> So, you now have more confidence in the W2 Project after one of their team
> members is almost killed???

Actually, Dawn, yes I do.  The hypoxic accident was more my fault than the
diver's, and involved a series of circumstances found only in a training
environment (most notably heliox-14 as an active diluent in shallow water).
From what George was telling me in private before I went there, I was
expecting a bunch of redneck egotisitical morons.  What I found was a bunch
of sincerely dedicated individuals who showed very good characteristics for
being rebreather divers (humble, disciplined, paranoid, etc.), and who
worked together MAGNIFICENTLY as a team.  Most of them have worked together
on different project before, and all showed a very clear attitude that the
needs of the project outweighed the needs of the individual.  All were
willing to pay their fair share of dues and there wasn't a single argument
among them.  Only a couple of them live in FL.  Two of them (including the
guy who blacked out) are part of Olivier Isler's team and were with him on
his recent record-breaking dive (where they did something like 9-hour dives
in freezing water). Also, it became very clear than none of them see the
"end of the line" as a goal for their project.  Their goal is to create a
detailed map of as much of the cave system as they can. I had thought they
all wanted to prove George wrong and extend the end of the line (which was
part of my earlier concern), but many of them have never even heard of
George, and none of them give a rat's ass about setting records. These are
some of the reasons my confidence increased greatly.

> ...and,  because you were able to watch them swim around for several days
> in a cave system that is 1/5 the depth of Wakulla, and at this moment has
> probably 20 times better viz than Wakulla, you feel better about their
> success???

Viz was down to about 5 feet the last few days. To be honest with you, I
wouldn't know what too look for in terms of cave diving skills.  My main
concern was attitude - especially toward the rebreather, and teamwork.  I
assesed those qualities much more in the classroom and in casual
conversation than I did underwater.  That I tried to throw so many problems
at them so early on is a testament to how well they were performing on the
rebreathers.

> It is so hard for me, and almost useless,  to explain this to someone who
> can't understand it already, but there is so much more to what we do than
> expensive gear and maximum publicity.
> As far as the exploration dives go, I don't even have a full grasp as to
> what it takes to do those.

I understand and agree.  What George fails to realize is that the Wak2
project is about SO MUCH MORE than techno-wizardry and ego.  For a while, I
was actually starting to believe some of the things George was saying about
them, until I learned more about their project last week.  No, they are
certainly not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, as I know you know
that WKPP isn't perfect either.  NONE of them - not a single one of them,
ever criticized WKPP (the criticisms were directed only at George's
attitude).  But they are a LOT better than George wants the world to think
of them.

> What I do know....there is this thing called teamwork. I thought
> I had seen
> teamwork on previous projects, but I have come to learn that was not near
> what I have experienced with the WKPP. The people on this project are
> absolutely amazing - AND, we are diving together, working together, and
> communicating all of the time, year round. What about W2?

I agree - WKPP is far ahead of Wak2 in teamwork.  Despite all of the
ill-feelings towards George, nobody disputes that the larger body of WKPP is
a magnificent machine.  But the Wak2 guys are not NEARLY as bad as George
makes them out to be. I made the mistake of believing George on a lot of
things, because he usually gives me the real story in private.  I don't
think he was necessarily lying to me, but he was definitely misinformed on a
lot of things.

> Those who have come down to see the team at work have seen first-hand what
> goes into making this project work as well as it does. This project is
> doing a lot of talking, but I don't think they will ever be able to grasp,
> especially in three months, what it takes to make a team work together
> well.

Like I told Jess - maybe, maybe not. We should know in January.

> I am not making this a "controversy" of WKPP vs. W2, but I do want to make
> it a point that being in my position, I work with everyone on the
> WKPP -  I
> have the chance to see what goes into making a successful team, and I can
> say without a doubt that they don't have what it takes to do it.

Like I said - time will tell.  If they do pull it off, are you more likely
to credit it to luck, or will you be willing to admit that maybe you didn't
have a full and accurate picture of thier project to begin with?

> You can argue this all you want, and I really don't care - until you have
> worked with a record-breaking cave-diving team, there is not a thing you
> can say that will hold of shred of significance to me.

I guess I can understand your frustration, and a lot of that frustration
(from you and others) is being directed at me because I am the only one who
talks about these things publicly.  But as I keep trying to tell people, I
am NOT the enemy.  I am going to stay out of it on the lists altogether from
now on.  Everything I have written on the lists is as honest and as
straightforward as I can make it. I am not trying to play political games.
I can't tell you how happy I am that there are NO politics in my diving
world, and I plan to keep it that way.  You guys can go on believing what
you want, and Stone's guys will go ahead with their plans.  If they fail,
then they fail.  If they succeed, then they succeed.  I want them to succeed
for the same reasons I want WKPP to succeed, and the same reasons I want
Isler to succeed, and the same reasons I want a lot of others to succeed -
because it is fascinating, cutting-edge exploration.  I don't want to argue
with you, and I'm not going to.  However, if anyone confronts me with
perspectives that are inconsistent with my own observations, I will be happy
to engage in a discussion.  Unfortunately, right now I just don't have the
time to write long messages like this because I am busy at work, and need to
prepare for another dive trip (thankfully having **nothing** to do with
caves) next week.

Take care....

Aloha,
Rich

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