Cave Divers' Deaths In Pasco Highlight Risks Of Sport
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The men appeared to have the right equipment, Doll said.
The area where the men were found is privately owned, Doll said. Other than issuing trespass violations, there's not much law enforcement can do to prevent people from diving at the site, Doll said.
"It comes down to personal responsibility. If you're not certified to skydive, you don't jump out of a plane," Doll said. "Cave diving is one of the most dangerous sports in the world."
Cave Divers' Deaths In Pasco Highlight Risks Of Sport
News Channel 8 photo by DAVID KRAUT
This is where the two divers entered the underwater caves at School Sink in Hudson.
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By LISA A. DAVIS | The Tampa Tribune
Published: November 13, 2008
Updated: 05:09 pm
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HUDSON - Things can go wrong quickly in cave diving.
Deep under water, where visibility is measured in a few feet and where communication between divers is limited to hand signals, the margin of error is slim. One wrong turn, one bad decision, a piece of equipment that malfunctions can turn a recreational dive into disaster in a matter of seconds.
That, cave divers say, is why they do it.
"That's a whole different breed," said Jerry Richardson, an employee at Scuba Quest in Brandon. "You have overhead conditions. It's dark. You need different equipment."
The lure of cave diving proved fatal on Tuesday for two Hillsborough County men. The bodies of Joseph Christian Hartranft, 52, and Lt. Col. Yessic Cozay Spencer, 42, were found Wednesday night in an underwater Pasco County cave known as School Sink.
Their deaths bring to six the number of people who have died in the series of caves in western Pasco and Hernando counties in the past 17 years. The area is pockmarked with a labyrinth of underwater caves that draws a small but passionate community of cave-divers.
Even among the cave-diving community, School Sink is known as a dangerous dive.
School Sink Alluring, Dangerous
Little about School Sink seems remarkable from the outside.
A dirt road runs by the property, west of U.S. 41 near Hudson in Pasco County. A non-descript metal gate bears a no-trespassing sign, but no fence surrounds the gate.
A worn path runs through trees and brush to a hole in the landscape, where an aged set of wooden stairs runs into the water.
The School Sink property is owned by the National Speleological Society and is open to members only. Members who dive there are required to check in at the Scuba West dive shop on Tower Drive, a few miles south of the site. There they are required to show proof that they are a current member of the organization's Cave Diving Society and have made at least 100 cave dives.
In addition to other prerequisites, they must have dived either at School Sink before or go with someone who has, according to the society.
Once that is confirmed, they must sign a waiver at the dive shop, and then they are given a combination for the gate lock at the site, said Jeff Tobey, owner of Scuba West.
He said authorities told him not to reveal whether Spencer or Hartranft followed this procedure this week.
There's nothing preventing divers from sharing the combination lock.
"We assume that happens on a regular basis," Tobey said.
Tobey isn't a cave diver and has no affiliation with the property other than being a gatekeeper as a courtesy.
According to society magazine, School Sink is an intricate "tidally influenced cave system." Its visibility can vary, but from November through April the expected visibility is at its best, about 15 to 30 feet. The organization also warns that the system has a lot of soft black silt, "which is easily disturbed" if good technique isn't used.
Tobey said the system has a reputation as a complex and difficult dive site.
"It's not well-used," he said.
He estimated that members use it 30 to 40 times a year. The last time someone came to the shop before the incident was at least September, he said.
Divers Had MacDill Connections
Staff Sgt. Joseph Loewy said Spencer was a reservist who was mobilized as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. He was working at U.S. Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base.
Spencer, who is survived by his wife and parents, was involved in the community and attended the Marine Corps' birthday party two days prior to his death, Loewy said. Spencer was on a committee that set up that event in Tampa.
Spencer also did what he could to help with fundraisers for charities, such as a foundation for veterans, Loewy said.
His friend, retired Air Force Master Sgt. Nancy Morgan, said Spencer was well-liked and respected in the military.
"He is the greatest person I ever met," Morgan said. "Honestly, he loved his family. He was dedicated to his country. He works hard. I was in Iraq with him in 2003, and he took good care of me."
Spencer's wife, Sherolyn Spencer, declined to comment today.
Hartranft is a retired Naval Chief Warrant Officer who later took a job as a contractor for Lockheed Martin at U.S. Central Command, said his son, 29-year-old Joseph Hartranft.
Hartranft took up diving a little more than a year ago and had done so several times.
He was born in Pennsylvania and grew up in Atlanta. He was unmarried and left behind five children: Elizabeth, 31; Joseph, 29; Robert, 23; Jacquelyn, 9; and Abigail, 7. The youngest two children live with their mother in Pennsylvania.
"My dad was a fun-loving, good guy," Joseph Hartranft said. "He was a family guy. He loved his kids."
Hartranft loved sports and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Cause Of Death Still Unclear
Investigators are still trying to figure out what led to the divers' deaths.
The divers had been reported missing since Tuesday from Hillsborough County. The vehicle of one of the men was found Wednesday night near the entrance to School Sink, which is also known as Wayne's World.
The Pasco County Sheriff's Office contracted divers, who found the bodies about 6:30 p.m., about 30 minutes after their search began.
Although Tobey has done business with Spencer and Hartranft, he said he did not know anything about their cave-diving experience. Spencer, however, was a member of the Professional Association of Diving Instructors and taught diving at Scuba West three or four times a year, Tobey said.
Richardson said Hartranft was certified as a diver but didn't have full cave certification.
One body was found near the entrance of School Sink, less than 50 feet from the surface. The other diver was found in a side tunnel, sheriff's office spokesman Kevin Doll said.
The men appeared to have the right equipment, Doll said.
The area where the men were found is privately owned, Doll said. Other than issuing trespass violations, there's not much law enforcement can do to prevent people from diving at the site, Doll said.
"It comes down to personal responsibility. If you're not certified to skydive, you don't jump out of a plane," Doll said. "Cave diving is one of the most dangerous sports in the world."
Reporters Josh Poltilove and Laura Frazier contributed to this report.