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Pete, she must mean "round trip" from the parking lot. Pete Wallace wrote: > > Jill, I don't think it is the 21 hour part that is in contention. I believe > it is the 10,000 foot part and record portion. Did you survey to confirm > your distance? > > -----Original Message----- > From: Jill Heinerth [mailto:heinerth@gt*.ne*] > Sent: Wednesday, September 01, 1999 8:45 PM > To: cavers@cavers.com > Subject: Jill Speaks for Herself > > 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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