What'sThe"Right"ThingToDo?

[Dominick Gheesling]

So, this time I am curious as to what people think about line verification specifically in the following conditions:

1. Diving in a familiar system that has not had any diving activity for quite some time. The Line is mid-water, electric-blue visibility, in a tunnel that is at least 20' in diameter and due to the lack of diving activity in the system has collected a solid 1/2 of silt on top of the line. Do you tap/pop the line to clear the silt off, do you do everything possible to avoid touching the line, or does this not even appear on your radar when diving?

2. Diving Lower Orange Grove, great visibility, swimming the circuit, lead diver in the team, you notice the circuit line occasionally dipping under the super-fine pillow of siltsplosion along the circuit. It only dips under for a foot or two where you can see both where it goes under and returns to the silt surface and you can see that there is tension on the line. Do you gently pull the line from under the silt to verify, leave the line alone to minimize silt in the water column, or this not even appear on your radar when diving?

[sam]

1. No don?t touch
2. Since you can see both ends and looks tight, leave it be. That tunnel is going to get dusty no matter what so no need to make it worse.


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[billb]

I was taught (years ago) to pull the line out of the silt
to verify it is not broken or hiding a tee

[WEPIV]

I was taught (years ago) to pull the line out of the silt
to verify it is not broken or hiding a tee

Yes, the time I was down in Lower, lower Orange, doing that circuit, the line was under the silt a lot, and I wanted to see it, so I pulled it up as I swam along. I was number two in a two man team and we were using trimix. Even so, I turned us before we had completed the circuit. My dive partner said I had the wide-eye look. I was ready to see daylight in the cavern.

[rddvet]

If it wont compromise visibility severely i?ll pull it out. If it will I leave it and if its a long enough section I?ll tie in a jump to gap it.
My first duty is to ensure my team is safe. So the line stays if I?m going to create a minimum or no viz exit


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[LMN]

Back in Twin there?s a spot where the line goes over a mound of silt and the passage is taller to the right of the mound. First time I went there the line was buried in the mound, and since going over the mound would have been really tight, I chose to go around to the right. I could see the line coming out of the mound about 10-20ft ahead, so no big deal. Sure thing, coming back and having a different view of the passage, I came to the mound and the buried line, only to clearly see a line coming out of the mound and going to the right. I was quite surprised initially, then I realized I missed a T going in . Not an issue since the vis was good but it could?ve been a problem if poor vis. Since then I gently pull all the lines I don?t know out of the silt to confirm there is actually a continuous line and not missing a T or a broken line. I would not however ?dust off? lines I can clearly see in mid-water.

[bamafan]

I would pull it up. Sand and silt can often shift in a cave. If the line is tied off under the the mound you might not be able to verify it is continuous on the way out. I have been in systems where this happens due to percolating from the lack of people diving the system. Also if you are in a saltwater cave especially check the line as you go. The saltwater makes them deteriorate and I have seen a hundred feet of line suddenly break into little pieces with just a mild touch.

[Diverlee]

Anderson has many areas where the line goes into the bottom. Many of them you are not able to pull out. Since the line can not be verified there are also many ?gap? lines to make one continuous line. I always find it kind of scary in zero vis when your ok-ing the line and it ends in the dirt.


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[kmev]

If I am not intimately familiar with the system, all lines are pulled out of the silt (or gapped if the silt is too deep). If there is a pile of silt on a suspended line, I give it a twang to check line integrity (and it dislodges the silt).

[ARY]

I would clean mossy line. Sometimes old lines are no longer strong enough for purpose. I've had once a not nylon line that simply disintegrated in my hands. River caves have lines berried by dynamic sand mounds and people run gap connections over them or there are even parallel lines. In well travelled system they should be cleaned and replaced IMHO.