I think it is becoming more and more obvious that training is coming dangerously close to "too abbreviated." Divers being turned out are given a very brief overview of many things, and have less and less deep discussions or understandings. They might be told not to go into overhead, but you would simply not believe how many divers I meet who tell me all about their dives that go way past the limits of their open water training. That is anecdotal evidence, true, but I firmly believe that divers are not nearly as well educated now as they were even 5 years ago.
I agree that open water instructors pose high risk, as they feel they know everything about diving. Another high risk category are those open water divers who dive in caves without training. They venture in slowly at first then gain experience. Their experience makes them feel like cave diving is easy. maybe they go with a buddy who is cavern or intro certified, maybe they read up on cave diving on the internet. They begin to feel as if they know everything they could learn in a cave course, and like they are invincible. They feel like the open water divers who die in caves are less skilled than them.
They begin to perceive a very low cost of cave diving, as they never experience any downside. Then, they make a mistake, and they pay with their life. Then, we see that the average cost per dive was huge, if you "amortized" or "depreciated" the expense. For example, if they died on the 6th cave dive, then you could assume that the average cost per dive was a limb. However, because you don't pay limb by limb, they feel as if there is no cost to cave diving until they die.
So lets say Ben dives caves a lot. Perhaps he's done 100 dives inf ront of the grate. Then he's done 20 within 100 feet of the grate on the other side. He gets a deco bottle, he feels he knows what he is doing. He goes in further this time, an something happens. Most likely, something easy that we are trained to deal with in a cave class. He is too bouyant or negative. A light fails. A fin falls off, his mask floods, he loses the main line, the line breaks, a freeflow, a siltout, an entanglement, something happens. There are hundreds of little things that could happen to a diver, that we practice in cave training, that you don't practice with the "gradually easing into cave diving" method. Especially if you dive alone, no one is there to critique you or push you. Things snowball. It's easy to claw your way into a tight spot when you are literally out of your mind.
I don't think you can imagine a siltout if you haven't experienced one. The water is cold. The silt feels slightly warm against your face and hands. You can't tell which way isup. Your light, bright enough to cause eye damage normally, cannot be seen. Not even a glow, until it is within an inch of your mask. It is darkness like you cannot possibly imagine. You get more than 2 feet from the line, and suddenly it is worlds away. You have to know what to do at that point, or else all is likely lost. You must pull out your safety spool or reel, tie off on a rock, and feel your way back to the mainline. If he didn't have the safety, or if he dropped it, or if it jammed, or if he forgot about it in a panic because he'd never practiced, then he's in the dark. With the broken line, I tend to think there might have been an entanglement. either that, or in a siltout, perhaps he pulled on the line, and it snapped, leaving him lost again. Either way, he would have literally been out of his mind, I would imagine. Having been in a siltout like I just described, my heart almost stopped for the 2 seconds it tok to reach out and grab the line. It seemed like an eternity. Then, there was a line trap, a place where the line went that I couldn't fit, I had to extend my arm all the way and squeeze through, in that silt so dark I would describe it as negative visibility. Without training, I would likely have died in the cave that day. With training, having gone through that exercise before, I was still extremely scared for a few seconds. It was a "come to jesus" dive where I had to evaluate whether I wanted to keep diving.
Basically what I am trying to say is, the people most at risk are the Ben's, who gradually enter caves and find it safe. Without training, little things can kill you. I do not know what happened down there, what i wrote above was just my attempt to describe how a person could panic. I don't want anyone to ever go through that, which is why I am so...busily? trying to point out how bad it is that people enter caves routinely without training.
All of you friends and family reading this, I really am sorry for your loss. Having two friends who died, and having read the accident reports and talked to the recovery divers, I never want anyone to die in a panic in a cave. I am incredibly anxious to prevent there from being more Ben's, and I hope that sentiment comes through in my posts. I don't mean to seem rude. I am praying just as you are that Ben's remains are found quickly so he can be given a proper, respectful burial, and I will join you in a moment of silence out of respect for the deceased at that time.
