One dead and one Missing at Buford Springs (FL, USA)

[coldwaterglutton]

A little bit of info in today's NY Post:

Teen swimmers find two cave divers dead in Florida lake

Divers Todd McKenna, 52, and Stephen Gambrell, 63, drowned in the Buford Springs Cave, which is located in the Chassahowitzka Wildlife Park in Weeki Wachee, Florida.

nypost.com

 

[jlcnuke]

Let me go back through the history of this conversation.

• Someone talked about the limits of diving depth with AL 80s.
• I asked if it was confirmed they were diving AL 80s
• I was told it was confirmed they were diving AL 80s
• I asked for a link
• I did not get a link.
• I pointed out that being recreational divers does not mean they necessarily used AL 80s.
• You replied with a link to the IUCRR post saying they were "open water divers," stating that you "certainly take it to mean they appeared to be diving a standard "open water diver" set of equipment."

So, is there a law I don't know about in Florida requiring that recreational divers use AL 80s when they dive? If so, I could be in trouble, because I always use higher capacity steel tanks when I do recreational diving in that area. I haven't been busted yet. Am I just lucky?

You're welcome to dive 4 lp108s cave filled as an open water diver as far as i am aware. Of course, when someone tells me they're driving their "bike 400 miles this weekend", i make the logical assumption that they mean motorcycle, but your welcome to give me a hard time for not considering they may have meant a unicycle they're going to pedal from Atlanta to cave country.

There is a difference between "wild speculation" based on nothing, and reasonable assumptions. You're currently taking the view that there is no such thing as a reasonable assumption using available information and that nothing can ever be taken as likely or even probable unless every specific detail has been fact checked and individually confirmed which is, imo, a bit absurd.
To each their own though.

 

[DogDiver]

Well here goes. Living in North Florida cave country and after 36 years of Great Lakes wreck diving moved to Florida 23 years ago and been cave diving ever since. I haven’t managed to kill my self yet. However my past experiences indicate that most open water recreational divers are kitted up with a single aluminum 80. Hence it’s reasonable to assume that when an open water recreational diver dies in a cave, and their cylinders are aluminum 80’s. Well. You can then reasonably draw your conclusions.

 

[Josh the diver]

does it even matter what size tank they have. say they had HP120s, they still did not have enough air to do that second dive.

 

[EdC]

Well here goes. Living in North Florida cave country and after 36 years of Great Lakes wreck diving moved to Florida 23 years ago and been cave diving ever since. I haven’t managed to kill my self yet. However my past experiences indicate that most open water recreational divers are kitted up with a single aluminum 80. Hence it’s reasonable to assume that when an open water recreational diver dies in a cave, and their cylinders are aluminum 80’s. Well. You can then reasonably draw your conclusions.

Here in NE, I almost never see anyone with an AL80 unless it’s a training class. I think what is “normal” can be geographic. If anything is normal in my diving circle it is steel 100’s.

Not that it makes a difference in this instance but it just goes back to the assumption point @boulderjohn was making.

 

[sourdough]

Can someone confirm they were not diving AL-13s?

The Kreosan divers have convinced me that you can never make assumptions about what equipment a diver will use.

 

[Bowers]

Can someone confirm they were not diving AL-13s?

The Kreosan divers have convinced me that you can never make assumptions about what equipment a diver will use.

Just wow…

 

[John the Pom]

Can someone confirm they were not diving AL-13s?

The Kreosan divers have convinced me that you can never make assumptions about what equipment a diver will use.

Ice diving through flooded passages underneath a melted-down nuclear reactor ... I mean, what could go wrong?

 

[jale]

Ice diving through flooded passages underneath a melted-down nuclear reactor ... I mean, what could go wrong?

Come on! Nothing can happen, they are using "professional" diving equipment

 

[poseident]

Come on! Nothing can happen, they are using "professional" diving equipment

$15,000 worth of it, apparently.