International live demonstration show for the quarrying, recycling and heavy construction industries at Hillhead Quarry, Buxton, UK.A few weeks ago there was a very unfortunate event where a young lad, 15 years of age, died when he entered a disused flooded quarry in Scotland for a dip!
Given the impact and importance of this, I have been sent an e-mail from a concerned friend, with a link attached to a forum where scuba divers are making a lot of reference to this particular site and others in the nearby areas with a title of “Un-dived Flooded Quarry”.
As a keen diver myself with more than 500 hours of logged safe diving (even with the recent Oceanic White Tips giving me a nudge in the arm), I was shocked to see people actively seeking out disused and even Working “Wet” quarry sites for their entertainment.
Given the fact that from the minute you start to learn about the sport, safety is drilled into you and just jumping into a new pond with no prior knowledge of what’s in there, how deep the thing is, and more importantly who owns it, is not the best idea in the world especially when there are reports of the visibility is like weak pea soup !!!
I know a lot of people in the industry who dive for pleasure who would agree with me on this one and I guess more publicity needs to be put out to the wider fringes to inform of the dangers etc, and leave the quarry diving to professional run places like Stoney Cove, Capernwray and 8 Acre Lake.
For interests sake the link for this site is:- www.congeralley.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-1666.html and I think I will also raise this issue with Diver & Sport Diver Magazine to really flag this serious issue up, and if anyone has any views or would like to add any thing to my rant, feel more than free to give me a shout back.
The monthly journal for the quarry products industry.
Comments
At Dove Holes quarry we had swimmers in our lagoon on the same weekend that the poor lad in Ashover died.
This was very unusual as although the quarry is large people don't find it easy to access the water.
Luckily there screams at the extreme cold alerted some fitters and they pulled them out and moved them on.
Very worrying incident that could easily have ended in disaster so the more publicity about the danger of quarry water the better for me.
Obviously having posted my first blog on the site and having dipped my toe in the water (excuse the pun) to see how many of us have experianced people trespassing in quarries to go for a dip, I was suprised to hear about so many (even now).
Given the importance of the subject and before I do put pen to paper to the magazines of the sport, I could do with some more "real" ammunition, and please do include your comments as these are very valuable.
We don't dive in working quarries as that would be stupid, but we do dive in old disused quarries. We do this however, with the proper equipment for the job, were not single tank recreational divers, we do have a lot of training and we do carry backup's for everything. We have however ot been back to this quarry and probably won't be as the viz is so poor with the water being slightly stagnant.
Brilliant to hear, diving in working quarries would be stupid. But your views are not shared by all, I do know of some people in the south (England I mean) who have jumped a working quarry, had a close shave with a wire rope around pillar valve and had to bail onto a pony set until eventually his buddy came back. Pretty stupid I think.
My original comment was more aimed at the land ownership issues and gaining permission. If a landowner is happy for people to get wet, Fine. as long as they are properly trained (and I dont mean OW then AOW course taken in the space of a two week holiday comprising of 12 dives in Egypt !) but truly competant for that level of diving.
I am just wary of people getting the wrong message, that diving in quarries is an acceptable thing to do !!!
Its a pity area directors dont take more notice of this subject instead of doing vfls,they need to justify their wage and position instead of looking in fridges and commenting on spilt milk stains,Ring any bells? All you hard working under paid quarry workers out there!!! Health and safety is as and when it suits,so the general public might as well jump in a silt bed cos the idiots that sit in their ivory towers entering health and safety competitions to pacify their gaffers wont care anyway!!!!