By Gregg Stanton

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November 18, 2010

We are indeed blessed with one of the best Florida environments: clean air and water, lush plant and animal populations, and relatively low human population density. Wakulla County has long been known for it’s beautiful trails, primitive waterways, abundant fishing off shore, and world renowned parks. Less appreciated by us locally is the labyrinth of underground trails that snake down through Wakulla County and deliver millions of gallons of water to the coast. They too can be beautiful.
My name is Gregg Stanton. I, like many of you, came to this county with my wife many years ago. We have raised a family, completed careers, and in retirement, sought enjoyment in this aquatic wonderland. As a retired FSU Marine Biologist and teacher, I continue to instruct and support people in underwater activities such as spearfishing, photography, scuba diving, and speleology. This year we expanded Wakulla Diving into a world class underwater support facility centrally located in Medart, near the coast and in the middle of cave country.
My son suggested I write a column for The Wakulla News, that brought our hidden underground and underwater world into the daylight. I have been fortunate to have spent a considerable time underwater, from the Bay of Siam, Palau, Hawaii, Antarctica, Canada, and all across the continental USA, to the Bahamas and Caribbean Sea, and of course Florida. I participated on research projects where we spent weeks living underwater or on boats, hiked to and dove remote jungle lakes, or under thick ice, and swam miles into caves using life support technology used by astronauts.
In the weeks that follow, perhaps we may share a different perspective about Wakulla County: an aquatic perspective that has brought and kept me a resident here these past 40 years.

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November 24, 2010

Every day in Wakulla County we walk on water, in a manner of speaking. Below our feet resides an abundance of mostly freshwater from near ground level to as deep as 600 feet.
Our community is blessed with such a rich resource of fresh water that our wells are seldom deeper that 50 to 100 feet. Our water supply is recharged by local regional rainfall.
Rain that falls through the atmosphere picks up carbon dioxide (CO2) and becomes acidic before penetrating our sandy surface soil. This acidic water quickly reaches our shallow water table where it begins a journey toward our underground rivers, dissolving the porous limestone below us as it travels. Small passages join with others to become large passages until the conduit is so large a train could pass unobstructed.
Often these underground rivers come to the surface as a spring and forms the headwaters of our above-ground rivers.
All cave passages are dissolving, resulting in some passage collapse. Cave collapse usually occurs when a drought drops the water level in the underground river below the ceiling, losing the water’s support to hold it up. The resulting collapse opens a hole in the earth which may reach the surface or may just depress the ground. When it reaches the surface, it is a sinkhole and becomes a window into our aquifer. The most recent sinkhole formed in Wakulla County is called Big Dismal and can be seen in the Leon Sinks Geological Area off the Crawfordville Highway.
I urge you all to see a National Geographic Special called “Water’s Journey: Florida’s Underground Rivers” (available from your Wakulla Co. Public Library) for a stunning documentary on the wonders lying just below your feet.
Our future will depend upon protecting our aquifer.

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December 2, 2010

Breathe we must.
When we inhale, we consume a gas that has 20 percent oxygen diluted in the balance (80 percent) nitrogen.
We breathe this gas we call air from a seemingly abundant supply we call the atmosphere at a pressure of 15 pounds per square inch (psi).
To live underwater, I must still breathe. I have four choices from which to get this breathable gas: hold my breath from the surface, breathe compressed gas from a hose, breathe from a recirculating bag, or breathe from a compressed gas cylinder.
Breath-holding is a time-honored skill dating back to pre-history that has a two to four minute limited application, permitting a brief glimpse into a cavern, but never to penetrate.
Several centuries ago, salvage of wrecks relied upon breath-holding divers until an engineer began sending air down to his underwater bell.
Pumps soon improved the delivery and the hose became vehicle.
Today, if you are a commercial diver, you probably dive on a hose. But to penetrate the aquifer, hoses just get snagged, limiting access.
Over 150 years ago, a university professor walked about his classroom breathing on a recirculating loop that took his exhaled gas and reconditioned it before returning it to him to re-breathe.
Closed Circuit Rebreathers (CCR) technology was soon applied to mine rescue, underwater diving and eventually space.
Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus (SCUBA) was developed after World War II by Jaques Cousteau and others using a high pressure cylinder and a petroleum regulator to provide breathing gas underwater.
While much less efficient, SCUBA diving became the basis of recreational diving, with limited success in our aquifer.
While one day I may have the luxury of breathing from the water like the fish, to penetrate the aquifer today, I need something that I can breathe for, say, half a day.
What we breathe underwater is not the same as what we breathe above the water. Pressure changes the mix the deeper we dive. Rebreathers provide the ideal mixmaster creating ideal breathing mixtures for each depth.
Astronauts and technical divers now use Rebreathers because they have an abundant gas supply, something we require when visiting our aquifer.

