Aussie girl here 🇦🇺Ok couple of things to note: 1. That warning sign didn’t go up until AFTER this tragedy occurred! So it wasn’t there when this tragedy happened. 2. After the event the govt stated that all divers MUST be cave diving certification to dive in this cave AGAIN this came in after the tragedy. Even with all required permits and experience it is NOT recommended to dive there. Due to the drop offs silt etc. and lastly this cave is way way out in the countryside I think the nearest hospital is 4-5 hours away MINIMUM drive distance so if the worst happens there is NO close medical attention. All things to consider before trying it.
@@DIVETALK They can dive in any cave without a single hiccup , they are experts who know exactly what they are doing , they plan their dives and dive their plans ( as Woody says ) and I'm sure they leave their egos parked outside the cave .
Mr. Ballen tries to study things before he tells these stories. He never means to be incorrect. He does an Awesome job with his stories. Love to listen to all his stories. Thank you for being respectful to him.
Mr Ballen often makes up a lot of “facts” in his videos though to make the videos “more interesting”, and intentionally rewrites details, like saying a victim of a home burglary had a _gun_ collection when in fact he had a _guitar_ collection. He is not a reliable source and he spreads a lot of misinformation.
I made a playlist of all of his stories & put it on random at night (I have a couple creators I'll rotate through) to go to sleep on. I don't mind listening over & over though. It really helps me go to sleep 🙂
🤣🤣🤣🤣 ...dont worry bro...something tells me that if your a fan of the strange, dark & mysterious Mr. Ballen uploads content 3, 4, and even 5 times a week ...so you'll be fine
You guys should try and have Mr. Ballen on to talk about what kinda diving he did with the SEALs. He’s a pretty awesome dude and seems like the kinda guy who come on for that! Great video guys!
He said in one of his episodes that they used rebreathers in training. He also talked about diving under ships with not a lot of room to maneuver which sounds pretty terrifying. I'd love to see him on the show as well.
Hell yea great collab. Ive been wanting to also see Mr Ballen and PoPoMedic do a collab, i believe PoPo was also a SEAL or maybe Army Special Forces who later became a cop. Now does YT fill time like Donut Operator.
I dove in devils den in Florida (A cavern) early on in my diving..I stayed in well lit areas but when I got near to the edges I came across that famous cave diving sign design with the grim reaper. I stopped dead cold and turned around…I think that signs design is perfect..There is no “Please stop, we care” on the sign, it straight up says if you don’t have cave experience you WILL die. Even if you can’t read English the grim reaper is universal.
If we’re thinking of the same Devil’s den/hole, I live about 8 minutes up the road from it. Not many divers even the most experienced government trained divers have survived through this cave. There’s no bottom to it because it’s like all the dirt roads around here, each one leads to another and before you realize it you’re suddenly in Lake City. So all the paths in the cave run several miles and the currents are so strong most divers can’t fight against it and just get swept away and eventually their bodies are found in cities up to two hours away, days later. Due to so many people losing their lives simply just swinging out off the long rope and dropping into the water and they end up going way deeper then they knew they would and they get swept off in a current, they closed it about 5 years ago maybe longer. A few people admitted to killing someone and then putting them in their own vehicle and put a brick on the gas pedal and off the edge they go never to be seen again. They have had all kinds of specially trained divers from the government to the military come out with a weight and miles long cables to try and measure how deep it is but none have ever accomplished it and the longest cable used could have went from FL to NY and it still didn’t reach the bottom. I do believe there’s old news articles about in the Putnam County news paper and possibly even in the surrounding bigger cities. I can’t blame them for closing it and I’m glad they did because to many little kids and teens would sneak out there and end up drowning not to mention the amount of drunk adults who would go out there in the middle of the night and obviously they had no chance considering they were highly intoxicated.
@@Crafting_Through_Life there is a Devils Den which is open to the public, a Devils Hole Recreation Centre, and then Devils Hole which I think you are talking about - lots of local legend about it, got sold (to a developer???), and closed off to the public (no tresspassing signs, patrolled, the whole 9 yards). It connects to the Floridan aquifer, iirc - but it is actually only 100-200' deep. It seems to be human nature to call something deep "Devil's Hole," because there's a lot of them around. Seriously, everywhere. The "bottomless" Devils Hole is in Nevada (Death Valley). The caverns are around around 130m (430') deep. A rescue diver, at roughly 100 meters deep, came across a siphon (formation with a very small entrance with high current into it that can suck you in and is almost impossible to get out). He put out a weighted depth line without finding the bottom. It is known to be _at least_ 380 meters (1247 feet). Scientists still don't know _how_ deep it is - but thanks to an earthquake (in Mexico??) which created high waves in the cave, they believe it is connected to a water system that reaches at least 2000 miles away
I don’t think you guys are scaring off people to ever cave dive , you’re doing exactly what you want , warning people that they NEEED the proper training . It shows people who aren’t trained what happens when you go beyond your limits. Keep up the good job guys!
exactly! This channel is inspiring me to become more interested in diving in the future, because it’s clear that very rarely do people just *randomly* die while diving, they die due to being under-prepared and over-confident. It’s actually making me feel better about possibly diving in the future, because I know that with the proper preparation and training I can be as safe as possible.
