jxh2297
01-13-2012, 11:01 PM
Full cave class review. This class was with Gregg Stanton with Wakulla diving center and it was an amazing experience as you will see why once you read on. We came to Florida to do apprentice/full cave in 5 days. We were already intro and cavern certified prior to this trip. I did the class with my dad and another friend of ours.
Day1-
We arrived at the shop around 9am and to our surprise we were going to be making a trip to Jackson blue that night to get a dive in to make sure we were comfortable with all of our gear and the week of diving ahead of us. We do not own stage bottle regs/rigs so Gregg and Travis from the shop hooked us up right away no problem. We then picked out the doubles we would be using; I ended up choosing the 108’s I had previously used in intro. They treated me well before so I thought I should stick with them. We then loaded up and headed to Jackson blue, During all of the drives to the dive sites Gregg gives very informational lectures about the dive ahead and any other questions you might have. Are plan was to start on our stage bottles until we hit 3rds on our stage bottles and the drop them and do a little circuit off to the right about 700 feet in. We ran the jump reel and followed the line back to where we had dropped our stages on the gold line. I was surprised to start doing new skills on our first dive but it was just to get more practice in since we only had 4 more days. Ended up being an action filled first day but rather enjoyable with Jackson blue being one of my favorites. We ended the day at sonny’s BBQ with Gregg and the team. Gregg is an instructor that will stay with you from sun up to sun down. Practically lives with you for the week. This gives you plenty of one on one time to get personalized instruction.
Day2-
We again got to the shop at 9am and got our tanks topped off and tried to load as fast as possible. Our destination was going to be peacock 1 for the day. We again loaded up and left around 12. We were lecturing on the way to also obtain our advanced nitrox certs so we had plenty to talk about. Once we arrived at the site my dad and our friend were a little slower than expected to get in the water and we were kind of pressed on time to get a 2nd dive in for the day. Our plan was to go down the left side to the peanut tunnel and drop our stages past the peanut restriction and go through the crossover to olsen sink to complete our first traverse. The first dive to olsen was pretty simple and straight forward just 2 jumps with some good practice running reels. Once we had surfaced from olsen for 10 mins our plan was to go back to our stages pick them up and then go back through peanut tunnel sharing air with lights out. This to me was actually pretty fun and I enjoyed the challenge. Our original plan was to do 2 dives that day so we could go back and pick up our jump reels but with a late start we decided that we were going to have to come back tomorrow to pick them up. Considering the time strength Gregg suggested that we recalculate 3rds and just go down the main chute a little bit to get bottom time and practice. This was a short dive at 37 mins since we had already done a traverse on the same gas. We finished “early” that day and got back around 8. We then went to our favorite restaurant poseys.
Day3-
Our plan for day 3 was to go back to peacock and do a dive down the main chute to olsen and then back through the peanut tunnel to pick up our jump reels from the day before. After we were done with that dive we were to head up to little river to get a dive in. Gregg is all about introducing you to “cave country” and all the different dive shops so when you come back you will know different spots and different shops for gas fills. The first dive was a beautiful dive, every cave dive I do I am amazed just as much as the one before. The formations and the rooms were amazing. Another occurrence on this dive was the clear crawfish which I found cool. We then surfaced at olsen and took some picks of the group on the sinkhole surface. We then went down and picked up our reels and went to the peanut restriction where we would once again share air with lights off. By this point it was not much of a problem and I was getting used to it. Of course Gregg sneaked up behind me and shut of my primary and this was again easy since I had done lots of valve drills since intro. When we got out of the water we were again pressed with the time issue. We could either go and get gas fills but then rick not getting to little river in time. We opted to just go ahead and go to little river and do a dive on the gas that we had remaining so it would insure that we would get another dive in. We made it to the merry go round right as the first person in our group hit 3rds so we headed back, This was an awesome dive considering there was almost no traffic and I really liked how the cave almost corkscrewed around. Ended up with about 5 mins of deco at 20 feet with 100% o2.
