Big Blue Tech has recently returned from cavern and cave diving in one of Thailand’s National Parks called Khao Sok. Big Blue Tech conducted a TDI (Technical Diving International) Cavern and Extended Range course for Matt Payne, Mike Borneo and Ash Dunn. Matt and Mike who had already completed their Advanced Nitrox and Decompression Procedures with us earlier in the year returned to join this expedition with Ash Dunn who will be joining the tech crew in December as our new facilities manager.

The 4 day expedition in Khao Sok proved to be a text book adventure of challenging dives in stunning surroundings. On this particular trip the water had risen another 5m making the sunken temple out of range for the 55m certification depth.

The increase in water level on the lake was a result of heavy water fall leading up to the trip. Thankfully the rain fall and preceeding weather didn’t effect diving conditions or underwater visibiility leaving nothing but clear skies and sunshine.

The expedition progressed with the required training dives for the Cavern Diver certification followed by exploration for new cave systems and accelerated decompression dives up to 55m.

The students were introduced to new and unfamiliar conditions with diving from a longtail and in fresh water. While most chose the more formal method of backwards roll, others like United States Marine Captain Mike Borneo chose a more uncoventional method.

One of the more interesting highlights of the caverns was the exploration of a dry pool above one of the systems where a dive could surface to see the stalagtites and stalagmites forming above. An interesting spectacle when all the dive computers registered that we were still at 4m while very clearly above the surface of the water.

As the trip concluded, the divers had experienced 10 fresh water dives and combined their previous training with the challenges of overhead environment.

Big Blue Tech would like to tank Prival Raft House and Big Blue Diving for their support and assistance conducting this expedition.

Big Blue Tech returns to the region for more diving in December of 2009.

Rich Stevenson, 39, is a professional diver living and working in Plymouth. For 10 years he has owned and run dive-boats and, until recently, a coastal dive centre. His independent company now concentrates on rebreather training, underwater film operations and commercial diving charters on his new 9m RIB Ocean Venture. Involved in technical instruction since 1995, Rich was one of the UK’s first IANTD Cave and Trimix Instructors, and is an IANTD and PSAI Instructor-Trainer

I have been privileged and lucky enough to be involved in some of the most advanced and exciting dive projects in the world. My gear has developed alongside these expeditions, and certain equipment was even designed for specific projects.Everything I use has been tested, from the extremes of flooded French caves to 160m-deep wreck dives way offshore in the Atlantic. I have to put total confidence in my kit and, while I still wonder if that kit is the best it could be for my diving, it’s probably as close as it needs to be.

REBREATHERS
I am fortunate to have access to eight units, but number one choice is the CCRB Sentinel, followed very closely by the AP Diving Evolution Plus.Both are made in the UK, which makes using them that much more satisfying. The APD unit has been involved in more expedition dives than any other unit I know, and in 2001 I took a standard Classic Inspiration on the first-ever dive on RMS Carpathia, which lies in 160m - praise indeed! The Sentinel became the solution I was looking for last March, because having a back-mounted rebreather made handling large numbers of stage cylinders so much easier. The work of breathing
and advanced features makes it a firm favourite with advanced divers. I have been known to use a Megalodon on demanding cave and/or overhead-environment dives. The lack of a CE mark makes it impossible for me to use it commercially, but it’s a formidable unit that is incredibly reliable and well-made.

DRYSUITS
I have used only one type in my career, an Otter Britannic Telescoping Torso suit. I have never been
a fan of neoprene suits. Even the crushed type all seem to suffer from buoyancy loss at depth.
Most students I come across on courses seem to be underweighted on the deco phase, and heavier at depth. The membrane variety from DUI and Otter don’t suffer from this, so I find buoyancy control much easier.
Warmth is not an issue if you layer up correctly, and with the layering system you can make the membrane suit far more flexible in temperature extremes. My Otter has been in 26°C water while decompressing on the Britannic, and 1°C water in Finland. It’s only the undergarments that change.

UNDERGARMENTS
With pants in mind, let’s move on! I mostly use Fourth Element thermals, a combination of standard Zero Therms under a set of thicker Arctics for most UK summer diving and dives up to three hours’ long.
For longer dives, a C-Bear undersuit goes over the Fourth Element gear to keep the heat in. A heated undervest may come out, but it’s got to be really cold for that! I’ve found that the Otter “double hood” system keeps my head incredibly warm, and the water trapped between each hood actually warms up during the dive, like a good-fitting wetsuit. I also use Swedish Navy dry gloves. I have holed these only once in 18 months, testament to their incredible toughness.

