NSS-CDS Full Cave: The Live-Blog

[The Chairman]

Wow. This has been my favorite thread all year. Yeah, a few arm chair instructors are second guessing THE Reggie Ross. I find that amusing more than anything. Reggie was in the crew that taught me how to be an instructor. His 'bedside manner" as an instructor is impeccable and his diving skills are superb. I learned how to frog kick by watching him in my IDC. He's patient and yet he won't 'give' you anything. He'll give you all the leash you want but he'll keep you safe. I have nothing but uber respect for him.

I have to admit that I cried during my IDC... a couple times even. It wasn't Reggie that did it. After a particularly grueling session in a pool, I was tired, frustrated, humiliated and more. I had just taken a shower and was singing the song "beebop a rebop rhubarb pie" from Prairie Home Companion because nothing takes the taste of humiliation out of mouth quite like it. Reggie laughed and being a fan of Garrison Keillor as well, sang a few bars with me. He was in tune with my pain and had no idea what was waiting for me outside. Neither did I and I was really looking forward to getting home and away from the pain. As I left the locker room, one of the other evaluators pointed out that there was someone drowned in the pool. Rly? There, all tangled up in vacuum hose at the far end of a pool, was yet another rescue, and the other IDC candidate was still in the shower. Crap. I remember hearing Reggie saying "sorry, I had no idea they were concocting this" as I kicked off my shoes, removed electronics and jumped in the pool in my dry get me home clothes. Sigh. I was too cramped to kick, so I used a dolphin kick to the victim, grabbed his octo and started breathing off of it as I untangled him. We were only at 5 ft, so I hit the inflator, rocketed to the surface and swam him to the pool edge. All the evaluator (must have been a dozen of them) were watching me intently and the rule is that I can ask them for assistance as a bystander... unless they say "I'm not really here and am only an observer." Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. They were adding insult to injury. Finally my partner came out and we muscled the vicim out of the pool where he started faux CPR. I was so tired, I remember throwing up a bit right there in the pool and I really wanted to slip beneath the surface. Nope, I cried a bit and then I got out, in my sopping wet drive home clothes, and finished the scenario. So the next time things are going hard, remember me diving into that pool to do that one last rescue scenario of the day... and don't forget to sing my favorite song when crap hits the fan:

Yes, nothing gets the taste of humiliation out of your mouth like a piece of rhubarb pie.

(Sung to the tune of Shortnin' Bread):
One little thing can revive a guy,
And that is home-made rhubarb pie.
Serve it up, nice and hot.
Maybe things aren't as bad as you thought.

Mamma's little baby loves rhubarb, rhubarb
Bebop-a-rebop rhubarb pie!

Don't forget that Reggie can sing it with you.

 

[tursiops]

The good diving doctor will be happy to hear that I have ofloxacin for first-line treatment and an augmentin 'scrip waiting if that doesn't do the trick. This is a surmountable obstacle!

And, unlike some of your other obstacles recently, it doesn't hurt your finger tips!

 

[Compressor]

The good diving doctor will be happy to hear that I have ofloxacin for first-line treatment and an augmentin 'scrip waiting if that doesn't do the trick. This is a surmountable obstacle!

I just want to tell you personally that I really enjoyed the blog. Thank you.

 

[Mason Gierke]

Just wanted to say I have really enjoyed hearing about your journey so far. Hope your ears heal soon. Best of luck.

 

[Schwob]

Ditto here, really enjoyed your blog!
Get well!

 

[Compressor]

Love the outpouring of support for @dewdropsonrosa .

 

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

That probably has a lot to do with the fact you are female and the average student is male. The typical male has a significant advantage over the typical female when it comes to upper body strength and therefore pull and glide capabilities. There is one cave in N FL, Hart Springs, where I’ve had to call the dive and my two male dive buddies didn’t have a significant problem.

Really? As someone who has ZERO experience of what a cave dive would be like, THIS I am finding a bit hard to fathom. At least in the lingo in which you put it. I am thinking a drift dive in which the current could be so strong that you have to pull yourself in the opposing direction with so much force that being a male will have an advantage over being a female?

What happens to you gas consumption if you are doing such a workout? Your gas planning would be off the charts so is it part of a cave diving course to calculate how your sac rates would change in such an extreme scenario? Forgive my ignorance but for someone who has been diving in open water environments responses such as these are proving to be enlightening on so many levels provided I am understanding them correctly.

 

[northernone]

Really? As someone who has ZERO experience of what a cave dive would be like, THIS I am finding a bit hard to fathom. At least in the lingo in which you put it. I am thinking a drift dive in which the current could be so strong that you have to pull yourself in the opposing direction with so much force that being a male will have an advantage over being a female?

What happens to you gas consumption if you are doing such a workout? Your gas planning would be off the charts so is it part of a cave diving course to calculate how your sac rates would change in such an extreme scenario? Forgive my ignorance but for someone who has been diving in open water environments responses such as these are proving to be enlightening on so many levels provided I am understanding them correctly.

While cave diving against a strong flow is largely technique, there's also a strength and endurance component.

I can't speak to the gender factors of upper body strength.

But for myself after a few hours of pulling hand over hand (think light weight climbing or doing chin-ups) muscle tone begins to be a significant factor.

Cameron

 

[dewdropsonrosa]

I think that @northernone's answer is right on the money here. A good part of pulling against flow is knowing/anticipating where it has strong and weak points and finding appropriate hand-holds to continue moving. If you're not properly positioned, you have to fight against much more resistance. This requires more effort and consequently, more air.

The comparison to drift diving doesn't hold up quite as well. My experiences drift diving (Cozumel and Bahamas) were typically in wide-open areas over sand flats or along walls. The current was generally moderate, manageable, and spread out over the whole wide area. In a cave environment, the flow is being channeled by the shape of the cave. Wide passages might feel slow and calm. When you reach a restriction in the cave and the flow is trying to push the same amount of water through a smaller hole, the flow increases - sometimes dramatically.

I'm 5'4" and 165-ish (163cm and 75kg to our metric friends). I don't have a large frame and not a lot of muscle. I work an indoor desk job and will occasionally carry a 20-lb. ream of paper when I need it. Otherwise, the rest of my heavy lifting for the year is toting gear from car to dock during dive season.

I definitely felt my lack of strength during the early days. It mattered slightly less during subsequent days because my familiarity with the cave flow and proper technique reduced the amount of raw upper-body effort required.

 

[dewdropsonrosa]

Reference post:

Here's a YouTube video of diving in high-flow cave in Texas. Going with the kind of flow around 0:45 would probably make for a pleasantly brisk drift dive in open water. But as they approach the major restriction around 1:00, you can see how much more force there is in that spot.


Edited to add: now that I've watched this a few times, I do feel compelled to explain that this is not typical cave diving. I wanted a really exaggerated example of flow that would be easy to see. The featured divers are extraordinarily accomplished people doing peak-difficulty explorations.