One thing is for certain - when he gets there, the dive operators will tell him it is safe. ker-ching! $$
Then, if he inquires about doing a Cavern Course... they'll tell him that's a great idea. ker-ching! Ker-ching! $$$$
Not that I'm cynical
But then... I've seen newly qualified OW divers being told "
it's ok" to do 45m into the Blue Hole, Belize...or to penetrate the cargo deck of the Zenobia ferry, Cyprus at 38m because "
they will be looked after"...or to do that 42m wall dive because "
it's easy" and "
conditions are great"... and many other crazy antics by money-grabbing dive operations.
I do agree with TS&M... I am pretty risk averse. In perspective, that's because I complete high-risk/low-tolerance dives... so my emphasis is always on reducing risk wherever and whenever you can. One thing that 20 years of diving has taught me, is that the basic rules and recommendations exist for good reasons. The process of negotiating against those recommendations is normally flawed and done for the wrong reasons.
When I run training courses, it typically only takes me 30 minutes underwater with a student to demonstrate the risks...and consequent value of safety principles. It's easy to show. Sadly, on the internet, it's impossible to prove such points and create such awareness.
I don't have a problem with cenotes dives.. or similar.... but I do believe that they require specific training. Yes, it may be 'over-training' given the complexity of x, y or z dive sites.... but when was 'over-training' (having more capability than the dive demands) ever a bad thing? The cavern course is a truly excellent training program. It's only taught by qualified cave divers (
the only rec PADI course that makes such demands of its instructors) and it pays dividends in all other aspects of a divers capability and competence.
Despite the level of training provided, the cavern course comes with some very strict limitations. Those limitations tend to push 'cavern diving' into a zone that most other divers would happily do without specialist training: again, the product of risk un-awareness and the process of rationalization.
In the light zone?
Happy Days!
Surface is 'nearby'?
Easy!
No restrictions?
Party on!
Little silt?
Lets do it!
By that rationalization, there is simply never a need for the cavern course to exist. We know that's wrong.
My suggestion therefore, is for the OP to do a cavern course - he'll learn a bunch of stuff that'll improve all aspects of his diving... he'll feel confident and capable of doing the proposed dive in Palau... and he'll not have to rely on the suspect advice of local dive operations or strangers on the internet. In short... he can take personal responsibility for his diving, with the benefit of having educated himself of the real issues at stake.
It might be 'over-training' for the dive in question... but isn't it better to be over-trained, rather than under-trained? Dive
within the limits of your training and experience - not
at the limits, not
beyond the limits. Simplistico!
I've seen the photos of the cave system (google link in an earlier post). From a personal note, all I can say is that I'd take that dive very seriously - and have some apprehension about doing it - certainly if it was conducted as a recreational, rather than technical, endeavor.