How do I get started?

[KyDodenhoff]

Hey Everyone,

I have a big interest in getting into cave diving, but have no idea how to start! I've been certified for two years now with 120 logged dives ranging from Oregon coast spear fishing to Caribbean diving. I have my "Master Diver" from SSI which isnt saying much, but I did take a lot from the Nav, Nitrox, Search and Rescue, Deep diving classes. It sucks living in Oregon where theres not any caverns, springs or even CAVES. I dont want that to stop me though! What Equipment would I need to change from the set up I have now? Does SSI offer any Intro to cavern ETC.? I know it will take tons of hard work and training but I really think it will all pay off in the end! Im all ear's to any help and advice!


Really appreciate it,
Ky

 

[RJP]

Step 1 - decide whether you want to do Cavern in Florida or Mexico
Step 2 - identify an instructor
Step 3 - get input from that instructor on your current and potential gear config

Not sure if SSI has a cavern course; I know PADI does. Personally I'd recommend getting cavern cert with a Cave instructor from a Cave agency.

 

[TSandM]

I don't blame you, having caught the cave disease early on, myself!

Here's what I would recommend: First off, you will most likely need different equipment for cave diving than what you have. You will need a backplate and wing system (unless you go sidemount from the get-go, which few people do) and you can buy one and get used to diving it in a single tank. You can also go to a long hose setup and get used to using that. Although there are variations in configuration, THIS site will give you the basics of a setup that is commonly used.

The next thing I would do is try to get yourself into a class, in open water, that introduces the basic cave diving skills. Such classes would include GUE Fundamentals, UTD Essentials, or a variety of Intro to Tech classes. Fundamentals and Essentials are regularly offered in the Seattle area, and in Monterey. Learning things like horizontal trim and the non-silting kicks in open water (which is quite reasonable to do) will save you time and effort when you get to the caves.

Once you have done that, I'd see if I could schedule a trip to Mexico and do some cavern tours. One of the things you want to know is whether you actually LIKE being enclosed and in the dark while you're diving. Cavern tours are a great way of finding this out and getting to enjoy seeing the caves, and becoming accustomed to the environment.

One question is whether you need to move to diving doubles before cave training. Several agencies offer cavern classes to people in a single tank, so you don't HAVE to transition, but if you intend to go on, you will need doubles, so again, this is something you can do in open water before you do your cave classes. (My approach has been not to learn ANYTHING in a cave that I can learn at home, so I can maximize the cave-specific things when I'm there.)

So that ought to be enough to get you started, and to give you some ideas to make use of your diving time at home.

If you make it up to the Puget Sound area, there are bunch of us cave divers who'd be happy to meet up with you for a dive or so and to talk about how we did it

 

[JDostal]

RJP said just about everything you need to know to be honest.

Your first step is a cavern course. A cavern course will give you the basics on what cave diving is all about. The nice thing about cavern is that you CAN do the course in mostly recreational gear to just get a feel that type of diving. When I did cavern/intro my wife just wanted to do cavern at the time and she did it in a jacket BC (she's since gone on to cave but that's another story...).

If you want to do more than just cavern you are going to need a lot of new gear. Dual regs, backplate/wings, canister light, a reel or two, backup lights, etc.

The best thing to do is decide where you want to do the training. Then pick an instructor. Then repeatedly call the instructor with a million questions. That is what they are there for and if they don't want to take the time to answer all your questions pick another instructor.

I chose Florida for my cavern/intro and the instructor I found was great about answering equipment requirements. While I did ask him a ton of questions there was still a lot of tweaking that we did during my course to get my gear squared away completely for cave diving.

Some of the recreational diving agencies do offer a cavern course but I'd recommend against it. Get your cavern training from a real cave instructor.

 

[Dive-aholic]

Ky, check out this list on my website:

Chipola Divers - Cave Diving courses

PM, e-mail, or give me a call if you have any specific questions about any of the items.

