Cavern Check outs

[Trixxie]

So just to look at this slightly differently -- have you started wondering why this sort of basic information (buddy positioning/team awareness, good buoyancy and trim, non-silting kicks, etc) isn't taught in basic scuba classes, since it isn't only applicable in overhead environments?

I have read where others have posted that this is the way it SHOULD be done, but I know why it's not. It's easier to just have them sit/kneel on the bottom.....

 

[MBH]

had any type of overhead environment experience/training otherwise they would not be in there without the proper equipment (or they were just incredibly stupid).

Fist of all- welcome to diving the holes in the ground.

As for the those that you saw in the cavern- you'd be safe to bet that they've had no overhead training and that they have no idea what Murphy has in store for them if they keep it up. I consider myself very lucky that I died in a training drill. It's caused me to pay extreme attention to the little details that if negelected can cause everything to go to hell in a bucket.

Dive safe.

 

[ashplrbm]

Here is a little grammar lesson for ya:
INEPT:
1. without skill or aptitude for a particular task or assignment; maladroit:
2. generally awkward or clumsy; haplessly incompetent.

What: Cavern Check out
Where: Vortex Springs and Jackson Blue
When: 28 - 30 March...

Friday: Was a continuation of this.
My buoyancy was all over the place, not once during the 3 dives we did could I get my buoyancy dialed in... what the hell? I've been diving for 14 yrs but you would have never guessed that by the way I felt and how we looked, I'm sure. Inept was the only way to describe us... and then playing blind man's bluff (no vis air share following the line)... bet we looked like 2 of the 3 stooges to the rest of the folks diving that day. Good thing there were not a lot of people there Friday. The only good thing about starting out so bad was that things could only improve, or so I hoped.

Saturday: Still at Vortex, but what a difference a day and a good nights sleep makes. Nailed my buoyancy, did much better on the no vis, air share following the line. Ran the line in. Almost made a birds nest on the way out, but I recovered nicely and got the spool wound up with no issues. We did 2 dives Saturday. For some reason I switched my brain off on the 1st dive. I was supposed to run the reel until it almost ran out, but for no apparent reason I stopped midway in the cavern and tied off. Not to mention it was in the narrowest part. My instructor basically asked me what my problem was and why didn't I follow the plan? No good reason other than that is where I decided to stop. We went back in, I ran the line further and then we did some light failure drills. Wound up the line and called it a day.

Sunday: Today we are a Jackson Blue and it is a good day. Great dive site, not the circus Vortex was with the 100+ O/W check out divers there. I think throughout the whole day there were maybe 12 of us there, but not all at the same time. Buoyancy, trim and propulsion were good enough to have our instructor say he was very pleased with our last 2 dives. We're not 100% yet and still have a lot to learn but we did so much better today than we had all weekend. It was like Friday never happened. On these last 2 dives we took turns running the line in and out. Did some more no vis air share line exits and lights out situations. On the last dive our inst took us and hid us from our buddy to practice a lost buddy situation. Not real hard to miss with all the air bubbles, but trying to find someone who was on a CCR or not breathing at all may be a little more difficult. Sure is dark in that cavern with no lights, waiting for your buddy to come find you.

All in all it was a great class and learning experience. Now we need to go back soon so we can use what we have learned, keep our skills fresh and practice. Then maybe think about Intro to Cave .......

I was at Vortex on Friday the 28th as well, and I saw first hand the danger of untrained divers being where they aren't supposed to be. I am not sure what time you left on Friday, but right at sun down, as we were getting in for a night dive, a trio of divers surfaced one with no breath and no pulse. These guys weren't diving with computers and obviously had no business doing whatever it was they were doing. Luckily there were a number of trained responders on site and the man was revived and eventually ambulanced off to the hospital.
That is actually why I got on the site today, to see if anyone had heard any updates on his condition. I would assume he spent some time in the chamber.
I have only been certified for a couple of years now, but what an eye opening experience and reminder about how important it is to follow the rules and not dive beyond your skill level.

 

[Trixxie]

I was at Vortex on Friday the 28th as well, and I saw first hand the danger of untrained divers being where they aren't supposed to be. I am not sure what time you left on Friday, but right at sun down, as we were getting in for a night dive, a trio of divers surfaced one with no breath and no pulse. These guys weren't diving with computers and obviously had no business doing whatever it was they were doing. Luckily there were a number of trained responders on site and the man was revived and eventually ambulanced off to the hospital.
That is actually why I got on the site today, to see if anyone had heard any updates on his condition. I would assume he spent some time in the chamber.
I have only been certified for a couple of years now, but what an eye opening experience and reminder about how important it is to follow the rules and not dive beyond your skill level.

You couldn't be more right. I also heard about that but heard only one person was injured (this is the problem with 2nd hand info - it may not always be accurate). I heard they were life-flighted to Tallahassee or Pensacola(?) and took a ride in the chamber. Last word was he was going to be OK. Maybe that will be a good lesson learned for him, his buddies and everyone who was still there not to dive beyond the scope of their training.

 

[Meng_Tze]

I was at Vortex on Friday the 28th as well, and I saw first hand the danger of untrained divers being where they aren't supposed to be. .... These guys weren't diving with computers and obviously had no business doing whatever it was they were doing.

I was not there and did not see anything. But I am curious how it was dicerned that these divers were untrained. Not sure how/where the usage of a computer leads to them having no business doing whatever they were doing.

I am not having a go at you, I am genuinely interested how those conclusions came about.

 

[TSandM]

I wonder if they pretty clearly weren't in any sort of appropriate gear for cavern/cave. That would be a clue about being untrained. Dive-aholic and I saw a group of divers head into the JB cavern who I would say were pretty clearly untrained -- snorkels, split fins, and no primary lights. I think that's a reasonable conclusion we drew.

 

[ashplrbm]

I wonder if they pretty clearly weren't in any sort of appropriate gear for cavern/cave. That would be a clue about being untrained. Dive-aholic and I saw a group of divers head into the JB cavern who I would say were pretty clearly untrained -- snorkels, split fins, and no primary lights. I think that's a reasonable conclusion we drew.

Trixxie, there was only one diver injured the other two were his dive buddies... I don't know if I might have been unclear about that.
Meng_Tze; TSandM hit it on the head... it was pretty clear based on the equipment, actions, and the words of these divers that they were diving beyond their training. I guess it is just one of those things that you had to be there to see.

 

[Trixxie]

Trixxie, there was only one diver injured the other two were his dive buddies... I don't know if I might have been unclear about that.
Meng_Tze; TSandM hit it on the head... it was pretty clear based on the equipment, actions, and the words of these divers that they were diving beyond their training. I guess it is just one of those things that you had to be there to see.

I saw them too. By them I mean divers coming out of the tunnel while we were waiting to enter that had the standard OW rigs on, no reels, no lights or anything else that would suggest that they were prepared to be in any overhead environment. Scary...

 

[ucfdiver]

A friend related a story to me that he found some OW divers in Ginnie Springs in the cavern area but penatrating the cave with one flash light for 3 divers. He stopped them and turned them around and forced them back to the surface. He told them that they weren't cave trained and only OW and shouldn't be there. One diver said, "We aren't Open Water divers, we're Advanced Open Water!"

OW divers are allowed in Ginnie's cavern. There is no cave during daylight hours if my memory serves me correctly.

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

He may have been relaying an old story... The grate at the cave in Ginnie isn't a natural feature

Also, there are several areas within Ginnie's "cavern" that are well out of sight from daylight zone.