Sixth Sense

[Aktun]

I've had a few problems in caves (thankfully only a few), but not one was preceded by a "feeling." In fact in all three cases everything was just fine until the s**t hit the fan! where was that spooking feeling then?

-skip

Remember what Mr Skiles said.

"The Voice Of Ambition, The Voice Of Caution"

Even when Skiles dives solo, he's never completely alone. There are always two voices running through his head: the voice of ambition and the voice of caution. One voice pushes him to make more discoveries. The other prevents him from plunging into the abyss. With every dive that he makes, Skiles faces a critical choice: He must decide which of those voices to heed. The answer isn't always clear".

"You have to judge the motivations of each voice," he says. "You have to ask yourself, Why is the 'don't go' voice so loud today? Is it because my problem-solving skills aren't as sharp as they should be? Or is that voice just a defensive mechanism, and if I ignore it, I'll have a great dive? When you call a dive, you never know whether you did the right thing. But there's one thing that I do know: If THE SAFETY VOICE ISN'T THERE, SOMETHING IS WRONG. I've got to make myself slow down and give the dive proper consideration"

[stairman]

I have never dove under the influence of anything,but can only imagine how someone whos had a few drinks may feel invincible,however someone on say pot,which makes you think more of your own awareness[so ive been told]may spook you temporarily,and that might be a good thing.A clear head to deal with any unforseen problems is ,of course,important.Personally I dont care for Peacock III,but I may be fine with it next time who knows.

[MengTze]

For some 'EGO' by itself is enough to push through and ignore all other calls; internal or external.

[fixxervi6]

I've turned dives on hungry (turn signal and point to stomach)

Got the willies in akumal, shallow cave, avg depth 12 feet and it was an hour into the dive, and was still swimming in, no flow, it dawned on me how far away from air I was and I had to talk myself down, funny thing is that never crosses my mind in florida.

Turned solo dives on the "this is far enough" factor

Usually what keeps me out of the water before a dive is

dehydration, didn't like the dive plan, don't like the team member(s), lack of sleep etc, never had the "voice says don't go" before a dive. I just get the feelings of I can do this dive, but I'm probably better off if I don't because of factors X, Y or Z

[roguediver]

The book "The Gift of Fear" by Gavin De Becker.

It is all about why and how we have the feelings we do.

And why we should listen to them.

Rogue

[SuPrBuGmAn]

Mat - Don't buy a rebreather. You'll never get your monies worth out of it!

LOL! Not a problem, I don't forsee ever having the monies to put into it!

[LCF]

I think cave diving really focuses these things and makes them more intense.

I'm just a baby cave diver, but I had the experience in Jackson Blue a couple of weeks ago of turning a dive because I just didn't want to be there any more. A lot of little things, nothing major, but I just wanted to go home. It was a surprisingly difficult thing to do -- I kept thinking my buddies were going to be irked with me (and I suspect they were, but they hid it pretty well.)

For those of you who have turned dives on a feeling you couldn't put your finger on, did you get any grief from your companions, or did they understand?

[MengTze]

...
For those of you who have turned dives on a feeling you couldn't put your finger on, did you get any grief from your companions, or did they understand?

I got some 'banter type' of grief ("Oh, were your little legs tired?', "Was that hole too dark for you?"), but -and this is a rule we live by- any diver can call any dive at any time for any reason. Under the water there was never a question/ comments. Afterwards a question as to why is normal I think. 'Just did not want to be there anymore' is a valid reason and always accepted.

[MengTze]

....
Turned solo dives on the "this is far enough" factor

...

I know what you mean.

[Sludge]

I once turned a dive because I had to pee really, really, really, really bad. (Semi-dry suit, and trust me, it was as dry as a drysuit.) My friend Robert let me hear about that for a WHILE.

In hindsight, I should have lied and said I was feeling spooked. He wouldn't have had a problem with that at all.