exactly
the run is gorgeous!
maybe I'm still a little bitter after last weekend where instructors dropped their OW classes by the truckload into the ear and eye.
didn't mean to come off sounding that harsh!
To throw my $.02 in here. LiteHedded is my regular dive buddy, and trust me, he is not harsh. I say that because it's true, and also because I might need him to save me in a cave sometime
Here are some of my detailed concerns with the Eye and the Ear.
A few weeks ago, we were there and there was an instructor giving a briefing to his OW class of about 15, which I was listening to. He told them, "in there Ear, there is a great big log, I want you all to drop down to the log and sit on it or hang on to it. Then if you want, go down to the bottom and stand there there and then pull yourself to the opening and hold on in front of the opening to feel the flow". There was no mention of the fact that there were cavern/cave divers going in and out of that opening. So here is a cave team coming out of the ear. There are 3 or 4 OW students hanging on for dear life in the flow and blocking the exit of the cave team. Well, the cave team is coming out one way or the other, physics works that way, and the flow is going to push them out eventually, especially if they need to get out. Now the OW student gets knocked from their handhold and the flow takes them and they are taken by surprise and go shooting for the surface. Not only does it put the exiting team in jeopardy, it could also put the OW student in jeopardy. In this case, it really isn't the student that is the problem, it is the instructor who doesn't explain the environment and what they might encounter.
Then, there is my personal favorite. You are holding a stop at 20' in the Ear, and some of the OW students drop down butt first as their tank crashes into your head. They are not used to decending into the upflow that strong, so they totally dump their BC's and they are overweighted and it leaves a lump....and it has more than once. Again, they don't mean to do it (at least I hope not) but not understanding the environment it happens.
Of course, let's not forget the same OW class who were later all standing at the bottom of the Eye in a big circle, blocking the entrance. Again, they don't know any better, but their instructor does...well should.
The spring run is beautiful and I love to swim it myself. I still think that it is irresponsible for instructors to bring their OW classes there to dive in the Ear and the Eye without preparing them.