Day4-
This was the day that our group would learn most of the valuable lessons. We had been spoiled with Jackson blues and peacocks almost no flow. None of us had dove ginnie springs since our cavern class months before. In this time I had forgot about how much the flow affects you. This was also the day when Gregg gave us the map and told us to plan the dive however we wanted. We decided to do a jump right once we got out of the lips and head up the wider passage so hopefully the flow would lighten up. Since our intro class all of us had forgot about the golden “3 oh shits rule” We elected to go in the devils eye to try something new. We started out with our first oh **** when none of us remembered to drop our o2 bottles at 20 feet. We were at about 30 until we realized it. So we came back up and tied them off and kept on going. All of us were surprised by the flow and the task loading. Talking to some people the flow is also actually less than normal. So we kept going with the primary reel and as I was the last guy in line my dads fin came off in the flow and I grabbed it and put it on while holding on to a rock for dear life. So looking back now that was at least the 2nd oh sh^& not a big problem but just something that causes stress levels to rise. We were penetrating through the lips and it was time for me to drop my stage bottle, I looked ahead and my dad and dave were still breathing off of theirs. This seemed odd since I usually have the best air consumption. So I dropped mine and kept going, well I later learned they had been task loaded and forgot to drop their stage (still not an excuse). They dropped their stages and we got to our jump right, dave deployed the jump reel and immediately took off the wrong way. This was deff the 3rd oh crap and someone should have called the dive. He ended up going in a semi tight tunnel and my dad went in after him and while doing this kicked up some silt. I was sitting on the gold line watching the silt move my way so I quickly grabbed the line and the vis was maybe 2 feet. Couldn’t see any of my team members, I moved forward about 5 feet and it cleared up and we installed the jump and went on and hit 3rds and turned it. The way out was a lot easier and almost enjoyable until I was going up to the eye. This was already one of the most stressful dives in my log book and I didn’t need anything else going wrong, well Murphy’s law; it did. As I was going to my 20 ft deco stop one of my reels got snagged on someone else’s line and the flow quickly pushed me almost upside down. My dad quickly detached the reels from me and we left them behind just to get out. Finished up deco and called it a dive. This class is supposed to teach you stress management and this deff hit the spot on that subject. We were all kind of bummed after the dive and took a break but thought we could do another dive and do better. We went to cave excursions for our gas fills and came back and geared up after clearing our minds of the previous dive. We were to follow the gold line to the jump at hill 400 and go until we hit 3rds. We had been warned that we might get a lost buddy search sometime that day so we were vigilant but it still didn’t keep Gregg from slipping away from us without any of us noticing. We had a great dive and on the way back we were picking up the jump reel and concentrating on that while I was around a corner he slipped away and I noticed after we got the jump reel up. I quickly put an arrow down and was going to reinstall the jump reel since I had not seen him in the tunnel I was in. I covered my light and couldn’t see any light so I knew he was back a ways. As I was installing the jump reel the other 2 guys had no clue what I was doing, they thought I was crazy and disoriented and were trying to go back into the cave but didn’t notice our instructor was missing! This deff showed that we needed to work on situational awareness. Through all the attempts to communicate to the team Gregg showed up and we headed to the exit. My dad had rented a shearwater computer from the shop for the week and as we were about 200 feet from the entrance he noticed it was gone. The minute I saw it was gone from his wrist I was just imagining how bad my mom was going to kill him for having to pay for this almost 2000 dollar computer! So Gregg told us to hold and went down the line a little and shined his light around and held his hand over it to see some glow from somewhere. No luck at all. So we start to go to our first deco stop and Gregg sees the computer hanging from my dad’s waist! I was relived. It made that deco stop a lot less worrisome. As we were swimming towards the ladder I was shining my light down little devil just to enjoy the view and as I popped up at the ladder a family was just standing there with their mouths open practically lol They were amazed. That was all of the diving for the day and we hit the road and left around 10pm and didn’t get to the hotel till around 1am.
