Major Freak Out - What should I have done differently?

[Johanan]

Scoobajay, if you asked me what should you have done differently, I would say - you should have done at least a Cavern Diver course before making a dive like you described. In fact, you as an open water diver did a cave dive well within limits of Intro to Cave qualification. One should not enter even a cavern zone (a part of a cave where the daylight is still present) without laying a line. One should never enter a cavern or a cave without at least two lights. Your dive would require to carry a primary light and two backups. One should never enter a cave system with a single tank. Two cylinders and two regulators is a must, one on a long hose. What if you had a regulator failure in the cave? Would you be able to leave the cave through the tight entrance/exit while sharing air with a buddy? Could you do the air sharing in the darkness? Without lights you were not able to notify the DM that you are turning around. How would you show the "out of air" signal to anybody? If your buddy had lost all of his gas, did you carry enough for both of you to complete the dive including the safety stops? Did the dive plan observe the rule of sixths as for a cave dive? I don't want to sound too judgemental or didactic here, but your dive was not just a freak out. You were in a real danger. I haven't been in the Devil's Throat, but during a dive in Cueva del Agua in Spain I contrived to silt myself out with just few clumsy kicks. Within a minute the visibility was zero and I was dangling on my guidline for my precious life. I learnd a lesson and therefore your report was very troubling to read. In darkness without lights, at 130ft, without a line, in a cave without any redundancy - I'm glad you came out of this alive. The reckless DM should be fired and disqualified before he lures someone into death. Thank you for sharing!

 

[Lorenzoid]

Scoobajay, if you asked me what should you have done differently, I would say - you should have done at least a Cavern Diver course before making a dive like you described. . . .

Well, yes. But keep in mind that OW divers are taken to this site routinely, perhaps every day, by guides much like the OP's guide, and as far as I know, virtually nobody has gotten hurt. Is it only a matter of time before someone gets hurt?--I don't know. I would agree that guides should consider not taking boats full of OW divers there as part of their routine itineraries. Maybe it really should be treated as a special site that warrants special considerations. But it's not like this DM and this diver were doing anything out of the ordinary by local standards. I would imagine that hardly any of the many divers who dive this site every week have any special training in overhead environments.


On a different note--the issue of whether the DM adequately briefed the divers in a way that would have allowed them to make up their own minds as to whether they felt comfortable doing the dive--I'm trying to keep in mind that there are a lot of OW divers, even with 100 dives under their belts, who really don't know what all their "limits" are. It's not difficult to imagine a diver saying to himself "I love swim-throughs" and "I'm comfortable at dives in the 100-foot depth range," and not having a good understanding the challenges presented by a dive having both these characteristics in combination. Also, I think some divers might conclude that the DM, by suggesting the site in the first place, is implying that the DM believes the divers are up to the challenge. One might think: "If the DM thinks I am capable of taking on this challenge, then maybe I should not be so hesitant?--after all, the DM is a professional. And how else will I gain experience unless I push myself?" What I'm saying is that even a frank briefing while divers are already at the site or enroute might send a mixed message. Maybe Devil's Throat warrants a special briefing before the divers board the boat.

 

[Storker]

One should not enter even a cavern zone (a part of a cave where the daylight is still present) without laying a line. One should never enter a cavern or a cave without at least two lights. Your dive would require to carry a primary light and two backups. One should never enter a cave system with a single tank. Two cylinders and two regulators is a must, one on a long hose

That's basically what my cave diving buddy once told me: He won't enter an overhead without a line, light and two backup lights, and a twinset with long hose. Since I have neither the skills nor the gear required for that kind of diving, I just say no.

