1 in 14 Cave divers die???????

[scubapolly]

When I was in college my school had a rule that anyone on scholarship couldn't participate in "dangerous activities". A TA for one of my classes was a Skydiver, when the department tried to yank his scholarship he went in search of stastics on sports deaths, and found that fishing is the most deadly sport (granted most of the deaths are alcohol related).

 

[Al Stevens]

I think most divers these days pretty much take the 130 ft (depth) thing to refer to END rather than actaul depth. An awful lot of cave diving goes on below 130 ft but most of us these days use helium.

I heard talk of a "rule" being added concerning solo diving. I don't know if it has been but it's not one of the originals. Sheck Exley who wrote the Blue Print for Survival did lots of solo diving.

If 1 in 14 cave divers died, I would be missing a lot of friends and I'm not. While cave divers do sometimes die on dives (as do recreational divers on guided dives at resorts) no one that I know personally has died on a cave dive. I know several who have been slightly bent and one who was severely bent. By contrast a local quarry full of recreational divers can look like a real blood bath with ambulances comming in and out pretty often. This isn't a plug for cave diving and if all the rec divers who are having all the accidents and near misses start diving in caves then the cave diving accident rate would go up I imagine.

With cave diving becomming more and more mainstream and more and more commercialized I think we are starting to see more of the "stupid stuff" like The lady recently who's tanks were mixed with the isolator closed or the group in mexico that just went the wron way iuntil they ran out of gas on a semi guided dive. Bad or sloppy habits are dangerous enough on a shallow reef dive but a cave certainly isn't the place for them.

Good Comment. Due to circumstances, I solo cave dive all the time. Most of the time I exit with 1/2 my gas and still have a nice dive. I live in DR and there are few local cave divers and the ones that are here are dificult to make arangments with. I do not have the funds to dive with the dive shops. So it's solo or not at all. I worked too hard to get there. I follow the rules and even leave a little extra with regard to thirds. Breaking the rules are not optional.

 

[Germie]

It is a fact that all cave divers die, all people will die. But 1:14 in active status is too much.

It is a fact that you can follow all rules and still die during a cave dive. This can be medical, or also problems with lines on way back, equipmentproblems, etc. Yes, I know some examples. And in 1 case I rescued 3 people, so they are still alive. After analizing what happened, none of these 3 did something wrong. The 4th diver who got out of the cave did realise after exciting without his buddies safe that he got stucked in zero viz in a line, and problable broke the line. I was the only person there on site with a ccr, so had gas to do a search. There was choosen for bump and go and not touch contact.

It is also a fact that cave divers are human, so make mistakes, make shortcuts, don't follow rules. All things like every other human also does in his life.

It is a fact that people without cert do cavediving and don't get into trouble. 1 of the thai cave rescuers is an example

It is a fact that people without a cert get into trouble. That is why doing a course is a good idea.

It is a fact that being self trained is forbidden in the diving world.

It is a fact that cave diving can be more risky than ocean diving to 10m depth.

It is a fact that diving brings you in an environment you cannot breath without any help of equipment.

 

[tursiops]

When I was in college my school had a rule that anyone on scholarship couldn't participate in "dangerous activities". A TA for one of my classes was a Skydiver, when the department tried to yank his scholarship he went in search of stastics on sports deaths, and found that fishing is the most deadly sport (granted most of the deaths are alcohol related).

Good Comment. Due to circumstances, I solo cave dive all the time. Most of the time I exit with 1/2 my gas and still have a nice dive. I live in DR and there are few local cave divers and the ones that are here are dificult to make arangments with. I do not have the funds to dive with the dive shops. So it's solo or not at all. I worked too hard to get there. I follow the rules and even leave a little extra with regard to thirds. Breaking the rules are not optional.

It is a fact that all cave divers die, all people will die. But 1:14 in active status is too much.

It is a fact that you can follow all rules and still die during a cave dive. This can be medical, or also problems with lines on way back, equipmentproblems, etc. Yes, I know some examples. And in 1 case I rescued 3 people, so they are still alive. After analizing what happened, none of these 3 did something wrong. The 4th diver who got out of the cave did realise after exciting without his buddies safe that he got stucked in zero viz in a line, and problable broke the line. I was the only person there on site with a ccr, so had gas to do a search. There was choosen for bump and go and not touch contact.

It is also a fact that cave divers are human, so make mistakes, make shortcuts, don't follow rules. All things like every other human also does in his life.

It is a fact that people without cert do cavediving and don't get into trouble. 1 of the thai cave rescuers is an example

It is a fact that people without a cert get into trouble. That is why doing a course is a good idea.

It is a fact that being self trained is forbidden in the diving world.

It is a fact that cave diving can be more risky than ocean diving to 10m depth.

It is a fact that diving brings you in an environment you cannot breath without any help of equipment.

Wow! Resurrecting an 18-year old thread!

 

[Wibble]

Wow! Resurrecting an 18-year old thread!

Need a Necromancer badge!

 

[OMyMyOHellYes]

That was a line in that movie "The Cave," that was out earlier this year. At least something similar to that. I think the guy heading the expedition said "1 in 14..." And someone else asked what that meant and the answer was, the number of deep cave divers who die.

It was a line in a movie, so now it is, of course, irrefutable fact.

Jeff

And now that it's in internet lore (at least on SB), soundly established.

Guaranteed: The real number is in fact, 14 out of any 14 cave divers randomly selected, are going to die.

 

[Germie]

Wow! Resurrecting an 18-year old thread!

someone opened it yesterday, it wasn't me , but it is still something that hasn't changed. We still have cave accidents. I saw the reopening post popping up as 'new'. It is still actual I think.

There is only a big chance that most of the the posters from 18 years ago don't dive anymore, and younger divers started cavediving.
The biggest change in the diving itself is maybe the led-light, and the availability of a ccr and dpv to make it all a lot easier to go in far. Deep air is coming back I am afraid due to helium prices.

Line protocol did not really change. REM's are new, they weren't there 18 years ago. Bump and go was not teached 18 years ago.

And I was not a cave diver 18 years ago.

 

[Al Stevens]

someone opened it yesterday, it wasn't me , but it is still something that hasn't changed. We still have cave accidents. I saw the reopening post popping up as 'new'. It is still actual I think.

There is only a big chance that most of the the posters from 18 years ago don't dive anymore, and younger divers started cavediving.
The biggest change in the diving itself is maybe the led-light, and the availability of a ccr and dpv to make it all a lot easier to go in far. Deep air is coming back I am afraid due to helium prices.

Line protocol did not really change. REM's are new, they weren't there 18 years ago. Bump and go was not teached 18 years ago.

And I was not a cave diver 18 years ago.

Wow. I didn't see the date. I started diving 2 years after this post. I now cave dive every second week!

 

[billgraham]

100% die, actually. That's why it's important to have fun.

 

[OMyMyOHellYes]

Is this true that 1 in 14 die?? Someone just told me this and i find it very hard to believe. If it is true some of you must have some pretty horrible stories to tell of a buddy not coming back!

Anyone care to share??? Or tell me that this isn't true?

I don't believe that number either.

I can guarantee 14 out of 14 CAVE DIVERS WILL DIE !!!