OK,... here is my take on this topic based on my own experience. I almost became a cave diving fatality statistic. My buddy talked me into going into Vortex up to the grate. Vortex has also been known to be an "Open Water Diver safe cave(rn)" (notice I use the quotation marks?.... there is no such thing for the untrained). Yes, I certainly knew better,... but not so much why. Curiosity got the better of me, not that it is any kind of excuse, there is none. We went into the cave at dusk. The grate is about 400 ft back & at about 110 ft depth. When we came out, it was dark,... So even if it would have been cavern to the grate,... it was dark, so there was no cavern anyway. We were in the basin (Open Water), but did not know it. The black sky & lack of any kind of light above, looked like the ceiling of the cave. The sheer walls of the basin looked like the walls of the cave. Lost, we went back & forth into & out of the cave trying to figure out where we took a wrong turn. I was running critically low on air. After several more minutes, my buddy figured it out & took off while my back was turned, wiping vis out for a few minutes, he was perched on a ledge above trying to signal me with his light (could not see it) & he was NOT coming back down for me. He was too freaked out. After several more minutes trying to figure out where he went, I finally had the presence of mind to cover my light & could then see him signalling me. I surfaced with waaaaay less than 400psi. Too close for comfort. Many of the basic rules were broken (3/5). The biggest- No training. If so I would have approached this entirely differently. No continuous guideline to open water, if so we would have know that we were in the basin. No gas planning. If so I would not have almost run out of air. You can have 100,000 dives, be the world's best instructor, or even a diving god,.... none of that is enough to replace proper overhead environment training. Sorry. The overhead environment is inherently more risky than open water diving, but with training & applying the training, those risks can be minimized. Thank goodness, with the training I have received, I now know what true danger I put myself, my buddy & anyone who may have had to recover me. I also now realize the agony my decision could have had on my family & friends. My instructor was VERY tough on me, because of this stupid decision I made. he wanted to make absolutely sure I understood the ramifications of those decisions. I realize that no matter what I or any of the others say to support this view, there are those who will not listen because they "think" they know the risks. Do you really? There is absolutely no excuse not to get training to do the dives you want to do. It is affordable & it is readily available. If you don't getthe training for yourself, at least get it for those you love & those who may be affected by your decisions.
