Cave Diving Expedition connects two caves to St-Marcel d'Ardèche cave system

During several dives in May and June in the "Résurgence du Bateau", in the Ardèche region in central France, JP Baudu succeeded to push the known section of the resurgence from 800 m to 1330 m and succesfully connect it to the St-Marcel d'Ardèche cave system, adding two more entrances to the system (Bateau & Ecluse).

The sump is currently the longest one known in the Ardèche region.

Expedition details:
* First weekend in May: JP & Catherine Baudu put a new line up to 700 m. Visibility: 3 m

* June 9th:  JP Baudu continued to put a new line up to 998 m, surpassing the old terminus (800 m) and surveyed at the same time. There seems to be a tunnel on the right side. Visibility: 2 m, dive time: 4 h. Participants: Seb Rocheil, Philippe Imbert, Calos Placido, Catherine Baudu

* June 16th: JP Baudu continues to explore the newly discovered section up to 1330 m ending on a pit at -65 m, where the connection with the St-Marcel d'Ardèche cave system was made. Visibility: 3 m at the start, 1.5 m at the pit. Dive time: 5 h.

Participants: Catherine Baudu, Carlos Placido (Mowgli), Frank Vasseur, Frédéric Bonacossa, Olivier Dufourneaud, Yannick Bohbot

The team wishes to thank Philippe Brunet for all the info on the cave system as well as topo points.

Additional data:
More information on the Bateau-Ecluse system can be found at 1001Siphons.
Click here for a hydrogeological study of the system by Philippe Brunet.
A nice book about the cave has been published in 2008 and is available from Spelunca Library for € 29.

Source: Plongeesout