Solo Diving in FL State Parks

[OutlawCaver]

Darden Davis came to me the last day of the 1990 NSS-CDS workshop and asked me what dive circuit he could make the next day at Peacock. He told me he made many dives there and was looking for something different. I mapped out the short circuit upstream Olsen to Crossover and exit on downstream side. At that time it required 4 gaps but was only about a 1000ft circuit. He drowned the next day doing my suggested circuit. Because of this incident they banned solo diving at Peacock and 26 years later I rarely recommend a dive to anyone.

[w ripley]

Hard to believe I started this thread 4-1/2 years ago and nothing seems to have changed. All I know is that there are a lot of solo cave divers out there. No, let me say that there are a lot of SAFE solo cave divers out there. I still think it will come down to cave certifying agencies offering "solo cave diver" cards, and the state parks won't think twice about it.

Oh well, let's see where we are 4-1/2 years from now.

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I don't get this. I have been cave diving for almost twenty years, and TWO personal friends have died cave diving. Both were determined to be heart attacks. So they could have been playing golf and they'd be just as dead.

For me it's been 4 personal friends, in caves, and none were heart attacks - simple rule violations because they let ego get in the way. My dad had a heart attack while playing golf and lived another 7 years. I don't think he'd be alive today if it happened while cave diving. My buddy had a heart attack in his car and another one in Wal-Mart. All three survived after stints in the hospital. Again, no likely in a cave.

And before I get accused of being a death rod, I was not present at the time for any of them - cave divers or heart attacks. The longer you live the shorter that contact list gets, if you are one of the lucky ones that is!

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