DIR- GUE GUE Cave 2 - ready?

[ginti]

Thanks for the replies

"If you think you can fail, you are not ready"... I thank you for this kind of feedback, but I do not know what I do not know, so I can be super self-confident and fail the course, or super insecure but be ready. However, some posts provided precisely the feedback I was looking for.

Sorry for the double post Ginti..i am typing with my fat fingers on a phone.

No worries

However it also means that you run quite fast into the limits c1 (mainly on gas and navigation). In that regard it feels much more as a completion..vs a separate course.

This is how I feel; I dived everything I could, and every time it is so frustrating to "have to" stop

SKILLS THAT SHOULD NO LONGER TASK LOAD YOU
For C2 in particular, good skills to have no longer significantly task load you are:
- anything Fundamentals (buoyancy, stability, drysuit, propulsion)
- reel
- passive light communication
- comfort in orientations other than horizontal (heads down and heads up... called shadowing or contouring)
- single-handed clipping to d-rings
- single-handed retrieving and stowing of things in your drysuit pockets

This is what I was looking for, many thanks; yes, apparently I need more training... but out of the caves! (as others pointed out, reeling in France is almost never required)

25 is a bare minimum, if you are especially talented then sure you can move into C2 on your 26th post course cave dive.

I am not especially talented, but I have already done 25 c1 dives, so even if I start planning a course, by the time I'll do it it is going to be more... the point is, how much more?

Can you do a full s-drill in 1.5m of water without rising or falling? How are your kicks? Are they smooth and do you have the body awareness of where your legs are throughout your cave dives? Are you bumping walls or ceilings with any part of our body?

What is your biggest weakness as a C1 diver? How many different caves have you been diving in? Are they all in France or have you been to MX or FL or Spain or Norway?

I could do a full s-drill in 1.5m without rising or falling (but I better check again), my kicks should be ok and I think I am aware (I asked my buddy to take videos of me the past week, so I can check how good and how aware I really am), I have been in more than 10 caves in different parts of France and in Sardinia.

However... I sometimes touch the walls (it happened twice in Ressel today with my fins, while it happens slightly more often, in small caves), and even the ceiling in "very small" caves; I thought that this was my biggest weakness, but actually, after Mer's post I believe it is the single-handed retrieving and stowing of things in drysuit pockets.

@ginti Just a suggestion (only a C1 diver myself): Have you been to Sardinia yet? There is a new GUE base in Cala Gonone. Great place for Europeans to practice reeling, you have to do it with the waves breaking over you sometimes and over a bit of distance. With the caves being relatively shallow and warm you can also get quite far with C1 rules and Andrea might be a good person to ask about C2, being a C2 instructor himself.

I have been in Sardinia for the c1 course with Mara, and I went again for a project this year; however, I will for sure go back to Sardinia for projects, so I would like it to be after my c2 course - otherwise, I will see again always the same things...

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Actually, given your feedback, I believe I need just some dives in small caves and some training dives. I also believe I am pretty close to the point I want to be, but only time will say that

 

[PfcAJ]

If you're posting how to minimize failing, then that should be a red flag in your mind that you need more time in the water, imo. I did approximately 80-100 dives when I moved from cave 1 to cave 2, though mind you I wasn't a gue diver at the time.
I am of the opinion that cave 1 gives you enough leniency in what you can do that you don't really need to rush to the next class. You should be learning the caves you dive like the back of your hand aka progressive penetration. My recommendation would be to keep diving and gaining experience, while slowing down. The number one issue I see with new cave divers is they want to go fast and far, rather than slowing it down and refining the basics.
I'm a firm believer in not wanting to just have the bare minimum requirements (aka 25 dives) to take a class

Would it be a green flag if the post was about maximizing chance for success?

 

[PfcAJ]

I think it’s ok to be concerned with not passing. It’s a big commitment. Financially. Time wise. Mentally. Whole deal.

