Vortex 3-18-2012

[MPetitfils]

Regarding the news article that was posted earlier in the thread.

Based on my conversation about an hour ago with Larry's father, the maintenance diver Eduardo responded in a professional manner and should be commended. It would appear that the only thing accurate in that article is the name and place, and the fact that a death occured. (Which I'm sure surprises none). I had forwarded that same article to our parents early in the week, and it caused them a great deal of consternation. Larry's father spoke with the girlfriend mentioned in the article and she confirmed that the writer is apparently incapable of relaying simple facts.

I mention this not as a comment on procedural/judgement error either, just another issue that needs to be factored in when cave diving, along with the many other risks involved.

Thank you.

 

[JamesK]

Mark,

First and foremost I want to extend my condolences to you and your family. As I have stated, a loss to a cave diver is a loss to our family as well. I did not know Larry, but he was part of a small group. A group we all consider as family. Cave divers are a small group, and no matter how much we argue, we all feel the pain when another passes.

I can not imagine what your family is going through right now. Please let them know we all grieve with them.

Thank you for coming here and letting us know more about not only what happened, but about Larry. Please stay and share your stories with us. I wish I could say something to make the pain even slightly less cumbersome, but I can not.

I am thankful that your family, and your mother, understands that this is a passion of ours, and not just some deadly adrenaline pumping hobby. As so often put out by those who do not understand.

From a fellow service man, thank you for your service and that of your families. He may have only been a stepbrother, but even someone who is only related by marriage can be as close as someone related by blood. Knowing that he was not only a cave diver, but a fellow service member, makes him more of a family to me as well.

I truly hope you will stick around and share more about your brother.

James K

 

[boulderjohn]

It would appear that the only thing accurate in that article is the name and place, and the fact that a death occured. (Which I'm sure surprises none). I had forwarded that same article to our parents early in the week, and it caused them a great deal of consternation. Larry's father spoke with the girlfriend mentioned in the article and she confirmed that the writer is apparently incapable of relaying simple facts.

In this thread, I think everyone who knew anything about cave diving knew that the supposed facts in that article were not only incorrect, they were absurdly incorrect. On the other hand, many of the the non-cave diver readers latched onto them as if they were true, which led to some very much off the wall distractions in this thread.

As a former journalism teacher, I find such really, really poor reporting truly disheartening. Following standard journalistic practices that have been in place for a century would have prevented that.

 

[Jax]

Regarding the news article that was posted earlier in the thread.

Based on my conversation about an hour ago with Larry's father, the maintenance diver Eduardo responded in a professional manner and should be commended. It would appear that the only thing accurate in that article is the name and place, and the fact that a death occured. (Which I'm sure surprises none). I had forwarded that same article to our parents early in the week, and it caused them a great deal of consternation. Larry's father spoke with the girlfriend mentioned in the article and she confirmed that the writer is apparently incapable of relaying simple facts.

You cannot imagine how many people will feel better after reading this. Eduardo is well-thought-of.

 

[MPetitfils]

I managed to mangle two posts in one shot. Apologies. The post I accidentally edited out originally read as a response to

You cannot imagine how many people will feel better after reading this. Eduardo is well-thought-of.

I'm glad to hear that. The last thing one would wish is the name of a good man sullied.


The post I intended to create is:


I received a PM from a cave diver that offered me some insight into this remarkable sport. I'd like to post my response to avoid any misconceptions about my original post in this thread.

Thanks for your response. I have no perspective other than one that is ignorant of diving and biased by the grief of the family. I personally (again, I realize that this is based on ignorance) cannot comprehend entering a place like Vortex Springs alone. In retrospect, I managed to get off the original topic of my own post, which was to clear up some misconceptions of the accident and got a little preachy from a dry pulpit.

 

[Jax]

I received a PM from a cave diver that offered me some insight into this remarkable sport. I'd like to post my response to avoid any misconceptions about my original post in this thread.

I can agree completely. I like to hike, but totally do not 'get' those that train for the Grand Canyon (two days each way).

 

[MPetitfils]

Apologies if double posting is frowned upon, this is Larrys obit.

Larry Lee Higginbotham Obituary: View Larry Higginbotham's Obituary by The Sun Herald

 

[Jax]

Thanks . . . we don't get to hear the rest of the story very often.

 

[PfcAJ]

Does anyone know what gas was in his tanks? Knowing that could really shed some light on the situation.

 

[diverzach]

Does anyone know what gas was in his tanks? Knowing that could really shed some light on the situation.

I would like to know this too.

Can narcosis really be so severe that an experienced diver falls asleep and/or becomes so unhinged that he drowns? And this happened at 100ft? From my limited knowledge this seems very unlikely, no?