Advice for Cave DPV instruction

[LFMarm]

Cave diving friends, as a goal for next 24 months, I would like to get trained on DPVs and would like to ask for your advice on how to approach it.

Context. I have used DPVs in open water twice but do not have formal training. My goal is to be able to use DPVs in all environments – open water, cave, wreck. I will have the option to train either in Florida or Mexico.

Questions:

• Should I get formal training in sea open water before seeking for training in caves or can start with caves right away?
• Given the significant difference between caves in Florida and Mexico, is it sufficient to train in one area to be able to dive both? If not, which one would you train in first?

I realize that there is not only one way of doing this but I am very curious to hear opinions of those who have gone through this process. Many thanks!

 

[grantctobin]

Kind of wish there were more “current school” competent cave DPV instructors in Florida.

Alas, public sites where they are divable are largely Ginnie, LR, Manatee and then the Millpond in Marianna. Your first days of Cave DPV will be in open water regardless. I’d skip to the cave course unless you’re confident whatever mentorship the open water dpv course provides won’t ingrain silly habits.

 

[Underwater Tourist]

• Should I get formal training in sea open water before seeking for training in caves or can start with caves right away?

I asked the same question awhile back, and the consensus was that trigger practice (formal or informal) can be very beneficial

Thread 'cave vs open water dpv'

Apr 8, 2024

Is there any point in taking a dpv course in the open water (assuming solid instructor etc etc) to prepare for a cave dpv course?

Or are they completely different?

Basically looking to double check that I wont end up in a situation where I learn how to handle a dpv in the open water context only to find out that all the open water techniques are completely useless in the cave

• Underwater Tourist
• Replies: 32
• Forum: Cave Diving

 

[Capt Jim Wyatt]

Kind of wish there were more “current school” competent cave DPV instructors in Florida

What makes a cave dpv instructor "current school" ?

 

[InWay2Deep]

What makes a cave dpv instructor "current school" ?

 

[rddvet]

What makes a cave dpv instructor "current school" ?

Not speaking for him, but there is a huge divide in how DPV is taught. I took Edd's class many years ago. How he teaches air sharing, towing, and other emergency procedures is very different than other instructors. A good example is towing another diver. He does not recommend grabbing onto your buddy's crotch strap. Instead your nose clip goes your scooter to the lead divers crotch d-ring and get towed that way. I am familiar with Edd and GUE's emergency procedures. My understanding is there's a bunch of different variations being taught around cave country.

 

[Capt Jim Wyatt]

your nose clip goes your scooter to the lead divers crotch d-ring and get towed that way

I agree this is the best way to tow.

Others feel that in that situation they don't want to be hard tied to the other diver.

What other differences are you seeing? How about gas sharing with two intact DPVs? Side by side or in-line?

How do you think these two skills should be taught?

 

[PfcAJ]

Clipping your scooter to the lead diver puts the diver being towed above the plane of the lead and dramatically increases drag. The increased height of the entire train is just a whole problem.

And if you’re clipped like that, you’ve gotta unkerfuffle yourself if you need to go through a more restrictive area which is just unneeded complication.

Hard pass on that.

 

[Capt Jim Wyatt]

@PfcAJ - explain your preference, please.

 

[J-Vo]

I learned with two different instructors out of High Springs and I found my training completely compatible with friends that learned from Edd after minimal discussion. It's not a big deal.