This past weekend, I was fortunate enough to start (and complete) my Intro to Cave training with Rick Murcar (GDI here on the forums). What an amazing experience. Let's see if I can give an idea of what it was like.
I began speaking with Rick a few months back. We discussed my experience so far, and what I wanted to get out of the class. I was clear up front that I wanted solid training, and not someone to just hand me a card. Rick told me that he never just handed out cards and that they absolutely had to be earned. I liked the sound of that. Over the past few months we talked about gear I'd need, things to read, things to practice before class. Rick spent more time with me on the phone and via email, than I would have ever expected an instructor to do.
I was fortunate enough to have company for my misery in the extremely kind and supportive Steve (Gilless here). Steve had already taken a number of classes with Rick, including his Cavern class, so he knew what to expect. He also provided lots of useful info before class. Others including Jeff Toorish, H2Andy, Scubafool, Jeano and Fgray1 all provided useful tips and tricks leading up to class.
Everyone told me Rick was tough but fair, thorough and no nonsense, but that he also had a great sense of humor. They were all correct.
We showed up at Ricks house on Friday morning for review of the manual, the test, and to run a bunch of land line drills. Nothing like fumbling around someones back yard with your eyes closed, as you bump into the toys, the patio furniture, the trees, and bushes, and occasionally Rick's hand, or some stick he was apparently holding. Then, of course, there were the fire ants. A real treat! I joked that at least there wouldn't be fire ants in the cave, and Rick came right back with "Unless you get 'em in your dry suit".
After a long day, I made the drive to High Springs and checked in at the High Springs Country Inn. Decent accomodations, good price, and the staff were really friendly and accomodating. I went to bed with visions of reels and lines and arrows dancing through my head.
Up early on Saturday and off to Ginnie. I met up with Rick, Steve, Steve's most aweseome wife Andi, and one of Rick's past cave students, Fred. Let me say that Andi was incredible surface support. She would help with just about anything. She had munchies, and lots of smiles and jokes. Fred, was also great to have along. He is Mr. DIY. He had his homemade wrist slate, home made screws in his reel, you name it, he could make it. Man, I wish I were that creative and talented.
Our first dives were at the Ballroom. Here we were going to practice some basic skills (sort of a Cavern review) which included running reels, mask off drills, etc. Nothing compares to the joy of running hundreds of feet of line into, out of and around the ballroom and then having to follow it first and then reel it up next with your mask off. Actually, the only thing that could make it better were the schools of open water divers who were blissfully unaware and would undo our line as they walked along the bottom of the ballroom. Great learning point. You never know when the line you ran is not the line you find. We also got to practise mask off OOA and touch contact drills. A fun time was had by all.
We then moved over to the Ear. I dove the Ear and the Eye as cavern dives before. I knew the flow coming out of the Ear was, well, let's just say substantial. Our first dive was just into the Ear, tie off at the Gold Line, and then turn on 1/6's, which Steve and I reached fairly quickly. After that first dive, all bets were off. Drills were always run on the way out of the cave. I ran the line into the gold line on the second dive into the ear, and at some point, I actually though to myself, "why the hell am I doing this? maybe I am not cut out for this whole thing." That was before the real fun even began. On that dive, Steve was the victim and I got to watch him do a lost line drill wearing the Fickle Face Mask of Fate, a torture device that needs to be seen to be truly appreciated. Steve did a great job, and I could see he was shaking his fist with excitement when he found the gold line.
On the next dive, it was my turn. There would be no shaking of fists for me, never found the gold line. What occurred to me as I was doing it, however, was how calm I was. I really thought I'd be more freaked out the first time, but I wasn't.
After every dive, we'd float on the surface and each review the dive. Steve, Rick and Fred all provided great feedback. Rick stressed throughout the course that the feedback was always to be constructive, and it ALWAYS was. I never felt like I was being beaten up, or that I was a loser, just that there were more things I needed to THINK about. Rick was big on thinking. He didn't want us to just perform the skills, but also to think about them, how they were done, what might happen if we tried something different, and what might happen if another situation occured.
