5 replies to this topic

[Landlocked Dive Nut]

Since Deb got her C-card in this area recently & others have expressed interest in the subject, PerroneFord suggested a topic on cave diving. Great idea!

What level of diving experience is required before getting into cave diving, and what special training should you take to become proficient at this specialty?

[diverdeb]

I have to clarify - I got my Intro card, so I'm just beginning this journey. I'm going to let Perrone or ScubaDadMiami answer this one. It's WAY cool though, and they have cookies!

[PerroneFord]

I have to clarify - I got my Intro card, so I'm just beginning this journey. I'm going to let Perrone or ScubaDadMiami answer this one. It's WAY cool though, and they have cookies!

I'm still at work. I'll write up something tonight. SDM should also write something since he's quite a lot further along the path than me, but I may have a fresher perspective since I went through it more recently.

[damselfish]

Cool Deb, I'd LOVE to do the cave diving but read "The Last Dive" and am too chicken. I love the swim throughs, caverns and lava tubes in Hawaii. I was having a blast on my underwater "playground" until a surge made me hit my head pretty hard and I was a little shaken up for a minute. It was fun though. We saw 4 white tip sharks in a cavern sleeping. Have fun Deb, be careful I may need a roomie again someday! ~ B

[PerroneFord]

So you want to learn to cave dive?

It seems these days that more and more people are pursuing cave diving. Somme for all the right reasons, but many for all the wrong ones. I thought it might be instructive to begin a discussion on what cave diving is, what it isn't, and how to get on the path correctly.


Cave divng is a wonderful activity. It is hugely rewarding, and it is a fraternity of some of the most accomplished SCUBA divers in the world. Like any other form of diving, it demands a certain set of skills. However, unlike most other forms of diving, those skills have to actually be mastered to be a good cave diver, not just understood.

Let's clear up some fallacies:


Cave diving is deep:

The geological features that support cave diving demand that the water have a way to exit from the earth. Thus most caves are attached to springs. And springs are open water. The fact of the matter is that the great majority of caves in the Florida panhandle are between 40 and 100ft deep. In Mexico, since the caves were once dry, they tend to be close to the surface, so most run at less than 70ft, and often as close as 20ft.


cave diving is dangerous:

Caves have one very significant danger. They prevent the diver from being able to return to the surface in the event of an underwater emergency. This is well understood prior to entering the environment. If one prepares adequately, this need not be a major concern. Unlike open water diving, there is no danger from fisherman, from boat traffic, from storms coming in, from other water activities, from sharks and other predators, etc. The caves are a calm, serene, and very sterile environment in which to dive.


Cave divers are daredevils:

In fact, most cave divers are VERY safety conscious folks. Every risk is carefully weighed. Gear is triple redundant, And since solo diving is discouraged, there is enough redundant gear on a team to suffer 3-5 failures of all critical gear before the option to use the gear is lost.


Cave diving is expensive:

Cave divers are notoriously frugal. Thus cave gear tends to be no-frills gear that is simple but reliable. Very little plastic makes it's way onto cave divers. You'll find steel, aluminum, and other durable materials. So most purchases are either lifelong, or long term. In many cases the gear is less expensive than lower quality OW gear. However, you'll not find a lot of flashy colors. Most gear is black, gray, or some other basic solid color.


There is nothing to see in a cave:

In fact, there is an incredible diversity of both natural features and animals in caves. But the animals tend to be small. Cave microbiology is one of science's hottest fields right now because the animals that can survive in such a harsh environemnt are teaching us so much about science and medicine.



Ok, so how do I become a cave diver?


The progression looks like this:

OW Diver > Cavern Diver > Introductory Cave Diver > Apprentice Cave Diver > Full Cave Diver.


You need not go all the way through full cave to dive in the caves safely. However, each step teaches you progressively more. The fundamenta skills for learning to survive in the overhead environment are taught at the cavern level. Things like how to plan for out of gas (OOG) emergencies, how to run the safety line, how to move along in an enclosed environment without stirring up the bottom.

There are a number of paths to training. Most training comes from one of the two cave-only training agencies. These are the NACD (Natl Association for Cave Diving) or the NSS-CDS (National Speleological Society - Cave Diving Section). Both have excellent reputations and excellent instruction. Some other agencies offer instruction in cave diving like IANTD, TDI, and GUE. Each agency has slightly different requirements.

In terms of skills to be a successful cave diving student, you'll need just a few basics. First is excellent buoyancy. This is the very foundation of all technical diving. If you want to check your buoyancy to see if you're good enough, don your gear and get in the pool with a buddy. place yourself 2ft from the bottom of the pool. Then practices checking your gauges, clearing your mask, removing your mask, and doing an air share with your buddy. If you can do these tasks without touching the bottom or hitting the top of the pool, you're probably well on your way.

The second crucial skill is awareness. The successful cave diving candidate has comfort in the water. They are comfortable with themselves, and thus can spend time thinking about others, and the environment. There is a lot to keep track of in the cave. The safety line which is your line home, your team member(s), your gas supply, your team's gas supply, the arrows and cookies that are like underwater road signs, and of course the CAVE itself. Being able to take all this in, and do it with comfort demands good awareness.

And lastly, attitude. This one gets most divers into trouble. The primary objective in cave diving, is exiting the cave under your own power. Anything else is a bonus. As soon as divers lose sight of this, trouble is sure to follow. If you do not feel that you can keep your enthusiasm in check, then caves are NOT the place for you. The caves are beautiful. They are enthralling. They will demand your best. But one thing caves are not... and that is forgiving. If you forget where you are, the caves can, and might take everything you have away from you.




I hope this was helpful, and I'll gladly answer questions or post more detail on any aspect.

-Perrone

[ScubaDadMiami]

Excellent post, Perrone.

Here is a link to some great cave footage from a dive we did in the Bahamas in 2007. (I am the one with the "HP" on my fins.) If you call something like this boring, then cave diving probably isn't for you.