BAIL-OUT CYLINDERS & REGULATORS
Ally stage cylinders are the only type that work for me, and I have nearly 20 different ones of between 5.5 and 11 litres. The job dictates what I take, but every cylinder will use a Poseidon Cyklon regulator with 1.2m hose, to make emergency gas-sharing stress-free. Each regulator also has a low-pressure inflator hose, allowing me to inflate lift-bags, counter-lungs, drysuits and even my wing if necessary. There is also a 15cm hp hose with SPG on each reg set.

DIVE COMPUTERS/SOFTWARE
Since 2003 I have used a VR3 with the VPM upgrade in support of a decompression software program called GAP. Most modern rebreathers have in-built software, so the VR3s and more modern VRX from VR Technology are used as back-ups to the onboard information. Modern technology can’t be 100% reliable - though it generally is - so I still take a standard Uwatec depth gauge and underwater wet-notes for back-up deco information.

DIVER PROPULSION VEHICLE
I prefer the Silent Submersion N-37, the ni-mh-powered version of the tried-and-tested UV-26
lead-acid scooter, which is favoured by serious cave-divers worldwide. The N-37 is a compact, reliable unit giving more than 90-minute burntimes, with a proven depth rating of more than 150m - more than good enough for me! It may not be the most technologically advanced scooter, and certainly isn’t the fastest, but it has a deep wreck- and cave-diving track record that other units will never have.

ANCILLARY EQUIPMENT

Salvo and Halcyon HID torches provide primary lighting, while Halycon Scout torches provide back-up. Dive Rite reels have always been my favourites, and I use the free-flowing spools for DSMB deployment.I use the low-pressure hose inflating style DSMB in red for drift decompression, with the same in yellow in case of emergency.

Finally, forward propulsion when not using a DPV is by a pair of 10-year-old Scubapro Jetfins, and the ability to see under water is made much easier by a Scubapro frameless mask, also nearly10 years old.

by Christos Kardana

It’s easy to get excited about Khao Sok National Park. Astonishing areas of ancient rain forest, exotic rare wildlife and countless trekking routes provide the ideal setting for the avid explorer or outdoor enthusiast. It also provides the perfect backdrop for diving fanatics such as ourselves here at Big Blue Tech, were we are all about going ‘deeper and darker’.  Khao Sok National Park’s 165kmsq lake - created by a damming project in the early 1980s- provides a rare and challenging environment for advanced divers. The lake is mesmerising, with limestone sheer cliffs and pinnacles surrounding the immense body of water. The water itself is a layer cake of debris covered surface, sulphur induced mid water columns and finally crystal clear water engulfing submerged tree tops at 60m in what can prove to be the most serene and yet challenging diving site for many. Big Blue Tech returned to this favourite destination to conduct the August TDI Cavern Course, in what was our first visit since our successful Technical Temple Expedition back in June.

Cavern and cave diving is an exhilarating experience appealing to a wide array of divers from speleological fanatics exploring the limestone formations formed over years of natural weathering and water flow erosion to hardcore divers looking for the challenge of extreme dive exposure and expedition planning and logistics.

The Big Blue Tech TDI Cavern Course is a 4-day expedition with fee covering all costs involved during the length, including overnight boat and minibus transport there and back, food and drink cover and the certifying course and additional dives as well. The TDI Cavern course is the first step in overhead environment training covering all necessary skills for chamber diving within an ambient light source putting you on the road for full cave diver in the future if your up for the challenge. Starting at our home headquarters in Koh Tao it’s a simple and pleasurable journey to the Khao Sok National Park resort.

Surrounded by evergreen forest, flowing streams and peacocks, academic presentations and theory Q&A is covered followed by hands on practical reel work including tie-offs and placements, team diving contact drills and light and air source failure bail out techniques.

Day two means we can finally get in the water and after a delightful traditional long-tail boat ride through the lake; a full skill briefing is conducted before kit up, entry and penetration of our main training cavern, ‘Temple’ defined by its stalactite and stalagmite formations all but lost with history to what is now an astonishing underwater chamber. Students lead the dive itself practicing appropriate reel work and buddy and light techniques all under the direct supervision of our head instructor, James Thornton Allan. The skills are perfected on the second dive within ‘Peters’ Cave; home to a cathedral type chamber that divers can surface in floating through narrow corridors.

