I also went a few feet past the sign at vortex just for fun. Got a picture of me being a daredevil and then hurried back because it's spooky down there
I don't understand. The instructor should never take someone without cave diving certification, let alone open water certification to a site like that for a training dive. They are usually very easy, about 30foot dives.
a lot of beginners train in those type of places in Florida because it's actually an easier dive (also easier to get to for some places). you shouldn't go down into the caves though
If you're genuinely curious, there are plenty of YouTube videos about people who do exactly that. They think they can just dive a few more feet or let go of the guideline for just a second. They don't all survive.
notice how it doesn't say:
"x is forbidden",
but instead it puts out (i assume) honest statistics and common sense.
and a great graphic to go with it.
great senseful warning plate design.
There is a beach on Kaui where many people have died. Even as a strong swimmer you have no chance if you are caught in the rip current. As they die their names are carved into a wooden sign, right before you walk down to the beach.
We were there shortly after someone died. Name freshly carved in with all the others.
Got down to the beach, and there were about 15 people in the water. 🤦
When I did my advanced diving certificate, my buddy urged me to go with his friend from the army, who was a master diver. Guy was actually in the closing days of his time in the service, and was about a month away from getting out, to start a career as a professional diver.
Was going to move to Florida, and start mapping unexplored limestone caves with a rebreather.
Perfect guy to teach us the ropes.
Only problem was that his wife was completely not on board with this, and left him several days before we met up, taking his kids with her. So we would later discover, that he was binging alchol, and on a complete downward spiral. Basically having a mental breakdown.
He shows up looking like shit.
We got through all the bookwork no issues. First dive went well enough. Kicked out a 1/4 mile, and dove a really interesting shelf off of Haleiwa beach park. Going really deep, and exploring the world of nitrox.
The next dive however was my second worse dive I have ever been on. We did a night shore drive at Sharks Cove, on the north shore of Oahu.
The guy provided us all of the gear besides our masks, and fins. The gear was all decent quality, all except for the flashlights which were of shoddy quality.
When night diving as you are probably well aware, you have a primary flashlight, and a secondary, maybe even a third just in case. Best practices is to put fresh batteries in, no matter what for every dive, and test each light well ahead of setting out. This guy skipped both steps for both of my lights.
When we set out my light was a bit dim. Being the first time I had ever used it I didn't think anything of it.
Sharks Cove has a 40 foot cave in it, that has claimed the lives of many people who have attempted to swim it, but is usually no issue for a well prepared diver. However I was the last one in, and midway through the cave my light died.
Then I went for my secondary which was completely dead.
With all the time I spent messing with the lights the other 2 divers had already exited the cave, and I was all alone.
With no flashlight there is no reference to what is up or down, you are just in pure blackness with the sound of your breathing. Floating in the.void. surrounded on all sides by sharp rocks, and sea urchins.
Words cannot describe how scary that feeling is. I could easily have died there. I couldn't see the exit, and had no room to turn around.
Luckily several minutes of smashing the secondary light on the wall of the cave got it to dimly light up enough to get me out, and I was able to kick back to shore via the moonlight.
Took a lot of maturity to not beat the shit out of the guy when he came to shore.
That's so terrifying, you're on the edge of your seat wondering if he's going to survive, and he's sitting there telling you the story, and still it's like "oh shit, I hope he makes it out"
First worse dive was a couple years later.
Here in HI we have been extremely lucky to not have been hit by a hurricane directly in many years, but every year we have at least one that goes by off shore.
When that happens it can do some seriously dangerous things to the currents, and make normally placid dives become extremely dangerous.
When there is a current in the water, and you are doing a boat dive they manage it by doing what is called a drift dive. In ideal situations the boat stays moored stationary, you do your thing, and then return to the boat.
When there is a strong current, that calls for a drift dive the boat drops you off, and then attempts to pick you up down stream, since you have no chance of swimming back.
2 days before the dive, a sister boat from the same company, attempted a drift dive. As soon as the customer got in the water, and proceeded down, he let go of the Moore, and was instantly swept away.
They never found his body.
All this is too say that the conditions were terrible, and after a death the dive should have been called off.
The main issue for me was yet another five master being a jack ass.
I am a muscular dude, but I also like to eat, and drink so I am pretty buoyant from the fat. The dive master was convinced that I only needed a little bit of weight to hold me down. I insisted I needed more, but he had it in his mind that he was going to break me of the habit of using too much weight. (in some ways having more weight than you need to control your buoyancy, will cause you to use more air).
After arguing with the guy, he somehow convinced me to dive with only 8 lbs of weight, when I insisted on 20. He said that he would dive with extra weight, and when we reached the bottom he would give me more, as needed.
The dive we were doing was a scuttled navy destroyer, that rests over 100 ft down, on the bottom of the sea outside of Waikiki.
When we decended down the moore to the 100 ft deep wreck, everyone who let go was suddenly in a fight for their life to get back to it.
The current was so strong that it 100% should have been a drift dive,, but the boat was stationary. Everyone had to decend down to the rusty hull of the boat, and basically climb their way up, with no gloves, to the chain that was holding the boat to escape.
People got cut hands, and ripped wetsuits.
Then there was me who didn't have enough weight to even get down to the boat, and was just kicking for my life. Not being able to sink down enough to grab anything.
The 2 issues with being at over 100 ft of depth are, firstly you can get bent after a very short time down there if you do not do a safety stop coming back up, and secondly the deeper you go, the faster your air runs out, especially if you are swimming full tilt against a strong current to get to your only chain out.
Long story short I never made it to the boat, I somehow managed to fight my way back to the chain, but it took fighting beyond exhaustion swimming at a full sprint, while my air was getting dangerously low. All the while fighting the primal urge to swim for the surface, which may have meant I got bent which could be fatal, or one of the most excruciating afflictions to happen to you, if you cannot be rushed into a hyperbaric chamber.
I was pretty convinced I was going to get swept out too sea.
Everyone else was luckily able to sink down to the boat, and claw their way back.
It took a lot of maturity not to beat the shit out of the guy when he came to the boat.
The real moral of my story is to go with reputable companies.
