Cave Diving Around the World 2007 NSS-CDS Workshop May 25-2

Cave Diving Around the World
2007 NSS-CDS Workshop
Camp Weed, Live Oak, FL May 25 – 28, 2007
As a reminder, May 12 is the last day to pre-register for the 2007 NSS-CDS Workshop. Those who pre-register by the specified date will receive their workshop T-shirt as well as lunch on Saturday as a part of the registration package. Anyone wishing to register after this date may still do so, but the T-shirt and lunch will not be included in the registration price. Pre-registration is the only accurate means we have of providing a head count to the Camp Weed staff so that they may prepare Saturday's noon meal for us.

The annual workshop is scheduled for Memorial Day weekend, May 25 – 28, at the Camp Weed Conference Center east of Live Oak. The theme this year is Cave Diving Around the World, and we have many interesting presentations focusing on this topic.

The festivities will begin Friday night with our members social, which will once again be hosted by Cathy Lesh of the Dive Outpost in Luraville. Cathy is famous throughout the cave diving community for her skills in throwing a great party and supplying her guests with fantastic food, as was well proven at last year's social. We have also once again arranged to have Peacock Springs State Park remain open Friday night for those who would like to dive this gem of a location during the cool evening hours of darkness. A registration table will be set up at the social beginning at approximately 6:00pm and lasting until 10:00pm. Be sure to come join us for an evening of great food, good drink, lots of cave diver fellowship, and the opportunity to dive Peacock after dark.

Registration will reopen Saturday morning at Camp Weed at 8:00am with the Programmed scheduled to commence at 8:30am. Our featured presenters and their topics include:
*Brian Kakuk discussing the cave diving exploration that is currently being conducted in the Bahamas, and the science these efforts are producing, As well as conservation efforts being undertaken across this gem of a cave diver's paradise
*George Tzavelas, a member of SPELEO caving club and a member of the cave diving committee of the Greek Federation of Caving who has been actively exploring Greek caves and is part of the most active cave diving exploration team in Greece since the late 90's will share his experience of cave diving in his home country
*Aysegul Birand will be representing MADAG, the official cave diving group in Turkey, with his presentation entitled: Exploring Freshwater Discharges along the Turkish Coast: Patara-Tekirova, Pilot Project.
*Ken Smith will give a presentation on the newly discovered Kija Blue Sinkhole in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. This cave was seriously explored in July 2006 to a depth of 111 metres (365 feet). All the push diving was done with rebreathers. Time permitting, Ken will also talk a bit about Mt Gambier and some of the recent discoveries on the Roe Plain in the Southern part of Western Australia.
*Cedric Verdier has been pushing the limits as he and his team has explored remarkable deep cave systems in the Southeast Asian nation of Thailand.
*Jill Heinerth's presentation is entitled Cave Diving on the Russian Frontier, and she will be sharing photos and video clips from her recent expedition to the Perm Region in Russia's Siberian Frontier. As one of only four westerners who have enjoyed the opportunity to visit the underwater caves in this remote area, she will discuss the dynamics of the gypsum caves as well as safety issues arising in this developing region.
We plan to try a new approach this year by offering breakout sessions on Saturday, during an intermission in the presentations for the morning and afternoon sessions. The afternoon breakout sessions will be a repeat of the morning sessions, allowing those with an interest to partake of more than one offering. The sessions being offered currently include:
*Jill Heinerth will be offering tips and advice on underwater photography. Due to her other commitments during the day, Jill's session will only be offered during the morning intermission.
*Lamar Hires will host a discussion group focusing using and modifying the various sidemount set-ups currently available to divers.
*Mike Poucher and Brett Hemphill will host a session to discuss extreme sidemount techniques.
*Paul Heinerth will be showing video footage taken from a dive to a rarely seen South African wreck.
Saturday night we will be providing entertainment once again in the form of showing some of Wes Skiles films beginning around 7:30pm. Refreshments will be offered, so come enjoy some relaxing time with your friends.
The traditional mini-workshops held on Sunday will include an IUCRR class. This course is a must for anyone interested in assisting during cave rescue and recovery operations. The course does have minimum requirements that must be met to be eligible to take the course, and there is a small fee as well. Please check with the IUCRR web site for more information.
Jill Heinerth will be offering a more in-depth UW photography class on Sunday. Due to the expense involved in putting something like this together, Jill will be charging a fee to offset her costs and the class size will be limited. Please contact Jill directly for more information.
We will be offering guided dives once again this year on both Sunday and Monday. We have guides available to take qualified divers in the Diepolder, Hart, Alachua, and Indian cave systems. Guides will also be available for the grand traverse at Peacock Springs. Please check the requirements for each system. Sign up lists will be available during the workshop on Saturday.
It does not matter if you are an NSS-CDS member, nor even if you are a cave diver. If you have even a remote interest in diving and the springs we all love so much, then you are welcome to come out and join us.