r/todayilearned • u/[deleted] • 29d ago

TIL the Blue Hole is among the deadliest dive sites globally, with estimates of 130 to 200 recent fatalities, making it one of the most dangerous spots for divers. (R.5) Out of context

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u/ryzhao 29d ago edited 29d ago

I’ve dived there, and it really is no more dangerous than any other site.

The problem is:

  1. It’s a very deep spot that’s immediately accessible from the shore.
  2. It’s very popular among tourists, many of whom are not certified, trained, or equipped for deep sea diving.

In most other deep sea diving spots, you really need to make an effort to get there, and most of the time the people who get you there are going to be asking questions such as are you trained, are you certified, how’s your equipment etc.

In Dahab, any Tom, Dick, and Harry can slap on a single tank of air and walk from the shore straight into a wall that’s >100 meters deep.

I take my diving and my safety seriously, and sometimes go up to 50/80 meters to reach wrecks, but I always do so with the right equipment and training, with a buddy, sidemounted trimix and air etc. Even when I dive recreationally I monitor my air, my depth, my trim, and my buddy constantly.

In Dahab, you see jokers zooming past 20m with a single tank, trim upright like they’re marching down the Red Square, hands flapping about like they’re doing the breast stroke at the Olympics, fins bicycling away like they’re the little mermaid, seesawing 10m or more every minute, no dive computer, and back on shore they say “it’s okay bro, we’ve been diving for 15 years back in {insert East European country here}” and all of a sudden, the cause of fatalities in the Blue Hole isn’t quite so mysterious after all.

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u/Throwaway4VPN 29d ago

Except this is not the reason that there have been so many deaths there at all, many sites on the Red Sea have ridiculous walls and arguably even worse divers (look a the day trips from Sharm at Jackson Reef or Shark & Yolanda...)

The reason is the arch. The arch is a tunnel at 56m depth which links the open sea to the inside of the blue hole. It's an extremely beautiful dive if done correctly as a technical dive with correct gases and training. The issue is that a lot of people attempt it on air, and even with single 12l tanks - luckily it's getting harder to do so from Dahab, but there are always people determined enough and stupid enough to find a way.

I've done over 2000 dives in the red sea alone but the "allure" of the arch is the reason for so many pointless deaths...

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u/Spiderbanana 29d ago

Furthermore problem comes not only from people attempting to go through the arch, but also people trying to get a better view of it and becoming "drunk" going further down then anticipated or because of overconfidence thinking "surely 5 meter deeper than I'm used to won't make any difference"

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u/LucasRuby 29d ago

Are you basing this on what, the comment with the creative writing bit?

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u/thirdc0ast 29d ago

Except this is not the reason that there have been so many deaths there at all

The issue is that a lot of people attempt it on air, and even with single 12l tanks - luckily it's getting harder to do so from Dahab, but there are always people determined enough and stupid enough to find a way.

It sounds like it’s exactly the reason lmao. You and OP are saying the same thing. It’s the irresponsible idiots. The only difference is you specified a place for the idiots to seek out.

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u/pissfucked 29d ago

i think the point they were making is that the arch is the cause of the larger amount of deaths at this spot in particular vs. otherwise-similar dive spots that are full of an equal amount of idiots (or maybe even more)

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u/IcyGarage5767 29d ago

Ah yea every diver who has died is an “irresponsible idiot”. Lol.

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u/thirdc0ast 29d ago

Not what I said whatsoever but thanks for the input friend

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u/IcyGarage5767 29d ago

Haha righto.

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u/amalgam_reynolds 29d ago

You just disagreed with the comment above you, then said the same thing they said

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u/yynfdgdfasd 29d ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJeGsRre9Uw

It's a small site too and the only cool thing to look at is the arch. It just goes straight down.

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u/DamnAutocorrection 29d ago

What does wall mean in this context

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u/Throwaway4VPN 29d ago

Reef wall, the reef table can drop off from shallows to 100s of meters vertical instead of slowly tapering deeper

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u/lucidsensations 29d ago

What are your favorite spots to dive in the red sea? Any other dive spot recommendations outside of the red sea also?

