Cave dive if uncertified

[Papa_Bear]

Please cut out the hand finning, flutter kicks, failed s drills, etc from that video. I think it gives a false sense of cave divers not being a whole lot different than OW divers who wear expensive tanks. I think the narration is great, but shot selection is iffy.


To the OP, I've got tons of dives and 9 years experience at the cavern level, and I just failed my intro to cave class. One of the other two taking it with me failed as well, and the one who passed, was retaking it from the previous year after failing it the first time. It's not a walk in the park. Picture swimming into the force of a fire hydrant named devils ear.....your 2nd stages will be free flowing and your reel will get tangled up. It's really not where you want to be as a beginner. If you want to experience some overhead without cavern/cave training, I suggest getting certified, going to Ginnie Spring's ballroom or blue grotto and taking it easy.

If you want to see some great HD videos, go here-
2007

The idea is it was a training dive, not a bunch of Cavers going caving! It was the fourth day of training in Little River with a pretty good current! If you want finning you should have seen the first couple days! Don't be jaded you have to get there first! If you know Bill Rennaker he will slap your hands if he catches you, but it takes a few slaps! But thanks for the opinion!

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

My very first intro dive was in devils, rippin flow and all, a lot of caves rip pretty good, I can't see any instructor handing an intro card to anyone that couldn't handle flow, thats part of cave diving.

Don't want the flow, go to mexico

As I said, I've only seen the class once, when I got my Intro to Cave cert (Spring '01). The dives were conducted between Peacock Springs I and Olsen Sink (did enter there for at least one dive, and flow was considerable). As I remember it we reached the mid point from both directions.

My response on current was concerning "fire hydrant that caused free flows and reel tangle" during Intro training, as I am of the opinion my instructor (Bill Rennaker) would not have continued the Intro training dive if those were the conditions. Maybe after Intro...

If "fire hydrant" is the typical Intro conditions at Devil's Ear, I now know more than I did earlier today. Or maybe Bill had my buddy and I better prepared so we had no free flows, reel tangles or retakes.

 

[Papa_Bear]

The video is technically very good! The music matter of choice, it is boring for non-cavers, where did the stage bottles go, and why was the lead diver wearing gloves? That's a big no no and makes them look like tech divers that went into a cave? Ours was older footage shoot with a Sony 310! In 2001! But it gives it an unexplored look! it's about so much more than the camera! All in all I liked it because I am a wonk for this kind of thing!

 

[Oxy]

Hey,

I'm from VA but I want to go to Florida for underwater cave diving. If I am not certified in scuba diving. Is there any place I can go to have a guided tour and have them provide me with equipment in either VA or FL?

Thanks!!

Check out the last few pages, "I'm, We, They", NOTHING about YOU!
If you want to stir up another hornets nest, ask about "cave diving solo"

My suggestion is to learn about diving so you have an idea why all the fuss.
I am not certified and if I ever do get trained I will no doubt make "solo" dives. Solo diving compounds the risk factor exponentially as you have no one to help in a pinch.

No matter how many people are with you in a cave you cannot make an emergency ascent (you loose). compounding risk at the cost of safety is not a good idea.

What you are asking (an analogy) Say you have never driven a car. Do you think it would be a good idea for me to enter interstate 5 in reverse blindfolded at rush hour?

Learn in an empty parking lot, it will be hard enough. Save the sightseeing for when you can get there alive.

 

[Papa_Bear]

130 ft in a caver is the same as 130ft down! thats the distance to life! Solo Caving is very safe! More than buddy cave! You have all the redundant systems to be as safe if not safer than with a buddy! Caving Solo is no big deal! Caving is the big deal! Train or die and it really is that simple! Many have died to come up with the rules so don't be one of those they write about! I have brought up bodies from depth and it isn't pretty since they can't equalize! Become the best diver you can then get 300 to 500 hundred dives then look into it! Intro to Cavern!

 

[FIXXERVI6]

are you serious that solo cave diving is safer than buddy cave diving?

are you talking about site seeing dives or digging dives?

If I felt safer solo cave diving I'd find new buddies.

 

[Papa_Bear]

I am serious! If you still dive the rules and dive solo it is very safe! Has nothing to do with your buddy! If you want to debate it start with the statistics!

 

[FIXXERVI6]

I'm not going to debate it I have nothing against solo diving, I've only ever seen the claim of it being safer when it comes to digging type dives.

I've never seen anyone claim that solo diving is safter as a flat statement.

part of the fun for me is buddies, you have someone to talk smack about silt bunnies and someone to talk about the dive/experiences with.

Guess I just like my buddies, but to each his own, my instructors did not ram "no solo diving" down my throat, we even went over it on risks/benefits things to keep in mind if we choose to do so etc.

When I solo cave dive I don't follow the standard rules, in my opinion the "standard" rules are not safe enough for solo cave diving, but thats just my opinion.

you could start an entire thread on how side mount is solo anwyays yadda yadda, but I choose to dive with buddies, I know they got my back so I feel safer with them, when I dive solo I carry extra gas in a seperate system, enough to get me all the way back out in a 100% gas loss scenerio, but hey, whatever floats your boat.

 

[contender]

I am serious! If you still dive the rules and dive solo it is very safe! Has nothing to do with your buddy! If you want to debate it start with the statistics!

Why don't you give some statistics that solo is safer than with a buddy. I am not against solo and when I sidemount I feel that I am self sufficient but I still dive with a buddy. I agree solo can be safe as well, but I don't agree with your "safer than with a buddy" statement.

 

[Oxy]

ARRRRGH! ENOUGH ALREADY!
The Point! stick to THE POINT PLEASE!
compared to the pioneers of diving, todays dives are safe no matter where you go!
IF
If you don't know how to crawl, running a marathon is just not safe no matter what!

If you have never taken a breath underwater, learning in an environment that is many times less forgiving than a controlled classroom is just not right.

The OP implied a sightseeing trip into an underwater "cave" by someone totally unfamiliar with SCUBA
First, you don't just sit there and breath like you are watching TV's national geo.
You stuff a contraption into your mouth that allows you to continue breathing when you enter a hostile environment. You deal with darkness, cold, current, (the environment) as best you can.
The caves are not like the ones at national parks with a guide, steps, and hand rails that you walk through and marvel. You have to control your contraption and yourself while navigating in an environment that you are not built for.
And you want to go to one of the most advanced places to learn?