Improved support equipment and safety awareness of divers can reduce the risk of cave diving. Find a more detailed explanation here.
Risk of Cave Diving You Need To Know
Cave diving can provide an extraordinary experience, but you must always be prepared for the risks you face.
The new record for cave exploration was set in the 70s and managed to stand at more than 2,000 feet. During that decade, the previous record was more than 5,000 feet.
Groups of divers such as the “Mole Tribe” Skiles explore many long routes in many new caves deep below Florida. These caves have been discovered as hidden mysteries are revealed.
Following oxygen depressurization, a period spent at the airfield, it resulted in a long and harrowing night and continued visits to confined chambers at Gainesville and Tallahassee.
Communities pay a high price with their lives, and teams get scattered over the dark depths. Both praise and blame are directed toward their actions.
Early in the sport’s history, Florida legislators tried outright banning cave diving.
However, residents in the area are sick and tired of watching hangtags and safety precautions showing the number of cave divers who died in one summer of the season.
The Number of Accidents During Cave Diving Continues to Reduce
It is hard to believe that the number of cave diving accidents is decreasing, considering the previous record is being broken daily.
It had been more than 30 years since the body of an open water expert, which was not adequately equipped, was dragged hundreds of meters into a deep passage.
Untrained divers are increasingly difficult to find in the deeper parts of the Florida structure. But, on the other hand, the relatively long recovery trend is multiplying.
Divers who act irresponsibly, exceeding their level of competence and expertise, add to the difficulty of rescue efforts, making them beyond their ability to control.
Developments For Equipment And Safety in Cave Diving
A standard recovery in modern times calls for the participation of a group of:
- diver propulsion vehicle or scooters
- rebreather divers equipped with many bailout bottles
- adequate surface assistance.
- upgraded cave diving lights
- computer technology improvement in cave diving
The widespread availability of rebreathers in cave diving during the past ten years is the most crucial advancement in cave diving technology.
Closed Circuit Rebreathers (CCR)
Closed circuit rebreathers (CCR) were utilized in British caverns long before regular SCUBA.
Graham Balcombe carried out an exploratory stage of Keld Head in 1945 by walking without swimfins on the bottom of the water while breathing air using a military rebreather commonly used in tactical diving.
Additional efforts by Balcombe, John Buxton, and others led to substantial discoveries at the famous Wookey Hole and other sites.
Diver Propulsion Vehicles (DPVs)
Cave sites such as the Henkel Barrier at Ginnie Springs have more visitors due to the use of rebreathers, especially in combination with diver propulsion vehicles (DPVs).
What was previously impossible for most divers have become common diving for those with a lot of money left over for gadgets and other things.
Areas of the cave previously inaccessible to cave divers using stage bottles and scooters are now open to cave divers who have used CCR with extra time to themselves.
Sidemount Diving and Manifold Method
Sidemount diving is the method used by early cave divers. You, as the diver, will hold the oxygen cylinder beside you under your armpit.
But this direct method became unclear for some unknown reason in the US.
On the other hand, Dr. George Benjamin, a diver from Canada, invented the Manifold technique that connects the cylinder altogether.
Sidemount gear has evolved only to fit in tight spaces, and divers are more equipped to sew their custom equipment.
This method has recently returned due to the increasing availability of equipment that cave divers need.
Cave Diving Lights
Today, cave diving lights can be upgraded much faster than cameras and personal computers—the days of giant lead acid (butt-mounting) batteries for divers to be forgotten entirely forgotten.
Until a decade, the most incredible, excellent lighting available to divers was not as bright as today’s backup lights. In addition, the burn time of batteries made with nickel metal hydride, Li-ion, or lithium polymer is much longer.
The energy and uptime o or even LED lighting has been significantly increased. In addition, significant innovations in semiconductor technology, along with enhanced electronics and dimmers, have prolonged the time spent underwater.
A 200-watt lamp producing 16,000 lumens was once something that could only be seen in Cinema shots. Today, budding filmmakers and their friends have also used this lamp.
Computer Technology in Cave Diving
Cave divers currently use PCs with technology superior to early space shooters. A deeper understanding of mathematical methods and decompression processes drove the creation of modern decompression systems.
Today’s cave divers know various mathematical designs and how they affect the physical body. So divers set up their custom gradient factors using exotic gases and profiles on devices like laptops.
Today’s DPV capacity has been significantly increased thanks to recent developments in battery science, which have opened up previously unimaginable boundaries. In addition, due to increased dependability and affordability, there is now much human activity in the caves.
However, if the person operating the scooter is unskilled, there is a risk that the geology may be damaged. Consequently, most Florida state parks have banned scooter riding in their caves.
Wesley C. Skiles was concerned about the potential danger and cave divers pushing too deep and fast.
As soon as he learned about the impact of traffic at Henkel’s Restrictions on the Devil’s System, Wesley made a statement in early 2010 that people shouldn’t be at Henkel if they haven’t been swimming there.
DPV does not replace cave experiments performed sequentially.
Now, just a few cave divers know that the Devil’s Ear cave structure in Florida was previously absolutely pitch black.
The goethite layer formerly on the underwater floors has worn away over many years due to traffic, gases, and pulling effects.
Further, scooters with poor buoyancy have caused rifts and scratches in the bottom layers, making the situation even direr.
As a result, the beautiful speleothems formerly found in the limestone caves of Mexico have been carelessly damaged and are now being degraded by bubbles.
Several structures, like Cow Springs or Troy Springs, are already destroyed by divers who have carved their signatures into clay walls and fragile limestone to leave a mark for posterity.
In addition, the public cave diving population has just received access to previously-closely-guarded cave maps. There are more than 20 maps that can be purchased according to the latest search of the NACD portal.
Such maps were seldom shared. However, now they are routinely used as digital checklists by weekend hobbyists.
Ambitious divers tend to mark off various passages from the map when they conquer and then move on rather than progressively understanding the cave through exploration.
Maps can be extraordinarily excellent resources; however, the results can be fatal when divers go beyond their expertise and experience.
The only available learning for cave divers until about three decades ago was an apprenticeship with more senior cave divers.
The cave diving community maintained order by policing one another, much as how surfers maintain their right to various waves.
Several organizations, including:
And others have entered the training market in the past ten years and have bolstered their staff with dozens of cave diving trainers.
The present beginner needs to screen potential instructors properly and chooses one with teaching qualifications and a variety of diving expertise in an underwater situation.
This blog reveals the basics of cave training while delving into the exciting topics that spice up your sport today. If you are new to cave diving, this blog offers you the basics.
If you have been cave diving for years, it will welcome you into today’s sophisticated group of explorers. I hope you now have a deeper understanding of your risk assessment.
Your decision has far-reaching implications, spilling over to friends, family, cave rescue personnel, and the entire community.
First, family and friends can grieve. Then, divers are forced to stop doing what they love, and sites are closed.
Because of the choices, recovery divers put their lives on the line. Your innocent friends could be swept up in endless lawsuits.
When a person dies underwater, the scars are deep and permanent. Many cave divers have lost some of their friends.
I hope you consider them, your community, and your loved ones every time you dive. Cave diving can be very satisfying, but safety comes first.