Help request from the safety officers
Below is a copy of the email I just sent to the various safety officers and directors, (NACD, NSS/CDS, IANTD, GUE) if there are any additional people I should send this too please let me know and I will do so immediately, I have limited information about safety officers and training agencies so any info is appreciated.
I hope they will help us out since no one is listening to our safety warnings here and no one cares.
I will post an actual copy of the letter below, this first part is the email request this is a long post I apologize but we need to do something about this asap, any help any of you may provide would be deeply appreciated thank you.
__________________________________________________ ______
Dear Safety Officers
As you may or may not be aware of, we are have a major safety issue in the Dominican Republic and it particular, but not limited to the Bayahibe area caves and more precisely Manantial El Chicho.
99.9% of untrained cave diving that goes on in the DR is done by PADI OW instructors taking unsuspecting OW divers way past the cavern zone and on penetrations of over 900ft.
We have installed warning signs in all the Bayahibe caves 10 months ago including El Chicho, we personally delivered a copy of the attached letter to the dive shops, and we personally spoke at length to all the dive shop owners and instructors about the dangers of untrained cave diving, in the hope that this would help the dive shops understand the dangers involved.
As is seen in the below linked video, some of the shops are still taking OW clients on cave "tours" and choose to totally ignore the warning signs in place.
Were the divers surface toward the end of the video is in an air pocket about 900ft in the cave, this is going on on more or less daily basis despite all our efforts to inform LDS and install warning signs.
This is one of many many dives like this, only this time someone filmed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCJta80tEsA&NR=1
Unsuspecting OW clients who know nothing about the dangers of overhead diving are signing up with theses shops and think it is safe to dive in El Chicho and are trusting they're lives to irresponsible instructors who totally disregard any established safety guidelines.
We need to do something as they have ignored us so far.
I have informed PADI of this problem repeatedly and they were not willing to even send an email reminding the LDS's of the limitation of cavern and cave, PADI's response was and I quote
"if these instructors are not taking OW clients as part of a PADI sanctioned course we can do nothing"
Yes they can! but they choose not to!
We were not asking PADI to assign blame or even reprimand the dive shops, we were simply asking PADI to remind the dive shops here, of the established safety guidelines pertaining to overhead diving, nothing more.
I think if it were coming from PADI the dive shops would definitely listen and maybe stop this.
We are asking for your help in this matter, you are the safety officers and directors of the established cave diving training agencies and as such we are asking you to help us make the cave diving safety message heard.
The training agencies can make a real difference, and hopefully prevent a tragic accident that under the current situation is only a matter of time.
No one in the DR cares about this and part of the problem with the Bayahibe dive shops at least is that to them we are just a group of annoying cave divers, so although we made every effort in this matter they choose to ignore us, ignore the warning signs and continue these unsafe practices.
However if the cave diving training agencies would agree to sign the attached letter or attach they're own, it would carry much more weight, so to speak, and I think it would make a real difference with the dive shops here and get the message across.
At worse it could not hurt to try and at best it could save an innocent victims's life, however the worse thing we can do is nothing so please help us out.
If there is anything you feel we should add, change or delete we will do so.
We sincerely hope that you will lend us a hand and agree to sign this letter, if you would prefer writing and signing your own letter outlining your respective agencies safety guidelines that we could then distribute to the various dive shops that would be great too maybe even better.
Thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing from you in the near future.
Best regards
Phillip Lehman
Below the actual letter to the dive shops
__________________________________________________ _________
Domincan republic Speleological Society
An Open Letter to Dive Shops and Training Centers
It has come to our attention that some dive centers and schools who are leading guided dives with clients to some of the following caves Manatial d’El Chicho in Bayahibe, Cueva Taina in Santo Domingo, Hoyo de Floro in Macao, have been exceeding recognized and well established recreational and cavern dive limits.
All certification agencies worldwide are very clear on the differences between Cavern Diving and Cave Diving, who is qualified to lead and teach Cavern and Cave Diving, and the prerequisites for participation in such tours and training.
Cavern Diving limits are:
1. Daylight and free ascent zone of cavern
2. 40 Meters/130 ft. linear distance from surface. Some orgs say 60 Meters/200 ft.
3. Maximum depth not to exceed 21 Meters/70 ft. Some orgs say 30 Meters/100 ft.
In addition, the cavern tour leader is to have at least Divemaster and full cave certifications and be wearing full cave gear. Further, all tour participants are to carry equipment for a cavern dive, which includes reels and lights. Finally, the dive team must deploy a reel from the exit providing a continuous guideline to follow in case visibility is accidently lost allowing all divers to exit the cave safely.
It is of the utmost importance that you understand that:
NO AMOUNT OF PREVIOUS OPENWATER DIVING EXPERIENCE OR TRAINING CAN ADEQUATELY PREPARE YOU FOR CAVE DIVING.
We also would like to point out that clients who sign up for a guided cave dive are assuming that it is safe to do so and that the guide is adequately trained and qualified to guide the dive. This is not always the case and this practice is far from safe!!!
Diving past the day light zone or 40 meters from the exit, with no formal Cave Diving training and Cave Diving equipment it is extremely dangerous and it is only a matter of time before someone dies.
Our purpose is not to assign blame. Rather, case some light on and provide information about the dangers of Cave Diving without proper training and equipment. There have been of over 400 deaths in caves, almost all of which were untrained divers in caves exactly like thoses. We have attached a few typical cave diving accident reports for you to read.
In all cave diving areas of the world there are warning signs such as the one printed on the following page. These signs are placed in an appropriate location in the cavern zone and before the cave zone to warn untrained divers of the dangers of Cave Diving. To help avoid any unnecessary deaths and accidents in the island’s caves, we will be placing such warning signs in all caves and also starting an information program design to inform schools and divers of the dangers of Cave Diving without proper training and equipment.
Please note that such warning signs are in place in all Bayahibe area caves.
This is a recommendation. If after reading this letter you choose to ignore the potential dangers involved in Cave Diving, and you still intend to dive past the limit, please do so on your own; do not bring clients with you. They are putting all they’re trust and they’re lives in your hands. We urge you to take this warning seriously; with the current situation it is only a matter of time before someone dies in these caves, let it not be you or one of you customer.
Thank you
