Question for "Traditional" Cave Training Agencies -- Is the PADI Cavern Card accepted as a Cavern Cert which would allow the holder thereof to go on to Intro with any other agency?
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I can partly answer this for the CDAA as I've been looking into doing their cave courses in Aussie.... yes, PADI Cavern plus logged cavern diving experience is considered equivalent to the CDAA "Deep Cavern" course that is a pre-requisite for CDAA Cave.
Interested on what the other agencies stance is.
I think that you still need to do some kind of crossover for the CDAA, not 100% sure though... PADI has only just been added to the list of ones that will be recognised by CDAA too. I would imagine to do Cave you would need the same dive prerequesites as someone who has Deep Cavern.
(off topic, who are you doing your cave course with Andy? Up in Mt Gambier? I just did my Deep Cavern there, heaps of fun!)
Yeah, the climbing/ropework needs to be covered in addition. And it's not a definite entry into Cave - it seems to be at the instructors discretion, or with approval from the CDAA standards director.
Not sure yet - I was hoping to come over in April, but I think that's off the cards now. It will probably be October and definitely Mt Gambier.... it's easier to fly to Mexico than get to Nullabor! I've narrowed it down to a few potential instructors - Jane Bowman and Warrick McDonald are certainly on the list. Jane is by all accounts a bit of a hard case, but very straight which would suit me quite well, I think. Who did your Deep Cavern?
I did deep cavern with Andy Higgins, he was a really great instructor. I have heard that Jane + Warrick are good also. Anyway hope you can get over in October and enjoy the course I only did cavern last week actually - aiming to go back in early Feb for some fun dives!
Question for "Traditional" Cave Training Agencies -- Is the PADI Cavern Card accepted as a Cavern Cert which would allow the holder thereof to go on to Intro with any other agency?
Andy -- no worries about the hijack!
This is just, at the moment, an idle question but was prompted by "the wife" who commented that if my Tech 1 buddy came down to Mexico with us in April (as he is threatening to do), as an MSDT with a Full Cave Card, I could petition PADI to get my Cavern Specialty Card and do a Cavern course for him. I'm just curious if it would mean anything!