USF student from Palm Bay Dies in Caves

[Blue Sparkle]

An article on a Florida news station site tells/shows that "grim reaper" warning signs are being placed. It says they will be at underwater entrances and "in boats." I'm not sure if that last is an error, because the photo shows the signs being brought out for placement in a skiff, or if there will be some smaller placards on dive boats (?).



CHASSAHOWITZKA --
A group of Citrus County underwater cave divers is taking action to warn others about the dangers of the sport. ADM Explorations, an underwater cave diving crew, created signs for the Chassahowitzka River....

Signs alert divers to deadly dangers

 

[UseMyLungs]

This is just terrible...a horrible decision...and a very sad outcome...

 

[Tricia]

An article on a Florida news station site tells/shows that "grim reaper" warning signs are being placed. It says they will be at underwater entrances and "in boats." I'm not sure if that last is an error, because the photo shows the signs being brought out for placement in a skiff, or if there will be some smaller placards on dive boats (?).

View attachment 93477

CHASSAHOWITZKA --
A group of Citrus County underwater cave divers is taking action to warn others about the dangers of the sport. ADM Explorations, an underwater cave diving crew, created signs for the Chassahowitzka River....

Signs alert divers to deadly dangers

Uh, but how are the people going to be able to see the signs underwater if they're "sharing goggles"? I still don't get that part of the story...

 

[caseybird]

Is anyone from the area on this thread? Quoted from the article,

"There are two holes that open up a couple of feet under the surface, said Fletcher. One is about eight feet in diameter and eight feet deep and another is three feet in diameter 10 feet under the surface. The two holes are about 15 feet apart, connected by an underground cave about five-feet wide, two-to-three feet under the surface, he said."
It sounds to me that diving into one hole, doing a short transit, then swimming out the other is quite common. Does anybody know if this is normal practice?
It wasn't a cave dive. It was a freedive into a cave. It matters to us, it's a difference without a distinction to the general public. It might be wise for local divers to attempt to highlight the differences to local media. Being dismissive and hostile to local outlets, including social websites, will do area divers more harm than good.

 

[djtimmy77]

The location is a spring run that has some swim-throughs in the rocks on the bottom. I have friends that have done this "swim through" while on paddling trips on the river.

For the google challenged here is a link to a video illustrating the general area I would guess this incident occured: YouTube - Seven Springs swim Through - Chassahowitzka River

 

[Thalassamania]

I would not call the incident "Cave Diving."

You have to be a little nuts to want to dive in caves with SCUBA equipment.

You have to be certifiable to do it holding your breath.

There are more than a few spots that I know of in Hawaii where people swim through (more like willingly get sucked through) underwater lava tubes that connect "blow holes" with the ocean. Perhaps the best know is Hanauma Bay's "Toilet Bowl."

 

[riftvalley84]

Amy's roomate sheds a little more light on what happened in this interview: Amy Ryan Dead: University Of South Florida Student Dies In Underwater Cave

A good lesson - if you are uncomfortable doing something potentially dangerous - don't do it! She would be alive today if she had followed her intuition.

 

[KY_BOB]

I'm sorry but calling this a cave diving accident is like saying that someone who was shot while sitting in a parked car was involved in a fatal auto accident.

 

[Blue Sparkle]

It would have been nice if they had said "free diving" or "snorkeling" or even "swimming" or "river floating" (or whatever exactly it is called locally). But the news folks probably don't realize that "cave diving" means something specific to divers. They just know that she was "diving" down into something cave like. Just like one would say a "diving accident" if someone dove headfirst into a pool and hurt themselves, even though to us it's not our same "diving."

At least that's how I take it. Not that I'm saying the media should not be more precise.

 

[A&I Mod]

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A ScubaBoard Staff Message...

Thread closed. I have deleted quite a few off-topic and otherwise unsuitable (for the A&I forum) posts.
If anyone has anything relevant to the analysis of this mishap, or a lesson not yet revealed, PM me and I'll reopen it.

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