Florida Dive Expedition that Claimed the Lives of Mark Granger and William Ridenour

Location	Diver
USA, Florida, Royal Springs Park	Mark Granger, William Ridenour

Trained in open-water diving, these two diving buddies entered a cave at Royal Springs Park, Florida. Are you enjoying our cave diving videos but have not subscribed yet? Please kindly subscribe to our channel for more cave diving stories.

Exploring Royal Springs Park

There are several springs, sinkholes, and underwater caves in Suwannee County, Florida. Among them is this most fascinating park called Royal Springs Park. It is a well-known spring for swimmers, scuba divers, and all lovers of outdoor recreation in Suwannee County and Florida in general. The park is seated on a 5-acre land mass.

The basin of this spring forms a big pool that is approximately 160 ft by 105 ft (49 m by 32 m). Though its depth varies due to the effects of rainfall and aquifer levels, it is usually about 42 ft (13 m) deep. The basin of Royal Spring is enclosed by high walls, which are about 25 ft (8 m) high. Other fascinating things about Royal Springs Park are the natural beauty of the forest that surrounds the park and the corridor of a river connected to the Suwannee River.

The Story Unfolds

Your adventure to Royal Springs Park promises to be a memorable one if you follow all safety precautions. Now let’s look at the story of two newly certified divers who went against the safety precautions. On February 18th, 2001, the 19-year-old Mark Granger went for a dive into Royal Springs together with his friend William Ridenour, who was 34 years old.

At 4:30 p.m., they started diving into Royal Springs together with their diving instructor, Christopher Whitlock, and his diving partner. Mark and William were both from Kingsland and Gainesville, Florida. Their initial intention was to dive into the pool of the spring just for exploration while their instructor was to retrieve a concrete anchor from the pool.

The Difference Between Open-Water Diving and Cave Diving

Mark and William had just received their diving certification, but this was just for open-water diving and not cave diving. Open-water diving is a dive in which you can directly access the surface while diving straight up without any overhead obstruction. Sunlight directly impacts the water, giving it natural visibility without the use of artificial light.

Open-water diving is more recreational diving. Cave diving, on the other hand, is a form of technical diving instead. This is diving that requires diving within an enclosure. You have overhead and side obstructions. This means that you can’t get to the surface by merely diving straight up. In some caves, you need to crawl and squeeze yourself into tight passages.

The Consequences of Ignoring Safety Precautions

Special equipment and training are needed for cave diving. The four divers had been divided into two teams; the instructor and his partner in one, and Mark and William in another. Having been trained as open-water divers, Mark and William were qualified to dive within the pool. The instructor and his diving partner, who were first going to look for the concrete anchor, entered the pool and, in just one dive, were able to retrieve the concrete anchor from the pool.

Then, each of the teams took their flashlights, ready to explore the thriving pool of Royal Springs. They all entered the water and started diving. Unfortunately, the instructor’s diving partner had challenges with equalizing. Before they could continue diving, the instructor had to wait for assistance.

Equalizing in diving simply means equalizing pressure between the inside of your ears and the underwater environment. Equalizing is needed because human ears are not naturally adapted to an underwater environment. So while the instructor and his diving partner got down into the water, they couldn’t find Mark and William in the pool.

The Silt-Out and Zero Visibility

Mark and William had sighted a cave inside the pool and entered it, not because they had only received training in open-water diving and not cave diving. They had no idea of what to expect within the cave, and just as is usually the case in many other caves, they found themselves in the region of zero visibility.

What could have impaired the visibility within the cave? Zero visibility was caused by silt-out, a condition when the visibility of underwater caves is impaired or completely reduced to zero. This is a result of the disturbance of particles that are at the bottom or on the wall surfaces of the cave. It is mostly caused when divers’ fins are used forcefully or directed in the wrong direction, disturbing silt inside the cave.

Also, it could be caused when exhaled bubbles from diving gear disturb overhead surfaces, thereby losing particles from those surfaces. Divers must take caution when diving to avoid all these mistakes. And when cases such as this occur as an emergency, part of the techniques learned during training is to get hold of the guidelines and trace them back to the surface.

