Is the arrow in JB like the bottom one in my picture? Those were a pain, and couldn't even be put on a taught line. You had to grab a bite of line, and push the loop through the hole, and pull it around the arrow. Yes, the tape sticks to itself very well underwater. And yes, you pre cut the arrows.Originally Posted by bamafan
Last edited by FW; 04-23-2018 at 10:51 AM.
That looks like it. Thanks for the trivia.
A handful or so years ago there used to be a lot of old line in JB near Kitty, including some with Dorf markers. I remember on one dive the line broke behind us and we didn't realize it for a couple hundred feet or so. That was interesting.
Rule of thumb when diving river cave with old line, don't be overly aggressive with line. We would never leave stages on line, but make a staging area and run a reel to it.
"Not all change is improvement...but all improvement is change" Donald Berwick
If you are diving a saltwater cave be very careful. I have seen line in the caves on Cozumel that completely deteriorated in 4 to 5 years. It is a bad feeling to put a marker on a line and have it just disentegrate.
Adding to what Kelly said, any time you are diving an old line in a seldom visited passage be very careful not to tug on the line. Nylon line stretches in water and stretches more as it deteriorates, so loose lines are the norm. But some of those lines were laid loose to start with as the weathered limestone that has not been brushed off by diver traffic is not much harder than peanut butter to a depth of a 1/2 or more, and a 3 or 4 inch projection is often not enough to support a tight guideline.
NACD Cave DPV Cert # 666: Cave DPV Anti-christ
We have not dove Kitty in a few years, so I can't comment on current line condition, but the lines there were interesting in a few ways.
1) There were some wonderful old lines there with Dorf markers, obviously laid back when it was being explored, as well as old cave arrows.
2) One of the lines there had clothes pins on it that were directional in that they were all placed on the exit side of line placements.
3) There were at least three different distance measuring systems in use, obviously from at least three different entrances, so you really needed to rely on your own navigation.
I was asked about my thoughts on a possible relining project, and I was ambivalent. On the one hand relining it with a more standardized system made sense in terms of newer divers. But on the other hand, Kitty is jyst enough off the beaten track that not many newly minted cave divers go there, and I like the more or less living history of the old lines in there.
NACD Cave DPV Cert # 666: Cave DPV Anti-christ
Was this near the Deep Section?
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[QUOTE=Draker;340989]Was this near the Deep Section?
It's been a handful of years but I recall it being down a passageway from Kitty with a depth of maybe 35 or 40 feet...? Can't really remember but there was an open room area we came to when we looked back and saw no line! We were able to retrace our swim though and we did tie in to the existing line once we realized what happened. I remember most all of those tunnels being shallow and with somewhat lower vis.
Gene, Draker was making a joke because you said JB, when obvioulsy you meant LB.
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