Full Cave Training in Cozumel

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I am over here waving, do you see me?
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Caveman, Kirk (manager at Tom's), Michael and I are headed down to Cozumel tomorrow morning (being picked up at 3:50 am) to start our cave training with German. This is the same instructor that Zinc and k-valve learned from when they went down a couple of years ago.

We are all very excited. See you all in Feb....

Layne
 
Caveman, Kirk (manager at Tom's), Michael and I are headed down to Cozumel tomorrow morning (being picked up at 3:50 am) to start our cave training with German. This is the same instructor that Zinc and k-valve learned from when they went down a couple of years ago.

We are all very excited. See you all in Feb....

Layne

This should be lots of fun, be sure and take pictures and videos and I look forward to hearing about your training and experiences.

You certainly have a wonderful group going.

:D
 
Day 1 - Aerolito cave, Cozumel
First we sit through equipment checks following 4 or so hours of class.
Team 1 entered the water first donning their Dry suits. Full equipment check in the shallows followed by a repeat per German. Next step was S-drills. Team 1 chose the shallow end. Lot's of bubbles chasing the cocodrillo in the mangroves. They enter the cave and return with a jammed primary reel. Second penetration they return with a reel borrowed from team one in a rats nest.
Team 2 is in the water donning wet gear and very comfortable at 77 degrees. S-drill closer to the cave entrance at 17 ft all goes well. Penetrate the cave with th only remaining untouched Primary. Primary tie off and secondary tie off go well. It seems the mainline is a little farther in than expected ~300 ft maybe a little less. Tie off to the mainline and go past the first set of double arrows leaving a cookie. Continue for about 50 ft more then turn. Valve drill on the way out as German hits the primary second stage for a valve drill. Missed a full safety stop in the first pen. Second pen goes equally well. Backup valve drill on the second.
After cleaning gear and heading back to the hotel we hit one bar for $3 cokes then on to El Foco for the best food since we arrived. Weather was very windy yesterday closing the harbor. Today was fantastic.
 
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Caveman, Kirk (manager at Tom's), Michael and I are headed down to Cozumel tomorrow morning (being picked up at 3:50 am) to start our cave training with German. This is the same instructor that Zinc and k-valve learned from when they went down a couple of years ago.

We are all very excited. See you all in Feb....

Layne

German also did mine and Cyndi's (c-monkey) Intro/Apprentice cave class. He is a world class instructor and an excellent human being. You guys are in very good hands. Have a blast and kick some ass!

Trey
 
Ahhhhh the water was real nice today. Local weather was very humid and it looked like rain. Team 2 was first up after a dry suit zipper failure on Team 1. So, far Team 2 assumes the better position diving wet and laying the primary line today.
Today we started with another 4 hours or so of classwork. Psychology, lost line and lost diver discussion followed by dry dive line practice at casa German just like yesterday. Practice on line drills, finding the lost line and finding the lost buddy.
We ventured back out to Aerolito for a few dives. First up was Team 2 after Team 1 suffers an equipment failure. Team 2 runs the primary reel with only help for the primary and secondary tie off. Line could have been better, but not bad says German. It is run half way up the wall in some places on the left. Remember to tie off when the cave changes direction. Up and down is a direction change. Lights out drill and buddy air share. All goes well except one tie off. The tie off is fixed on the way back for another lights out drill. Second pen goes better. Lead diver feels like they are swimming in a circle out. Less gas consumption on dive two but even at sixth they are pushing the limits. Third dive is a no mask follow the line. Tricky switchbacks do not fool them. At the cleverly placed arrow the lead executes a perfect turn placing the following buddy's hand on the arrow to single a turn in direction. Then kick practice, frog, modified flutter, wind mill and back kick. Inverting a frog kick to go backwards is a REAL challenge.
Team 2 enters and exits the first pen with a few bruises. Fifths may have worked in theory. Second pen was better on gas for both teams. Time on the second pen for Team two is approximate 14 minutes. They learn that the cave ceiling and floor are hard to see with no light. Smacking your head hurts when you can't see things coming at you. Second pen goes well. Still need fifths to end with 0 gas. No mask drill leads to confusion as both find the arrow but are uncertain what to do next. Back kick is an issue again.
It's back to the fill station with tanks and then to casa German to rinse gear. Chilangos near the hotel and square provides the coldest beer and great Huaraches for a super reasonable price.
 
Lololololo. And yes team 2 is very modest with their glowing report. Team 1 wishes they were half as good as team 2
 
Day 3
Both teams are diving as teams. The most difficult item to overcome is that of the unknown. Talking through the skills are one thing. Performing is another. The first time seems to be a mess then it becomes much clearer. Yesterday was certainly a confidence builder. Sharing air with 0 vis was uncertain at first. After performing the skill we were ready to do it again. Same thing today.
Today in class we covered survey. We did some dry dive survey. Cavern survey was no problem except reading a compass( or attempting to do so ) in the halo cline was a challenge.
Today's dive started with Team 1. The first person from each team ran the primary. We all are still new to the concept of finding good places to tie off. Team 1 spends a lot of time on lost line drills. Then a debrief before returning as the second person runs the line and we do lost buddy drills. Both inspire some confidence as we are all starting to acclimate to the environment. Third dive is the cavern survey. Not much to say on either team. All goes really smooth. On lost buddy one leaves the other a note on the slate "sorry, I have kids"
Team 2 is next up. Lost line goes very fast as they both return to the line quickly. On lost buddy we find that long lights and sagging lines are not a good match for leaving a light as the head pulls the line down and enters the silt and provides no beacon for a true lost diver. Tie off spots are guided by German until we reach the decline. German suggests no tie off until the line is closer to the floor. It's starting to make a little more sense.
Steve O shows up again. He has found a lead in La Cabana which is promising. We talk a bit about the local geography and exchange stories about some other dives. Very good talk. Hope he stops by again with more news.
We are done earlier and get back to the hotel about half past five instead of 7. It's a shower before dinner to make us feel human again and then off in search of veggies for Layne. We end up back at Chilongas again for another great meal of huaraches and tomales. Soreness is starting to set in the ankles. 8 dives down in 3 days.
 
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