|
Digs' Pages |
||
|
|
 |
|
| ||||||
Re Dorothea Bashing …..Again 13/1/03 (A Letter sent to Dive Magazine after their January 2003 Editorial and Letter page) OK, here we go again. When
will people realise that deep does not automatically mean fatal. I have just completed a rebreather course.
Because Dorothea is “banned” by the training agencies we had to find
an alternative venue. We ended up
at Hodge Close. Now this is a deep hole in the ground, which the agencies
regard as safe, though for the life of me I can’t think why. For access you drive down a muddy slippery path.
You then walk 100M along a tunnel filled with water to my waist (I’m
5ft 2”), and only just tall enough for me to walk through upright.
Then you climb down a big scaffolding ladder and walk down a loose scree
slope. There is the risk of rock falls from above (so I am told).
The only alternative access is to abseil.
There are tunnels under water where you can get lost, BUT it’s ONLY 30M
or so deep. There is no way the emergency services can get in there, you
couldn’t even use a chopper to airlift someone as the downdraft might set off
a rock fall. Yet this is safe! There is no on site chamber, safety cover or any other facilities there either. Nor at Wastwater, nor is there much offshore. We have the promise of a new site near Chepstow with a maximum of 80M. This is good news, although I have heard conflicting reports about visibility there, ranging from wonderful to atrocious. People who participate in adventurous sports take risks….FACT. People who participate in adventurous sports occasionally get it wrong and die….FACT. If this magazine really wants to promote the cause of safe diving in the UK, then start a campaign to get Dorothea into the hands of someone who WILL develop it. I and many of my friends who dive there regularly would be prepared to pay for access, even though for some of them it goes against the grain as they have been diving there for 30 years for free. If Dorothea is closed, where do you really think people will go for their deeper training, and where do you think the thrill seekers will go? They won’t just disappear, the problem will simply be relocated to places like Wastwater, Hodge Close, the Scottish Lochs and offshore sites. And I see no mention of the people who have taken time and effort to sling a deco trapeze in Dorothea at their own expense, and to clearly write warnings on the bouys with regard to depth, training and suitable equipment. Many, if not most, of the regular divers at Dorothea are sensible, well trained individuals who like to keep their skills honed over the winter period. Please stop trying to take this away from us. With Regards Jen Somogyi Aka Digs
Along with this letter I sent the following email: Please find enclosed a letter for your magazine. I'd be more than happy to arrange for you to meet some of the regulars at the quarry and get a balanced view point. Or what about arranging a public debate with the politicians involved and/or Mr Small so that the passion for diving and the reasons why we continue to dive the quarry can be put across. And don't forget Farmer John, who has the grazing rights thereabouts and supports the divers right to dive there., oh and the local B&B owners who would like to see the site developed.
|
