ORANGE CITY, Florida (31 July 2006) -- For Taylor Smith, there's a brazen thrill in holding his breath and diving deep into the cave from which Blue Spring flows. "I like feeling like I went down there with nothing," said Smith, 17. "It's a lot more hard-core (than scuba-diving)." The Orange City spring's cave attracts its share of scuba divers, despite inherent dangers. But intrepid DeBary teen Smith is an aficionado of the lesser-known sport of free diving, also known as breath-hold or skin diving, in which swimmers dive without an air tank, regulator or wet suit. They breathe deeply on the surface to slow their heart rate and jackknife downward with slow kicks to exert less energy. Free divers who choose to venture into spring caves sometimes seek out underwater air pockets -- trapped bubble trails from scuba divers who've gone deeper -- so they can catch a breath and stay longer. Blue Spring Park Ranger Wayne Hartley said recently that depending on pockets for air under water is a bad idea. And it proved almost deadly for Smith in mid-June when he plunged into the cavernous Blue Spring and spied one. "He told me he was going down for a bit longer," said younger brother Wesley. Taylor Smith gulped the carbon dioxide-filled pocket and suffered a seizure on his way to the surface. With the help of other divers, Wesley dragged his unconscious brother from the water and immediately began cardiopulmonary resuscitation, hoping to kick-start a pulse. The CPR, learned from mother Diana, a registered nurse, saved Taylor's life, but the stunt will keep him out of the water for six months. "No air under water is safe," said Diana Smith, an avid scuba diver. Taylor's accident wasn't the first close call for divers attracted to the Blue Spring cave. In 2002, there were at least two incidents in which free divers nearly drowned there. No scuba-diving fatalities there are on record with the National Speleological Society, which tracks cave-related accidents in the Americas. But at least 58 cave divers have died, 31 of them in Florida, during the last 11 years, the society's records -- which are admittedly incomplete -- show. "Lack of training is the leading cause of accidents," said Tracy Grubbs, lead scuba-diving instructor and trained cave diver at Spruce Creek Scuba. Grubbs, 35, prefers diving with breathing equipment. "You can only hold your breath so long," he said. Grubbs cave dives sometimes in Blue Spring, but also spreads out his underwater ventures beyond Central Florida's DeLeon and Alexander Springs, where cave diving isn't allowed because of the dangers and liability issues. "Most of the cave systems are in North Florida and that's where people from all over the world come to get training," he said. Divers must be cavern- or cave-trained to go deeper than 60 feet at Blue Spring, Grubbs said. Anyone else will not be allowed to dive with a light to discourage the untrained from taking chances below the surface. "We have a slogan: Thank God all divers live," he said. "T-G-A-D-L." The letters represent training, guidelines, air, depth and light -- cautions against cave diving without training, a way in and out of the cave, following air rules, not going in too deep and always having a light. Diving without the option of surfacing immediately takes some getting used to. "Anyone who tells you they haven't gotten that feeling of anxiety under water is lying," he said. Despite the inherent dangers of diving san scuba gear or even into the nooks and crannies of caves with equipment, love for the sport is kicking. "I tell people imagine being in (Utah's) Bryce Canyon," Grubbs said. "Fill it with water and you're swimming through that type of 'colorization.' " For Jan Neal, author of "Mastering Breath-hold Diving," the chance to experience a different world unfettered by a tank and suit is unparalleled. "Free diving is a challenge, but you have a more sensual experience with the water when it touches your skin," Neal said. "It's like flying in the air you breathe." Training For some swimmers, diving without equipment is for the fish. "Once you learn to scuba (dive), you really don't want to free dive much since you can't hold your breath that long," said Charlie McDaniel, co-owner of Spruce Creek Scuba with wife, Mary. He prefers scuba diving because it allows the suited-up swimmer to stay down longer using breathing equipment. | | Diving that involves overhead environments such as caves and wrecks requires additional specialized training. McDaniel transformed his scuba diving hobby into a lucrative diving business in 1996 after a 30-year stint with the U.S. Navy and said the sport is pretty popular in Volusia County. With a 3,000-customer database, Spruce Creek Scuba issues close to 500 certifications annually, he said. Divers dive at Blue Spring, DeLeon Springs and Alexander Springs in the Ocala National Forest if weather doesn't allow for diving offshore at Daytona Beach. At Sea Dogs Dive Center in New Smyrna Beach, two full-time instructors teach up to 100 divers every year. They issue about 150 certifications annually, instructor Keith Sterner said. "There's danger when people are not properly trained," said McDaniel, a 14-year dive veteran. "We call them outlaws." Proper training includes getting scuba-diving certifications according to experience level. Without proof of training, it's difficult -- if not impossible -- to buy scuba equipment and oxygen. These include open water certification involving theory and practice diving, and advanced certification, which exposes the diver to specialty dives like night and wreck diving. A rescue certification trains divers to rescue others in trouble; dive masters learn to monitor other divers and supervise underwater dives while instructors teach others through the various certifications. "In theory, you have to master one skill to get through to the next," said Fred Holmes, 12-year diver and former treasurer of the Daytona Beach Dive Club. Scuba divers are ever cautious of "the bends" caused by swimming too quickly to the surface or staying down too long. Rapid swimming upward is like uncorking a bubbly bottle of soda in the swimmer's body, releasing absorbed nitrogen from the compressed air he or she breathed and causing "bends." "As long as you follow your training and your dive tables," which calculate how long the diver can stay under at certain depths, "it's extremely safe," Holmes said. Despite the risks, McDaniel said he's had more fender benders driving than diving incidents, and loves the water. "There's a beauty below the surface that (most) people never see," he said of aquatic life. "There's no noise other than rhythmic breathing." Cave Diving Fatalities 1994-2005 The National Speleological Society tracks cave-diving accidents in the Americas. Its records are admittedly incomplete, so these numbers represent the minimum number of cave divers who have died. Florida 31* Mexico 9 Bahamas 4 Cuba 4 Brazil 2 California 2 Hawaii 2 Alabama 1 Belize 1 Missouri 1 New York 1 *None were in Volusia County's Blue Spring cave SOURCE: American Caving Accidents SOURCE - Daytona Beach News |
