Beware The Eagle’s Nest…
The Eagle’s Nest sinkhole in Florida is one of the world’s most famous cave diving sites, featuring a mile of marked passages and depths up to 300 feet. It is also dangerous, if you are not very, very careful. Since the Dave Shaw story I always take note of any cave diving stories that pass across my screen. And this one is both a cautionary tale and a tragedy. Here’s the set-up:
Shortly after 4:30 p.m., they began a fairly normal descent, said the 52-year-old Banks.
Divers must breathe different mixtures of gas at different depths, so Bedard breathed from a tank of pure oxygen until she had descended about 30 feet. Then she switched to nitrox, a combination of oxygen and nitrogen.
About 130 feet down, she switched to her primary tanks, which were supposed to contain a blend of oxygen, nitrogen and helium appropriate for that depth.
They didn’t.
Cave diving. It’s off the charts…
Weedy Whacker: Eagle-Eye View Of Eagle’s Nest…