@@badcornflakes6374 yeah it freaks me out just thinking about being in tight places on land in a cave system. I would definitely spaz out underwater... now put me in a gigantic, wide open space only 10ft deep, I would go 20ft deep if the Dive Talk guys were with me. Hahaha
MrBallen should have a warning label stating how addictive his videos are. Be careful if you haven't discovered him yet, or you may spend multiple nights watching his videos one by one... happened to me and not regretting :D
@@jakewest2524 Seems like most people that insist on saying rude things online are probably too weak and scared to ever say something to a persons face...... just my personal opinion
@Dive talk At the time of this incident there was no lines, Diver's were negotiating dive's with the farms owner on a case by case basis and there were no regulations or training in place for cave diving. Insanely enough they did not bring a line with them as they had previously set up a line to the depth they were supposed to go to. The Shaft was not fully mapped until almost a decade later in 1984. The deaths at the shaft directly lead to the formation of the Cave Divers Association of Australia. They have an in depth pdf on this incident (i can't link youtube will delete) I can tell you more about the shaft if you like?
@@meagancole8553 Well Mapping the thing took over a year something like 70 dive's totalling over 100 man hours. There has not been 16 deaths at the shaft, to my knowledge that's the total cave diving deaths on the limestone coast (or it just might be grant area i'm not sure). Technically the shaft has never been fully explored by man. Sheck Exley got the furthest in 94 he passed through a constriction in the big tunnel, but never reached then end of it. (So science dudes were buzzing around in the early 2003 but i can't find anything about them passing through the constriction) They actually buggered up dropping a bore line into the shaft and apparently it can be seen by divers in the cavern.
No worries Woody, there was a 0.00% chance I would go cave diving before watching this, now there's maybe a 0.01% chance (rounded up). Love the content.
Lmfao you probably couldn’t pay me 100-500K to even think abt it , these 2 act like this stuff is impossible to happen “oh you would have a line tied to the surface” as if a freakin line can’t be broken or ripped off ! Than your really out of luck
Also you'll notice in his stories whenever he shows a picture if it doesnt say (real photo) it's just a random picture that correlates to the topic. Any picture with (real photo) is from the story he is talking about
I love that he does that! I hate that a lot if youtubers use random photos for click bait and don't explain what's real and what's an approximation (or dramatization) of the truth
Took the words right out of my mouth. THIEF!!!! 😂 but yeah the real photo tags are much appreciated. Many you-tubers don’t take the time to little details like that, but viewers really appreciate them. 👍
Me ballen is genuinely an awesome person. How many other youtubers would report your channel, crying about copyright. Mr Ballen said this is cool! Thank you! I have a lot of respect for Mr Ballen Edit… And he is supporting your vid on his community tab!
Like mrballen said in a video way back his a huge fan of this content and so are we, he just happens to be the king of telling them to us. One big happy family. I’ve never once seen a negative comment on any of his videos, if it was I truly believe “his RU-vid family” would destroy them lol
I feel like almost all of mr.ballen's cave diving disaster videos are part of his "people who went places they shouldn't have" series and they almost always start off with: "they had no diving experience but they thought it would be fine" or "they were prepared for a much simpler dive but decided to try something they weren't remotely prepared for..." These diving tragedies are generally the result of a lack of training, a lack of equipment or both. In short, they could have been avoided.
With most Australian Cave diving accidents, especially before the 2000's, a lot of them were because they were grossly ill-equpt or dived in a dangerous spot alone. The only 'modern' accidents were because of human error
@@lisagray1418well, its like driving a car. Its very posible that you have an accident if you re not qualified o go ill prepared, but being qualified and very cautious doesnt make you inmune., just less posible to have an accident.
He's describing the cave as it was when this happened back in 1973. It helps the listener understand the story better. I understand you guys want to educate, but we do have to remember this is a retelling of a tragic event that occurred in 1973 and not a modern diving educational video you're reacting to.
Thank you! Everything was different back then, equipment, regulations etc. And yes this was a tragic event that completely altered those it touched. I know because they were my aunt and uncles. I was born in 85 so never got to meet Christine and Stephen but I grew up with my uncle Glen (my dad was their youngest brother who was only 13 at the time). People keep making judgments based on modern thinking.
Thank you for saying this! When he tells his stories, he's talking about exactly the info we need to understand the circumstances surrounding the one event. He doesn't usually waste time explaining a lot of "if this, then this" scenarios if it isn't relevant to the events. Yes, there is a proper way to avoid nitrogen narc, but they didnt use it in the story. The people in the story WERE guaranteed to get it because they didn't do the right thing. I really like this way of storytelling but I can see why its confusing.
