Deaths at Eagles Nest - Homosassa FL

[PfcAJ]

The top of the debris cone is sub 100ft. A "cavern" dive is shallower than 100ft. So that whole argument kind of goes right out of the window.

There are no cavern dives at eagles nest. It's not an introductory cave, and it's not appropriate at all for anyone without a full cave card, a trimix cert, not to mention some experience.

 

[pwomble]

Updated details of the dive here: Father, son die in Christmas Weeki Wachee cave diving excursion | Tampa Bay Times

 

[HIGHwing]

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A ScubaBoard Staff Message...

Some more off-topic posts have been deleted. People, please. Let me remind you of the special rules for this forum:


Please don't make this escalate. We don't have a lot of tools. I don't want to have to choose between locking the thread and locking people out of the entire A&I section. Don't make me make that decision.

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You can break my following comment into any section you'd like, but with all due respect it's nearly impossible to discuss an accident in the United States of America without breaking rule #8. Part of accident avoidance is considering all the factors impacting something prior to engaging the in activity. IF people are engaging in scuba diving events without considering the possible legal ramifications they're foolish. Perhaps this accident in particular, as it is currently trending, might be a catalyst for the moderators to consider taking a much more modern approach to how we discuss accidents beginning with the realization that #8 is impossible to ignore. Accident prevention, and thinking about responsibilities, legal ramifications, life insurance, leaving your spouse a pot to piss in, and all those eventualities are part of scuba diving preparedness.

While I admit the moderators are free to hack up the threads how they see fit, it's also necessary to allow people to realize, you take a buddy in a cave and there might be a civil case that wrecks additional people's lives over your selfish behavior.

So while I agree to play by the rules, as a matter of parliamentary procedure I'd like to point out that the rules are not consistent with the society we live in and they promote a masking of a large part of the tragedy - the legal battle.

I humbly submit this for your consideration and action.
Happy Holidays

 

[debajo agua]

This is the 1st case of a o/w and non-certified diver dying at EN. All of the others were certified to die there:

1 Dead, 1 Missing After Cave Dive

 

[RJP]

Ummm... It shows that he makes lots of bad decisions?

From this interview with his "best friend" it sounds like this isn't the first time Spivey and his son have dived Eagle's Nest...

At 1min47sec the friend says "I've sat there on the dock many times with them, and feared if they're gonna come back..."

Father, son found dead in underwater cave - FOX 13 News

 

[Texas Torpedo]

Updated details of the dive here: Father, son die in Christmas Weeki Wachee cave diving excursion | Tampa Bay Times

Apparent details..

They had been there a number of times before and made it out...
233' Max depth..
Son went OOA and buddy breathing on the way up..
Couldn't make it back to the bottle(s) they apparently staged at 130'
Even if they had, there wasn't enough air(?) to accommodate the hour+ deco obligation they racked up..

Deco Obligation!? 'What's that? Seems like I read about it online or in a book.. Is it important!?!'

IF you can afford the gear, you can afford the damn classes.. If you can't, save up for both and take your time practicing as you go. Studying online, reading books, or any other way to educate yourself is SECONDARY to real training with a real cave instructor, and in this case, tack on mixed gas training once it is that time..

Absolutely preventable... And he was warned on more than one occasion.

Good grief.. Poor kid.. Looks like all he wanted to be like was his father, but didn't know enough to know his father certainly didn't know enough..

 

[Wookie]

This is the 1st case of a o/w and non-certified diver dying at EN. All of the others were certified to die there:

1 Dead, 1 Missing After Cave Dive

Many have died there diving beyond the limits of their training. This may be the first non-certified diver or OW diver, but the team that died on rebreathers a couple of years ago (from Tennessee, I think) weren't trimix or cave rebreather certified, and were diving both.

 

[stevensamler]

There is a large OW area and the cave entrance is all but impossible to "unwillingly fall through." There are pictures of the son in a cave on Facebook, and pictures of the father and son in doubles with a stage in Hogarthian-like setup, so it is pretty clear (to me, anyway) that they intended to go into the cave.

I feel for their family but I am truly incensed that the father had the cojones to think he should risk his own - let alone his son's - life, by going into a cave without proper training. I have friends who are full cave, hypoxic-trimix trained, who are building up to Eagle's Nest! And this guy takes his son, who isn't OW certified, into that environment!

Freedom to make stupid decisions has to stop somewhere, when children are involved. This kid didn't look like he was shaving yet.

Sounds to me Daddy bought a non certified diver his son gear for Christmas and then made another dumb decision and took him diving.

 

[RJP]

Many of the articles on the dive incident cite Spivey's fatal hit-and-run accident and sex-offender status as acknowledgement "that Spivey has made some mistakes in his life."

Father, son die in Christmas Weeki Wachee cave diving excursion | Tampa Bay Times

Interestingly take by his fiance:

Family members said Spivey and Sanchez had dived at Eagle Nest several times and respected the danger there. "The top thing on their minds was safety," said Holly King, Spivey's fiancee. "They never pushed it. Darrin loved his family and loved his kids and wouldn't risk anything."

According to one of the recovery divers...

Brooks said their dive computers and air gauges indicated both had descended to 233 feet and that they had run out of air — Sanchez first, apparently, because his father had deployed a long breathing hose that allowed his son to breath from his tank.

 

[tstormdiver]

Vortex Springs has a locked gate. Ben McDaniels aside, you can’t wander off…

That is absolutely no guarantee. My start into cave training came about for a misadventure I had in Vortex. My buddy & I went in at dusk (there was daylight) & we started back out after dark (there is no cavern at night). The depression around the mouth looked like the walls of the cave & the dark sky looked like the ceiling. I was already critical on gas at that point, due to not being educated on gas planning. When we got into the basin, that looked like the cave,... we didn't know we were in open water. We swam back & forth into & out of the cave, thinking we may have taken a wrong turn,... but couldn't figure out where. Long story short, my buddy took off to the surface without me when I had my back turned to him. Took me several minutes to realize what had happened to him. When I got out, I had less than 300 psi left. Once home, my instructor (also a cave instructor) gave me a much deserved butt chewing. Afterwards he asked me if I really wanted to learn to dive caves. I agreed. It took me 2 yrs & 5 attempts to pass his course. He was VERY tough on me to drive home the point of the seriousness. I now have about 130 post training dives & am totally in love with the caves & the sport.