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My Argument In Defence of Dorothea Whilst saddened by the recent deaths in this quarry, I am concerned at the level of hysteria being whipped up in some local newspapers. I have been diving for three years, am BSAC Adv/OWI, and Dorothea is a regular training venue for me. Lets dispel at least one of the myths: Dorothea is approximately 102M deep at it’s deepest. It is not 102M deep throughout. There are areas ranging from 3M through 6M, 9M, 12M, 20M, 30M, 35M, 40M etc right up to the maximum depth. The area around the normal entry point starts at 3M, and there is enough of the quarry at less than 25M to provide a safe and interesting location for most basic scuba training. Admittedly, in many parts of the quarry shallow areas drop off to much deeper ones in a steep cliff or slope, however it is not beyond the wit of any decent instructor or dive leader to keep less experienced divers well away from these areas. Generally divers come well equipped; many who use Dorothea have emergency oxygen kits and first aid kits, and have undertaken the training to be able to use these. In the two incidents I have witnessed there, oxygen was available in a matter of minutes, mobile phones had been used to notify the emergency services and teams of, sometimes unrelated, divers were actively doing all they could to assist. As the sport of diving progresses, recreational divers are able to dive deeper and for longer. Specialist training is available as is high quality equipment. What we do have a shortage of are training sites of a useful depth. Narcosis is commonly thought to become a factor in diving at around 30M and becomes progressively more of an issue the deeper you dive, unless mitigated by the use of specialist mixed gasses such as trimix. Now I for one would rather see divers train and practice at a site like Dorothea than attempt their first deep dives somewhere offshore. There is less to cope with at Dorothea, minimal currents (if at all), generally predictable visibility, not much chance of being swept away from the shore and stranded. Yes it is cold, but pre and post dive warm food and drink can be provided with the simple use of a camping stove. Sea –sickness is not likely to be a problem, neither is the possibility of slogging 200 miles and hiring a boat to have the weather put paid to the day’s training. If Dorothea is closed, many divers training for deep dives will have to relocate to places like Wastwater in Cumbria. Easily as difficult to reach, no first aid or hyperbaric facilities on site, and nowhere near as much relatively shallow, interesting diving. Many other divers may simply neglect the importance of pre trip training, “warm ups”, (rather similar in concept to altitude acclimatisation), and controlled testing of new or recently serviced equipment, simply going off to sea at the beginning of the spring season with their fingers crossed. I have heard and read quite a lot about Dorothea being closed on safety grounds…however; I believe on balance that it is safer for the diving community as a whole to retain this valuable training ground than to lose it. Diving, as a sport, contains an element of risk, as does mountaineering, kayaking, ski-ing and most others that involve use of “the great outdoors”. And like these other sports, there will always be people who seek to push both their own limits and those of the sport itself. There will always be those who try to restrict activities on the grounds of “looking after people”. I would say…divers are for the most part adults and we are able to make our own choices. If Dorothea is to be closed, what of the Scottish Mountains, the Alps, in fact why not restrict folk to experiencing these wonderful environments through the TV screen, from the safety of a sofa?? Jen Somogyi |
