My first class

[adam0321]

Ok in the military I know we ask and bug everyone who has already been to a school we are trying to go to about it. I know I will learn everything I need to from my instructor and this is not an attempt to skip any of his lessons. But I have enrolled in my first cavern/intro class. I live in panama City and will be going to Jb probaly twice a week once I am certafied so please dont think I am trying to take the 0to hero approach on this. But I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice on the do's and dont's of my first class. I have everything but tanks. will that be a problem? And by what not to do I mean for example when we teach open water classes at our shop there is always that guy who comes out on the boat with a travel bag and every bit of dove gear he owns. things like that. Anything advice would be much needed.
Adam

[FW]

Your best bet is ask your instructor. We can give you lots of advice/opinions, but in the end, it is what the instructor wants/expects that is most important to you right now.

[adam0321]

Thats kinda what I figured. And deff intend on doing. Just didint know if there were any deffinate dont's as far as things to do. like dont show up with this or dont show up with that kind of stuff

[sea2summit]

As I recall the longest part of cavern was surface line drills and equipment review. Pretty much your instructor will/should go over every piece of equipment you have, routing, clip off points, locations, etc etc etc before you even get in the water. Just ensure you get a minimum required list from your instructor and you'll be fine cavern class is all learning time.

[adam0321]

thanks. I am very excited to get started. is there any course material or knowlage review to study. I imagine it is all hands on

[Spd 135]

As you won't be offshore on a boat by all means...............bring everything you have. It can be looked over and you will know what you do and don't need, what you need now and what you won't need til later. Space will not be an issue since you can leave eveything in your vehicle. Some stuff will not be needed til later and some now. You can rent tanks at Cave Adventurers. Good Luck. I will probably see you there some. Late July is when I will start making my monthly (multi-day) trips and will continue til the end of the year.

[stairman]

Cavern isnt too equipment intensive. Keep everything streamlined. Practice with your reel tonight in the dark, try to remain horizontal with no hand sculling to do turns or remain stationary, be confident with s-drills and no mask swimming, 7ft hose management. As stated there is lot to do on land before you get into the water and youll be ready.

[adam0321]

awsome thanks guys. I live right by the jety's in panama city and have been doing night dives out there and just running lines between the rock didint want to get to crazy since i might be doing it wrong. I imagine we might not even dive the first day. thanks for all the advice. s drills????

[HeloDriver]

Perhaps you can get a hold of the manual for the agency you are getting your certification through. Having the tests completed prior to getting together saved a considerable amount of time during my class. Good luck and have a great time.

Regards,

Charles

[Slüdge]

s drills????

Safety drill, done at the start of each dive. Mainly you practice the deploying of the safe second, check all lights, bubble checks, make sure all gear is present and in its proper location...

[adam0321]

yeah I suppose that would be important hu?

[stairman]

Definetely reveiw the 2 required books and realize some info has changed since their publication but the foundations are there. Making a fun dive with a cavern or caver can help alot before your class even starts.

[BabyDuck]

don't be late showing up.

bring some caffeine of choice in case you start feeling tired after lunch during lecture.

get the book before you go & read it a few times - which one/s to get depend on your instructor. you don't have to have it memorized or understand every last detail, but be familiar.

the main things to practice in the water between now & then are trim & buoyancy - be able to hover horizontally in a 'sky-diver' sort of position without moving your body or your place in the water column.

i hope you have a great time!

[J_glenn06]

Cavern is a great class and the first step in changing your diving. I learned so much in my cavern class that totally changes the way i dive in open water with students. I love it!! DONT BE LATE!!

[adam0321]

what books should i get and where would I get them. I know the instructor may require different onnes but I am a book nut so if I have extra no big deal. and as far as bouyancy its tought because in the ocean where I dive there is always a strong current. As an instructor hear at the base we have to display extreme bouyancy by both sitting laying and kneeling but I always have trouble because when I exhale I sink ( I know I know archamedies principle 101) but I would like to think I have very good b controll. On average I can swimm in the pool or in the ocean and move about 1.5 feet above the ground with out touching it. but when i stop i start to sink. I guess we will tweak that in class, and being in the marines I am quite used to very long lectures.

[Slüdge]

I'm going to embarrass Adam here. I met him Friday night. I sold him an HID light and drove down to Panama City Beach to deliver it to him, and boy, was I surprised. I thought I knew what I would encounter - a US Marine who fought pirates in Somalia and teaches rebreather diving to US Navy divers - could there be anybody more macho, with an "I know how to do it all" attitude. Wrong. Adam was very aware of the fact that cave diving is nothing like what he does for a living and he is looking forward to starting cavern and taking each level one step at a time.

I'm looking forward to cave diving with him.