Day 3 completes the skills required for certification as a cavern diver, of which we will not mention (we cant ruin the surprise!), with Day 4 allowing for adventure dives at new sites within the park, providing the perfect situation for newly qualified divers to utilise there new found skills in the true nature and reason of why cave and technical diving evolved to what it is today…Exploration!

Big Blue Tech’s August Expedition consisted of two students: English technical dive-master intern Andy Holdoway and instructor Panagiotis Iosifoglou of Greek German decent. Past students Sonia Scott and Yvonne Fries returned for a third and second time respectively for the love of the sport, adding further cavern dives to there log. As Andy and Panagiotis were already TDI Advance Nitrox Certified they were qualified to dive on a technical twin set rig, an addition they both agreed lent itself perfectly to the type of diving involved, while the girls utilised recreational kit with bail out pony cylinders across there torso.

Andy found the whole experience exhilarating stating “I feel alive again” with Panagiotis or ‘Panos’ as we call him, remaining speechless for the majority of the trip, every now and again doing the old “This is Sparta” routine before donning his tech kit. The girls loved the trip, as did we all here at Big Blue Tech, and the logistics and planning are already under way for our September Expedition.

If you are interested in our Khao Sok Cavern Expeditions or any of our training courses, please do not hesitate to contact us at info@bigbluetech.net

All photographs are © Christos Kardana / Big Blue Tech.

The day finally comes that you find yourself on the deck of a dive boat; out to experience the depths of the sea, the haunting beauty of a lost warship or the mysterious network of underwater caves, you’ll feel a particular sense of pride at the overcome challenges of being a lady diver.

No one knows that you’ve taken ‘The Pill’ for three extra days so as to avoid any unpleasant cycles of nature while sharing a marine toilet with thirty five men. Not a single person has yet to notice the added weights stuffed in your under-suit bra because despite the otherwise perfect distribution you’re familiar with on twin 15 liter steels, feeling a little bloated means rearing up like a seahorse in an overhead environment.

You are confident, self assured and ready for the dive of a lifetime. ….Right up until someone switches out of your group. Sure, you might hear a mumble about it being bad luck, attracting sharks, or a question of capabilities, but recognize this behavior for what it is: Nothing more than growing pains of an industry that is improving every day, every dive.

We have undoubtedly experienced marked progress for women in the recreational field. Entire lines of equipment are now devoted to your slender, more curved physique. It’s possible to choose from a range of pastel colors for fins, masks and even second stage regulator covers. The world it seems, has taken notice of the lady diver and cashed in on what is still a relatively niche market.

There are gender friendly live-aboards that offer cabin arrangements for all preferences, orientations and comfort levels. Companies have gradually become aware and started offering a choice of instructors based not just on linguistic abilities, but customer comfort level as well. This is important when taking a dive holiday abroad where the attitudes towards women may vary.

Perhaps the single most important achievement in repetitive dive medicine for the female world is the availability of Diflucan; (Floconazole) a one-time treatment orally administered that halts Candida in its tracks. A less than romantic side to discovering the depths of the blue is that the female anatomy wasn’t meant to wear a wetsuit for hours at a time. By speaking with your doctor and placing a single innocent tablet in your first aid box, you can enjoy your much anticipated vacation, assured that a yeast infection won’t be creating misery when you ought to be having the time of your life.

By never taking no for an answer, women have forged ahead and forced manufactures to sit up, take notice and find solutions to our diving differences. The advancements that have been made in recreational diving, however, still have a long way to go in technical diving.

Once past the 40 meter/120 foot line though, it’s all a boy’s world. This is evident not just in the gear options and color choice, but in the mindset and physiological differences between the sexes. Harnesses aren’t meant for the 32 in. / 81.3 cm. chest size if it’s accompanied by a 24 in. /64 cm. waist.

Extra training and practice must go into learning how to clip and unclip a cummerbund, crotch strap, weight belt, deco bottles, reels and basically anything that sits below your chest while visually impaired or outright blocked by your breasts. Add the bulk of counter-lungs over them for rebreather diving, and vision limitations are second only to the possible feelings of suffocation that accompany literally being unable to look down. While this doesn’t apply to everyone, the variation in female shape makes it much more likely that your technical kit will not be ready to wear without a lot of customization and adjustment.

