Swim throughs - what could possibly go wrong?

[waterpirate]

You seem to love " what the book says" Here is a refresher:

1.If a direct immediate ascent to the surface is not possible, rec, solo divers should not go there.

2. If you are a tech trained, wreck solo diver, we gave you enough training and info to make your own decisions and do not need to post add nauseam on the net to obtain validation of reckless behaviour.

Eric

 

[Jax]

There has been some recent discussion regarding ocean 'swim throughs' and 'caverns' in some areas. Where I live we have thousands ranging from a few metres to over 20 m.

Assuming:

• There is only one clear path and no chance of getting lost;
• The floor is course sand that won't silt even with a group of divers swimming through the cavern;
• It is so spacious that many divers can pass through at the same time;
• The cavern has multiple large entries and exits; and
• It is well illuminated.

What are the risks of diving in these "caverns"? What could go wrong?

You're between two people and the guy in front gets his mask and/or reg kicked out, now he's flailing and kicking and trying to turn around, silting up everything and causing panic up and down the line.

You're going through with your cute little single and bumping the ceiling and break an LP hose.

There is no such thing as a place that cannot be silted up . . .

You head in the 'tunnel' and come face to face with a Morey that is used to being fed by divers (he approaches you for a bite). Youout don't know how to back up, but you try, thus kicking the reg out of the guy behind you, who panics and comes for yours, forgetting about that octo thing, and you don't know where your octo is because the guy is all over you and the moray is wanting his bite. . .

Moron ahead of you doesn't know how to kick, so he smacks the coral just right and a cave-in occurs, leaving everything dark and feeling like a trap.

You're going through a swim-through and said cave-in happens, so you head down another tunnel, but this one dead-ends in a skinny area, and as you are pushing yourself backwards to get out, you roll off your valve and are OOA . . .

That enough?

---------- Post added February 2nd, 2014 at 09:44 AM ----------

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Oh, yeah . . . how to mitigate . . . :whatever:

Get the proper equipment, training, and experience to dive overhead safely.

 

[Lorenzoid]

It seems people are now attacking the reality of the OP's presumptions rather than accepting them as presumptions. If the presumptions aren't accepted, I don't see how this thread isn't going to degenerate into just another "dive your training" and "don't do overheads" thread.

I thought the OP asked us to presume that the space CANNOT silt up (Jax says that's unrealistic), that the space is so wide that Jax's moray eel scenario would not be a problem, and that "there is only one clear path" (i.e., there is not "another tunnel")?

I can think of some wrecks in which an area, such as the wheelhouse, has been so sanitized and cut wide open that it meets the OP's parameters. To me, these are classic swim-throughs rather than overhead environments.

However, if the places the OP is referring to can be as long as 20 m, then I would not consider these swim-throughs--rather, they are what the agencies generally define as "caverns." I would not enter them as an OW diver without cavern training. Now, the question is what problems are more likely to occur in caverns than in swim-throughs. If that's really the question, I don't have a ready answer. The training agencies have apparently given this some thought, and I think some of the replies here are hitting on that. But the original question should not have referred to these caverns as "swim-throughs."

 

[Bob DBF]

Assuming:

• There is only one clear path and no chance of getting lost;
• The floor is course sand that won't silt even with a group of divers swimming through the cavern;
• It is so spacious that many divers can pass through at the same time;
• The cavern has multiple large entries and exits; and
• It is well illuminated.

What are the risks of diving in these "caverns"? What could go wrong?

First, your assumptions could be wrong. To start number one and four seem to be in direct conflict, for you there may be one clear path, with multiple entrances and exits I may see a different path.

What could go wrong? Anything, as an OW diver one has been trained to deal with issues underwater with a direct exit to the surface should it be necessary, a cavern limits those options.


I believe in personal responsibility and the right for someone to make a stupid choice, however it would be prudent for a diver to understand the risks before making the decision.



Bob
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I think that advocating unsafe and dangerous practices is both stupid and foolish. That is why I don't tell people to do what I do. Dsix36

 

[Storker]

It seems people are now attacking the reality of the OP's presumptions rather than accepting them as presumptions.

My problem is "how do I know the OP's presumptions are correct", not whether I think they are correct or not.

As I said in my first post, I'm not competent to assess the risks correctly, and I sure as h€ll won't take his assurances at face value. That'd be a "trust me" dive, and I don't do those.


--
Sent from my Android phone
Typos are a feature, not a bug

 

[RJP]

I believe in personal responsibility and the right for someone to make a stupid choice, however it would be prudent for a diver to understand the risks before making the decision.

Would also be great if people understood that there really is no such thing as complete "personal responsibility" in diving. I say this as someone who has had to put myself at risk in order to effect rescues and body retrievals of divers who took "personal responsibility" for themselves.

Maybe in diving we need a DNR waiver - Do Not Rescue and/or Do Not Retrieve.

 

[tursiops]

This thread is silly. I could just as easily have started one that says, "Assume no one ever needs to use my octo. What could possibly go wrong if I don't have one?"

No direct access to the surface is the key. Until you've seen a panicked diver trying to claw their way straight up (where the air is) you don't understand why swim-throughs are dangerous. If there is an overhead of any kind, it is dangerous. Trying to sugarcoat it with all kinds of semantic redefinitions and assumptions about what would never happen is a fantasy. It is more dangerous to be in an overhead environment, especially with someone else. Suck it up and don't delude yourself. Call a spade a spade, call a swim-through an overhead environment.

 

[waterpirate]

Devon has that great wheelhouse video of the sanitised overhead, which he later strings cave line acrossed the exit. Priceless
Eric

 

[tursiops]

Devon has that great wheelhouse video of the sanitised overhead, which he later strings cave line acrossed the exit. Priceless
Eric

link?

 

[ianr33]

. I say this as someone who has had to put myself at risk in order to effect rescues and body retrievals of divers who took "personal responsibility" for themselves.

"Had to" ? Did someone have a gun to your head?