@@caseyisme5136 Just saw this video so I'm late to the "party", but I couldn't help to feel during and after video so sorry for them. I truly believe they just didn't know better and small misjudment turned out to be fatal as it seems often be in cave diving. Finding you, a relative, commenting on the reaction video really stopped me, what a small world. Just wanted to wish all the best for you and your family.
Ballen's videos have never made me think "Wow! I'm never going to do that!" (My extreme claustrophobia is going to keep me out of underwater caves.) What I get from his stories is, if you're going to do something this dangerous, train with a professional and take one along as well! His stories are really about people who broke the rules, and the consequences.
His videos make you very aware that you cannot just chuck on some tanks an go wherever an do whatever 🤣 I've actually been so much more educated just by listening to his story's, 🤦♀️🤣 had no idea tbvh
Im here because of Mr. Ballen! I was never really interested in cave diving until hearing his stories…I don’t think he is making us scared but conveying the difficulty and respect it deserves, that it’s not just a fun activity but that it requires a lot of training and experience. It is really amazing what you guys do! Much respect!!
I would argue you should be scared if you are not trained properly. I am an avid recreational diver and know to stay away from those kinds of environments because I don't have the necessary training. Sadly too many don't and the scuba community loses divers every year because someone decides to enter caves and wrecks without the training.
I believe this particular dive was in the 1970s. Safety techniques and gear have dramatically improved since then. So when he tells this story, its based on that time.
Mr Ballen leaves out key information if he believes it will make the story seem scarier. I loved his videos in the past until I started seeing him cover stories that I was very familiar with. It’s not a coincidence that every time he leaves out important information it seems to make the story scarier not less
I was just about to comment this. This particular event happened in 1973, and at that point, divers had not regularly been down the deeper sections of the cave. Describing the cave as it was in 1973 helps put the audience in a better mindset when thinking about these events and the choices these people made. Had he had to interrupt his story everytime he recalled something that is there today that wasn't there in 1973, the story probably wouldn't be as good. Or if he had to go into detail about how everything in diving is pretty much different to what it was in 1973. This isn't a diving technique and equipment video, it's a morbid tale of a tragic event.
It's really really nice to see a channel that is able to provide commentary on another channel's video, without completely ripping them to shreds ruthlessly. You both do a great job at explaining facts or making them more clear, while also pointing out that the original creators might not have the specific training y'all have to provide all of the information about the different scenarios possible. I think it's very nice you do that. It's very clear you guys truly love what you do and only want to spread that knowledge. Before I found y'all's videos, diving in general seemed so scary and dangerous, but after hearing of all of the safety precautions/rules/regulations/guidelines and how serious they are taken in the diving community, my opinion has changed completely. My takeaway is: diving is typically only scary and dangerous if the diver makes it that way by not using proper equipment/training, not following the rules(like using a line), or disregarding multiple heeds of warning.
While in Air Force Special Operations, I worked with personnel from all branches from '88 to 2003. 'Mr Ballen,' a former SEAL, seems very typical of the stand up guys I worked with in those years. Hard working, little or no ego, and a great sense of humor. His stories are pretty damn awesome too.
As far as this genre of RU-vidrs go, Mr ballen is probably one of the best. He's not as click baity, nonsensical creepy pasta type channels. But still, as a story teller he suspends disbelief and uses embellishments to really grasp your imagination. Him and WATOP are the few who I can give a bit of leniency to, where as the other 99% are obnoxiously full of BS and appeal to 12 year Olds.
I don't know if it's still the case, but a few months ago he was regularly uploading videos like "Top X stories that sound fake, but are true", but only when you checked the sources you'd notice that they were based on unverified Reddit comments.
Mr Ballin, story is very old (1973). Back when the cave was first discovered. Things that modern divers do, wasn't the normal in the time frame this story is about.
Exactly. Almost all sports came a long way since then. Can't even compare. I don't think there was a cave diver license in 73, and at that time people were basically climbing everest in flip flops and racing cars without seat belts.
thats what bothered me, these guys being stupid and not listening to years and dates about the story and judging it, like it was a story from 2173 instead. and yes i intended to say 2173.
Hey, back then we'd get knocked unconscious and a friend would smack us around until we came to, and then we'd get up and walk it off. Helmets, shemlmets! Got a broken bone sticking out through your skin? Back then we'd just grab it and shove it back in and wrap some string around the limb to keep it in. Back then we'd smoke 23 packs of unfiltered Camel cigarettes per day, and we coughed up our lungs and we liked it. We'd lose the softball game and people would boo us, and we liked it. We'd start drinking a Coke out of a bottle at night but not finish it, so we'd put it on our nightstand and drink the rest of that warm backwash the next morning. We'd eat steak for dinner every night, and when we had a heart attack we'd nurse ourselves back to health by eating even more steak. But now days you kids have gone all fluffy - let me get a participation trophy for you. Maybe a nice stuffed neon-rainbow Unicorn for you?