You can likely do the cavern course in the equipment you have now, but if you want to move on beyond that, I would recommend doing it in a back plate and wing or harness and wing. It makes the transition much easier. I realize that buying this gear before you dive it is a huge step, especially since you don't know if you'll like the gear or the type of diving. Because of this, I have extra gear that I let me students use during their initial course. You come out, use my gear during the course. If you like it you buy your own for the continuing courses. If you don't then all you've spent is the course fee. But you've also gotten some great skills and experiences in the process.

And by all means shop around for instructors. There are several of us here in Florida and in Mexico. We all offer the same basic courses regardless of agency; however, we all have different personalities. So find someone that works for you.

 

[ucfdiver]

Just my $0.02, kind of looking back a bit on the mistakes I made during training....

First, I wish I had taken a program similar to fundies, intro to tech, etc FIRST. Get comfortable in doubles/drysuit, learn to do all the required predive checks, buddy skills, signals, etc. I see no need to learn this stuff with the added stress of overhead. IMO that would have given me a more solid foundation to begin.

Next, I would have combined cavern and intro. I've heard it over and over "a cavern can become a cave", which to me makes it sound like if you're in a cavern, you better have hte skills needed to make it out of a cave alive, so looking back, I think these classes would go well together. We did easily 50ish dives at the intro/basic level, and then progressed on. This gives you a *lot* of cave to explore. Systems like Ginnie you'll find yourself easily 700+ft of mainline cave on 1/6ths, and Peacock you can find yourself 1500ft+ back. The 1/6 limit really forces you to pay attention to the flow and navigate the high flow systems if you want to know what's around the next corner....not to mention as a new cave diver, you have oodles of gas to get you out (which is very calming for the first several dives).

Also, I think I would have combined apprentice and full cave. The two are so similar that I'm not really sure why they're separate courses.

Finally, make sure you pick an instructor you're comfortable with. Ask others opinions who have had *multiple* instructors. I hear a lot of "he's great, I did all my training with him", and while I'm not saying that's a bad idea, I thought my cavern instructor was good until experiencing two others and realizing how little I had gotten from that course.

You'll find that some courses hardly do any drills at all, some drill the crap out of you, and others get the agency required drills out of the way early in the course then exaggerate the problems that you create in a more "real life" scenario.

I took basic cave with Rich Courtney. I'm not sure why, but this class stands out to me more than the other 3. I think it built the foundation, to me basic cave felt like a huge step, and adding jumps, deco, and stages really didn't seem like huge leaps, but rather taking what I already had learned and practiced 1 step further.

We completed the required drills day 1, built up some confidence because of it, and got some comfort in the cave. Then day 2 he took what mistakes I gave him. You don't notice him shielding his light for a second and he hides on you, forcing you to do lost buddy. You don't tuck your light cord during lights out, and it gets tangled every time. You swim off the line further than someone new to basic cave should and your light dies. You allow yourself to get a bit too task loaded and he runs out of gas magically. I really don't think I had to ask "what'd I do wrong that dive", I pretty much got instant feedback in the cave

 

[Meng_Tze]

Some good advice in this thread!!

 

[BabyDuck]

ucf, i think app & full are separate because traditionally app was the first place someone used doubles, and that person was unlikely to pass full without the doubles practice, so ta da! apprentice!

i don't think that's as true anymore, and if you're comfy in doubles, agree it's easy to do as one.

 

[Dive-aholic]

I don't view apprentice as a stand alone course. The certification is issued when a diver doesn't quite meet the necessary qualifications for full cave, but isn't a total dunce. It's an expiring certification because it is expected the student will return for re-evaluation within that time. Some agencies do not even offer an apprentice level.

 

[gxsr_sarge]

Great advice from knowledgeable folks. My two-cents: Classes in N. Fl will be cheaper than in Mexico. GUE Cave 1 in Mexico is "mucho mas dinero" than in High Springs ($2200 v $1500).