Hello, I am going to be taking an intro to cave class fairly soon and am wondering what agencies issue C-cards with an expiration. I heard from a fellow diver that NACD would not expire if you took intro with an H-valve but would if you were in full doubles/ sidemount. Is this true? Are there other agencies that do this? Where can I look to find this information? I did not see much on the NACD website.
Training expiration?
- Thread starter Tickler
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I don't know about anybody else, but all GUE certifications expire in 3 years. You have to submit proof of 25 dives at that level to renew.
NACD intro cave expires if you take the class in doubles and if you don't continue on to full cave within a year. If you take intro in a single or become full cave there's no expiration. Other than GUE which has 3 yr renewals for all certs, no other (at least North American) agency's cards expire.
FLSharkMagnet
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You can take Intro to Cave from TDI, in doubles, and there is no expiration or requirement to use a single tank with an H-valve.
If you are looking to do it in doubles, back mount or sidemount, I'd recommend an agency like TDI so it doesn't expire. If you are planing to proceed with cave training but just not sure you'll be able to move to the next class within the expiration date that is a good option. My opinion is it's better to start your training in the equipment you plan on using throughout the training and obviously I like the redundancy.
Is there any place that people cave dive that involves a check in process,that checks expiration date and enforces it????
I understand the rationale to have expiration dates etc,but personally pick the best instructor,because your life support depends on the best training,and let the agency,and card expiration be secondary.
I understand the rationale to have expiration dates etc,but personally pick the best instructor,because your life support depends on the best training,and let the agency,and card expiration be secondary.
In Florida where the caves are places definitely check. Places like Ginnie springs check. The state parks you need to display your card on the dash or check in with a ranger and they check too. In Mexico any reputable guide would definitely check.
I met a guy a couple years ago that bragged about diving on an expired card for a couple years because people checked the cert name,but never the expiration. In reality,since there is such an alphabet soup of agencies and c-cards,they really aren't checked as closely as they once were. Places where you don't have cave divers doing the check in process,there is a lot of confusion when you have :intro,basic,apprentice,cave 1,cave 2..... I remember someone once inventing an agency and making their own trimix cards.
^^This.
The UDIE cards were hysterical.
FWIW, almost every NSSCDS/NACD instructor that I have talked to will let their student renew their card if the student is actively diving within the limits of their training. The purpose of the expiration was to prevent incidents like the intro diver on the scooter in little river, but obviously there are places that you can just show up and hop in the water without checking in.
But, as Karstdvr said, it comes down to the instructor. It's amazing some of the buffoons teaching this stuff; I spent the weekend teaching a cavern course, and no less than an hour after the talk about etiquette (exiting divers have right of way, if you have no choice pass your reel under existing lines, never ever ever do a wrap/placement on an object another teams line is on, etc), and after I had said "although you will probably never encounter anyone doing these things, be prepared because there are bozos out there", we ran into a "cavern instructor" from an alphabet soup agency that broke all three of those etiquette rules and more in his zest to get his class over with..
Shoot me.
Etiquette is secondary when there is flooding and everyone is cramming into one place,unfortunately.
I never will point the finger,but I have to agree there are less than optimal instructors. Not too long ago I was exiting Peacock when I encountered a cavern class at the sign. #1 at this point we are in the no light zone #2 everybody,instructor included were STANDING on the flood. Cave diving is a sport that does not forgive mistakes very easily,and my life is dependent on my skill. If I am going to receive training,I am going to make sure this person is more than just competent,but the best. I like to think of the surgery analogy. Do I want someone to do a procedure on me that does that procedure once a month. or does it a several times a week.
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