Don't we all wish we had the same storytelling ability as Mr. Ballen? I know he doesn't always get the facts perfect but he's so nice to listen to. He could get everything wrong and I'd enjoy listening to him so much that I wouldn't even be mad. But he does a good job with his research and only takes a few creative liberties to set the mood 😉
Everyone is great on the vid, Mr.B states that the story of the diver's that first went in the cave was in 1973. Big difference from today's standards..
But one thing that people are forgetting, is that he is talking about people that did not have the experience that this guys have, he is very clear on telling us if you do not know what your are doing get the hell out. Simple and most of the stories about caves get bad cause they are by people that did not have the experience to deal with the cave.
That's what I was thinking. Granted, I'm not a cave diver, but I was just personally relating it to how far firearms safety has evolved over the years. Someone who was incredibly competent and experienced with shooting would probably see no problem with keeping his finger in the trigger guard in the 1920's.
I think the one thing you guys glossed past is WHEN this story was taking place in the 70's. I'm not a diver and can't speak to the differences but some of his picture's are just random photos, he labels actual photos from the story with "(real photo)" and there very well may not have been a guide at the time. Love the channel and love the video, keep up the good work!
Yea the thing I don’t like about a lot of reaction videos is talking during it or pausing a 100 times. These guys did pretty good on that, couple times they were talkin and missing information and I’m not positive but you mentioned it being in the 70s, mrballen said that and they were talkin. It happens but I thought the same thing but like you I’m not a diver. Maybe in the 70s they all had guidelines I don’t know. I’ll hit up google later but probably not. 😁
I think the part of this story that really sticks with me is that part about Larry seeing John swimming the wrong direction and knowing that John couldn't be saved. That had to be an overwhelming feeling for Larry to see someone still alive but who was obviously about to die.
When I did phlebotomy, my teacher showed us a video of everything that could go wrong if you don’t follow procedures. At the end she said “if you’re not afraid then you’re a psychopath.” She then went on to talk about how it’s okay to be afraid but don’t be terrified. In your videos, in the comments, I make a lot of similarities between diving and phlebotomy because they make sense haha when it comes to procedures, it makes sense! It’s okay to be afraid to go cave diving or diving in general but don’t be terrified, don’t let that fear debilitate you. You guys aren’t turning people away with these videos. If anything y’all make me want to learn PROPERLY how to dive to make it more enjoyable. Why go in the water in the first place if you are planning on having an unenjoyable time? It’s important to learn the procedures so you can HAVE FUN!
One thing you have to remember when watching Mr.Ballen is only relaying the information that’s available for that particular story and retelling it in story format. And yes I’m a huge fan of the Strange, Dark and Mysterious delivered in story format. I honestly wouldn’t criticize Mr.Ballen judging by what the like button on his channel goes through.😂
I'm guessing that the guys are asking why no one has EVER laid lines in stage 3. Not asking why there weren't lines already. The divers who found it were novices. It was also in the 1970's...so much has changed in cave diving and diving in general since then.
Yeah, they are making a lot of modern assumptions. I used to explore caves in eastern oregon, many unmapped. I literally don't know how I survived it to be honest. Twice I had both flashlights die on me, in ice caves (full of water) and had to feel my way out. One i new i had to skirt a several hundred feet drop off, only feeling my way...and holy shit, that was a wake up call to have 3 flashlights + extra batteries. Freezing water really sucks in the pure dark. It sucks hard.
@@omniexistus maybe. It is more a misspent youth exploring all of oregon. Eastern oregon has a TON of caves in the desert. At least then most were marked in books, but offered no info as to what was in the cave, dangers, etc. The caves often had a lot of bees living at the opening, I cared more about getting past them than cave danger 🤣 if you are going caving, also take things you might not think of like enough water for a day, hand warmers (great if the water is deeper than you think) and paper + pen incase you get stuck and die or just want to make your own maps of the inside. You can mark your path by tearing the paper too. It stands out on a flashlight.
Yeah you gotta appreciate though he does proper research, he doesn't just take one article and copy it he makes sure he has all the evidence to give the facts
@@johnny10grasp3 They are on point to the best of his knowledge based on the research he does... So he gets an occasional story slightly wrong, who cares
He also tells ghost stories. Lol. I wouldn't believe everything he says. My point is he has to keep you interested and that's going to come with the cost of bending the truth. Get it?
@@johnny10grasp3 I'm not going to get into a debate with you about his videos, if you don't like him and don't wanna watch him that's fine you do you, and yes I get what your saying thanks for being condescending 🙄
Although this tragedy was a while ago it's great to see my town being recognised, there are so many unique geographical features, in fact one of the movies you guys reviewed (Sanctum, 2011) many of the underwater scenes were shot in our local caves. I saw your interest in visiting here in the future and I can proudly say that you guys will love every minute of it. There are hidden caves within the pine forests that surround the region, only shared by small groups of divers, and the town itself sits upon hundreds of limestone sinkholes and cave systems, waiting to be explored. Thank you for reviewing this video, it was a great watch and a funny feeling as it is only a 10m drive away! If you are considering visiting I am more than happy to help out with locations, facts, absolutely anything. Cheers from the Limestone Coast! : )
Mr. Ballen: Who would believe after I warned people not to go, two RU-vidrs decided to go and it didn't go well. But first, if you like the dark story telling format, invite the like button out for a camping trip, and when they agree, leave without them.
