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Although I tend to keep very quiet on the internet, I feel compelled to set straight some serious inaccuracies that have been published about myself and the Wakulla2 Project. To begin, I would like to preface my comments with a wish that this sport could somehow become more of an open forum with a fresh exchange of ideas. I sincerely believe that competitiveness within the ranks will lead to fatalities. I pursue cave diving for personal fulfillment and the joy that I get meeting people who openly exchange ideas. I get as much excitement out of laying line as I do hearing about discoveries and accomplishments that others have made. I have stayed out of the internet bickering because it only deters good people from asking questions that are important to them. My 21 hour dive at Wakulla Springs seems to be a bone of contention with some individuals in the caving community. I thought I would clear the air by describing what occurred during my dive. My partner Brian Kakuk and I were charged with the task of placing radio location beacons that could be sensed on the surface by our team-mate and radio expert Brian Pease. We were asked to set, level and fire several coils that could confirm the surface GPS location of key intersections in B Tunnel (see the published Wakulla High Accuracy Network Manual - www.wakulla2.org). We were on the clock, trying to coordinate our dive with a team of “trackers” on the surface. Our job was to leap frog coils through the tunnels at 300 feet and wait a predesignated time of up to 20 minutes per coil, while the surface team zeroed in on our signal. After placing several coils along the way and waiting for long durations, we found ourselves at the end of the B Tunnel line. We had a timetable to stick to but had approximately 30 minutes to burn before needing to head back out towards our next location. Although we had found a note within the cave indicating that there was nothing left to discover, we probed some breakdown and found going passage. Brian and I eagerly grabbed a reel and paid out fresh line beyond the extent of exploration. After dropping 1025 feet of new line, there was still virgin cave beckoning to us, but we had to retreat to make our scheduled beacon position on time for the surface crew. The result of our five hour+ bottom time was a long decompression schedule of an additional sixteen hours. We set up a dry transfer capsule for the project that allowed divers to get out of the water much sooner. The result was an extremely safe, well-monitored, comfortable decompression schedule. As to other recent comments by an individual who I have not even formerly met... the report is true, I am a proud Canadian who has lived in the States for approximately four years. Most of my diving career has been outside this country. I have never claimed to have gone farther than the extremely impressive WKPP dive to 18,000 feet in Wakulla. I have merely been acknowledged as a woman who is doing something out of the norm in my gender. I sincerely applaud and support the efforts of the WKPP and other exploration teams. They have done some extremely dedicated work that will benefit the community for a long time to come. (I truly wish that we could have worked together.) What I cannot support is individuals who spew hatred and untruths over the internet. I only have personal experience with one individual who frankly scares me with internet threats and handwritten letters that cheerfully anticipate the untimely deaths of my husband and I. So I will retreat back into my quiet world and continue cave diving which I love so very much. I can only hope that the community sifts through the crap and continues to learn from each other. Everyone in this community has something to offer that is positive. If we all keep ourselves open to new ideas for our particular diving applications, then this will be a safer sport. Safe diving and best wishes to all who explore the uncharted earth. Sincerely, Jill Heinerth
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