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There was one other in Calavera a year or two ago, I think. Again, a guide blatantly violating the rules by taking a shortcut through the cave zone, and then panicking when she lost a diver there. My best guess is that these tours average one fatality per year, out of what I would estimate...

It depends on my buddy. If I'm sensing that he isn't having fun, either, I'd put it a small a question (thumb up, question mark), not a demand. If he's obviously into it, I suck it up as long as I'm still a safe diver. On a guided dive where I was the only paying customer I simply turned the...

Ah, that North Florida cave superiority complex... enjoy it while it lasts. Seriously, there are plenty of things that could be done more safely in Mexico, and that's not limited to the cavern tours. But your 'we know it all' attitude is not helpful. There are plenty of very accomplished cave...

The United States Postal Service has issued a beautiful set of stamps with sharks on them. I just got a sheet, and will probably get more. A nice way to raise awareness for these magnificent creatures. USPS.com - Store

I would treat it a bit like selecting a cavern instructor, because that's what it essentially is. Do the research, ask questions, and preferably get a referral. There is plenty of useful stuff on the Mexico forum. What I personally would look for is an operation that has 'skin in the game'...

That's unhelpful polemic. The guided cenote tours have proven to be very safe, as long as the rules are strictly adhered to. Those rules cover everything from the qualifications and equipment of the guides, to group sizes, distance to open water, etc. Now, this is Mexico, and enforcement of...

Any good cave there, or just cavern?

This case points to a broader question: When should agencies step in and discipline one of their instructors. Only when standards in a course taught under the agency's imprimatur are broken, or when things go bad even the course is taught under the auspices of a different agency, or when...

I never said that backmounted doubles are not appropriate. If you read my first post above I said: "That can be backmounted doubles or sidemount (either way is fine - but it should be a deliberate choice)." I chose sidemount to start with, I have not regretted it, and it's a path that is not...

Well, that was pretty much what I did. I took a sidemount course with about 50 dives, in preparation to do cavern / Intro soon thereafter in Mexico. I struggled a bit, but the problem was mostly with the sidemount course, which had been taught by an instructor who didn't cave dive and my cave...

Well, I think we have pretty much dispensed with the age thing. Now as to your best options for training: Since you eventually want to dive caves, I would take the cavern course in a configuration that will allow you to go into caves, eventually. That can be backmounted doubles or sidemount...

I'm not sure if I would call it incompetent. A medical examiner has generally a very narrow area of expertise, and it certainly does not include technical CCR diving. And when there is no foul play suspected, the examination will likely be brief, and a simple cause of death, like drowning...

If you're serious about cavern diving, the split fins won't do. Not so much because of propulsion issues - if you can back kick, you're fine on that count. But you will be diving a lot in close proximity to a thin line, and that line will eventually get caught in your fins. And that's a problem...

Another possibility, based on my own experience. How much did you exert yourself during the dive? Rights after ruling certification, I enjoyed myself a lot under water, and thinking / knowing that I'm physically fit, I was swimming around like a maniac. Check this out, gomover there, chase this...

The long hose is very much on my mind when adding a bottle to the right in side mount. My background is full cave and AN/DP, and I'm only now starting to play with adding a second deco bottle to see how to trim this out in the local mud puddle. For cold water, I dive with two HP 119s, and top...

When you dive a standard rec rig, with the Octo on a holder in the triangle, and see the OOA monster coming at you, eyes wide open, do you present the Octo like you would in a primary-donate S-drill, or would you wait to let him grab it from you, as I was taught in my OW course? My instinct...

They must have forgotten to pay their bribes to the police. Once the mordidas are payed up again, they'll be right back to filling brand-name tequila bottles with bathtub moonshine.

I wish... I'd start an industrial gases company in a heartbeat and put Linde and Air Liquide out of business. Instead of big refrigeration plants I just need a puny compressor to get to 5 ATA and some negative bubbles... And the compressor and delivery vehicles will be powered by perpetuum...

No. The critical point (C) of nitrogen is at 126K, that is below room temperature. So you cannot liquefy nitrogen just by compressing it, no matter how hard you try. It will just get denser and denser, but never outright undergo a phase transition and condensate unless you chill it.

Here is another article: Lu’um Balam, Cancun Mexico: Russian tourist dead in bio park cavern, body not recovered :: Latin America Current Events & News It does not appear that this accident had anything to do with scuba diving.