To the Sidemount Diver at Ginnie...

[UCFKnightDiver]

So is there any...ANY! movement to educate or train these idiots?
FWIW: I am tired of reading posts about morons in our caves, It seems time to do "something".

Is there anything done by the NSS or NACD to insure training is "complete"?

the NACD had that Spring Into Safe Cave Diving event a couple weeks ago. So people could review skills with an instructor and go on a dive with one. I did it and thought it was well worth my time and the 10 dollars I paid, there was maybe 20-25 people there, and they are going to try and make this an annual event, maybe there will be more intrest in the future.

[Cindy]

My instructor pointed out to me that no matter how well he taught me to cave dive it was my responsibility to carry on from there. No instructor can be there every time you dive. It's a self motivation sport, you do it wrong, you die. For some reason that point gets missed a lot. Adults are responsible for their own actions, educations, etc.

Safety days like the one the NACD just had are fantastic for people who don't get to dive much. One of the major problems with living away from caves is the lack of practice and it's good to see something provided. Not unlike the scuba refresher courses several of my open water friends have taken over the years. I'm glad it's finally becoming a thing in cave diving. Most of my out of town friends tend to get in the water with more experienced divers in caves they know and do some short "shake down" dives prior to doing any "Big" dives on their vacations. I do the same thing when I have been out of the water for any length of time.

I have a lot of cave dives and still can't call myself complete. I still learn, still take classes, still go to seminars to learn more. I'm not a big believer in expecting others to make sure I am Complete. A full cave card just means you have been taught the basics. You would have to diver years to be a complete competent cave diver. No instructor or agency in the world can do that for you.

Now if you want to get into the debate about what agency can insure that you are a "complete" cave diver we need to include the GUE, IANTD, etc folks. No fair playing favorites. Of course you will not get any significant answers. Just the same "we done taught you right, now go out there, obey the rules, take responsibility for yourself and your buddies, swim a lot, do for yourself" stuff. Stop expecting everyone in the world to "watch out" for you. Cindy

[aainslie]

Just to be clear.

Ben was THANKING some divers for being POLITE.

You do all get that, right?

Man, how did a thank you note end up with all the other train wreck of "why all cave divers except me suck" threads?

[OneBrightGator]

...sigh...

Seriously folks, everything in the original post is the truth. A factual description of the event that transpired.

Personally, I haven't run into anyone blocking my exit from a cave in some time.

[Cindy]

Just to be clear.

Ben was THANKING some divers for being POLITE.

You do all get that, right?

Man, how did a thank you note end up with all the other train wreck of "why all cave divers except me suck" threads?

I think that was sarcasm. All cave diving threads end up "all cave divers except me suck".... even yours big guy..

Playing nice is great. No signs in the cave, no cops. Every diver has to be good or they find out at the surface why. Never thought I had to thank people for doing what's right before.

Polite in a cave is nice. Frankly it's never been a problem for me. People either behave or I smack them to one side. LOL. Cindy

Oh yeah, I almost forgot.........you suck and I'm a better diver...

[aainslie]

I think that was sarcasm. All cave diving threads end up "all cave divers except me suck".... even yours big guy..

Playing nice is great. No signs in the cave, no cops. Every diver has to be good or they find out at the surface why. Never thought I had to thank people for doing what's right before.

Polite in a cave is nice. Frankly it's never been a problem for me. People either behave or I smack them to one side. LOL. Cindy

Oh yeah, I almost forgot.........you suck and I'm a better diver...

Good points Cindy. And you're right - I'm often the worst offender

It's just easy to forget that a) we're ALL responsible sometimes for being dumbasses occasionally, and b) it's nice to see someone thanking another diver for good behavior.

[RebreatherPro.com]

It may have been PodDiver--but he is from New Jersey so his polite manners may have been a momentary lapse.

[Bob Cree]

The one bad thing is when there is flooding and all the other sites have closed except Ginnie,and with the tarp up all exits/entrances are done through the Eye,this usually results in traffic issues. It is a lot of fun when you have a class who has to run a reel, another team who is trying to enter,a diver with 3 stages who is doing their 50' deep stop,and another team trying to exit. Before this is over,someone will erupt into "cave rage".

I actually found this particular day to be quite entertaining. At one point I counted 9 exiting divers in the 30 foot (now 35 foot) stop area in the eye. Some pulling reels, some dodging those pulling reels, others just having a grand ole time. You just have to look at the brighter side, make the best of it and just be glad you are diving...then head to Eagles Nest, good dives there.

This flood produced some very interesting cave dives from a hydrological point of view...I just got back and dove every day though the event, sunny days, and flood waters coming...as already mentioned elsewhere - damn, I could modify flutter kick upstream through the lips. And emerald green water. Thought seriously about swimming to the scooter parking attendant. And I couldn't believe what I saw the day Manatee went under while we were entering at Freidman's. The river was flowing into the cave as colder water along the bottom of the cave - picture it as as a milky white cloud layer with clear cave water on top, formed a low vis/high vis halocline - now add in a cave that herks and jerks all over - it was freaking cool! One of those WOW moments that just sticks with you.

[JerseyJersey]

It may have been PodDiver--but he is from New Jersey so his polite manners may have been a momentary lapse.

Heyyyyy!!!!!!!!