Quality harness modification is essential to having a safe dive, and if you’ll be spending hours upon hours in it during deco, comfort is a necessity. Finding an industrial grade sewing machines such as those used by leather works can save you a lot of frustration and insure a strong seam. For a fee, many small businesses are willing to do alterations to even the thickets webbing. Don’t expect to get it right the first time. Test all modifications in a pool before attempting any overhead or decompression dives. You might discover that a little bit of pinching in one place is just mildly irritating for a few minutes, but after hours, it can become a disabling pain. Before you set out, make sure all your equipment is suited for your form. It might cost a bit of extra money and time, but investing in your gear is investing in your safety.

From here, things only become more embarrassing of a struggle. Without the luxury of P-valves in the female dry suit, cold water diving is decidedly in the male’s favor. It isn’t possible to find a bit of privacy on a rib or even a beach dive. Biological functions become an epic event requiring at least another pair of helping hands to get you re-zipped. Even in the sphere of medical technology, women are still trailing. As bottom times increase, the trend has turned towards catheter use. For what is no more difficult than slipping on a condom for men, it involves hair removal, leakage protection and adhesive for women. If this doesn’t have you cringing, consider the alternative: A less involved but much more debatable method is an indwelling, or internal catheters. When forced to choose between gluing odd plastics to your most sensitive area (and the need to subsequently remove them later) or having a tube shoved literally into your bladder, the question of your dedication, determination and passion for the ocean is no longer question. Ever again.

After all the struggles you’ve faced just to get here, don’t let something so small knock you down. Underwater, in 100 lbs. /220 kg. of dive gear, no one will be able to see gender. Pull your weight, don’t show off and pretty soon you won’t be singled out for being a lady diver; you’ll be respected as a technical lady diver

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Related

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For a head start in exploring the underworld, here’s a look at what it takes to be a cavern diver.

Few diving experiences compare with finning to the mouth of an underwater cavern or cave, putting your hands on the lip and peering into an open chamber filled with formations, shafts of light streaming from holes in ceiling, illuminating sections and leaving others draped in shadow. The names of such places—the Cathedral, the Ball Room—barely do them justice in their attempts to capture these images. All dive-training agencies have limits in place regarding divers’ access to overhead environments—and for good reason. “Since the 1970s, more than 600 divers have died in overhead environments,” says Jeff Bauer, President of the National Association of Cave Diving (NACD). “And most of those deaths happened because the divers didn’t have the appropriate training.” But with the right training, you can add a whole new dimension to your diving adventures. The first step is a cavern-diver course; most recreational dive-training agencies offer this class in a form derived from the curriculum taught by cave-diving organizations NACD and the Cave Diving Section of the National Speleological Society (NSS-CDS). These classes provide the knowledge and techniques needed for limited penetration into overhead environments, they introduce you to new types of equipment, and they help fast track development of the most vital underwater skills—like buoyancy, trim, air consumption, swimming techniques and safety procedures.

Defining “Cavern,” and Course Prerequisites
Different training agencies have slightly different definitions for what constitutes a “cavern” dive, but generally, across all agencies, it is defined as a dive in an overhead environment—like the mouth of a cave—where two divers can easily swim side-by-side and remain within the natural light zone. “You have to stay within the daylight zone,” says John Jones, training director for NSS-CDS. “In our courses, we also specify a maximum depth of 100 feet, and cavern divers can’t go more than 200 linear feet from the surface.”

The experience level required to enroll in a cavern course also varies among agencies, but in most cases, an Advanced certification and/or 15 to 20 logged dives are a minimum. More important, students in a cavern course need to demonstrate above average  buoyancy control; cavern instructors will evaluate students during an open-water dive before going into the cavern to make sure each diver is ready to go inside. “A couple of times I’ve had to tell students, ‘you need to go practice buoyancy and come back,’” Jones says. “But probably 95 out of 100 divers make it through the class.”

The Gear
Because cavern dives are defined as within recreational diving limits, they can be made with recreational dive gear. “We try to give divers a taste of the methods we use as technical divers without them having to buy a whole lot of extra gear,” Bauer says. “In a cavern class, it’s OK for them to use their standard open-water BCs, single tanks, all the stuff they’re used to—obviously they don’t need their snorkels though, because you can’t come straight to the surface and it’s an added entanglement risk.”

