what steps should one take...

[offroadr1]

Thats good to know.

[Sludge]

While we're at it...

Advanced Nitrox/Deco Procedures: what you should have learned in your nitrox course had your instructor been diligent, coupled with what you should have learned in Open Water and had reinforced in your cave course.

[amphipod06]

Step 12: Post a thread on the forum asking if there's another 12 step program to help you kick your cave diving habit because you're wife and dog complain that they never see you and your addiction keeps you broker than if you had a cocaine addiction (no pun pertainining to any certifying agencies intended)

HAHHAHAHHAHAHHAHHAHA, wish I could give you green for the laugh!

Dive safe,

Celia

PS You can never have enough gear.....or enough diving...

[offroadr1]

I had a chance to get in a couple dives this weekend. Kels and I went to madison quarry in huntsville. Its a smaal quarry, but they have some cool stuff to look at. F4 pfantom(i think), a 55ft missile etc. The dive was a little uncomfortable at first. I was wearing a 7mm wetsuit and using a cannister light to focus on keeping my hands where they needed to be. During the dive I was having trouble with both trim and buoyancy. I figured most of it had to do with going from 3mm to 7mm. I was also using heavier fins. For my next dive i put a 2lb weight on each shoulder and that made a world of difference. It was a much more comfortable dive and I did not have nearly the trouble I experienced on the previous dive. There is a 30ft long arched suspension bridge in the quarry. I was able to hover inches off of it and follow the arch without issue. It felt pretty good!

[Jont]

Along the path to full cave certification. Right now I am open water certified. Full cave is my future goal. Im not interested in getting there as fast as I can. Im more interested in getting there effectively. Basically what I am looking for is an outline on the best way to get from the point I am at now, to where I want to be. What kinds of habits I should avoid, what kinda of gear i should look out for/avoid. What kinds of skills should I focus on to better prepare myself.

I am learning sidemount now. I have a hollis sms100 and so far I think that it is great!. My dive buddy is walking me through it now. She has been diving for several years and is cave certified. I have asked her a million questions already, but figured I would post up here to take some of the burden off of her.

Full disclosure:" I am not interested in penetrating caves/caverns before I am trained to do so. I already know the allure of it, but am well aware of the risks. Frankly, Im not ready to take those risks. I just want to be as prepared as I can be on my first day of intro class. If my instructor tells me Im not ready, then Ill work till I am ready. Just hoping to have a good foundation so that maybe that will not be the case.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

The short answer is BUILD TIME IN THE WATER

The best divers in the world (at any level) are the ones that are the most comfortable in the water, comfort comes with time underwater, people that were introduced to water sports under the age of 10 have a huge advantage but this we can't control our parents/guardians made that choice for us.

Now there are always be those that love to point to the exception but to be blunt fools bet on exceptions to the rule, winners go home with the prom queen.

What I would do is take a cavern course, that will introduce you to specific skills necessary to be a successful cave diver, after that class practice a bit then have a guide take you on a "check out" dive, after that dive or two access your skills and comfort level, if you;re to eager go home, if you have respect then proceed with the education.

[WFLS]

Its been said may times, but to put it succinctly spend time in O/W working on

1) Teamwork
2) Buoyancy
3) Position
4) Kicks

... in that order. If you are completely confident in those four critical skills on Day 1, then the rest of the week will be a piece of cake

[offroadr1]

I have a little to update. I have been trying to dive as often as possible since I started this thread. While that still isnt as often as I would like, I feel i have learned a good bit. I treat every dive as a training dive and try to learn with each attempt. I have tweaked my gear, gotten a drysuit, tried out several different fins, gotten my own cylinders etc.

This past weekend my first dive with my new cylinders was horrible. So bad I wanted to pack up and find something else to do for the rest of the day. When Kels and I emerged, the first thing she asked is what the hell was wrong with me. I was all over the place and couldnt figure out why. The only difference in my setup from previous was I was now diving worthington lp85s instead of the faber lp95s that I had been using. I really didnt think that is where the problem was. In the water my cylinders just felt like they were too far down, as in closer to my feet than they should be. I remember grabbing the valves and pulling them into my armpits to try and stay trim and recover my buoyancy. The problem as it turned out, was that I did not have the necks clipped in. I clipped them in and my second dive was one of my most comfortable dives to date. Its amazing how such a small issue can cause so many problems. I did end up shortening my bungees and moving my cam bands up on the cylinders a little bit.

On one of my dives this weekend, I had to perform a shutdown of one cylinder. No big deal. I has just switched regs and about 1 minute after the switch I noticed bubbles coming from the swivel. I had blown an oring where the swivel meets the 2nd stage. I saw bubbles, shut it down and we headed back to the dock.

The rest of the dives I focused on my frog kick. I had been doing a pretty sloppy job of it. Kelsey had me lay on the platform as she moved my fins in the way I needed to being doing. Also during those dives, she demonstrated running a reel to me. After she showed me what to do, I ran a square around the platform. It sucked. Just when I was starting to think that my buoyancy control was pretty good, all it took was a task to humble me. It didnt help that the platform was under me and became a crutch. The run to the first tie off had too much slack, and I had trouble keeping the reel from getting tangled. I managed to do it, but it wasnt pretty. It wasnt horrible, but could certainly be better. We surfaced, discussed it some at lunch and I made another attempt. This time was much better. I used my fingers to maintain control over the reel so that I didnt feed too much out too fast and get tangled. I ran another square patter, but did it from the outside of the platform. my buoyancy was much better. I ran the line and followed it with eyes closed from end to beginning. Success! Later we did a similar drill with a spool. it was a bit easier to keep under control than the reel.

All in all it was a productive weekend. I learned a lot and have plenty to practice before my cavern and intro class. I have signed up to take them in Marianna on dec 27-30! Then hopefully I will make it down to Ginnie for the CDF social.