Cavern Diving Courses in the Bay Area

[dougchartier]

Hello,

I'm interested in enrolling in a cavern diving course. Unlike other places such as Florida, I haven't heard anything about cavern or cave diving opportunities in California. Does anyone know, or have any recommendations, for cavern diving courses in the Bay Area?

Thanks.

Doug

 

[DA Aquamaster]

Unlike other places such as Florida, I haven't heard anything about cavern or cave diving opportunities in California. Does anyone know, or have any recommendations, for cavern diving courses in the Bay Area

I've never heard of any caves or caverns there, and it's hard to have a cavern course without one - unless the shop takes the diver elsewhere for the course. There are almost certainly cave and cavern instructors in the bay area.

Check the NACD, NSS-CDS, GUE, UTD, TDI, and NAUI websites for cave and cavern instructors who may be in the area.

 

[TSandM]

I know there are a few short sea caves at Lobos, but I haven't ever gotten the impression that they were suitable for training.

One of the issues with cave classes is that you have to have caves to hold them. However, if you are interested in the basic skills from a cavern class, either GUE fundamentals or UTD Essentials/Intro to Tech will give you those. Beto Nava is the Monterey GUE instructor, and has a fantastic reputation as a teacher. (You can find contact information on the GUE website.) Don Chennavasin (ae3753 here) is the UTD instructor there, and I know him, and he is a wonderful person and a very dedicated teacher, and active cave diver. You can't go wrong by contacting either of those people.