Dorothea Quarry, North Wales, UK

I did a live interview on BBC Radio Wales yesterday following the 21st scuba diving fatality in just over 10 years in the flooded Dorothea Quarry in North Wales. Whenever this happens, the media (quite rightly) pick up on this extremely high death toll and there are renewed calls for 'something' to be done. As many divers who dive Dorothea (it is privately owned and they are both trespassing and uninsured - all training agency insurances are void here) come from outside Wales, they probably don't realise the amount of coverage which these deaths receive within Wales - none of which is particularly positive and much of which is negative enough to be detrimental to sports diving and the dive trainers who use (safer and perfectly acceptable) flooded quarries to train in. Can I ask anyone reading this who knows people who dive in Dorothea to ask them to consider the consequences of diving in Dorothea - its really isn't helpful locally where it is known that they have no right to be there in the first place and incidents (fatal or otherwise) are giving sports diving in the principality an 'extreme sport' status (I quote the BBC interviewer) as opposed to the 'adventure sport' status it deserves. If people want to dive, then Vivien Quarry in Llanberis has a dive centre (OK you have to pay a few £s) and is shallower (~19m) and just as interesting (?!) for a slate quarry. Vivien is also excellent for testing equipment out in.

Although I won't comment on a specific incident, it was interesting that when I suggested during the interview that a cascade of problems may well be a substantial contributory factor in incidents, a mountain rescue expert (being interviewed as a 'risk' expert on the same topic) agreed and said that this was a common factor in mountain incidents too. Dorothea is safe enough but extremely unforgiving in that it is cold (5~7 degrees C in winter conditions), dark (often twilight when overcast) and deep (over 100m), and any small problem can quickly become a substantial one. And I HAVE witnessed totally unprepared divers have problems here!!! I also KNOW that divers have bottomed it on AIR (lunacy).

Hi Paul,

A dreadful thing for sure...I do not know anyone who dives Dorothea personally but have been asked "if I wanted to check it out" many times...Although I have been tempted it has never come to.. I really thought that the quarry was a 'legal' diving centre but not as well run as the others, so more care was to be taken... Just goes to show the lack of knowledge. I wonder how many others think the same....

I also heard that someone has bought the quarry and was turning it into a 'Proper' dive centre much like Stoney cove...Is this true..

My thoughts are with the persons family...

Dive safe

DeanB

Hi Paul,

I have dived Dorothea several times in the past but not for several years.

I think a lot of the diving done in Dorothea would come under the heading of extreme sports. It's not really my thing but some people want to dive deep. Most of these people go to considerable lengths to get qualified and buy suitable equipment to make these types of dives and Dorothea is one of the few places with depths suitable for this type of training. For this reason alone I think it will be very difficult to stop people diving Dorothea. There are also a fair number of people diving there who aren't equiped or trained for the conditions.

I have no idea what equipment was being used in this latest incident but the report says it happened at 45 metres so a bit deep for a a straight forward air dive. The report also says that the casualty was caught in ropes so would the outcome have been any different if it had happened at 20 metres? Maybe but by no means certain.

Please don't misunderstand me, I am not supporting diving in this quarry. It's private property and the owner doesn't want divers in there. I just don't think people are going to be dissuaded from diving there. Of course that doesn't mean we shouldn't try.

My thoughts and sympathy are with the family and anything at all that can be done to prevent more families suffering the death of a loved one has to be worth doing.

Ken

"Dorothea to be a proper dive centre" is a (rural) myth that seems to resurface every couple of years, especially after another death. The quarry is clearly diver-unfriendly, not to mention the complex wrangles about access.

For deep diving there is Chepstow, which is excellently organised.

I have never been tempted by Dorothea, and have tried to discourage my students and diving colleagues.

Leave well alone!

Tim

B)

HI,

I have been asked if I wanted to dive this Quarry, I declined & also responded

that this is a private Quarry. Also Divers are not welcome, but perhaps as more

divers die the more divers will want to dive it to say they have Dived the most

dangerous Quarry in the UK. Diving Safety is Paramount, I was at a very well

known well run Dive Center a couple of weeks ago, an a Diver came up with the

bends after a dive. So thing go wrong at the best of places but you stand a better

chance at properly developed Dive Centers DIVE SAFE

Andy