how much do you rely on the gold/main line?

I have no idea why this thought has started to enter my mind, especially when I'm in the caves BUT, it has.

Here's the formula:
cave diver diving in cave + summertime (lots of people at the parks) + alcohol + irresponsibility + someone who doesn't understand the ramifications of his/her actions = some potentially very lost cave divers (my g-d, repeat offenders?).

Here's the scenario:
Beautiful summer day, lots of people at Ginnie or JB or Peacock or OG or any place people go to swim and maybe add drink, especially those who think it's cool and funny to do things to impress their friends, no matter the cost. There are absolutely lulls in cave divers entering the caves. So, picture 15:00 and all the cavers have entered the caves. Enter someone really drunk or really irresponsible who thinks it might be really fun to swim in a little and cut the line. Heck, it could even be 200 feet away from the start of the main line. Even without gear, one could easily swim that distance. In some caves, I suppose it won't matter much but in others, it could.

Again, I don't know why the thought has crossed my mind recently. I don't know if it's unlikely to ever happen or the risk of it happening. I know the gold line starts inside the cave in some places a ways to help avoid these types of shenanigans but have you given thought to the possibility? How do we avoid this?
Maybe it's a ridiculous question, an unreasonable or irrational thought (I'm not overcome by it), etc, but I can't imagine I'm the only one who ever thought of the possibility....and the results could so easily be disastrous.

There's no way to get to the gold line in JB or Ginnie without scuba gear. Maybe a world class snorkeler, but not some random drunk.

"...or Peacock or OG or any place people go to swim and maybe add drink, especially thos..."
ok JB or Ginnie but what about all the hundreds of other caves?

Yes, I worry about drunk locals cutting the gold line all the time.
I also worry about:
Drunk locals with shoe bombs
Drunk locals defurring all of my cats
Drunk locals dynamiting the mouth of the cave closed.
Drunk locals getting elected to congress
Drunk locals stealing my Yodelin Andy and Boxcar Willie records
Sludge - I worry about him all the time (He just looks like he could be a drunk local)
Exploding hamsters - the dreams I have of these (the horror, the horror)
Republicans, they scare the hell out of me
Democrats, they scare the hell out of me
Weird Al Yankovic (I cant be the only one he creeps out)

In other words, don't you have anything better to worry about ?

Unless someone cut the line in a syphon, it would still point the way out because of the current.

true, FW, but depends how far they go and if there is current (think Peacock or Mexico).

It's a concern I've had and was discussing once with a buddy. I see people going further and further in the caves from outside the caves who don't seem to have the proper training and frankly even someone who isn't drunk who thinks it's funny. The question is not about how it happens - a panicked diver inside a cave could get snared in the line and snap it (or deliberately cut it to untangle him or herself) and the question is about how much reliance on the line, navigation, etc....single continuous line to the surface gets compromised....someone could be at 1000' and so on....

Its one of the reasons we place a secondary tie-off, not sure anyone's gonna swim a significant distance into the cave an still make it out on a breath hold :)

Even at Peacock, which you mentioned, the gold line ties off several times going into the cave. So if a drunk manages to cut the line near the opening, it doesn't much matter. The line tie offs will hold the gold line most of the way. On the Olsen side, you'll at least get to the sign where the line ties off (past the vertical fissure) & on the peanut side the same thing. Line ties into the sign. In Orange Grove, your hypothetical drunk will have a hell of time getting to the line, seeing as it starts at the Witches Cauldron. If he does get there, he ain't gettin' out.

My opinion, such a scenario is not worth worrying about.

I agree 100% Mat, no doubt. question is if it's far up the line such as a snag....the gold line is a small, relatively thin line that could be compromised. Maybe I didn't do a good job of framing my question.

Gas reserves, Safety reels, and training on how to use them are there to mitigate this and other problems. In my opinion, pretty much a non issue. Even if it did happen to me I feel confident that I could safely resolve the problem. Actually this would probably be easier to resolve than a broken line deep in a cave.

Mark Vlahos

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Originally Posted by whodunit68

I agree 100% Mat, no doubt. question is if it's far up the line such as a snag....the gold line is a small, relatively thin line that could be compromised. Maybe I didn't do a good job of framing my question.

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It may seem thin, but its not that thin. Gold line can handle a fair amount of abuse. If someone entangles deep in the cave, most likely they will pull the line off of its tie offs but it will still be continuous.

If someone does cut it, most likely it will be hanging free for a few hundred feet until the next tie off. If that.

Your cave training should have covered what to do in such a scenario. That's what safety reels are for. In places like Ginnie or Peacock, where you are in a fairly obvious tunnel such as Olsen, you should be able to tie off, follow the tunnel and tie in to the broken line once you encounter it in the tunnel.

thanks....also mentioned the possibility deep within a cave. that's why I clearly didn't frame it properly but entirely possible with someone cutting a line. bottom line is we all talk about redundancy all the time and there's only 1 main line. The tie-offs at Peacock and other caves help mitigate the potential risk, agreed. Anyhow, I see the recurring theme that most of you don't think it's much an issue so I'm good, thanks.
Thank you to most of you for your feedback.

I have similar scary thoughts,,,,it involves having my hoses cut in half by oversized crawfish in JB and another one where Howdy Doody jumps out from behind a rock and gets me all tangled up in his puppet strings.

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Originally Posted by CrawDaddy

It may seem thin, but its not that thin. Gold line can handle a fair amount of abuse. If someone entangles deep in the cave, most likely they will pull the line off of its tie offs but it will still be continuous.

If someone does cut it, most likely it will be hanging free for a few hundred feet until the next tie off. If that.

Your cave training should have covered what to do in such a scenario. That's what safety reels are for. In places like Ginnie or Peacock, where you are in a fairly obvious tunnel such as Olsen, you should be able to tie off, follow the tunnel and tie in to the broken line once you encounter it in the tunnel.

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fair points and my training certainly covered that well and I'm comfortable with safety reels, not pushing limits, etc.
Thanks again.

welcome person with a grand total of 2 posts who has nothing to add.

OK whodunit68, how about this, how would the drunk find his way out, if a trained cavediver couldn't? For that matter, how would the drunk find his way in, beyond the daylight zone, that any cavediver could easily see from the end of the cut line? :roll:

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Originally Posted by whodunit68

thanks....also mentioned the possibility deep within a cave. that's why I clearly didn't frame it properly but entirely possible with someone cutting a line. bottom line is we all talk about redundancy all the time and there's only 1 main line. The tie-offs at Peacock and other caves help mitigate the potential risk, agreed. Anyhow, I see the recurring theme that most of you don't think it's much an issue so I'm good, thanks.
Thank you to most of you for your feedback.

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According to a lot of people, the goldline IS the *backup* navigation. That isn't always so for all caveline. Goldline is only used in popular caves, generally with good visibility. If the line breaks in a silty low visibility cave, you are going to have to pull out a safety, and go looking for the broken end.

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Originally Posted by whodunit68

welcome person with a grand total of 2 posts who has nothing to add.

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Careful Steve, we didn't pick on you, when you only had 2 posts :-)

Welcome to the forum JamieZ!

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Originally Posted by OFG-1

Sludge - I worry about him all the time

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Be afwaid. Be vewy, vewy afwaid.