Day 5-
This was to be half a day lecture and test and then get a dive in at Jackson blue in the evening. The final exam was easy since we had been talking about all the subjects everyday on the drive to the dive sites. We had discussed trying to make it to the stoplight at 2100 feet but it was unlikely considering the air consumption of the team. We ended up getting a late start considering the late night before. We didn’t even arrive at the shop until around 11am. We got our gear together and got to the classroom to learn some last minute things before heading out. We grabbed a bite to eat and then hit the road. This was to be one of the less stressful days of the trips. We would be diving with Gregg and another man that was on a megladon rebreather just looking to stay fresh on some skills and get some bottom time. Once we got to the dive site we had to take the advanced nitrox exam and this proved to be a lengthier process than the full cave exam. It was 8pm before we geared up and got wet. Our plan was the go to the first T and turn right and then go to the 2nd T and make another right and if 3rds allowed go to the stoplight. I was buddied up with the meg diver named david. We got to 1600 feet before we hit 3rds and on the way out david came up to me and gave me the out of air symbol and we started to share gas. Once the drill was over Gregg made me take off my mask and just practice following the gold line for a couple hundred feet. Ended up with about 15 mins of deco and we practiced deploying smbs for the advanced nitrox class outside the cavern. This was the longest dive of the class and my diving history at 2 hours even. This was an awesome last dive and a great way to end 2011 considering this was New Years Eve.
Conclusion-
I learned more in this class than all other classes combined. We talked about them in lecture and then practiced them in the water every day. Gregg is a top notch instructor and couldn’t think of anything he could have done to accommodate us any better. If you want a instructor willing to work with you and is flexible with scheduling and logistics he is deff one to consider. I feel even though I am now full cave the learning curve has really just started. Sure I have done the skills in the class but there is always room to prefect them. I can’t wait to get back underground.
Note: Not all the skills we did in the class are listed in this review, we did numerous skills and drills in this class and the previous ones with Gregg, these are just some I listed in my dive logs.
Total dives=10
Dive times=10 hours and 30 mins
Day1-
We arrived at the shop around 9am and to our surprise we were going to be making a trip to Jackson blue that night to get a dive in to make sure we were comfortable with all of our gear and the week of diving ahead of us. We do not own stage bottle regs/rigs so Gregg and Travis from the shop hooked us up right away no problem. We then picked out the doubles we would be using; I ended up choosing the 108’s I had previously used in intro. They treated me well before so I thought I should stick with them. We then loaded up and headed to Jackson blue, During all of the drives to the dive sites Gregg gives very informational lectures about the dive ahead and any other questions you might have. Are plan was to start on our stage bottles until we hit 3rds on our stage bottles and the drop them and do a little circuit off to the right about 700 feet in. We ran the jump reel and followed the line back to where we had dropped our stages on the gold line. I was surprised to start doing new skills on our first dive but it was just to get more practice in since we only had 4 more days. Ended up being an action filled first day but rather enjoyable with Jackson blue being one of my favorites. We ended the day at sonny’s BBQ with Gregg and the team. Gregg is an instructor that will stay with you from sun up to sun down. Practically lives with you for the week. This gives you plenty of one on one time to get personalized instruction.
Day2-
We again got to the shop at 9am and got our tanks topped off and tried to load as fast as possible. Our destination was going to be peacock 1 for the day. We again loaded up and left around 12. We were lecturing on the way to also obtain our advanced nitrox certs so we had plenty to talk about. Once we arrived at the site my dad and our friend were a little slower than expected to get in the water and we were kind of pressed on time to get a 2nd dive in for the day. Our plan was to go down the left side to the peanut tunnel and drop our stages past the peanut restriction and go through the crossover to olsen sink to complete our first traverse. The first dive to olsen was pretty simple and straight forward just 2 jumps with some good practice running reels. Once we had surfaced from olsen for 10 mins our plan was to go back to our stages pick them up and then go back through peanut tunnel sharing air with lights out. This to me was actually pretty fun and I enjoyed the challenge. Our original plan was to do 2 dives that day so we could go back and pick up our jump reels but with a late start we decided that we were going to have to come back tomorrow to pick them up. Considering the time strength Gregg suggested that we recalculate 3rds and just go down the main chute a little bit to get bottom time and practice. This was a short dive at 37 mins since we had already done a traverse on the same gas. We finished “early” that day and got back around 8. We then went to our favorite restaurant poseys.