@@defenseagainststalking better wish them luck, than insisting them not to go. They're passionate divers. As you may have noticed from the video, they've pointed out many diving rules that were violated by those divers. These people will definitely follow all the safety measures as they're clearly aware of what could go wrong ;)
Keep in mind, unless a photo in a MrBallen video says "REAL PHOTO", it is a stock photo and not specific to the incident being discussed. I do really enjoy his work, though. I'm glad you've included it.
We love MrBallens story format and we trust his sense of story telling. He gives us what we need to hear, stories about the dark and the creepy side of life.
A viewer here from MrBallen’s channel: This is really cool seeing somebody else react to his video, especially people who are more knowledgeable about the subject than myself. Every person who tells a story is going to put their own spin on it, but his stories do seem to have a heavy focus on being truthful and respectful. I have also seen most of his cave diving stories, and I think hes trying not to scare people away from the activity as a whole. He always mentions that it’s dangerous *without the right equipment and certification* which I think is very important to do, but I never get the sense that he’s even accidentally scaring people away from doing the activities properly. I would love to see you guys collab. Maybe you can give him some more information to make his cave diving stories as accurate as possible since he does have a TON of diving stories.
@@donnybrook8824 doesn’t mean he couldn’t learn a 5th or a 6th thing. You think even the guys from DIVE TALK here are done learning things about diving? I doubt it.
@@donnybrook8824 I’m sure. I think ( I could be wrong) that his preference for cave diving stories comes from his training. I guess he had a pretty hard time with learning to dive .
I’m a massive Mr Ballen fan! I do think he makes it clear that these tragedies happen when people are not properly prepared. I have only tried diving once, I was so excited to try it I really thought it was going to be awesome… and I didn’t like it at all I was so disappointed
@@lisafoos8976 it wasn’t scary, I felt claustrophobic, felt like I was really having to pull hard to get a breath ( that was likely me feeling a bit panicked due to the claustrophobia) I also could not get the buoyancy right. I would 100% say go try it though, make sure you are going to properly trained, qualified well respected instructors. I kind of wish I had given it a bit more of a chance actually!
I thought that way for years till i finally signed up for lessons. With a master diver to instruct and encourage its amazing. SCUBA=self contained underwater breathing apparatus
I knew nothing about cave diving before watching Dive Talk and Mr.Ballen. It is the most terrifying thing I can imagine and makes me have incredible respect and admiration for the few that can do things like this. Great content!
FYI: Most of the divers who die in Mr. Ballens stories are amateurs who should not have gone in the cave. A couple cases of experienced divers (Usually trying extreme things for the 1st time--for anyone)....but poor decision making and risk management is what leads to MOST of the Diving deaths in his stories.
Still very valuable for younger people in particular who tend to think themselves invincible and be attracted to cool locations without any understanding of the dangers involved. Most people watching his videos aren’t experienced divers. I’m not and had no real idea how dangerous it could be, though no longer young and brash enough to attempt things like this. He has probably saved lives.
Mr. Ballen always sights his sources in the video description. I was skeptical about the "they embraced" comment so I checked out his sources and found where he got it from. The actual article said "they were found in a position that suggests they may have died while embracing eachother." So Mr. Ballen didn't make it up but he did embellish by presenting a maybe as a fact. Thank you for reacting to the video I suggested. Overall what are your thoughts about this video and it's accuracy?
Hi Maya, I definitely don’t want to spoil the video for others by giving away too much but in the video we pointed out things he got right when it comes to cave diving and of course things we didn’t agree with completely, you mentioned one of them. Overall I think that one thing he proved is that you can tell an excellent story without having to inflate it with fantasy. The story he shared was a true story, and he kept us engaged the whole time. I will say though that this is not the only Mr. Ballen Story in the queue. And the next one may or may not follow the same level of accuracy. 🤭
The crossover I didn’t know I needed! I’m certain MrBallen is the whole reason RU-vid recommended this channel to me in the first place... considering I have never (and definitely after all the stories) will never go diving.
Really found this video fascinating as you analyze Mr. Ballen's tragic dive story. I like how you stress the safety aspects of this sport. Like any serious activity, such as shooting, consciously following the safety rules pretty much guarantees that everyone has a fun and memorable experience.
I have been waiting soo long for y'all to react to a Mr ballen videos . He's actually the 1 that got me interested in cave diving and that's how I found this great channel
Cave diving, in the words of Christopher Titus; "It's just like anything else, you FOLLOW THE RULES. You don't put a heart patient on a rollercoaster, you don't take a mental patient on a hunting trip with ya!"