I won't go into every dive, suffice it to say, we were put thorough the paces. I did eventually find the line on the next dive, and was shaking my fist just like Steve. It's the little things that make you happy
After a very full day of diving, we headed to Floyd's for some dinner and then back to the motel to crash. I couln't sleep, kept running through the dives. Don't forget to check your air before you run a line on the lost buddy search, stay high to avoid the current, use your palms more when you pull and glide. Then I started to imagine what more was to come. By Sunday morning , I had a bunch of questions for Rick, and he responded with a bunch of questions, getting me to THINK.
Probably the most memorable dive was what I will forever call the Descent into Madness. On this dive, Rick got entangled in the line, then Steve was OOA, then just after I got Rick untangled, the lights went out. Steve was then entangled, and breathing my primary and trying to lead us out of the cave. I was able to get Steve untangled and we made our way out of the cave, in complete darkness. At one point Steve signalled me to cross over the line and you would normally back up and let the lead diver cross over first. Only problem was he had my primary in his mouth, so I could only go back so far, and we were at a minor restriction. About this time, we were in such close quarters that Steve's fin kept grazing my mask. Not knocking it off, but slightly moving it with each kick. I finally pulled it off and said the hell with it. We got out of the cave through the Eye this time, and reviewed at the surface. I questioned Rick if he had wrapped the line around Steve's fin while we were in the dark, and he responded no, that was just a bonus. It really drove home how easy it was to get entangled, and how you needed to keep a calm head to get things straightened out.
On, the last dive, we went back in and did some cut line and lost buddy drills and then made our way out, with me reeling out as I had left both my primary and safety in there on the Descent into Madness. As were were doing a safety stop, Rick signalled us both to come down and motioned for us each to hold hands with eachother? I had no idea what to expect at that point until Steve started shaking my hand and then Rick held out his hand and shook mine as well.
I cannot describe the feeling I had when that happened. This was real training, and I was challenged throughout. Like I said, I even wondered if cave diving was really for me. When Rick shook my hand with a big smile, I was so proud.......Then he told us to take off one fin and swim back to Little Devils. Fun, really fun. My legs were cramping so bad at this point, I wanted to just stand up and walk, but I kept going. Steve was right there with me, and I couldn't give up with him right there.
So, there we are discussing the dive and Rick says, "Oh, one more thing. Drop down to the bottom of Little Devils, completely deflate your wing and swim your double 119's all the way up. I was diving wet, so not dry suit to help me out. Just me and my legs and my lungs. Let's just say, it wasn't pretty, it wasn't even good enough to be ugly. But Rick came down and encouraged me and showed me how to do it, and I got closer. He finally had me to to the surface and take a break while Steve did it. Steve put me to shame. Rick asked if I wanted to try again, and my response was, "that's why I'm here, right?" So I did and I made it.
We all went out to dinner and had some laughs and finished paperwork and got our temp cards. I was completely drained. Went back to the motel and crashed. My buddy Brian (LiteHedded) who also passed his Intro training with another instructor on Sunday, split the room with me, and we talked about our experiences. We both were whipped so we called it a night and I dreamt of the Fickle Face Mask of Fate, and all the other things that made for such a great experience.
And you'd think that was it. But it's not. Brian and I woke up and headed to Ginnie our first official non-training cave dives. We made it a lot further than I made it in training, well past the Lips, the Cornflakes and the Keyhole. I guess when you relax a bit, it goes a little easier. Our dives were not without incident. Coming our of the Ear, I got tangled in the line, as Brian was reeling it in. The flow caught it as I undid a wrap, and with not enough tension it was around my fin. Brian got me untangled, and we safely exited. We talked about how to better handle things next time in regards to remviing wraps and tension on the line. We had three amazing dives, and I can't wait for more.
I have to say, I am excited. I look forward to continuing to practice, to learn and to experience the amazing caves. I always wanted to know what was beyone the cavern, and now I've got a glimpse, and it is truly amazing.
Oh, if you've made it this far, you have to know that every word I've typed has been painful, as I currently have no fingerprints. Each fingertip is a lovely shade of red. Not bleeding, but nice and sore. What an awesome way to end an incredible experience.
