THE VOTE:
The November-December 2019 vote includes the following questions about cavern line routing in Carwash and Casa Cenote, as well as the routing of hidden jumps in a few popular caves. Voting was conducted from November 27, 2019 – December 4, 2019.
1. CARWASH CAVERN LINE
The cenote owners have informed us that they wish a cavern line of some description to remain in Car Wash, so unfortunately the “no line” option is not available. There are a lot of differing views on how the line should look (even amongst the moderators), so we will be proposing a vote in 2 stages. The first will be whether the current line needs to change (requiring a two thirds majority). If a change is democratically agreed to, we will put multiple proposals to the community and the line that is installed will be decided by simple majority. The question that will be asked (via SurveyMonkey) is:
What type of cavern line should be installed in Carwash?
— The current “M” shaped line (no change).
— A rerouted line that remains in the cavern zone, and is a compromise to facilitate both cavern tours and cave training.
RESULT:
CarWash Cavern Line. It was agreed to install a rerouted line that remains in the cavern zone, and is a compromise to facilitate both cavern tours and cave training.
2. CASA CENOTE CAVERN LINE
Last month’s vote on the Casa Cenote cavern line returned a majority in favour of a line, but the vote was split on whether a continuous line was required. A line that goes through open water for a significant distance is not ideal for safety reasons, so the vote will consider 2 lines separately. The questions that will be asked (via SurveyMonkey) are:
Should a Gold Kernmantle Cavern Line taking the route labelled “Section 1” on the attached image be installed in Casa Cenote?
— Yes
— No
Should a Gold Kernmantle Cavern Line taking the route labelled “Section 2” on the attached image be installed in Casa Cenote?
— Yes
— No
RESULT:
Two permanent cavern lines to be installed, as shown on the maps that accompanied the vote. This work will be completed in early January, using gold kernmantle line recovered from Dos Palmas.
3. HIDDEN JUMPS
The community has already voted in favour of marking all jumps, unless there is a compelling reason not to, such as cave conservation, preservation of a scientific project or ongoing exploration. The following jumps have been traditionally hidden for reasons of cave conservation, but they are generally well known. Divers looking for a “hidden” jump line can often cause more damage to the cave than if the jump was marked. If the decision is made to mark the jumps, the line will also be brought closer to the mainline (as already voted for) to minimise impact on the cave. The questions that will be asked (via SurveyMonkey) are:
Should the Room of Tears jump in upstream Car Wash be marked with an arrow and moved closer to the main line?
— Yes
— No
Should the Chinese Garden jump in Tajma Ha be marked with an arrow and moved closer to the main line?
— Yes
— No
Should the Swiss Siphon jump in Muknal Remote (Jailhouse) be marked with an arrow and moved closer to the main line?
— Yes
— No
RESULTS:
Chinese Garden, Room of Tears, and Swiss Siphon did not gain sufficient votes, so the jumps will remain unmarked.
