Are you cave certified?

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

Trey let me know he was not interested in diving with us. Instead he used David Baker to push a permit through an alternative approval process to JW. He was granted a temporary permit which is interfering with our groups ability to complete our research in this cave. In addition, he told at least one of his members know that he does not approve of them diving for both groups.

We don't discriminate. We accept the help of any qualified divers. You can participate on any project in addition to ours.

This is something I need to clarify, since it seems there's unnecessary confusion leading from my own doorstep.

I'm the team member referred to in Cavemn's post. I've been in touch with ASA regarding their project at Jacob's Well and was very excited at the prospect of helping out with it. Having the chance to dive a cave in my home state is of enormous interest to me.

I've also been excited at the prospect of recently being invited to join a Texas based dive team, and have been pretty much beside myself wondering how so much good luck could come my way.

When the news came that landowner granted the Texas dive team access to conduct a project, I wondered if it might be frowned upon if I were participating there with two different groups, not being completely sure about potential competitiveness between groups. I asked a close friend who's on the board (not Trey BTW) if he thought my doing so might possibly mean stepping on anyone's toes. My friend told me he thought there would be a chance of it causing some offense, so I very regretfully informed the ASA that I probably should withdraw participating in activities at the Well with them.

I have since been informed that in fact there would be no issue among the board members of the dive team if I were to participate in both projects.

David, as I said in our emails: I support the ASA mission statement and would be glad for the chance to help out. Of course, I would love to dive Jacob's Well at any possible opportunity. I will say that the negative tone of the rhetoric here is somewhat off-putting, and I really think we'd all be served better if there were more spirit of cooperation rather than staking out territory. But I would be glad to hear that the invitation to dive with you guys is open.

Regardless of anything else, for my part I regret being an unintentional source of controversy or confusion.

--Eric
 
Trey let me know he was not interested in diving with us. Instead he used David Baker to push a permit through an alternative approval process to JW. He was granted a temporary permit which is interfering with our groups ability to complete our research in this cave. In addition, he told at least one of his members know that he does not approve of them diving for both groups.

We don't discriminate. We accept the help of any qualified divers. You can participate on any project in addition to ours.


As the person who actually put the permit through, and as the project director, I can say that you don't have the correct information. I would prefer to meet with you in person and talk about this. It is not my hope to have public nasty fights as have happened in the past on here between yall and other groups. Neither of us gain anything by that. I can also tell you that neither I nor Trey told that person they couldn't dive on your team. I'm not sure who did, but we're looking into that now. He is more than welcome to dive on your team or JWEP or OCDA, or the list is infinitely long. That is in our bylaws even. I'm sorry there was this misunderstanding and I will ask that you instead contact me before going public like this. I get that there is a long history of fighting over this well, but there doesn't need to be. Again nobody will gain anything and eventually the county will shut us all down. I am working with the JWEP towards this end and would love to work with you guys as well.

Thank you,
Matt Turner
 
[h=5]Before everyone gets carried away on these online forums, as a founder of WET, the Water Explorers of Texas, I'd like to provide some background to the recent formation of our dive team. There has also been some concern publicly raised about our recent acquisition of a permit to dive Jacob's Well.

While events seem to have all been taking place in the same time span for various dive teams, it should be known that we have been forming our own diving team for Texas for the past six months. We're a group of talented divers who have joined together because we like to work as a team, have fun, enjoy diving, wish to contribute to dive sites around Texas, and all have great inclusive attitudes.

Frankly, we just wanted a stress free group where we could dive together, learn from one another, and where our talents would be valued. Many of us have been diving together for years in small groups. Now, we're all together. We also hope our team will grow over time with more like-minded and like-spirited divers. There is so much exploration and fun to be had and room for us all to share.

It should be well noted that not only is our team open to team members serving on other teams, but many of our team members, myself included, serve on multiple teams. Our team has no such policy, and to declare otherwise is misinformation.

I know that my pursuit of creating this team is also motivated by my wish to share my underwater photography and design skills. We have no intention of ever pushing out another team from any dive site in Texas. We just want places where we can contribute our talents, in addition to what other teams provide. Again, we have and never had any desire to replace anyone or their talents.

Specifically regarding the Jacob's Well project, over which there is much consternation from the entire world of diving, we follow this same philosophy. We all just want to get along, so what do you say, let's all join in for the love of diving.

It should be noted that WET is not specifically a cave team, but rather, an exploration team. We can provide photography, videography, survey work, cartography, biology services, archeological services, and more, for all kinds of bodies of water. Anyone got a sweet wreck to check out? :)[/h]For anyone who would like additional information or wants to chat, feel free to email me at jidol@uwDesigner.com. –Jennifer Idol
 
Let's get the facts straight

Correction - Eric formed an opinion on his own from various conversations with this new team. He can explain how he came to the conclusion it would not be possible for him to dive with both groups.

You were all invited to join this project and dive. So, why the need for another permit? The county thinks all cave divers cannot get along and cooperate now because we have three different teams with three different permits.

David Baker does not own the well. He has a recreational easement. He directly represented WET and Matt with the proposal. He also seems to be the instigator pitting one team against another.

Trey seems to have a significant issue with Steve. That seems to be the real issue here. I don't care to be lectured about how you feel so slighted by this person. Not my business.

ASA has a project for research, NOT fun diving, supported by professional biologists, hydrologists, archaeologists. The water in Jacob's Well is connected to the drinking water for Dripping Springs. This is where I live. What's in there directly affects me.

I didn't create this situation. I just got stuck in the middle. Whoopie I need to get back to my research project now.
 
Last edited:
[-]David, please consider the facts you propose to present here. The conversation you refer to was very informal, a very short phone conversation between two individuals-- just two guys on the phone: me, and my instructor who I've gone to with lots of off-the-wall questions in my time. If you'll consider it, your account of that conversation's third hand and not something you can present as factual.[/-](Redacted, since the third-hand account of that conversation has been corrected above)

I myself am certain there has been miscommunication that I'm entirely at fault for. My instructor has been clear with me that he himself would have no issue with me participating in whatever team I choose. I know him well enough to be entirely comfortable taking him at his word on that. I don't personally know the other WET members so well as of yet though, so I asked how he thought the others might take it. The advice he tried to get across was simply that anything I participate in needed to come with full disclosure, but I fixated on the slight negative in the answer instead of the qualifier. I was obviously being overly cautious to avoid causing a stir, and ended up achieving exactly the opposite of what I hoped.

In the time since this has come up, I have been solidly assured by board members that they have absolutely no issue with team members participating in other teams as long as the bylaws are followed while diving with WET, and have cited other teams that they themselves are members of. Again, it's plain to me now that this is an issue I created, exaggerating something I imagined that I heard.

This is the last I'll speak publicly on the issue, since I am in no way a spokesperson for WET and don't wish to give any impression that I speak for the team, or anyone other than myself. This discussion does seem to reveal some dry kindling ripe for a flame, and that's nothing I want to contribute to, and indeed I think it's a real shame that it should be the case at all.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

Back
Top Bottom