Vortex 3-18-2012

[Stroud Creek]

I was at Vortex Sunday morning getting some tanks filled. NOW all I know is what we were told while we were there. I don't know the guy or anything about him. So this is what we were told........ At some point his girlfriend became worried and let the staff know he was not out of the water, I do not know what happened at that point but I do know that one of the staff geared up and made entry into the cave and found him. I don't know if he was unable to get him out or if he was getting low on air and or time. He was found approximately 1200 feet inside and 150 feet deep. It is my understanding that he was going through a restriction and got hung up and could not free him self. We were also told he was using a set of doubles and had 2 stage bottles and a scooter. The dive team had not made entry while we were there but they were about to.

 

[Kevin Carlisle]

Please dont post hearsay. Larry had not dived doubles in several years..

I was at Vortex Sunday morning getting some tanks filled. NOW all I know is what we were told while we were there. I don't know the guy or anything about him. So this is what we were told........ At some point his girlfriend became worried and let the staff know he was not out of the water, I do not know what happened at that point but I do know that one of the staff geared up and made entry into the cave and found him. I don't know if he was unable to get him out or if he was getting low on air and or time. He was found approximately 1200 feet inside and 150 feet deep. It is my understanding that he was going through a restriction and got hung up and could not free him self. We were also told he was using a set of doubles and had 2 stage bottles and a scooter. The dive team had not made entry while we were there but they were about to.

 

[SC_Hoaty]

Please dont post hearsay. Larry had not dived doubles in several years..

Kevin - Do you KNOW what configuration he was diving? Sometimes hearsay is as close to the true story as ever gets posted. Second hand information may not be legal evidence, but it is what most news reports are based on.

I understand the desire to keep the wild speculation in check, but a report from someone at Vortex that day is kinda high quality information in these situations.

 

[Stroud Creek]

Kevin we were told he had 4 tanks I just assumed they were doubles and side mounts but it very well could have been side mounts and 2 stage bottles. I think they told us he had 2 104's and 2 80's. I am not a cave diver and I really don't know anything about it.

 

[Kevin Carlisle]

Yes I do know. As I posted earlier this is what happens when you dive above your skills. It's that simple.

 

[ucfdiver]

Kevin we were told he had 4 tanks I just assumed they were doubles and side mounts but it very well could have been side mounts and 2 stage bottles. I think they told us he had 2 104's and 2 80's. I am not a cave diver and I really don't know anything about it.

Before we get too many bad facts out there, I would guess that if he had 4 tanks, at least one was a deco bottle. At 150ft depth, I would have taken a 70ft and 20ft bottle, so I don't know for certain that he even had a stage.

Kevin, can you confirm deco/stage and if he was scootering?

 

[JamesK]

Before we get too many bad facts out there, I would guess that if he had 4 tanks, at least one was a deco bottle. At 150ft depth, I would have taken a 70ft and 20ft bottle, so I don't know for certain that he even had a stage.

This is what I was thinking when I read 4 tanks. Backmount, two stages, and a scooter would be a handful for Vortex IMO. I don't have much experience there, so please take my comment with a grain of salt. Only about 4 dives.

 

[Grace67]

Can someone explain advanced sidemount caves to me? (Hope I remember that term right)

Also.... is there not something someone can develop as a warning system, like beacons when planes/boats go down, that someone is Larrys situation (possibly stuck but still with air to go) could use to alert others he is in trouble?? I realize it won't help Larry now. But can't something be done for the future?

It sounds like he had no buddy... why??

 

[ianr33]

Can someone explain advanced sidemount caves to me? (Hope I remember that term right)

Also.... is there not something someone can develop as a warning system, like beacons when planes/boats go down, that someone is Larrys situation (possibly stuck but still with air to go) could use to alert others he is in trouble?? I realize it won't help Larry now. But can't something be done for the future?

It sounds like he had no buddy... why??

Stuff like this:


Only warning system needed is time. If diver not back after X minutes. He needs help.

Guess you would have to ask Larry why no buddy. Maybe he made an educated decision the dive was safer solo due to being very tight and no viz.
Or maybe he just screwed up.

 

[Jax]

Can someone explain advanced sidemount caves to me? (Hope I remember that term right)

Also.... is there not something someone can develop as a warning system, like beacons when planes/boats go down, that someone is Larrys situation (possibly stuck but still with air to go) could use to alert others he is in trouble?? I realize it won't help Larry now. But can't something be done for the future?

It sounds like he had no buddy... why??

Hello, Grace. Thanks for your interest. It is good to see someone interested in understand what happened.

Please understand I am not cave-trained (yet), but I do ask a lot of questions. Solo was one of them.

There seems to come a time in the very advanced divers' life when s/he believes that what s/he is doing is either of greater risk *with* a buddy (perhaps a really, really silty cave, where the silt can billow like a huge cloud, to make everything invisible), or that they are experienced enough to take the risk of not having someone with his- or herself.

The cave diving community has lost well-trained divers because they push the envelope, go boldly where no other has, and gets stuck. For those explorers, they know and understand what they do is highly risky.

We may never know why Larry took up diving solo in Vortex, unless he talked to a friend or family. Sometimes, we are just left not knowing.

Beacon / warning described next.