Post by Kelly Jessop on Jan 28, 2009 6:28:37 GMT -5
www.suwanneedemocrat.com/suwannee/local_story_027102211.html
700' within Luraville's Cow Springs, dive team erases work of vandal
By Vanessa Fultz, Democrat Reporter
A dive crew performed what's been called the world's first underwater cave restoration earlier this month in Luraville.
A Brazilian man had allegedly carved his initials, P.Y., into a clay bank deep within the cave system at Cow Springs last year, according to the Suwannee County Sheriff's Office. The incident was reported on Nov. 12, 2008 by another diver said to have seen the man, Paulo Y. Matsutoni, exiting the cave just before the damage was discovered. Cow Springs is located near Peacock Springs in Luraville.
Wayne Kinard, one of the restoration divers, called the vandalism an "eyesore."
"You don't go in there to look at someone's initials," he said by phone Monday.
A diving crew completed the restoration between Jan 5-7 in two-and-a-half hour intervals. The work site was more than 70 feet under water and 700 feet into the cave system. The project took 30-35 hours to complete.
Kinard said the restoration was the first of its kind. Among the crew was Michael Angelo Gagliardi, a Chicago artist who prepared tubes of clay in various colors to match the cave. The crew swam in the equipment and Gagliardi used a caulking gun to filling in the area where the initials were carved.
Kinard said Gagliardi was successful at restoring the clay bank to its original state.
"There are divers that swam right past it that have no clue of what's been done," he said.
Kinard said that Matsutoni has agreed to make a donation to The National Speleogical Society-Cave Diving Section, which sponsored the restoration. Kinard said he hopes that part of the money will fund a video to educate the public on the proper treatment of caves.
According to SCSO, a warrant is out for Matstoni's arrest on criminal mischief charges. He is believed to be somewhere in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, although his address is unknown.
Kinard said he and other divers now refer to the restored area of the cave as the Sistine Chapel, since the artist on the project was named after Michelangelo
700' within Luraville's Cow Springs, dive team erases work of vandal
By Vanessa Fultz, Democrat Reporter
A dive crew performed what's been called the world's first underwater cave restoration earlier this month in Luraville.
A Brazilian man had allegedly carved his initials, P.Y., into a clay bank deep within the cave system at Cow Springs last year, according to the Suwannee County Sheriff's Office. The incident was reported on Nov. 12, 2008 by another diver said to have seen the man, Paulo Y. Matsutoni, exiting the cave just before the damage was discovered. Cow Springs is located near Peacock Springs in Luraville.
Wayne Kinard, one of the restoration divers, called the vandalism an "eyesore."
"You don't go in there to look at someone's initials," he said by phone Monday.
A diving crew completed the restoration between Jan 5-7 in two-and-a-half hour intervals. The work site was more than 70 feet under water and 700 feet into the cave system. The project took 30-35 hours to complete.
Kinard said the restoration was the first of its kind. Among the crew was Michael Angelo Gagliardi, a Chicago artist who prepared tubes of clay in various colors to match the cave. The crew swam in the equipment and Gagliardi used a caulking gun to filling in the area where the initials were carved.
Kinard said Gagliardi was successful at restoring the clay bank to its original state.
"There are divers that swam right past it that have no clue of what's been done," he said.
Kinard said that Matsutoni has agreed to make a donation to The National Speleogical Society-Cave Diving Section, which sponsored the restoration. Kinard said he hopes that part of the money will fund a video to educate the public on the proper treatment of caves.
According to SCSO, a warrant is out for Matstoni's arrest on criminal mischief charges. He is believed to be somewhere in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, although his address is unknown.
Kinard said he and other divers now refer to the restored area of the cave as the Sistine Chapel, since the artist on the project was named after Michelangelo