looking to do cavern

[LiteHedded]

can anyone recommend an instructor in the orlando area? (I'm in lake mary)
outside of my basic OW gear what will I need for the class? will I need a 7' hose? reel? etc

 

[OneBrightGator]

Sorry, this isn't what you asked for, but I would head up to the Gainesville area to do cavern training, there aren't very many opportunities for this training in the Orlando area. You're paying for someone's knowledge and experience, get as much benefit out of it as you can.

That being said, I would recommend Jim Wyatt, Rich Courtney, Ralph DiPanfilo, Larry Green and Johnny Richards (in no particular order). Speak with your instructor about equipment before you buy anything, otherwise you'll end wasting money guaranteed.

 

[LiteHedded]

yea I was afraid that's the response I'd get
having to stay up in gainesville for a few days might push this out of my budget. (plus I can't stand the gator fans. no offense )

 

[timle]

If you can't afford it now, save up a bit longer. If your goal is to pursue cave diving, do yourself a favor and do your training at ginnie, peacock, little river, etc. Cavern can be taken in open water gear but I made the switch to long hose and necklaced backup before the class (some classes/instructors may require it).

Also depending on your goals (mine is full cave) I also bought a primary canister light before cavern.

 

[Dive-aholic]

yea I was afraid that's the response I'd get
having to stay up in gainesville for a few days might push this out of my budget. (plus I can't stand the gator fans. no offense )

You'd actually be better off staying in High Springs. It will be about $60/night for 2 nights. I've never seen much in the way of gator fans there. But then again, I wasn't looking.

 

[JahJahwarrior]

Go with Rich Courtney. Actually, I've never heard much about the other guys but they are good too. I've heard of all of them, but never met any of them except Rich, and I've only been treated well by him. None of them will give you bad training. I'm planning on doing cavern and intro to cave hopefully this summer with Rich.

Apartment for rent

$35 a night, 3 night minimum stay.


My parent's have a guest house kind of thing (like a guest room but it's seperate from the main house) that I'd offer to see if you could stay in, but someone else (family friend) is there now, and will be for a while.

So really go with whomever, but there's an apartment for you for about $105 for three nights. Get a buddy to go with you and get the cert and you'll save some!

 

[scubafool]

I camped out at Ginnie when I did my cavern class, that brings the lodging price down considerably. Unfortunately, Gator fans are hard to escape anywhere in Florida.

OneNotSoBrightGator gave you a pretty good list of some of the top teaching talent in this vein available in Florida. I did my cavern class with Johnny Richards, very good class. I know the rest of them to varying degrees, and they all know what they are doing. The most important thing about all of them, in my mind at least, is that they are all active Full Cave instructors. That is the kind of instructor that you want to learn from, someone who eats, sleeps, and breathes cave diving.

Some instructors will insist that you have a long hose/bungeed backup, some might not. Ask them beforehand. You will need a reel, even if your instructor might supply one for the class, you will still need it to do the dives after class. Ask your instructor for their reccomendations. You will need a primary light and a backup light. Ask your instructor for their reccomendations. Split fins tend to be frowned upon. They are said to be more difficult to do the frog kick with. If you have them, ask your instructor if you need to get something else. Come to think of it, OneSortaBrightGator already covered the "equipment as far as asking your future instructor" issue already.

 

[LiteHedded]

i have regular fins and can frog kick and back kick in them pretty well
i wouldn't be opposed to a long hose setup
thanks for all the suggestions!

 

[willardj]

I had Johnny Richards as my Cavern Instr. as well.. He was Grade A. A long hose would be a plus for class. As far as a can light you can rent one for $15 a day at Cave East and camp at Ginnie for like $18 a night.

 

[LiteHedded]

I wouldn't want to train with a can light I would never use on my own dives.
if I can talk someone else into taking it with me camping at ginnie wouldn't be a bad idea