My Cavern and Intro Cave Class Report!
Since it is winter (although a really mild winter) and the fact that we are not having that many trip reports posted, I thought I would post a trip report about my trip to Florida for my Cavern and Intro Cave training.
Late last year I found out that I would have to be in Tampa in February for a work conference. Knowing this I figured it was a great opportunity to roll in an inexpensive dive trip. So I took a few days off before my work conference and scheduled some cave training with TJ and Denise from Dayo Scuba out of Orlando. I know there are a lot of instructors (both good and bad) out there for cave training in Florida. However, I cannot say enough good things about TJ, Denise, and Dayo Scuba. Since this is there profession, they were EXTREMELY flexible with my schedule and time requirements. I contacted them and told them which days I really wanted the class and they completely accommodated me. So, my plan was to fly from Detroit into Orlando the evening of February 15th (Wednesday). I would then have my cavern class on Thurs and Friday and then my Intro Cave class on Sat and Sun. After the intro class the plan was to head down to Tampa for my work commitments for the following week.
So, I flew down Wednesday night and stayed at the Motel 6 near the Dayo Scuba shop. Since I was only going to be there for a night, I asked for the cheapest place around. This definitely fit the bill! Although the place looked a little scary, the evening was uneventful. On Thursday morning I headed over to the shop for an 8am meeting. At the shop I met Denise for the first time. What a wonderful person! She had doubles all ready for me and I was able to make sure everything worked right with my rig. Then I got a 4 star tour of the shop and all of the amenities that they offer. They have a great shop! TJ was already up in cave country on other business, so Denise had paperwork with directions and phone numbers for me. So, off I head to north Florida to meet up with TJ and Cave Excursions.
After a 2hr'ish drive I end up at Cave Excursions and meet up with TJ and my buddy for Cavern class, Andy. Since it is now lunch time we head off to grab a bite to eat and then make our plans for the afternoon of diving at Orange Grove. I had a great time at Orange Grove. Was able to run a bunch of line and really get the training started off on the right foot.
Andy and I in Orange Grove
We completed 4 dives at Orange Grove. After the training at Orange Grove we headed to a little Mexican joint to debrief the dives and discuss the plans for Friday. Another characteristic I like about TJ's training process is that it is very fluid. TJ gave us a bunch of options on where we would like to dive on Friday. The consensus ended up being Ginnie Springs since we could spend the entire day diving there and getting the most out of our entrance fee.
One of the advantages of going to Ginnie on Friday was that we could finish our Cavern dives in the ballroom in the morning and then get a jump on our intro training by doing cave dives in the eye and the ear. Friday was a very busy and enjoyable day. I think we completed 6 or 7 dives (I still need to go back and look at my computer). The dives in the Eye and the Ear were just awesome!
Posing in Ginnie Springs
(I'm annoyed as this was right after a drill that had us go to backup lights and then complete a no vis exit, if you notice, I didn't get my backup light completely stowed during the drill and it is hanging down in the pic! Grrr...)
(I'm annoyed as this was right after a drill that had us go to backup lights and then complete a no vis exit, if you notice, I didn't get my backup light completely stowed during the drill and it is hanging down in the pic! Grrr...)
Here is the link to the trip report as posted by Dayo Scuba with pictures from our dives:
Michael and Andy's Cavern Course February 2012
On Saturday we officially started out Intro Cave class. Instead of just Andy and I, the class grew with a few other divers. For the Saturday dives we dove at Peacock 1. Since the class grew in size, Denise joined us as a second instructor and the teams were split up into two different three student teams with an instructor. My favorite was swimming through the peanut tunnel. Lots of drills were done on Saturday. Lights out drills, lost line drills, lost diver drills, share air drills, share air lights out exit drills, ect. Although all the drill work was very tiring, it make for a really fun day. I really enjoy the classes where you can push your comfort level and gain the skills to be a better diver.
The Intro Cave Group!
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Me running line! 
On Sunday the group headed to Madison Springs to wrap up our Intro to Cave class. When we pulled into the park, TJ introduced us to Forrest Wilson. For those who don't know, he is a legend in the cave world and it was an awesome opportunity to meet him. At Madison Springs, we completed to nice long cave dives on the mainline. The original plan was to also do little river, but due to the long dives at Madison, we ran out of time to dive at little river. However, TJ took the group to little river to show us where it was at and did a briefing on diving little river for us.
Here is the link to the trip report for the Intro Cave class from Dayo Scuba:
Michael, Andy, Ben, Jerry and Joey's Intro to Cave Course February 2012
Overall, this was a great class and great dive experience. It definately improved my dive skills. I am looking forward to heading back down to Florida and completing my training with my apprentice and full cave certification in the very near future!
Thanks for Reading!
The caves are a great opportunity to improve your dive skills. During the winter, when dive activities slow down here in the Midwest, consider heading to Florida for some amazing diving. The skills you learn while training in an overhead environment will help you with the summer wreck diving season here in the Great Lakes.
Hope you enjoyed the trip report!
Dive Safe!
