Diver dies in Manatee Springs

[PfcAJ]

I’m sure having no line between Catfish and the headspring will totally prevent any future accidents.

 

[rjack321]

Wang Yuan was involved with another cave fatality a few years ago:

Du'an Guangxi China Cave Diving Accident

While this dive and the previous accident 5 yrs ago are on a different depth scale, they both seem to lack any kind of workup or development dives. This was a traverse to an unverified exit. The previous one involving this instructor was a 170m OC dive on thirds with bare minimal gas reserves and only 1 safety diver. Cavalier planning eventually bites you in the butt pretty hard on complicated and/or deep dives.

 

[BlueTrin]

I have never dived there, but unless you are a local, wouldn’t the safe thing to do is to hire a local diver as a guide ?

Is there a way to run your plan through some kind of check for any changes in topology ?

 

[rjack321]

I have never dived there, but unless you are a local, wouldn’t the safe thing to do is to hire a local diver as a guide ?

Is there a way to run your plan through some kind of check for any changes in topology ?

Not everyone wants their hand held with a guide.

Asking at the shop when you pick up your rental tanks "Hey we are thinking of doing a traverse at Manatee tomorrow, anything special we should know?" Would have gone a long way towards heading this accident off before it started.

 

[1atm]

Proper procedure would also call for a setup dive, then you can be sure that the traverse is actually doable. Any reputable full cave curriculum includes the necessary procedures, potential hazards and executing a training dive of either traverse or circuit (or both).

 

[PfcAJ]

I have never dived there, but unless you are a local, wouldn’t the safe thing to do is to hire a local diver as a guide ?

Is there a way to run your plan through some kind of check for any changes in topology ?

The best thing is to simply plan and execute the dive properly.

These guys apparently assumed that the exit was clear and they paid the price for their assumption.

 

[rjack321]

The best thing is to simply plan and execute the dive properly.

This is true!
Was not trying to say anyone else is responsible for doing the dive properly. But as a visiting diver, asking at the shop (where you need tank rentals and fills anyway) avoids making long drives to closed, limited, flooded, dangerous, crazy crowded, gated etc sites.

 

[chillyinCanada]

Let's take it easy with the judgements in here please. We do not know exactly what they asked or didn't ask. For one thing, English is not their first language.

 

[CaveSloth]

Can anyone describe exactly the structure of the exit which allowed the diver to become pinned? Were they pinned in the exit or in some structure off to the side? I have heard about a cave-in 2 years ago which narrowed the exit, but also heard there is a "chimney" or "false exit" which may or may not be involved. Can anyone familiar with the exit please describe all of the ways one can get pinned by the flow here?

Is this traverse simply not doable anymore? Is it closed permanently? Is there any chance there will be an effort to make the exit safer perhaps by clearing the cave-in debris?

 

[Caveeagle]

Can anyone describe exactly the structure of the exit which allowed the diver to become pinned? Were they pinned in the exit or in some structure off to the side? I have heard about a cave-in 2 years ago which narrowed the exit, but also heard there is a "chimney" or "false exit" which may or may not be involved. Can anyone familiar with the exit please describe all of the ways one can get pinned by the flow here?

Is this traverse simply not doable anymore? Is it closed permanently? Is there any chance there will be an effort to make the exit safer perhaps by clearing the cave-in debris?

Details about the exact nature of the restriction seem elusive. Anyone trained as a full cave diver should know to never do a traverse, or circuit with an unverified exit. With this stated, I am pretty sure that >90% of people who have done this traverse in the past, have done it without same day verification of the exit. Just like divers who regularly enter Devils ear, and exit through the eye. Nobody sets up that dive, even though technically we all know it’s breaking a rule. This issue at Manatee seems to be be the trap that illustrates the risk we take when “bending” these rules.

I think that because places like Ginnie are so well traveled, that the risk of an unknown change to navigable exits seems very low compared to other risks we accept with this sport. Manatee just happens to be a less traveled, and less talked about cave. Perhaps it would have been better if the main spring had been closed off all together, instead of just a dangerous restriction that we seem to have now. Our community seems to handle Yes/No much better than “maybe”.