Cave Certs Expiration

[Imbodie]

PADI right?

Sort of implied by my avatar.... what's your point?

 

[syntaxerrorsix]

You still won't have 2/3's of your original gas available. You will lose EXACTLY half of your gas if you have a reg or bottle oring failure.

 

[Six Feet Under]

I started diving doubles in August/September of 2014... went and took cavern/intro through TDI in March 2015 and promptly got my ass handed to me by my instructor (deservedly so, I'll add). I was not ready for that class when I started it - I should've done Intro to Tech first before I ever thought about taking cavern.

I was bummed at the time, but I took his advise and went off to practice for a few months (which turned into a year, because our schedules didn't click for another 6-8 months due to the shifts I work and getting called in or family obligations popping up) before coming back and doing the last bit of work before getting the card for cavern, which I finally got this past March (2016). The extra work and his positive remarks upon my return made the accomplishment that much sweeter. I'm doing Intro with him on September 24/25, now that I've had some time to practice. Hopefully I can finish that and be able to do longer dives because diving in the cavern zone is starting to feel like getting a driver's license that's only good for use in parking lots.

Personally I don't have an issue with the training taking a while, or instructors not passing people that have not met standards. It sucks when it happens to you, but I developed a strong appreciation for conservation and what it means to have the ability to go cave diving.

That said, my feelings on the issue may stem from the fact that I refuse to go too far, too fast because I want to feel 100% comfortable at the level I'm at before I progress any further.

I don't plan on taking full cave for another year or so, unless something changes - I want ample time to practice my skills at the intro level. I do plan on taking advanced nitrox / deco procedures as a separate affair in the mean time - but only to give me more of an understanding of the subject, and have the opportunity to do those type of dives outside of the overhead environment until I feel competent in doing them.

 

[tbone1004]

@Imbodie you have 2/3 of the gas of that particular cylinder available, but only 1/3 of your actual gas volume that you started the dive with when in sidemount

 

[syntaxerrorsix]

Sort of implied by my avatar.... what's your point?

I just wanted to double check.

PADI website agrees with what I said.

• Specialized deep diving equipment.
• Deep dive planning, buddy contact procedures and buoyancy control.
• Managing your gas supply, dealing with gas narcosis and safety considerations.

 

[rjack321]

So you are advocating that all DRIVERS learn on a motorcycle FIRST so that when they move to a car they understand the principles of riding a vehicle with only 2 wheels???
What happens when the dohicky in the middle has a failure?? (sorry... had to show my ignorance, I know its an isolation valve/manifold) Seems like then your going to have to turn both cylinder valves OFF and feather them to exit the cave...

In sidemount I should always have 2/3 of my gas available no matter which side has a failure.... and duh.. no I won't be able to donate... but then who in their right mind is going to help another diver when THEY are having their own issues...

I'm way done here, tbone figured you out pages ago.

Not sure who your NAUI cave instructor was but they should be embarrassed since you don't even understand your own sidemount cylinders, nevermind a buddy's doubles manifold.

And I guess your course never had more than 1 failure at a time.

 

[syntaxerrorsix]

The grasp of gas management is kinda scary at this point.

 

[PfcAJ]

So you are advocating that all DRIVERS learn on a motorcycle FIRST so that when they move to a car they understand the principles of riding a vehicle with only 2 wheels???
What happens when the dohicky in the middle has a failure?? (sorry... had to show my ignorance, I know its an isolation valve/manifold) Seems like then your going to have to turn both cylinder valves OFF and feather them to exit the cave...

In sidemount I should always have 2/3 of my gas available no matter which side has a failure.... and duh.. no I won't be able to donate... but then who in their right mind is going to help another diver when THEY are having their own issues...

That's not how manifolds work and that's not how math works.

 

[syntaxerrorsix]

I'm way done here, tbone figured you out pages ago.

Not sure who your NAUI cave instructor was but they should be embarrassed since you don't even understand your own sidemount cylinders, nevermind a buddy's doubles manifold.

I'm pretty sure he was frustrated with me...

 

[syntaxerrorsix]

So I say we go ahead and stick to the conservative training curriculum, it gives new divers the time to figure stuff like this out while they are closer to the entrance....