Fledging S/M Intro to Cave diver

[uncfnp]

Ok, so I had a major butt kicking and a great time together! Not common I know but true in this case. In April I started my progression toward full cave with drysuit, sidemount and Intro to Cave with Edd Sorenson and the crew at Cave Adventurers.


Drysuit, now that was a learning experience but not as bad as I expected. I went with the Pinnacle Black Ice recommended by Edd. Donning was not too bad. Edd's advice to put a section of hosiery over my head to hold the hair helped immensely. Mostly needed help with the zipper. Doffing was harder, especially pulling the front section over my head. Got me hooked on drysuit though. Looking at tropical versions.


Sidemount. Of course Edd recommended the SMS 75. Size small was still a little large. May need to modify some in the future. He mentioned moving the door handles medially. In fact, considering a thread to find other petite females in sidemount for advice.


Cave. OMG! I am hooked. Didn't make it as far into the cave as I would have liked and no real chance to look around but I was completely fascinated by it. According to Edd the outflow was unusually high.


As a self proclaimed "vacation diver" my version of frog kicks were not to Edd's standards but I think I made a lot of progress during the course. I did get an Edd hug for my individual blackout mask exit but made up for it the next day by struggling with the lost line drill. Nailed it the third day. Not too good with touch contact/air share either. Still needs work. And my reel work was less than perfect. I like my Light Monkey reel but Edd's not a fan so I used my DR for the lost line drills. My hand just doesn't seem large enough to hold the handle firmly and keep line tension at the same time. Again looking for any advice there.


It was a grueling 8 am to 6+ pm daily adventure that I can't wait to do again.


I want to thank ...

Edd Sorenson for showing an incredible amount of patience.
Steve Lewis (Doppler) for the drysuit advice.
Tim Pinkerton for advice, encouragement and guidance.
Trace Malinowski (TraceMalin) for advice on preparation for the course.
Dennis (lowviz) emotional support and help with equipment.
The staff at Cave Adventurers for being so supportive and understanding of a "vacation diver" in their midst.


And last but most importantly, Eric (Soloist) my partner in life and diving for understanding my need to follow my dreams.

 

[Omisson]

Congrats

 

[Dhboner]

Never trained with Edd (but he gets rave reviews) but from experience Steve Lewis is as good as it gets.

 

[Aquavelvet]

Awesome! Great start to a new series of adventures. Consider that other cave diving destinations will use Alu 80 tanks exclusively (esp. Mexico). I don't know if the SMS 75 is as well adapted to using Aluminum tanks.

I'm sure you're going to have fun. Caves are addictive!


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[decompression]

TSandM (Lynne) here on the board is a petite caver although mostly back mount I believe. Very knowledgable and posts often.


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[Randy g]

Congratulations and well done! I have been talking to Edd the last few months in preparation for a sm cave class with him in the future. Getting my kit togather after breaking both wrist. Glad to hear you had fun but more important, you learned a ton. You are a very lucky girl to have all those top name instructors helping you.

 

[TSandM]

First off, congratulations on your class. Edd has what I suspect is a well deserved reputation for teaching a thorough and demanding class.

But I'm really surprised that you used a reel for lost line. That drill was done, in all my classes, under blackout conditions. The last thing on earth you want in that situation is anything that can jam, because you can't see to unjam it. All of my classes, from three agencies and five different instructors, used a spool for that drill.

 

[Bobby]

Congrats and welcome to the wet rocks.

IMHO experience both reels & spools have their strengths & weaknesses. I have both as safeties & feel comfortable using either in a real situation. To the OP's question: My wife is rather petite especially her hands. The key with a reel is to have the handle firmly in your hand, keep the line going out looped over your finger and use your pinky finger to control the tension on the line. It takes a bit of practice however once you master it you will find that it is a bit easier to control the tension with one hand while having your other free to search for the primary line.

DR reels are actually rather easy to unjam. Most people try and get the line loose from the side of the reel where the line is jammed. If you pull it from the other side it unwinds from the jam rather easily then pull the line back through the feed slot after removing the jam. Easy to show however not so easy to type an explanation, and yes I have done it in an actual silt out.

 

[syntaxerrorsix]

Congratz. Yeah a spool is the way to go for lost line drills.

 

[uncfnp]

Thanks guys!

Congratulations and well done! I have been talking to Edd the last few months in preparation for a sm cave class with him in the future. Getting my kit togather after breaking both wrist. Glad to hear you had fun but more important, you learned a ton. You are a very lucky girl to have all those top name instructors helping you.

Yes. Believe me, I know just how fortunate I have been.

Hoping to go back for more torture this fall if I can find a willing buddy.

First off, congratulations on your class. Edd has what I suspect is a well deserved reputation for teaching a thorough and demanding class.

I have had 7 different instructors over the past 6 years and Edd was the most intensive and demanding by far. Of course, so is cave.

But I'm really surprised that you used a reel for lost line. That drill was done, in all my classes, under blackout conditions. The last thing on earth you want in that situation is anything that can jam, because you can't see to unjam it.

Yes, it was blackout. Edd did cover use of the spool but I think he wanted me to learn the reel too. Better to learn from my mistakes in class. My dive buddy told me later, after my second try, that Edd reached out and moved the line back further from me when I got too close too soon. :shocked2:

Congrats and welcome to the wet rocks.

IMHO experience both reels & spools have their strengths & weaknesses. I have both as safeties & feel comfortable using either in a real situation. To the OP's question: My wife is rather petite especially her hands. The key with a reel is to have the handle firmly in your hand, keep the line going out looped over your finger and use your pinky finger to control the tension on the line. It takes a bit of practice however once you master it you will find that it is a bit easier to control the tension with one hand while having your other free to search for the primary line.

DR reels are actually rather easy to unjam. Most people try and get the line loose from the side of the reel where the line is jammed. If you pull it from the other side it unwinds from the jam rather easily then pull the line back through the feed slot after removing the jam. Easy to show however not so easy to type an explanation, and yes I have done it in an actual silt out.

Thanks Bobby I really appreciate the advice.

BTW, we had some older can lights with us but one look at yours and we decided to rent from Edd. Absolutely loved them. Plan to be an owner one day.