cave diving etiquette

[Jason B.]

So I'm diving Devils Eye yesterday. As we are on our way out (exiting team) we meet another team that is coming in...they plow right on past us as if we were not even there. When I get to my primary tie off, these $%^#heads had their primary tie off right on top of mine.

What happen to cave diving etiquette?

[Caver95]

you should have cut their line, and kicked someass.

[CaptainSpeleo]

Jason B:

In 1989, I was making a night dive inside Devil's Ear and had tied the primary line to the log in the basin. On the way back out from The Lips, a pair of divers passed me on scooters. As I was reeling back out, I discovered that the end of the line was tied in a big wad to a rock projection on the deco shelf inside the cavern. There was no light filtering down into the cavern entrance/exit to show the way out. Only by knowing where it was at was I able to exit safely.

I was fairly new to the cave system at that time, so running a line from the log was normal procedure for me. This procedure has since pretty much been abandoned by cave divers. A tieoff is now made on the deco shelf, or else a visual swim is made to the start of the permanent line just beyond the cavern zone.

[Angie Reim]

Jason B:
I was fairly new to the cave system at that time, so running a line from the log was normal procedure for me. This procedure has since pretty much been abandoned by cave divers. A tieoff is now made on the deco shelf, or else a visual swim is made to the start of the permanent line just beyond the cavern zone.

Only at that site (the Ear), in that system. There are times that running a line from that log could be more dangerous to exiting divers than not having one is to the entering diver. Entanglement hazard in high flow. I would still run a line just inside the cavern zone if you are not familiar with the system. There's probably a rock tieoff somewhere just inside the entrance restriction. Dive during the day so you are guaranteed some ambient light from the entrance.

However, there is no good excuse for not yielding to exiting divers. It's a serious symptom of tunnel vision and/or stupidity.

[CaptainSpeleo]

I haven't run a reel to the start of the permanent line ever since it was moved back from just beyond The Lips to just beyond the cavern zone.

I wholeheartedly agree that running a reel from the log in the spring basin is an entanglement hazard. That was the procedure with most divers 16 years ago, but not anymore, especially with the wide-spread use of scooters in there now.

[Anonymous]

My buddy and I are both intro divers and we both had a similiar incident about two months ago. We were diving the ear and were enjoying a relaxed dive preparing to exit when two divers blew by us on scooters, maybe a little more than 125 feet inside the cave. My buddy I looked at each other and of course yielded to them since they were in such a hurry. When we were trained it was drilled into us that the exiting divers had the right of way, since the exiting divers may have pressing air issues. I hope this is not the start of trend but as stated "tunnel vision" (cave diving, ha ha ha ha!!!) since the mayhem that would ensue would result in an injury.





Live like it were impossible to fail and it will be. Gasman

[Angie Reim]

I haven't run a reel to the start of the permanent line ever since it was moved back from just beyond The Lips to just beyond the cavern zone.

I wholeheartedly agree that running a reel from the log in the spring basin is an entanglement hazard. That was the procedure with most divers 16 years ago, but not anymore, especially with the wide-spread use of scooters in there now.

Yeah. I wouldn't either but I'm familiar with the cave. I like to do the Eye. More room to maneuver around people and easy to just slide sideways down into the cave in sidemount. I think the Ear is easier in backmount. I don't know about 'no scooter' stuff.

Disclaimer: BTW FWIW - a diver CAN easily get lost exiting by way of the Eye so know where you are going or you had better run that line. There's good reason it's called the Catacombs.

[CaptainSpeleo]

Gasman:

The tunnel between the cavern room and "The Lips" restriction is pretty large, so dive teams going in opposite directions aren't really going to hinder each other. There's really no reason for a scooter team to come to a complete stop while a swimming team exits by them. They just need to give each other a wide berth.

[MikeH]

My buddy and I are both intro divers and we both had a similiar incident about two months ago. We were diving the ear and were enjoying a relaxed dive preparing to exit when two divers blew by us on scooters, maybe a little more than 125 feet inside the cave. My buddy I looked at each other and of course yielded to them since they were in such a hurry. When we were trained it was drilled into us that the exiting divers had the right of way, since the exiting divers may have pressing air issues. I hope this is not the start of trend but as stated "tunnel vision" (cave diving, ha ha ha ha!!!) since the mayhem that would ensue would result in an injury.

The gallery area(the are you are referring to) is HUGE. There is no reason that multiple teams can't pass each other going opposite directions without slowing down and/or having to yield to the other team. I have passed other teams MANY times in there without ever slowing down....some of them going the opposite direction, some of them I was passing while going the same direction and I was scootering.

Now, if a couple of you are smack in the middle of that big tunnel, there might be an issue with other teams. Plus, you said you were "preparing to exit". If you were not yet facing and swimming out, they may have thought you were headed in too.

Mike

[Tegg]

maybe instead of a signal book, what really needs to happen is an etiquette class at the next conferences, all 3 major cave organizations need one... especially the one with the most ginnie "i'm a badass" divers.