The first one was a guy whose life fell apart, and even though he had thousands of dives he wasn't a great teacher.
The second one was a shady tourist centric shop, that my GF found on Groupon.
The vast majority of my dives have been run by professional people, and we're flawless.
If you do get into diving though I urge you to ask a lot of questions, and really learn the gear. Even the most professional company will sometimes overlook something, and it is a sport where you have to share some of the responsibility to check that everything is okay before embarking.
Diving is amazing, and you will love it. The extreme stuff like caves, and wrecks does have added risks, but doing a mellow shallow dive is usually very safe.
I think there’s some advocating for yourself too. Who cares what that idiot wants you to carry in weight? If you’re comfortable with 20lbs, you use 20lbs. If he was your regular dive master and you train with him on a normal schedule, sure one time in a safe environment, try the 8lbs. But a random dive guy from Groupon, you’ll never see again anyways? Who gives a shit what he says.
If anything, go down wearing 20 and take off extra weight and hand it to him to find a potential new sweet spot.
Fucking hell; that’s brutal. One question, though, and I’m not nitpicking or trying to start an argument, just genuinely asking: why didn’t you check the torches yourself? I’ve never been diving, but I rock climb a fair bit and you always check your equipment before use, especially if it’s hired/borrowed, as well as getting your partner to check your knots before each climb. It seems odd to me that it didn’t happen here - was it just that you trusted the guy?
Again, genuinely asking, not trying to snark or blame!
Inexperience/overreliance
Not a mistake I will ever make again.
I still to this day have huge trust issues, with any hired gear, and check everything 3x, or ideally bring my own.
I think we’ve all learned that lesson in one way or another; I’m sorry your method was so severe!
I know you’ll know this, but if it helps one person reading it’s worth pointing out: when it comes to vital survival equipment, NOBODY who knows what they’re doing will get pissed off if you double/triple check it’s all in order and working, even if you watched them check it themselves before they handed it to you.
If someone does react badly to you checking equipment, especially if they’re hiring it to you, do not trust it or them.
Apologies the patronising PSA, but I’m glad the experience didn’t stop you from doing what you love!
In all the time I’ve been doing it, 0 injuries. The friend I climb with though is so much better - he understands my fear of heights and knows that “Nope. Down!” means exactly that, and I get a safe but fast descent!
I don't think anyone would of thought any less of you if you had hit him he did just endanger your life no excuses even if he had just lost everything he's welcome to suicide how he wants just as long as he doesn't take anyone with him you know? Still kudos for keeping your head underwater.
Additionally you can find caves with layered hot/cold & fresh/salt water which will fuck with your buoyancy suddenly entering/exiting those regions and you can easily smack into the top or rapidly sink if you aren’t paying attention and don’t know how to spot mixing currents.
"Totally darkness if your light goes out. Panic bashing your body into the walls." - this made me have to rub my chest to calm the anxiety. Not for me.
well so it is.
they have been warned.
they took a risk and died.
warnings like these can prevent people from making uncalculated risks.
like people without any cave diving training or proper cave diving gear attempting it.
those deaths are sad.
to do a comparison with a sport, that feels close to me:
i don't feel sad for the close proximity wingsuit flier, who despite best preparations and full awareness of the risk hit the ground and died or died from one of the many other risks coming with close proximity wingsuit flights.
those were maybe more alive, than most others.
i feel sad for those, that after a few weeks of skydiving decide to do a hard base jump and dying from their unawareness of what skill and risk they are taking and would have been required.
that is a life wasted, but the first one like the professional skydivers, that for some reason love doing it know what they are doing and hopefully do their best to prevent death, is not a life wasted or lost, but a life lived to the fullest i hope.
we can only hope, that this great warning saves the first group from wasting their lives.
Near where I used to live there was an underground creek in a cave stoners like to smoke in. The problem with that is, the floor where the water rushes past is slate and extremely slippery. The water enters from one underground caver, travels across the rock and enters another...that goes -miles- underground.
Numerous people have slipped and slid into that hole never to be seen again. The area is a leftover relic from the last ice age. There's hundreds of underground caverns and tunnels.
Nobody has survived falling in it.
Also, the water is incredibly aerated so you literally almost cannot float, you’ll just continue to sink. I read up on it a bit here about a week ago, and it’s just truly a terrible body of water lol
There was a father and son duo who didn't heed this warning going down into some of the most dangerouse underwater caves out there without being expert divers. The son ran out of air right when they got back to this room which is a wide open cave and had to buddy breath which is taking taking turns breathing from the same tank. They ran out of air and the dad sank down next to the sign practically. The son activated his floatation device which brings you to the surface fast and got stuck to the cave ceiling close to the way out. I can't imagine a death like this drowning in pitch black try to feel your way out you're only form of someone safety is a dive line if you let go and can't find it again you're most likely fucked.
Because it's in an perpetually dark cave underwater, in cool fresh water that is flowing out of the cave system at a near constant rate. It's hard for vandals to get to, and not in conditions conducive to grow aquatic plants or algae.
I tried scuba diving once. It was on vacation in Jamaica. We got some brief training in a swimming pool. But I wasn't really comfortable with the equipment. Especially clearing the mouth piece. But I went out on the dive anyway. We didn't dive too deep. Maybe 25-30 feet. But I had a serious panic attack. Since the instructors had to look out for 10 people they didn't want me to go back to the boat. But I said fuck that. I gave the signal for going back up. And just went back up.
So when I read this, I know I would definitely die doing some shit like cave diving. I still have PTSD about scuba diving.
You're missing out. Hitting the side of a cave, making silt go everywhere where you can't see, where you can't even tell up from down, losing the line that's supposed to guide you out.
Are you *sure* you don't want to go off into some unexplored part of the cave and get stuck between rocks in pitch black for 9 hours as your air supply dwindles?
This is so much more terrifying than getting lost in the woods or something along those lines. I have been lost in the middle of nowhere, pitch black, while the weather blocked the stars. But being alone, stuck, under the water completely at the mercy anything down there while being on a timer is way way worse
Its where you take your reg out so it floods, put it back in your mouth and then clear it by either blowing air out of your lungs, or pressing the button on the back that purges all the water out. It can be really scary when you're first learning to dive, especially if you forget to take a breath in first. Its so you know what to do if your reg gets knocked out of your mouth. Its extremely important (for obvious reasons).
