Corroded WKPP safety bottle, after 7 years in the Turner systemToday was our day to iron out the wrinkles and get ourselves properly squared away for the week of cave diving ahead of us. We got in a quick supermarket trip first thing to get our breakfast and lunch supplies for the week, then headed off to our dive shop, Extreme Exposure.

EE is a very nice setup, with exceptional blending facilities built to feed the WKPP's voracious appetite for gas, not to mention excellent staff and the best supply of DIR gear on the planet. Jehannine put in her aging Halcyon can light for a service and got a loaner in its place, we grabbed our tanks, and off we went for our first stop of the week: Peacock Springs.

Peacock is a Florida State Park about 40 minutes' drive from High Springs. Set back from the main road along a dirt track, it's a quiet spot hidden in the trees and an ideal way to ease back into the routine, being low in flow and relatively shallow by Florida standards (although still deeper than most Mexican caves).

Peacock Springs

Facilities at the site itself are limited, consisting of a pit toilet and some benches, but there is avery  useful dive shop, the Dive Outpost, just a couple of minutes down the road for gas fills and emergency purchases.

Entry to the water is very civilized, as a sturdy boardwalk leads from the parking lot to a set of wide steps at the water's edge. 

There's no point fighting it.

The first difference between Florida and Mexico that becomes immediately apparent: duckweed. It's everywhere. Pretty harmless, but I'll probably still be picking the stuff out of my gear months from now.

[UPDATE: turns out Peacock is the only spring we've visited that has duckweed - probably because it is very low flow.]
Fenton splashes down

First dive, two teams (Jehannine & Jeremy; and Kim & Chris) poked briefly into Peanut Tunnel; Sonia had to sit it out because of a primary light failure. Second dive, Jeremy volunteered his primary light so Sonia would have a chance at a dive.

Overall, an easygoing half-day to get us warmed up. We step up the pace a bit at Ginnie Springs tomorrow, where we'll encounter much more flow and greater depths. 

Divers: Kim Anderson (C1), Jehannine Austin (C2), Chris Fenton (C1), Jeremy Hoey (C1), Sonia Ziesche (C2)

Click for full-size map of the Peacock system