

graham_hk · May 9th, 2007, 02:37 PM

Quote: (Originally Posted by true)

The Tallahasse Democrat (aka, the local paper) just posted a story that helps to contextualize how the WKPP's dives are part of a larger conservation effort to protect all of the springs in the area:

Tallahassee Democrat - www.tallahassee.com - Tallahassee, FL.

If only the diving community could convince the reporters and editors of the world that they shouldn't substitute "air" or "oxygen" for "trimix" or "breathing gas" whenever they report on any diving topic... Otherwise, it's a nice write-up about what's going on in the area.

Anthony - come on get back to the office and get some vids for us to see

May 7th, 2007, 06:18 PM	#1 (permalink)
true(Offline) GUE Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Florida Posts: 141	WKPP Exploration: Wakulla, 4 May 2007 At Casey's request, forwarded from the WKPP team list: ------ WKPP In typical WKPP fashion the 2007 season has started off with a huge discovery in the Wakulla Springs Cave System. Picking up where we left off at the end of December, Jarrod and I pushed through 2,700ft of some of the smallest, restrictive passageway yet discovered in the Wakulla Springs system with scooters, safeties and drive bottles in tow while at the same time re-surveying the entire section of cave. Approaching EOL from 12/30, we dropped the safeties, switched to fresh drives and fresh scooters and tied in only to push through another 2,000ft of equally silty, small, twisting passageway with depths at each station averaging 285ft. Aside from a warped sense of sanity (a direct result of exploring this cave system for more than 17 years), the flow was there assuring us we were on the right track. Around 12,000ft from the Wakulla Springs Basin, the cave begin to open up slowly; first 10x10 then 20x20 with swept clean floors and tube like features. At approximately 13,000ft we turned a corner bearing North-Northwest and the cave system blew wide open as the walls disappeared and the flow picked up. Floor depth was approximately 300ft and we followed the left wall as Jarrod finished the first of the Magnum reels we brought on the dive. I traded him another full Magnum reel for the empty one, clipped it off, noted the data at the station and waited for the shot as he headed off into the distance. I was already on my 3rd page of survey notes at that point with no sign this cave was about to let up. I was also in no rush to head back into the small stuff until it had at least 1-2 hours to blow clear. It was time to get to work as we headed into massive conduit bearing North, Northwest and East. Huge limestone features, swept floor, deep and identical in every way to the downstream Turner tunnel explored in June of 2006. This was the real deal after 17 years but how far until we hit the downstream line was the big question. Disposing of the second reel was significantly easier compared to the first. Survey shots were averaging 200ft+ with one massive shot of 490ft. Following the left wall (reel in left hand) was the standard protocol but I kept looking right for another line in those spots where I could see the wall. We had a short discussion about possibly deploying a smaller #3 reel but felt we had pushed our luck already and it was not time to get greedy. She had been willing to give up enough for one day and the exit would be slow going. We would hit it next from the Turner side and quite possibly end decades of speculation not to mention accomplish one of the main goals of the WKPP. The score: 6,270ft added Distance from Wakulla – 16,000ft Estimate to close the gap to EOL Turner - <5,000ft Estimate to Turner Sink – 20,500ft Estimate of traverse from Turner to Wakulla – 36,500ft The profile: 400 minutes at 260ft average depth Run Time – 1200 minutes The team: Setup to 6,500ft – Mark Garland and Jim Miller. Great to have Mark back in the water. Safety re-stock – Scott Cox and Mark Messersmith Surface – too many to name but the best team in the history of the project. Todd Leonard, Sonya Tittle, Hunter Swearingen and Dawn Kernagis kept the trains running on time and the guys took great care of the team and the equipment. A complete report and details to follow at some point but with Turner scheduled for May 19 we have little time to enjoy the success. The conditions are perfect and the team is ready to connect these systems. You guys are the best. Casey McKinlay Project Director Woodville Karst Plain Project

May 7th, 2007, 07:14 PM	#2 (permalink)
Devon Rob(Offline) Can´t remember-member Breakout Champion! Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Lyme Bay.Devon.UK formerly Hamburg, Ger. Posts: 316	A connection would be the deserved reward. __________________ this mail was checked for viruses,worms & bad breath

May 7th, 2007, 07:31 PM	#3 (permalink)
Clare Gledhill (Online) GUE Instructor Site Admin Pacman Champion! Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: UK Posts: 1,540	Fantastic news - congrats to all involved - looking forward to the story continuing on 19th __________________ Clare . "Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions....Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you too can become great." Interested in DIR dive training? Always happy to chat/answer questions so get in touch via PM or visit www.dirdiver.co.uk

May 7th, 2007, 09:09 PM	#4 (permalink)
JohnKendall(Offline) GUE Instructor/DIRX Moderator Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Cambridge, UK Posts: 1,099	Wow, good stuff guys. Looking forward to the next report. J __________________ John Kendall http://www.guetraining.com/ GUE Instruction, Santi and Halcyon Equipment NEW - Online Santi Shop

May 8th, 2007, 04:56 AM	#5 (permalink)
Steve Blanchard(Offline) New Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 61	I can only imagine how exciting it must be to link up up two cave systems. Looking foward to more updates Thanks __________________ www.youtube.com/wegodown

May 8th, 2007, 10:43 AM	#6 (permalink)
neilh(Offline) Haemoglobin on the bus... Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Barnsley, UK Posts: 1,900	Ooo so close!

May 9th, 2007, 02:04 PM	#7 (permalink)
true(Offline) GUE Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Florida Posts: 141	The Tallahasse Democrat (aka, the local paper) just posted a story that helps to contextualize how the WKPP's dives are part of a larger conservation effort to protect all of the springs in the area: Tallahassee Democrat - www.tallahassee.com - Tallahassee, FL. If only the diving community could convince the reporters and editors of the world that they shouldn't substitute "air" or "oxygen" for "trimix" or "breathing gas" whenever they report on any diving topic... Otherwise, it's a nice write-up about what's going on in the area.

May 9th, 2007, 02:37 PM	#8 (permalink)
graham_hk(Offline) Pinoy ako pinoy Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: here, there and everywhere Posts: 779	Quote: (Originally Posted by true) The Tallahasse Democrat (aka, the local paper) just posted a story that helps to contextualize how the WKPP's dives are part of a larger conservation effort to protect all of the springs in the area: Tallahassee Democrat - www.tallahassee.com - Tallahassee, FL. If only the diving community could convince the reporters and editors of the world that they shouldn't substitute "air" or "oxygen" for "trimix" or "breathing gas" whenever they report on any diving topic... Otherwise, it's a nice write-up about what's going on in the area. Anthony - come on get back to the office and get some vids for us to see __________________ DIN caps and plugs with free world wide postage: www.dustcap.halcyon-hk.com