Day3-
Our plan for day 3 was to go back to peacock and do a dive down the main chute to olsen and then back through the peanut tunnel to pick up our jump reels from the day before. After we were done with that dive we were to head up to little river to get a dive in. Gregg is all about introducing you to “cave country” and all the different dive shops so when you come back you will know different spots and different shops for gas fills. The first dive was a beautiful dive, every cave dive I do I am amazed just as much as the one before. The formations and the rooms were amazing. Another occurrence on this dive was the clear crawfish which I found cool. We then surfaced at olsen and took some picks of the group on the sinkhole surface. We then went down and picked up our reels and went to the peanut restriction where we would once again share air with lights off. By this point it was not much of a problem and I was getting used to it. Of course Gregg sneaked up behind me and shut of my primary and this was again easy since I had done lots of valve drills since intro. When we got out of the water we were again pressed with the time issue. We could either go and get gas fills but then rick not getting to little river in time. We opted to just go ahead and go to little river and do a dive on the gas that we had remaining so it would insure that we would get another dive in. We made it to the merry go round right as the first person in our group hit 3rds so we headed back, This was an awesome dive considering there was almost no traffic and I really liked how the cave almost corkscrewed around. Ended up with about 5 mins of deco at 20 feet with 100% o2.
Day4-
This was the day that our group would learn most of the valuable lessons. We had been spoiled with Jackson blues and peacocks almost no flow. None of us had dove ginnie springs since our cavern class months before. In this time I had forgot about how much the flow affects you. This was also the day when Gregg gave us the map and told us to plan the dive however we wanted. We decided to do a jump right once we got out of the lips and head up the wider passage so hopefully the flow would lighten up. Since our intro class all of us had forgot about the golden “3 oh shits rule” We elected to go in the devils eye to try something new. We started out with our first oh **** when none of us remembered to drop our o2 bottles at 20 feet. We were at about 30 until we realized it. So we came back up and tied them off and kept on going. All of us were surprised by the flow and the task loading. Talking to some people the flow is also actually less than normal. So we kept going with the primary reel and as I was the last guy in line my dads fin came off in the flow and I grabbed it and put it on while holding on to a rock for dear life. So looking back now that was at least the 2nd oh sh^& not a big problem but just something that causes stress levels to rise. We were penetrating through the lips and it was time for me to drop my stage bottle, I looked ahead and my dad and dave were still breathing off of theirs. This seemed odd since I usually have the best air consumption. So I dropped mine and kept going, well I later learned they had been task loaded and forgot to drop their stage (still not an excuse). They dropped their stages and we got to our jump right, dave deployed the jump reel and immediately took off the wrong way. This was deff the 3rd oh crap and someone should have called the dive. He ended up going in a semi tight tunnel and my dad went in after him and while doing this kicked up some silt. I was sitting on the gold line watching the silt move my way so I quickly grabbed the line and the vis was maybe 2 feet. Couldn’t see any of my team members, I moved forward about 5 feet and it cleared up and we installed the jump and went on and hit 3rds and turned it. The way out was a lot easier and almost enjoyable until I was going up to the eye. This was already one of the most stressful dives in my log book and I didn’t need anything else going wrong, well Murphy’s law; it did. As I was going to my 20 ft deco stop one of my reels got snagged on someone else’s line and the flow quickly pushed me almost upside down. My dad quickly detached the reels from me and we left them behind just to get out. Finished up deco and called it a dive. This class is supposed to teach you stress management and this deff hit the spot on that subject. We were all kind of bummed after the dive and took a break but thought we could do another dive and do better. We went to cave excursions for our gas fills and came back