Voodoo Gas In The Vortex! :)

[scubadobadoo]

We were probably on the same American Airlines flight that came in and took a ton of touristas back to Texas. LOL

Yes we were. Remember when they announced that they would serve sandwiches and we all clapped loudly? LOL!

My wife and I are planning a return trip maybe in March. Can't wait to get back but I imagine it will be a more emotional event than I think it will be. Glad you also made it back and in one piece!

 

[Fish_Whisperer]

Yes we were. Remember when they announced that they would serve sandwiches and we all clapped loudly? LOL!

The ones I remember, are:

1. "Ladies and gentlemen, our next stop will be Dallas, Ft. Worth." (and the crowd went wild) LOL

2. "We want to thank you for flying with us today. We realize that when you travel, you have your choice of carriers..." (and again, the crowd went wild) LOL

3. "Ladies and gentleman, once we reach our cruising altitude, flight attendants will be serving you your beverage of choice." (and everyone realized that meant BEER!!!) :lol:

My wife and I are planning a return trip maybe in March. Can't wait to get back but I imagine it will be a more emotional event than I think it will be. Glad you also made it back and in one piece!

Thanks! Man, you won't believe just how quickly the whole island has rebounded. The only traces are the jungle, still full of lots of broken and dead trees, a lot of concrete and junk piled up around the western beaches, and big chunks of the piers are still missing. The reefs weren't in the best shape when I was there in April, (especially the shallow reefs) but the diving was still excellent, and the reefs are recovering.

Have a great time!

-Frank

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Have read this thread with interest and first of all glad you are ok Frank. Haven't talked at you in awhile but appreciate your humor and honesty. I personally have not done vortex but did do the ballroom at ginnie. With my instructor and after a thorough briefing on what to expect and what was allowed and not allowed. And while it was enjoyable it did not set off the same neurons that diving the grove and the duane did. I want to do wrecks! But I also realize that many cave techniques would be good for this as I want to do penetrations there is something about a cave that makes me uneasy in ways that a wreck does not. Not to say that the danger is less, in fact I realize that it may be more dangerous in some instances and accept those risks. I have never liked being underground. Even in dry caves that are guided and well lit there is a sense of dread for me. I started to feel it in the ballroom after the inital novelty of it wore off and made my exit to the mouth to wait for the rest of the group. On the grove the lines that were visible to me in the open hatches stirred me and invited me in. I di not go however as I do not have the training, experience, (both coming in sept on the St. Lawrence), nor did I have the air to explore like I would have wanted. Along with the fact that I did not think the guys I was buddied up with would have cared to go. We did several swim thrus and saw some neat stuff and we were all good with that. I see wrecks, lots of them in my future.
As far as the gas goes it could have been any of the explanations given on here. The seeming lack of concern by the management does make me wonder though. I know a regular analyzer would not indicate contamination but just out of curiosity did you analyze the mix? If they were not paying attention to possible contamination perhaps they were not on with the 32%. Just curious.

 

[Rick Murchison]

A more interesting question would be, does he take students of OW classes who aren't cavern or cave trained in there and if not, why not?

I do not. There are too many ways that a simple problem can turn ugly in an overhead environment, and new divers are far too unpredictable - even to themselves.
Just for one example, does any instructor here want to see a student's initial reaction to the narcosis experience 300 feet back up in a hole?
Not I!
Rick

 

[Fish_Whisperer]

I do not. There are too many ways that a simple problem can turn ugly in an overhead environment, and new divers are far too unpredictable - even to themselves.
Just for one example, does any instructor here want to see a student's initial reaction to the narcosis experience 300 feet back up in a hole?
Not I!
Rick

Oh yeah... That could turn into a Charlie Foxtrot real quick...

 

[Fish_Whisperer]

Have read this thread with interest and first of all glad you are ok Frank. Haven't talked at you in awhile but appreciate your humor and honesty. I personally have not done vortex but did do the ballroom at ginnie. With my instructor and after a thorough briefing on what to expect and what was allowed and not allowed. And while it was enjoyable it did not set off the same neurons that diving the grove and the duane did. I want to do wrecks! But I also realize that many cave techniques would be good for this as I want to do penetrations there is something about a cave that makes me uneasy in ways that a wreck does not. Not to say that the danger is less, in fact I realize that it may be more dangerous in some instances and accept those risks. I have never liked being underground. Even in dry caves that are guided and well lit there is a sense of dread for me. I started to feel it in the ballroom after the inital novelty of it wore off and made my exit to the mouth to wait for the rest of the group. On the grove the lines that were visible to me in the open hatches stirred me and invited me in. I di not go however as I do not have the training, experience, (both coming in sept on the St. Lawrence), nor did I have the air to explore like I would have wanted. Along with the fact that I did not think the guys I was buddied up with would have cared to go. We did several swim thrus and saw some neat stuff and we were all good with that. I see wrecks, lots of them in my future.
As far as the gas goes it could have been any of the explanations given on here. The seeming lack of concern by the management does make me wonder though. I know a regular analyzer would not indicate contamination but just out of curiosity did you analyze the mix? If they were not paying attention to possible contamination perhaps they were not on with the 32%. Just curious.

