Location:
Arch is located Pasco county just south of the Hernando
county line. From Tampa, take Hwy. 41 north until you get to County Line Rd.
Head west through Spring Hill. Take a left onto Kelly Rd (a few miles west of
the Spring Hill Hospital. Arch sink will be located on the right side of the
road at the first big bend. To
get access to the sink, take a right on the private driveway just before
the bend in the road. Permission may be obtained from the current owner. He too
is a driver and is willing to allow access provide you have the proper
certification and willing to sign a waiver. The old split is no longer a viable
option so to prevent additional erosion. Please respect this privilege and do not trash the area,
in fact take out any that you see, or make excessive
noise as the pond is surrounded by private homes. Please do not be too
loud, especially at night. Once I get a copy of the waiver, I will post it to
the site for others.
Description:
Arch Sink is one of the closest cave dives in the
Tampa area. The cave is great for beginning divers as there are very few
off-shooting tunnels. From the cavern there are three passages. Two are
fairly short and neatly dead-end without getting too small. The longer
one has incredible visibility at the end (I call Ginnie-vis) due to the
density of the water. Even then the tunnel has it's normal 20 feet of visibility
with entry into this spot pretty easy. The big draw of the dive site
is the large room that lies just passed a minor, steep restriction. The
room measures 150-200 feet in diameter and 80 feet in height. There is
a deep tunnel (found by following the left line of the circuit) that goes
to about 195 ft, ends in a nasty bottom of silt. The line there becomes
buried and must be pulled out of the muck to be followed, definitely a
zero visibility exit. The Manatee Room (named due to some old Manatee bones
fossilized in the walls and ceiling) has a large dome are that has the
same visibility characteristics as the end of the long tunnel. The water
is warmer (less dense) and clearer than the rest of the room. The pools
of air on the ceiling reflect the light from our primaries to give a nice
bright view of the entire room. This site is definitely worth a visit,
even if you are just a fair-weather Ginnie diver.