[video=youtube;_VrFV5r8cs0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VrFV5r8cs0[/video]

 

[scoobajay]

Well, yes. But keep in mind that OW divers are taken to this site routinely, perhaps every day, by guides much like the OP's guide, and as far as I know, virtually nobody has gotten hurt. Is it only a matter of time before someone gets hurt?--I don't know. I would agree that guides should consider not taking boats full of OW divers there as part of their routine itineraries. Maybe it really should be treated as a special site that warrants special considerations. But it's not like this DM and this diver were doing anything out of the ordinary by local standards. I would imagine that hardly any of the many divers who dive this site every week have any special training in overhead environments.

So far, this is the only accident at DT I have found posted on SB http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread...vil%27s+throat

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Interesting... I don't recall reading anything like that in Six Skills (haven't read Staying Alive yet), but are you sure you understood him correctly? perhaps he's making a distinction between a traditional BCD and 2 inch harness webbing used in a BP/Wing ? As Curt's photo shows, clipping one or two backup lights onto the harness D-rings is a fairly standard approach.

Perhaps Doppler will read this and chime in.

That's possible. I should have asked him when I saw him yesterday after finishing up the rebreather classes he was giving.

 

[vincent54]

There are 2 small swim through-es at Bloody Bay wall, I believe Mixing-bowl,and they refer to the short one as the swim through for chickens. I pass on doing any of them. Swim through-es are, I guess, a change of pace to make the dives more fun. I think they are an unnecessary risk, especially if they are at a deeper depth. Typically I'll follow the bubble trail, and enjoy the light. I wouldn't even think about going through the aforementioned Cozumel swim through.

I'm a bigger person, 6'4" x somewhat heavy, and don't feel like getting wedged in a death tunnel. It's always the big guy that gets stuck.

 

[redacted]

Well, yes. But keep in mind that OW divers are taken to this site routinely, perhaps every day, by guides much like the OP's guide, and as far as I know, virtually nobody has gotten hurt. Is it only a matter of time before someone gets hurt?--I don't know. I would agree that guides should consider not taking boats full of OW divers there as part of their routine itineraries. Maybe it really should be treated as a special site that warrants special considerations. But it's not like this DM and this diver were doing anything out of the ordinary by local standards. I would imagine that hardly any of the many divers who dive this site every week have any special training in overhead environments.


On a different note--the issue of whether the DM adequately briefed the divers in a way that would have allowed them to make up their own minds as to whether they felt comfortable doing the dive--I'm trying to keep in mind that there are a lot of OW divers, even with 100 dives under their belts, who really don't know what all their "limits" are. It's not difficult to imagine a diver saying to himself "I love swim-throughs" and "I'm comfortable at dives in the 100-foot depth range," and not having a good understanding the challenges presented by a dive having both these characteristics in combination. Also, I think some divers might conclude that the DM, by suggesting the site in the first place, is implying that the DM believes the divers are up to the challenge. One might think: "If the DM thinks I am capable of taking on this challenge, then maybe I should not be so hesitant?--after all, the DM is a professional. And how else will I gain experience unless I push myself?" What I'm saying is that even a frank briefing while divers are already at the site or enroute might send a mixed message. Maybe Devil's Throat warrants a special briefing before the divers board the boat.

I would guess something in the neighborhood of 100 divers per day do Devil's Throat or Cathedral, with no special qualifications and very few incidents.

 

[Dhboner]

I would guess something in the neighborhood of 100 divers per day do Devil's Throat or Cathedral, with no special qualifications and very few incidents.

And I would guess 50 times that number drive drunk every day with very few incidents but that doesn't make it any less foolhardy or dangerous. You can get away with very risky behaviour over and over again to the point where you can no longer see the risk but is always there ready to bite you in the ass.

 

[BRT]

And I would guess 50 times that number drive drunk every day with very few incidents but that doesn't make it any less foolhardy or dangerous. You can get away with very risky behaviour over and over again to the point where you can no longer see the risk but is always there ready to bite you in the ass.

Yep. Only about 1 DCS incident per 10,000 dives.

 

[scoobajay]

Nasser and Wingy, thank you for the book recommendations. Already started Scuba Confidential and I think it will be life changing (or dive changing rather)!


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