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The topic of new requirements for DPV use at Ginnie Springs has come up a lot on this list lately. I spent some time talking with some of the folks at Ginnie this morning to try and get some straight answers out about this so that we can put an end to the bullshit and speculation. I've also been told that there will probably be a public statement made by some of the staff at Ginnie on this list shortly. On January 1, 1998 divers will need to prove one of two things to use a DPV at Ginnie Springs. 1) Cave Diver certification PRIOR to January 1, 1997 AND proof of 100 cave dives at the cave diver level. Proof can be provided by one of three methods; the NSS-CDS Abe Davis award, the NACD Wakulla Award (bronze or higher), or your logbook. As has been previously stated on this list, you currently DO need to be a member of the NSS-CDS to apply for the Abe Davis award, but you do not need to be a member of the NACD to apply for the Wakulla Bronze award. Both awards cost absolutely nothing (except the membership cost for the Abe Davis). However, if that is not convenient enough for you (i.e. too lazy to fill out the paperwork, have your logbook verified, and mail it in), you can also just bring your logbook and have it verified by the staff at Ginnie Springs. This really should not be a big deal considering that many "guided" cave systems have similar requirements in regards to 100 cave dives. Examples include Heart, Alachua, Bonnett, Cathedral, etc. Although both the Wakulla Awards and Abe Davis awards are not necessarily proof of cave diving proficiency, they are what is currently accepted as the "standard of proof" for other guided systems. Why should Devils Ear be any different? 2) Scooter certification through an approved training agency (NSS-CDS, NACD or equivilent). I imagine there will be some people out there who were certified after January 1, 1997 who have 100+ cave dives, and a lot of scooter experience, but are not "Scooter certified". I imagine that the staff at Ginnie Springs will make a case by case approval/denial of scooter priviledges based on individual diver experience, experience of members in the dive team, and logbook experience. If in doubt, bring your logbook. There are now also restrictions as to where you can take and where you can't take a scooter in the Devils Ear cave. You can not take a DPV in the following places: Double Lines, Syphon tunnel, Sweets Surprise (aka Split Tunnel), River Intrusion tunnel, Mainland, anywhere past the Hinkel restriction. Now a lot of people are opposed to this new rule for one reason or another. I've heard things from "it's not realistic because Abe Davis and Wakulla awards are not proof of proficiency", to "it's just a ploy for the instructors to make more money". This is not the case. I dive at Devils Ear quite a bit. It's 20 minutes from my house, so I typically find myself there a couple of times a month on weeknights. It's a fairly simple thing for me to pop off work early and head over and get in a nice 60 minute dive and still be home in time to keep the wife happy. I guess I'm lucky that way. When I first got certified as a cave diver, I spent a lot of time diving Devils Ear. I was fascinated by how many different tunnels and passages I could find. The cave actually branches out with over six miles of passage, which can keep most of us pretty happy for quite awhile. Unfortunately, even in just the past couple of years, there has been a noticeable amount of damage done to the cave system at Ginnie Springs. Some sections, which really should not have scooters in them at all, find themselves abused on a regular basis by a few "experts". The "Double Lines" used to be one of my favorite places to swim in, now it makes me cry when I go back there and see how much abuse it has taken. A lot of this abuse can be directly attributed to the misuse of DPV's in this system. There is NO REASON you should find "scooter donuts" in the middle of the double lines, but guess what, they're there. There are major sections of the double lines that are broken off by poor technique that, once again, can be attributed to scootering in this delicate section of cave. I have seen first hand divers trying to act like "Rambo" in devils ear, and dropping negatively buoyant scooters on delicate structures. You can see the scooter "racing tracks" where people just plow through the clay without any attention to detail. I have been left in zero visibility in the Hilliard tunnel by someone coming at me from a different direction on a full sized aquazepp. Part of the reason I enjoy cave diving is looking at the beauty of some of these systems. Unfortunately, Devils Ear is being beaten really badly by poor technique. The accident that nearly cost a diver his life this past summer just drove home the point that there needs to be some level of control. Too many divers are trying to go too far, too fast. And, although the Abe Davis/Wakulla Awards are not "proficiency exams", they're better then nothing. Personally, I am in favor of the new policy. I'm not in favor of it simply because I'm being grandfathered in. I'm in favor of it because there are still sections of that cave which are pretty that have not suffered a beating yet, and if they do not have some form of control I'm afraid these sections will wind up looking like the double lines. For those of you that are complaining about this policy, you should think about a couple of things. Ginnie Springs profits more from campers, tubers, openwater divers, and cavern divers then they do cave divers. They could just shut down cave diving altogether, or not allow scooters at all, but they haven't. They've given everyone an opportunity to still scooter in the cave, provided you have met the appropriate requirements. Also, it's not scootering that's the problem, and the folks at Ginnie Springs realize that. It's a few people who are scootering that shouldn't be that ARE the problem. Recently I was asked to participate in an "instructor re-evaluation". I complained that I shouldn't have to since I was already an instructor and hadn't done anything wrong. The person who asked me to participate in the evaluation said, "If you deserve to be an instructor then you shouldn't have anything to worry about", so I was there. I have to ask those of you that are complaining about this policy, do you really deserve to be scootering there? Maybe that's what the real source of the complaint is? Ken Sallot -- Send mail for the `techdiver' mailing list to `techdiver@aquanaut.com'. Send subscribe/unsubscribe requests to `techdiver-request@aquanaut.com'.
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