and geared up after clearing our minds of the previous dive. We were to follow the gold line to the jump at hill 400 and go until we hit 3rds. We had been warned that we might get a lost buddy search sometime that day so we were vigilant but it still didn’t keep Gregg from slipping away from us without any of us noticing. We had a great dive and on the way back we were picking up the jump reel and concentrating on that while I was around a corner he slipped away and I noticed after we got the jump reel up. I quickly put an arrow down and was going to reinstall the jump reel since I had not seen him in the tunnel I was in. I covered my light and couldn’t see any light so I knew he was back a ways. As I was installing the jump reel the other 2 guys had no clue what I was doing, they thought I was crazy and disoriented and were trying to go back into the cave but didn’t notice our instructor was missing! This deff showed that we needed to work on situational awareness. Through all the attempts to communicate to the team Gregg showed up and we headed to the exit. My dad had rented a shearwater computer from the shop for the week and as we were about 200 feet from the entrance he noticed it was gone. The minute I saw it was gone from his wrist I was just imagining how bad my mom was going to kill him for having to pay for this almost 2000 dollar computer! So Gregg told us to hold and went down the line a little and shined his light around and held his hand over it to see some glow from somewhere. No luck at all. So we start to go to our first deco stop and Gregg sees the computer hanging from my dad’s waist! I was relived. It made that deco stop a lot less worrisome. As we were swimming towards the ladder I was shining my light down little devil just to enjoy the view and as I popped up at the ladder a family was just standing there with their mouths open practically lol They were amazed. That was all of the diving for the day and we hit the road and left around 10pm and didn’t get to the hotel till around 1am.
Day 5-
This was to be half a day lecture and test and then get a dive in at Jackson blue in the evening. The final exam was easy since we had been talking about all the subjects everyday on the drive to the dive sites. We had discussed trying to make it to the stoplight at 2100 feet but it was unlikely considering the air consumption of the team. We ended up getting a late start considering the late night before. We didn’t even arrive at the shop until around 11am. We got our gear together and got to the classroom to learn some last minute things before heading out. We grabbed a bite to eat and then hit the road. This was to be one of the less stressful days of the trips. We would be diving with Gregg and another man that was on a megladon rebreather just looking to stay fresh on some skills and get some bottom time. Once we got to the dive site we had to take the advanced nitrox exam and this proved to be a lengthier process than the full cave exam. It was 8pm before we geared up and got wet. Our plan was the go to the first T and turn right and then go to the 2nd T and make another right and if 3rds allowed go to the stoplight. I was buddied up with the meg diver named david. We got to 1600 feet before we hit 3rds and on the way out david came up to me and gave me the out of air symbol and we started to share gas. Once the drill was over Gregg made me take off my mask and just practice following the gold line for a couple hundred feet. Ended up with about 15 mins of deco and we practiced deploying smbs for the advanced nitrox class outside the cavern. This was the longest dive of the class and my diving history at 2 hours even. This was an awesome last dive and a great way to end 2011 considering this was New Years Eve.
Conclusion-
I learned more in this class than all other classes combined. We talked about them in lecture and then practiced them in the water every day. Gregg is a top notch instructor and couldn’t think of anything he could have done to accommodate us any better. If you want a instructor willing to work with you and is flexible with scheduling and logistics he is deff one to consider. I feel even though I am now full cave the learning curve has really just started. Sure I have done the skills in the class but there is always room to prefect them. I can’t wait to get back underground.
Note: Not all the skills we did in the class are listed in this review, we did numerous skills and drills in this class and the previous ones with Gregg, these are just some I listed in my dive logs.
Total dives=10
Dive times=10 hours and 30 mins