Simple Question For Cavers

[GLENFWB]

It sure is quiet here in the Cave Diving Forum. So, I will see if some of you have any advice for me. Here is a short recap of my journey towards full cave. I took Cavern in July 2008. I have about 50 cavern dives over the last year. Recently, I just finished Intro. My plan is to dive, dive, and dive at the Intro level until I am ready to move to Full Cave.

Now, the question is...since I am going to wait to do Full Cave, did any of you take a class between Intro. and Full Cave that you found helpful. Specifically I am wondering if Advanced Nitrox/Decompression would be a good next step while I working on my skills and experience??

Anyone out there do something like this? Was it beneficial or a waste of time? Your thoughts are appreciated.

 

[Cave Bum]

ANY supervised experience is good! It's not so much the course as the instructor. In a class, you're being watched and you tend to strive, even more then usual, towards perfection.

Supervised experience is worth more, in my opinion, the just practice dives made on you own with your dive buddies (but, of course, those are of value too...).

 

[TSandM]

I've done a couple of things I think have been helpful. One is to do a few days of guided cave dives -- I learn a TON from watching people who are much more experienced and facile than I am. I don't often get the chance to dive with folks with a lot more experience than I have, so I just hire a guide. If you are diving in Florida, you might be luckier at hooking up with some people who are well beyond you and who can give you tips.

I'm also in the middle of doing a UTD T1 class, mostly to get the experience handling bottles and gas switches and planning some deco. I think it will pay off -- I'll let you know once I come back from Cave 2 in August!

BTW, I did almost a hundred dives at the Cave 1/Intro level before doing Cave 2, and I think it was great to do that. I gained some proficiency and a lot of confidence in the process.

 

[Kevin Carlisle]

I did Adv nitrox and deco between mine Glenn.. Give me a shout when you get a chance to dive.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

Advanced nitrox and deco procedures makes sense as at the full cave level the dives are long enough that some deco is common. Given that it is encountered, dec is covered to some extent during the full cave class, but taking the class first gives you a leg up and lets you focus on cave aspects of the class. More importantly, it lets you understand what parts of the deco planning and execution are adapted to the cave environment.

 

[Peter Guy]

Between Cavern/Intro and Full Cave I took a few days of instruction from a Tech instructor (who shall remain nameless to protect the guilty!) and it was worth every penny that was spent. This was NOT a class (although it did end up with a Helitrox cert) but, to the contrary, some evaluation and instruction based on where I was/we were (there were 3 of us).

What he did was to work on the following:

a. Situational awareness;
b. Situational awareness and problem solving;
c. Situational awareness, problem solving and skillsets; and
d. Situational awareness.......

By the time I went back to Mexico and did my Full Cave, the experiences I gained from his class made the Cave Class a snap.

 

[Meng_Tze]

Taking 'breathers' in between levels to gain experience is a good thing. Deco comes in at the Apprentice/Full cave level, unless your SAC is so low that you can get into deco at current level guidelines.

Find a mentor to take you round some systems. They can not only help with dive planning and such, they can also help with 'reading the caves' and little known tips and tricks. Tagging along with an experienced cave diver will dramatically increase yours as well.

 

[karstdvr]

.

Find a mentor to take you round some systems. They can not only help with dive planning and such, they can also help with 'reading the caves' and little known tips and tricks. Tagging along with an experienced cave diver will dramatically increase yours as well.

Very good advice.

 

[ivobj]

I already had Tech courses (GUE T1 and T2) when I started to cave dive, but if not I would surely take them, if you didn't take those yet I think it might be a good idea until you go to full cave.

 

[GLENFWB]

That is good information and confirms my reasons for considering the Advance Nitrox/Deco route. I appreciate the input.

Advanced nitrox and deco procedures makes sense as at the full cave level the dives are long enough that some deco is common. Given that it is encountered, dec is covered to some extent during the full cave class, but taking the class first gives you a leg up and lets you focus on cave aspects of the class. More importantly, it lets you understand what parts of the deco planning and execution are adapted to the cave environment.