How often do you run a line?

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Originally Posted by aainslie

Agreed guys (and gals!). And those would be good days to run a line. That's exactly what a lot of divers do - there are sensible days to run and sensible ones NOT to.

What worries me is this type of scenario - a new diver sees a few teams not putting lines in on a pumping day. So they say "Oh - no one puts lines in here. Cool!". Next trip, 3 months later, it's reversed and tannic. They don't put a line in, and try to follow the RH wall, and end up lost in Catfish Alley. That would suck. But since they ONLY learn quietly and with no guidance, they come to think it's ALWAYS cool to not run a line.

That's the problem. People are learning from otehr divers' actions but not from conversations with them. So they end up doing stupid stuff.

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I agree and not to seem annoying but if you always run a line then that problem is a non issue.
I do not think that running a line or not should depend on cave conditions, I think you should be prepared for the worse and make it routine a routine procedure to run a line, like doing thorough bubble checks, that's super easy and should be a routine thing too.
Although very unlikely the conditions could change during a dive, you could be doing a long dive and a dive team seriously silts out a passage or jump etc..
I did a dive once, ran a line form the entrance as always and went off, when I got back near the entrance viz went to almost zero, turns out there was a really big thunderstorm and the rain dumped allot of mud and silt near the entrance. Could have been a bit of a problem but was a non issue, cause I had a line.
Now I know nothing of cave conditions in FL and how they could or could not change, but why not assume the worst since it really costs nothing to add a line other than a few extra minutes of your time, and carrying a few extra reels.
I dunno, just a thought...

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Originally Posted by phillip1

I did a dive once, ran a line form the entrance as always and went off, when I got back near the entrance viz went to almost zero, turns out there was a really big thunderstorm and the rain dumped allot of mud and silt near the entrance. Could have been a bit of a problem but was a non issue, cause I had a line.
Now I know nothing of cave conditions in FL and how they could or could not change, but why not assume the worst since it really costs nothing to add a line other than a few extra minutes of your time, and carrying a few extra reels.
I dunno, just a thought...

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That can happen in FL too. I have seen the head pools at Peacock, Little River, and Telford have extremely reduced visibility due to thunderstorms.

So were doing this for the sake of some inquisitive and intellectual people that have been around a couple of years who want to know … exactly what? Change the rules ?? Furget about it !!

+ on the problems caused by poor assumptions. I work with too many attorneys and statisticians who start with assumptions that really don't accruately reflect the real world, and they get irratable when you point out that their data and or assumptions are badly flawed.

I often refer to the advantages of cave diving as it quickly kills those who rely on poor assumptions or making incorrect assumptions based on flawed or over aggragated data. If the same thing happened in DC, we'd have infinitely more effective government in about 6 months once Darwin had a good crack at it.