First, let me say that I know this is a novel, but I think the details are important
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My husband, one of our dive buddies, and I were just finishing our first dive into twin when these three divers entered. I was on my last minute of a safety stop when I saw a girl enter flutter kicking with a single tank and a pistol grip light. We were up as high as we could get to avoid silting and our lights were off so Im not even sure if she saw us when she came in. Her father followed her in and then her brother. Their flutter kicks were stirring up so much silt that at that point I swam to the gold line before the vis went to zero. My husband followed me to the line and was behind me, both of us facing the exit. Almost immediately after grabbing the line the visibility was zeroed. I think the girl had continued on back towards the signs and the chimney with her father behind her. While I was on the line only a few feet from the keyhole exit, I felt the fins and arms of her brother and saw his light in my face. He felt me; I gave him the thumbs up to get out of the cave. There was a lot of fumbling; I could feel him in front of me for what felt like minutes and then I think he exited. The wife of our dive buddy was driving the pontoon boat and said she saw the son surface first.
I could feel our reel tied into the gold line, but could see nothing. When I followed the reel, I thought in all of the chaos it had come loose because it felt so short. I traced it back up to the gold line where I felt my husbands hand. I knew it was him by his dry suit cuff. He grabbed my arm and we exited the cave by touch contact. My husband came up before me and I was seconds to the surface after him. Our friend exited through the smaller opening that is visible to the left of the keyhole exit when you are inside the cavern. The son was on the surface alone. When we surfaced my husband was asking him if they were open water divers and we were both asking him what the hell they were doing in a cave. His reply was that it was okay, the other diver, his father, was an instructor. When his dad surfaced without his sister his demeanor and understanding of the situation was beginning to change.
When she did not surface immediately, we began looking for the entrance, but with the silt-out it was impossible to see and this was our first time in twin. There were bubbles, but we didnt think they were coming from the larger opening. It was incredibly obvious that this situation was dire. We told our friends wife on the pontoon boat to call Edd. She found the number and called the shop within minutes. Edd was teaching a class, but Frank was able to catch him probably minutes before he got in the water. From the time we called to the time Edd and Frank got there it was probably between 16 and 20 minutes.
While we were waiting for Edd, we got out of the water to try to let the silt clear and finally got the son out. The girls father was frantically looking for the entrance and understandably ignoring our attempts to get him out. He finally submitted when he realized he was not going to be able to do anything to help her and that Edd was on his way.
When Edd got there the father told him where he had seen her last and Edd jumped in. Time was so jumbled, but what I believe was about 5 to 10 minutes Edd surfaced with her alive. When we saw the two them surface alive everyone on the dock cheered with relief.
She was surprisingly calm but shaking from cold and fatigue. She had found one of the permanent air pockets in the cave and was actually able to get up in it and breathe. I think the pocket she was in was somewhere near the chimney. She said she was so cold that she just kept kicking to stay warm. She said she had left the air pocket twice to try and find the exit. When Edd found her he was able to go up and talk to her before taking her out. I cant imagine the relief she must have felt when she saw his face pop up in that pocket.
Edd is a true hero. The stars aligned for that girl to live. If we had not been there to call Edd and if he had not been nearby, this would have been a very different outcome. None of us on site knew the cave well enough to find someone in a zero vis situation. Thank you Edd, you are extraordinary. I have never witnessed bravery like that before. We all owe you a debt of gratitude for what you do.
This was the second group to approach twin while we were diving. The first were snorkelers in canoes that were going to snorkel into the cave without any tanks. Thankfully they changed their minds; our friend on the boat heard them talking about how much colder the water was there. The second group was this group/family of three. Our partners wife told them we were down and were coming up in the next 10 to 20 minutes or so, yet they still entered. They were also told earlier in the day about the silt potential of twin, yet they still entered. This man was an OW instructor diving with his two college age children, yet they still entered. To say that this instructor and his children made a phenomenally stupid mistake is the understatement of the year. Needless to say, they received a very stern lecture from the sheriff when he arrived on site with his team.
There were so many lessons learned that day. Im so grateful that they were learned the easy way thanks to Edd and the incredibly quick actions of his operation.