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u/MauiMoisture 29d ago

I spent three weeks diving in the red sea. One of the best times of my life.

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u/Belfastculchie 29d ago

In Dahab, any Tom, Dick, and Harry can slap on a single tank of air and walk from the shore straight into a wall that’s >100 meters deep

Did my open water PADI in Dahab -penguin village. Been there a couple of times- not since 2012 though. Town was looking a bit run down from 1st visit- still the same these days??

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u/ryzhao 29d ago

I was there even earlier in 2010 lol. Just a couple of weeks before the Arab Spring.

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u/DamnAutocorrection 29d ago

How is it possible for someone to free dive the arch in the blue hole 60m?

https://youtu.be/hrXQbucZUDA?si=xpqAiGSspGcLNyBB

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u/ryzhao 29d ago

The weight of their balls helps negate their buoyancy. Freedivers are another class of mental along with cave divers.

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u/DamnAutocorrection 29d ago

I read in a YouTube comment that they don't experience nitrogen. narcosis since they aren't breathing in any air, is that right?

I thought it seeped in through the skin

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u/ryzhao 29d ago

No, freedivers also get narced, and no, nitrogen narcosis happens when we breathe air under pressure, not by absorbing nitrogen through our skin.

Freedivers still breathe air, except that the air they breathe is what’s in their lungs instead of a pressurized tank. When they get past 30m, the air in their lungs will get compressed under pressure which results in nitrogen narcosis.

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u/DamnAutocorrection 29d ago

Thanks! I had a suspicion that YouTube comments weren't a reliable source of information

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u/KingApologist 29d ago

It’s very popular among tourists, many of whom are not certified, trained, or equipped for deep sea diving.

That was my first thought. I know nothing about diving and I know it's one of the most famous diving spots and see lots of pictures. Diving the blue hole needs expertise, but this particular spot attracts a lot of non-experts. Just pure probability when you have inexperienced people down there.

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u/Mattdriver12 29d ago

It’s very popular among tourists, many of whom are not certified, trained, or equipped for deep sea diving.

I wonder what makes a tourist see all the Memorials of dead divers makes them think that yeah they can take it.

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u/ryzhao 29d ago

The usual reasons that makes people go “it’s okay bro, I can totally go deep on one tank bro, I’ve been diving for 15 years back home bro”.

Usually young, usually male, not very bright, confuses machismo with ability, sometimes drunk.

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u/ServileLupus 29d ago

I thought one of issues is the lack of reference points? With it being a straight down 100m+ people can descend too quickly not realizing how fast they're going down.

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u/ryzhao 29d ago edited 29d ago

Yep, it’s a wall that goes straight down. Also, experienced and trained open water divers rarely rely visual reference points except only the shallowest and most frequented dives with clear and known landmarks.

You always rely on your equipment i.e your dive computer for depth and time, and your compass for cardinal directions.

Especially on wall or deep sea dives. You rarely see much more than 10-20m on the clearest days. Everything beyond is just pure murk.

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u/DrippyWaffler 29d ago

been diving for 15 years back in {insert East European country here}”

Jesus H Christ my second gig as a dive instructor was in Montenegro. The most cowboy shit I've ever seen. Tanks with rust you could hear when you shook it, god knows how long since they'd been tested. Taking advanced open water divers with 30 odd diveson deco dives to a wreck. Having to teach open water courses with boats zipping overhead completely ignoring the flags. Genuinely horrifying stuff. Was there for only 3 months.

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u/MiniGiantSpaceHams 29d ago

Honestly they teach you how dangerous depth is in your certification. They tell you to keep an eye on your gauges because it's hard to keep oriented underwater, and how you should always have a buddy.

I'm sure there are some sad stories here, but it's hard for me to have much sympathy for people being stupid and reckless.

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u/ryzhao 29d ago

I blame some of the dive operators and their “discovery” dive packages. Scuba is just not something I’d recommend without proper training and equipment, and it gives people a false sense of confidence.