US Cavern instructor recommendations

[MikeFerrara]

It is true that PADI is not a cave training agency and I would agree with other's recomendations to stick with one of the cave diving agencies. However, if you find a instructor you like and he is convenient and a PADI instructor I wouldn't get hung up on that if I were you. The PADI cavern outline is esentially the same as the others and was probably copies from the NSS-CDS. In either case if at some later date you choose to go intro or full the instructor will decide what remediation is required regardless of caver agency. Equipments requirements for cavern are the same as those for open water with the obvious deletion of the snorkel and the addition of two lights and a reel. Many cavern instructors can give the class and issue a bunch of cards like NACD, NSS, IANTD and PADI. All the same class and you get as many cards as you want to buy.

I would tend to be alot more choosy if the goal was full cave but for cavern only just pick a convenient instructor that you like. As far as qualifications, to my knowlege all agencies require caver instructors to be cave divers. World record penetrations and cutting edge exploration are not required experience to teach cavern. In other words don't make the whole thing so complicated just grab an instructor you think is good and go cavern diving.

 

[Spectre]

MikeFerrara once bubbled...
However, if you find a instructor you like and he is convenient and a PADI instructor I wouldn't get hung up on that if I were you

hmm...

In general PADI is at the bottom of the list [...] but [...] I care much more about the instructor than the agency.

I didn't think I implied any hang ups.

In other words don't make the whole thing so complicated just grab an instructor you think is good and go cavern diving.

I'm not trying to make it complicated, I'm actually doing exactly what you recommend... Unfortunately there is no such thing as 'convenient', since I'm not near cave country. Since I don't personally know any cave instructors, this thread is my attempt at gathering a list of instructors 'I think are good'...

My goal, for this is cavern. That doesn't mean I don't intend to head to full cave... it depends on how I like cavern, and how much I get out of the course. In fact I currently have every intention of doing full cave, but one step at a time. If I combine cavern and intro, then... well... that's one less excuse to run away from work for a couple days

Oh, one other comment. It's not ment to be argumentative... just a statement of how I read your post [perhaps I read it incorrectly]: [paraphrased] "grab a convenient instructor you think is good and go diving". Would you make the same recommendation to someone looking for an Open Water instructor? I wouldn't, and I don't think picking an instructor out of a hat is at all appropriate for overhead environment training. Perhaps the cave instructor certification is different than open water certification, but the OW instructor certification requirements [or lack there of] disturb me greatly.

 

[thethumper]

The closest NACD instructor I can find to you is
Timothy Young I-112
HC 81 Box 336-A
Hernshaw, WV 25107
USA
H: 304-949-5166
W: 304-949-3483
TimmyYoung@divetechandsports.com
You can look through the list of NSS-CDS. There's a couple in PA & 1 or 2 in Ohio & North Carolina.
http://www.nsscds.com/instructors/cdsilist.html

Happy huting. =-)

 

[MikeFerrara]

Spectre,
I never meant to suggest that you go to a poor instructor. I did mean to suggest that I wouldn't jump through extra hoops. I have seen a few cave/cavern instructors in action. I have not seen a bad cave instructor. A certain instructor may or may not suit you but every cave instructor that I have seen was impressive to watch in the water (unlike OW instructors some of which haven't yet learned to dive)

I wouldn't advise ordering the list based on agency, although doing cavern with a cave agency and better yet the same instructor you will do cave with lends some continuity. Of course you don't know if you want to use that instructor again or not. But...if you want to go full cave, eventually, you might want to do cavern with a cave instructor.

I see instructors every day that I think shouldn't be diving let alone teaching, however I can't say that about cave country. In the cave community the normal level of skill seems to be much much higher.

I have never heard someone say that they didn't like their cave instructor. They may be out there but I haven't heard them. It is easy to become an open water instructor but that isn't true for becomming a cave instructor.

Im I being clearer?

 

[Divesherpa]

Whatever instructor you go through, make sure that they cave dive and cavern dive for fun and very often. An instructor who is not in a cave at least 60 times per year isn't going to be able to teach very well because they will be rusty themselves. Some may not agree (typically the people who only cave dive 30-50 times per year).
This is the single most important issue as overhead diving is not like riding a bike, you have to stay in practice to be good.
Good luck with your search for an instructor.
Cheers

 

[Spectre]

MikeFerrara once bubbled...
Im I being clearer?

Much... thanks..