Getting Started with Cave Diving
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billgraham
Contributor
I am a "tourist cave diver" and I did a Zero to Hero course about ten years ago. It was fantastic, I was in the water about 8 hours a day and it's probably the most instruction I've ever gotten in my diving life, as well as the best instruction. Granted, I wasn't exactly a zero when I arrived. The advantage to doing things this way is there's no rust to knock off in between segments and you can really build on what you did the day before. That being said, I'd limit it to two segments tops (cavern and intro) having the benefit of a little experience now. What's really important is what you do with the instruction afterwards, not how many days/months you spread the training out over. For people who have to travel to Florida to get the training, it's easier if you can do it in less trips
The suggestion for a basic nitrox cert is a good one as most shops bank it. As far as gear goes, I think you could show up with a dry suit, mask, fins, regs and lights and rent everything else (you won't be needing the snorkle). Take a look at Cave Adventurers in Marianna, that's a great place to train with a lot of diving variety right there. Peacock is also great because it's relatively shallow and extensive. Cave Excursions, Bill Rennakker's shop, is right there and you can talk to both he and Edd Sorenson at Cave Adventurers about instructors.
The suggestion for a basic nitrox cert is a good one as most shops bank it. As far as gear goes, I think you could show up with a dry suit, mask, fins, regs and lights and rent everything else (you won't be needing the snorkle). Take a look at Cave Adventurers in Marianna, that's a great place to train with a lot of diving variety right there. Peacock is also great because it's relatively shallow and extensive. Cave Excursions, Bill Rennakker's shop, is right there and you can talk to both he and Edd Sorenson at Cave Adventurers about instructors.
Do the caves (dive sites) ever get too crowded?
Come to sunny North Florida, Give Doug a call at Extreme Exposure in High Springs, take a GUE primer course with Doug Mudry, and Follow it up with Cavern with Dan Patterson (NACD). From there start planning your next trip.
I'm more meandering towards full cave than rushing it, When i feel i've mastered a level then i move on.
Doing it in one shot i feel is a disservice to yourself, there is a ton to master and that takes time.
Once you do your first tie in in Devils Ear you'll know what i mean. You're staring a a tangle of lines on a busy day and thinking where the F... am i going to put this and not get blow out crack. Here Goes.......Sh**, F***, Etc.
I think there is a lot of good advice in this post. I do hear Dan will give you a good workout, which is what you want. In any good tech course, the overhead environment, in my opinion is not a place where you want to earn a card based on the number of dives you did but on satisfactorily completeing the required tasks. Look to experience, and learn from, increased task loading each successive dive. Master the tasks and associated skills, don't count the number of dives....again, my opinion. Enjoy, this will probably be the most rewarding, and the most difficult to master, diving you will probably experience to date. Enjoy the wet rocks!! Oh, btw, your line WILL take on a life of it's own right at about your secondary tie off on your first trip into The Ear....and plan on having Florida fingers from pulling.......but oh what a dive.
James:
I've been begged to do it. I explain before they send any money that their chances of passing are incredibly slim. It's also not a 7 day class but more like a two week class. I make them read a paper that Jim Wyatt created stating why it's a bad idea, why they probably won't pass, and why they should break the training up in at least two sections. If they push me to do it, I take their money and don't feel bad when they run out of vacation time or energy/stamina before being able to complete the class.
I'm still not completely sure how I feel about it, but they get good training. They probably don't get a cert tho. But this is probably a topic needing it's own thread.
At any rate...
I'd suggest Cavern and MAYBE Intro to Cave.
Expect to pay 1k+ in addition to Room and Board.
You can rent nearly everything needed. But if you come to class unfamiliar with your gear, you'll probably not pass.
At a minimum you are probably looking at 4 days in High Springs area (that's the closest training caves to Orlando)
Lot's of instructors have package deals on Gas Fills, Lodging and Instruction. You can email or call me if you have questions about that. My website and contact info is below.
ucfdiver
Contributor
I figure someone doing limited cave deco can figure out how to calculate rock bottom and sit on a log in a controlled environment. Honestly I seem to recall this was covered in full cave, at least enough to complete the dives we were doing...
From memory-- always carry 30-50% extra deco gas. If your bottle fails then each do 2/3 of your o2 deco time on the good bottle. 30min deco means each person does 20min o2 deco and 20min back gas. Since 32% is half as efficient as o2, it works out.
I don't agree with getting information on decompression "at least enough to complete the dives we were doing." If you're going to do decompression dives then get the decompression training. I've taught Apprentice a couple of times to students with no decompression training but we add an extra day and cover the theory and some basic skills then the deco gets done on bottom gas with all dives properly planned and executed. There might be 1 or 2 dives in the apprentice/full section that are not decompression dives and I simply don't have the time to teach decompression diving during a cave diving class.
I've never understood the "cave+intro" then dive then "apprentice+full cave" path. My cave training has been fits and starts (as it happens when you live in California and travel to Florida for a few days at a stint), but I think Cavern was a good course to take independently. Intro was also good. The plan was to do intro, then take a week to do some mainline dives and then return for apprentice - then use the year I had to actually cave dive before going back for full cave. Unfortunately, TS Debbie had other plans and we only got through intro and I haven't made the return trip.
In any case - like anything else in diving, rushing it will only put undue pressure on the process. Just like there is a lot to see in <100fsw there is a lot to see on the main line while you get accustomed to flow, making tie offs to smooth surfaces, managing nuances of the environment, etc. What's the hurry?
In any case - like anything else in diving, rushing it will only put undue pressure on the process. Just like there is a lot to see in <100fsw there is a lot to see on the main line while you get accustomed to flow, making tie offs to smooth surfaces, managing nuances of the environment, etc. What's the hurry?
billgraham
Contributor
I'm not any kind of instructor but as I understood it, you had to complete all four segments (NSS-CDS anyway) within a year. It's tough for a lot of us to pull off four trips to Florida in a year. Maybe that requirement has changed? It would certainly make it easier to take time between segments.
Re: Deco training. This is one reason why Peacock is nice for cave training because if you've got a basic nitrox cert you can spend a LOT of time at 60 something feet without incurring any deco.
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