Perhaps. I was banging that drum as representing the tacit endorsement of Spivey's cave diving by the certified diver that loaned the equipment. "You know, you really shouldn't be going into caves...and here's that set of doubles and 400ft reel you wanted to borrow."
You cannot know that the loaner knew it would be taken into the cave.
I've seen people borrow equipment as a try before you buy. We don't know what story Spivey gave.