back in the saddle ...

[MXGratefulDiver]

It sounds to me like you're rushing the drills and that results in doing things that you know are wrong, and if you had the same situation on dry land after a good nights rest and weren't rushing, you know you wouldn't make the mistake. Remind yourself that you have oodles of gas to solve any problem he throws on you, so take it slow. My biggest mistakes during class were when I attempted to rush for no valid reason.

... that was pretty much what Jim told me after the dive ...

Thanks, all, for the encouragement. I'm up for hittin' it again in a few hours.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[karstdvr]

. Ginnie is deadly on 32%;
.

Wow,I should be dead. Having made 300-400 cave dives in Ginnie,and even in the early days with that real evil gas,air. And,when nitrox was first introduced we used 38% or 36%-that should have really knocked me off.

 

[karstdvr]

Bob,FWIW,I would turn off the forums. Your instructor is looking for a certain skill performance,and other advice,although well meaning,may be more of a distraction,and impediment to the skill set your instructor demands before passing you.

 

[boulderjohn]

You need helium in your gas. Ginnie is deadly on 32%; you can't think, and you make bad decisions. I know this SO desperately well . . . and if you are discouraged, and not sleeping, it's not going to help.

Rob and Allison did Cave 1 mostly in Ginnie, and they did the whole thing on 30/30 -- at the end, Rob tried one dive on 32% and says he will never do it again. I should have stood on my hind legs and demanded helium -- those of us of a certain age don't have nimble brains to begin with, and we don't need to be stupid in a cave.

I don't know if it is deadly, but I had to make a lot of decisions at the 90-100 foot depths while I was training, and I really did feel as if my thinking was a bit sluggish. I think if you are doing something you have done many times at that depth, it is one thing, but if you are doing things you have just been taught for the first time, your mind needs to be as nimble as possible.

 

[TSandM]

"Deadly" was probably a bit of hyperbole . . . but as John says, for students trying to integrate a bunch of new challenges, and for those of us for whom age has already stolen a little bit of mental agility, narcosis is not something we need in a cave.

 

[LiteHedded]

if you stay on the left through the gallery your life will be much easier.
good luck with your class!

 

[wrybosome]

Luck Bob!

I hope today goes well for you.

 

[ScubaSam]

Hi, Bob,

Just found this thread today, thanks for posting.

Good luck with your class. Looking forward to the next installment.

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

You need helium in your gas. Ginnie is deadly on 32%; you can't think, and you make bad decisions.

LOL

How in world did all those caves get dived, by damned near the entire population of cave divers for so long without the great, great, great, great, great majority of them kacking themselves???


If you want/need Helium, go for it, nobodies going to stop you. Saying that a predominantly 90-100' system is deadly without trimix is just silly for the great, great, great, great, oh and great majority of divers.

Bob,FWIW,I would turn off the forums. Your instructor is looking for a certain skill performance,and other advice,although well meaning,may be more of a distraction,and impediment to the skill set your instructor demands before passing you.

Probably the best advice in this thread... while I like reading Bob's journey, it can wait till after class.

 

[ucfdiver]

if you stay on the left through the gallery your life will be much easier.
good luck with your class!

Agreed. If you stay high and to the inside of each turn the cave makes, it's really not that bad of a swim.

Excuse my cookies having fallen out, but here's a video of me swimming that absolutely ferocious flow that everyone talks about in the gallery! :shocked2:
James In the Gallery on Vimeo

Having swam every single line in the first 3kft in Ginnie, the only area of Ginnie that I think is an absolute PITA to swim is Hill 400 about 300ft before the hill and leading up to it, Mainland, and anything beyond the Berman Room on mainline. If you're struggling too much anywhere else, find a local, pay for their tank fills and buy them dinner, it'll save you more than $30 worth of co2 headache.