Who to do Cavern With in Tuluum?

[breals]

There are a number of people teaching in the area in addition to Zero Gravity that I would recommend:
Bil Philips (bil@speleotech.com)
Steve Gerrard (http://www.deephorizon.info/)

 

[ae3753]

Why do you say that? Your profile list only Intro (no complex nav.) and no GUE training. I'M not arguing with you I am just wondering how you "know" that to be true.

Very fair question, and definitely not taken as argumentative at all. Since I haven't taken GUE Cave and then NACD/NSS-CDS (or vice versa), my opinions are dependent on the honesty of everyone I talked to.

Fortunately in my area, there are a lot of GUE trained divers and former GUE instructors. And there is a lot of sharing/comparing of everyone's experiences. When we were looking at cave training, I obviously considered GUE and as the result asked about differences as well.

I do know for a fact that there are difference at the Intro-to-Cave and Cave 1 level. rjack and I discussed this at some length on another board. However, for the Cavern level I haven't found any. Of course, I am more than happy to be corrected/enlightened, and that's why I asked KazInAz for what he thought to be differences.

 

[RTodd]

There are a number of people teaching in the area in addition to Zero Gravity that I would recommend:
Bil Philips (bil@speleotech.com)
Steve Gerrard (http://www.deephorizon.info/)

Bill isn't DIR and Gerrard is quite possibly the worst thing that has ever happened to cave diving in Mexico. TS&M, if you want some recommendations, PM me. But, my advice is not to screw around with a cavern course. There is a reason GUE doesn't bother with it. You would gain way more by taking Cave 1 even if you didn't pass the first time than doing a cavern course and then trying to take Cave 1. Chris and Danny are tough to reach, and when they check emails is highly dependent on their schedule. But, they do eventually respond. Best tactic is to email all three of the guys.

There is nothing I enjoy more than cave diving. But, if my choice was cavern diving only or going over to Cozumel and doing some open water dives, I would do the ocean dives every time.

 

[HBDiveGirl]

...
5. Next spring, when Lynne takes Cave, I'm thinking I might be OK with Intro -- especially if a certain SoCal diver can talk her family into coming down and spending a week in Cancun/Tuluum and do Intro with me.

Ok, I'll launch the initial pitch on Monday evening, when said non-diving spouse is freshly returned from a jolly school reunion in Chicago.... "I'm so glad you made the time to do a trip that was meaningful to you, honey.... .... Wouldn't it be fun to plan a trip with lots of things that each of us could enjoy? You know, nice beaches, warm water, ancient ruins, cenotes for snorkling, great Mexican food? Say... how about spring '08?"

I can be shameless... but for worthwhile purposes!

'Chica

P.S. On topic: I took Cavern with German Yanez-Mendoza of Yucatech in Cozumel, August 2006. I had already passed Fundies and RecTriOx. German taught a thorough and demanding NACD Cavern class, from my POV, and all was compliant with all I had learned in my two GUE classes. He advertises that he teaches on the mainland as well as on Cozumel.
I'm just a pup at this, and haven't a clue if it was compliant with Cave1 protocols. He was an excellent instructor and I recommend him highly.

 

[ovarygirl]

Chris and Danny are tough to reach, and when they check emails is highly dependent on their schedule. But, they do eventually respond. Best tactic is to email all three of the guys.

I tend to agree with a lot of folks that recommend doing a Cave 1 instead of a separate Cavern course, but it's entirely up to you and what you hope to get out of it. I hope to do my Cave 1 later down the road once I'm prepared for a tech upgrade.

Chris and Danny have been in France teaching for the past few weeks so that's probably why you haven't gotten a response from them; the maximum time that I've waited in the past has been 5-7 days. I received an email from Fred Devos (my GUE Fundies instructor) on Friday, so drop him a line at fred@dir-mexico.com and I'm sure he can make some recommendations for instructors if you wish to go the Cavern course route. He's a really great guy.