Needed for Cavern??

[fire_diver]

First off, a cavern is part of the cave. Equipment is the same for all. If you have NO DESIRE to cave dive, why do you want to take cavern? If you are only interested in improving your diving, you would be better served to take a fundies type course.

 

[TSandM]

I guess the answer depends on why you are taking a cavern class. If you like the idea of the caves and that's why you're doing it, then I'd say working toward cave gear is the right way to go. I don't think very many people enjoy the caverns and stop there In that case purchasing a reel is quite a reasonable investment. You will also need simple, paddle fins, as Marci said, with the straps either taped or with springs (and springs rock).

If you are taking the cavern class because it seems like the most accessible course to improve your diving skills, then I'd talk to the instructor about whether you will need to purchase any new equipment at all, or whether you can rent or borrow what you need from him. Although I've found a number of uses for a reel in OW diving, as I think about it . . .

 

[drrich2]

If you have NO DESIRE to cave dive, why do you want to take cavern

I certainly can't speak for the original poster.

I hope to someday take Cavern, and have no interest whatsoever in pursing cave training beyond that. I'd like to have the training to poke around a little ways into large, open caverns and look at the eels and what-not, without going way up into one.

Kind of like wrecks; I'm happy swimming around them, and looking in large holes, but I don't want to crawl around inside one.

Richard.

 

[jnunn04]

...have no interest whatsoever in pursing cave training beyond that. I'd like to have the training to poke around a little ways into large, open caverns and look at the eels and what-not, without going way up into one.

Kind of like wrecks; I'm happy swimming around them, and looking in large holes, but I don't want to crawl around inside one.

Richard.

That is my EXACT feeling. I would like to cavern dive where I can "poke around" for lack of a better word, but really have no desire to go full cave. I like the critters and sun too much.

So I would like to be well trained and qualified to go to the edge, but not in, the cave system and was wondering what it would take course, equipment, and investment.

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

First off, a cavern is part of the cave. Equipment is the same for all. If you have NO DESIRE to cave dive, why do you want to take cavern? If you are only interested in improving your diving, you would be better served to take a fundies type course.

First off, there are plenty of caverns that do not also include a cave. Equipment is not the same for all, even with Full Cave. I have no desire to deco dive, but I enjoyed every minute of my Intro course. When/where I trained, going beyond Intro to Cave meant deco. IMHO, only a small percentage of recreational divers would be better served by taking a fundies type class.

I don't think very many people enjoy the caverns and stop there

Here in Hawaii there are a number of very popular dives that include significant cavern exploration. Technically speaking, many have a "restriction" so those are technically "cave" dives, although distance to the surface is rarely more than 80 linear feet.

Just looking at Lanai diving, if we average 28 visiting divers penetrating one of the Cathedrals daily, that is over 10,000 annually. Since the 3-5 daily Lanai charters most likely average more than 28 divers per day I think it is very likely over 10,000 visitors make a Cathedral dive every year, and the vast majority of those divers are not certified beyond AOW. Again, the vast majority of those divers enjoy their cavern dive but I would be very surprised if 1% (100) of those divers eventually take Cavern, much less continue beyond Cavern.

My motivation for Intro to Cave was really just to be a PADI Cavern Specialty Instructor (did not require Full Cave then). By the time I hit the water as a working Pro in Hawaii (4 months later), I knew it was a waste of my time and money to try to teach PADI Cavern. Only a very small percentage of my peers in Hawaii have even done formal Cavern training, much less any Cave training. I like seeing it on my resume but it's presence on my resume has probably had no impact on my ability to get hired by the operators I wanted to work for.

 

[Superlyte27]

First off, a cavern is part of the cave. Equipment is the same for all. If you have NO DESIRE to cave dive, why do you want to take cavern? If you are only interested in improving your diving, you would be better served to take a fundies type course.

Well, working in a dive shop, I know about um.... 100 people that like the cavern area but are terrified of cave. So... Um.... that's why. They like surface light. They are scared of complete darkness. I've seen some people completely comfortable for a weekend or a week in a few caverns around here. Take that last turn that shuts off the sunlight and they freak.

Cave Diving isn't for everyone, but Cavern diving is for some.

 

[Sas]

Which agency required this? Alot of the instructors I know, won't ALLOW you to dive doubles even in an Intro course. As far as a primary light and two backup lights... In cavern, your PRIMARY light is the sun for a total of three lights.

CDAA

Why would they not allow this???

Kind of funny that some places require doubles and others forbid them.

They can't both be correct

Well that's easy, those who require redundancy in an overhead environment are correct.

I hope to someday take Cavern, and have no interest whatsoever in pursing cave training beyond that

Good luck with that I said the exact same thing and now I'm Cave certified. Also going to go to Mexico and Florida next year rather than any of the other places I'd planned to go (Truk, Scapa, tropics, etc).

 

[Moonglow]

First off, there are plenty of caverns that do not also include a cave. Equipment is not the same for all, even with Full Cave.

Exactly. The stupidity shown by several posters on this thread concerning caverns is troubling.

 

[ianr33]

CDAA

Why would they not allow this???

The thinking is/was that if intro divers have doubles they will rush lemming like into the furthest recesses of the cave, only turning when they reach thirds and thus breaking their limits of 1/6th of doubles and be dangerously far in if it does hit the fan.

So by that torturous logic an intro diver is safer with a single tank. (I know,makes no sense to me either.)

 

[Superlyte27]

Alot of the cavern divers I know are diving H-Valves. They still got redundancy somewhat.