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Sump Diving In the US, Some Thoughts
I have been following the posts regarding the unfortunate death of a
caver in a sump in the Northeast. Based on the second hand information
available It appears that lack of training, poor judgment and bad luck all
played a role in this unfortunate death.
Even if you are a fully qualified Cave Diver please bear in mind that
Sump Diving is a unique form of Cave Diving that requires the application of
special skills and equipment. Although full Cave certification and
experience in Florida caves is a major plus it will not fully prepare you
for Sump Diving. The difference in the environment and hence the required
equipment and techniques are significant enough to get you into trouble in a
hurry if you push the envelope too far too fast.
Most Sump Divers in the US are dry cavers who decide that a water filled
passage will not stop them and figure out how to over come this obstacle
themselves. No one will ask to see your cave diver card or sump
certification in most of the US outside of Florida. This means if you find
a sump you can gain access to you can do anything you want whether you know
what you are doing or do not. In a way it is wonderful to have this degree
of freedom but please realize the impact your actions can have on family,
friends and the diving community if you get yourself killed. Fortunately
most dry cavers think sump divers are nuts and don�t attempt this type of
activity on their own.
To the best of my knowledge there is no formal certification course for
Sump Diving in the US. Hence individuals who want to pursue this activity
are either self taught or apprentice with an experienced sump diver. In
some cases these individuals get it right and in others they kill themselves
learning a lesson the hard way. In my case I taught myself how to sump
dive essentially on my own through trial and error. I then eventually ended
up in Florida and went through a full cave course with JJ and Steve Berman
learning numerous skills that I was able to use to significantly refine my
sump diving techniques. This in turn eventually led to the creation Of the
Northeast Sump Exploration Team, a formal project of the NSS.
The team has an operations and techniques manual and Diver Explorers benefit
from the ability to learn from past mistakes the easy way. NEST members
are joint venturers, the organizations participants share their skills and
knowledge freely with each other but do not provide any formal training.
By this I mean we will do not have any financial interest in promoting sump
diving. In fact you could not pay for the training even if you wanted to
since it is not for sale. To be a member of NEST you need to live in our
geographic area, be a team player and be willing to take the time to do it
right. An investment that most people are not willing to make. This is a
positive aspect because once an activity becomes commercialized it tends to
go down hill with the financial considerations becoming the driving factor.
The number of sumps in the US are limited and their ability to handle
significant amounts of traffic are very low. In the current environment
promoting sump diving would be akin to teaching people to hunt bald eagles,
a really bad idea. Fortunately because the demand and potential financial
reward is low this has not happened.
One of the most dangerous and challenging aspects of sump diving is pushing
under water restrictions. Based on the information regarding the accident
one of the causes of the recent death. Even if you are an experience sump
diver think long and hard before attempting this. If you are not an
experienced sump diver don�t even consider this. In sump diving like many
other activities there is a point of no return. Once past this point you
are dead. The challenge is knowing how to recognize this point without
going past it. This is much easier said than done since the only way you
learn where this limit lies is by reaching the edge and in some cases
slipping down the side and scrambling back. To make this situation even
more difficult this point is defined by a series of changing variables that
are not static so the point tends to move. This is especial true in the
case of passing restrictions. In this case the point has a very sharp edge,
go a quarter of an inch to far and it could all be over. I have cracked
several restrictions that definitely got my full attention. Fortunately I
had built up enough experience to successfully handle them. If you are
pushing your limits do it slowly.
In summary sump diving carries with it risks. These are risks that we
are willing to accept and fortunately we still have the freedom to make this
personnel choice. These risks are significantly increased if you are
inventing your techquies as you go. My advice based on several hundred sump
dives is as a minimum be a fully certified cave diver with considerable
diving experience before you consider this activity, then find a qualified
sump diver and work with that individual. If you don�t meet these
requirements your best bet is to stay out of sumps, after all they tend to
be cold and nasty anyway, just go diving in Florida.
JOE KAFFL
PROJECT DIRECTOR NEST
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