I also think it’s ok to ask about how to be successful. You’ve got some great suggestions and perspective.

Base skills. Openness to criticism. Calm demeanor at all times. These things are very important. Experience helps but sometimes you’re just ready to move on, and that might happen for some folks sooner than others. Nothing wrong with that.

 

[Lorenzoid]

yes, apparently I need more training... but out of the caves! (as others pointed out, reeling in France is almost never required)

I have been in Sardinia for the c1 course with Mara, and I went again for a project this year; however, I will for sure go back to Sardinia for projects, so I would like it to be after my c2 course - otherwise, I will see again always the same things...

Where do you plan to take C2? Florida might be a good choice. When I was taking my original Fundies course there was a group of Italians--you're Italian, if I recall?--who had come to Florida for C2. I was impressed they had traveled so far just to take a course. They explained that the Florida caves offered them different challenges from European caves. And then there is Mexico, which again is different.

Regardless of where you will take C2, consider a trip to Florida to enjoy some C1 diving. At least you will see some new things.

 

[ginti]

Where do you plan to take C2? Florida might be a good choice. When I was taking my original Fundies course there was a group of Italians--you're Italian, if I recall?--who had come to Florida for C2. I was impressed they had traveled so far just to take a course. They explained that the Florida caves offered them different challenges from European caves. And then there is Mexico, which again is different.

Regardless of where you will take C2, consider a trip to Florida to enjoy some C1 diving. At least you will see some new things.

Yes, I am Italian; and wherever I will take the course, for sure I will do a few c1 dives before the course itself (and maybe a few c2 ones after )

They told me that the best places for a c2 course are Mexico, Sardinia and Florida, the reason being complex navigation and restrictions; and yes, they also told me that Florida offers different challenges. Because I have already some experience in Sardinia, I'd like to go to FL or Mexico, but as far as I understood travelling to the US is complicated now because of this damn pandemic. At the end of the day, I will contact some instructors in these places (and maybe even in France and in Spain), see when I can schedule the course, and act as a consequence.

Anyway, the first step is to do all the fundies drills at 1.5m depth, retrieve and stow with one hand all the stuff I have in the drysuit pockets, reel a lot, etc. and make a video - I need to see how good I am.

 

[jadairiii]

Great comments above, especially from Mer. Listen to her. Now, I would say at least have a working knowledge of diving with stages so it is not completely new skill, but that is my opinion and I'm not an instructor.

As for location, Mx would be the top of my list, only because you can literally spend hours working skills, in a cave, on alum 80's and a stage, with no deco obligation and no flow. Florida will have flow and most caves are between 60' and 100' deep, so your bottom time is limited.

 

[ginti]

Great comments above, especially from Mer. Listen to her. Now, I would say at least have a working knowledge of diving with stages so it is not completely new skill, but that is my opinion and I'm not an instructor.

Well, I already have a t1 card

As for location, Mx would be the top of my list, only because you can literally spend hours working skills, in a cave, on alum 80's and a stage, with no deco obligation and no flow. Florida will have flow and most caves are between 60' and 100' deep, so your bottom time is limited.

I see the flow as a plus, not a minus (it's just something that I want to try). But the priority should be to stay underwater for a lot of time, and in this regard, the limited bottom time of Florida's caves is absolutely a downside.

 

[jadairiii]

I see the flow as a plus, not a minus (it's just something that I want to try). But the priority should be to stay underwater for a lot of time, and in this regard, the limited bottom time of Florida's caves is absolutely a downside.

It is to a certain extent but, as you stated, bottom time is the key. More time to dial in your skills with an instructor is invaluable. You can always come to Florida after C2 and dive flow all you want!

 

[rjack321]

You absolutely need to be very proficient with a reel for C2 so if all your post class dives have managed to avoid copious reel practice you'll need to find some reel time somewhere

 

[Lorenzoid]

There are a few threads on the issue of Mexico vs. Florida for training.