Lee,
Rennaker, aka the "Grim Reaper of Dive Instruction", proves there are people
out there who have no business teaching scuba, that there are people who
should not cave dive, and that magazines have no business letting any moron
write whatever they feel like. Clearly NACD has no regard for the high
mortality rate those buying into this "written act of criminally negligent
manslaughter", may achieve.

The more I think about this, the more I want to see some of these NACD guys
in person, to see if they look the part --- Do you ever wonder if mass
murderers  have a certain look?  What about Drunk Drivers who have killed
large numbers of innocent people--what do they look like ?  Is it possible
these NACD guys look like Rennaker???

Should we just allow cult movements like Rennaker's or NACD, or Jim Jones
 the guy who poisoned his followers in British Guyana) to achieve ever
greater followings and larger resultant death rates, or should we treat them
as the  "Menace to Society"  they appear to be, and expose them to 20/20, 60
Minutes, and other National TV News shows?

I think anyone with a conscience needs to get busy and help get the truth
out.


Dan Volker


-----Original Message-----
From: Lee Gibson and Lucy Bonilla [mailto:lonestar@al*.ne*]
Sent: Thursday, September 09, 1999 2:48 PM
To: Matt London
Cc: cavers list
Subject: Re: Solo Diving Article, NACD

I think some of you are missing the point of the "most important person"
concept.  Mr. Rennaker is just being honest about basic human nature.
When things are the worst we all revert to our survival instincts
despite the best intentions.  Recent case, the Jackson Blue incident
also detailed in the Journal (and let me emphasize that I am not sitting
in judgment of these divers),
three divers entered the system.  At maximum penetration they had a silt
out and lost communication with each other...they became solo divers.
Two of them were able to regroup attempt a search and then exit...the
third was left behind.  As the two exited their stress levels were
obviously elevated with self preservation being the priority.  When they
reached their safety bottles, three full 80cf  at 1000', neither diver
elected to pick up the bottles and go back in to search some more....the
thought of getting out was paramount and understandable.  In all cases
self rescue is better than buddy rescue and should be taught in that
order.
As for solo diving, it should be made as a cognitive choice not as an
outcome of circumstance.  The divers at Jackson had no intention of solo
diving, but for a time it occurred.  Mr. Rennaker's article eludes to
these types of scenarios.....swimming or scootering too far apart, loss
of visibility
without touch contact,  long one-man restrictions, stressed or task
overloaded diver....these scenarios are "solo dives" and should be
avoided if you are not prepared for them.  The other type of solo diving
is intentional, even if a "buddy" is in the water.  Small system
exploration being the best example.  It requires special gear, training,
and mind set.  Solo diving can and is being done safely on a routine
basis by a small number of experienced cave divers.  They just don't
advertise or promote the activity...solo diving definitely is not for
everyone, but neither is cave diving for that matter.
Lee Gibson
Matt London wrote:

> I was also appalled at this article and Mr. Rennarker and his
> insistence on his "most important person" concept. The lack of proper
> buddy system procedures, communication skills, equipment knowledge and
> configuration, dive planning and the basic diving skills that is so
> obvious in cave diving today is the direct responsibility of the
> instructors handing out the certifications. Many people today seem to
> be more interested in collecting "C" cards ASAP then learning the art
> of safe cave diving. With all due respect it is my opinion that Mr.
> Rennikers article is a prime example of what we don't want to teach
> our students. Best regards M> Thailand's deep cave exploration at -
> www.divefun.com/tcdp/

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