Excellent NACD Cavern Course @ Ginnie

[Tom Kreider]

Howdy all!

My buddy Paul & I just finished up our Cavern Diving course. We had the good fortune of having Dan Patterson as our instructor at Ginnie Springs. He was a very thorough instructor and Ginnie Springs Outdoors has great diving and is a very well-run full-feature operation. We stayed at the Cadillac Hotel in High Springs.

All that I can really say is that I'm tired and learned a lot. We had a great time too. We're now both certified Cavern Divers and are looking forward to many repeat trips to the folks at Ginnie to gain skill and confidence in this new (to us) form of diving.

Thanks Dan! and thanks to all the folks at Ginnie Springs!

Oh, and I'm now on the market for a "real" BC (read backplate and wing).

 

[Paul Lenharr]

I agree with Tom on Dan Patterson[/URL]. Very thorough, very detailed, and didn't take "mediocre" performance. You did it right, or you did it again. This is the way training needs to be, from the first time you enter the water, till the last time you exit the water.

Ginnie Springs has excellent facilities, friendly staff, and quality dive locations. The food in the grill is a little overpriced, but there isn't anything else around for at least 20 mins, and it didn't taste too bad either.

Cavern diving is fun. I can't wait to do some on my own.

 

[UCFKnightDiver]

Dont just limit yourself to ginnie there are a ton of other great cavern dives too!

 

[UCFKnightDiver]

I agree with Tom on Dan Patterson[/URL]. The food in the grill is a little overpriced, but there isn't anything else around for at least 20 mins, and it didn't taste too bad either.

Lol you got to get the cheese burgers they are awesome (double bacon cheese )

 

[skippy31]

Congrats. I think you'll enjoy your new diving skills. It's cool to have so many caves and caverns in that area.

Mat.

 

[Paul Lenharr]

We are both from Maryland. We plan on coming back soon. With only about a 12 hour drive, we can do weekend visits often. What a great time!

 

[InkDiver]

Congratulations on the completion of your Cavern course.

Now, here's some advice. Come back down and dive caverns as often as you can. The more you do it, the better you will get. Don't fall into the trap that others have, by deciding you want to move on to Cave training without having done a bunch of cavern dives.

I know of more than a few people who have completed their cavern certification, done very few (if any) cavern dives and then move on to Cave training only to not complete the course. I find this especially common with those who do not live in the area. It's harder to gain the experience, but there is still the urge to move on.

I'm not suggesting that this will be your path, but just cautioning you, as it seems an easy one to get drawn into.

Have lots of fun, there is lots of great cavern to explore

 

[Paul Lenharr]

Tom and I talked about this in great lengths on the drive home. We decided that we would need quite a few more "Cavern" dives and the appropriate gear before we moved on to the Intro class. We were fortunate enough to visit the "Devils Ear" with Dan Patterson prior to finishing our class, and we defiantly gained a new respect for Cave Divers. We will be down multiple times before we decide to move on.

We also decided that we would go with Dan Patterson with our future training. Dan didn't just accept the "standard" during our class. He made sure we met and superseded the standard. He has a respect and passion for cave diving, and it shows in his instruction methods. We look forward to moving on in the next few years.

 

[TaxDiver]

Dan not only did my cavern, but he also did my son's when he was twelve years old. (I certified my son when he was 10) Dan was the first instructor that I trusted with my son. When working towards our full cave (due to scheduling it was with another instructor who also was good) we were having some performance issues. Before we scheduled our next training weekend we scheduled some remediation with Dan. He went over our gear, problem areas etc. We then scheduled the rest of the cave course and, thanks to Dan's help, comfortably finished our cave course.

 

[Scubastud16]

Welcome to the jungle!