On March 27, 2011 members of the Florida Speleological Society accompanied Sean Roberts on a sump diving trip into Catacombs Cave in Marion County Florida. Sean dove an underwater passage in the Cross Florida Barge Canal. Catacombs cave is one of the few dry caves in Florida with discernable water flow (another one being Ocala Caverns.) After being silted out, the CFBC passage will clear within an hour or so. Sean dove a side passage in the CFBC and explored about 150 feet of underwater passage, but because he was unable to find any tie off points for his dive line he had to abort the dive.

Trip members were Sean Roberts, Becky Roberts, Andrey Yefimov, Richard Dreher, Jim Killion, Mike Gordon, Kitty Markley, Dave Lizdas, and Arianys Lizdas.

A full trip report and photos can be found at Richard Dreher’s site.

Trip Report and Photos:
http://gainesvilleactivities.com/news-reviews-commentary/catacombs-cave-exploration-ocala-fl

Sean Roberts Sump Dive in Catacombs Cave. Photo: Richard Dreher