[adam0321]

wow I might need a bigger avatar for my head now. thanks there sludge. I like to think I am only alive after 2 trips to iraq,afghanistand and somalia by relising I do not know everything. we learn alot in military dive school but none of it touches overhead enviorments.. looking foward to diving with you to. next time you come down hear we might do a sneek dive in the pool. or maybe a night dive at the jetty's

[sea2summit]

As an instructor hear at the base we have to display extreme bouyancy by both sitting laying and kneeling but I always have trouble because when I exhale I sink ( I know I know archamedies principle 101) but I would like to think I have very good b controll. On average I can swimm in the pool or in the ocean and move about 1.5 feet above the ground with out touching it. but when i stop i start to sink.

You're talking about hovering in those positions correct? If not...

I'd consider a good buoyancy check if I where you, especially in fresh water if you've been used to salt. If your sinking very noticeably you're probably over weighted which will cause all kinds of problems. If the buoyancy check is good just work on breath control, your instructor I'm sure will have you squared away like your streamlined avatar dude by the end of class.

[RN]

Adam, get Sheck Exley's Blueprint for Survival. It should be mandatory for all cave diving students to read. I'd also recommend the NSS-CDS Cave Diving Manual. Some of the information is a little out of date, but a lot of it still has a lot of valid information in it.

As for your buoyancy, take some weight off. It sounds like you're too heavy. Then get in the water (shallow fresh water is best, less than 15') and practice your buoyancy until you can hover motionless. Once you get that down, keep practicing it. Hovering is one of the most important skills to have for overhead diving. You'll be task loaded quite a bit. You should be able to hold your position while task loaded. I don't expect my students to be even near perfect in cavern class, but by the end of cave class, they better be able to perform skills in a near perfect hover. If I can do it, then anyone should be able to do it.

[GLENFWB]

Adam, I just finished my Intro class last weekend. Those like RN who actually do the training know much better then me. I would add that I found the new book by Heinrith/Oigarden to be very helpful. Like you, I was always trying to find something to read about cave diving to learn more. This book is up to date with all of its information. I learned a great deal from this and other books.

Cave Diving Book by Jill Heinerth and Bill Oigarden

Apart from the training, I benefited greatly from diving with people who were great mentors. Diving with cave divers who will answer your questions, help you refine your skills, but NOT push you to dive beyond your limits has helped me more then I can say.

Like you I wanted to start buying equipment to get ready for class...but follow everyone's advice when they say to talk with your instructor. It will save you a LOT of money. Taking Cavern and later Intro was the best thing in diving I have ever done.


But I have enrolled in my first cavern/intro class. I live in panama City and will be going to Jb probaly twice a week once I am certafied so please dont think I am trying to take the 0to hero approach on this. But I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice on the do's and dont's of my first class.

[stairman]

Good points all around. I too was a book junky starting out and bugged these guys quite a bit with questions and scenarios but the more you know the better off youll be and learning things the hard way in this sport can be hazardous. Good Luck and thanks for your service to our country.

[LCF]

I bought the Cave/Cavern instructional materials from every agency that offers the class, before I took my first classes. I found them all interesting reading, with a lot that was common but some things which were unique to each. I don't regret investing the money.

For practical skills, working on hovering without moving ANYTHING, and maintaining trim while doing simple tasks like mask flood and clear, and air-sharing, is good preparation.

Remember, the class is a CLASS. You are not expected to come in knowing everything they are going to teach you.

[rjack]

On the weight check mentioned earlier...

You want to do this with empty tank(s) not the way some open water agencies try to teach this with a full tank, nose high with full lungs etc etc.

Over 8-10ft of water at the end of a dive, dump your tank(s) down to 4-500 psi. Try taking weight off until you can't sink with a totally empty wing and no gas in your suit (if diving dry). Once you are there, add 2 or 3lbs max, that is "just barely" able to sink and pretty close to the amount of lead you should be using.

Overweighting is common and it makes hovering in good horizontal trim way more difficult than it needs to be. Once you have the correct amount of weight, you, your buddies, or as a last resort (only because class will have started) your instructor can help you adjust your weights to make getting level trim easiest. This typically involves moving lead up or down your torso or switching from AL to SS plates or vice versa.

Richard

[MORGAN]

I bought the Cave/Cavern instructional materials from every agency that offers the class, before I took my first classes. I found them all interesting reading, with a lot that was common but some things which were unique to each. I don't regret investing the money.

I did the same thing and felt that it was money well spent. My tech & cave certifications are all from TDI, NACD, and NSS/CDS, but I've collected a plethora of training materials from other agencies. It's good to have access to a wide variety of perspectives. Being a "student of the game" is part of the fun!

Mike