A little confused about overhead environment

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Know your own limits. In the old days with minimal (or no) certification people used to dive in caves and take off tanks to squeeze through small gaps. I am sure a few people still do.

But as training has become more formalised, and people more litigious, the official advice has always been: train properly and equip properly for more hazardous aspects of the sport. It's good advice.

But I don't have a problem with even relatively inexperienced divers going into "overhead" environments provided conditions are benign and however far in you go you stay safe and within your own limits. When you are directly underneath your boat or poking your head under a ledge you are in an "overhead" environment, so it is somewhat a matter of degree. The mouth of a cavern or just inside is not the same as some deep penetration under ice or into a cave or wreck.
 
The problem with the overhead environment dives that OW divers do is that, the majority of the time, nothing bad happens and everybody comes out okay. After a while, it's easy to develop the attitude that the cautions NOT to enter overhead environments are simply overly conservative. And if a 90% chance of swimming in and swimming out without incident is good enough for you, you might make that choice.

But the difference between OW and an overhead environment is that, on those few dives where something DOES go haywire, you don't have many options. I believe a woman died in the Ginnie Ballroom because she lost her weights, became positive, ended up on the ceiling, and panicked. (I'm repeating very secondhand information there.) I have read a first-person account of a dive through the Devil's Throat in Cozumel, where a man's wife got scared and tried to exit through a crack where she could see light. It wasn't big enough for her to pass through, and she became trapped and had to be extricated. She got CPR, and lived.

People have equipment malfunctions or lose their heads in OW and bolt, and most of them survive to recount the tales. The same issues in an overhead quickly put you well down into the incident pit, and people die who didn't need to.

As a cave diver, I TOTALLY understand the lure of those dark spaces. Poke your head (and nothing else) into the entry to the Ballroom and take a look. If it intrigues you, then get a few more dives under your belt and come back to Florida and take a cavern class. It will be good for your general diving skills, it will be fun, and you'll be able to go take a look at those magnificent underground spaces in a safe fashion.
 
It is potentially a hundred foot or so swim from inside Ginnie to the surface, so you have to take that inot account. What if your mask floods? Can you continue to breathe and deal with it under water, or would you feel the need to bolt to the surface to resolve it - which would not be an option. You need to consider those kinds of scenarios and consider under what circumstances you would need to surface right now and then make your own decision. But if in doubt - don't.

My Cavern and Intro to Cave instructor explained the OW/Ginnie Ballroom anomoly his way - The ballroom has a lot of flow so its hard to get lost as you wash toward the exit if you are lost, and if things go badly wrong, the bodies will wash out on their own, so its ok. It was a bit tongue in cheek, but he was not far off the mark and pretty much covered both sides of the argument.
 
Thanks to all who have replied and offered your thoughts.

I plan to/will stick to non-overhead environments as I have done thus far. For instance, we were at WhiteStar Quarry in Ohio, and we merely poked our heads into the Ruffles van for a look and shined our flashlights around... I had a vague 10-15% desire to go in and poke around, wife was emphatic not to. Doesn't bother me in the slightest that she isn't interested in such ... I am content to just dive with her anywhere.

As mkutyna put it, there is plenty of other stuff to see in regular OW. Seeing as how all of the dives I want to do in a 6+ hour drive have little/no opportunity for overhead anyway, its no big deal.
 
Hi Sam,

I'm brand new too. Just did my 12th dive last weekend. The prior weekend I did 8 - 11 at Ginnie. I was with a very experienced buddy and we did a night dive into the ballroom. I will say it is one of the most thrilling things I've ever done! The water is as clear as air and there is a grate at the deepest part (about 48') that prevents you from venturing further. There is also a thick rope leading from the entrance of the ballroom to the entrance of the cave which could be used to pull yourself out rather quickly. I think this dive solidified my love for diving and I realized then that this new adventure would be for life. I only wish I'd started 30 years ago, hehe (52 now).

You could just dive in the spring and venture gently into the cave, just a few feet and see how you feel. Nothing says you need to go all the way to the grate.

Cheers,
Doug
 
Hi Sam,

I'm brand new too. Just did my 12th dive last weekend. .....

You could just dive in the spring and venture gently into the cave, just a few feet and see how you feel. Nothing says you need to go all the way to the grate.

Cheers,
Doug

Doug,

Unfortunately this is how untrained divers die in caves.....they just want to take a little peak. Under no circumstances should divers enter an overhead environment without the proper training, equipment & most important ATTITUDE!

Furthermore, a night dive in a cavern environment is a cave dive (remember, if you can not see daylight it becomes a cave dive). Any number of things can happen, to make what some say an "easy" dive go bad.
 
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Here's my 2psi, I'm a fairly novice diver so take my opinion for what its worth.

The ballroom isn't going anywhere. It will still be there years from now after you've gained more experience/training.

I applaud your decision to stick to non-overhead environments. Looking at pictures online I can certainly see why you would be intrigued in going into the ballroom.
 
Doug,

Unfortunately this is how untrained divers die in caves.....they just want to take a little peak. Under no circumstances should divers enter an overhead environment without the proper training, equipment & most important ATTITUDE!

Yeah, I'm with ya Scuba, and agree completely. I never would have gone in if I wasn't completely confident in my buddy's experience. And, I have no desire to do any cave diving. I'm happy in my local lake and the Savannah river and an occasional trip to the islands :)
 
I hate to be the one to say this, but someone with 12 dives and no overhead training should probably be doing more listening and giving out less advice.

YOUR BUDDY is not YOU...sounds like you were being a very dependent buddy...
 
I hate to be the one to say this, but someone with 12 dives and no overhead training should probably be doing more listening and giving out less advice.

YOUR BUDDY is not YOU...sounds like you were being a very dependent buddy...

Agreed. I didn't mean to give any advice, my apologies. Consider my mouth shut.
 

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