citrus co fl

[mirrocraft]

hello my name is scott i live in citrus co fl im in homosassa area looking for a dive buddy or dive buddys to dive our local holes do some exploring in ponds lake rivers and spring looking for someone not to much more advanced then me someone where we can build our level together so no one person pushes the other past there comfort level i am an intro to cave cert level im currently diving lp104 doubles ive been cert since 2000 im used to diving low vis and ruff areas must be willing to dive a few open water areas to get to know one another before we do anything advanced

 

[TracyN]

From what I know of the dive sites in that area there aren't any caves in the area that are within the Intro to cave limits. They are dark, deep, silty,and nasty and are advanced level dives. Many of them are on private property. I'm not being the dive police just be aware that at the Intro level you shouldn't be doing exploration type dives. Gold line dives in the tourist caves do not prepare you for the surprises that more advanced caves present. You can find yourself in trouble very quickly. No one is out there regulating where you dive but keep in mind your death or accident could have larger implications on the dive community. With that in mind dive safe.

 

[mirrocraft]

you are right in some way and wrong in others there are many caverns and some intro caves in my area they are hard to get to and on privet property good thing i live here and know alot of people little harder for out siders to get in the locals property my cert limits me to 130ft deep and well alot of the areas i know are with in my training i also mentioned growing as i am still a student with a local dive shop and always learning more even a full cave diver with tons of experiance has to start somewhere

 

[TracyN]

I never took Intro but I took NAUI Cave 1 which was a little different. It was Intro with a kick in the fact that we could dive thirds and make a single navigational decision. However we were limited to 100 ft max depth. I do believe that Intro has the same limits. Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe it isn't until the full cave level where you can go a max of 130 ft in an overhead. My understanding of Intro is that you have to do main line penetrations and stay in passages big enough for two divers to swim side by side comfortably and no restrictions. Also no navigational decisions are to be made. Maybe you know different locations but it has been my experience that many of the off the beaten path caves are smaller and silty with the line not being in the very best of condition. Intro should be learned how it is taught. Wide open passage with good line. That's how cave skills are learned and honed. Not by going into advanced caves and learning by fire. In Intro you don't have all the skills necessary to get yourself out of many of the situations you can find yourself in. On that note I might be interested in checking some of these places out just to see if they fall under the category of Intro safe caves.

 

[Akroedge540]

Hi Scott nice to meet you! What agency are you intro through?


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[TracyN]

NSS CDS, NAUI, and NACD all have the 100 ft limit

 

[Akroedge540]

Hi Scott nice to meet you! What agency are you intro through?


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[mirrocraft]

iantd and there have been some changes since i was cert in 2000 a the different time frames of training i trained in doubles and most do a since my card max depth of 130 im not here looking for anyone to tell me what i can and cant do im looking for someone at my level to buddy up with with motivation to practice learn and move up in the diving world i have a great local dive shop and instructor i work with and as the skills are mastered money and time being avaible for both me and who ever i hook up with we move farther and deeper

 

[Akroedge540]

That's awesome you're looking for a buddy within your level. I'd be more than happy to dive with you! I'm apprentice but will happily dive at intro level. I've recently moved into some
Of the lesser traveled areas and they're great, but it's a whole different ball of wax, trust me. I wouldn't go into those caves without someone more experienced than I, way more experienced. Tracy just so happens to be one of those divers that's mentoring me. Trust me. Tracy is right. Caves like you describe carry a much higher risk, and mostly they aren't intro caves. In the two I was in this weekend there's a T within 100 feet of the entrance.
The entrances are also sidemount and very silty. Why take the added risk of negotiating that restriction for 100feet? What do you do if you make a mistake and don't see an intersection and do it visually, you come back out and now don't know what happened. It gets hairy quick. I'd love to dive with ya, but let's go to some more traveled areas and build confidence before hitting "real" caves. PM me your contact info if ud like to dive.



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[bamafan]

Be careful going into the nontourist caves. They are often very silty and require a near zero vis exit even with excellent skills. There is often a lot of percolation coming off the ceiling because they are not visited very much. There is virgin cave in Florida but in my opinion it is that way for a reason. The easy stuff has already been explored. Enjoy your diving have fun and stay within your limits. Things can go bad really quick in a cave and you need to build experience in more mundane caves before tackling the off the path ones.