Absolutely. I used to dive and it took all I had not to panic on a dive off the Cayman Islands. Sold my gear right away - no longer interested. Can watch these vids with interest but still no desire. BTDT got the koozie, t-shirts and I’m happy on the boat lol. I now use that panic control for getting old lol it ain’t for wimps either lol Edited to add - my buddy was enraged. Until other divers came back early nausea the water was full of barracuda. No I didn’t see them - but it’s very disconcerting to feel hunted. Yes Mr Ballen is very accurate with few exceptions. and . . . Never Ever EVER give up
I love how most of these stories can be resumed down to, 'They didn't have a line'. Never done cave diving, but from my short diving experience, and reading texts accompanied by getting certified, I can remember the 'line' rule from cave diving. Whenever I see any movie with 'expert divers' entering a cave, my suspension of disbelief gets wrecked by that question in the back of my head "Where's the line?".
Sure but the biggest thing is the panic, an experienced divers knows not to panic when you’re blinded by silt and hold on to the line, these kids didn’t know what they don’t know. Absolute waste. It’s not about the certificate, it’s about the knowledge and attitude. One gets narc’ed and dives into the abyss, two get stuck in a false dome because they didn’t have a line, they didn’t even communicate the plan to check out the 3rd section to their (POV)brother
This is just my personal opinion, but as I was learning to dive I realized I found something that truly terrifies and amazes me. I think it's healthy for all divers (or want to bes) to have a dose of fear. It helps make sure you aren't taking risks, thinking about what if things go wrong, and ultimately you properly prepare. No way in hell do I want to be caught with not enough air, lost, or hurting/killing one of my dive buddies bc of a stupid mistake/risk I made.
I watch Mr. Ballen all of the time and every time I see a video about some cave divers got lost died, I've always said to myself "why don't the run a line to find their way back?" I have never dived in my life, it just seems like a common sense thing to do.
Because some people just don't they might do this because they are experienced diver's but a lot of ignorant and some experience diver's FREE DIVE IT'S VERY POPULAR TO DO I DON'T KNOW WHY THEY ARE TRYING TO DOWN PLAY DIVER'S WHO FREE DIVE BECAUSE MOST OF THEM DO!!!!!!!!
@@KellyfromMemphis I don't dive either. I'm VERY into swimming. I'm too. afraid of sharks lol. I'm truly afraid, if I did, I'd get the "bends" & die IF not already shark bait. I feel better in a place- knowing there are cougars & bears. At least, in that case, a gun will make me able to defeat those... not pleasant to think of. Have a great day :)
I hear what you guys are saying - about lines, lights, silt etc - doesn't bother YOU - as experts - but to us non experts these things ARE scary - and non experts do die because they do NOT know what they are doing and panic - as this and other MrBallen stories demonstrate (basically there are some real idjits out there, who think they're bulletproof) - I think all the cave diving deaths he's covered are from people literally - out of their depth - not knowing what they are doing, not prepared, not trained, without the proper equipment & precautions - as i said- idjits
As we know experts die to so his stories are not as far fetched as your trying to make him sound. We love him so your waisting your time trying to make him look bad. Just saying
@@samhosner2459 WHAT!?! wait - WHAT!?! look mate, you have got the wrong end of the stick here not trying to make MrBallen aka John Allen - former navy SEAL who I have *immense respect* for "look bad" - what on earth are you talking about not just as a "storyteller" - how HE defines himself - as a person, as a human being, esp as a veteran (yeah when I first started watching his channel, in the early days before it exploded into popularity) - I was 'who is this guy - he is awesome' - his videos have RESEARCH - real names - real stories - looked up their stories simply to find out more so intrigued by what he had to say who is he - MrBallen aka John Allen - former navy SEAL (*RESPECT*) - (as I have for anyone who serves their country & their community - and no, not an America) even more respect 'who is this awesome dude' - John Allen - coFOUNDER - former CEO & current Board Member of Elite Meet Elite Meet is a nonprofit talent collective that exclusively represents Navy SEALs, fighter pilots and other elite veterans - helps them find suitable work after they leave serving their country and community sure, occasionally an expert will die in one of John's stories - I seem to recollect (was it the devils something) - that even the expert cave diver who volunteered to go in and recover the bodies of the idjits who had ignored all warning signs, went in inexperienced, without the right training, knowledge, expertise, under equipped got themselves killed - even he couldn't make it out - that's how dangerous this place was - but no, idjits ignored all warning signs - - but the VAST majority are *NOT* EXPERTS - as I clearly said in my post - idjits who had ignored all warning signs, went in inexperienced, without the right training, knowledge, expertise, under equipped but clearly I was *wasting* my time explaining this - just WHAT!?! every single part of what you said - just WHAT what what WHAT? "As we know experts die to so his stories are not as far fetched as your trying to make him sound. We love him so your waisting your time trying to make him look bad. Just saying" you are making my head hurt "your trying" - (you're btw ) I'm not - whatever *this is* (your words - WHAT?! ) " waisting" ok - look I am obviously wasting my time here - if you didn't understand my first words... just I couldn't - not respond to this - whatever this is - (my head hurts) (and if you respond to me - I predict - well I'm going to post it there - on the new story I want to be listening to - instead of wasting my time here...)