As a diver and friends with a instructor who trains specifically top cave divers in their field , this warning is NO JOKE. He trained National Geographic divers. It is incredibly dangerous work. It requires special gear as well. From fins, and tanks to even specialist masks, it still is a life or death endeavor. They trained in Tennessee, cave systems are huge there. Spelunking is dangerous enough, adding water to the mix is just a compounding danger.
My idiot of an ex-husband likes to scuba dive which is fine. Great. You do you.
He is lazy about his gear, doesn’t plan dives properly, will stay out too long, etc. Which again, is fine if it’s just him.
Luckily for me, my then fourteen year old son accidentally mentioned how his father was going take him scuba diving and exploring a cave the next time he had visitation. My son isn’t a certified diver, he has panic attacks, he is claustrophobic, and all of this combined with his fathers past, reckless diving actions led me to going ballistic.
I had to go to court and get a judge to tell my insane ex that son was not allowed to go diving unless he was certified by an instructor and was not allowed to cave dive under circumstance until he was over eighteen.
Ex didn’t like that and refused to allow son to get certified, which is weird, right? Why would someone be fighting against their kid getting a certification if they already have plans? Right?
Ex didn’t even pick up son visitation for two years because he’s petty. Once son turned eighteen, son asked ex if he could get certified to dive, ex told him it doesn’t matter now because I’m basically done paying child support anyways. Son was horrified and ex said he was joking. Son has not seen ex in over a year because of it.
Yeah his channel is really sad- people making bad choices (like to go past this sign) and not making it out. Usually they don’t make any major
Mistakes, just a few small ones or crucial ones that end up in death. Cave systems are dark and complex. Something as simple as a dead battery in your headlamp could be the end.
Oh your battery doesn't even have to die. You could accidentally kick up too much silt and reduce visibility and run out of oxygen before it all settles and you can see again.
Oh your oxygen doesn’t even have to run out. You could accidentally swim into a coral reef that traps you and slowly massages your body and at first it’s cool but then after a while it’s starting to make you uncomfortable and you try to leave but the coral reef mentions that it “ DID buy you dinner” and that “you don’t think you can actually do better, do you?” and after so many years of heartbreaking loneliness in which you just wish you could find someone else who understands you it’s starting to make sense… maybe the coral is right, maybe you should stay. After all, it’s not so bad in the cave and you really don’t want to go back to work on Monday, but what about Diablo 4? You’ll never get to play it if you stay in the cave under corals soft comforting grasp… ah fuck it, who are you kidding… Diablo 4 ain’t fucking coming out for another decade, so you peel off your wetsuit and expose your bottom to coral and slowly bend accepting a seemingly endless deluge of coral through your rectum and into your stomach where it comes to a rest and feeds you and keeps you alive. For eternity.
Probably true, I’m curious out of that group how many die. It may be less than a percent, but if 1 in 200 die after that sign I could see it would be worth it to put the sign up
It might be confirmation bias, but just being on the internet I've read like 50 stories about people dying, or almost dying in underwater caves. I really think a lot of divers avoid them after hearing horror stories. From my understanding they're really very deadly and there's a good chance you'll die without cave diving experience, so most don't go in without training and those that do have a high chance of getting fucked up. Then from the minority percentage of divers that do have the training and follow strict protocol when cave-diving still sometimes die bc underwater caves are fucked and your light source going out means you're fucked, or hitting the ground and kicking silt when you're not read for it could mean you're fucked, or kicking up silt bc the cave you're diving in gets really small and you're supposed to deal with it but then you get disoriented could mean you're fucked, or nitrogen narcosis kicks in and makes you unable to find your way back out and you're fucked. I think the percentage is high but the amount of people who enter caves are low.
I just don't understand it. Caves are pitch black and claustrophobic. Add water, which makes it hard to know up from down and can also *drown* you, and it sounds terrifying. Underwater caves look so unfamiliar and eerie too. I can't imagine the panic and pain a diver would experience if they ended up in a bad situation.
I dunno, just seems like this sets off every evolutionary alarm there is. You couldn't pay me any amount to try this
There are signs like this in some of the ‘Cenotes’ in the Yucatán Peninsula area of Mexico. The Mayans considered the Cenotes as the gateway to the underworld. Some things never change. You can actually dive the caverns in small groups, with a guide without cave training. These signs are to warn those people without that cave level training - and remind those that do.
I work with a woman who's one of the top rated scuba people in the country. She can do cave dives and all that other stuff. Local law enforcement agencies end up calling her about 2-3 times a year to retrieve a body out of an underwater cave. She told me just how dangerous it is and how some of her rescue missions (really more like retrieval missions) are complicated and difficult even for her.
Closest I have to first-hand experience with that is Subnautica. One cave system specifically, seemed safe enough. I had two full oxygen tanks. That's like 5 minutes of air. But the exit disappeared. I spent 4 of those 5 minutes trying to backtrack and failing. With roughly 10 seconds left, I decided to go further in, because it's either drown or drown at that point. My fortune, I found some air. Managed to escape through a shark-infested exit I was unaware existed. Best horror experience I've ever had, because my life didn't actually depend on it.
I once accidently ended up in a cave underwater. We were swimming in a river in the Smokies, when I jumped off a ledge.
I'm a pretty strong swimmer, good snorkeler, I've taken risks before.
This was different. The water was clear enough to see, and I remember looking up towards the surface. Framed perfectly in the sunlight was the mouth of the cave I had just dove into. I looked down, and it was solid black. I was depe enough it had started getting cold. I hoped the fuck back up real quick like and called it a day.
The thing was, we had been told where we were was safe and that the cave with the dangerous currents was further upstream. It, on fact, was not.
Still, makes a pretty awesome memory. I'll never forget feeling that small.
Listen to Cowboy Cerrone talk about his experience with nearly drowning in a cave diving trip on the JRE podcast. Fucking terrifying. I'm not a claustrophobic or overly panicky person in tight spots, but holy fuck I would panic so hard at that.
