Wakulla Dive Report: 2nd Deep Cave Dive at The Pit

Two days ago Camilo and I returned to The Pit to revisit the “Cardea Passage” leading to the Wakulla Room. Our objective on this dive was to reconfirm distances, depths, gas volumes, communication and procedures based on our initial estimates and experience of the first mission.

We both chose to dive back mount configuration with a single stage whilst diving a similar plan as before. However; where the first dive was turned at minute 11 we would now turn at minute 15 giving ourselves a total run time of 25 minutes at 200ft and a deeper horizontal penetration into the passage.

With a slow descent of 33ft a minute we reached our maximum depth at minute 6 giving us 9 minutes of penetration and 10 minutes to return to the start of the line. Our planned RMV calculations proved to be sufficient as our turn was ahead of pressure. By this point we had reached the junction leading to the ‘bypass’ to the Wakulla Room the line for which we could clearly see extending into the darkness to our left below us. The main line in this section slopes gently down and the temptation to keep following it is almost overwhelming with thoughts of what awaits ahead; the restriction of the bypass at 260ft and then the room itself at 300ft.

On leaving the passage we had agreed to do the deco run inside the cathedral like space of the cavern area of The Pit to enjoy the majesty of the view it affords. Ascending first through the misty hydrogen sulphide layers up into the halocline and then into the noticeably colder fresh water above. The longer shallower stops can be spent enjoying the beauty of the stalactites and formations in the ceiling of the cavern area or investigating the entrance to the shallow cave passage. Having started the dive around mid-day the water was now free of other divers and we had the entire site to ourselves. With big smiles behind our deco regs we headed to our favorite ledge at 10ft for our final stop, to rest and play games on our wet notes, to rid ourselves of the chilly final 30 minutes of the dive.

Conclusion: An extremely enjoyable and successful second dive. Great team work. What’s Next: Gain more local knowledge and advice about the dive to confirm depths, distances and times. Plan the full dive. Buy some helium…. Have fun!

Paul Kirby