Cave Divers and Attitude

[manretto79]

The max depth of 400 fsw is not correct. If you look at the world record for open circuit diving in overhead enviroment I know for a fact there has been a diver to over 900 feet, but I think the world record stands at atleast 1,000 f.

 

[MikeFerrara]

chickdiver once bubbled...


This is actually a very astute observation. I am often apporached at various places by people who have questions about the gear, what we are doing, etc. Depending upon what I am doing when you ask me a question, there is a distinct possibility that I will be very focused on something, and not likely to answer with more than one or two terse words. It isn't that I (or others) are being intentionally unfriendly, but I (and cave divers on the whole, as well as many other tech divers) tend to be very focused, anal retentive people- everything has to be _perfect_ and done in a specific order. If I stop to converse, I throw off not only my pre-dive routine, but that of the rest of my team as well. Conversely, if you happen to catch me with questions after the dive, or when I am at the shop, but finished filling- I will likely talk your ears off about my particular passion. A lot of times it's just a matter of timing.

Good points

Many times we've been in the basin at Roubidoux, which is in a city park) wearing five tanks, sitting in 50 deg water doing our equipment matching, modified s and bouble checks and some one standing on the road above will start to ask questions. It's a hard time to talk.

When they catch us after the dive or any other time that isn't so busy we're hapy to chat. the last thing we need is the reputation of being unfreindly. Then the next thing you know, they don't want us in the park.

I don't even mind answering questions about what we're doing and what's in the cave. Those people live there and they're interested in hearing about it. Most aren't divers but the ones that are get a little extra lecture about the training and equipment needed to get out of the cave. Getting in of course is easy. LOL

They always get a kick out of hearing us talk after checking our regs when there's helium in the tanks.

 

[Soggy]

MikeFerrara once bubbled...
They always get a kick out of hearing us talk after checking our regs when there's helium in the tanks.

I don't think that'll ever stop being funny

 

[MikeFerrara]

Soggy once bubbled...


I don't think that'll ever stop being funny

When we still had the shop we had one guy who used to come in when we were getting ready for a trip just to breath off our doubles and talk like Donald Duck (Not Hypoxic mixes of course).

Once we were getting into Roubidoux and I had my reg in my mouth. Some people up on the road telled something down to us. I let the reg drop from my mouth to answer them and you should have seen the look on their faces. I think they thought we were alliens or something.

 

[Big-t-2538]

MikeFerrara once bubbled...

I think they thought we were alliens or something.

How is that different from a lot of people's opinions anyway?...sorry I couldn't leave well enough alone.

 

[MikeFerrara]

Big-t-2538 once bubbled...
How is that different from a lot of people's opinions anyway?...sorry I couldn't leave well enough alone.

Good question.

 

[Stig]

I only know one Cave diver. He's a Commercial Diver for money & cave diver for fun. He's also one of the most freindly & helpful people I know.

But in my experience, you meet a-holes in every walk of life, so becareful not to draw a conclusion too soon.

I'd guess the arrogant a-holes you referr to we're probably arrogant a-holes long before they took up diving.

 

[pipedope]

a commercial diver but not a cave diver and *I* am an a**hole!

I don't know if I should answer a post of someone who is not here anymore but that 400 foot thing is bugging me.
In commercial diving there is very little SCUBA. Most is done surface supplied with a diver carried bailout bottle.
While NOAA may limit the use of SCUBA to 400' that is just their choice based on the risks and rewards FOR THE DIVING THEY ARE DOING.

There are tech divers going to and beyond 400' on SCUBA, that is THEIR CHOICE.

Most commercial diving done deep is going to call for saturation and bell support at depth. And tech divers think the toys are expensive.


BTW I do shallow (very) commercial diving, mostly less than 20'.
There are lots of pipes in FL and they are nearly all full of water.
Most of them are less than 20' deep. Some are as deep as 30' and very few are as deep as 40'.

Bug me during setup and I may not be too friendly. Catch me after the job is done and I am a lot nicer.

 

[hantzu701]

Not to hijack this thread, but I wonder if this is the root between the differences of DIR/non-DIR people.

I dive quarries with limited vis, so I've quickly learned that I can't dive with my feet down. I have to dive with my feet up in what I now know is a flutter kick. I've grown to lose patience with buddies who don't have basic buoyancy control because they make life difficult for everyone. I've grown frustrated with the ow divers who come with hanging retractors, neon yellow fins, and knives clipped to their hoses since they are the first to complain about the cold or cramps or some other reason that they can't or won't dive properly.

But, I haven't always understood why I needed to have redundant backup lights, a spare mask, spare watch, etc. Some days I think its pretty funny that all we talk about is what is the "best" gear, or the "best" configuration. In an OW environment, you can surface. If something fails, you surface. If you have an OOA, you surface...

I don't understand what a cave diver does or is worried about, but I'm slowly beginning to understand. In one of my dives, I got to go through an ambulance which is sitting in a foot of fine limestone silt. I was the last person of my group to go through. As the person in front of me exited, his fins pushed a wave of silt into the vehicle. I went from two feet vis to zero. I coudn't even see the entrance that I had come into. I floated there for about 30 seconds frozen and realized that I couldn't surface. I couldn't see the exit or entrance.

After about 30 seconds, I felt my way into clearer vis. And now, my buddies think I'm a little strange since I take my ow diving much more seriously that I had before.

 

[jhelmuth]

Really... why do people care so much to hang this sort of thing on any "class" or "type" of diver. It just shows a level of prejudice, hate, and doesn't contribute toward any good what-so-ever. I'm just a rec diver, and I doubt I'll ever have the interest in cave, tech, DIR, or whatever. I do this because I love it and I take what I do as serious as the next fella. It seems to me that too many of you out there are hung up on others - anre they nice? - are they strokes? - who's right and wrong?
Put your energies into more constructive efforts. If you have a dis-like for someone (or they you), then you don't have to play well together. It's a big ocean and obviously your intrest diverge.

Enough ranting (I'm going to step down off my soap box and go do someting interesting (like study some more on diving physiology).