Skills Practice at Ginnie - May 6

[Serota]

My buddy, Rick, and I decided to take the skills practice idea seriously today at Ginnie and devised a dive plan that went no further than just beyond the Corn Flakes, but required quite a bit of "doing things" besides just following a line.

Our plan was nothing more than the Eye to the Lips Bypass to the Keyhole Bypass, return on mainline to just outside the Keyhole where we used a primary reel to explore the rather large area "uphill" from the Keyhole. Such an ambitious dive plan called for stages (2 for one of us) - actually we both wanted to practice stage drop and pickup in the Gallery. The line in the Keyhole Bypass was pretty loose and seemed to have moved under a large rock where following it would be impossible, so we turned without going all the way through.

This plan required running multiple reels of various sizes in high flow, which was great practice and allowed us to see some very pretty parts of the cave even if they are within 500 feet of the exit. Our dive time was about 85 min. and my only point here is that it is possible to have a very enjoyable dive in the front of the cave while refreshing skills.

Any comments, Rick?

[FW]

... The line in the Keyhole Bypass was pretty loose and seemed to have moved under a large rock where following it would be impossible, so we turned without going all the way through.

Any comments, Rick?

Why didn't you just fix the line?

[imdown]

Why didn't you just fix the line?

Don't you need a "line fixing" certification card to do that?

[chimie007]

Why didn't you just fix the line?

Maybe they are afraid to end up on a t-shirt....

[sea2summit]

Maybe with two stages they didn't feel comfortable they could get by without damaging the cave

[Serota]

Why didn't you just fix the line?

I did tighten the line with a couple of wraps but within the the context of what we were doing, I decided to simply turn around. Of course, we didn't take stages beyond the Gallery.

[Serota]

Maybe they are afraid to end up on a t-shirt....

I don't get this one....

[Slüdge]

Read The Deco Stop. But don't bring that crap over here!

[Slüdge]

Serota, I think more people need to do what you brought up. I know I don't practice running the reel as much as I should. (insert admonishments here)

My favorite place to practice the reel is in the Catacombs of the Devil. You can empty a 400' reel in a hurry!

[Luxrok]

Read The Deco Stop. But don't bring that crap over here!

It is only crap until it is your gear that is moved, changed or removed. As a victim of said T-Shirt subject, I can tell you it is no fun and is frustrating.

However, on topic I think this is a great thread. I have posted an article about a skills dive at The Pit.

Hans