I wasn't sure where to post this ... it happened on a trip to Indonesia, it involved an overhead environment, but I thought it was worth bringing up where it would get the most opinions and hopefully be a learning tool for the most divers.
We just returned from a liveaboard trip to Indonesia. I will get to a trip report, and I will talk about the dive company, etc., in good time, but I sort of needed to vent about this issue, which I think was a serious safety issue, now.
Our trip involved eight divers and two dive guides on a 12 day trip to Raja Ampat. Water was warm, visibility was fair to marginal, current from zero to flying. Divers were split into two groups of four, which remained the same throughout the trip. Our group was me, my wife, and another American couple. The two dive guides alternated between the two groups, one day with one group, the next day with the other, etc. Dive guides were experienced divers, one an Indonesian with excellent English and the official trip leader, the other a native Papuan with almost no English, but obviously an experienced diver. No clue if either guide had any kind of certification. Briefings were very thorough, dive times of 60-70 minutes were adhered to, groups stayed together, things went pretty smoothly.
OK, enough background. We were on a wall dive with the Papuan dive guide, who was good-humored, obviously enjoyed his job, and was an amazing critter finder. This wall featured, near the end of the dive, a large cavern, fully open to the wall, maybe thirty feet high and forty feed wide and deep. Think of a Hollywood Bowl kind of shape ... plenty of light, no hazards, etc. The dive guide headed toward the low point in the rear of the cavern, and right above the floor there was a hole in the back wall, about three feet in diameter, that led to ... well, I have no clue what it led to. He obviously knew, but he had four purely recreational divers with him, reasonably experienced, but with no training whatsoever in overhead environments.
I'm still behind and above the rest of the group, when he disappears through this hole, and before I can react, my wife follows him, along with this other couple! I get down to the opening, and all I can see inside is silt and a couple dive light beams waving around through it. I have no clue if this hole leads to a small cave, an auditorium-sized room, or what, but I decided I was not going to find out ... and my wife was in there! The light beams appeared to be within 20-30 feet of the opening, so I backed up a few feet and waited, thinking there was a chance that everyone might not emerge. Also, since this was near the end of the dive, I was at about 800 pounds of air, and we were all at 50-60'.
The dive guide had obviously been through this routine on this dive before, and seeing his comfort level in the water, I can imagine he had put himself in all sorts of places. But stuff happens ... lights fail, a reg fails, someone gets hung up on a snag, or gets disoriented, and all of a sudden there's a tragedy.
So I gave the story away in the title ... they were in this space maybe 3-4 minutes, then all emerged. The dive finished uneventfully. Back on the boat, the other couple joked about me not wanting to go in this hole because of my size (6'3", 220 lb). I replied it had nothing to do with that ... that you NEVER, EVER enter an unfamiliar overhead environment like that without training and equipment. It got real quiet.
I was angry and upset. My wife and I have the occasional disagreement, but I love her and want to keep her around. In our cabin, I could ony tell her that I hoped the only reason she went in there was because she didn't know any better, and that people die doing what she did. Now that we're home, I'll re-visit the subject with a more in-depth conversation. Sure, it was apparently a safe little hole, and it turned out fine, but who knew that going in? After the fact, I learned from the other group that some Swiss divers had actually explored this cave previously, and found another exit near the surface. So I am assuming you didn't just go through this little rabbit hole and see the other exit staring at you.
I did not bring it up to the dive guides and crew. Probably wrong, I know, but I will, after the fact, write to the liveaboard company and relate this whole incident to them. They're a big outfit, and I don't know if they have any idea of this practice, or if they think it's an issue, but I'll have it off my chest. It's not a secret who they are ... I'll get to that in my trip report (leaving again for the holidays, so no report until later).
So I don't know what I'm looking for as responses. I am totally comfortable not entering that opening, and still think the dive guide's actions were wrong. This to me was another of those "don't worry, it'll be all right" situations. So what would any of you have done?
