LOCATION:
The Diepolder sinks are located on the Sand Hill Scout Reservation off highway 50, just East of Weeki Wachee in Hernando County, FL. Since the sinks are on private property and due to the extreme depths involved, access is restricted.
DESCRIPTION:
The Diepolder sinks are two of the deepest, most spectacular dives in central Florida with depths in the huge room of #3 reaching 300' and #2 reaching 360'+ . All dive activity at this site is currently regulated by the Florida Speleological Researchers (FSR) who act as stewards of the sinks on behalf of the property owners, the Gulf Ridge Council and the West Central Florida Council of the Boy Scouts of America. Much work has been done by the FSR over the years to maintain this relationship and preserve access for qualified divers. Like many other state managed and privately owned sites, a guide program has been established to ensure safety and limit the impact to these unique underwater treasures.
Diving at this site is limited to individuals with an established record of deep diving & mixed gas experience. The guides will usually require a few "get acquainted" dives in #3 before allowing anyone to progress into the more challenging #2.
GUIDES:
Rob Anderson - randerson007(a)alltel.net
Lloyd Bailey - lwb(a)atlantic.net
Dustin Clesi - steamboat(a)atlantic.net (386)935-2283
Rick Crawford - odincrawford(a)windstream.net
Greg Flanagan - greg(a)gsflaw.com
Larry Green - lgreen(a)atlantic.net
Bill Main - hogarth(a)gru.net
Bill Oestreich - bird(a)birdsunderwater.com
Johnny Richards - johnny(a)cavediving.com
Dale Sweet - dsweet3(a)tampabay.rr.com
Alex Warren - Warren1(a)tampabay.rr.com
Aerial showing relationship of Diepolder to nearby systems
Video of Diepolder #2 Entrance (mpeg, video by Larry Green)
Video of Diepolder #2 Fissure (mpeg, video by Larry Green)
Video of Diepolder #2 (mpeg, video by Larry Green)
