Wakulla Springs and Leon Sink Linkage

Reported in the Tallahassee Democrat - July 31, 2007 - and on www.Tallahassee.com - by Bruce Richie, britchie@tallahassee.com

After 17 years of searching, divers last weekend found a cave passageway linking Wakulla Springs and Leon Sinks in southern Leon County.

Divers with the Woodville Karst Plain Project made the discovery during a 14-hour dive on Saturday. The discovery links 28 miles of explored caves, which the divers say is the longest underwater cave system in the United States.

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Turner Sink-Wakulla Springs Connection Dive, 7/28/07

"It's a huge deal for us," said project leader Casey McKinlay. He added that the primary mission of the group, formed in 1990, was to find the link.

The discovery will help the state in the future protect water quality at Wakulla Springs, said Sandy Cook, the state park manager. The state, she said, can acquire more land over the cave system or work with landowners to avoid groundwater contamination.

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"I think it's pretty neat they were able to make that physical connection," Cook said.

The divers found the connection - a cave that grew to be 100 feet high and 75 feet wide - after entering Turner Sink in Wakulla County. They had twice before failed to find a connection from Turner Sink.

The last dive from Turner Sink was May 19. The divers knew they were less than a mile from the Wakulla Springs caves when they had to turn back because a passageway became too small.

They dove again from Wakulla Springs on June 23. Before turning back, they found a large cave passageway extending west toward Turner Sink.

That suggested that they needed to look again from Turner Sink for another passageway - this time extending south.

On Saturday, they went two miles into Turner Sink when they began looking for a new passageway.

They found a 50-foot opening in a cave "room" that is 120 feet high and 100 feet wide. They had not seen the opening on the two previous dives.

"Our lights are pretty powerful but it's still dark in there," he said. "And you can't make out shapes pretty well."

They explored 1,220 feet before finding the end of an exploration line laid during the June 23 dive from Wakulla Springs.

The divers emerged from Turner Sink at 1 a.m. Sunday after 10 hours of decompression.

After they put the big discovery behind them, McKinlay said he expects the team to set its sights on linking Wakulla Springs with the Spring Creek springs along the coast 14 miles away.

The lack of rain this year has helped the divers. More rain usually brings darker water, which prevents diving.

"We felt like we needed to make the most of it," he said.

Woodville Karst Plain Project, www.wkpp.org .

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