Divers Successfully Complete World Record Dive from Turner Sink to Wakulla Springs 

Jarrod Jablonski and Casey McKinlay, divers with the non-profit Woodville Karst Plain Project, successfully completed a world record cave dive this past weekend in Wakulla County, Florida.  McKinlay, 39, and Jablonski, 38, spent seven hours at 300 feet below the earth's surface diving the cave passages and another 13 hours decompressing for a total of 20 hours in the water.  While a record for cave diving was definitely broken, the real reason for making the dive was to show that the cave systems below Turner Sink, just south of Tallahassee, and Wakulla Springs are connected.  (Pictured at left:  WKPP Divers Jarrod Jablonski and Casey McKinlay)  

In addition to the two divers, a support team of 30 members, some from as far away as Italy, Singapore, Germany, and Australia, also helped make the dive a reality.  Dive teams placed extra scuba tanks and other relief equipment one mile into the cave system for Jablonski and McKinlay.  The two divers did the entire seven miles on their own, and were then met by members of the support team to assist them during their decompression period.  Jablonski and McKinlay subsisted on liquids while traversing the caves and passages; they were able to eat some solid food (stored in watertight containers) during their decompression. 

The divers entered the water at Turner Sink at around 1:20 p.m. on Saturday, December 15 and surfaced at Wakulla Springs at about 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, December 16.  The divers began decompressing at 190 feet, stopping to rest every 10 feet.  The total decompression time was 13 hours, with each rest period getting longer as they neared the surface.  Once at the surface, the divers had to rest for another 30 minutes or so before coming out of the water.  According to McKinlay, there are "habitats" at several of the decompression points that were placed there some time ago for the WKPP diver's use; one at 120 feet, one at 50 feet, and 2 larger structures at 30 feet.  The habitats are basically cattle troughs that have been flipped upside down and filled with air.  The divers can sit in these and be partially dry, but still must breath through their regulators.  On the shallow parts of the decompression, members of the support team went down and paired with Jablonski and McKinlay until they reached the surface.  Once at the surface, the divers were welcomed back by a group of 50 or so spectators and support team members.

McKinlay noted that water quality changed along the way during the dive.  "For the first three miles the water was relatively clear," he said.  "There was a unique section of the cave where it looked like some thermal influence was coming in; there was a lot of algae and bacteria.  It could have been a mineral spring vent."  McKinlay added that the only aquatic life they saw in the caves were albino crayfish and blind catfish.  (Pictured at left:  Friends of Wakulla Springs Founding Member Madeleine Carr, Wakulla Springs Park Manager Sandy Cook, Jarrod Jablonski, and Casey McKinlay)

McKinlay and Jablonski used multiple scuba tanks, rebreathers and several powered scooters each during the course of the dive.  "We've been cave diving for more than 17 years," said McKinlay.  "We put a lot of preparation into our dives."  McKinlay said there were no real surprises during the actual dive; just a couple of minor issues that were quickly resolved. 

"I am elated, and a little tired," said McKinlay.  "All in all, it was quite exciting,  It's been a remarkable year.  First making the connection between the caves during July, and now diving the entire length in one trip.  We closed out 2007 with a bang."

Jablonski and McKinlay both currently live in Gainesville, Florida.  Jablonski is a dive instructor for world reknowned Global Underwater Explorers (GUE), based in High Springs, Florida, and McKinlay works for Halcyon Manufacturing, a company specializing in making dive equipment.

According to Jablonski, the team will next begin working on finding a connection from Wakulla Springs to Spring Creek, a total distance of about 12 miles underground.  "We will keep working south towards Spring Creek, and will possibly go in at Spring Creek and work northwards as well," he explained.  "If we hit a sinkhole during the route, we can use that as an entering point a little closer in to Spring Creek."  He added that they will wait until the visibility in the caves is a little clearer before they begin, hopefully sometime early in 2008.

"The caves are the most beautiful place," said Jablonski.  "It feels like you are flying along on a magic carpet.  It's the most amazing experience."

"Without the WKPP divers, the education about what is going on beneath our feet would not be possible," said Madeleine Carr, Founding Member of the Friends of Wakulla Springs.  "What they are doing for us is incredible."  Carr and Wakulla Springs Park Manager Sandy Cook presented Jablonski and McKinlay with a banner touting their World Record status.

Click here for a photo gallery of the divers as they emerged in Wakulla Springs (taken by Ron PIasecki).  

- Mary Katherine Westmark, Publisher, Wakulla.com

This article originally published on December 17, 2007.

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