I began speaking with Rick a few months back. We discussed my experience so far, and what I wanted to get out of the class. I was clear up front that I wanted solid training, and not someone to just hand me a card. Rick told me that he never just handed out cards and that they absolutely had to be earned. I liked the sound of that. Over the past few months we talked about gear I'd need, things to read, things to practice before class. Rick spent more time with me on the phone and via email, than I would have ever expected an instructor to do.
I was fortunate enough to have company for my misery in the extremely kind and supportive Steve (Gilless here). Steve had already taken a number of classes with Rick, including his Cavern class, so he knew what to expect. He also provided lots of useful info before class. Others including Jeff Toorish, H2Andy, Scubafool, Jeano and Fgray1 all provided useful tips and tricks leading up to class.
Everyone told me Rick was tough but fair, thorough and no nonsense, but that he also had a great sense of humor. They were all correct.
We showed up at Ricks house on Friday morning for review of the manual, the test, and to run a bunch of land line drills. Nothing like fumbling around someones back yard with your eyes closed, as you bump into the toys, the patio furniture, the trees, and bushes, and occasionally Rick's hand, or some stick he was apparently holding. Then, of course, there were the fire ants. A real treat! I joked that at least there wouldn't be fire ants in the cave, and Rick came right back with "Unless you get 'em in your dry suit".
After a long day, I made the drive to High Springs and checked in at the High Springs Country Inn. Decent accomodations, good price, and the staff were really friendly and accomodating. I went to bed with visions of reels and lines and arrows dancing through my head.
Up early on Saturday and off to Ginnie. I met up with Rick, Steve, Steve's most aweseome wife Andi, and one of Rick's past cave students, Fred. Let me say that Andi was incredible surface support. She would help with just about anything. She had munchies, and lots of smiles and jokes. Fred, was also great to have along. He is Mr. DIY. He had his homemade wrist slate, home made screws in his reel, you name it, he could make it. Man, I wish I were that creative and talented.
Our first dives were at the Ballroom. Here we were going to practice some basic skills (sort of a Cavern review) which included running reels, mask off drills, etc. Nothing compares to the joy of running hundreds of feet of line into, out of and around the ballroom and then having to follow it first and then reel it up next with your mask off. Actually, the only thing that could make it better were the schools of open water divers who were blissfully unaware and would undo our line as they walked along the bottom of the ballroom. Great learning point. You never know when the line you ran is not the line you find. We also got to practise mask off OOA and touch contact drills. A fun time was had by all.
We then moved over to the Ear. I dove the Ear and the Eye as cavern dives before. I knew the flow coming out of the Ear was, well, let's just say substantial. Our first dive was just into the Ear, tie off at the Gold Line, and then turn on 1/6's, which Steve and I reached fairly quickly. After that first dive, all bets were off. Drills were always run on the way out of the cave. I ran the line into the gold line on the second dive into the ear, and at some point, I actually though to myself, "why the hell am I doing this? maybe I am not cut out for this whole thing." That was before the real fun even began. On that dive, Steve was the victim and I got to watch him do a lost line drill wearing the Fickle Face Mask of Fate, a torture device that needs to be seen to be truly appreciated. Steve did a great job, and I could see he was shaking his fist with excitement when he found the gold line.
On the next dive, it was my turn. There would be no shaking of fists for me, never found the gold line. What occurred to me as I was doing it, however, was how calm I was. I really thought I'd be more freaked out the first time, but I wasn't.
After every dive, we'd float on the surface and each review the dive. Steve, Rick and Fred all provided great feedback. Rick stressed throughout the course that the feedback was always to be constructive, and it ALWAYS was. I never felt like I was being beaten up, or that I was a loser, just that there were more things I needed to THINK about. Rick was big on thinking. He didn't want us to just perform the skills, but also to think about them, how they were done, what might happen if we tried something different, and what might happen if another situation occured.