Thanks, Jim. Good to hear from you, pal! I feel the same way you do about wrecks. I'd rather dive wrecks and reefs. Caves are okay, but really, not much to see. (I'm sure there are some that are spectacular, but the training and equipment required is probably well beyond my financial reach.) There's plenty to keep me interested without shoving myself into a waterfilled hole in the ground.

With the possible gas contamination, the woman was concerned, but there wasn't much they could do about it at the moment. She said she would mention it to the guy who fills their tanks, so that's about all that could really be done.

 

[xiSkiGuy]

Like Frank, (and many other non-cave trained divers) I've been to the grate at Vortex. I was on a "trust me" dive with a much more experienced friend (but also not cave trained). It was probably around dive #20 and looking back, I had no business there. I've also been to Morrison many times without overhead training. If, at the time, you asked about the danger associated with those dives, I would have indicated that I thought it was minimal. Then a few months ago I took a Cavern Course at Ginnie Springs. Besides being an incredible class for your trim and propulsion techniques, the course really opens your eyes to the dangers of overhead environments. Most cavern/cave instructors also instill in their students the importance of warning the untrained about those dangers. To cave divers, any accident or fatality in a cave or cavern is a step closer to having their access to caves limited or completely cut off. From what I gather, most cave divers would rather upset you or down right piss you off than see you get hurt in a place you "shouldn't" be. While some are more diplomatic than others, most (if not all) are not trying to be holier-than-thou. They are just aware of dangers you are probably ignorant to.

@ Frank: If you have the opportunity, take the Cavern Class at Ginnie Springs. Like you, I was much more interested in wrecks and reefs, so I wasn't sure I wanted to continue training past the Cavern level. Then we did our last training dive at Devil's Ear. It makes the cavern/cave at Vortex look pretty plain vanilla. All I could think after the dive was "I've got to get my Intro Cert so I can see what is past the daylight zone in that cave." Even if the class doesn't light your fire for actual cave diving, I'll wager it will be the best class you've taken to date.

 

[Rick Murchison]

... take the Cavern Class ...

I cannot overstate the value of this class. Along with Rescue, Cavern is one of the very best classes you can take for skills improvement and overall competence as a diver.
If I were to recommend the "big three" for any diver - the three that will go farthest towards making a regular open water diver into a really good diver, they'd be Rescue, Cavern, and Advanced Nitrox.
Rick

 

[Fish_Whisperer]

Like Frank, (and many other non-cave trained divers) I've been to the grate at Vortex. I was on a "trust me" dive with a much more experienced friend (but also not cave trained). It was probably around dive #20 and looking back, I had no business there. I've also been to Morrison many times without overhead training. If, at the time, you asked about the danger associated with those dives, I would have indicated that I thought it was minimal. Then a few months ago I took a Cavern Course at Ginnie Springs. Besides being an incredible class for your trim and propulsion techniques, the course really opens your eyes to the dangers of overhead environments. Most cavern/cave instructors also instill in their students the importance of warning the untrained about those dangers. To cave divers, any accident or fatality in a cave or cavern is a step closer to having their access to caves limited or completely cut off. From what I gather, most cave divers would rather upset you or down right piss you off than see you get hurt in a place you "shouldn't" be. While some are more diplomatic than others, most (if not all) are not trying to be holier-than-thou. They are just aware of dangers you are probably ignorant to.

@ Frank: If you have the opportunity, take the Cavern Class at Ginnie Springs. Like you, I was much more interested in wrecks and reefs, so I wasn't sure I wanted to continue training past the Cavern level. Then we did our last training dive at Devil's Ear. It makes the cavern/cave at Vortex look pretty plain vanilla. All I could think after the dive was "I've got to get my Intro Cert so I can see what is past the daylight zone in that cave." Even if the class doesn't light your fire for actual cave diving, I'll wager it will be the best class you've taken to date.

Excellent. Thank you very much. This puts a lot of the angrier and more sarcastic comments that have been lobbed, into better perspective. Not excusing them, but yes, I understand.

How far is Ginnie from Vortex? Vortex is already an eight-hour drive for me. How much does the cavern course cost? What further equipment will I need? How long is the course?

Thanks!

-Frank

 

[Wayward Son]

Ginnie is near Gainsville. About 4 hrs from here, I'm guessing 2 from Vortex? keep going east on I-10.

Frank, it might actuall be worth it from where you live to look at going to Montgomery, cutting across Hwy110 & 82 through here, on down & over to I-75 & then down to Gainsville, rather than down 65 & east on 10.

I also have an excellent cavern/cave instructor at my LDS. Not sure which springs he uses for the water parts, but the cavern class is $300. There are some gear requirements but they're fairly minimal compared to what the full cave class requires. I would expect at Ginnie to cost something in that range. They do have a web site & you can call them for info.