P3

[SkimFisher]

Or the NSS-CDS for that matter...

[Jim Wyatt]

I dove P3 last week to Hendly's Castle with Paul for my last dive.

Tracy I expect you have your facts a bit confused. Hendley's Castle is 185 feet deep and I don't think that is where you and Paul went to complete a full cave class that has a depth limitation of130 feet.

[TracyN]

We didn't go all the way down. Just went a little way down the jump. Stayed within the limits. No worries.

[Jim Wyatt]

We didn't go all the way down. Just went down the jump a ways. Stayed within the limits. No worries.

Thanks for clarifying. I never doubted Paul stayed within the limits but your post made it sound as if he had taken you to 185....Thats where Hendley's Castle is. No one ever gets confused over these internet posts.

[derek]

Expect zero vis going though sand slide if you are carrying stages. The line is also unreachable.

[TracyN]

Thanks for clarifying. I never doubted Paul stayed within the limits but your post made it sound as if he had taken you to 185....Thats where Hendley's Castle is. No one ever gets confused over these internet posts.

LOL! I understand. I guess I should have stated it was the Hendly's Castle jump.

[diveconjeff]

Expect zero vis going though sand slide if you are carrying stages. The line is also unreachable.

Now that sounds like fun ...

[curtschu]

Expect zero vis going though sand slide if you are carrying stages. The line is also unreachable.

Do you take your stages past the sand slide? I seem to remember that is where I always dropped mine. Maybe right past the slide.

[hunabku]

Prior to Full Cave I had NAUI Cave 1. I specifically remember from training that we were not allowed to dive siphons. I can't speak for the NSS or CDS but I imagine the training standards would be similar. I dove P3 last week to Hendly's Castle with Paul for my last dive. The passage was very milky and the silt will poof up if you look at it wrong. In a few places we had to remove the main line from the silt because it was buried. If you are only intro and don't have good buoyancy control I would highly suggest doing a different dive.

Tracy, as I mentioned in a previous post in this thread neither the NSS-CDS nor the NACD have any limitations on diving syphons at any level. A lot of people imagine they do, or have the impression they do, but they don't, at all.

You specifically remember from your NAUI cave 1 training that you were not allowed to dive syphons. I didn't do NAUI cave. I bet it was a good class as I have enjoyed several other NAUI classes. Could you find a reference in your course materials for the restriction on diving syphons. I am seriously curious and all to often it seems what people recall about the limitations is incorrect.

Did I mention downsream cow is a syphon? (sorry lol)

[DA Aquamaster]

Do you take your stages past the sand slide? I seem to remember that is where I always dropped mine. Maybe right past the slide.

We've always left them at the large rock about 70' short of the Hendly's jump.

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The siphon in P3 is normally so slight as to not require any adjustment to the gas plan. We just dive it like any other low flow cave and I would not get too wrapped around the axle in terms of whether or nit it's ok to dive a siphon at Intro when you are talking about P3. It's milky viz even when it's good, the sand slides are low and require good technique and that's more of a challenge at Intro than the very slight siphon you might find.

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Downstream Cow is also a siphon but again it's normally not all that strong and presents no real swimming or gas issues given that it's a slight siphon and the downstream gold line is what 400' long? You can easily plan a healthy reserve there given the shortness of the passage.