Cavern Check outs

[Trixxie]

Here is a little grammar lesson for ya:
INEPT:
1. without skill or aptitude for a particular task or assignment; maladroit:
2. generally awkward or clumsy; haplessly incompetent.

What: Cavern Check out
Where: Vortex Springs and Jackson Blue
When: 28 - 30 March...

Friday: Was a continuation of this.
My buoyancy was all over the place, not once during the 3 dives we did could I get my buoyancy dialed in... what the hell? I've been diving for 14 yrs but you would have never guessed that by the way I felt and how we looked, I'm sure. Inept was the only way to describe us... and then playing blind man's bluff (no vis air share following the line)... bet we looked like 2 of the 3 stooges to the rest of the folks diving that day. Good thing there were not a lot of people there Friday. The only good thing about starting out so bad was that things could only improve, or so I hoped.

Saturday: Still at Vortex, but what a difference a day and a good nights sleep makes. Nailed my buoyancy, did much better on the no vis, air share following the line. Ran the line in. Almost made a birds nest on the way out, but I recovered nicely and got the spool wound up with no issues. We did 2 dives Saturday. For some reason I switched my brain off on the 1st dive. I was supposed to run the reel until it almost ran out, but for no apparent reason I stopped midway in the cavern and tied off. Not to mention it was in the narrowest part. My instructor basically asked me what my problem was and why didn't I follow the plan? No good reason other than that is where I decided to stop. We went back in, I ran the line further and then we did some light failure drills. Wound up the line and called it a day.

Sunday: Today we are a Jackson Blue and it is a good day. Great dive site, not the circus Vortex was with the 100+ O/W check out divers there. I think throughout the whole day there were maybe 12 of us there, but not all at the same time. Buoyancy, trim and propulsion were good enough to have our instructor say he was very pleased with our last 2 dives. We're not 100% yet and still have a lot to learn but we did so much better today than we had all weekend. It was like Friday never happened. On these last 2 dives we took turns running the line in and out. Did some more no vis air share line exits and lights out situations. On the last dive our inst took us and hid us from our buddy to practice a lost buddy situation. Not real hard to miss with all the air bubbles, but trying to find someone who was on a CCR or not breathing at all may be a little more difficult. Sure is dark in that cavern with no lights, waiting for your buddy to come find you.

All in all it was a great class and learning experience. Now we need to go back soon so we can use what we have learned, keep our skills fresh and practice. Then maybe think about Intro to Cave .......

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

I was supposed to run the reel until it almost ran out, but for no apparent reason I stopped midway in the cavern and tied off. Not to mention it was in the narrowest part.

The cavern at Vortex doesn't really get narrow... did you're instructor have you guys running line into the cave? If you took a right after the sign, there's no more daylight zone...

 

[Trixxie]

No, but we could still see the light from where we were. Granted due to the turn we could not see the entrance, but could still see daylight from the entrance.

there are some parts of the cavern that are smaller than other areas, I happened to stop in one of those areas. Like in one part, there is an outcropping to the right (as you're headed in) that area makes it wider in that spot than in other spots.

 

[metaldector]

What I enjoyed about your post was the fact you have 14 years diving experience and yet found the basic skills for cavern and cave diving difficult. Yet through some training you overcame these problem areas and learned that more practice is necessary to become really proficient in that dive environment. Now you'll learn, you'll progress, and you'll be safe.

A friend related a story to me that he found some OW divers in Ginnie Springs in the cavern area but penatrating the cave with one flash light for 3 divers. He stopped them and turned them around and forced them back to the surface. He told them that they weren't cave trained and only OW and shouldn't be there. One diver said, "We aren't Open Water divers, we're Advanced Open Water!"

Glad you're enjoying the cavern no matter how humbling the experience.

 

[TSandM]

Glad to hear the class got better!

Now you have a treat in store for you. Over the next few months, as you practice this stuff, you're going to discover your ordinary diving is getting more and more FUN. Having the control over your buoyancy and positioning, and having the team awareness that overhead diving builds, just bleeds over into all the time you spend underwater. This kind of training is worth its weight in gold.

 

[Trixxie]

A friend related a story to me that he found some OW divers in Ginnie Springs in the cavern area but penatrating the cave with one flash light for 3 divers. He stopped them and turned them around and forced them back to the surface. He told them that they weren't cave trained and only OW and shouldn't be there. One diver said, "We aren't Open Water divers, we're Advanced Open Water!"

Glad you're enjoying the cavern no matter how humbling the experience.

Right like that is any better?? OW vs AOW? At vortex we saw divers coming out of the cavern/cave with O/W rigs on. I could have bet and won that none of them have had any type of overhead environment experience/training otherwise they would not be in there without the proper equipment (or they were just incredibly stupid). I asked my instructor about that. I know there are no 'scuba police' although some places are just off limits unless you are cavern or cave certified but what do you do if you encounter folks who are in a cavern or cave or similar type situation who you are pretty sure are not supposed to be there? Guess if they survived their dive then tell them why it's important to get the proper training/equipment but I don't know about forcing someone to surface. I know why they are there, as I have been there myself. Curiosity and over confidence. We may have all been there at some point, I know I have (once but it only takes one time, right?).

Will continue to dive within the scope of my cavern training, learning and building on what we learned on the dives and in class. Breaking the OW mentality of going to the bottom to do your skills. THAT will be a benefit that I will be passing on to my OW students. Good buoyancy control, trim and positioning in the water.

 

[Trixxie]

Glad to hear the class got better!

Now you have a treat in store for you. Over the next few months, as you practice this stuff, you're going to discover your ordinary diving is getting more and more FUN. Having the control over your buoyancy and positioning, and having the team awareness that overhead diving builds, just bleeds over into all the time you spend underwater. This kind of training is worth its weight in gold.

Exactly, that was one item we were critiqued on on Friday. You are not diving alone but as a team. We found ourselves too far apart and not looking and checking on each other enough. He didn't have to tell us about that again.

 

[SparticleBrane]

So just to look at this slightly differently -- have you started wondering why this sort of basic information (buddy positioning/team awareness, good buoyancy and trim, non-silting kicks, etc) isn't taught in basic scuba classes, since it isn't only applicable in overhead environments?

 

[contender]

A friend related a story to me that he found some OW divers in Ginnie Springs in the cavern area but penatrating the cave with one flash light for 3 divers. He stopped them and turned them around and forced them back to the surface. He told them that they weren't cave trained and only OW and shouldn't be there. One diver said, "We aren't Open Water divers, we're Advanced Open Water!"

Glad you're enjoying the cavern no matter how humbling the experience.

Hmmm.... This sounds like the exact story that happened to cave Instructor Harry Averill, only it was not at Ginnie but at Peacock.

 

[Meng_Tze]

Glad to hear the class got better!

Now you have a treat in store for you. Over the next few months, as you practice this stuff, you're going to discover your ordinary diving is getting more and more FUN. Having the control over your buoyancy and positioning, and having the team awareness that overhead diving builds, just bleeds over into all the time you spend underwater. This kind of training is worth its weight in gold.

And then.... you get hooked. You continue cave training and before you know it.... every waking hour is spent thinking and planning for that next cave dive..... this activity is truly addictive, you are warned....