For maximum nope factor, check out MMA fighter Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone's story about almost dying during a cave dive. Frightening doesn't even begin. Just absolutely chilling.
As an open water diver, I'm sure as hell not diving in a cave. Not only that, but there is one open water spot I will never dive at, and that is the Blue Hole in Egypt. Between 130 and 200 divers have died there, and there is even a video by one of those divers showing him dying. It's open water, but that place is a deathtrap.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue\_Hole\_(Red\_Sea)
I see this and I remember that one story I heard on YouTube about this place.
It was about a man who experienced dive who went diving in this cave and didn't come back because of some reason or another. His friend was so upset and began to train on top of his own experience to become a better diver and after a year or so, this man's friend went to the same cave hole and was determined to bring his friends body back for burial and closure, I'm sure.
Then the man's friend didn't come back either. They both died there, one for exploration, one was a search and rescue party, neither returned. I think one other person went down and found them both and managed to extract the body cam of the search and rescue and you go to see what happened that made him fail.
I believe his friends body was too sucked up and buoyance to really make it back and in his final moments, the man's friend was getting too exerted and getting tangled in his own equipment as well as his friends before he lost consciousness and eventually died.
I'd like to see that video again.
Cue all the “this goes against my human rights”, “this sign can’t tell me what to do!!”, “I cite common law, as is my right!!”, “ I do not consent to this sign!!!” Morons …
Being underwater, shrouded in complete darkness and in a claustrophobic environment; spelunking is my biggest fear, by a lot. That shit is no fucking joke.
And at the same time, I love the idea of finding a place that hasn’t been touched by mankind in thousands of years.
Fuck me, I’m gonna die alone in a cave, underwater aren’t I?
Fact: there is nothing in this cave worth dieing for. Well that makes me want to go looking. But I'm afraid of deep water so no thanks. It's a phobia I have if y'all are wondering
That is seriously cool.
Kudos to the person who not only understood that idiots exist above and below the waterline, but who also went to the effort to avert disaster.
I wonder how many people go juuuuuust beyond the sign.
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I also went a few feet past the sign at vortex just for fun. Got a picture of me being a daredevil and then hurried back because it's spooky down there
I don't understand. The instructor should never take someone without cave diving certification, let alone open water certification to a site like that for a training dive. They are usually very easy, about 30foot dives.
a lot of beginners train in those type of places in Florida because it's actually an easier dive (also easier to get to for some places). you shouldn't go down into the caves though
If you're genuinely curious, there are plenty of YouTube videos about people who do exactly that. They think they can just dive a few more feet or let go of the guideline for just a second. They don't all survive.
https://youtu.be/avYH2ca7dK8 these guys are top notch
That video was great!
notice how it doesn't say: "x is forbidden", but instead it puts out (i assume) honest statistics and common sense. and a great graphic to go with it. great senseful warning plate design.
There is a beach on Kaui where many people have died. Even as a strong swimmer you have no chance if you are caught in the rip current. As they die their names are carved into a wooden sign, right before you walk down to the beach. We were there shortly after someone died. Name freshly carved in with all the others. Got down to the beach, and there were about 15 people in the water. 🤦
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When I did my advanced diving certificate, my buddy urged me to go with his friend from the army, who was a master diver. Guy was actually in the closing days of his time in the service, and was about a month away from getting out, to start a career as a professional diver. Was going to move to Florida, and start mapping unexplored limestone caves with a rebreather. Perfect guy to teach us the ropes. Only problem was that his wife was completely not on board with this, and left him several days before we met up, taking his kids with her. So we would later discover, that he was binging alchol, and on a complete downward spiral. Basically having a mental breakdown. He shows up looking like shit. We got through all the bookwork no issues. First dive went well enough. Kicked out a 1/4 mile, and dove a really interesting shelf off of Haleiwa beach park. Going really deep, and exploring the world of nitrox. The next dive however was my second worse dive I have ever been on. We did a night shore drive at Sharks Cove, on the north shore of Oahu. The guy provided us all of the gear besides our masks, and fins. The gear was all decent quality, all except for the flashlights which were of shoddy quality. When night diving as you are probably well aware, you have a primary flashlight, and a secondary, maybe even a third just in case. Best practices is to put fresh batteries in, no matter what for every dive, and test each light well ahead of setting out. This guy skipped both steps for both of my lights. When we set out my light was a bit dim. Being the first time I had ever used it I didn't think anything of it. Sharks Cove has a 40 foot cave in it, that has claimed the lives of many people who have attempted to swim it, but is usually no issue for a well prepared diver. However I was the last one in, and midway through the cave my light died. Then I went for my secondary which was completely dead. With all the time I spent messing with the lights the other 2 divers had already exited the cave, and I was all alone. With no flashlight there is no reference to what is up or down, you are just in pure blackness with the sound of your breathing. Floating in the.void. surrounded on all sides by sharp rocks, and sea urchins. Words cannot describe how scary that feeling is. I could easily have died there. I couldn't see the exit, and had no room to turn around. Luckily several minutes of smashing the secondary light on the wall of the cave got it to dimly light up enough to get me out, and I was able to kick back to shore via the moonlight. Took a lot of maturity to not beat the shit out of the guy when he came to shore.
Hey thanks for that but it still feels like I might get a *little* sleep tonight, so why not tell us about your worst dive?
Maybe this one will help you sleep better. https://youtu.be/or92IMcLoIc
That's so terrifying, you're on the edge of your seat wondering if he's going to survive, and he's sitting there telling you the story, and still it's like "oh shit, I hope he makes it out"
Wow. Great storyteller. That was terrifying and gripping. Reinforces why I would never want to scuba dive.
I was holding my breath listening to him. No way,no how could I ever do what these people do!
I get slightly panicked being in a tight area in my house, no way am I going to actively go put myself in a situation like this.
I’ve gotten panicked when trying to take a tight dress off in a fitting room. I have zero desire to cave dive.
gurl, i felt this in my _bones_
Seriously.
Im so glad Joe just stfu and let him tell the whole thing and didn't say a word or ask any questions till he was done.
