scuba diving underground

by MegaDude 20 Replies latest jw friends

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  mkr32208

  littletoe is right that is the correct air calculation when 1/3rd of your air is up back you go NO EXCEPTIONS EVER EVER EVER!

  as to buddy breathing diving with a buddy in a cave simply increases the danger in my opinion VERY rarely do buddies manage to help someone out yet in almost every single cave diving fatality (at least in florida) the problem stemed from a buddy type problem trying to air share or some other thing I NEVER dive with a buddy ever even openwater. Now don't get me wrong this is a controversy (not as big as bush vs kerry but hey that one will be over in a few days) some people swear by buddys others such as me say take care of your own booties then let others take care of themselves...

  As to carrying a spare air or pony bottle most of those are good for "free ascent" or "open ascent" from 100 ft or less, in fact many even have that on the lable. Trying to swim horizontally for 200 ft then verticaly for 30 ft on a spare air that has anywhere from 10-20 breaths on it at 33'...? Not me, thats pretty scary stuff. Also I know these aren't your pics but the pics show people swiming through restrictions how are you going to buddy breath through those on a three foot octo hose?

  Lights too never ever go into a cave with only one light even a dual bulb lantern what if an "o" ring fails and the battery compartment floods and shorts... night time... I wouldn't go into a cave with less than 3 lights and usually a chemical light stick or two in the old dry suit pocket... I've talked to some of the old cave divers here in florida about the old days when they would wrap a regular flashlight in electric tape or put in in a canning jar to keep it dry in a cave... I've actually had nightmares after talking to some of these crazy people!

  Insofar as saying cave diving is "insanely dangerous" if you take recreational equipment which is extremly prone to free flow, and breakdown into a cave you are INSANE if there is someone two feet from you who is completly outfitted for overhead and your wearing a jacket style BC with a dive rite reg and some mares fins and mask complete with snorkle (I wondered what they were doing with snorkles in a cave... I guess the holes between caves were snorkleable... is that a word?) anyway if you go into a cave like that you are doing something crazy! Thats like skydiving with no reserve and trying to shoot skeet though your main parachute on the way down... yup you might make it, or you might just die!

  I dont' mean to sound like a jackass no it all but so many springs have been closed to cave and cavern divers because recreational divers get into them and get killed. I would hate to see anyone get hurt so the pics were great but please do be careful!

  As to the springs I live about an hour and a half from ginnie but I'm currently not diving as I am so broke i squeek when I walk! maybe by next winter I'll be back in the water! cross all my fingers and toes!!!
• 

  LittleToe

  Mkr:
  I'm ROFL here at the snorkel comment!
  I've seen more than my fair share of folks looking like Xmas-trees when they enter the water.
  I guess their instructors never told them that streamlining conserves air!!!
  But then these are probably the same folks that were told that adding a few extra pounds of lead is worth it to "get you down"!
  

  IMHO SpareAir (TM) is only any use for a direct ascent, as you stated.
  The buddy system works reasonably well if someone passes out or for an air check for the inept, but it should never really be about emergency air. Most schools in Britain have dropped Buddy-Breathing in favour of the octopus rig. In viz that is regularly down to 5' you'd have to be mad to want to give your primary reg to some panicking novice!

  I've seen my fair share of horror stories, too, though I've thusfar been able to minimise them on my shift. Though you know what they say about finding out how good a diver you are in an emergency!
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  mkr32208

  This is my only "real" experience with buddy breathing...

  calmly swiming around in the bottom of king spring looking into the cavern (not going in on this dive) looking at the fish looking for manatees when suddenly my mask is smashed off my face my reg. is jerked out of my mouth i'm yanked sideways my head is wacked of a rock someones tank hits me in the face I grab my octo as i'm pulled to the surface at about a thousand miles an hour (trying vainly to grab onto something to stop my ascent) head pops up it's some woman from a dive group training for her openwater and her air stopped and I was convinient... her buddy was only about 10 feet away but swimming away she couldn't catch him she didn't think she could make a free ascent (thank god it was only about 30' to the surface)... no I'm not a big fan of the buddy system (of course she was pretty hot I was willing to kiss and make up!)

  here's the kicker though she never even TRIED to use her own octo don't know if it would have worked but she didnt' even TRY it, she never tried to grab mine either i dive with poseidon cyclons they are pretty good size regs and the octo is BRIGHT yellow she never even tried she just snatched the one out of my mouth she KNEW that one worked!
• 

  LittleToe

  Mkr:

  here's the kicker though she never even TRIED to use her own octo don't know if it would have worked but she didnt' even TRY it, she never tried to grab mine either i dive with poseidon cyclons they are pretty good size regs and the octo is BRIGHT yellow she never even tried she just snatched the one out of my mouth she KNEW that one worked!

  The untrained, panicking human mind will do amazingly stupid and inconsiderate things.
  I'm glad to hear you survived to tell the tale, as some aren't so fortunate.