Dive Lights
You stay within the sunlight zone, but to see every crack and crevice along the way, you need to throw some beams of your own. Bring at least two. For cavern diving, standard night-diving gear will do the trick, Jones says. “If you’re set up to night dive, with the standard primary and small secondary for backup, you’re alright for cavern diving,” he explains. However, cylinder-shaped lights, or lantern-grips, are the best choices because it’s easier to handle a reel and guideline with one of those than with a pistol-grip light. And if you really want to illuminate like a caver, pack a hand-mounted light attached to a large battery canister, which is generally mounted on the waistband of a harness or on your tank band. “I’ll usually let students borrow one of my canister lights,” Bauer says. “Just so they can get the feel for a brighter light that attaches to their hand.”

Reels
All recreational cavern courses include basic line-laying techniques. Even within the light zone, a misplaced fin kick or a bad-buoyancy crash on the bottom can blow out the vis. And when you can’t see, a reel literally acts as your lifeline back to the exit. At minimum, each diver in a cavern course needs a small safety reel, and each buddy team needs one primary reel.

Cavern Skills

Buoyancy
The first order of business in a cavern course is to figure out the ideal weight each diver should carry. “Most people come to us overweighted, so we help the students find the perfect amount of weight they need,” Jones says. “Generally, we take four or five pounds of weight off every student in a cavern class. I don’t even remember how much weight I had on when I took my cavern course, but from what I learned in that class, and after switching to steel tanks, I got rid of my weight belt entirely.” Ideally, cavern divers can hover motionless in the water and effortlessly maintain a proper swimming attitude.  This is critical because if you float too high, you ram into the ceiling; drift too low and you kick up the bottom. Either move can turn gin-clear water into silt-choked sludge in seconds.

Weight Redistribution
The problem with a normal recreational dive setup is that all your weights hang around your waist, and you compensate with air at your shoulders. This puts you in a poorly streamlined, head-up/feet-down position, requiring more energy (and air) to move through the water, and increasing your chances of kicking up silt along the bottom. Once you know how much (or little) weight you need, distributing it properly greatly improves your trim. In a cavern course, you get a chance to think outside the pouch. Integrated BCs have trim pockets in the back that help move some lead higher up on your body, and your cavern instructor may also attach small weights at your shoulders, Jones explains. Making the switch to steel tanks—which, unlike aluminum tanks, are negatively buoyant—helps you eliminate extra bricks all together. And though it’s not required in a cavern course, upgrading your BC to a tech-style backplate and wing also adds inherent weight along your torso, eliminating even more lead bricks.

Laying a Line
You’ll practice line techniques on land and in open water with your buddy before laying one out in a cavern. “They’ll learn how to tie off a reel to a fixed object and how to route the line on the bottom so it doesn’t get trapped or wrapped up easily,” Bauer says. This task is surprisingly difficult for the uninitiated. You have to run the reel with your buddy so it can be followed in zero visibility without getting tangled and while also holding a light and maintaining perfect buoyancy. You’ll also practice following a guideline—with your eyes closed to simulate blackout conditions—both as a normal buddy team and while donating and receiving an alternate air-source with your buddy to simulate a worst-case emergency scenario. “It really teaches you how to multitask,” Jones says. “It’s probably the most intense two- to three-day course you’ll ever take.”

Gear Configuration
Redistribute your weight, reroute hoses, reverse fin straps and make sure no accessories are dangling.  Why? Because anything that dangles can foul the guideline. “Everything should be secured,” Bauer says. “At the cavern level, I’ll make sure divers clip consoles across their chests, replace the lanyards on their lights with clips and duct tape fin straps down.” The end result is a streamlined package that not only minimizes tangles but that also helps you move smoothly through the water. “The nice thing about the cavern class is that the environment usually teaches this stuff for me,” Bauer adds. “I can point out things that need to be reconfigured, but when the divers go down and get tangled in the line, they quickly realize the importance of getting rid of any dangling equipment.”

The Kicks
Streamlined movements and strong, efficient fin strokes that don’t kick up the bottom are key in caverns. First up: The frog kick. Keep your knees bent, and start by spreading your feet apart with the narrow side of the fin cutting through the water. Then turn your ankles so the bottoms of your fins face each other, and bring the fins together like two hands clapping. This pushes the water between the blades and directly behind you, unlike a flutter kick, which forces water up and down, possibly stirring up the bottom. Next lesson: Mastering the fin turn. Instead of flapping your hands to turn your body, a few well-placed fin flicks can spin you in the right direction with less effort and less vis-destroying turbulence. To do this, float motionless in the water in a normal, face-down swimming position, but with the knees slightly bent. Imagine your navel as a pivot point, and turn your body with short, inward flicks of the foot opposite the side you want to turn to—i.e., use the right foot to turn left and vice versa.

