Hopping my way to full cave...

[Capt Jim Wyatt]

Rock-On @Manatee Diver

 

[rddvet]

So yesterday I figured I would work on stage diving. Entering the cave, swimming to turn pressure, drop, pick up, switch etc. So that is what I did, I made it to the Park Bench and hit turn pressure, which gives me an idea about how far I can do with it. After I hit turn pressure, I turned around and exited through the keyhole, and before the lips I dumped my stage. I decided to go through the Keyhole bypass again since @rddvet mentioned it. A bit tighter than I remember, but it wasn't bad.

Once I got to the end of the Keyhole bypass, there was a rather poorly run line from the main line stretching into to a tunnel to the left of me.

I'm not sure we're calling the same thing the Keyhole bypass. Here's my explanation of the keyhole bypass: When entering the cave, go through lips then out to the little breakdown area with a few large boulders right before the keyhole. Instead of heading straight through the keyhole, you go right and basically make a little U-shaped curve that bypasses the keyhole and drops you straight behind it. It's not small in my opinion and I'm not sure where a line would be run to the left from there on exit.
Are you calling the area to the left before the keyhole at the breakdown the Keyhole bypass. Because that's just the continuation of the lips bypass line (or so I was taught).

 

[Jack Hammer]

I'm not sure we're calling the same thing the Keyhole bypass. Here's my explanation of the keyhole bypass: When entering the cave, go through lips then out to the little breakdown area with a few large boulders right before the keyhole. Instead of heading straight through the keyhole, you go right and basically make a little U-shaped curve that bypasses the keyhole and drops you straight behind it. It's not small in my opinion and I'm not sure where a line would be run to the left from there on exit.
Are you calling the area to the left before the keyhole at the breakdown the Keyhole bypass. Because that's just the continuation of the lips bypass line (or so I was taught).

That's what I've also always known as the Keyhole Bypass. It sounds more like the area just past the Lips Bypass, where you mentioned. There are several ways through there. One bypasses the Cornflakes and Park Bench and comes out into the main tunnel across from the Gold Line about 30 or so feet past where the line turns at the Park Bench. I was told that was the Park Bench Bypass but also known by other names I forget. There are a buncha swiss cheese tunnels in that area.

 

[rddvet]

That's what I've also always known as the Keyhole Bypass. It sounds more like the area just past the Lips Bypass, where you mentioned. There are several ways through there. One bypasses the Cornflakes and Park Bench and comes out into the main tunnel across from the Gold Line about 30 or so feet past where the line turns at the Park Bench. I was told that was the Park Bench Bypass but also known by other names I forget. There are a buncha swiss cheese tunnels in that area.

Yeah everybody's got different names it seems. When referring to the other bypasses that are attached to the lips bypass we just say lips bypass to wherever we're going. I think there's a couple others in there I've never been down

 

[Manatee Diver]

@rddvet I went through what you describe, it just bypasses the first restriction, the actual keyhole right? If so my instructor showed me that too on the same dive. He didn't give that a name, but mentioned the line that continues from the lips bypass as the keyhole bypass.

But yeah everyone has different names for stuff that aren't explicitly named on maps. Like I've heard more than one person call the Park Bench the Junction Room.

 

[rddvet]

@rddvet I went through what you describe, it just bypasses the first restriction, the actual keyhole right? If so my instructor showed me that too on the same dive. He didn't give that a name, but mentioned the line that continues from the lips bypass as the keyhole bypass.

But yeah everyone has different names for stuff that aren't explicitly named on maps. Like I've heard more than one person call the Park Bench the Junction Room.

Gotcha. Yes, the first one you describe is what I think of more commonly known as the keyhole bypass. The line that continues from the lips bypass we call either the continued lips bypass or the cornflakes bypass

 

[Manatee Diver]

sad I missed you, I'm in town this week staying with @The Chairman
have run into a few familiar faces on this trip, and hopefully will find some more!

Next trip, I still to do a dive with @The Chairman every time it never works out.

