Why do divers Cave dive ?

[ccx2]

I'm curious why someone would want to cave dive,what draws them to a cave dive. I imagine an underwater cave would be somewhat like one above ground but without Bats. From pictures I've seen they didn't show any growth or fish ,just dark walls and danger and from T S&M's Thread a bunch of reasons one shouldn't go into a cave. I personaly have no present desire to go into a cave, what am I missing ?

 

[JamesK]

It is the same reason someone would want to go in to a dry cave. To me they are beautiful. Seeing things that not many people will ever get a chance to see. The chance that I might see something no one has ever seen. The beautiful clay banks in Florida, the amazing formations in Mexico. It is something that has to be seen to appreciate.

 

[chrpai]

I personally haven't felt the call of the wild, but I can imagine that if one ever did it'd be pretty addicting.

 

[OldNSalty]

I don't cave dive but I suspect those who go into caves do it for the same reasons I dive. I love it, I like seeing these things (wrecks, reefs, the marines life) but other people have zero interest in it and would never strap on a mask. Its all fine. Why would someone take ball room dancing or watch people sing on TV? I suppose they like it.

 

[chrpai]

Why would someone take ball room dancing or watch people sing on TV? I suppose they like it.

Or their wives make them...

 

[Divejones]

Have you seen Sanctum and the documentary on Blue Holes, will give my right arm to just help out the divers. places where the water has rise through the sub terranean holes and have preserved history of millennia, remains of some birds and animals never known to man kind have been neatly preserved in those places, they are see to believe it places

 

[Karen Cleveland]

The caves are amazingly beautiful...the formations from stalagmites and stalagtites, to imbedded fossils, to the haloclines, to the glow of your light hitting the formations, to the prospect of seeing a ancient pot, bone or fire pit , and the exit on seeing the natural light. Then there is the allure of seeing all these things that few get to see. Added to that the zero gravity feeling of floating through the cave. There is big cave and there is small cave that takes some maneuvering to get through, there is scootering through the caves....so many different feelings and aspects to it.

For me, when you enter the cave, everything else gets left behind, you are living in the present, your mind is clear and the focus is all about the dive and the cave.

People don't have to understand it and it may not be the same for everyone....but cave diving is one of the things that makes me happy.

Karen

 

[Cave Diver]

From a previous thread on this same topic:

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/cave-diving/332057-how-i-started-why-i-continue-cave-dive.html

This is a spin off from another thread where I made mention of my response to the "Why do you cave dive?" question. Several years ago I was asked this by a friend and this is the response that I gave to her then. It's just as true for me today.

My question regarding cave diving is.....what do you really see that's so amazing that draws you back into the hole? Is it merely the adventure? You aren't going to see a shark!

(I still enjoy shark hunting!

)

A quote that I've seen attributed to Tom Mount seems to sum it up best. "Either you're one of us and you get it, or you're not and you don't."

As far as what I see, well, you wont see any sharks, but I still like it anyway. There are beautiful rock formations. Sculpted and etched out over time by a restless artist. Nooks and crannies that beg for exploration, tempting you with the promise of new passages that no living soul has ever seen. Contrasts of light and dark in the different layers of rocks. Fossils from hundreds, thousands, maybe millions of years ago, frozen in time. Its the wondering what you will find just around the next corner, and so much more...

And yes, it is the adventure. I like the challenge, the concentration necessary. The planning, the checking, the knowing that it's up to me to make sure the dive goes flawlessly. Knowing that failure or sloppiness is not an option. It makes the senses keenly aware, it heightens the experience. It's the tension, the anticipation and the relief when you come back into the cavern zone and you know that you had a good plan, a good dive and everything is okay.

Another analogy that I use is when people ask me why I dive is the Grand Canyon. It's a different experience to everyone that visits it.

Some people walk to the edge, look down and say "Big deal, it's just a big hole in the ground."

Some people walk up and catch their breath from the stunning view, the wonder of nature and the power of water that caused water to carve out such a huge chasm.

Some people are enthralled with the different layers of exposed rock on the face of the cliff. Moments from the history of our planet captured and preserved by the varying veins and sediments that make us seem small and insignificant in the grand scheme of things.

And then, there are those people who don't think the trip is complete until they climb on the back of a donkey and take the perilous trip down the steep and winding rocky path so they can reach the bottom and stand at the shore of the Colorado river.

