Full Face mask Cave diving.

[gearbow]

I know some of the cons of diving with a full face mask in fact on my recent trip to Cozumel for open water diving mine stayed on the boat after noticing a real big difference in air consumption but i can't help but wonder how many cave accidents could have been avoided if there was in water communication between dive teams?

 

[Jack Hammer]

cave accidents could have been avoided if there was in water communication between dive teams

We don't use full face masks and are still able to communicate while cave diving.

 

[karstdvr]

I know some of the cons of diving with a full face mask in fact on my recent trip to Cozumel for open water diving mine stayed on the boat after noticing a real big difference in air consumption but i can't help but wonder how many cave accidents could have been avoided if there was in water communication between dive teams?

Most cave diving accidents fall into two categories, exceeding limits or medical issues,but lack of communication hasn't been listed as cause. Lack of communication can complicate a problem, but typically with standard hand and light communication, things are resolved. I can think of a couple accidents with silt/lights out as an issue,but if you had verbal communication via FFM coms,then how would you identify location for someone to find you. From my experience,the more gear you take into a cave, the more failures you encourage, and FFM have their own problem set when it comes to air sharing etc.

 

[The Chairman]

Wet notes. All my buddies can read.

 

[karstdvr]

Wet notes. All my buddies can read.

I agree write it down .In emergency situations,stopping to write down something may not be available or the best choice. Ideally,if there is a cohesive buddy team,then lengthy communication is not needed, and emergencies are more inconveniences.

 

[The Chairman]

Or dive solo.

 

[Oldbear]

I have a friend when he dives with his wife, which is every Monday, he looks forward to the peace and quiet.....

 

[rongoodman]

It strikes me as a solution looking for a problem to solve. No thanks.

 

[tbone1004]

it has certain advantages in things like videography where one diver has tunnel vision on the camera, but like Kelly said, I don't know of any cave accidents that occurred due to lack of communication. If you are lost, how are you going to describe where you are? there are no locator beacons on these things. the other one, is there really just isn't that much to say underwater on a recreational cave dive. Hold, OK, that way, line, broken, tangled, deco, turn. That's about it, if you can't fix a situation using a combo of those, then the wetnotes come out, but usually those are brief too.

Plus, sidemount+FFM=royal PITA

 

[boulderjohn]

I can think of two very recent fatalities and near fatality that might have been avoided if two divers had had the ability to communicate effectively over not too much of a distance.

In one case, two divers got separated by a significant silt out. One who got clear of the silt out was unaware of the status of the other who was still in a silted out tunnel and decided to head for the exit with a working scooter, apparently hoping to get help there. The other emerged shortly after from the silt out without a working scooter and almost made it to the exit by swimming out.

In the second fatality, two divers were intentionally separated by a very tight restriction that one of them could not get through without great difficulty--if at all. He was therefore told to wait on the exit side of the restriction. The one who did get through was doing exploration in extremely difficult and tight conditions. He took longer than planned. When he returned, he found the other had come through the restriction, and they met head on in a very tight tunnel. We will never know why the second diver came through the restriction, but some assume that when the lead diver took longer than planned, he assumed the lead diver must have been in trouble and so pushed through in an unnecessary attempt to help. This put the two of them in a nearly impossible exit scenario, and the second diver did not make it.

The near fatality involved another silt out leading to one diver heading to the exit to get help. The silted out diver did manage to get out and head for the exit, and he was met by the rescue team at the end of the cavern zone. He was able to get that far because he knew of a stage bottle that had been left in the cave by another diver.