Rickford Rising

[PeteHall]

Many forum members will know that I've been digging underwater at Rickford Rising (when weather and time permit) since 2020. Here's what it looks like at the entrance.

What few members will know is what it's actually like digging down there.

I occasionally take a picture, or a bit of video to show the surface helpers what's going on at the bottom, but for the first time ever, I think, I was filmed working at the end.

In this footage, I am drilling some holes and marking them for later with short bits of old SRT rope. You will notice that the drill "dust" forms a clay on the drill bit which can cause it to jam up if not cleared; I usually use a wire brush to clean the bit as required, but on this occasion I was just using a fingernail.

There is quite a bit of waiting at times, while the water clears enough to see what needs doing next. Depending on the conditions and tasks being undertaken, there can be anything from a few seconds wait, to a minute or more, or just working blind. Monday was pretty decent conditions, but a little more flow would have been ideal.

Video shot by Max Fisher using my Olympus TG-4.
Lighting is 2 x Dive Rite CX2 (me), and a Custom Duo unit in homemade underwater headset (Max).
Drill is Nemo Underwater Power Tools SDS Rotary Hammer Drill with 14mm Hilti bit (300mm and 800mm).
Also in shot is a Petzl Rocpec which can be used to extract the bit using a hammer if it gets stuck, or if the drill battery runs out.

 

[jonnybellman]

Mentioned all your tools, but didn't credit the above water photographer . It's a lovely looking resurgence, I look forward to getting wet the next time I'm down there!

 

[PeteHall]

Sorry Jonny! Was just the first daylight picture I came across. Top skills from the cameraman @jonnybellman

 

[mrodoc]

Keep up the good work. I think you should be on the promotional material for that drill!

 

[PeteHall]

I think you should be on the promotional material for that drill!

Perhaps you haven't read the review I wrote for a recent CDG Newsletter... in a nutshell, it's fantastic when it works, but there are a number of significant design flaws that will hopefully be addressed when the new model is released. That's been delayed over a year now, I think, so presumably they are still struggling with some of the problems.

 

[spelfish]

How far have you got?

 

[jonnybellman]

Perhaps you haven't read the review I wrote for a recent CDG Newsletter... in a nutshell, it's fantastic when it works, but there are a number of significant design flaws that will hopefully be addressed when the new model is released. That's been delayed over a year now, I think, so presumably they are still struggling with some of the problems.

I saw a glug of bubbles come out of the chuck at one point, is that normal, or a sign of water ingress? I did read about the fun you been having with that drill. As you say, brilliant when working!

 

[PeteHall]

I saw a glug of bubbles come out of the chuck at one point, is that normal, or a sign of water ingress? I did read about the fun you been having with that drill. As you say, brilliant when working!

I hope you didn't! I'll rewatch the footage, but I didn't see any at the time and I'm on high alert, as the chuck seal does seem to be the weakest point. My original drill was replaced under warranty for this reason and I know others have had similar issues.

The drill body is pressurised before use according to the intended depth, so it has a positive pressure inside during use. If a seal fails, a small stream of bubbles is seen as the pressurised air escapes. If the pressure dropped to the ambient level for the depth, a bit of seepage could occur, but so long as you don't have to go deeper to exit, it should never be forcing water in under any pressure.

Having just put the thing on charge, both drill and battery were both holding pressing from Monday, so pretty sure nothing has leaked.

 

[PeteHall]

How far have you got?

Not very far, given the effort (and cost)!

The cave starts as a vertical pot, which was dug and scaffolded by Mike Barnes to approximately 5m depth. I enlarged this significantly at the bottom and added a bit more scaff. I located the most likely continuation as a narrow descending rift. I've followed/enlarged this along and down for several metres to a point where I eventually broke into some open voids. Having broken up and removed the boulders from the void, I'm now following an open, but too narrow, rift downwards, from which the full flow of the resurgence appears to emerge.

I should hit a depth of 10m on the next trip.

Unlike a dry dig, where you can have several people working hard for several hours each week, underwater, you can't work too hard without giving yourself CO2 poisoning and I generally can't manage more than an hour before it gets too cold. It's also invariably only one person in the water at a time (usually me), with intermittent (but essential) surface support to haul stuff out once there's no space at the bottom. Communication to surface for hauling is via a string snd float, so pretty limited and if anything snags or if there is a change of plan, the only way to sort it is to come out (slowly) to talk. Repeated ascents and descents while diving are not healthy, so I try to avoid.

As noted above, you often need to wait for the water to clear between tasks, which all takes time while you're getting colder and breathing through your air reserves. Meanwhile, simple tasks like filling bags become much more challenging in fast flowing water.

All in all, it's a lot slower than a dry dig, but at least there is no question about the "draught"

Once I break through the conglomerate and into limestone, I'm hoping for some respite!

 

[spelfish]

Sorry to be bothersome but do you have an estimate of the amount of conglomerate you need to negotiate before you reach the promised lands?

 

[Rhys]

You will notice that the drill "dust" forms a clay on the drill bit which can cause it to jam up if not cleared; I usually use a wire brush to clean the bit as required, but on this occasion I was just using a fingernail.

No danger of burning your fingers on a hot drill bit, I suppose