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Going to take my Intro class in mid AUG. I am looking for any pointers that would help me excel in my class with the all great Tracy!
I have about 40 cavern dives under my belt and feel very confident in my buoyancy and SAC rate. What should I practice in my next few cavern dives before my Intro class?
Anything and everything is much appreciated! Safe diving…
V/R
-Corbin
Relax and move slowly while tying in the reel. Give yourself time to think and realize its not a race. Listen to predive briefing and ask questions beforehand. Good luck and have fun!
Read a course book before you go. The more information you already know the less you will have to try to soak up. If you know the basics it is easy to pick up on details, plus you can focus on actual diving. Good luck and have fun! If you need to borrow something pink or sparkly for luck just let me know! : )
I agree with Stairman: get used to running some line, and take your time. IMO, above all else (and no matter what the ancillary task me be) think neutral buoyancy.
Have your buoyancy, trim and propulsion squared away. Practice running line, try to relax and take your time. Have fun.
Practice hovering completely still. Sort out whatever gear, trim, fit, etc., issues are required to be able to do that before class. Make sure you can control your position in the water column with your breathing very well. The rest is easy. Get familiar with different types of reels and how they all lock down, so you don't have to learn that while trying to hover in the flow. Start whatever you are doing with the line/reel before you get to it (especially in flow). If you have to stop to tinker with a reel, turning in to the flow helps. If you screw up, calmly stick with it until you get it, and stay off the bottom. Have fun. It was one of the coolest things I have ever done.
He had stated that he was confident with his buancy, or that would have been the first thing I would have said. Hands flailing to turn or otherwise should also be suppressed. On airshare, lights out exit, donor stays to the rear and pulls out all of the longhose for the recipient. Be sure its above all other hoses and gear. As the recipient , you exit first, and with one hand on the line I like to have the hose running thru the same hand so it doesnt get pulled out of your mouth, and always have a hand on your backup before handing off the longhose, by the hose fitting and not covering the purge with your hand. Also as the recipient, you may want to clip off your not needed long hose, so in the drill it doesnt get off your neck and behind you to get caught in a crack or something. At least tuck it under a shoulder strap but practice clipping and feeling for things in the dark. For lostline drill, be sure to tie off the safety to something that wont move or pull loose, and feel for the flow with your face, so you go across the tunnel and not down it. This is easier in a highflow. Stay low with the reel and reach high with the freehand. This is the hardest drill and usually the last, and when you find the line, tie off the safety to it, put a line arrow pointing out and turn on your light. At this point your usually done. Lost buddy and valve drills are no brainers. Good luck/have fun/dont worry/be happy.
If you have an idea of where you are going, go there and scope out your primary and secondary tie offs. Pick an alternate for each incase your 1st choice is already used. Obviously staty in the Cavern Zone. As others here have stated the reel work is important. If you get flustered at the start of the dive with the line, it can throw off the enitre run.
Do not change anything on game day. Stick with what has worked for you unless your instructor ask you to change something.
Most of all HAVE FUN!
If your buoyancy and trim are sorted, and you have 40 cavern dives under your belt then you should be pretty well set. I'm assuming you used a reel for those 40 cavern dives. If so, then all you need to do is show up for class, with your gear ready to go and with you ready to learn. It's the instructor's job to teach you the skills you need. There's no need to learn them before you go to class. Enjoy the ride.
Brian
Brian is correct... I had 40 or 50 Cavern dives before taking Cavern & Intro together, so all the reel work was new to me. Are you taking Intro in doubles or a single?Quote:
Originally Posted by Benthic
I will taking it in doubles. I have about 5 cavern dives in a dry suit and doubles.Quote:
Originally Posted by Greenwood_60
I had 10-15 dives in doubles before taking cavern/intro. The vast majority of my troubles in class came from not being trimmed out correctly, and having gotten use to it. I was horizontal as long as I was moving somewhere. As soon as I stopped moving I would head down turtle. I didn't even realize I had a problem until I was asked to hover over a platform. The fix was simply getting my BP further down my back (shoulder straps longer, crotch strap tighter). Everything else was easy after that.Quote:
Originally Posted by eraurotc2014
I'm thinking about being your dive buddy :-))
No complaints there....
That's because you haven't had him as a buddy for a cave class yet. ;)
So you going to be there for my class?!Quote:
Originally Posted by Reddiver
Don't try to impress your instructor, try to impress yourself...
Don't try to be fast, try to be preciss...
And more important, try to be safe...
Actually, I think I will put that in my course introduction
Trying to be prepared for Tracy's class with Red as a dive buddy will be futile. You have been warned!
I would recommend more dives in your drysuit and doubles BEFORE you go to the class....get that stuff squared away........and have fun!
Read "Caverns Measureless to Man " by Sheck Exley. Double Humper.Quote:
Originally Posted by eraurotc2014
Work on trying to relax when you dive and work on deep sloooow breaths... I'm sure the awesome buddy you're diving with the day after the class would like your sixths to last as long as possible... :P
Know your signals. And be able to do gas math on the fly
Sent from my Eris
Relax, take it one step at a time, and have fun. Remember, you are paying to learn and anytime it gets more than is fun for you, just say no. It's your class. You can do with it as you please.
skip
+1 for knowing signals.Quote:
Originally Posted by adam0321
From my Intro experience:
Try and be aware of your gear. Easier said than done. Know 'what' is 'where', what it feels like as it bounces on your hip as you swim and so forth, what it feels like when its not there. As others have indicated, you want to be comfortable with your gear so you can focus on the training.
