Ryan, I think EVERYONE should have to read this article before taking a cave class, or almost any diving class in general.
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I don't think I fully understood the value of it until my class, when the drills and "failures" were stacking up, and even going lights out, sharing air, broken line, lost buddy, and being questioned on my sense of direction (omg which way is out!?!?!) during various portions of my final dive...........and that didn't even come close to stopping me from having fun!
As you know, I just signed up for a class with Jeff B. too. One of the key things I'll look for from now on in an instructor is whether he dives and teaches for fun or not? Does he attend the meetings and events? Do you see him at popular sites ever outside of teaching? I got to see first hand the benefits of an instructor who can answer yes to all these questions for basic cave, and from how involved Jeff seems to be in the local dive clubs, I have a feeling you'll be seeing those same benefits, if I didn't, I certainly would not have signed up for a class with him myself.
If you ever have an issue while diving (class or not), stop, relax, and THEN act! Before I took cave training, I found myself reading accident analysis reports and thinking about them. The biggest thing that jumped out at me was how few times ONE single issue caused a death. It seems to me that the object of safe cave diving is to prevent problems the best we can, and when they DO come up, deal with them in a calm manner that doesn't cause a domino effect and cause even more problems as rushing probly would.
After you complete the class, we need to do a jug hole trip!
