How to try before you buy?

[uncfnp]

I've been in dry caves and love it. I've been diving and love it but the idea of a cave in underwater where you can only watch your gas dwindle scares the bejesus out of me. If something shifted above ground you might starve or die of dehydration but you'll have time to find alternate exits or for a rescue to dig you out. It's probably total paranoia and given the lack of those kinds of incidents all in my head.

Then I even more strongly recommend a cavern course. Yes caves/overhead can be intimidating and for some even claustophobic. For you it sounds more like an overreaction to a reasonable concern. Entering the environment for the first time with the knowledge and skills from a cavern course before you even get into the cavern may go a long way in preventing an issue before it occurs.

Then again you may float around the ballroom and think "this is really cool. I want to learn how to dive this safely." Your call.

 

[joe10540]

Any recommendations on an instructor in the central Florida area? A little education can go a long way.

 

[PfcAJ]

You're putting the cart before the horse.

I read this as you want to see if cave diving is scary by going cave diving before learning how to make cave diving not scary.

 

[joe10540]

You're putting the cart before the horse.

I read this as you want to see if cave diving is scary by going cave diving before learning how to make cave diving not scary.

Not cave diving before I'm certified just testing a cavern that is safe for OW divers. I'm uncertain of how I feel about having rocks over my head underwater. I am very conservative and self reliant as a diver and have not put myself into an overhead anything. Wrecks cavern or otherwise. Just wanting to test the water before jumping in financially.

 

[uncfnp]

Joe. This is the link to a thread that helped me decide on a cavern instructor...

FL Cavern instructor

I went with Jim Wyatt then out of High Springs but I understand he has since moved to teaching more wreck courses in the Keys.

This is another link to his sticky thread

How to choose a Cave Instructor - My opinion

There are a lot of options and instructors available to you in Florida and many of them are active on SB.

 

[PfcAJ]

Not cave diving before I'm certified just testing a cavern that is safe for OW divers. I'm uncertain of how I feel about having rocks over my head underwater. I am very conservative and self reliant as a diver and have not put myself into an overhead anything. Wrecks cavern or otherwise. Just wanting to test the water before jumping in financially.

"Safe for OW divers". Maybe. Maybe not.

It wasn't safe for the girl at the Ballroom a few years ago who lost her weight belt and got pinned to the ceiling. While she survived, I imagine the cracked ribs following the cpr she got didn't feel too good.

I wouldn't expect someone to "feel good" about having rocks over their head when they know seriously nothing about managing that risk.

Good luck out there.

 

[stuartv]

That would be a plus for sure. But if I'm to nervous about the location working on skills will probably be disastrous.

I doubt your cavern instructor would actually take you into a cavern until AFTER you've had confined or open water time learning the skills.

 

[OMANDIVER]

I've been in dry caves and love it. I've been diving and love it but the idea of a cave in underwater where you can only watch your gas dwindle scares the bejesus out of me. If something shifted above ground you might starve or die of dehydration but you'll have time to find alternate exits or for a rescue to dig you out. It's probably total paranoia and given the lack of those kinds of incidents all in my head.

I'm afraid your gas dwindling is a characteristic of diving. Maybe some more open water experience would build knowledge and confidence. The power of rational thought is vital in all diving but critical in an overhead environment. In a cavern course you can always the external light source and be able to access it.

 

[Caveeagle]

Another suggestion might be to dive Blue Grotto or Paradise. Both allow OW divers and will give you a taste of the cave. My personal favorite is Paradise, but Blue Grotto is very nice to as long as you don't go on a weekend when its packed with students.

*I do caution that both these dives are definitely cavern dives and there is silt, so you need to have reasonably decent bouancy control, and you will probably enjoy it even more with a guide, so your not overly apprehensive about the overhead. I do think its worth mentioning, that I ordinarily would not take OW students on a "trust me" dive, but all three of the sites mentioned are every day stops for many a OW/AOW diver with a reasonably high safety record. So I think having an experienced cavern/cave diver

 

[Lorenzoid]

. . . I was asking if there was a intro option like an instructor just giving an overview and then going into a cavern with me even if it's one that's deemed reasonable for OW divers.

That "intro" is pretty much a description of a cavern course. I can really only speak to the cavern course I took, but we did some drills on land first, then we went into the relatively benign environment of the Ginnie Ballroom to practice laying line, etc. Finally, we went into a couple of other caverns, which, while they certainly consisted of "rocks over our heads," were nonetheless "just" caverns--that is, we could always see daylight, we didn't enter too far, etc.