PLEASE do not think any of this information comes close to teaching you how to cave dive! I described some actions taken by a cave diver, but it in no way comes close to teaching you the proper way to act in these circumstances. Anything I post is no substitute to training!
I agree that open water instructors pose high risk, as they feel they know everything about diving. Another high risk category are those open water divers who dive in caves without training. They venture in slowly at first then gain experience. Their experience makes them feel like cave diving is easy. maybe they go with a buddy who is cavern or intro certified, maybe they read up on cave diving on the internet. They begin to feel as if they know everything they could learn in a cave course, and like they are invincible. They feel like the open water divers who die in caves are less skilled than them.
They begin to perceive a very low cost of cave diving, as they never experience any downside. Then, they make a mistake, and they pay with their life. Then, we see that the average cost per dive was huge, if you "amortized" or "depreciated" the expense. For example, if they died on the 6th cave dive, then you could assume that the average cost per dive was a limb. However, because you don't pay limb by limb, they feel as if there is no cost to cave diving until they die.
So lets say Ben dives caves a lot. Perhaps he's done 100 dives inf ront of the grate. Then he's done 20 within 100 feet of the grate on the other side. He gets a deco bottle, he feels he knows what he is doing. He goes in further this time, an something happens. Most likely, something easy that we are trained to deal with in a cave class. He is too bouyant or negative. A light fails. A fin falls off, his mask floods, he loses the main line, the line breaks, a freeflow, a siltout, an entanglement, something happens. There are hundreds of little things that could happen to a diver, that we practice in cave training, that you don't practice with the "gradually easing into cave diving" method. Especially if you dive alone, no one is there to critique you or push you. Things snowball. It's easy to claw your way into a tight spot when you are literally out of your mind.
I don't think you can imagine a siltout if you haven't experienced one. The water is cold. The silt feels slightly warm against your face and hands. You can't tell which way isup. Your light, bright enough to cause eye damage normally, cannot be seen. Not even a glow, until it is within an inch of your mask. It is darkness like you cannot possibly imagine. You get more than 2 feet from the line, and suddenly it is worlds away. You have to know what to do at that point, or else all is likely lost. You must pull out your safety spool or reel, tie off on a rock, and feel your way back to the mainline. If he didn't have the safety, or if he dropped it, or if it jammed, or if he forgot about it in a panic because he'd never practiced, then he's in the dark. With the broken line, I tend to think there might have been an entanglement. either that, or in a siltout, perhaps he pulled on the line, and it snapped, leaving him lost again. Either way, he would have literally been out of his mind, I would imagine. Having been in a siltout like I just described, my heart almost stopped for the 2 seconds it tok to reach out and grab the line. It seemed like an eternity. Then, there was a line trap, a place where the line went that I couldn't fit, I had to extend my arm all the way and squeeze through, in that silt so dark I would describe it as negative visibility. Without training, I would likely have died in the cave that day. With training, having gone through that exercise before, I was still extremely scared for a few seconds. It was a "come to jesus" dive where I had to evaluate whether I wanted to keep diving.
Basically what I am trying to say is, the people most at risk are the Ben's, who gradually enter caves and find it safe. Without training, little things can kill you. I do not know what happened down there, what i wrote above was just my attempt to describe how a person could panic. I don't want anyone to ever go through that, which is why I am so...busily? trying to point out how bad it is that people enter caves routinely without training.
All of you friends and family reading this, I really am sorry for your loss. Having two friends who died, and having read the accident reports and talked to the recovery divers, I never want anyone to die in a panic in a cave. I am incredibly anxious to prevent there from being more Ben's, and I hope that sentiment comes through in my posts. I don't mean to seem rude. I am praying just as you are that Ben's remains are found quickly so he can be given a proper, respectful burial, and I will join you in a moment of silence out of respect for the deceased at that time.
PLEASE do not think any of this information comes close to teaching you how to cave dive! I described some actions taken by a cave diver, but it in no way comes close to teaching you the proper way to act in these circumstances. Anything I post is no substitute to training!
