Preparing For A Total Silt Out

[dbulmer]

Thanks Ryan and SuprBugman.

 

[contender]

There is potentially some irony here as local zip code cave divers are the biggest beneficiaries of progressive penetration and are potentially annoyed and impacted by non local cave divers, many of them who are also wreck divers, some of whom show up and do significant penetrations in "local" caves without showing what is considered due regard and respect to the locals and upset the social order so to speak. What goes around usually comes around.

You are right, we locals hate when you tourist cavers come here and mess things up. Great post, but I will have to say Wreck penetration divers are nuts. I will go in any cave around, but you can't drag me into a rusted out boat on the bottom of the sea. Congrats on your recent "Cave Diver" status.

 

[Dive-aholic]

One of the big problems with cave diving now days is many cave divers are looking at penetration only. They want to get the distance. I know cave divers that have been to the EOL in Jackson Blue several times and only have a handful of dives in there. It took me a few years and over 100 dives in JB before I did my EOL dive. Each penetration leading up to it consisted of 200-300 more feet so I could not only learn the cave, but also see it. And there are still areas I want to learn better. Sure, a new cave diver can go buy a scooter and get 4000' + back in a cave, but is that diver really enjoying the true beauty of the cave. Not likely. I take my time in new caves. My penetration is never faster than 50fpm, and usually slower. Many of the caves an passages I have been visiting over the last year aren't even mapped (at least there aren't any maps anyone is willing to share). One of the things I teach my students is to know the cave. In a silt out, you should be able to visualize the passage you are in and know where the line should be. If you do this, finding the line will be quick and easy. Haphazard searching because you're unfamiliar with the passage will make that search take a very long time...unless you're lucky.

 

[jeandiver]

One of the big problems with cave diving now days is many cave divers are looking at penetration only. They want to get the distance. I know cave divers that have been to the EOL in Jackson Blue several times and only have a handful of dives in there. It took me a few years and over 100 dives in JB before I did my EOL dive. Each penetration leading up to it consisted of 200-300 more feet so I could not only learn the cave, but also see it. And there are still areas I want to learn better. Sure, a new cave diver can go buy a scooter and get 4000' + back in a cave, but is that diver really enjoying the true beauty of the cave. Not likely. I take my time in new caves. My penetration is never faster than 50fpm, and usually slower. Many of the caves an passages I have been visiting over the last year aren't even mapped (at least there aren't any maps anyone is willing to share). One of the things I teach my students is to know the cave. In a silt out, you should be able to visualize the passage you are in and know where the line should be. If you do this, finding the line will be quick and easy. Haphazard searching because you're unfamiliar with the passage will make that search take a very long time...unless you're lucky.

Hey , you and I agree on something for once
Isn't that amazing? ( lol )
As for myself , a non-scooter , all my dives are swimmers. So I normally NEVER see EOLs. I am more of a progressive penetration type on side-lines now. And perfectly happy with that , you betcha dere.
A lot of my friends down here scooter Ginnie and they like to go back further than I do. I am still trying to learn all of the lines in the FRONT part of that cave ( lol ).

Beano

 

[Dive-aholic]

It is amazing!!!

Yeah, I can say I know most of the lines in the first 2000' of JB. I'm currently working on learning the ones between 2000-3000', but it's taking a while because there are a lot more lines back there...and a lot of Ts!

 

[ianr33]

One of the big problems with cave diving now days is many cave divers are looking at penetration only. They want to get the distance.

Agree totally.

Always interesting to ask how a dive was. The replies tend to go in one of two groups.

1) We scootered back to 3100 feet then swam to 3450 feet. 3 hour dive with 35 minutes of deco.

2) Saw some stunningly gorgeous Clay Banks,lots of fossils and a couple of blind salamanders.

I used to be into Rockclimbing. Started long before there were indoor climbing walls but this gives me an idea. With the increasing pressure on the caves these days maybe some enterprising individual should make a Cave Diving park? Just lay a few thousand feet of concrete tunnels across the bottom of some boring lake .Instant artificial cave. Divers in group 1) above would enjoy diving there .

 

[Meng_Tze]

...
Always interesting to ask how a dive was..

I think the answer you get is also geared towards the question itself.....

You get two different answers is you ask:

"How was the dive"
"Where did you go"

I think you (all) are looking into this too much. Different people have different reasons for diving caves, or doing a particular dive. There is no right, wrong or indifferent answer. The only thing that really matters is to make it out alive.