I have been dreaming of cave diving in Missouri caves for a while now! Unlike the caves in FL and Mexico, MO caves are cold and dark with low visibility. Hannah is not too keen on this, so I'm on my own for this cave-diving trip. However, I'm not solo diving; instead, I'm diving with Earnie Wilson and Damon Shy from Ozark Dive.
We had planned to dive on Saturday (May 23). My plan was to drive 6 hours to Poplar Bluff, MO, stay overnight at the Hampton Inn, dive the next day, and drive home on Sunday morning. Earnie, Damon, and I met at the shop at 7:30 am, and I topped up my tanks with 32% Nitrox. It turned out another diver was also joining us that day, and since she's certified to Intro-to-Cave level, Earnie would be diving with her. Damon and I would be a team. All of them were in sidemount, while I was in backmount 104s.
We got all our gas fills and drove to the boat dock, which is 20 mins away. The cave we were diving is called Cannonball Cave, named for the cannonball-shaped sphere at the entrance. Getting to the cave is interesting! The entrance sits at around 40 feet at the bottom of the lake, but visibility is very bad — the first 20 feet are almost like "milk tea," and I could not see my hands when I was using the tie-off to guide me down. Once we reached the entrance, visibility improved tremendously, but it was dark because sunlight couldn't penetrate the water.
Visibility in the cave is pretty decent, somewhere around 30 feet. The cave has decent flow, making it quite a bit of work finning against it. The walls are dark, and the lights were just "eaten up" by them. The floor is very silty, so careful and conscientious finning techniques are a must here.
This was an introductory cave for me, so I didn't try anything adventurous. There are quite a few side tunnels that I'm interested in exploring next time I'm back. The cave slopes down to 300 feet, but I kept my maximum depth to my gas operating depth.
Site: Cannonball Cave
Depth: 18m
Duration: 43 mins
The town (Poplar Bluff) isn't big, and there are a few decent restaurants, though most are fast-food places. The hotel staff recommended Colton's Steak House. They have good steak and a nice family atmosphere as well.
Until next time, Cannonball Cave!
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