DM>You dove in by saying...
DM>CW>  SE>CW>Does anyone know if there is a common ingrediant in
DM>CW>  SE>CW>the alarming number of scuba deaths this year..ie, new
DM>CW>  SE>CW>divers, cave diving, equipment problems?
DM>CW>  SE>Ignorance?  :)
DM>I surfaced with...           Cave Dive at Jacob's Well, Texas
DM>        Recently our dive team leaders did a dive in the infamous Jacob's 
We
DM>in Wimberley, Texas.  If you have never heard of it, it has claimed the 
live
DM>of at least 16 divers including 4 Houston divers on one day in 1986.  We
DM>planned two months in advance for this dive and finally received legal
DM>permission to enter the property. (being our dive team would most likely 
e
DM>called to do the next recovery, and there undoubtedly will be another
DM>recovery)
DM>        In doing the research for the dive, I discovered of the 16 divers 
wh
DM>died, nearly every one had air remaining in their tanks when recovered.  
Som
DM>of the divers were arriving in pick up trucks, jumping out and getting 
nto
DM>the well in the early morning hours under darkness to avoid being arrested 
f
DM>criminal trespass.  When the Pick up truck returned in an hour, no divers 
we
DM>there.
I think your narrative would fit the catagory of deathes from ignorance.
Your group planned, got permission, secured adequete safety equipment
and such.  Truthfully, what anyone should do who is entering a hazardous
overhead enviornment.
I just wonder if the openwater deathes in the ocean and lakes are due to
a large influx of people starting to dive....as such, with any large
number, we have the same percentage of fools and careless people, but
with a larger total number the number of "hazardous" dives has also
incresased.
CARL
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 * SLMR 2.1a * Clay, WV---First National Opossum Refuge
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