Thought about Cave Diving?

[Kevin Carlisle]

Man you nailed it. I remember one our dives at JB. We got there late and it was hot, crowded, and we ended up parking on the far side from the pavilions. After getting dragging everything down the hill and getting geared up we were already hot and sweaty and thinking to ourselves "why the hell do we do think its fun to do this?" Then we dropped down into the cavern and headed in and our lights lit up the crystal clear cave and I thought to myself, "Oh yeah, THIS is why..."

Cave diving is a lot of work. Just getting ready to go cave diving is a lot of work.

You bet. Myself and a few other buddies pulled muscles this year and had to sit out a week or so. As soon as we could there we were, doing the same thing again LOL. Its not always fun, but if doing it for the right reason its very rewarding.

 

[Kevin Carlisle]

I have herd about people doing the first dive and not coming back to class. Honestly the grim reaper signs kept me out of the caverns untill I had proper training.

I'm sure my instructor had some type of screening process but I had taken 2 courses with him before any overhead training so he knew how I felt about it.

I can assure you that your instructor made sure you were doing it for the right reasons .

 

[TSandM]

I don't know why I encourage people to take the cenote tours, except that, to me, the caves are some of the most beautiful places I have ever seen, and I want to share that. But I think that, beyond the recreational tours, the selection process should be both internal and external, and fairly strict. Hopefully, good instructors are selecting for people who, above all, have a steady temperament and good judgment.

 

[karstdvr]

Another thought...can posting cave diving pictures and trip reports be an enticement for cave diving? This discussion came up somewhere else about the rationale behind this,but a secondary though is this can be considered an enticement. This is not my personal opinion,but a thought.

 

[Kevin Carlisle]

Another thought...can posting cave diving pictures and trip reports be an enticement for cave diving? This discussion came up somewhere else about the rationale behind this,but a secondary though is this can be considered an enticement. This is not my personal opinion,but a thought.

Well I do see a point there. However I could easily say that it doesnt take a genius to know they shouldnt attract sharks to their boat and jump in trying to get pics like they see on TV. One should be smart enough to know that while it looks cool this might not be from me, maybe I better enjoy this from the comforts of my living room.

 

[CamG]

Greetings fellow SB cave divers in most training I have been involved with and witnessed there has never been any allusion to cave diving without the standard WARNING!
I think that the general scuba world and dive community has a firm grasp on the seek training principal before you enter an overhead.
I read accident reports as well and was told to do so early on by my OW instructor who happens to be a Intro level cave diver to make me understand the gravity of overhead environments.
For the interested OW divers the pictures tend to peek their interest and they inquire as to the level of training required to GO THERE.

Only one person in my short 3 years of diving has mentioned diving without proper training.
He happens to be a old school diver mentality and if you knew him you would understand.
These are growing fewer and fewer all the time thank goodness, NATURAL SELECTION and solid training standards has its dividends.

I keep talking about it because I can not stop!
What started for me three years ago has evolved into cave diving and it still blows my mind!
The diving, divers, and environment are beyond comprehension for most but to those of us who get it, we love it!
It has and continues to teach me more about myself and diving all the time.
Safe diving all, see you soon!

CamG Keep diving....Keep training....Keep learning!

 

[Kevin Carlisle]

Greetings fellow SB cave divers in most training I have been involved with and witnessed there has never been any allusion to cave diving without the standard WARNING!
I think that the general scuba world and dive community has a firm grasp on the seek training principal before you enter an overhead.
I read accident reports as well and was told to do so early on by my OW instructor who happens to be a Intro level cave diver to make me understand the gravity of overhead environments.
For the interested OW divers the pictures tend to peek their interest and they inquire as to the level of training required to GO THERE.

Only one person in my short 3 years of diving has mentioned diving without proper training.
He happens to be a old school diver mentality and if you knew him you would understand.
These are growing fewer and fewer all the time thank goodness, NATURAL SELECTION and solid training standards has its dividends.

I keep talking about it because I can not stop!
What started for me three years ago has evolved into cave diving and it still blows my mind!
The diving, divers, and environment are beyond comprehension for most but to those of us who get it, we love it!
It has and continues to teach me more about myself and diving all the time.
Safe diving all, see you soon!

CamG Keep diving....Keep training....Keep learning!

Cam I can appreciate that post, however down here where its hard to throw a rock and not hit a cave is another story. There are many places on the rivers and other spots where people do break training and sometimes they dont come back. Remember the Vortex thread?? ( Not that the diver is in there)

There are other places like Morrison where 90% of the people you see will not be overhead trained. So down here, there are way too many divers who venture into overheads that shouldnt. Its always been that way and I dont think it will change.

 

[The Chairman]

Just curious, how many cave divers are spelunkers too?

I am in no way a hard core spelunker, but I have been in plenty of dry caves with friends trying to get me hooked. As I climb up and over rocks, bend in unusual ways and deal with the bruises and cuts, I keep thinking how much easier this would be if the cave were filled with water.

Me? I am addicted to diving in general. I love the open ocean, the natural caves and even flooded mines. All of the deaths I am aware of involve people who have exceeded their limits. Air, depth, time, physical, gear and training are all limits that ALL divers must respect or else possibly pay a pretty grim penalty: death. Every environment has it's own litany of dangers you must be aware of and accommodate. That being said, I have no problem inviting each and everyone to dive within their limits and to also expand their limits as they see fit. Cave diving is fun and I hope to dive with as many of you as possible.

 

[wrybosome]

I've been curious about this for some time, now I'm looking into doing cavern and intro in 2012. Talked to an instructor recently about her expectations and requirements and it looks like a potential go for next year. I am very, very psyched about it!

I always enjoyed dry caving with my local NSS group, but zero-G would make it so much better. There's something really attractive about the thought of flying through the Earth. I also liked Peter Guy's response to why cave dive?: Because I couldn't be an astronaut.

I was aware of cafe diving before using the internet but I still have to thank all the posters on SB, CDF, and TDS for increasing my knowlege many fold. Thanks!

 

[LiteHedded]

I've been curious about this for some time, now I'm looking into doing cavern and intro in 2012. Talked to an instructor recently about her expectations and requirements and it looks like a potential go for next year. I am very, very psyched about it!

I always enjoyed dry caving with my local NSS group, but zero-G would make it so much better. There's something really attractive about the thought of flying through the Earth. I also liked Peter Guy's response to why cave dive?: Because I couldn't be an astronaut.

I was aware of cafe diving before using the internet but I still have to thank all the posters on SB, CDF, and TDS for increasing my knowlege many fold. Thanks!

I think that line is parker turner's