Underwater Speleology Journal of the Cave Diving Section of the National Speleological Society
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Underwater Speleology Journal of the Cave Diving Section of the National Speleological Society INSIDE THIS ISSUE: DPV Cave Dive Planning Accident Analysis: Calimba Double Fatality Update Wrap Ups: Midwest and Hart Workshops, DEMA Show 2019 Why Wakulla is Browning Volume 47 Number 1 January/February/March 2020 Postponed 2020 NSS-CDS International Cave Diving Conference We’re expecting an exciting group of expert speakers in May, including: • Doug Ebersole, MD: Cardiovascular Disease and Medical Issues in Aging Divers • Ricardo Castillo: Cave Photography: Tips and Tricks • Robbie (Xibalba) Schmittner: Cave Connections in Mexico • Brett Floren: State of the NSS-CDS • Todd Kincaid: Update on the Health of Florida’s Springs • • Master of Ceremonies: Paul Heinerth NSS-CDS Board of Directors CHAIRMAN Underwater Speleology TJ Muller Volume 47 Number 1 [email protected] January/February/March 2020 732.674.6550 VICE CHAIRMAN Brett Floren [email protected] contents TREASURER feature articles Jason Black [email protected] 386.466.2113 DPV Cave Dive Planning: Gas and Bailout Calculations SECRETARY by Ken Sallot................................................................. 6 Renée Power In Memoriam: Remembering Reggie Ross [email protected] by Max Kuznetzov.......................................................................................14 Accident Analyis: Final Update on the Calimba Double Fatality, November 2018 by Kim Davidsson and Dr. Johan Isaksson.......................................16 2019 Midwest Workshop Wrap by Joshua Shouse..................................................................... 22 A “Most Successful” DEMA 2019 by Renée Power......................................................................................... 26 DIRECTORS: COMMITTEES AND VOLUNTEER Why Wakulla Springs is Browning Al Clements [email protected] by Derek Dunlop ....................................................................................... 28 PROPERTIES Hart Springs Winter Workshop Ken Sallot [email protected] by Renée Power................................................................................................ 30 TRAINING DIRECTOR Lamar Hires [email protected] columns 386.752.1087 ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGER [email protected] From the Chairman Adam Hughes by TJ Muller............................................................................... 6 5200 NW 43rd Ave., Ste. 102-380 Gainesville, FL 32606 News Snippets 561.704.3038 by Barbara Dwyer..............................................................................................14 Please mail Section business to: Nicholson Award: A 29-Year Journey NSS-CDS [email protected] Adam Hughes by Marvin Zaske................................................................................................. 21 5200 NW 43rd Ave., Ste. 102-380 Gainesville, FL 32606 561.704.3038 Cover: ©Guy Bryant. Tracy Niesent explores a pristine area of Madison Blue. UNDERWATER SPELEOLOGY from the chairman EDITORIAL TEAM —by TJ Muller EDITOR The NSS-CDS is doing very well. We are stable and have robust member- ship numbers; we have a strong board, all of whom have the best interest Barbara J Dwyer of the membership in mind. For this I am very grateful. [email protected] However, we have been recently set back by the unexpected passing ASSOCIATE EDITOR of our beloved Training Director, Reggie Ross. Reggie had always been passionate about the NSS-CDS, with an almost contagious affinity for the Michael Raymond sport of cave diving. Everyone who knew him loved him — he was the standard to which all cave instructors should aspire. His loss is a set back ADVERTISING SALES for us, as the momentum started by Reggie has been temporarily stifled. Barbara J Dwyer Luckily, we have many generous members/instructors who have stepped [email protected] up to continue his work. I would like to thank Lamar Hires for taking the reins of the Training Committee to ensure we don’t stray from the course set by Reggie. Lamar’s action is just one example of the good in our To our readers and members: Views represented in Underwater Speleology community when people pull together in tough times. I am also grateful articles are solely the author’s and do to Harry Averill (who many of you know as “Cave Diver Harry”), who has not reflect the views of the NSS-CDS been helping behind the scenes. Board of Directors or of the Editor. We advocate freedom of speech and Our community has also felt two more losses with the passing of Cindy welcome discussion. Feel free to rebut previously printed articles and/or to Butler and Rich Courtney. Cindy was a long time cave diver and activist submit your own. for the