Can’t-Miss Cavern Dives

Gran Cenote, Riviera Maya: The systems of cenotes that perforate the land along Mexico’s Yucatan coast comprise the largest underwater cave systems in the world, and cave divers flock from around the world to dive here. But you don’t need to be a full-fledged cave diver to experience some of the best Riviera Maya has to offer. Gran Cenote, one of the most popular, starts in an open chamber accessible even to snorkelers and the mouth of the cave provides perfect conditions for cavern diving.

Ginnie Springs, Fla.: Second only to the cave systems at Riviera Maya, the underwater rivers that make up Florida’s spring systems are an equally great place to get your cavern diving fix. Ginnie Springs features a wide-open chamber called the Ballroom, and metal grating blocks passage to the deeper, more dangerous parts of the cave.

The Cathedrals, Maui, Hawaii: For a cavern experience that’s totally different than those offered in Mexico and Florida, check out the lava formations of the Aloha State. Two of the most famous cavern dives here are Cathedral One and Two, off the island of Lanai. Both feature wide-open chambers, dramatic rock formations against a backdrop of blue water and multiple entry and exit points.

TERRE HAUTE — After reaching the bottom, about 10 feet down, Indiana Conservation Officer Matt Landis began making sweeps in a circle search pattern as part of his training for his first ice dive Thursday in Fowler Park in southern Vigo County.

The water temperature was 39 degrees, according to a small monitor attached to his special orange-colored dry suit, designed to keep cold water from touching his body.

After about 10 minutes, his training dive was over, but he still faced a unique challenge from the depths — finding a hole cut out of the 41⁄2-inch-thick ice above him.

“You could actually see a couple of feet, which makes it a little easier to orientate yourself once you get down to the bottom. Coming up, you can see the sunlight and it just looks like a roof of glass,” Landis said of the frozen lake above him.

“You think you are coming up in the hole, but once you start coming up, you bump against the ice and you know you are still under,” he said.

That’s where the safety line comes in, which directs the diver back to the opening in the ice. Such conditions require the use of a harness on each diver, said Conservation Officer Max Winchell, a dive master, who said the training helps officers experience the cold and learn to take extra precautions with equipment.

“There are a lot of people out using the lakes and the river in the wintertime, so the potential [for a rescue] is always there,” Winchell said, adding that people ice-fishing or hunting fowl or in some conditions, snowmobilers, can fall through ice and into a lake or pond or even river.

“It pays to be prepared for this, because a lot of things can go wrong when diving in the ice. Equipment malfunctions is one of the biggest things and that is why we dive monthly to make sure everything is working good,” Winchell said.

“You have a lot more room for error when it is cold,” he said.

One safety precaution includes using a shovel to move snow to form a large circle around the ice hole, with several straight lines leading back to the hole. It is supposed to help divers find the hole, if needed. Landis said he could not see the lines because of the sunny conditions.

“I’m told you could see the lines in more cloudy conditions,” said Landis, who has been a conservation officer for two years and started in June as a scuba diver. Eleven Indiana conservation officers participated in ice dive training on the north side of a lake at Fowler Park. The dive is conducted annually.

Nine of the divers were from District 5, which includes Vigo, Vermillion, Parke, Sullivan, Clay, Owen and Putnam counties. Landis and other divers used a communication headset underwater, which was connected to a small box on the surface, allowing others to hear them, even as they breathed, as well as talk to the divers if needed. Divers also trained using hand and touch signals to communicate, Landis said.

Winchell said rescue attempts in cold water do allow rescuers some time. “There are what we call ‘cold water drownings’ and a lot of it depends on the survivability of the person. We have up to an hour and in some cases even 90 minutes in a cold-water drowning situation where a person can be brought back with no ill effects in some cases,” Winchell said.

“In Indiana we can have a cold-water drowning in the summertime,” Winchell said, because the water temperatures might be 75 degrees at the surface, but just 10 feet or more below, temperatures fall drastically, especially in former surface coal mine pits, some as deep as 60 feet.