  I was once training a novice, in reg recovery, when somehow she inserted the reg upside down. Before I could reach her (and I was only 5' away) she had shot to the surface. Fortunately that was only about 20' depth. You can burst a lung in half that distance.

  Steve:No, I never heard about that, but it's not unusual. Strong currents and low visability tend to make British waters amongst some of the more strenuous in the world. I count my blessings that the viz around this island is often in excess of 75'

  I lost a friend in similar circumstances. I had taught him to dive in the early 90's but he moved away to mainland Scotland, shortly after. Unfortunately he thought he could teach his younger brother, and they both ended up dead. The boy was picked up that day, but my friends remains weren't discovered for several weeks
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  Princess

  Mega, those pictures truly freaked me out. I look at them and realize I'm not breathing. How stupid is that?

  I'm not a diver and actually quite happy to watch divers struggle with their paraphanalia down the beach and into the water. I ran by the Edmonds dive park yesterday and saw several divers on the beach and in the water. Must have been a great day for diving....
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  mkr32208

  I have read that the clearest water on earth is in anarctica and at the north pole under the ice... basicly like diving in a really cold cave! Something about the coldness of the water it's just so clear.. my buddy who went up to alaska and dove under the ice said at first it was scary because the water was so clear you felt like nothing was holding you up!

  I'll see if I can find some pics!

  I've always wanted to dive here- http://www.2dive.com/2dive.html it's actually all openwater diving no overhead but its just so creepy would have made a great halloween dive! maybe next year!
• 

  MegaDude

  Glad you guys liked the pics. They don't do justice to actually being there but they'll have to do.

  Mega, those pictures truly freaked me out. I look at them and realize I'm not breathing.

  I got closterphobic just looking at them....you're crazy man

  For those of you who thought it looked claustrophobic it never felt that way to me. The passageways were large and some of the rooms were very large. I never felt cramped.

  It was odd in that when our bubbles hit the roof in some of the larger rooms it roared as loud as a motorboard taking off over your head. I wondered what in the living hell could be making such an incredibly loud sound. The dive master explained it was the reverb off of our bubbles smacking the roof of the large cavern room and echoing.

  IMHO SpareAir (TM) is only any use for a direct ascent, as you stated.

  As to SpareAir, there's a lot of debate on how useful it is. It was originally developed for helicopter pilots who had to ditch and give them time enough to get out of the aircraft. For use by divers I think it's worth it. Although you may only get several breaths out of it, that might be all you need to reach your buddy or the surface. In a cave people tend to not stick together like they should when the scenery is as awesome as it is. If your system failed, a SpareAir might be just what you need to make it to your buddy's octopus. Many divers feel SpareAir fosters carelessness because it gives many ignorant divers the feeling they are carrying plenty of extra air which, of course, isn't true.

  I'm sorry to hear that your brother went back in the other direction at this point. Hopefully it's short lived and I hope you can get out diving with him soon !!

  XenaWarrior, that's true. He's shunning me again. He invited me to go drinking with him and his workmates and then we were going to a gun show. We confirmed plans that morning, and then when I called him to arrange transportation he refused to answer. I sent email and called but nothing. I haven't heard from him for two months and then just today I got an email with some pictures. No words just pictures. I'm not sure how to respond.

  My favorite charter captain has some online photos you might like, at www.pacadventure.com . There are even a couple pics of Randy and I back in April.

  Nice pics, Steve. How co - co - cold is that water?
• 

  freedom96

  Those pictures are awesome!!
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  Steve Egner

  Jerry,

  Nice pics, Steve. How co - co - cold is that water?

  We might have low 50's in the shallows during the summer months. In the winter, or at depth, we'll see low to mid 40's.

  I know I'm diving in the winter when my face goes numb upon entry.

  It might seem daunting, but it really is no big deal once you've become comfortable with your suit and gear. I feel like a "Gumby" in my 7ml, double-layered suit, hood, boots, and gloves while out of water, but I sense no restriction at all once the diving starts.

  Randy and I are going to do a night dive in our underwater park this week or next. It'll be our first night dive there... all the nocturnal critters will be out.

  I noticed you guys were in full suits in the caverns. What kind of temps are you dealing with there? How long were you under? Did you do more than one dive in the Cenotes?

  I'm dying to visit some warmer water soon. I keep remembering Oahu, where we could easily spot the boat, floating on the broken-mirror blue surface, from the sandy bottom at 105 feet. That was cool.

  We should put our heads together, find out who's interested, and meet somewhere warm for a dive trip next year.

  Steve
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  mkr32208

  the springs here in florida usually run about 68 degrees year round... that sucks donkey dong about your brother though I'm sorry to hear that.... weird though that he sent the pics but no contact is it possible that your in his address book and when he sends email to his list you get it too? Or maybe he wants to be with you but his religion keeps him back... really too bad hopefully it will work out!