Maximising cave dives per day...

[theriel]

Hello,

First of all - hello to all the members of the forum . After some time of reading the posts here, I thought it would be good to slowly start participating...

So... having recently passed my full cave and stage cave courses, I am already happily planning the next trips! .

I have, however, a couple of questions to ye old cave divers:
1)How many dives are you reasonably capable of doing per day? I don't mean expedition, dpv, triple staged dives... . I know that OW diving on Bonaire I could easily do 4-5 dives per day. During classes and guided dives in caves, I was quite exhausted after 2 dives..
2)Am I correct in saying that, because of the depths, it is more possible to be diving more in Mexico? (I am trying to maximize dives per $$)
3)What would you recommend for a person who finished all their training in Florida and is willing to get to know other beautiful places in the world: Bahamas, Mexico or maybe something else?

One more thing - I am afraid that I must express my deep disappointment regarding this forum. And to think that I was relying on you... You should have warned me that cave diving might lead to loss of interest in open-water diving, lots of unexpected expenditure, willingness to change all the holiday plans and... a sudden interest in country music!

P.S. If somebody was looking for a buddy around January for any cave trip... I am happy to dive at any levels up to stage cave.

Best,
Theriel

[Sludge]

Maximizing your cave dollar, Florida is pretty awesome. I hear about $100-200 per day guide fees in Mexico - you can dive many sites in Florida for free. Little River, Telford, Cow come to mind. For a few bucks a day (I believe $4) add Peacock, Manatee, Lafayette Blue, Madison Blue. Even Ginnie and Jackson Blue at ~$25 a day are way cheaper than hiring a guide.

As far as numbers go, I'm 52 and can easily do three one-hour dives a day. I hold it to two if the dives are longer.

[Atom]

In Mexico, we could pull about 2 cave dive per day in the Tulum area (with dive time varying from 1hr to 2hrs). The factors preventing us from doing more...

-Double 80s only and we're not cave stage/multi-stage trained
-Closing/Opening hour for the cenote, they want you out around 17h/17h30 usually
-Closing time when returning the tanks (we were renting at Xibalba), for 2 weeks we were the last guys to return our doubles pretty much every day. I believe this is not an issue at some other places.

It's certainly possible to cave dive independently in Mexico, but the guides (or buddies with previous experience) are worth it the first time you visit a new cenote, you'll waste much less time trying to find the start of the line. Also guides can provide transportation so you wouldn't have to rent a car while you're there. They can also introduce you to the little differences. For example, I think in Florida 2 arrows together indicate a jump, where in Mexico 1 arrow indicates a jump and 2 arrows are used to point to the closest exit.

There's a lot of beautiful shallow cave over there, so even on air it's possible to do long dives without crazy deco.

[bob1577]

Theriel

Here is an offer for you. I will be in the states for at least 6 weeks from X mass till Feb. I plan to go to Florida and dive for a few weeks down there mainlly up in North Florida. Also if funds prevail, I will head to Mexico for 10 days diving at least 7/8. Let me know if you are interested in either stateside diving or Mexico. I already talked to a guy from Aus and he wants to maybe do mexico mid Jan. That way we save on a guide lodging car hire etc. Pm me and we can maybe sort something out ok. Even if we got 3/5 people we couls make a real good holiday of it. Beats being the Uk or Ireland in the wet crappy months right.

[Skorpiov]

a sudden interest in country music!

This is not related to cave diving. This is a symptom of something far worse. Get some antibiotics before this takes a strong hold and put on some Pink Floyd.

[Dark Eternal]

This is not related to cave diving. This is a symptom of something far worse. Get some antibiotics before this takes a strong hold and put on some Pink Floyd.

We need a like button.

[Bobby]

Hello,

First of all - hello to all the members of the forum . After some time of reading the posts here, I thought it would be good to slowly start participating...

Hello, back at ya & welcome to the site.

So... having recently passed my full cave and stage cave courses, I am already happily planning the next trips! .

Congratulations and good that you will be keeping the experience gaining part of it up as well.

I have, however, a couple of questions to ye old cave divers:
1)How many dives are you reasonably capable of doing per day? I don't mean expedition, dpv, triple staged dives... . I know that OW diving on Bonaire I could easily do 4-5 dives per day. During classes and guided dives in caves, I was quite exhausted after 2 dives..
2)Am I correct in saying that, because of the depths, it is more possible to be diving more in Mexico? (I am trying to maximize dives per $$)
3)What would you recommend for a person who finished all their training in Florida and is willing to get to know other beautiful places in the world: Bahamas, Mexico or maybe something else?

1) It depends on the dive. For multiple dives in a day I tend to limit my in water time to 3-4 hours. Most sites here in the South Florida that is 1-2 dives per day regardless of OC, stages, CCR, etc. As a newer certified diver you may find that one hour dives and doing 2-3 allows you to learn more of the cave with less penetration.

2) It has been a while since I have been to Mexico, so things have changed a bit I am sure. From old experience I found that in water time was for the most part about the same as U.S.. It takes a little longer and is more work getting into the dive sites in Mexico so it kind of evens out. Don't take this as a slur on cave diving in Mexico because it is GREAT!

3) There are some great places to dive besides the ones you mentioned there is the Dominican Republic, Cuba (as non U.S. citizen just don't plan it bookmarked with a trip to U.S.), France, etc.

One more thing - I am afraid that I must express my deep disappointment regarding this forum. And to think that I was relying on you... You should have warned me that cave diving might lead to loss of interest in open-water diving, lots of unexpected expenditure, willingness to change all the holiday plans and... a sudden interest in country music!
l

Learn to use the search function. It is well documented on this site what happens when bitten by the cave diving bug. Most of us have given up meals and new cloths to feed our addiction at one time or another. The country music thing is entirely separate and serious, I don't know if there is a cure but you really need to find it.

P.S. If somebody was looking for a buddy around January for any cave trip... I am happy to dive at any levels up to stage cave.

Best,
Theriel

We live in the area so if you are looking for dive teammates drop me a line. Again congrats, welcome to the site, and might as well stand up now and admit you are an addict and there is nothing you can do about it. It won't change anything but it will make you feel better just admitting it.

[w ripley]

This is not related to cave diving. This is a symptom of something far worse. Get some antibiotics before this takes a strong hold and put on some Pink Floyd.

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[w ripley]

We need a like button.

+1 (Still need 3 characters for a post)

[stairman]

I think 3 dives a day is pretty much it. Ive never done anymore than that with the minimum dive being 30 minutes. Having extra tanks full could speed things up and not too much BS'in at Cave Excursions or springside.