How to survive the learning curve

[MikeFerrara]

I picked this up from the thred about the EN accident.

While I don't wish to imply any speculation to the accident at hand [disclaimer disclaimer disclaimer]...

It's pretty obvious that divers in general are pushing faster and harder than they have in the past, where the experience need is being dropped to the wayside and too much focus is placed on just the training. Patience is being replaced with desire, and a minimum of dives at each level is being done before seeking further training.

Another big issue is complacency. For those cave and cavern divers; how many times have you watched people not bother with running a line in the cavern zone to the main line? Same thing with wreck divers. They've been there plenty, and know it. What about those getting a little too far from the line to take a peak at something. It's just a peak, why waste time and gas futzing with a line; vis is good; no big deal.

Personally I don't see much evidence of gas management violations [rule of thirds], but I'm not convinced that everyone understands that it's not a guarantee.

The major thing i think, in looking at all these incidents, is that it's not the big things that get ya, it's the little things that get brushed off as little things, and eventually enough little things will sneak up on you and bite you in the ass.

A common saying is "don't sweat the little stuff". That absolutely does not apply in diving!

[edit: apologies... i didn't intend to ascend the soap-box.. oh well]

Don't apologize. When these things happen we all convey our sympothies and that's fine but no one can help these poor guys any more. Now the question becomes how do the rest of us avoid earning the same fate for ourselves.

I've dived with a few different people in Florida. All nice folks but the dives are often a race. They decide to go to such and such place in the cave and the dive is a hell bent for leather push to get there with no time to look at anything on the way...which is bad for lots of reasons in a cave.

My most enjoyable cave dives haven't been my longest or my deepest. Last year we did a bunch of dives in a row that were on the big side for us. I guess I got a little spooked and I wasn't real happy with a couple of the dives. Nothing went wrong and there wasn't even a close call just that little voice that grates on your nerves and composure...and asks "Just how in control are you?"

For me it was a sign that it was time to go do some low pressure dives, execute them perfectly and have some fun.

In March we took a trip to Florida and dived for an entire week and didn't do a single big dive. Max depth for the week was about 107 ft just past "Not My Fault" in Cow, never had more than about 20 minutes of deco and never used more than a single stage and a single decompression gas. The dives were slow and we tried to "SEE" and enjoy everything we passed.

We did several dives in a place that isn't deep and the penetration isn't far but you need to run a line for a ways (through a real neat spot) to get there. We didn't rush through running the line. I ran it and then back tracked to check my placement and make sure it was ran like I knew how to run a line.

Later we dived the same area again and I by golly you'd have though that I did know how to run a line.

In this area of the cave there's a few different jumps and some low spots. There's plenty of room fo backmount but technique needs to be good. There's a whole circuit that you can do within about a 5 minute swim of the entrance so we could zip around the circuit several times taking turns with the reel work. It was a blast.

Cave divers now days can do a ton of cave diving without having to run a line more than a few feet if at all. The thing is that you don't get much practice at the skills that keep you alive by mindlessly following some one elses line like some recreational divers mindlessly follow a divemaster.

Rather than doing it big or far I'd rather work on doing it well. I think the better you get the easier it is to go further and the better your chances of getting back.

This, of course, is just how I approach it.

 

[Mako Mark]

Thanks for bringing this topic into a thread of its own Mike, accident analisis is something that needs to be discussed in a way that gives us the time and clear headedness that it deserves.

I picked this up from the thred about the EN accident.


..... no one can help these poor guys any more.

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However, their contribution to diving, tragic as it may be, should be respected and taken note of. Every diver that has died in caves has contributed to making cave diving safer now than it ever has.

My most enjoyable cave dives haven't been my longest or my deepest.

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Its true, sometimes we forget that we are supposed to be enjoying ourselves, after all, this is a recreation, not a competition.

just that little voice that grates on your nerves and composure...and asks "Just how in control are you?"

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We all get spooked sometimes, but this may not be a bad thing. I learned this from rebreather training, but teach it from the rescue diver level.

If you think something is wrong, it probably is and you should dedicate apropriate attention to ensuring that you identify and deal with the problem.

The little voice, your instinct or intuition is in fact your subconcious that has identified something that your conciousness hasnt. Kind of like soft focus, you need to trust these instincts and treat them as warnings.

Cave divers now days can do a ton of cave diving without having to run a line more than a few feet if at all. The thing is that you don't get much practice at the skills that keep you alive by mindlessly following some one elses line like some recreational divers mindlessly follow a divemaster.

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I think that this has been discussed many times with regard to (especially) the DSAT courses, although they are yet to even consider cave diving.

There is a rising body of what you could call "Mainstream Tec" divers. As the numbers of divers increase, then there will be more and more divers that find the old limits that defined diving insufficient, however do not fall into the category of "explorers" or "pioneers" who push those fronteers further into the unknown.

What I know about the DIR-F course is the bright shining example of this and I think this course will be adopted and adapted far more widely in the future.

If less experienced divers just want to follow the main line and aviod complex cave navigation, we should discourage them from doing otherwise and applaud their prudence of knowing their limitations.

someone on the board has a signature that says when divers finally find out what their limitations are, they are often about to die..... This could never be more true than is cave diving.

This is why your suggestion/idea of doing a couple of "back to basics" diving days on a regular basis is such a good one. Diving is a motor skill, and these deteriorate with lack of use. While running reels, AC rates rise, anti-silting techniques deteriorate as does general awareness of navigation and communication.

Far too many people believe that once they have mastered a technique that it will be with them for ever. This complacency leads to mistakes that can and should be avoided by the application and dicipline of maintaining fundemental skills and techniques.

"Cry in the dojo, laugh on the battlefield"

and that is enough ranting for now.

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[MikeFerrara]

I think that this has been discussed many times with regard to (especially) the DSAT courses, although they are yet to even consider cave diving.

There is a rising body of what you could call "Mainstream Tec" divers. As the numbers of divers increase, then there will be more and more divers that find the old limits that defined diving insufficient, however do not fall into the category of "explorers" or "pioneers" who push those fronteers further into the unknown.

What I know about the DIR-F course is the bright shining example of this and I think this course will be adopted and adapted far more widely in the future.

If less experienced divers just want to follow the main line and aviod complex cave navigation, we should discourage them from doing otherwise and applaud their prudence of knowing their limitations.


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True enough that not all of us are going to be cutting edge explorers. Shoot, for most of us we couldn't be regardless of what talents we may or may not have just because of where we live and the amount of time we must spend making a living. I don't see anything wrong with traveling the line some one else laid to enjoy what they discovered or training to do that.

I do see a problem though if the importance of certain skills are underestimated. As I said you could do many cave dives these days without ever having to run a line but if you do need to run one it may be very important that you're good at it.

I also have concerns about training divers in such a way as to assume that they're only going to be tourists (for lack of a better term). My cave card says "cave diving" on it. It doesn't say "cave diving...as long as some one else lays the line". It's a given that I wasn't very experienced on the day I got the card but if they left any basic skills out that would dissqualify me from being able to stray from the main line as I gained experience they didn't mention it.

The same is true for all my other cards. I think that if we're going to teach "mainstream any kind of diving" that is meant specifically to train those who are never going beyond a certain point that should be clearily understood up front especially by the student.