Pushing Limits

[thethumper]

Duncan Price once bubbled...
Glad I missed this one....I only do less than 30 cave dives a year. Does that make me a recreational cave diver despite laying 3000 ft of line in the last 12 months?

Duncan

Duncan....

I am in no way bashing, but the gist of what I get from the instructors is that to keep up your skills, you should be logging 60 dives in a 12 month period. But again, this is from the instructors who are in the water better than 3/4 of the year.

 

[chickdiver]

Thumper,

I have to say that while quantity is an important variable, quality is important as well. Duncan's brand of cave diving is a little different from what we do here in FL.

 

[Divesherpa]

No, Duncan

The numbers were just thrown out.

Your aren't just cave diving, you are, well, nuts
I enjoyed your sidemount presentation. I'm recreational and I do quite a few more than 100 a year. There are exceptions to everything.

You only do 30 a year?

Seems like the pub would sponsor the diving to see your happy face more often. I wish a pub would sponsor my diving

 

[MikeFerrara]

Divesherpa once bubbled...
No, Duncan

The numbers were just thrown out.

Your aren't just cave diving, you are, well, nuts
I enjoyed your sidemount presentation. I'm recreational and I do quite a few more than 100 a year. There are exceptions to everything.

You only do 30 a year?

Seems like the pub would sponsor the diving to see your happy face more often. I wish a pub would sponsor my diving

What sidemount presentation? I miss everything!

 

[thethumper]

MikeFerrara once bubbled...


What sidemount presentation? I miss everything!

Me Too.....;-0

Chickdiver. I agree. Qauntity doesn't always = Quality. But repation of "Good" habits & skills sure helps.

 

[chickdiver]

Absolutely, I agree with you 100%.

 

[Cave Diver]

leadweight once bubbled...
Please try to explain your position to the relatives of the 500 or so divers that died in the Florida caves since people started diving there.

With all but a few notable exceptions, those people that died in caves were NOT trained or certified cave divers. Rather they were mostly OW divers, Instructors, or DM's who felt they had superior openwater skills that made them immune to the dangers of an overhead environment.

The dangers that a properly trained cave diver faces in a cave are no greater than the dangers that a properly trained OW diver faces while diving in OW, IMHO. The difference is that many (notice I didnt say most) OW divers receive just enough training to get them through the class, and very little training in handly any type of emergency situation. This type of diver typically dives only a few times a year, and likely never practices their basic skills. I personally know enough openwater divers to verify this.

On the other hand, technical divers have a greater commitment towards their training, and often conduct dives for the sole purpose of keeping their skills sharp.

I think they point the others are trying to convey here is that while a technical diver may have the inherent possibility for considerable more danger, they are much better prepared to deal with it. Because of this training, a technical diver is much more likely to avoid, or negate the effects of an accident than the average recreational diver.

 

[thethumper]

Cave Diver once bubbled...


I think they point the others are trying to convey here is that while a technical diver may have the inherent possibility for considerable more danger, they are much better prepared to deal with it. Because of this training, a technical diver is much more likely to avoid, or negate the effects of an accident than the average recreational diver.

CD.... I don't think I could have said that better. Very well put.

 

[Cave Diver]

thethumper once bubbled...


CD.... I don't think I could have said that better. Very well put.

Thank you.

 

[Duncan Price]

Divesherpa once bubbled...
No, Duncan

The numbers were just thrown out.

No disrespeact, but it seems an example of someone repeating what their instructor told them without questioning its veracity. If you frame it from the originator's persective you will hear them saying "I do x dives a year - therefore you should do x dives a year".

If I've not been in the water for a while then I like to do a "warm up" dive somewhere to check my gear/self. For example, on my visits to Florida, my first dive is usually a shakedown trip with no other purpose than to make sure my rig is set up correct.

It would be nice to be able to dive more often, although that is not possible for me. I guess that many people are in the same position. I think that it is important to "keep your hand in" at any activity though I don't believe that anyone should be proscritive over the number of dives you do.

Your aren't just cave diving, you are, well, nuts

I suppose so, last weekend it took us 4 hours just to get somewhere where we would actually have to start diving despite already having traversed 2000 ft of flooded cave and a mile or two of dry cave to get there. The reason for this is that the overland route is too arduous to carry dive gear though. The water was like diving in iced coffee.

I enjoyed your sidemount presentation. I'm recreational and I do quite a few more than 100 a year. There are exceptions to everything.

I hope that I'll get invited back to the NSS-CDS May workshop again - I found it great fun.

You only do 30 a year?

About that - 450 dives in 15 years sump diving. (Not that the number or duration actually means anything). It is very weather dependent - on Saturday, snow melt caused a 2 ft rise in water levels whilst we were down the cave. To be honest, I don't go in for recreation cave diving. I'm very picky about where I dive and like to visit new places on each dive rather than repeat the same old trip. Variety rather than repetition, quality not quantity. I cave dive for a purpose (exploring caves) rather than for pleasure (though I do enjoy it).

Seems like the pub would sponsor the diving to see your happy face more often. I wish a pub would sponsor my diving

I wish!

Mind how you go.

Duncan