We just returned from a liveaboard trip to Indonesia. I will get to a trip report, and I will talk about the dive company, etc., in good time, but I sort of needed to vent about this issue, which I think was a serious safety issue, now.
Our trip involved eight divers and two dive guides on a 12 day trip to Raja Ampat. Water was warm, visibility was fair to marginal, current from zero to flying. Divers were split into two groups of four, which remained the same throughout the trip. Our group was me, my wife, and another American couple. The two dive guides alternated between the two groups, one day with one group, the next day with the other, etc. Dive guides were experienced divers, one an Indonesian with excellent English and the official trip leader, the other a native Papuan with almost no English, but obviously an experienced diver. No clue if either guide had any kind of certification. Briefings were very thorough, dive times of 60-70 minutes were adhered to, groups stayed together, things went pretty smoothly.
OK, enough background. We were on a wall dive with the Papuan dive guide, who was good-humored, obviously enjoyed his job, and was an amazing critter finder. This wall featured, near the end of the dive, a large cavern, fully open to the wall, maybe thirty feet high and forty feed wide and deep. Think of a Hollywood Bowl kind of shape ... plenty of light, no hazards, etc. The dive guide headed toward the low point in the rear of the cavern, and right above the floor there was a hole in the back wall, about three feet in diameter, that led to ... well, I have no clue what it led to. He obviously knew, but he had four purely recreational divers with him, reasonably experienced, but with no training whatsoever in overhead environments.
I'm still behind and above the rest of the group, when he disappears through this hole, and before I can react, my wife follows him, along with this other couple! I get down to the opening, and all I can see inside is silt and a couple dive light beams waving around through it. I have no clue if this hole leads to a small cave, an auditorium-sized room, or what, but I decided I was not going to find out ... and my wife was in there! The light beams appeared to be within 20-30 feet of the opening, so I backed up a few feet and waited, thinking there was a chance that everyone might not emerge. Also, since this was near the end of the dive, I was at about 800 pounds of air, and we were all at 50-60'.
The dive guide had obviously been through this routine on this dive before, and seeing his comfort level in the water, I can imagine he had put himself in all sorts of places. But stuff happens ... lights fail, a reg fails, someone gets hung up on a snag, or gets disoriented, and all of a sudden there's a tragedy.
So I gave the story away in the title ... they were in this space maybe 3-4 minutes, then all emerged. The dive finished uneventfully. Back on the boat, the other couple joked about me not wanting to go in this hole because of my size (6'3", 220 lb). I replied it had nothing to do with that ... that you NEVER, EVER enter an unfamiliar overhead environment like that without training and equipment. It got real quiet.
I was angry and upset. My wife and I have the occasional disagreement, but I love her and want to keep her around. In our cabin, I could ony tell her that I hoped the only reason she went in there was because she didn't know any better, and that people die doing what she did. Now that we're home, I'll re-visit the subject with a more in-depth conversation. Sure, it was apparently a safe little hole, and it turned out fine, but who knew that going in? After the fact, I learned from the other group that some Swiss divers had actually explored this cave previously, and found another exit near the surface. So I am assuming you didn't just go through this little rabbit hole and see the other exit staring at you.
I did not bring it up to the dive guides and crew. Probably wrong, I know, but I will, after the fact, write to the liveaboard company and relate this whole incident to them. They're a big outfit, and I don't know if they have any idea of this practice, or if they think it's an issue, but I'll have it off my chest. It's not a secret who they are ... I'll get to that in my trip report (leaving again for the holidays, so no report until later).
So I don't know what I'm looking for as responses. I am totally comfortable not entering that opening, and still think the dive guide's actions were wrong. This to me was another of those "don't worry, it'll be all right" situations. So what would any of you have done?
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, but this is worth discussing for obvious reasons. Hopefully she will see the "light" and not just follow the leader but look after her buddy as well. 