Try and be aware of your surroundings. Easier said than done. Where is the line? Where are your partners? Where is the line?
You will swear that your instructor is trying to kill you and that they are really pissed off that you are not dead yet and its all your fault! They're not. They are trying to stress you. Understand that. In my experience, a big chunk of the training is mental attitude.
Accept criticism. You are there to learn.
Pay attention to everything that is said. Sometimes getting the 'gist' of the next exercise isn't enough.
If you are going to do something, be sure you can justify the action you took.
If you are breathing, then whatever else is happening is just an inconvenience. (there's that attitude part again.)
You are going to be challenged! Enjoy it!
no fairy fanning.
I also spent a long time between Cavern and Intro. For best results your buoyancy needs to be dialed in and trim and propulsion pretty good. If you only have 5 dives in the drysuit and doubles you might want to dive wet for the class (but then I haven't seen you dive).
Make sure you can read your pressure gauge without breaking stride and that you hold your trim during drills. Also, spend some time on the things you think you already have squared away. For whatever reason I had more trouble with those things than the things that I was more worried about.
I would disagree with this. If you're not totally comfortable with either drysuit or doubles, and expect to use drysuit and doubles when you actually cave dive, I would postpone the class and make dives in them until you are comfortable with both.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jaydubya
Don't hurry. Be steady and methodical in everything you do, no matter how stressed you feel. Remember that buoyancy, trim, position and team trump an instant response to anything. You can swim 25 feet underwater in full kit with no gas, so you have at least two or three seconds to steady yourself, no matter what the problem is. Every single problem can be addressed and solved; compounding problems with poor buoyancy or blowing the viz makes life much more . . . "interesting".
It seems we agree that you need to be totally comfortable in your gear before taking the class.Quote:
Originally Posted by Slüdge
I am completely comfortable with diving in a dry suit and doubles. And plan on diving about 10 more times using the same equipment. Thanks everyone who has given me some good advice. I will be in cave country on Monday at Royal. Anyone have a report on the system?Quote:
Originally Posted by Jaydubya
Expect the course fees to be the cheap part. Fills and all the gear you think you need adds up
Sent from my Eris
Cave training is dirt cheap. I didn't pay for the instructors fills, hotel, entrance fees, food, gas, or car, but paid something like $200 an 8 hour day of training. What else can you get for $25/hour? My craig's list mechanic is $35 an hour, and doesn't have hardly any overhead.Quote:
Originally Posted by adam0321
I was talking more about your own fills, boat rentals, forgotten gear, entry fees, books, food, gas, etc etc.
On that note how many people tipped their cave instructor? I know a lot of people tip their ow instructor.
Sent from my Eris
It will be about a 600$ for the 3 days of training....Quote:
Originally Posted by adam0321
If the instructor is the owner of the dive shop I don't believe in tipping, instead I'll take them out to lunch/dinner buy them a couple beers. Give them an expensive cigar.
I gave mine an dui dry bag. Retail **** $800 but I have a bunch.
Sent from my Eris
Where can I pick mine up?
Havent looked at Royal in a few months but it was really milky then. The ledge will rain mung down on you from your exhaust bubbles alone so when you get out even if its diveable it will most likely be blown out afterwards even with the best technique.Quote:
Originally Posted by eraurotc2014
SOME cave training is cheap . . . I paid $2000 in tuition for my last class, AND lodging, car rental, tank rental, fills and boat fees, and my instructor's lodging and meals when we were away from his home. I figure the class came in somewhere between 4 and 5K, which is why I won't be taking it over again.
In contrast, my Full Cave class was four days and cost me $800, and that included everything.
Which was the $2000 class?Quote:
Originally Posted by LCF
Wow, I must have gotten a deal! I thought the going rate was around $400 per class and none of mine lasted more than 2days each. I know GUE is alot longer and more expensive but thought the others were comperable with price and duration. I talking cavern, basic, apprentice and full. Not other tech courses.
the $2k class was gue cave 2 in mexico.
Too rich for my blood, but I'm sure it was worth it.
I don't know how to edit my post, Sorry the above one comes off as being sarcastic.
$2000 is alot of money for training, and the fact that you had to pay for your instructors traveling kinda sucks. I don't charge students for my gas to travel to the dive site, it's built into the cost of the course. But i'm also not driving to mexico for OW dives.
The $2000 class was GUE Cave 2 in FLORIDA; the $800 class was NACD Full Cave in Mexico.
I'm confused... are you talking about the same class as Babyduck?Quote:
Originally Posted by BabyDuck
I paid $175 each for Cavern, Intro, Apprentice, and Full. But my instructor had a full-time job and only expected his fees to cover his expenses.
The thing with GUE is you have to take a fundies course and learn the basics all over again. Then start with the cave program. I would like to take the fundies course myself but that would be all. I dont like comments like "how much is your life worth" as an excuse for a high price. Theres alot to know but its not rocket science.
Awesome comment. IMHO everything that's covered in fundies you can get out of your basic cave class and a good PADI instructor.Quote:
Originally Posted by stairman
yes, i was - though obviously i was wrong about where she was!
write that down, y'all - i was wrong & admitted it without waterboarding.
obviously not GUE trained. Waterboarding is a walk in the park for those guys and gals.Quote:
Originally Posted by BabyDuck
skip
i'm totally not gue trained. and i totally hate being wrong! ;)