Underwater Wakulla
By RUSTY MILLER
So now you have your equipment setup and ready to put on your back and make that walk down the long staircase to the platform in the spring.
Let’s take a step back and talk about entering the spring basin. When you get the paper work done and unload your vehicle you will want to walk to the boardwalk around the spring entrance to see the hole in the roof of the spring to look down to the spring itself. It’s unlike any spring in Florida because you have to basically go underground so to speak to actually go diving in the spring itself.
Once you get that done you will want to go down to the platform but you will not be able to because it is basically a one way staircase. That means if you’re diving you will have to go all to way down to the platform which is about 3-4 feet under water, that’s why you don’t want to just walk down there or else you’re in the water.
At this point you need to know that the staircase is made out of aluminum – not wood, like it was about 5-10 years ago. In fact they have an original part of the wood stairs in front of the dive shop.
When I took my first dive at the Devil’s Den about 35 years ago, the shop was like a very small box trailer without the pavilions and a couple of picnic tables. It was a pretty shaky staircase so you had to be very careful walking down that staircase to a platform that was out of the water, surrounded by underwater platforms. If you look on their website you will see several pictures of the old stairs and platforms. When you dive the spring you will see those carpeted platforms in various places underwater.
Now you make that long walk down to the submerged platform, you put your mask on and your regulator in your mouth and walk down a couple of stairs then inflate your BC to float and let the cold water slowly creep up your wetsuit. Deflate your BC and be amazed at what you see under the water. Slowly swim around the whole spring and then start looking for swim through to get a feel for your surroundings.
Now that your first dive is over you need to make that climb back up to the surface where you started.
This is very important to know because you have to yell up to let others know you are about to climb up the stairs. You need to make sure other divers aren’t on the entry stairs because once you start down its difficult to turn around to go back up. Most divers are courteous and will wait until you get back to the surface.
My biggest heartburn is the snorkelers who come there to go snorkeling; yes t,here are folks that love to snorkel with just their bathing suits, brrrrr. They don’t care if you’re diving and will come down the stairs after you start your journey to the surface.
I have been there waiting to get my students back up when half way up the stairs a snorkeler appears and refuses to turn around to go back so I politely asked them but they refused so I told them either go back or jump into the water from there, they turned around and went back up the stairs.
The last thing I want to say is if you look for certain types of rocks along the bottom you will see they have small fossils on them, please put them back down to keep this underwater wonder intact.
Until next week, keep making bubbles.
Russell Miller is the manager at Wakulla Diving Center in Medart. NAUI Instructor #59999