Mailing List Archive Mailing List Archive
Dr Millard - we are writing a book on the Woodville Karst Plain, of which
Wakulla Springs is an important part. The name attracts dillatantes, much like
Mount Everest in mountain climing, but to us it is the only kind of cave we
know, and the only kind we dive - there are miles of it in the WKP.
You are correct in assuming that Stone's expedition is to the WKPP like a
postage stamp relative to a postcard, and that is what his mapped area looks
like on top of ours. In fact, we can reach most of what he did on open water
gear and a single 80, if that tells you anything. Now he is trying to get back
in so that Jim King, a wealthy guy from Tennessee, a carbon copy of Hemingway's
character "Francis Macomber" ,can go diving at Wakulla and pretend to climb the
mountain. They have also recruited every single unfit diver in Florida and
every
person who has no interest in team play , protecting resources, or anything
other than seeing Wakulla, selilng film, seeling dive gear, selling
rebreathers,
or proving their manhood (like Macomber, who was killed by the beast in
Hemigway's short story - we expect the same result here) without having ever
done any diving approaching this, and they are claiming all kinds of "hig tec"
gear to supposedly accomplish this, yet none of them has ever done anything
anywhere with any gear any time.
I hope they are not allowed to destroy this place and render it off
limits to our serious work. I am confident that if they had to prove their
abilities in Leon Sinks, they would never get into Wakulla. Hell, if they ever
had to pass physicals none of them could get into the Salvation Army.
What you saw about a joint effort betwen WKPP and whoever these people
are is nonsense - they just thought they needed me to get in - they do not, and
when they found that out they went their own way. We can not use any of their
people, amd the supposedly have some mapping device, similar to what we have
already developped that I gues we can come two around once they throw in the
towel, but again , we already have that . We alrady have rebreathers that
actually work and have no electronics, we already have scooters that will burn
for hours and go any distance, we already have habitats and can do the deco, so
your guess is as good as mine as to what the beef is.
We have a series of films, articles, stories, TV shows and the book,
which Jarrod is writing , that will tell the full story. Right now some of this
is tied up in court, and is far too important to the protection of the resource
for us to worry about putting out maps to a cave diving community who has all
of
its knives in our back all of the time. We will have some serious scientific
and
envirnomental publicationso coming out, which I will cooordinate, as I have
signed a contract with the U.S. E.P.A. to provide this in exchange for funding.
It will be publicly available just like the stuff I do for the Underseas
Hyperbaric and Medical Society, and I wil be sure that is is available to all
scientists and environmentalists everywhere. The diving stuff is second nature
to us.
On Fri, 1 Nov 1996, Steve Millard <ec96@li*.ac*.uk*> wrote:
>George,
>
>I've been trying to replace a lost book by Bill Stone on his early stuff in
>Wakulla. I think I've traced down a copy now...but of course this book is now
>hopelessly out of date on where the Wakulla explorations have reached. From
>what I've read on techdiver (& seen on your video 'Doing it Right'), your team
>has gone several quantum leaps beyond this now & is doing some epic diving.
>
>Has anyone written up anything about this stuff or is it all 'word of mouth' ?
>Is there anywhere I can read about & see pictures of the diving your team is
>doing ? Did anyone write a book yet..(or even a magazine article) or are you
>all too busy doing it to write about it ?
>
>I did read in a Aquacorps magazine some time ago that Bill was planning a
return
> to Wakulla Springs. Did that all fall apart due to personalities & politics
or
>is it going ahead alongside the stuff you guys are doing ?
>
>Just a thought.....
>
> Regards, Steve M.
>
>ps please don't take offense at any of these questions. It's often hard to
keep
>up over here with what's going on in the mainstream of exploration in the USA,
>but I've always been fascinated with the potential of Wakulla. Maybe I'll get
>the opportunity to come over sometime & see how your team really operates.
I'm
>sure it would be an enlightening experience !
>
>
>**************************************************************************
>* * *
>* Dr. S. G. Millard, * E-Mail : ec96@li*.ac*.uk* *
>* Senior Lecturer, * *
>* Department of Civil Engineering * Tel : 0151 794 5224 (UK)
*
>* University of Liverpool, * 44 151 794 5224 *
>* PO Box 147, * (International) *
>* Liverpool L69 3BX, * *
>* UK. * Fax : 0151 794 5218 (UK) *
>* * 44 151 794 5218 *
>* * (International) *
>* * *
>**************************************************************************
>
>
>
>
George M. Irvine III
DIR WKPP
1400 SE 11 ST Ft Lauderdale, FL 33316
954-493-6655 FAX 6698
Email gmiiii@in*.co*
Navigate by Author:
[Previous]
[Next]
[Author Search Index]
Navigate by Subject:
[Previous]
[Next]
[Subject Search Index]
[Send Reply] [Send Message with New Topic]
[Search Selection] [Mailing List Home] [Home]