Cave traing for a non cave diver?

[Daedalus]

I am going to dissent and say that the only people who should take cave classes are people who enjoy diving in caves. The wreck diving community needs to come up with some kind of training specifically designed for wreck penetration, even if it uses 90% of the same techniques used in a cave class.

 

[Meng_Tze]

I am going to dissent and say that the only people who should take cave classes are people who enjoy diving in caves. The wreck diving community needs to come up with some kind of training specifically designed for wreck penetration, even if it uses 90% of the same techniques used in a cave class.

Why? (and this is an honest question)

 

[texdiveguy]

I am going to dissent and say that the only people who should take cave classes are people who enjoy diving in caves. The wreck diving community needs to come up with some kind of training specifically designed for wreck penetration, even if it uses 90% of the same techniques used in a cave class.

They have..... TDI Advanced Wreck, NAUI Technical Wreck Penetration, IANTD Technical Wreck Diver.
These are just a few specifically designed with wreck penetration in mind.

 

[Jeff Toorish]

Cave training is some of the most intense dive training around --so, without doubt, you would benefit from it. Just for the buoyancy control alone, if for no other reason it would be beneficial.

I think the real question is, 'would it be worth it?' It is relatively expensive. Perhaps other training that is less costly would be just as useful. Something like this really comes down to a cost benefits issue.

If getting full cave trained costs you another, say, $2000 altogether, could that two grand (or less) buy you the components of cave training you would actually utilize.

Only you can answer that.

Jeff

 

[OneBrightGator]

I dunno, like the other posters I agree it's excellent training, but if you're never going to use it in its intended environment, is it really worth it? Especially considering it will not come cheaply living in NJ. If wreck diving is what you really want to do, then I would say invest your time and money in that, assuming those two things are finite for you like they are for the rest of us.

 

[karstdvr]

I dunno, like the other posters I agree it's excellent training, but if you're never going to use it in its intended environment, is it really worth it? Especially considering it will not come cheaply living in NJ. If wreck diving is what you really want to do, then I would say invest your time and money in that, assuming those two things are finite for you like they are for the rest of us.

I'd agree. There are some good things learned from cave training,but I'd learn from people who do wreck diving. I consider myself an experienced cave diver,but I'd never jump off the side of a boat to do the Andrea Doria or something difficult with the amout of wreck experience I have. Become the best in the environment you plan to spend the most time in.

 

[RJP]

What do you mean by "complete"? Basic cave? Apprentice cave? Full cave? Advanced cave? Cave stage diver? Lots of options and I'm just curious what "complete" would mean to you?

Full cave, I guess.

 

[Daedalus]

Why? (and this is an honest question)

If you are not interested in and do not particularly enjoy diving in caves why dive in them? Is training divers who do not care about the cave and only see it as a means to an end in the best interest of cave diving and cave divers? My position is that it is not.

 

[RJP]

Is training divers who do not care about the cave and only see it as a means to an end in the best interest of cave diving and cave divers? My position is that it is not.

Interesting point! I hadn't thought about it from the point of view of the training/governing bodies.

That said, I would think it would be in their interests to generate more "paying customers" as it were; generating fees, dues, awareness, etc. At minimum at the cavern and even perhaps intro level to introduce people to the environment.

There's no way to really know whether you enjoy cave diving without doing it, and there's no way to do it safely without taking a course.

Don't get me wrong - I did enjoy my cavern class. I'm tempted to at least take Intro to Cave to see whether/how much I like "cave" vs "cavern."

 

[Divin'Papaw]

Full cave, I guess.

I kind of assumed you meant full cave, but in reality there could be no end to the desire to "complete" your cave training.

I'm pondering the same question myself and am still undecided. Is the best training progression for an aspiring wreck diver recreational wreck, adv. nitrox, deco procedures and then technical/advanced wreck followed possibly by trimix? Another option is to fit in cavern (which you've already covered .... I haven't), intro to cave and maybe apprentice/full cave somewhere in there. I've heard good arguments for the former and for the later. I think it's going to come down to a personal decision.

There was a time when it was "easy." Since there was no such thing as advanced/technical wreck training, you went to Florida and learned overhead diving in the caves. Now we have some very good adv/tech wreck courses, so is the Fl cave diving no longer needed or is it still the best path forward? Is the added time and money truly value added for an aspiring wreck diver?

Good luck reaching a decision. I hope you have better luck than I've had because I continue to be completely and hopelessly undecided.