preservation of caves. Some of the work she was a part of almost The magazine encourages members two decades ago laid the groundwork for the recent round of litigation with to submit news, stories, letters, trip the City of Alachua. During court-ordered mediations, the city tried to take and exploration reports, maps, and photos. Please contact the Editor first the route of “what cave?” and “is there a cave there?” which put the onus for publication guidelinest to avoid on us to prove the existence of the Alachua cave system. Luckily, the dye duplication of work. trace study included a cave map of the downstream tunnel — and thanks to Cindy, this has been archived in the city’s records for the last ten years. One simple record request, and we were able to prove that the city has Underwater Speleology (UWS) is always known about the system, preventing them from sweeping it under published quarterly (four times yearly) by the NSS-CDS, 295 NW Commons the rug. As a result, there are now permanent restrictive covenants on Loop, Suite 115-317, Lake City, FL the land, and we prevented a gas station from being built right above the 32005. cave. These covenants will also help prevent unfettered development on UWS is a membership benefit. adjacent parcels due to the precedent they set. Information about membership fees and registration can be found at www. nsscds.org. Rich was a long time instructor who seemed to be liked by everyone. Although I personally had met him only a couple of times, the people who Please send address changes to [email protected] or to 295 NW knew him best are truly feeling his loss. Commons Loop, Suite 115-317, Lake City, FL 32005. I have faith in our community that there will be others who will step up and UWS text, illustrations, and photographs get involved like Cindy, Rich, and Reggie. may not be reproduced without the express consent of the NSS-CDS or its authors, artists, or photographers. Kindest regards, NSS-CDS is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Sylvester “TJ” Muller Chairman, NSS-CDS 4 Underwater Speleology editor’s note —by Barbara J Dwyer Hello fellow cave divers and friends, As this issue goes to press, the coronavirus/SARS-Cov2 outbreak has reached pandemic proportions with more than 860,000 cases reported globally with some 42,000 deaths.. Our annual May International Cave Diving Conference is among the countless events cancelled or postponed. The Board of Directors will meet on March 29, 2020, and welcomes everyone to call in (see https//:nsscds.org for time and phone). Arrangements for the conference will be ironed out then. We hope to have the conference at a later date. #### The winter holiday season was hard on the cave diving community. The sad events began just before Thanksgiving when 28-year-old Zhou Min of Foshan City, China, a newly certified cave diver, perished in an accident at Manatee Spring. Her teammates, including her husband, were unable to rescue her. The difficult recovery was made the following day by IUCRR divers. Over Christmas we lost a number of friends (deaths not dive related). Reggie Ross, our Training Director, lost his life on Christmas Eve while preparing to dive at Ginnie Springs. Reggie’s death was followed a few days later by Rich Courtney’s from disease complications. Mike Hanna, who worked for Dive Rite, died unexpect- edly at home. Matt Smith, a Texas diver who loved the Florida caves, also died in January. Kenny Paramore passed in mid February. And we learned that Cindy Butler, a veteran cave diver who maintained the Cave Div- ing Museum and served as Editor for Underwater Speleology, had succumbed to a long illness. Two British divers were lost in December. Roger Matthew Smith died at Song Hong Cave in Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand. Simon Holliday, a Cave Diving Group member, failed to return from a dive at Lancaster Hole, Cumbria. More than 40 members of the Cave Diving Group and the Cave Rescue Organization joined in the recovery effort. #### Underwater Speleology welcomes two new writers/editors. Many of you know Michael Menduno, known affectionately as M2, who launched and published AquaCORPS magazine in the 1990s. This was the first regular publication for technical divers. It offered information and discussion about mixed gases, the art and science of decompression, and interviews with pioneers and experts when mainstream scuba shunned the idea of nitrox, let alone trimix. Welcome, Michael! that explores controversies and best practices in sump rescue. Thanks to Michael for proofreading and copyediting this issue. The 2020 CDS Board of Directors election won’t need to be held. Three candidates submitted position papers, and three board positions are coming vacant. That’s all of the information I currently have. For now, it looks as if underwater caves are some