That is what cave diving is like for me. Strangely enough, I didn't start out to become one. As a fairly new diver with AOW, Rescue and Nitrox under my belt I was tired of long trips out in the Gulf to spearfish on the rigs and the local lakes with 5' of vis on a good day. My instructor, who also became a good friend, kept telling me we needed to take a road trip to Florida and dive the clear water in the springs, so we decided to go Vortex Springs.

While we were planning the trip, I found out there was a cave there and I thought it would be cool if I could take a cavern course while there. Several fruitless phone calls to them failed to locate someone who could do Cavern instruction while I was planning to be there. So I turned to the web and found several instructors in cave country. After talking with one, I decided to stay an extra day and to the 3 day cavern/intro course instead of just the two day cavern.

At this point I was more interested in wreck diving than I was in learning to cave dive, but thought the skills would be useful for that. This ended up prompting me to go ahead and just take the full 7 day cave class. Yes, I took the "Zero to Hero" course and after the first two days my instructor made it clear that it was questionable whether I was going to make it or not. But I dug in, showed drastic improvement in the cavern/intro portion and was allowed to continue on with the full cave training. Believe it or not, people can learn to cave dive this way.

It was one of the most physically and mentally demanding things I've ever done diving. But at the end, I was hooked. I eventually ended up getting two other friends to take a cavern class at Vortex from another instructor, while I sat in and audited the class. One of them went on to take full cave from my original instructor and I tagged along as his buddy. Another friend took the cavern and intro class from this same instructor and I tagged along with him as well, so I've actually gone through cavern and intro 3 times and full cave twice.

Since that time almost 10 years ago now, I've done a lot of different dives in a lot of different places. But it's caves that always draw me back as my first choice of places to go.

Either you're one of and you get it, or you're not and you don't.

 

[JamesK]

For me, when you enter the cave, everything else gets left behind, you are living in the present, your mind is clear and the focus is all about the dive and the cave.

Very true Karen. To me it is the ultimate in relaxation and exhiliration at the same time.

 

[Mark Michaud SELAUSAR]

There are as many reasons to dive caves as anything else. We all have our personal "demons". I will dive in caves, breach doors with real bad guys on the other side, raise sunken boats and vehicles in strong currents and zero vis...........but I won't ride a motorcycle. That's too dangerous. Funny huh? The risk vs benefit analysis is different for all of us. So, as far as the dangers, we all have our likes and limits.

As far as the good stuff..........That dry cave (with the bats and all) is really cool. Up in the far right hand corner is something that draws our attention. Even with binoculars it can be hard to see it. I cave diving, I can swim right over and take a close look. Florida caves were formed wet (mostly). Mexico caves were formed dry and have stalactites and such. There are caves elsewhere, but these seem to be the two main types that most dive. There are also mines of different types that are dived.

In Florida caves the water is cool (65-75 degrees) and are made of limestone. In this limestone are lots of fossils. Sand Dollars, sea biscuits, sharks teeth, tube worms, shells, etc. There have been indian artifacts found in sink holes that can date back 15-25,000 years. That means the water was fresh. When was this covered by the sea? There are geological growths such as geothite (gerthite) and such. The different make up of each portion of caves and the beautiful clay banks is also an incredible sight. You have as many reasons to dive caves as you do to stay out.

The main thing is if it has an appeal, get cave training and some real experience diving in general. Personally, if I had an inclination to dive caves, and was newly certified, I would look for cave divers and use them as a mentor as soon as possible. Learning good habits, and practicing them, will make a better diver skill-wise. I would also, me personally, try to get that cave training asap too, if cave diving is what I am ultimately wanting to do. Again, learning and practicing good habits just makes sense. There are limits as to when you can get cavern and cave certified, but that would be my goal. The sooner the better as poor practice only makes learning good skills harder.

Because recreational diving has to be able to cover the masses who dive a few times a year, a lot of skills have to be covered fast. In the big picture it dumbs things down. In the small picture, it has done a great job in creating many divers and few injuries per-capita. It works. But, the skills you learn in cavern / intro to cave make sense once you see them, but are not in the recreational norm. Even if you don't want to dive in caves, a cavern / intro to cave diving class will, still, benefit all divers. The skills and awareness that is taught are both fun and eye opening. The equipment and equipment configuration, as well as your attitude in the water (buoyancy and your trim) will be greatly improved for any style of diving.

Cave diving is not for everyone. But, it is for some, and can be done safely and can be very satisfying if done with the proper training and when divers let their training and experience guide them.

This is not an all inclusive answer, but it is mine, from my perspective. Maybe it's a start for an answer to your question. Mark