What's involved in a cavern class?

[tank29]

I am very new to diving, having only gotten an OW certification. I have been lucky, however, to find a very active club in the Houston area, with a lot of experienced divers. A number of them suggested taking a cavern course if you're serious about improving your diving skills, even if you aren't going to continue to cave (of course, they all strongly recommended going to cave!!).

So I was wondering, what can one expect to get out of a cavern course? And also, when is someone ready for a cavern class? (I don't want to waste anyone's time)

Thanks for the help and information!

[jj1987]

You learn how to use tech "finning" techniques, the basics of configuring a reel and tying it off, how to run the reel (with the force of a spring behind you, you'll get it tangled the first time!), use of lights (no pistol grip), gear config (typically an adapted form of DIR or HOG), the 2/3 air rule, light signals (since you can't always see your buddy), reinforce proper buoyancy (the end of one dive will be spent getting you setup correctly), the use of "drop weight", navigation with a compass (we did ours in the santa fe river by Ginnie), reinforce buddy breathing skills, and basic conservation skills (look, don't touch!). A good instructor will have you doing several above water drills during your surface intervals, and frankly I can't imagine a more fun way to spend the weekend than a cavern class.

I've never once considered it a poor investment of my $275 it costs, so much crammed into so little time. Within only a few dives, I not only felt comfortable in caverns, but I really felt like I was a better all around diver. Maybe the class caused something to "click" for me, or maybe it was just good enough to help that much, but I highly recommend it.

As far as when are you ready, I'll let those with full cave answer that (I only have cavern), but I always felt that cave instructors were a step above your basic OW instructors, and I'd trust their judgment on your readiness.

Oh, and start saving up for intro to cave right away. I promise you that you don't want to stop where the light ends (I'm taking my class in May).

[RN]

A cavern course consists of about 6 hours of classroom education regarding cave conservation, land owner relations, different types of caves, accident analysis, gear appropriate for use in caverns/caves, etc. Then you learn how to use dive reels. First they are used on land doing several land drills to get comfortable with them. Finally, you get in the water. You must do at least 4 dives. On these dives you will do more reel work, line drills, out of air drills, no mask swims, air sharing no mask swims, etc. You will learn different finning techniques and you should be able to demonstrate excellent buoyancy control and trim.

To really be ready for a cavern class you should be able to do a dive in 20' of water or shallower and control your buoyancy and keep your trim horizontal throughout the dive. Learn to control depth changes through breathing. Be able to task load - reel work, no mask swims, etc - while maintaining buoyancy and trim control. I'm not sure how new you are to diving, but I'd suggest a high degree of comfort in the water and at least 50 dives.

[jj1987]

RN's post made me remember something..... don't get discouraged with the on land line drills, to me that was much harder than having to flip my mask backwards underwater and follow it out, I was paranoid about tripping over a stump or running into a tree!

[stairman]

Take the class if your serious about diving.Youll be a hell of a better diver after the two days of training.The only downside is the money youll spend on more gear if your like most of us and go on to cave.

[WJH]

You need to have good buoyancy control and a desire to be a better diver to get the most out of a Cavern Class.

You WILL become a better diver, having worked on and improved skills in trim, propulsion, buddy & situation awareness, problem-preparedness and problem-solving, task loading, air management and dive planning, and communication.

You won't necessarily fall in love with cave diving -- we did or we wouldn't be hanging out in this forum -- but you will enjoy the class and benefit from it!

Go for it and be ready to have a blast and to push your skills to a new level.

WJH

[yessic]

Did you guys get more out of Cavern or Fundies?