The Tragic Outcome and Lessons Learned

This is why cave diving is not for untrained divers. These are likely problems they will encounter. If reduced visibility is noticed before entering the cave, it is advisable that a diver exits and not endanger his own life. The instructor and his diving partner had now entered the cave but couldn’t find Mark and William.

He became worried and started looking for them. While he was searching for them, he found the entrance to the cave. He told his partner to stay at the entrance while he went inside. He dived a short distance into the cave but couldn’t find them. So, he returned to the entrance. He and his diving partner both resurfaced, and he sent his partner to call for help while he quickly went back to the entrance of the cave.

He was flashing his light inside the cave and banging on the rocks, thinking the two divers inside would hear the sound and trace their way out of the silted cave. After 45 minutes of waiting, banging, and doing a lot just to ensure they heard him and came out, the rescue diver arrived at the entrance of the cave.

The search began, and at about 39 ft (12 m) into the cave, the rescue diver tied a line and started searching the cavern zone even in zero visibility. He also tied his reel and left it behind so that if Mark and William find it, they can use it to trace their way back to the cave’s entrance. Around 6:30 p.m.(2 hours after Mark and Williams went into the water), other rescue divers entered the cave and joined the search. They searched 295 ft (90 m) into the cave. Mark and William were nowhere to be found. As time passed and there was no visibility in the cave, the search team’s safety became a concern, so they exited the cave to resume their search the next day. The next day, they began the search and found some signs that the two missing divers might have entered a side tunnel, which is about 380 ft (100 m) away from the entrance.

But there is still a major limitation to entering this tunnel; you can only enter with side-mounted gear. The rescue team entered despite this limitation. Some distance into this side tunnel, they found the body of Mark at about 492 ft (150 m) into the cave. They continued the search for the second diver, and at about 531 ft (162 m) into the cave, they found William lying dead at the end of the side tunnel.

Their cylinders were empty. What a terrible day at the Royal Springs; two divers’ lives were lost. The search operation had turned from a rescue operation to a recovery operation. The team brought the two bodies out to the surface. Mark and William had gone against the basic safety rules of diving, and death was their consequence.

Basic Diving Safety Rules

This wasn’t a new thing in the diving community. Many divers tended to be daring, ignoring simple instructions to their detriment. Therefore there are five basic safety rules in cave diving that must not be taken for granted by any diver who is conscious of his safety and is not on a death-seeking adventure.

Firstly, any diver entering a cave must be trained in cave diving and be mentally prepared to face and tackle any difficulty encountered. An open-water diver is not expected to go cave diving unless he has received training in this. Secondly, a diver must carry all the necessary equipment needed for the adventure he is embarking on.

But most importantly, he must carry three lights for his diving adventure. His primary light and two secondary lights. In the worst situation, maybe he doesn’t have access to all three. He must have at least two lights. Thirdly, a diver must have a continuous line to the surface. Guidelines are used to navigate back to the entrance when exiting the cave.

Some caves have complexity in their systems, and missing one’s way happens to be the sure way without a guideline. So, a guideline will be the safety measure for this kind of situation. Fourthly, while planning your dive, limit your dive depth to that appropriate for the gas you are breathing. That is, don’t go beyond the depth that will require trimix when it is nitrox or oxygen-only gas you carry.

This might be dangerous too. And lastly, a diver must obey the rule of the thirds for gas management. Once you reach one-third of your available gas, start returning to the surface with your second third of air. The last third of air is only used in case of emergencies. If these five basic safety rules were being obeyed by every diver, the chances of accidents and deaths would be reduced.

Let us all lift the banner of obeying basic diving safety rules in the diving community. Mark and William would have returned peaceably to the surface if they had not gone against these basic diving safety rules. They were only trained in open-water diving, but they embarked on a cave diving adventure, which was totally against their training.

Cave diving is not for untrained divers. Safety should be the watchword for every diver. Let us obey safety instructions to the letter so that we can all enjoy the beautiful world of diving. Till we bring you another interesting diving story, keep diving and keep safe.

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