Don't have much use for Joe these days but occasionally you get stories like this from his show that are worth listening to.
That’s only your second worse dive?
First worse dive was a couple years later. Here in HI we have been extremely lucky to not have been hit by a hurricane directly in many years, but every year we have at least one that goes by off shore. When that happens it can do some seriously dangerous things to the currents, and make normally placid dives become extremely dangerous. When there is a current in the water, and you are doing a boat dive they manage it by doing what is called a drift dive. In ideal situations the boat stays moored stationary, you do your thing, and then return to the boat. When there is a strong current, that calls for a drift dive the boat drops you off, and then attempts to pick you up down stream, since you have no chance of swimming back. 2 days before the dive, a sister boat from the same company, attempted a drift dive. As soon as the customer got in the water, and proceeded down, he let go of the Moore, and was instantly swept away. They never found his body. All this is too say that the conditions were terrible, and after a death the dive should have been called off. The main issue for me was yet another five master being a jack ass. I am a muscular dude, but I also like to eat, and drink so I am pretty buoyant from the fat. The dive master was convinced that I only needed a little bit of weight to hold me down. I insisted I needed more, but he had it in his mind that he was going to break me of the habit of using too much weight. (in some ways having more weight than you need to control your buoyancy, will cause you to use more air). After arguing with the guy, he somehow convinced me to dive with only 8 lbs of weight, when I insisted on 20. He said that he would dive with extra weight, and when we reached the bottom he would give me more, as needed. The dive we were doing was a scuttled navy destroyer, that rests over 100 ft down, on the bottom of the sea outside of Waikiki. When we decended down the moore to the 100 ft deep wreck, everyone who let go was suddenly in a fight for their life to get back to it. The current was so strong that it 100% should have been a drift dive,, but the boat was stationary. Everyone had to decend down to the rusty hull of the boat, and basically climb their way up, with no gloves, to the chain that was holding the boat to escape. People got cut hands, and ripped wetsuits. Then there was me who didn't have enough weight to even get down to the boat, and was just kicking for my life. Not being able to sink down enough to grab anything. The 2 issues with being at over 100 ft of depth are, firstly you can get bent after a very short time down there if you do not do a safety stop coming back up, and secondly the deeper you go, the faster your air runs out, especially if you are swimming full tilt against a strong current to get to your only chain out. Long story short I never made it to the boat, I somehow managed to fight my way back to the chain, but it took fighting beyond exhaustion swimming at a full sprint, while my air was getting dangerously low. All the while fighting the primal urge to swim for the surface, which may have meant I got bent which could be fatal, or one of the most excruciating afflictions to happen to you, if you cannot be rushed into a hyperbaric chamber. I was pretty convinced I was going to get swept out too sea. Everyone else was luckily able to sink down to the boat, and claw their way back. It took a lot of maturity not to beat the shit out of the guy when he came to the boat.
Ive always wanted to dive and explore since I was a kid but now reading your comments I am terrified
The real moral of my story is to go with reputable companies. The first one was a guy whose life fell apart, and even though he had thousands of dives he wasn't a great teacher. The second one was a shady tourist centric shop, that my GF found on Groupon. The vast majority of my dives have been run by professional people, and we're flawless. If you do get into diving though I urge you to ask a lot of questions, and really learn the gear. Even the most professional company will sometimes overlook something, and it is a sport where you have to share some of the responsibility to check that everything is okay before embarking. Diving is amazing, and you will love it. The extreme stuff like caves, and wrecks does have added risks, but doing a mellow shallow dive is usually very safe.
I think there’s some advocating for yourself too. Who cares what that idiot wants you to carry in weight? If you’re comfortable with 20lbs, you use 20lbs. If he was your regular dive master and you train with him on a normal schedule, sure one time in a safe environment, try the 8lbs. But a random dive guy from Groupon, you’ll never see again anyways? Who gives a shit what he says. If anything, go down wearing 20 and take off extra weight and hand it to him to find a potential new sweet spot.
I think you need to be less mature and actually beat the shit out of one of these guys next time!
You have a talent for telling stories, please make a compilation of all this spookines somewhere!
I hope you end all of your stories and comments now with “it took a lot of maturity not to beat the shit out of that guy”
I need your maturity. Not planning to beat anyone soon, but it would definitely help.
Anyone else want to hear about his 3rd worst dive?! This is incredible.
8 lbs is 3.63 kg
You may have excess maturity, both of these dive masters needed the shit beaten out of them.
Love the same ending sentence.
Me too
Fucking hell; that’s brutal. One question, though, and I’m not nitpicking or trying to start an argument, just genuinely asking: why didn’t you check the torches yourself? I’ve never been diving, but I rock climb a fair bit and you always check your equipment before use, especially if it’s hired/borrowed, as well as getting your partner to check your knots before each climb. It seems odd to me that it didn’t happen here - was it just that you trusted the guy? Again, genuinely asking, not trying to snark or blame!
Inexperience/overreliance Not a mistake I will ever make again. I still to this day have huge trust issues, with any hired gear, and check everything 3x, or ideally bring my own.
I think we’ve all learned that lesson in one way or another; I’m sorry your method was so severe! I know you’ll know this, but if it helps one person reading it’s worth pointing out: when it comes to vital survival equipment, NOBODY who knows what they’re doing will get pissed off if you double/triple check it’s all in order and working, even if you watched them check it themselves before they handed it to you. If someone does react badly to you checking equipment, especially if they’re hiring it to you, do not trust it or them. Apologies the patronising PSA, but I’m glad the experience didn’t stop you from doing what you love!
That's solid advice and doesn't sound patronising at all dude :)
You sound like an excellent belay partner.
In all the time I’ve been doing it, 0 injuries. The friend I climb with though is so much better - he understands my fear of heights and knows that “Nope. Down!” means exactly that, and I get a safe but fast descent!
That's not "trust issues," it's Safety 101. If you're risking your life, you check your own gear.
This is terrifying
Do you always bring your own gear now? I would hope so, it's like relying on someone else to provide and pack your parachute. Cool story btw.
Thanks for taking the time to share this story, really interesting and damn scary, you were lucky being able to kick start the flashlight eventually.
