Hello,
My name is John Baker.....
Hi John, nice to meet you. I have a few things to say, but first I want to get down to the biggest reason I logged on to Scubaboard today (I rarely do since I keep fairly busy with work, diving, and being a mom) I want to offer a sincere apology for any perceived wrong-doing that resulted when our group checked in. I actually wasn't part of that initial group but came in later to take over a support shift from a few of the guys, I don't know if the other guys are active at all here on Scubaboard but they also made apology which I will pass along in a bit. I want to say that neither of the guys who were actually involved in this incident meant any harm and they are not the kind to brag, they are just excited new team members who were there as support for a research permit dive that day. Perhaps their enthusiasm was taken as bragging about exploration, but that was truly not the intent at all. Regarding the line cutting, I'm not sure what happened there but again, if there was any we truly apologize for it.
Next, I apologize in advance for the novel.
Thirdly, I want to make it very clear that I have absolutely no intent on arguing with Chris here or anywhere regarding this incident. I want to call his 'discussion' what it really is: a personal attack on a person that wasn't even directly involved in this incident by Chris, who clearly has a personal issue with that individual. I like Jon Kieren who wrote that article. He's a nice guy and the article is very well written but this thread is one of the very things he was discussing in that article. Since this is a 'discussion' and I believe those should be more than one sided, here is the apology (Chris and Chad are a dive team) and details from the two team members directly involved via facebook:
Chris Hartmann Hey guys- I must be the one being referenced in this post. I would like to set a few things straight because there seems to be a good bit of confusion. I'm going to start by apologizing for any hurt feelings. When I was in the ranger station everyone was polite and friendly to each other and no one realized there was a problem. We pulled through the gate and I was the second person through the door to the station where you sign in. My buddy waited outside because it became very crowded in the line. 5 minutes later, 2 more people from our group showed up (the ones actually doing the dive- my buddy and I were just support). We were told at that time that there was a permit for our group and that a dive plan had been submitted to the park etc. Because of this we decided to sign in as a single group. I waited for the first group to sign in (who also had people farther back in the line that were pulled forward to sign in and then bought an annual pass as well which took about 15 minutes) and then I signed myself in and passed the clipboard back to my buddy and the 2 other divers in the group to sign in on the same sheet. No one in line seemed upset and nothing was done out of the ordinary. After we signed in, our group went over to the rangers office in the trailer near the entry and spoke about the dive plan and then we went on our way. We did mention that the end of the line was going to be extended but only because we were excited. We were not trying to belittle any one else. The only talk of the permit was from my buddy instructing me to how to sign in after he spoke to the other 2. The only thing that I can see being construed as "cutting" was when I sent the clipboard back to sign the rest of the group in but this is how I have always seen it done. If a class showed up and one student was 2 minutes behind would that student sign in as a different group or be brought up to sign in with the rest of their group? Where did I go wrong that morning? I am genuinely curious because if I offended someone I would like to make sure I don't make the same mistake.
Chad Minter Here are the events from my perspective. Chris and I arrived earlier than the rest of our group. Chris went into the building to sign us in and pay to enter the park. He was second or third in line and I waited just outside the doorway because it was crowded. A gentleman and I were discussing the map hanging on the wall. He read on the map that the cave was explored out to 22,000 feet. I made the comment "It'll be farther later today, they are doing a push dive. (Chris and I were asked to put some bottles in for them and help carry gear.) at that time the two main divers showed up and I said Chris was inside waiting to pay for me and him. One of the main divers said "You guys are on the research permit, you're not supposed to pay, you're supposed to sign in as permit divers." I didn't think Chris knew that, so I went inside and went to the front of the line and told Chris that he wasn't supposed to pay, he's supposed to sign us in as research divers (a research permit was pulled because we may have been in the park late it was not just a commercial dive permit) The only thing that I think may have been misconstrued as breaking was me going in and going to the front of the line to tell Chris that and to get the clipboard to bring outside for the other members of the team to sign. The main diver and training director mentioned never actually entered the building, never said anything to anyone there except to me, and the only person who "cut in line" was me and it was to go forward and tell the team member who was already in line how to sign up and to get the clipboard from him and go back outside. If you have a problem, it is with me and has NOTHING to do with the main diver or training director. They never even went in the building.
