Trip report(s) posted on the cavers list

From: Mark Bush
Date: Wed, 19 Jul 2000 17:37:13 +0800
Subject: Anyone Want to Explore a Cave

We would like an investigation of a serious cave in Barracuda Lake which
connects out to the ocean.

A geologist who was in Coron to evaluate the environmental impact of a
government project says that Coron Island (containing Cayangan Lake and
Barracuda Lake) and Busuanga Island (town of Coron) though separated only
by a couple of kilometers of water are different geological formations and
are on different tectonic plates.  The topography certainly looks
different.  The hot water in Cayangan and Barracuda Lake and the hot water
in the Hot Springs on Busuanga Island comes from cracks extending down to
where pressure makes the ground really hot.

On Barracuda Lake imagine a bowl of broth (the lake) sitting in a large pot
(the ocean).  The bowl of broth is rainwater for the first four meters.  In
rainy season (now) this fresh water is cool (26 to 28 degrees).  In dry
season this fresh water warms up from the hot salt water below it.  The
first layer of hot salt water starts at 4 meters and goes down to 13
meters.  Its' temperature is about 33 degrees.  The second layer is at 38
degrees.  YOU HEAT UP ON THIS DIVE INSTEAD OF GETTING CHILLED.  You can
actually see fingers of REALLY HOT water coming out of cracks in the rock
just like the swirls off of the bottom of a pot before it boils.

The bowl (ring of mountains) that holds the broth has a V shaped crack down
to within four meters above sea level at the place where we climb over the
lip of the bowl.  (Picture of climbing on the web page.)

When you climb into the lake you go to the left side and swim in away from
the ocean before you descend to the mouth of the cave.  The cave heads back
towards the ocean and the current in the cave changes direction with the tide.

30 meters is where we quit and turned around.  No one has gone to the end.
No one here is tech trained for Caving.  I've been diving since 1973 after
an 8 week YMCA class taken as a college PE.  In my first 10 dives I made
two cave dives and two nighttime cave dives in Vortex and Ginnie Springs in
North Florida.  I've made more than 4,000 dives.  I know that untrained
cavers can die.  Everyone in the shop is a PADI Instructor and also a Wreck
and Nitrox Instructor.

We would like to map out a dive which starts in the ocean and winds up in
the lake.  YOU WON'T BELIEVE THE SCENERY IN THE LAKE (TREES POKING OUT OF
THE ROCKY SIDES OF THE BOWL, OR THE ECHOES IT REVERBRATES!

To do this we have to find the cave outlet in the ocean and then see if it
can be penetrated from the ocean side.  What we would like to do is to pop
a dye marker in the cave in Barracuda Lake on falling tide and try to find
where it outlets into the ocean on the outside of the bowl.
We can supply a lot of divers to be on the outside, in the ocean, when the
falling tide would bring the dye out into the ocean.

Here are the write ups from the web pages for Barracuda Lake and the Cave
in Barracuda Lake:

BARRACUDA LAKE:
"The craziest dive site in the Philippines." Location: North end of Coron
Island.

This spectacular dive starts with some challenging mountain climbing in
full diving equipment over sharp limestone cliffs. We do wear tennis shoes
or sandals and carry our fins strapped to our tank. We use 53 cubic foot
tanks for this dive as they are more than 4 kilograms lighter than the
usual aluminum 80. The climb only takes 10-15 minutes and the exertion is
worth it. The scenery around the lake is spectacular and the under water
terrain has been likened to flying over the surface of the moon. The top 4
meters is warm fresh water. Below 4 meters the water is salt. There are
dynamic changes of water temperature in the lake with temperatures ranging
from 28 to 38 Celsius. You can even see the thermoclines at 4 and 14
meters. At 34 to 35 meters the water changes from crystal clear to tea
brown due to the tannic acid in the leaves that fell into the lake. After
cooking and boiling, you will meet the "king of the lake." It is a
barracuda approximately 1.5m long that likes to guide divers around his
domain. It is a good chance for underwater photographers to get a close-up
of the big barracuda. A dive that you should not miss!

Max depth: 35 meters. Recommended certification level: Open Water Diver,
Mountain Climbing Diver Specialty.

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The Cave in Barracuda Lake:

A very deep and serious cave in Barracuda lake entered from Barracuda Lake
at 33 meters depth which allows a penetration of 30+ meters. Location:
North Wall of Barracuda Lake starting at 33 meters deep.

The cave has been marked with a fixed line on the right side as you enter.
The cave is just large enough to allow two divers to swim in and turn
around. The silt and sediment on the bottom is packed and should remain
down with reasonable care by the diver. This cave is dark and the sediment
is dark and gives an eerie sensation. Proper equipment would be a light
with backup and at least an octopus with a 7-foot hose or redundant
alternate air source. The current in the cave tells you that it is
connecting Barracuda Lake to the ocean. This is a dive that you should not
miss if you are prepared. The combination of mild nitrogen narcosis at
depth and the dark confined surroundings on this dive will tell you if you
are claustrophobic for continued cave diving.

Max depth: Please do not descend below 40 meters! 

Recommended certification level: If you limit your penetration to a maximum
of 40 meters total distance from the surface (a 6 meter penetration) then
Advanced Open Water Diver with Deep Diver Specialty and Cavern Diver
Specialty is sufficient. If you wish to penetrate beyond 40 total meters
from the surface then you should be Cave Diver trained and carry the
necessary redundant equipment.