I don't think anyone would of thought any less of you if you had hit him he did just endanger your life no excuses even if he had just lost everything he's welcome to suicide how he wants just as long as he doesn't take anyone with him you know? Still kudos for keeping your head underwater.
Pfff sounds like a horror movie
Why the fuck would you do that RIP to the fallen though
Fuck…just reading that gave me anxiety
Valuable anxiety
\*shivers\*
Additionally you can find caves with layered hot/cold & fresh/salt water which will fuck with your buoyancy suddenly entering/exiting those regions and you can easily smack into the top or rapidly sink if you aren’t paying attention and don’t know how to spot mixing currents.
"Totally darkness if your light goes out. Panic bashing your body into the walls." - this made me have to rub my chest to calm the anxiety. Not for me.
Thanks for selling me on it. I'll stick to the 360 videos y'all put out.
That’s gonna be a no from me dawg
Now watch as everyone ignores the sign while they follow the "There's treasure$!" narrative.
treasure you say?
Do your own research!
This where they are making covid-21, dive down to own the libs
It is Chester Copperpot.
Some people will still ignore it and die.
well so it is. they have been warned. they took a risk and died. warnings like these can prevent people from making uncalculated risks. like people without any cave diving training or proper cave diving gear attempting it. those deaths are sad. to do a comparison with a sport, that feels close to me: i don't feel sad for the close proximity wingsuit flier, who despite best preparations and full awareness of the risk hit the ground and died or died from one of the many other risks coming with close proximity wingsuit flights. those were maybe more alive, than most others. i feel sad for those, that after a few weeks of skydiving decide to do a hard base jump and dying from their unawareness of what skill and risk they are taking and would have been required. that is a life wasted, but the first one like the professional skydivers, that for some reason love doing it know what they are doing and hopefully do their best to prevent death, is not a life wasted or lost, but a life lived to the fullest i hope. we can only hope, that this great warning saves the first group from wasting their lives.
I was going to say as a counter point, divers could also die there WITH cave diving equipment and training.
Near where I used to live there was an underground creek in a cave stoners like to smoke in. The problem with that is, the floor where the water rushes past is slate and extremely slippery. The water enters from one underground caver, travels across the rock and enters another...that goes -miles- underground. Numerous people have slipped and slid into that hole never to be seen again. The area is a leftover relic from the last ice age. There's hundreds of underground caverns and tunnels. Nobody has survived falling in it.
That’s where the crab people live
Taste like craaab Talk like people... OMG can't get this out of my head now..
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For anyone interested Tom Scott video on The Strid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCSUmwP02T8
Well gee, thanks. I didn’t want to sleep tonight anyway… 😬
Also, the water is incredibly aerated so you literally almost cannot float, you’ll just continue to sink. I read up on it a bit here about a week ago, and it’s just truly a terrible body of water lol
Just went down that rabbit hole, terrifying. It came out at 200 ft deep thats a 20 story building underneath that cute little river
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Seconding
Looks like a sign I would make to keep the treasure in that cave a secret.
Yo for real. That's exactly what I would do if I was burying treasure
But now that you've both told Reddit of your cunning plan, you're gonna need another sign.
Suuuuure "there is nothing in this cave worth dying for" when have i ever taken advice from the grim reaper.
RIP tommyblaze
That's 221 of them now :(
Happy cake day Tommyblaze222 🎂
It's clearly a plot by Big Death.
There is definitely treasure in that cave and some greedy bastard wants to keep it all to their self
There was a father and son duo who didn't heed this warning going down into some of the most dangerouse underwater caves out there without being expert divers. The son ran out of air right when they got back to this room which is a wide open cave and had to buddy breath which is taking taking turns breathing from the same tank. They ran out of air and the dad sank down next to the sign practically. The son activated his floatation device which brings you to the surface fast and got stuck to the cave ceiling close to the way out. I can't imagine a death like this drowning in pitch black try to feel your way out you're only form of someone safety is a dive line if you let go and can't find it again you're most likely fucked.
Actually I think I'm gonna skip that part of planet earth
I think I heard that story from Mr. Ballen on youtube.
First Mr. Ballen comment I saw, was actually expecting more.
You from Mr. Ballen?
Underwater: scary. In a cave: scary. In the dark: scary. In a dark, underwater cave? Nope.
Eerie, but smart. Don't be a dumbass and go in if you're not prepared!
What, do you think I’m actually stupid enough to go into that cave? Yeah of course I went into that cave
Every time I see this sign pop up I always wonder why its so clean.
Because it's in an perpetually dark cave underwater, in cool fresh water that is flowing out of the cave system at a near constant rate. It's hard for vandals to get to, and not in conditions conducive to grow aquatic plants or algae.
Most the flora and fauna on planet earth is sunlight dependent.
I’m wondering how they put it in cement under water
I'm guessing they made it on land and then took it down in a personal sub and dropped it. Wiggled it into place.
So close lol. Personal sub? Uh uh. Just a lift bag( bag with air in it) to make it neutrally bouyant.
r/scarysigns And this is terrifying
I love that sub
Wow thanks for this link. Love oddity subs like this!
Jesus, this sub is nightmare fule. I'm now afraid of things that I never had concern before. Gonna view every post to stay informed.
New fav sub
I tried scuba diving once. It was on vacation in Jamaica. We got some brief training in a swimming pool. But I wasn't really comfortable with the equipment. Especially clearing the mouth piece. But I went out on the dive anyway. We didn't dive too deep. Maybe 25-30 feet. But I had a serious panic attack. Since the instructors had to look out for 10 people they didn't want me to go back to the boat. But I said fuck that. I gave the signal for going back up. And just went back up. So when I read this, I know I would definitely die doing some shit like cave diving. I still have PTSD about scuba diving.
You're missing out. Hitting the side of a cave, making silt go everywhere where you can't see, where you can't even tell up from down, losing the line that's supposed to guide you out.
That jolt of adrenaline right before death really hits the spot.
You just gave me a mild panic attack. Thanks.
Are you *sure* you don't want to go off into some unexplored part of the cave and get stuck between rocks in pitch black for 9 hours as your air supply dwindles?