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December 9, 2010

Our diving community is diverse.
Ask any spear fisherman what keeps him from his hobby and he will cite weather, temperature and football (or perhaps other distractions).
During the summer, the Gulf of Mexico can get very comfortable, in the mid to upper 80 degrees with reasonably calm seas between afternoon squalls. The abundant sun is a welcome respite to the many hours spent underwater chasing fish or photo opportunities.
Required time spent decompressing between dives allows recharging the body of depleted heat, fluids and food lost during the dive. Underwater diving is all about your body’s exposure to the elements.
Ocean divers are best described by the host boat that they dive from. These folks form loose time honored associations around their ocean transport, chipping in for fuel and other expenses thus improving the success and camaraderie of the boat owner.
When the winter arrives, ocean divers become easily distracted from this sport with other activities in our area (such as hunting, football and school) for good reason. Winter weather bring both cold winds and rough seas which in turn make for cold water.
Those long summer warm dives are now reduced in time as the colder water of winter saps the body’s heat. Water will pull 25 times as much heat from a submerged person as would be pulled at the same temperature out of the water (in air).
Thermal protection is required in the winter, in the form of a wet or dry suit. Those hardy spear fishermen, who keep after their winter prey, must don cumbersome garments to enjoy their sport.
We have noticed a dramatic drop in ocean divers at Wakulla Diving Center seeking support for spear fishing now that the water and air temperatures are dropping.
But quietly, almost imperceptibly, a different kind of diver is showing up. While this person does not spear fish, they do explore the underground labyrinths of Florida.
North Florida is known around the world as the center for cave diving with its best known site at Wakulla Springs. The water temperature here in our aquifer is a mild 70 degrees year around. During most winters the clarity of our cave water is at its best as this corresponds to our drought season. The cost to get to cave sites is limited to entrance fees, with many just requiring permission from local land owners.
But cave divers, like spear fishermen, are bound to the same challenges when in pursuit of their sport. They must limit thermal exposure by wearing wet or dry suits, decompress between dives and balance fluid and food intake to sustain their underwater pursuits. But unlike the summer diver, cave divers seldom bask in the midday sun. They are woodsmen (and women), not boaters.
What seems strange is that cave divers and spear fishermen are seldom the same people. They occupy different seasons, different dive sites, and pursue different underwater activities. Cave divers seldom are seen in the ocean, and spear fishermen seldom are seen in freshwater (it is illegal to spear fish in freshwater). During the summer, donning hot dry suits to protect against the 70 degree aquifer, is daunting while in 100 degree air temperatures!
Come spring when the Gulf warms up again, we expect the return of the summer open water diver and spear fishing.
And with the summer’s heat and increased rain fall, aquifer visibility will diminish, encouraging the departure of the cave diver.
Life in Wakulla is balanced between very different diving groups.

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December 16, 2010

Please welcome Jani Ripatti and Toni Jarvinen from Vantaa, Finland.
These two gentlemen traveled nearly 5,000 miles to Wakulla County for training in our beautiful Florida caves. They are both rebreather divers.
They are not the first students I have hosted at Wakulla Diving Center from Finland this year. Over the past few years I have trained many folks from Europe in both rebreather and cave diving. We anticipate many more European students in the future now that we have an expanded diving dedicated facility here in Wakulla.
Unfortunately, they will not likely dive in Wakulla County on this trip.
A recent group of visiting cave divers from Finland staying near High Springs told Joni and Toni not to bother going to Wakulla County as they could not dive there.
Indeed, because of restrictive policies for diving only in our Wakulla County state park, I must travel 1,000 miles during the next eight days of training to reach caves sites that I can train with them.
I will travel to Marianna’s Blue Spring Park in Jackson County, Madison Blue Springs State Park in Madison County, Peacock Springs State Park near Mayo, Little River near Branford, Manatee State Park, and Ginnie Springs near High Springs just to name a few sites.
And they will pay their entrance fees, purchase food and fuel, and supplies while not in Wakulla County.
Toni and Jani know all about Wakulla Springs State Park, as this cave-rich public park has been featured in countless underwater projects from movies such as Tarzan, Creature from the Black Lagoon and Airport ‘77 to paleontology and diving physiology research, and cave exploration by the U.S. Deep Cave Team and Woodville Karst Plains Project.
They rather expected to dive in our back yard. I had to explain that Wakulla Springs State Park has a policy against the public diving in their caves unless they are pre-approved well in advance, by a select committee, and then allowing very limited access to one site, unless they participate on an exclusive permitted project.
I failed to convince them that Peacock, Manatee and Madison State Parks that have equal access policies for cave diving, are any different than Wakulla Springs State Park.
Opening Wakulla Springs State Park to diving in the main basin even just to open water and cavern-trained divers could generate upwards of $100,000 per year with little or no adverse impact on the beauty of the park. Opening the caves to qualified cave divers would increase that number significantly. At a time when the State Parks are economically stressed, such income would certainly be greatly appreciated. But more importantly, the economic impact on Wakulla County business (mine included) would exceed $2 million. At a time where Wakulla County businesses are failing for lack of tourist traffic, why are we turning away people like Toni and Jani?
I have told my students that one day they would be able to complete a life-time achievement here in Wakulla County, much like hikers do when traversing the Appalachia Trail.
Today, few hike the Maine to Florida trail in one trip due to its considerable length. Instead, they purchase a log that is signed off when they complete portions of the trail until they complete the entire journey piecemeal.
We have a similar trail, albeit underwater, that begins just south of Tallahassee, passes through Wakulla Springs State Park and ends in the Gulf of Mexico.
Cave diving enthusiasts from around the world will come to Wakulla County to work on this achievement, completing segments as their vacations permit.
We will all prosper from the resulting economic impact.
But for now Toni and Jani remain frustrated and confused, as do we all.

