Just a quick (?) report on our GUE Cave 1 course with Mark Messersmith in High Springs, Florida. First I should say that I have never been sure caves were for me. In fact a review of my original student profile from 2007 or 2008 saw me answer the question do you have any cave training and with what agency with simply NONE. No thanks! That made me laugh considering where I was sitting at that moment.
We started 1/2 day early and tackled some theory and got the swim test out of the way. Both Dave and I easily made the swim test.
The next day we headed out to Blue Grotto to check out our fundamentals skills and go over some line/reel work. Our gear started to break down towards the end. A couple lights failed and one first stage started leaking but we were able to fix it.
Day 2 saw us at Peacock 1. We first went up pothole tunnel where there were large rooms. The entrance was a straight drop of about 15 through a crack. This was definitely not a place I would have found myself not too long ago, but it wasnt nearly as intimidating as it was in my head. We had more gear failure on that dive but managed to overcome them and exit the cave safely. We then went to the peanut tunnel side for dive 2. This side has a long narrow passageway (oddly enough called peanut tunnel). Dave was leading and knowing how I feel about small spaces, turned to look and see if Id actually follow. I did! AND... I LIKED it! More failures and an OOG situation. We did two more dives in these two tunnels that day.
Day 3 we went to Madison Blue Sink. This is allegedly one of the prettiest caves in the area. A bit of a drive, but worth it we were told. Unfortunately, the water was a bit tannin and didnt clear up until we hit our turn pressure and had to head back out. This tunnel was a bit smaller than peanut tunnel, but not nearly as smooth, lots of rock jutted out. We were committed to this location so back in we went. The usual gear failures began on the way out, but this time even our back up lights began to fail. First mine, then my 2nd backup went, so I went to Dave to get his 2nd backup which he gave me. Then his first back up failed and we were down to one scout light to exit the cave. Thats when the tug of war began between me and Mark
. Mark won. This was a drill I knew was coming at some point and had some anxiety over, but in reality it was no big deal. Mark already gave us the tools to safely exit the cave with no light... plus our Xens were like have a mini mini backup light. BUT... the next dive saw all scouts fail again, but this time while we were gas sharing. Mark was having none of the light from the Xens and he covered our masks with another mask to block out the light. Surprisingly this too was not the big deal I had made it in my mind. We exited the cave blind while gas sharing. It was slow and at one point Dave was trying to find my arm and grabbed my reg. A quick squeal let him know he had the wrong thing.
Day 4 was at Orange Grove with more gear failures and gas sharing scenarios. Just as we reached the reel Mark let us know that our third imaginary diver was lost and we had to recalculate our gas and go back in to find him. (Mark placed his scout light in a spot that we had to find). Once we found the light, I gave it the finger wag for separating from us, and we all (including Marks scout) exited the cave safely.
Day 5 - World renowned Ginnie Springs to finish up. We experienced high flow in the cave and learned the pull and glide techniques. We did our lost line drill which simulates a lost line in no visibility. Once again the black out masks came out, Mark would spin us around and we would have to find the gold line. Did you know limestone is like sand paper? We have sanded down all our finger prints feeling around for that line.
What a great course! Mark is an excellent instructor and gives you all the tools you need at the right time to handle the next situation. I learned so much about myself, but mostly learned that I have the ability to do this type of diving safely. The caves here are pretty cool, and Im sure well back to experience them again.
We started 1/2 day early and tackled some theory and got the swim test out of the way. Both Dave and I easily made the swim test.
The next day we headed out to Blue Grotto to check out our fundamentals skills and go over some line/reel work. Our gear started to break down towards the end. A couple lights failed and one first stage started leaking but we were able to fix it.
Day 2 saw us at Peacock 1. We first went up pothole tunnel where there were large rooms. The entrance was a straight drop of about 15 through a crack. This was definitely not a place I would have found myself not too long ago, but it wasnt nearly as intimidating as it was in my head. We had more gear failure on that dive but managed to overcome them and exit the cave safely. We then went to the peanut tunnel side for dive 2. This side has a long narrow passageway (oddly enough called peanut tunnel). Dave was leading and knowing how I feel about small spaces, turned to look and see if Id actually follow. I did! AND... I LIKED it! More failures and an OOG situation. We did two more dives in these two tunnels that day.
Day 3 we went to Madison Blue Sink. This is allegedly one of the prettiest caves in the area. A bit of a drive, but worth it we were told. Unfortunately, the water was a bit tannin and didnt clear up until we hit our turn pressure and had to head back out. This tunnel was a bit smaller than peanut tunnel, but not nearly as smooth, lots of rock jutted out. We were committed to this location so back in we went. The usual gear failures began on the way out, but this time even our back up lights began to fail. First mine, then my 2nd backup went, so I went to Dave to get his 2nd backup which he gave me. Then his first back up failed and we were down to one scout light to exit the cave. Thats when the tug of war began between me and Mark
. Mark won. This was a drill I knew was coming at some point and had some anxiety over, but in reality it was no big deal. Mark already gave us the tools to safely exit the cave with no light... plus our Xens were like have a mini mini backup light. BUT... the next dive saw all scouts fail again, but this time while we were gas sharing. Mark was having none of the light from the Xens and he covered our masks with another mask to block out the light. Surprisingly this too was not the big deal I had made it in my mind. We exited the cave blind while gas sharing. It was slow and at one point Dave was trying to find my arm and grabbed my reg. A quick squeal let him know he had the wrong thing. Day 4 was at Orange Grove with more gear failures and gas sharing scenarios. Just as we reached the reel Mark let us know that our third imaginary diver was lost and we had to recalculate our gas and go back in to find him. (Mark placed his scout light in a spot that we had to find). Once we found the light, I gave it the finger wag for separating from us, and we all (including Marks scout) exited the cave safely.
Day 5 - World renowned Ginnie Springs to finish up. We experienced high flow in the cave and learned the pull and glide techniques. We did our lost line drill which simulates a lost line in no visibility. Once again the black out masks came out, Mark would spin us around and we would have to find the gold line. Did you know limestone is like sand paper? We have sanded down all our finger prints feeling around for that line.
What a great course! Mark is an excellent instructor and gives you all the tools you need at the right time to handle the next situation. I learned so much about myself, but mostly learned that I have the ability to do this type of diving safely. The caves here are pretty cool, and Im sure well back to experience them again.