I won't go into every dive, suffice it to say, we were put thorough the paces. I did eventually find the line on the next dive, and was shaking my fist just like Steve. It's the little things that make you happy
After a very full day of diving, we headed to Floyd's for some dinner and then back to the motel to crash. I couln't sleep, kept running through the dives. Don't forget to check your air before you run a line on the lost buddy search, stay high to avoid the current, use your palms more when you pull and glide. Then I started to imagine what more was to come. By Sunday morning , I had a bunch of questions for Rick, and he responded with a bunch of questions, getting me to THINK.Probably the most memorable dive was what I will forever call the Descent into Madness. On this dive, Rick got entangled in the line, then Steve was OOA, then just after I got Rick untangled, the lights went out. Steve was then entangled, and breathing my primary and trying to lead us out of the cave. I was able to get Steve untangled and we made our way out of the cave, in complete darkness. At one point Steve signalled me to cross over the line and you would normally back up and let the lead diver cross over first. Only problem was he had my primary in his mouth, so I could only go back so far, and we were at a minor restriction. About this time, we were in such close quarters that Steve's fin kept grazing my mask. Not knocking it off, but slightly moving it with each kick. I finally pulled it off and said the hell with it. We got out of the cave through the Eye this time, and reviewed at the surface. I questioned Rick if he had wrapped the line around Steve's fin while we were in the dark, and he responded no, that was just a bonus. It really drove home how easy it was to get entangled, and how you needed to keep a calm head to get things straightened out.
On, the last dive, we went back in and did some cut line and lost buddy drills and then made our way out, with me reeling out as I had left both my primary and safety in there on the Descent into Madness. As were were doing a safety stop, Rick signalled us both to come down and motioned for us each to hold hands with eachother? I had no idea what to expect at that point until Steve started shaking my hand and then Rick held out his hand and shook mine as well.
I cannot describe the feeling I had when that happened. This was real training, and I was challenged throughout. Like I said, I even wondered if cave diving was really for me. When Rick shook my hand with a big smile, I was so proud.......Then he told us to take off one fin and swim back to Little Devils. Fun, really fun. My legs were cramping so bad at this point, I wanted to just stand up and walk, but I kept going. Steve was right there with me, and I couldn't give up with him right there.
So, there we are discussing the dive and Rick says, "Oh, one more thing. Drop down to the bottom of Little Devils, completely deflate your wing and swim your double 119's all the way up. I was diving wet, so not dry suit to help me out. Just me and my legs and my lungs. Let's just say, it wasn't pretty, it wasn't even good enough to be ugly. But Rick came down and encouraged me and showed me how to do it, and I got closer. He finally had me to to the surface and take a break while Steve did it. Steve put me to shame. Rick asked if I wanted to try again, and my response was, "that's why I'm here, right?" So I did and I made it.
We all went out to dinner and had some laughs and finished paperwork and got our temp cards. I was completely drained. Went back to the motel and crashed. My buddy Brian (LiteHedded) who also passed his Intro training with another instructor on Sunday, split the room with me, and we talked about our experiences. We both were whipped so we called it a night and I dreamt of the Fickle Face Mask of Fate, and all the other things that made for such a great experience.
And you'd think that was it. But it's not. Brian and I woke up and headed to Ginnie our first official non-training cave dives. We made it a lot further than I made it in training, well past the Lips, the Cornflakes and the Keyhole. I guess when you relax a bit, it goes a little easier. Our dives were not without incident. Coming our of the Ear, I got tangled in the line, as Brian was reeling it in. The flow caught it as I undid a wrap, and with not enough tension it was around my fin. Brian got me untangled, and we safely exited. We talked about how to better handle things next time in regards to remviing wraps and tension on the line. We had three amazing dives, and I can't wait for more.
I have to say, I am excited. I look forward to continuing to practice, to learn and to experience the amazing caves. I always wanted to know what was beyone the cavern, and now I've got a glimpse, and it is truly amazing.
Oh, if you've made it this far, you have to know that every word I've typed has been painful, as I currently have no fingerprints. Each fingertip is a lovely shade of red. Not bleeding, but nice and sore. What an awesome way to end an incredible experience.
