On March 13 Marcin Gala and Phil Short cracked Sump 4 in J2. They had been underground for 15 days when the first exploration dive took place. Approximately 150 meters into the dive they had to repair a broken guide line laid by Jose Morales in 2009 but otherwise were able to use the 2009 dive line to the limit reached by Jose in the right hand tunnel at 300 meters penetration from dive base. There Phil Short led on laying a full 120 meter spool of Cortland dive line followed by 2 3 of a second spool before they were confronted with a travertine wall blocking the underwater tunnel. After some searching they discovered a small opening between a stalactite curtain that allowed them to get out of the water onto a travertine platform. They left their dive gear there and proceeded onward for 100 meters in a large air-filled tunnel which included travertine walls and large stalactites, and one significant swim that they did in their Santi drysuits. Ultimately they reached a large borehole tunnel where the river descended into a fractured vertical fissure. Lacking vertical gear they terminated the reconn effort there. The inbound swim had been 71 minutes in a very large tunnel (12 x 6 meters with crystal clear turquoise water with white sandy floor and no silt). The return dive was 40 minute continuous swimming. Phil Short estimated the length of the sump at 600 meters. We will post a more precise number when the survey data are processed. The maximum depth was 12 meters. |