Diver lost in cave in Florida/Homossassa...

[DanBMW]

RIP; Prayers for the family and friends.



Lynn, I think the above is the crux of the matter. It might be a worthwhile investment for to buy a mask with a scrolling Head Up Display to say this continually during every dive.

couv

Couv, Your suggestion is not off the wall ....... In addition to skydiving and SCUBA, I love to ride my motorcycle and taped below the speedometer are the words, "PAY ATTENTION." It never hurts to be reminded of the basics. That's why we ALWAYS do a safety briefing on every Florida Aquarium dive off of our boat, even though all have heard it multiple times and all divers are rescue certified and above. Skipping the basics can lead to a chain of events that kill in many diving related accidents.

 

[captjohnr]

5 causes of cave diving accidents (accident management):

Tillie Likes Acid, Ludes and Demerol:

T Training. Lack of Training
L Line. Lines must be used in caves/caverns.
A Air. Thirds rule. 1/3 in, 1/3 out and 1/3 reserve.
L Lights. Travelling past the show of natural light makes a cavern a cave. 3 light sources needed.
D Depth. 30' down and 70' into a cavern/cave is a 100' dive to the surface.

 

[z3r0c00l]

How about this one - Tillie.

Lack of training, forgetting your training, not sticking to your training, thinking you are above your training.

 

[fisheyeview]

Couv, Your suggestion is not off the wall ....... In addition to skydiving and SCUBA, I love to ride my motorcycle and taped below the speedometer are the words, "PAY ATTENTION." It never hurts to be reminded of the basics. That's why we ALWAYS do a safety briefing on every Florida Aquarium dive off of our boat, even though all have heard it multiple times and all divers are rescue certified and above. Skipping the basics can lead to a chain of events that kill in many diving related accidents.

When I used to jump I always had an A.A.D. I did not rely on it, but I would not jump without it.

 

[stuck]

Im on the team that responded to the scene on sun afternoon.This place is just a hole right alongside a mangrove island.With the wind and tide the entrance was maybe in 3 ft of water.Once you drop in after a few ft there is a cavern and then it drops down to around 110.I didnt dive it, not cert for cave recoverys.i believe he was recovered in a cavern at around 93 ft.The paper was very accurate for the most part.He just made a series of fatal errors.These caverns are very common around here and although a lot of them are springfed or have tidal flow that keeps them fairly clear this one is not.It is very silty.Surprising to us was that a lot of guys have been in it and it is mapped.This is only the 3rd cave/cavern recovery weve had here in at least 9 years the other 2 were kings spring and the solution springs in chass.I really cant get into the victim or recovery other than what was released by media.Jim was always ok to us outside of court,but man did he hammer us in court.I actually never knew he dove until sunday.

 

[deepstops]

Stuck,

Had you ever seen Jim's MySpace page before?? Or heard of "Project 1100"??

Some of this has gotta be BS.

 

[johnnyseko]

Whoa...did you read his blog? damn...

Condolences to friends and family.

 

[StuartScuba]

DANBMW, I am stealling your "Pay Attention" taped below my bike's speedometer, what a great idea. And it is the same as with diving, you just get caught up in the beauty and forget the basics. But correct me if I am wrong, but it seems that the instructor did not willfully go into the cave. It looked like to m that when he realized where they were going, told the students to go back and got disoriented with all the silt. With no lines he had no point of reference.

 

[LIVES4SHARKS]

Regardless, it seems he didn't have the proper training, no lights, no reel or spools or didn't lay a line, in singles, and he was basically solo diving. He had 2 students and the lesson they learned is that cavalier diving can be fatal no matter how many dives you have done. I am sorry for his loss, but at least he did not take the 2 students with him to their deaths also. It's a wake up call that the NACD has been trying to put out there to the general diving public. Any overhead can be hazardous if you have no idea how to do the skills or have the gear in order to get yourself out. It reminds us to be dilligent, be safe, and to think twice before making a decision that could be very costly.

Happy, safe diving y'all!
Carolyn:sharks:

 

[DanBMW]

It seemed to be a mental "pause" and unfortunately, most likely, none of us will really know exactly what was the chain of events. The students could probably shed some light on the situation. It was a chain of events and seemed like a plan deviation. As Carolyn said, ANY overhead environment can lead to problems if you are not diving it correctly. Students should not be placed in jeopardy and they were lucky to survive. IT very easily could have been 3 fatalities.