Cavern Course

[Tom Winters]

When we used to go swimming into caves and long lava tubes on Oahu in the 80's, we didn't realize that we were cave diving. I used to memorize the way in so we could get back out. My buds and I never gave it a thought since we never planned much on going too deeply. Good thing I kept my amakua up to date!
Then in the late 80's, I remember 3 Marines from Kaneohe drowned in the elevator at Shark's Cove maybe 2 feet from safety. Scary.
The first time I surfaced underground and was walking around in the weird alien darkness of a cave - that's when the idea of a reel doodad started seeming like something to consider, especially when it took me a few minutes to find where I had surfaced.
The SIMA at the sub base at Pearl has covered our old club house for years now. We thought we'd have it forever since Admiral Nimitz used the building for his seafront office during WWII. I guess we were wrong about that too.
Good luck with the cavern training there, and use a good reel. I use it on every dive now, although I sure haven't found a single lava tube in southern Florida yet.

 

[roguediver]

I have dove sharks cove quite a bit, and you are right it is full of caves and caverns. And I have dove a lot of the caverns, but none of the caves, and will not until I get the training. I have been in the elevator a lot, it's a neat dive, but you can see day light any way you look. Not sure how they got lost in there, unless the vis was real bad for some reason, or it was night. I think sharks cove can be a big danger at night because of all the caves. I was swimming along and before I new it I was in a cave about 10 feet or so, I stopped and backed out. It kind of threw me for a loop, but I realized how quick you could become lost there if you were not careful. As far as the training for cave and cavern goes I do not think I will be doing it on Hawaii, everone I found that would teach just a cavern course, wont's more for that one course than I could get my full cave cert. for in Florida. And thats not counting the travel to get to the other island's. I have found know one on Oahu that teaches it. But thats know big deal I will wait until I get back home.

Jeff

 

[Tom Winters]

The elevator is weird in that there is one section right near the exit - right hand side as you exit - where you lose sight of daylight. There's a little cul-de-sac there. The day of the accident- a day dive too - water conditions were fine, and no one will really know how they managed to all pile in that one corner and not make it out. It's one of those strange little mysteries of diving.
One thing about cavern diving in Oahu is that it's all so open that even a blind person could find their way out, but like you mentioned - 10' into a tunnel and you're in blackness and cave country.
One night thing about freshwater caves is no giant moray eels and no spiny sea urchins.

 

[roguediver]

or white tip reef sharks! Its always a fun thing to be looking around in a cavern and WHAM get smaked in the face by a whit tip. Gets the blood flowing thats for sure.

 

[SteveDiver]

Try takemediving.com ask for Ed if it is not on the website call him direct. He does all kinds of courses....

Thats ok, no worries. Just let me know, if you can find anything out.

Jeff

 

[roguediver]

I wil look it up thanks for the information.