May 31, 2000 - Since putting this essay online, I've received a large number of email. Many have agreed with the sentiments, a few have disagreed with the tone of the message.

I've decided to take on the task of adding another feature to this page, it's what I call "The Body Count" page. I will be adding any news articles (or other information) I can get my hands on about cave diving fatalities on this page. The sole purpose of "The Body Count Page" is to remind you, the reader, about the serious nature of cave diving.

With that said, I bring you to...

4:04 - Cave Divers Corner - Whoops - It's gone!


I used to have a web-site called "Cave Divers Corner". Since it hasn't been updated in over a year I decided to delete the stagnant pages.

This doesn't mean that you can't find any information on cave diving here. Well, I guess it really means you can't.

If you feel the need to go into an underwater cave, you need to get your head examined. Cave diving is the worlds most dangerous sport, failure to perform it properly can be fatal - if you fuck up you can die. This does not mean I'm against the hobby, I just don't believe people who claim there's such a thing as "safe cave diving" - that's like saying "almost pregnant," it's just not true. Don't be fooled by the BS that some training agencies espouse, cave diving (and technical diving in general), is not for everyone. People who have no business participating in the sport die each year.

If you must go into an underwater cave, get the proper training. There are three agencies in the United States that offer cave diving courses that are at least decent enough that you may survive. They are the NSS-CDS (sorry, I don't know the URL offhand), the The NACD, and GUE. Yes, there are other agencies out there that offer cave diving courses, and they may have one or two good instructors, but overall most of these other agencies have let instructors pass through the cracks that have no business teaching, so I won't list the agencies because of this. I'm sorry, but guys who can't walk their own gear to the water have no business being "Cave Diving Instructor Trainers."

The NACD is the oldest training agency in the country (since 1969), the NSS-CDS is the largest, and GUE has the most thorough training. If your instructor follows the agency standards, any one of them should teach you enough that you won't die as long as you follow the rules. But, even in these agencies there may be instructors who will bend/ignore the rules. Because GUE is so new and has a lot of momentum I'd be surprised to hear about rule bending in a GUE course, but I'll still remain a little skeptical about the long term commitment. Sorry guys, I'm just a little jaded at the dive industry as a whole - it's filled with a bunch of whores that want to make the quickest buck and they don't care who they sell the goods to.

If I was to take a course I'd probably take it from one of the GUE instructors just because I believe in their philosophy of diving. This is not to say other instructors aren't any good. The instructors I'd consider using, and their agency affiliation, are listed below. This does not mean that "instructor xyz sucks", it just means either: (a) I don't know the guy and have no idea what his beliefs/teaching practices are, or (b) I think he sucks. If you want my honest opinion of someone not listed, send me a quick note (sallot@mindspring.com for now).

Basically any instructor who is not willing to fail students is written off for being dead weight and a detriment to safe diving. Additionally, any instructor that doesn't go cave diving at least once a week for fun is written off since I feel the only way to maintain being a good diver is by diving.

Instructors I'd use


Well, that's my list. If you're an instructor and you feel like you should be on it, but aren't, prove to me why you should be and then we'll talk. Remember, these are only my own opinions. Some of these instructors don't even necessarily do everything "Doing it Right" but are good solid divers, cave divers, and instructors.

You may wonder who am I to voice these opinions? You'd have a good point.

I've been cave diving for 6 years now, and have just shy of 500 cave dives under my belt. I've been involved with exploration projects in the US and Mexico. I now consider myself a "weenie diver" because I'm not interested in doing any dive that requires more then a stage bottle (and probably not a scooter), plus now I only dive sidemount configuration because it opens up a bunch of other type of places to visit, and I believe in diving the same configuration at all times. I believe in the hogarthian principles (what is now called "Doing it Right"). When I started cave diving those of us who were "long hose breathers" were the minority and the outcast, everyone used to butt mount and hose stuff. Funny how it turns around.

My deepest cave dive was a little over 300' in B Tunnel at Wakulla. The longest bottom time I ever pulled at depth was 85 minutes at 200' in Cheryl (don't ask, it was really a stupid dive plan), my longest cave dive had a 210 minute bottom time (pre-deco) and that put me around 9,000' back in Manatee from Friedman's sink. I'm not trying to beat my chest, these are just some of the dives in my log. I don't do deep or long penetrations anymore, I'll leave that for the guys who are gung-ho.

Between work, running, and other projects I'm involved in, I don't have enough time these days to mix nitrox for a dive, let alone fill 4 deco bottles and mix trimix, plus dive enough to keep my skills up to the level that they'd need to be to do that kind of stuff. So, I'll stick with weenie holes for the time being.

BTW, visit the WKPP web site to find out who the pro's are for deep/long cave diving, I assure you it's not the USDCT.


Whiners email: postmaster@aol.com
Everyone else, sallot@mindspring.com
Updated: 2/18/2000