 

[Manatee Diver]

Strange encounter today. I was at the T in the bypass lines, I've been working on doing videos in those lines as they are smaller and low traffic so I'm not disturbing as many people. I get there from between the lips and the keyhole, as it is less line to run, and just an easier to swim. I leave my stage on the main line as an emergency reserve.

So I was a good 40 minutes into the dive, doing videos there. And I see someone in doubles making their way down the lip bypass line. As he got closer I realized that it was Bird. Which I thought was weird as he was doing a DPV class, I didn't think he would be coming back there. And he didn't have his student, who was also in doubles. He comes up and pulls out his wetnotes asking if I was missing my buddy, I shook my head no. He then asked did I see someone in an XDeep Harness alone or on the surface, again shook my head no

I did a couple more attempts at the video I watched and decided to call it a day. I picked up my camera and lights starting to head out. I realized that perhaps that one of the cookies on the T might have been the missing diver's, so I wondered if I should leave my spool in, and perhaps leave my stage in case the diver needed it. But I looked around and didn't see any lights so I figured the diver wasn't anywhere close, so I just cleaned everything up. And exited the cave trying to do some videos in the chute, when I got a moment that it was clear.

Once on the surface I went over and asked Bird what was up. Apparently when he surfaced from the training dive, someone reported that they lost their buddy on the Lips Bypass line. So he went back in to check the line. He said he saw the non-moving lights and thought it would be a recovery. But found me doing my videos, he figured that I probably wasn't the missing buddy, but asked just in case.

Apparently the two buddies were circling each other on the Lips Bypass line. Hopefully they had a chat about team management.

Never a boring day at Ginnie.

 

[Manatee Diver]

So a video from yesterday.

A little backstory behind this video, beyond that I need to start using my 10 for shots like these, a couple of weeks ago I did a dive with a GUE friend. While watching him go through the chute almost effortlessly in doubles while I was crawling along the ground in the thick of the flow, I have been trying to copy his technique. I'm not 100% but it is a lot easier from an effort perspective, but it also means I have to nail my buoyancy while doing everything.

 

[rddvet]

Strange encounter today. I was at the T in the bypass lines, I've been working on doing videos in those lines as they are smaller and low traffic so I'm not disturbing as many people. I get there from between the lips and the keyhole, as it is less line to run, and just an easier to swim. I leave my stage on the main line as an emergency reserve.

So I was a good 40 minutes into the dive, doing videos there. And I see someone in doubles making their way down the lip bypass line. As he got closer I realized that it was Bird. Which I thought was weird as he was doing a DPV class, I didn't think he would be coming back there. And he didn't have his student, who was also in doubles. He comes up and pulls out his wetnotes asking if I was missing my buddy, I shook my head no. He then asked did I see someone in an XDeep Harness alone or on the surface, again shook my head no

I did a couple more attempts at the video I watched and decided to call it a day. I picked up my camera and lights starting to head out. I realized that perhaps that one of the cookies on the T might have been the missing diver's, so I wondered if I should leave my spool in, and perhaps leave my stage in case the diver needed it. But I looked around and didn't see any lights so I figured the diver wasn't anywhere close, so I just cleaned everything up. And exited the cave trying to do some videos in the chute, when I got a moment that it was clear.

Once on the surface I went over and asked Bird what was up. Apparently when he surfaced from the training dive, someone reported that they lost their buddy on the Lips Bypass line. So he went back in to check the line. He said he saw the non-moving lights and thought it would be a recovery. But found me doing my videos, he figured that I probably wasn't the missing buddy, but asked just in case.

Apparently the two buddies were circling each other on the Lips Bypass line. Hopefully they had a chat about team management.

Never a boring day at Ginnie.

Good choice on not leaving the stage. Though it’s a very cordial gesture, it’s your gas for an emergency since you’re solo. Maybe if you were with a teammate it would be ok. But the rule is don’t do anything that will lead to two deaths. If someone uses my stage in an emergency I would understand, but wouldn’t leave one intentionally for them.