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December 23, 2010

To dive in our caves requires special training.
I finished training Jani and Toni from Finland yesterday after eight very long days that included 15 hours of lecture, 15 hours of shop time and 1,000 minutes underwater practicing skills and problem solving.
They are tired now, but learned their lessons well. Both will soon receive a Close Circuit Rebreather Cave certification from the International Association of Nitrox and Technical Divers (IANTD).
Lectures included how our caves are formed, how to protect them, the purpose of community support (such as joining the National Association for Cave Divers and the National Speleological Society) and land owner relations (no sneak diving!).
These caves are fragile, beautiful and precious to all of us.
Lectures covered the technology of diving of course, and the physiology of swimming underwater. Because our caves are often full of silt, the floor has a lot of soft mud.
You cannot walk on them.
Cave divers must learn to swim in a new way so as not to disturb the bottom or they will quickly loose their ability to see in the cave.
Skills include managing their breathing gasses and decompression, knowing where they are in the cave at all times, knowing their way out, maintaining trim & buoyancy, carefully using lights, and self and buddy rescue techniques.
At the end of my class I inform each (on different dives) that their primary life support has failed when they are the furthest from the surface.
To pass the class is to get out on their own. Every diver at some point owes their life to their buddy.
To complete my final practical, they must cooperate, sharing backup breathing gasses, knowledge of their location in the cave, light, swimming and communication skills all performed calmly, or be rescued by me and fail the exercise.
Yes, I do require they pass a written exam, practical skills and meet national standards for cave diving.
What I have described seems like touchier, but people do enjoy the adventure that cave diving provides.
To cave dive safely requires a dedication to details not required in many other recreational activities.
If you make a mistake at tennis or soccer, you just try again.
In cave diving, mistakes can be devastating, bringing new meaning to the cliche that the Devil is in the Details.

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December 30, 2010

Standing atop the observation tower overlooking Wakulla Springs basin brought me a renewed thrill to the otherwise beautiful clear day. The air is warm for a December day, the breeze refreshing and the bright sun penetrating what can only be described as nature at its best. I am pleased to share this with departing Toni and Jani, held up by cancelled flights back to Finland.
Below us in vast blue water, swim Manatees. They bask, and play in the 72 degree waters of Wakulla Springs as though on holiday. These gentle giants are a recent and very welcome visitor to our Springs. In past years, visitors to our area were sent south to places like Crystal River to see Manatee this close and personal. Divers could even swim with them, bringing much needed revenue to those counties. I count 7 Manatee today and am told by the single other visitor on the platform, that there are many more.
She asked me about other large dark swimming objects below us, which I identify as Garfish the size of children. I point out the sun bathing Alligators on the far side of the basin and try to identify birds in the area. I suggest she take the boat ride down river and into the past to see even more of this beautifully preserved part of Florida. And I wonder why this tower is not crowded with other visitors witnessing such beauty.
Then, I am reminded of last week’s Wakulla News report that the Lodge at Wakulla Springs may be outsourced or closed as a cost cutting move, which can only mean few people come to visit. Jani, taking pictures of everything in sight, suggested the Lodge would be busy if the Springs were open to the public for diving. He said all divers in Finland know about Wakulla Springs, and know as divers, they are not currently welcome.
How different would it be here if divers could enjoy just the basin and cavern, better yet the caves, from underwater? Earlier in our tour we visualized a small dive support facility where folks could get air from a quiet fill station, rent equipment only to qualified divers, and pay diving fees to the park to support a larger mission. We could see underwater video cameras in the basin and cavern with displays in the boat house and Lodge lobby for visitors viewing and Ranger monitoring. Beach entrance & exit next to the tower provides no adverse impact on the facility. Rules limiting diver areas to the deeper basin and cavern under the tower would keep boats, alligators and divers separated, and everyone happy! Perhaps designated dive times with surface supervision would relieve park safety concerns.
Jani said he and his family would be back when Wakulla Springs is open to diving. But for now, we stand witness to such a display of nature as anyone can hope for, wishing Toni and Jani a fine farewell, and wondering why we are alone.

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