Guy James TN

[skip]

Steve from Kentucky pm'd and we arranged a dive for today, monday. I was out checking conditions a few days ago and the water looked clear. Today the basin was as clear as I've ever seen it. We were two happy divers gearing up, talking about the last time we'd been diving in guy-james, how the rains had kept us out. We each took a stage, thinking with the viz so excellent we'd want a nice long dive.

As we discussed the dive plan in the water and compared psi/cf, we didn't really see the need for a line. we could easily swim to where the mainline began. I decided we best go ahead and run a line from open water; you can never tell what might happen.

As we went the viz was amazing, best I've ever seen, but then it just went down to almost nothing. The stop sign was blown over and out of position and there was no line attached to it (as best I could make out in such poor viz). A concrete block was tied to the stop sign with the line tied to the block and there was no block! I searched for it and couldn't find it, called the dive, and we returned to the stop sign, where I "uncalled" the dive and searched off the other side and found the block and tied in. Returning to pick up steve at the stop sign I signalled that we were good to go, guideline in place.

The viz slowy got worse. Down to a foot or less. Everything was covered in deep fine silt and with the line on the floor you couldn't follow it without silting out the cave. But this cave is often poor viz the first few hundred feet and then clears up real nice, so we kept going. Then the mainline became totally slack and I pulled in 10 feet of loose line. It tightened up a bit so I went on and fount the T that marked the super-silty side passage. I went on up the hill where all the stakes holding the line were gone (all but one). Then just ahead the viz broke wide open and I could see again! 10-15 feet of clear water!

But where was steve? I cupped my light, but he was nowhere to be found. I turned to go back along the line, back into that muck of no viz. The line was totally slack and like wet spaghetti it looped and twisted every which way. I had to follow it slow and careful using both hands. Then I bumped into Steve! The viz was so bad that the only way to see your buddy's light was if it was pointed directly at you from a foot away. He had lost the line and was waiting patiently for my return. I placed the line in his hand, and placed my thumbs up in his hand too.

We headed out, back through the no-viz muck that was now even worse than on the journey in. I had the line in my hands, but I couldn't see it at all. Then the bottom sloped up, and up, and we were in clear water! We'd gone the wrong way and was headed into the cave, not out! It's real easy to get turned around on a slack line in no viz. We enjoyed the view for a few minutes. I had almost decided to just go and do the dive, but then the thought of getting out from 500 feet in through slack line and no viz convinced me we best use all our gas to get out, and no more going further in. Steve agreed.

Steve led us out and when we got back to the T (which we couldn't see at all), he got all wrapped up in the white line (the T line). I kept pushing him forward, but he refused to budge. Finally it occurred to me that he must be hung up so I began feeling all over his body and sure enough line was tight and wrapped up in his tanks. It didn't take long to cut him free and he was gone. I swam on along the line hoping he was in front of me, but then thought maybe he wasn't. Maybe he swam back into the cave in the post-entanglement cluster f**k. I turned and went back. back to where the T used to be, back to the hill, but no steve there. Surely he would have waited on me in the clear viz at the top of the hill or turned to come out.

I lost my buddy. What would I tell his wife? Who would I call to come help with a body recovery? Why didn't we call the dive when we found the viz so bad? Or when the mainline was found to be so slack?

I turned and decided I had no choice but to swim back along the line searching for him. I swam and swam, cupping my light every few fin kicks and looking around, peering through the intense dark. If I turned my head just so I could see a faint glow from behind me, but it always seemed behind me, even when I turned 180... my back up light was on! Dang. well, best to keep it on in this viz, it may offer steve some chance of finding me if he comes up behind me.

On I swim and then I get kicked in the head with a fin! Steve! He's been slowly following the line out this whole time. I sigh relief. We are on the mainline. We are going out and for the first time in a very long time I think we might make it out ok.

And we did.

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[B-Bob]

One heck of a story. Thanks for shareing it. From that we all learn.

[huxley]

glad you guys made it out

[WJH]

Thankfully you are well trained and even headed. I will continue to allow you to dive with me.

Thanks for the report!

WJH

[FW]

Skip, you should put that in an IRAP. Glad you guys are OK. I have had those same thoughts pass through my head, when I loose track of a buddy in a siltout.

[skip]

Forrest, I copied and pasted to IRAP, so you can remove it from here if you wish.

skip

[FW]

Forrest, I copied and pasted to IRAP, so you can remove it from here if you wish.

skip

It is fine here. It will get lost eventually, since there are a lot more dive reports, than IRAPs.

[Wizard]

Skip, what the total run time? I'm sure it seemed like you were in there for 3-4 hours. Cudos for keeping your s*** together!

Sounds like it needs a line overhaul.

[skip]

It did seem like a long time, but it was 47 minutes, max depth of 20 feet!

skip

[steve2281]

I won't run thru the whole dive. My memory of the sequence of events is very similar but not exactly the same as Skips. Just a couple of obersvations.

In hindsight: I should have made better mental notes on the condition of the gold line as we started the dive. eg Start of gold line was tied to a concrete block; line was intact and well wrapped to large rocks on the bottom for a couple hundred feet. WE HAD A GOOD LINE BEHIND US. When the line went slack and was laying all over the place half buried in silt, I think one of us should have pulled the line tight as we swam and looked for a rock or something to take up the slack.

We can always second guess ourselves on whether the conditions were too bad to start the dive. I don't think so. Yes, it was 1-2' vis, but we were expecting the vis to improve just a few hundred ft in. If we had had a good line to OK back to the clear water, I think the dive would had gone without incident. We've done it before; the vis is always bad the first 300'.

Turn the dive when the line went slack?? Yeah, probably the best idea. OKing a slack line half buried in silt with a two hand method, swimming 6" off a silty bottom, in zero vis, separated from buddy was something I had never done.

Also, trying to find a lost line that I KNEW was a few inches from my face, but I couldn't see anything or feel it leads to feelings of despair and hopelessness. Sure good to have a buddy to put that line back in your hand and hold your hand a minute or two.

Sure was good to see daylight. A learning experience for sure. I think, though, I've learned enough this week; I believe I'll stay dry a week or two.

Thanks Skip