How much experience does one need before attempting Cavern/Intro to Cave?

[Dark Eternal]

Sadly there is no cure for stupidity, and no matter how much training and safety precautions people preach - people will do dumb things and pay for it. For most of us not cramming yourself into a hole seems pretty obvious when you have a finite air supply. However I guess there are those who just do not get that. Then again those people are probably the same ones that wont listen to anyone or any guidelines/rules and would also end up 500 feet into a cave with no idea what they are doing.

 

[b1gcountry]

Alright, so here's a question...
I rarely meet divers who don't have high opinions of their diving skills (except for several women who were mostly being overly critical of themselves, but that's another topic)...So how do you know if you're good, or if you're just overconfident?

Tom

 

[bamamedic]

Hmmm...well, I've been comparing myself to other OW divers with a similar number of dives...compared to them, I'm doing well (I don't silt up the bottom, I think I've got pretty good horizontal trim, and halfway decent buoyancy control).

 

[Dark Eternal]

Dive with people who you KNOW are better than you, preferably alot better. Their opinions should weigh heavy and you need to compare yourself to them. Being over confident is only lying to yourself and hurting yourself...

 

[DIR-Atlanta]

So how do you know if you're good, or if you're just overconfident?

I believe there are two aspects to this issue of "readiness", one physical and one mental. The physical aspects are pretty easy to judge. Somebody mentioned these already, but I would say that at a minimum, a diver should be able to:

• Hover motionless for some extended period of time in good horizontal trim (no hand finning)
• Perform skills (mask removal, etc) while maintaining horizontal trim and vertical position in the water column
• Make a controlled ascent from 20-30 feet while maintaining horizontal trim

If you cannot do these relatively consistently, then I don't think you are ready for Cavern or Cave training (this from the guy who failed his Cavern class ).

Too many divers think they have good skills, but as soon as you give them something to do, or put something in their hands, they "lose it". Hand finning for stability is the worst sin, IMO (and also probably the hardest to overcome). When you are in an overhead, you are constantly using your hands for things (running the reel, controlling your light, etc), so that is a habit that needs to be broken early.

The issue of mental readiness is much harder to assess, and I don't know if I can offer any advice on that. It's hard to get inside someone's head to find out what is motivating them, and whether they are mentally prepared for the challenges of overhead environments. Some folks get into it because they are truly interested in learning about and exploring a new world of diving, while others are more into the macho "image" of being a Cave diver. Either way, it is not an activity to be undertaken lightly.

 

[Carribeandiver]

Hmmm...well, I've been comparing myself to other OW divers with a similar number of dives...compared to them, I'm doing well (I don't silt up the bottom, I think I've got pretty good horizontal trim, and halfway decent buoyancy control).

please do not use other divers as a comparison. unfortunately, most recreational divers are not good divers despite the fact they think they are. I KNOW I am better than most people that I dive with at resorts and liveaboards But I also KNOW I am not a good diver.
Listen to DIR-Atlanta for he knows what he is talking about. I took DIR-F long before I was ready and the results showed. The things I did learn was the concept of team, safety, and awareness.
I know diving is an inheritly dangerous sport and I know cave diving significantly increases that inherit danger.
People who dive in caverns or caves without proper training, without an experienced, trained teammate and without proper gear are flirting with death and in most cases, they do not even know it.

 

[MikeFerrara]

The issue of mental readiness is much harder to assess, and I don't know if I can offer any advice on that. It's hard to get inside someone's head to find out what is motivating them, and whether they are mentally prepared for the challenges of overhead environments. Some folks get into it because they are truly interested in learning about and exploring a new world of diving, while others are more into the macho "image" of being a Cave diver. Either way, it is not an activity to be undertaken lightly.

For most of us, when we talk about cave diving, we're talking about divers who want to dive in caves.

On the other end of the spectrum is the caver who wants to get past the water that's blocking his way. I know several cavers who learned to dive specifically for that reason and they never did do very many OW dives.

 

[BabyDuck]

The open water courses do not teach perfect buoyancy; they only teach practical buoyancy.

^excellent way to put this!

bama, do you know any cavers? any dir divers? many are willing to mentor newbies. i dove just about every weekend for a year, and hit dive 100 during cavern/intro. but i didn't try to do it alone, because i had wonderful cave certed friends helping me & giving feedback. experienced wreck only or deep specialist or other excellent divers in those worlds won't be as helpful as someone who also wants the striving for cave perfection.

if you're sure you want cave, go ahead and get cave gear as has been stated & don't waste your efforts with stab jacket & octo in triangle style.

 

[SparticleBrane]

Most [-]The[/-] open water courses do not teach [-]perfect[/-] buoyancy;

There, I fixed it for you.

 

[bamamedic]

BabyDuck,

I only know one certified cave diver, and he hasn't dove in a really long time (6 years, I think - since he got bent at ABWA). Don't know any DIR divers, really.

One thing I'm having trouble with is finding buddies who like to dive as much as I do...I've got quite a few coworkers who dive on once-a-year tropical vacations, but none who actually want to go diving in local or semi-local waters. If I had my way, I'd be in the water every weekend, but I can't find anyone to go with! Hence my efforts to get my significant other interested in diving...

Anyone want to mentor a very eager newbie?