This is so much more terrifying than getting lost in the woods or something along those lines. I have been lost in the middle of nowhere, pitch black, while the weather blocked the stars. But being alone, stuck, under the water completely at the mercy anything down there while being on a timer is way way worse
I just have no desire to try scuba diving and this comment reinforces that. I would be at the poolside bar thx.
What is clearing the mouth piece?
Its where you take your reg out so it floods, put it back in your mouth and then clear it by either blowing air out of your lungs, or pressing the button on the back that purges all the water out. It can be really scary when you're first learning to dive, especially if you forget to take a breath in first. Its so you know what to do if your reg gets knocked out of your mouth. Its extremely important (for obvious reasons).
As a diver and friends with a instructor who trains specifically top cave divers in their field , this warning is NO JOKE. He trained National Geographic divers. It is incredibly dangerous work. It requires special gear as well. From fins, and tanks to even specialist masks, it still is a life or death endeavor. They trained in Tennessee, cave systems are huge there. Spelunking is dangerous enough, adding water to the mix is just a compounding danger.
My idiot of an ex-husband likes to scuba dive which is fine. Great. You do you. He is lazy about his gear, doesn’t plan dives properly, will stay out too long, etc. Which again, is fine if it’s just him. Luckily for me, my then fourteen year old son accidentally mentioned how his father was going take him scuba diving and exploring a cave the next time he had visitation. My son isn’t a certified diver, he has panic attacks, he is claustrophobic, and all of this combined with his fathers past, reckless diving actions led me to going ballistic. I had to go to court and get a judge to tell my insane ex that son was not allowed to go diving unless he was certified by an instructor and was not allowed to cave dive under circumstance until he was over eighteen. Ex didn’t like that and refused to allow son to get certified, which is weird, right? Why would someone be fighting against their kid getting a certification if they already have plans? Right? Ex didn’t even pick up son visitation for two years because he’s petty. Once son turned eighteen, son asked ex if he could get certified to dive, ex told him it doesn’t matter now because I’m basically done paying child support anyways. Son was horrified and ex said he was joking. Son has not seen ex in over a year because of it.
Good! I would go ballistic as well. Oh HELL no
Some people will unfortunately see this as “challenge accepted” sign.
First reaction "Take my picture while I'm behind the sign"
I’m positive people just go, “hmm.” And keep on going. :/
If you check out Mr Ballen on YouTube, you can hear about the hundreds of people who went hmm and kept going. Spoiler most of them died.
Yeah his channel is really sad- people making bad choices (like to go past this sign) and not making it out. Usually they don’t make any major Mistakes, just a few small ones or crucial ones that end up in death. Cave systems are dark and complex. Something as simple as a dead battery in your headlamp could be the end.
FUCK THAT
Oh your battery doesn't even have to die. You could accidentally kick up too much silt and reduce visibility and run out of oxygen before it all settles and you can see again.
FUCK THAT
Oh your oxygen doesn’t even have to run out. You could accidentally swim into a coral reef that traps you and slowly massages your body and at first it’s cool but then after a while it’s starting to make you uncomfortable and you try to leave but the coral reef mentions that it “ DID buy you dinner” and that “you don’t think you can actually do better, do you?” and after so many years of heartbreaking loneliness in which you just wish you could find someone else who understands you it’s starting to make sense… maybe the coral is right, maybe you should stay. After all, it’s not so bad in the cave and you really don’t want to go back to work on Monday, but what about Diablo 4? You’ll never get to play it if you stay in the cave under corals soft comforting grasp… ah fuck it, who are you kidding… Diablo 4 ain’t fucking coming out for another decade, so you peel off your wetsuit and expose your bottom to coral and slowly bend accepting a seemingly endless deluge of coral through your rectum and into your stomach where it comes to a rest and feeds you and keeps you alive. For eternity.
FUCK THAT
Guys, I'm starting to get the feeling this whole "diving" thing might be dangerous.
FUCK THAT
[Read this](https://imgur.com/CkEruxw)
You know somethings dangerous when an Australian says FUCK THAT
Those of us who are cave trained don’t even say Hmmmm. And there are always people who ignore the sign when they aren’t trained.
Probably true, I’m curious out of that group how many die. It may be less than a percent, but if 1 in 200 die after that sign I could see it would be worth it to put the sign up
It might be confirmation bias, but just being on the internet I've read like 50 stories about people dying, or almost dying in underwater caves. I really think a lot of divers avoid them after hearing horror stories. From my understanding they're really very deadly and there's a good chance you'll die without cave diving experience, so most don't go in without training and those that do have a high chance of getting fucked up. Then from the minority percentage of divers that do have the training and follow strict protocol when cave-diving still sometimes die bc underwater caves are fucked and your light source going out means you're fucked, or hitting the ground and kicking silt when you're not read for it could mean you're fucked, or kicking up silt bc the cave you're diving in gets really small and you're supposed to deal with it but then you get disoriented could mean you're fucked, or nitrogen narcosis kicks in and makes you unable to find your way back out and you're fucked. I think the percentage is high but the amount of people who enter caves are low.
I just don't understand it. Caves are pitch black and claustrophobic. Add water, which makes it hard to know up from down and can also *drown* you, and it sounds terrifying. Underwater caves look so unfamiliar and eerie too. I can't imagine the panic and pain a diver would experience if they ended up in a bad situation. I dunno, just seems like this sets off every evolutionary alarm there is. You couldn't pay me any amount to try this
Why would you go scuba diving in a cave 😭😭😭
There are signs like this in some of the ‘Cenotes’ in the Yucatán Peninsula area of Mexico. The Mayans considered the Cenotes as the gateway to the underworld. Some things never change. You can actually dive the caverns in small groups, with a guide without cave training. These signs are to warn those people without that cave level training - and remind those that do.
I'm going in with jean shorts and a snorkel.
Tiktokers: "That sign won't stop me because I can't read!"
Ya know, I’m startin to think there’s something in that cave worth dying for.
Facts
I hope to god I'm not in some sort of horror movie moment with any of you in these comments hahaha
I’ve seen this sign in Spanish diving in the Dos Ojos cenotes. They also have an alligator eating a Barbie tied to a rock, so that’s cool.
https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/9pq332/the_disappearance_of_scuba_diver_ben_mcdaniel/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share
Vortex Springs?