The cave diving video on Ask a Mortician is what led me to Dive Talk (I'm assuming that's the video referenced though it's not viewable anymore). She may not know a lot about diving, obviously, but she knows her corpses, and now I am loving this channel as well
I actually found you guys through his channel. It was the Dave Shaw story was so incredible it made me cry. From there, I saw how great the diving community seems to be. Ya'll have a great dynamic and I've learned a lot of interesting things here.
Huge props to you divers. The ocean terrifies me. Open water terrifies me. Dark/deep water terrifies me. I will never do anything beyond snorkeling, which I did once in St.John and it was beautiful until the shark showed up. I 100% get why people dive but I just don't have it in me. You guys are on another level
This is my ultimate RU-vid “collab”. I know it’s not quite but just seeing the combo of two of my favorite channels coming together is amazing. Love that I found you through mr ballen and now watching his videos back I can spot the accuracies in them
Not all the photos are of that cave. Only the ones that say “real photo“ at the top middle or the bottom are actual photographs of this cave. The others are just photographs of beautiful underwater caves.
So many complications beyond the normal human experience. You made me think of trying to accomplish a quarter mile sprint on one breath of air, blindfolded in a 3D maze without cardinal directions and your sense of gravity bobs around like a lensatic compass.
I really enjoy your reaction videos, watching all of ballens videos I thought cave diving was so scary and insane to do, but after you guys break it all down it makes more sense that majority of accidents happen when people are not taking the proper precautions.
He has much more detailed cave diving stories. He has a very long one in which he details a Norwegian cave diving tragedy in which the survivors go back to get their friends after a first recovery effort results in further deaths.
@@The_ZeroLine well...now I guess I go hunting for the MrBallen story I'm thinking of. I want to hear that story again. That means I HAVE to binge watch MrBallen stories again. I'll probably forget what story I'm listening for. I can't think of a better way to pass the time driving a long distance.
I've watched every MRBALLEN video , so I found Dive Talk through you guys reacting to his videos, not a diver, but also, love this channel, very interesting and entertaining! I died laughing at your comments about not embracing each other! Great show! I'm learning a lot! Thanks for this awesome channel! Look forward to watching more!
You don't have to worry about scaring me off from Cave Diving. My brain took care of that the moment it ever registered the phrase "cave diving". It's like Tornados: Love seeing them on youtube, NEVER want to be in one. Great video, thanks for sharing your knowledge!
wow, it was surprisingly nice to see this level of passion for cave diving - I was terrified of cave diving before watching this. glad to see how much accuracy there is in Ballen's storytelling, but I just feel so much less anxiety knowing how many precautions cave divers can take to survive their dive and enjoy it too.
I'm addicted to ADVENTURES WITH PURPOSE and I stumbled across your videos. I'm terrified of water, in some ways. I've also been studying water disasters for decades, probably doesn't help. Anyways, you all are just FASCINATING! Stay safe out there!🙏🙏🙏🙏
When Mr Ballen said "nitrogen narcosis is virtually guaranteed", even though you implied he was wrong, it kinda also sounds like your response agreed with him lol
@@scottapache5041 You are absolutely correct. Everything they are saying may be true today such as having multiple lights and reels with ropes but this story as you said happened almost 50 years ago. And things were quite a bit different 50 years ago.
@@scottapache5041 That's the thought I took from this too. They weren't aware of how long ago this happened. To be fair, I don't think Mr Ballen specified when it happened.
Yeah, I was going to say the same thing. They critiqued on what they expected to hear and not what was actually said. Then, the funny part, they went on to essentially agree with him. A trained cave diver creates his mix of gases based on how narced you want to get, ie affected by nitrogen narcosis. If dont right, it is a very low affect; but your are affected none the less, ie. virtually guaranteed to have it. That all being said, I don't think they at all were trying to be condescending. I have a feeling if they rewatched this they would see their mistake. It happens. It's why I always watch my videos before posting and if need be at least place a text overlay to it or record something later and edited it into the video. I think these guys have respect for MrBallen; so, not going to give them a hard time for this. Plus, like people have been saying, they completely missed the date; which had HUGE implications on the info he is giving.
The issue is they missed a critical sentence when @DiveTalk were talking about stopping the video - that sentence was that the divers on this day were using regular air. Unfortunate that they missed that sentence in literally the time it took to say "lets stop it here" LOL.
I love MrBallen! I appreciate that he is factual and shares enough to help the listener get a feel for just how crazy and amazing the story is and why it is worth sharing. He is genuine in bringing the listener his knowledge and experience mixed in with his amazing ability to tell a story like no other. Your video confirms just how awesome MrBallen is :) TFS
I’m not a cave diver and appreciate your expertise. Reality is stranger than fiction. Keep up the awesome work and can’t wait for you to tell your story (with pictures) of that farmers hole in Australia. 🙏🏻❤️
The whole Christine embracing the other fellow is from a police report when the divers found their bodies, they were found together on top of each other. I believe the coroner report is still available on the internet
This happened in 1973. I'm sure times were different and those mistakes, such as always having a line, are why you always have a line. Mr. Ballen always tags his photos that as (Real Photo).
