First Dive Trip Without Instructor - Need to Rent Gear & Help Planning

[CavernFrog]

By the way, one element of cavern training that I disagreed with was the idea of a terminal tie with the guideline. If the whole point of the line is to get you out when visibility disappears, what good is it if you can't see/find the line? Why would you ever create a terminal tie and let go of the reel? Maybe if you attach a secondary line and hold on to that. My point is I feel like you should always be holding a reel. What do you think?

 

[tbone1004]

@CavernFrog whatever makes you feel comfortable is what matters. If you don't feel comfortable without the line in your hand, then don't dive without it in your hand. With experience overall and in specific caves you will gain confidence to let you go farther from the lines.

 

[boulderjohn]

If you are doing a cavern dive at your level of training, there should be no possibility of your being unable to see the line. The only way it could be obscured would be through a siltout, and you should not be entering a cavern that has the possibility of a siltout. You are about to go to jackson Blue's cavern. You cannot silt out the area where you will lay your line, even if you tried your hardest. Not far from Jackson Blue is Twin cave. You can silt out that cavern horribly in seconds. Don't go there without more training.

On the other hand, the Jackson Blue cavern is pretty large, and you can get far enough away from the line to lose sight of it completely. If you do that, you should always have clear sight of the way to the exit because of the ambient light coming from that exit. Whether or not you lose site of the line there is up to your level of comfort.

 

[boulderjohn]

linky link? I heard about it, but haven't read the full study.

There was a thread on ScubaBoard when it was released. IIRC, Simon Mitchell started it. I am having trouble finding it because the key words I use to search are so common.

 

[jadairiii]

after reading all of this, my best advise would be to take a GUE Fundamentals course. It will do a few of things:
1. Give you a much better understanding of Nitrox;
2. Buoyancy and trim will improve
3. Take it up in North Florida, good chance your Fundies Instructor is a Cave 1 instructor so you can improve on your cavern work and it will be done in springs/caverns

All in all, it would be well worth it, because PADI did nothing to prepare you for diving Nitrox, based on reading your questions.

And, per your question regarding a tie in, remember you are in a cavern, you should always have a clear view of the exit, if not, well, you're not in a cavern.......

 

[boulderjohn]

There was a thread on ScubaBoard when it was released. IIRC, Simon Mitchell started it. I am having trouble finding it because the key words I use to search are so common.

I found what I was looking for. Simon did indeed introduce the issue, but he did it within a thread rather than introduce a new thread.

Nitrox: Narcosis myth?

 

[azstinger11]

My personal experience with the PADI nitrox course was basically a)here is how to put it into your computer b)see that MOD number? Yeah? Don't go below it or bad **** happens c)pay me

I'd recommend the NOAA Diving Manual particularly chapters 4 and 7 (in the 5th edition at least, which cover Diving Physiology and Nitrox Diving).

 

[Storker]

Is there a physical book with all the open water, advanced open water, cavern and nitrox knowledge in it? If there is I would like to buy it and read it over and over. I don’t like e-books or reading online. Doesn’t have to be PADI. Maybe TDI is better?

There is, but there are three physical volumes: The PADI open water manual, the PADI AOW manual and the PADI EAN manual. I have all three in my bookshelf since iI've taken PADI OW, PADI AOW and PADI EAN. You'll find almost everything covered here in those three bunches of dead trees.

 

[DogDiver]

No

OW/AOW books are pretty much a joke IMO, so that's useless. Cavern isn't anything particularly useful. The books from GUE are useful, but VERY dated, not having been updated in close to 20 years. Most all of it is still applicable, just dated.
NOAA and USN diving manuals are both pretty good albeit a bit dense.

@DogDiver why don't you approve of NAUI's overhead programs? Also, you realize the NACD is dead, yes?

Sorry, very long NACD member and was trained that way. I have a philosophical difference with NAUI’s technical training and even thou I have been an active status instructor for open water for 22 years. I do not feel comfortable taking on the liability of cave training. Just a happy cave diver for 20 years.

 

[Storker]

OW/AOW books are pretty much a joke IMO

Well, they do require a certain minimum of ability to read for comprehension...