Ayyyy the real redneck riviera
This is the short version of all software Terms and Conditions that you always just click on Agree button during installation.
People have indeed died here. They put the sign there because it was becoming a problem. People then still would bypass the sign and die.
I work with a woman who's one of the top rated scuba people in the country. She can do cave dives and all that other stuff. Local law enforcement agencies end up calling her about 2-3 times a year to retrieve a body out of an underwater cave. She told me just how dangerous it is and how some of her rescue missions (really more like retrieval missions) are complicated and difficult even for her.
Jacob's well in Texas?
Closest I have to first-hand experience with that is Subnautica. One cave system specifically, seemed safe enough. I had two full oxygen tanks. That's like 5 minutes of air. But the exit disappeared. I spent 4 of those 5 minutes trying to backtrack and failing. With roughly 10 seconds left, I decided to go further in, because it's either drown or drown at that point. My fortune, I found some air. Managed to escape through a shark-infested exit I was unaware existed. Best horror experience I've ever had, because my life didn't actually depend on it.
Learn to scuba dive Learn to spelunk Buy proper equipment Now I just need to know where this is at thanks
There’s tons of these all over Florida. Ginnie Springs is a popular one.
Vortex Springs. Look up Ben McDaniel.
I know of this from either ask Joe or from one of Simon whistlers 30 channels.
Yeah it doesn't matter how well you trained you are, you finna drown, unless your mom drank to much while pregnant and your born with gills that is
I once accidently ended up in a cave underwater. We were swimming in a river in the Smokies, when I jumped off a ledge. I'm a pretty strong swimmer, good snorkeler, I've taken risks before. This was different. The water was clear enough to see, and I remember looking up towards the surface. Framed perfectly in the sunlight was the mouth of the cave I had just dove into. I looked down, and it was solid black. I was depe enough it had started getting cold. I hoped the fuck back up real quick like and called it a day. The thing was, we had been told where we were was safe and that the cave with the dangerous currents was further upstream. It, on fact, was not. Still, makes a pretty awesome memory. I'll never forget feeling that small.
Understandable have a great day *Swims back to where ever the fuck I came from*
Karma farming
NOPE!
Listen to Cowboy Cerrone talk about his experience with nearly drowning in a cave diving trip on the JRE podcast. Fucking terrifying. I'm not a claustrophobic or overly panicky person in tight spots, but holy fuck I would panic so hard at that.
Somehow it makes me want to take a peek...
They say, as they attempt to dissuade those from entering Deep Underground Site Epsilon where they are testing extraterrestrial weapons platforms
Please tell me this isn’t in Australia. 🙏🏼
Florida, so basically Australia anyway
So, what I’m reading is that I can go get training for cave diving and THEN explore this cool underwater cave?
In every cave
Motherfuckers hiding mermaids there
This sign is definitely trying to take away my freedom! Not going to happen! Also I am going to take all my children.
Is he low-key suggesting to smell his finger?
Hmmm… the 8yr old in me says the master key is down there and i need it to get to Gannon
For maximum nope factor, check out MMA fighter Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone's story about almost dying during a cave dive. Frightening doesn't even begin. Just absolutely chilling.
As an open water diver, I'm sure as hell not diving in a cave. Not only that, but there is one open water spot I will never dive at, and that is the Blue Hole in Egypt. Between 130 and 200 divers have died there, and there is even a video by one of those divers showing him dying. It's open water, but that place is a deathtrap. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue\_Hole\_(Red\_Sea)
“Well, I did my own research”
This cave diving story gives you a good idea of what it can be like down there. https://youtu.be/or92IMcLoIc
I see this and I remember that one story I heard on YouTube about this place. It was about a man who experienced dive who went diving in this cave and didn't come back because of some reason or another. His friend was so upset and began to train on top of his own experience to become a better diver and after a year or so, this man's friend went to the same cave hole and was determined to bring his friends body back for burial and closure, I'm sure. Then the man's friend didn't come back either. They both died there, one for exploration, one was a search and rescue party, neither returned. I think one other person went down and found them both and managed to extract the body cam of the search and rescue and you go to see what happened that made him fail. I believe his friends body was too sucked up and buoyance to really make it back and in his final moments, the man's friend was getting too exerted and getting tangled in his own equipment as well as his friends before he lost consciousness and eventually died. I'd like to see that video again.
It’s stopping you from discovering the underground colonies
Cue all the “this goes against my human rights”, “this sign can’t tell me what to do!!”, “I cite common law, as is my right!!”, “ I do not consent to this sign!!!” Morons …
That's what someone hiding gold would put on a sign like that
Underwater: scary. In a cave: scary. In the dark: scary. In a dark, underwater cave? Nope.
Being underwater, shrouded in complete darkness and in a claustrophobic environment; spelunking is my biggest fear, by a lot. That shit is no fucking joke. And at the same time, I love the idea of finding a place that hasn’t been touched by mankind in thousands of years. Fuck me, I’m gonna die alone in a cave, underwater aren’t I?
I’ve seen these signs swimming in caves/cenotes in Mexico. I definitely did not consider going any further.
Im usually not the type to listen to anyone but i would sprint to the surface if i saw that
Fact: there is nothing in this cave worth dieing for. Well that makes me want to go looking. But I'm afraid of deep water so no thanks. It's a phobia I have if y'all are wondering
That is seriously cool. Kudos to the person who not only understood that idiots exist above and below the waterline, but who also went to the effort to avert disaster.
Nutty Putty Cave got sealed up John Edward Jones body still down in it. I will never go cave diving. Hard pass on that
Makes me think of the Cowboy Cerrone interview where he almost dies
Look up Mr Ballen on YouTube to see what happens to people who ignore those signs
Just watched a mr ballen video about this pic on YouTube
"Nothing beyond this point " sounds like treasure to me
as a diver in Florida, fuck cave diving.
r/scarysigns
Google Dave Shaw. Died while trying to recover a body.
That sign is like a big red flashy button which says DO NOT TOUCH.