redhatmama:
Well, Mike, I believe I mentioned lack of life only pertaining to the small reef swimthrough known as the Devil's Throat which is not part of any cave system. It is a hole in the reef and the surrounding reef of Punta Sur is lush with life. If you had actually dived this site, you would understand this. I must assume that the entire diving world is wrong and the zealous few on scubaboard are right in labeling it a "cave." The site is often featured in recreational diving magazines as a recreational dive. It's been dived safely by thousands of people and is dived safely every day.
You would have a more valid point in railing against the Cancun operators who lead OW divers into cenotes on guided cavern dives where there is an overhead environment and untrained divers. But to rail against swimthroughs and label them caves is indicative of something other than rational thought.
I didn't label it anything since I'm not the one who defined what a cave or cavern is. My cave diveing training was through the NACD and I was a PADI cavern instructor. Based on my training, I would treat that as a cave/cavern dive and see no reason that it should be in any way expempt from commonly accepted cave/cavern diving procedures. If I was guiding students the standards that apply are very clear.
As I tried to explain, training standards and recommended procedures do not distinguish between a cavern or swimthrough. If you are in the lighted zone of a natural overhead, you are in a cavern. Beyond the naturally lighted zone, you are in the cave zone. I would venture to guess that a huge percentage of the divers in Cozumel are PADI certified and many of the dM's and instructors probably hold PADI tickets. I told you what PADI training standards state...which is also the recommended limit for a certified cavern/wreck divers.
I state again. the max penetration being depth + penetration is NOT to be more than 130 ft. That means that an instructor can NOT take a student into any overhead at 130 ft and the recommended limits for a PADI certified cavern diver would be ZERO penetration at 130ft, 1 ft at 129ft, 2 ft at 128ft ect. That would seem to set even a "swim through" off limits at that depth. In addition cavern students are not to be taken into restrictions and restrictions are beyond the recommended limits of a certified cavern diver. Given the depth and the apparent exixtance or what would be considered a minor restriction, the dive appears to be beyond the recommended limits of even a certified, properly equiped cavern diver. The PADI wreck course also places the exact same limits on penetration. These are NOT my opinions.
To further inform you, at one time it was commonly accepted that students/divers should never be taken into any overhead unless they were trained for them. Eventually the issue of swim throughs came up and PADI issued a statement in their training bulliten. I believe it came up partly because of all the artificial wrecks with weel houses that were made "OW safe" and all the toys they sink in dive parks. I don't have it handy but you might want to look it up yourself but from the descriptions I've heard I wouldn't call those structures swimthroughs based on what I remember reading of PADI guidlines.
I must assume that the entire diving world is wrong and the zealous few on scubaboard are right in labeling it a "cave."
The whole diving world? I think you'll find the poionts I stated consistant with the standards and practices or PADI, NACD, NSS-CDS, IANTD and most if not all other agencies. It seems more like a few Cozemel oporators and some non-cave trained divers are taking a stance that's contrary to the "whole diving world" and not the other way around. I think you'll also find that most trained overhead divers will share my opinion. So, it seems a few non-trained folks disagree with just about all the trained folks.
I gave you the information I can. I stated my sources that you are more than free to consult yourself. You even read the opinion of GDI who is, himself, a qualified and active cave instructor. Now you do what you want. It really is no skin off my nose either way.
And for the record, I strongly disagree with the practice of leading non-trained divers through caves in places like Canun and Akumal.
