By Jason Richards

We’re on the road again, just crossed the US border on our way back home, after nearly a month of caving in Mexico.  Though I can’t give all the details, I wanted to send along the highlights and some thoughts for the wayward Mexican caver. Read more »

By Dan Anderson

It Began With A Friendship…

I had just finished going over my equipment for tomorrow’s dive.  It was time to relax and talk about our plans.  It was October 4th and our dives were to take place on my 50th birthday… a special gift from special friends, Emanuela (Ela) Bertoni and Adam Korytko, NSS-CDS Instructors and owners of Cave Heaven located in Puerto Aventuras, Quintana Roo, Mexico.  I had been invited by them to be one of the first to enter a newly explored cave system in the Riviera Maya, and the first to photograph “Sistema Ixchel” presently listed in the QRSS long cave database at www.caves.org/project/qrss/qrlongft.htm.  The name, “Ixchel” refers to the Mayan goddess of fertility and possibly more relevant, is also the name of the property owner’s daughter. Read more »

Story and Photos by Agnes Milowka

There are strong differences between cave divers and sump divers: how they relate to the cave environment, how they configure their gear, and what they try to achieve.  A sump diver is more than just a cave diver and more than just a dry caver. Read more »

Early Exploration and Protection Efforts

By Wes Skiles,photos by Wes and Jim Kozmik

The story of how Cow Springs slowly gave up her secrets remains close to my heart and memory. My love for springs was obvious when I was ten, and by age 15, I was frequenting them in my 1969 Plymouth Valiant. By age 16, I was diving at Peacock, Telford, Running Spring, Suwannee Blue, Sandbag (Bathtub), Devil’s Eye and Ginnie Springs. Running Spring became exploration base camp for me and fellow cave lovers Bob and David Dillenger from Jacksonville, Florida. Read more »

By Tom Felden

Travelling to Sardegna with the family is always fun. Diving some WWII wrecks in the south is too, but what makes this island really interesting is its caves. I made arrangements with Toddy, one of the owners of Protec Sardinia, for a cave diving trip and since I only had one shot at diving on this trip to the island, we planned a dive in Blue Marino. This is a beautiful decorated underwater cave ending in a sump which is even more decorated. Read more »

On Expedition

By Agnes Milowka

Photos by Agnes Milowka and Wes Skiles

I started off like any other tourist cave diver; diving all the big caves, thinking Florida is all about crystal clear springs, big tunnels and that it has long ago been tapped out…as it turned out I was wrong on all accounts. Read more »

By William Hudson

The cave systems of Samar, Philippines are some of the most extraordinary in the world and a cave explorer’s paradise. With more karst caves than anywhere else on the planet, Samar has thousands of known caves and probably thousands more to be found. Read more »

As we flew over Abaco I asked the pilot “So what does everyone think of when they think of the Bahamas?” “Sex on the beach” he said without any hesitation. I can only assume he meant the cocktail. Either way it all sounded rather promising. Read more »

Most cavers and cave divers have heard of “the most gorgeous cave in the world,” whether it was overheard at a grotto meeting or at the local coffee shop. The stories may very somewhat but at some point the conversation turns to location and the silence becomes deafening. Ramsey Mill has been that cave for me. Read more »

In 2004 Diego Romo C. discovered Sistem Cocodrilo near Cozumel. His accounts of the remarkable cave with its relics left by both ancient Maya and Spanish Conquistadors caught the attention of cave divers Mike Young and “Slim” Leonard. Four years later, they approached Cinematographer Tim Bass to inlist him to film and document this amazing system. Read more »