It's really pretty simple.
Simply put, cave maps don't show the killer details, especially not the Berman map, especially not at the entrance. And before you go blow the money on the Hancock map, it's not much better at the entrance.
It's not as simple as left and rights. Caves aren't like hallways. Maps can't show all the details.
Does it help if I explain that there are full cave divers who can't find basic tunnels that are marked on maps? People ask for directions to the Whalebone, which is clearly marked and very easy to find, yet trained divers who I trust my life to, ask for help locating it.
I could give numerous examples of the little twists and turns that can kill you in the exit of Ginnie, but I don't want you think that's an exhaustive list and try it. There is a reason that Johnny Richards takes students in to the sign, turns them around and asks them to find the way out, and a reason that I know people who failed.
That's right. At the end of a cavern class, people can be taken to a recognizable landmark, spun in a simple circle in the dark, then asked to identify the way out. And people fail.
Cave diving is not rocket science, but it's not something to be mocked or toyed with. It's worth the money, even if there are some instructors and series of classes that cost more. If you do it well, you can get out for under 2.5 grand.
If all you want to do is that loop, you can by taking a cavern course and then being guided up 1 level. I believe there are certifications that allow that, even though it's technically a traverse in terms of exits, because it's not a traverse in terms of gas management and commitment. That's probably the safest and cheapest way to do the dive. Plus, the cavern course will let you take lights into most Florida state parks, many of which aren't in navigable waterways and thus you do have to follow their rules.
I take my own boat to Kings Spring but the $22 is worth it for Ginnie. 1/3 the cost of a boat dive, nice leisurely dive, no scrambling back into a canoe (which might require touching land at which point you might be trespassing, or requires standing in the river and flopping in if the water levels are right), no leaving the car at a boat ramp where you are more likely to be robbed or shot, etc, etc. Plus, the rules are nothing more (and infact sometimes less) than industry standards imposed as guidelines after analysis of hundred of fatalities which might as well be suicides at some point after the guidelines have been published and are thence ignored.
That said, I do believe you are a troll, and I tip my hat towards you for your ability to get people riled up. Well played good sir, mayhap you'll have too much to drink at one of Wayne's parties and spill the beans around the nitrox banks and we'll have a good laugh about it.
Simply put, cave maps don't show the killer details, especially not the Berman map, especially not at the entrance. And before you go blow the money on the Hancock map, it's not much better at the entrance.
It's not as simple as left and rights. Caves aren't like hallways. Maps can't show all the details.
Does it help if I explain that there are full cave divers who can't find basic tunnels that are marked on maps? People ask for directions to the Whalebone, which is clearly marked and very easy to find, yet trained divers who I trust my life to, ask for help locating it.
I could give numerous examples of the little twists and turns that can kill you in the exit of Ginnie, but I don't want you think that's an exhaustive list and try it. There is a reason that Johnny Richards takes students in to the sign, turns them around and asks them to find the way out, and a reason that I know people who failed.
That's right. At the end of a cavern class, people can be taken to a recognizable landmark, spun in a simple circle in the dark, then asked to identify the way out. And people fail.
Cave diving is not rocket science, but it's not something to be mocked or toyed with. It's worth the money, even if there are some instructors and series of classes that cost more. If you do it well, you can get out for under 2.5 grand.
If all you want to do is that loop, you can by taking a cavern course and then being guided up 1 level. I believe there are certifications that allow that, even though it's technically a traverse in terms of exits, because it's not a traverse in terms of gas management and commitment. That's probably the safest and cheapest way to do the dive. Plus, the cavern course will let you take lights into most Florida state parks, many of which aren't in navigable waterways and thus you do have to follow their rules.
I take my own boat to Kings Spring but the $22 is worth it for Ginnie. 1/3 the cost of a boat dive, nice leisurely dive, no scrambling back into a canoe (which might require touching land at which point you might be trespassing, or requires standing in the river and flopping in if the water levels are right), no leaving the car at a boat ramp where you are more likely to be robbed or shot, etc, etc. Plus, the rules are nothing more (and infact sometimes less) than industry standards imposed as guidelines after analysis of hundred of fatalities which might as well be suicides at some point after the guidelines have been published and are thence ignored.
That said, I do believe you are a troll, and I tip my hat towards you for your ability to get people riled up. Well played good sir, mayhap you'll have too much to drink at one of Wayne's parties and spill the beans around the nitrox banks and we'll have a good laugh about it.
He told me I was ripping people off charging 20bucks a jump for gear rental, instructing, packing and the plane ride to altitude... He got what He paid for.... They don't know... what they don't know
