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In the past year or so, there have been a great many comments condemning all trust-me dives as per se faulty. I believe this is the result of either a misconception or a lack of understanding of the trust-me dive concept.
A trust-me dive, in its strictest sense, occurs anytime a more experienced diver leads a less experienced diver to an area unknown to the less experienced diver. Less experienced may mean a diver who is new or relatively new to cave diving or one who is unfamiliar with a particular system though he may have many years of cave diving experience. The lead diver provides information regarding the dive upon which the dive team relies in planning and executing the dive. There is little difference in this type of dive planning and one which relies solely upon reference to a map in dive planning- except that a diver with greater experience is a member of the dive team. As a guide for a deep cave system, I have provided many divers the opportunity to dive a system in which they have not previously dove and I provided all information regarding the dive and set the dive plan.
When I began cave diving, I had the opportunity to dive the Devils System with divers who lived on the property and who knew the cave system far better than I did. I was able to dive portions of the cave that I had not seen before, did not know existed and was in the company of a diver who was far more experienced than I and who I both trusted and respected. This gave me the chance to broaden my knowledge of the cave system and to do so with a diver in whom I had a great deal of confidence. My comfort and enjoyment level was greatly increased on these dives. The same was true for my first dives in the caves of the Yucatan Peninsula.
So far, so good.
Again, in the strictest sense of the term, every training dive conducted is a trust-me dive. The student diver is directed to a portion of the cave which he has not previously dove while in the company of his instructor.
There is absolutely nothing improper with this type of dive- all proper protocol is followed, diver limitations are observed and individual comfort levels control the dive. A continuous guideline is place to open water, all jumps are lined, all directional choices are properly marked, appropriate gas matching occurs and, most importantly, any diver is free to call any dive at any time for any reason or no reason, no questions and no recriminations. In the event of a team separation, each team member has the full capability to safely return to the surface on their own.
Perhaps, in order to avoid the current unthinking knee-jerk reaction that all trust-me dives are improper and dangerous, a new term should be coined- blind trust-me dive.
A blind trust-me dive occurs when one team member of lesser experience places near-complete reliance on another to lead the dive to a portion of a cave system with which the following diver is unfamiliar. Visual jumps are typically a part of the dive plan, a primary reel to open water may not be placed and, in many cases, the plan involves a definite goal- Well dive to the whale bone. The blind trust-me dive is both improper and unsafe because of the following divers potential inability to safely exit the system without the lead divers assistance. In the event of a siltout resulting in a team separation, will the following diver have the ability to safely exit to the surface? Maybe not.
Trust-me dives are a fact of life and have been for as long as I have been cave diving and instructing cave diving. They occur when we teach and when we dive on a recreational basis. We each have the ability to choose to make these dives safe by following proper generally accepted protocol- remaining within our training and personal limitations, observing the Guidelines of Accident Analysis and always retaining the ability to call the dive at any point during the dive. Each team member must have confidence in his ability to return to the surface without assistance from another team member.
Have fun- dive safe,
Johnny
A trust-me dive, in its strictest sense, occurs anytime a more experienced diver leads a less experienced diver to an area unknown to the less experienced diver. Less experienced may mean a diver who is new or relatively new to cave diving or one who is unfamiliar with a particular system though he may have many years of cave diving experience. The lead diver provides information regarding the dive upon which the dive team relies in planning and executing the dive. There is little difference in this type of dive planning and one which relies solely upon reference to a map in dive planning- except that a diver with greater experience is a member of the dive team. As a guide for a deep cave system, I have provided many divers the opportunity to dive a system in which they have not previously dove and I provided all information regarding the dive and set the dive plan.
When I began cave diving, I had the opportunity to dive the Devils System with divers who lived on the property and who knew the cave system far better than I did. I was able to dive portions of the cave that I had not seen before, did not know existed and was in the company of a diver who was far more experienced than I and who I both trusted and respected. This gave me the chance to broaden my knowledge of the cave system and to do so with a diver in whom I had a great deal of confidence. My comfort and enjoyment level was greatly increased on these dives. The same was true for my first dives in the caves of the Yucatan Peninsula.
So far, so good.
Again, in the strictest sense of the term, every training dive conducted is a trust-me dive. The student diver is directed to a portion of the cave which he has not previously dove while in the company of his instructor.
There is absolutely nothing improper with this type of dive- all proper protocol is followed, diver limitations are observed and individual comfort levels control the dive. A continuous guideline is place to open water, all jumps are lined, all directional choices are properly marked, appropriate gas matching occurs and, most importantly, any diver is free to call any dive at any time for any reason or no reason, no questions and no recriminations. In the event of a team separation, each team member has the full capability to safely return to the surface on their own.
Perhaps, in order to avoid the current unthinking knee-jerk reaction that all trust-me dives are improper and dangerous, a new term should be coined- blind trust-me dive.
A blind trust-me dive occurs when one team member of lesser experience places near-complete reliance on another to lead the dive to a portion of a cave system with which the following diver is unfamiliar. Visual jumps are typically a part of the dive plan, a primary reel to open water may not be placed and, in many cases, the plan involves a definite goal- Well dive to the whale bone. The blind trust-me dive is both improper and unsafe because of the following divers potential inability to safely exit the system without the lead divers assistance. In the event of a siltout resulting in a team separation, will the following diver have the ability to safely exit to the surface? Maybe not.
Trust-me dives are a fact of life and have been for as long as I have been cave diving and instructing cave diving. They occur when we teach and when we dive on a recreational basis. We each have the ability to choose to make these dives safe by following proper generally accepted protocol- remaining within our training and personal limitations, observing the Guidelines of Accident Analysis and always retaining the ability to call the dive at any point during the dive. Each team member must have confidence in his ability to return to the surface without assistance from another team member.
Have fun- dive safe,
Johnny
