Jack Hammer
Contributor
It takes more courage for the OP to own up and admit publicly to doing stupid things than it takes for someone else to offer little while thumping their chest about how great they are.My takeaways:
1) you took the wrong turn at the T either because: a) your team did not use personal cookies at Ts or b) because the team used it and even though you did not see the cookies on that specific T you took the turn anyways.
2) you did a BLIND JUMP because you CHOSE to do so. I am confident your instructor taught you correctly during your full cave course but you CHOSE to VIOLATE the rule that states "always maintain a continuous guideline to the surface."
3) you CHOSE to do a SECOND BLIND JUMP because you CHOSE to VIOLATE the rule once again.
4) I will never accept the "camera excuse" because inanimate objects are not responsible for bad CHOICES and bad outcomes. Unless we're talking about a cave colapsing all around you.
5) diver #1 did not wait for diver #2 and diver #3 to stage their deco bottles and just bolted. That should have been RED FLAG #1. Diver #2 and diver #3 should have addressed that RIGHT AWAY.
6) diver #1 and #2 did not wait for you at the T ==> RED FLAG #2.
7) diver #1 suggested doing BLIND JUMPS. I would have told him "I REFUSE TO DIVE WITH YOU" right away. I don't play this crap game.
8) hitting your head on a stalactite is no excuse for the BAD CHOICES you made in this specific scenario you described.
9) take cameras anytime you want in any dive you want. Cameras are not EXCUSES for BAD CHOICES. If a person is easily distracted by cameras, such person should not be cave diving. I truly believe that cave diving is feasible for anyone who strives to make it feasible but if someone cannot focus constantly and respect every single rule, every single moment of the dive, then they are "Dead Man Diving."
10) All of us have done (or should have done) blind exits from the furthest point of the dive during full cave training. What is the excuse for not being able to do one in "real life?"
11) If your group left you behind, then you were diving SOLO. Why did you CHOOSE to not use guidelines and markers to make your exit safer? Why did you make the CHOICES you made?
==> Never forget Mother Nature's Rule #2: "Play stupid games, win stupid prizes."