Great job, I like that you praised Mr.Ballen when he did provide correct information. You guys are combating the generally Egotistical attitude of typical cave divers and I applaud you both for that
MrBallen does simplify explanations about diving in his stories. He tells enough to get the point across. That’s all that’s really necessary for his stories. Thanks for the react vid! It’s good!!
I've seen the case of the self stabbed diver, I think it was a Rec Diver that dove into a relatively treacherous cave in Croatia, in Poganica Bay of the Island of Solta. The dangerous part was the lack of visibility and how easy silt blocks visibility entirely, along with how the tunnel goes, causing a sort of fake exit that causes the diver to be able to mistake the tunnel as the exit and they start moving back and forth between the deep gallery and the shallow gallery. In the end the diver got stuck in the deep gallery iirc, tried going up and found a small air pocket that had a few minutes of air, he had by this point ran out of air in his canister and realized he couldnt exit, and stabbed himself. The investigators at first thought it was a murder. I think Mr Ballen also had a video of that dive in between his playlist of places you shouldnt go to, but I wouldnt be able to remember which one.
@@DIVETALK I mean his tank was found with slight gas remaining right? And the little airpocket was found dangerously low, so to my understanding either someone sat there draining his tank, or he naturally used it, and likely suffering from severe apoxia he tried to end it quickly. Honestly I'd rather jump off a cliff then starve in the wild, I absolutely believe every ounce of energy should be for survival, but there's a moment you just know.
I personally understand that Mr. Ballen's stories are the rare and sometimes the extreme of certain circumstances. I appreciate how your commentary helped to validate his stories, and give me a different outlook on cavediving. XoXo.
I am advanced open water so far and have started watching Dive Talk and Blue World. I seek out material like this to educate myself on things prior to getting my cavern then cave certs. The commentary doesn't scare me. It teaches me what can happen if you break the rules. I always follow the rules. Do it safe or not at all and for the love of god, make sure you are trained.
Gus and Woody, I love listening to your show! You two are a rare treasured / knowledge / experienced people in the world! Your diagnosis are delight to listen to and all your videos are worth watching at least twice over.
After seeing the video about Gus reacting to ”x amount of worlds most dangerous caves” or something along those lines, I was really satisfied to see you guys react to a youtuber who doesn’t make mistakes every sentence.
Thank you for reacting to this video! This was exactly what I needed to hear after listening to so many cave dive tragedy videos from MrBallen. The way you explained how you guys dive and prepare for it, and what cave diving is supposed to be actually eased my anxiety and fear a lot. I couldn't imagine why anyone would dive before you talked about it so calmly, and suddenly I'm excited to see your dives. Looking forward to it even! And so many awesome videos to come, I subscribed for all notifications so I won't miss any!
Mr ballen is one of the best story tellers, he has the ability to retell a story like he was there and you can visualise it in your head. That and his a really likable guy that you can relate to
Cave diving is one of the activities that scares me the most, a few months ago I could barely listen to the stories. After watching Mr. Ballens channel I started to find it more interesting and now I love it, glad watching him led me to this channel!
@@mekasamba5883 in addition to reaction videos we have travel vlogs, product reviews, dive gear tips and tricks, and a podcast. Besides currently being a RU-vidr “finding our fault”, do you have something else to offer?
I just discovered your channel, and I can't stop watching! Thanks for sharing your experience and insight into cave diving. I have an open water certification, and I love diving in the Caribbean on reefs. I get my face underwater, and no matter what is happening at the surface I feel chilled out and peaceful--there are no words to describe this feeling. I'm not sure I could ever be a cave diver, though. I do think it would be fun to see a video from you that talks about what you would need to do to become certified as a cave diver, and maybe some "war stories" about successful dives and interesting experiences you've had. Also, I'm a big fan of Mr. Ballen!
Love the combo of you guys reacting to Mr Ballen! Im pretty sure the RU-vid algorithm suggested your videos to me after I watched a few of his dive-related videos.
29:00 My dad was a CFI and he told his students that flying is very safe, so long as you stick to the rules. When you violate the rules, that is when things go from really good to really bad really fast. He told his students that flying drunk was far more dangerous than driving drunk. The legal limit for BAC for a pilot is *ANYTHING* above 0.00%. If you took a dose of cough syrup, you are too drunk to legally fly.
You gotta! I finished my nitrox a few weeks ago and I'm having a blast saving up for the various equipment and looking forward to more diving. You have to watch out though diving eats money for breakfast lunch and dinner. Luckily I have some good shore diving nearby :)
@@toriedwards126 I bet you could! people have a tendency to underestimate their abilities!!! Edit: .... Actually after watching me ballens videos you could easily say the opposite is true, by that I mean "people have a tendency to over estimate their abilities" hahaha
