Is there a current Sheck Exley?

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I'm with Curt. The answer is no.

There are lots of good (even great) divers. I'm lucky enough to know some of em and some of them knew Sheck Exley. I think most would agree that It's not the same. He was the first to do a lot of what he did and he was driven. There's no doubt about that. I'm told that he was also friendly and helpful. They still name things after him. besides what he did in the water people liked him.
 
KidK9:
Ok, I know that no one will cpmpare to Mr. Exley, but is there someone in the states that is considered to be heads and finas above the rest in terms of cave exploration and cave instruction??

I would guess not in the same context. You'd have to be in at the start to make similar contributions. In present times, with a wider field it would be difficult to stand head and shoulders above the rest in the same fashion.

However I can think of others in the European sphere who have made (and continue to make) enormous contributions to cave diving but no one individual who equates as an all-rounder in the same fashion. Time will tell if we eulogise them in the ame way.

Duncan
 
I agree with Duncan, Mike, and Curt....no way. All you have to do is read "Caverns" and you will be astounded at all the trial and error and other risky stuff Sheck, Court, Lewis, DeLoach, etc. and their buddies went through to pave the way for all of us today.
 
In my opinion - no. Sheck was kind, low-key, low-profile, modest, and quiet. He listened to people and was likeable. He was way ahead of his time, as are many folks in other fields that pass on before their time. I do not think that there is, or shall ever be another Sheck Exley.
Norm
 
What I've noticed through out the past couple of years is that most 'serious' divers nowadays are weekend warriors. Guys with high paying 9 - 5 jobs that only dive once or twice a month if so often...
They are the majority of CCR owners and 'technical' divers. In their heads each of them are Sheck Exley because they've read a couple of books and seen things on TV but most of them end up fading out of diving a couple of years down the line. The problem with these guys is they think they are the best of the best because they have a couple of hundred dives and all the latest, most expensive dive equipment. Out of this group there are the select few that classify themselves as explorers. To them being a technical diver is all about ego and pushing the boundaries and beating some record that a true explorer set long ago not for a clame to fame... The technical divers of today move too fast through their training and end up doing dives they are not ready for.

Even though there ARE divers out there that truly push the boundaries of underwater exploration nowadays being a technical diver is not about 'giving diving your all' and exploration but how much money you have to fund your hobby.

In SA when a tech diver drives up to the dive site he doesn't drive an old pickup with dive stickers, he drives the newest BMW/mercedes and can't decide which of his 3 rebreathers he's going to dive to 10m today...
 
Sheck died while trying to set a record did he not? Anyone know what happened?

This is a pretty decent article. No one really knows what happened for sure. IUCRR - Accident Analysis . Scroll down the left column to the article titled, "Eulogy for an Explorer".
 
http://cavediveflorida.com/Rum_House.htm

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