Easy Intro level caves w/doubles

[stairman]

Actually Ginnie does allow doubles in the main cavern.[cave grated off]that would be a good place to get the feel of em.I made my first dive in the cavern at peacock.Once I got used to feeling like a turtle we took the peanut tunnel for a spin.Staying over rock instead of mud to start out helped me.

[flyczek]

I did my doubles familiarization at Morrsion Springs. My buddy and I just tooled arond the drop off and all through the roots of the swamp and throughout the sandy areas until we had burned a set dry (3 looong dives). Later we came back with topped tanks and did some cavern diving in the upper and lower sections.

Personally I think doubles tend to trim better and are very stable once you get used to them.

That said, during my full cave class I got a double leg cramp in the cavern zone of P1. OUCH That was something I had never rehearsed. After experiencing that, I would suggest going to a safe, shallow place with a friendly bottom and doing all the silly stuff like rolls and flips just to see what that is like. When it happened to me I rolled over, grabbed my legs and then took a deep breath to get to the ceiling. It was ugly, but it worked. Unfortunately, in the process I lost all my cool points.

[Genesis]

Morrison isn't a bad choice for this.... it has the somewhat-unique advantage of being free to access (at least at the present) although there's no fill station there. On the other hand you can dive damn near forever on a full load in 108s in the run!

[QuarryCommando]

A cave is sure not the place to 'learn' to dive doubles.

I agree. That's why I learned how to dive doubles outside of an overhead environment several years ago - with the help of people more experienced than me (only been certified since '96)

You said you haven't been to Florida in years which leads me to believe that you haven't been cave diving in years (I could be wrong - I apologize if I am).

I was intro certified in April of last year. As my instructor was fond of reminding me, too many Florida cavers think that cave diving only exists in Florida. I'm from the Midwest, and there's both natural caves here (most notably Missouri) and man-made (Piquette Mine in Wisconsin with 2 miles of line laid down to 100ft, which is where I was certified.) Last time I was in Florida, I was a non-diving tourist; sorry if I gave the wrong impression.

If this is the case, I surely wouldn't suggest just jumping into the caves with doubles to get your feet wet again.

I agree.

Not only for your own safety but also from a cave conservation point of view.

Agreed.

Head out to your local quarry to get your doubles dialed in.

Yep, done that.

I was just curious about some relatively easy dive spots if I make it down to Florida sometime...

[Cindy]

The best bet when posting to avoid misunderstanding with others is to post more information. If you're "just curious" and don't want others showing concern for you then try to explain yourself and what you want at the start of the thread instead of having to defend yourself at the end. Good luck with your diving, Cindy

[crawford]

Jackson Blue is a good one. Big, clear, and good outflow. That was my first cave dive in doubles and you can play around in the cavern for your first dive before heading down the mainline.

[curtschu]

What major difference did you find between a Single and Doubles?

I found it much easier to use double but this might have been because at the time the BC I had for single was an old 80's style jacket that had the the shoulders taped. It really $ucked. When I went to doulds it was the right equipment Bands DR wings BP. I felt much more in control Right Away.

[Gary]

Jackson Blue is a good one. Big, clear, and good outflow.

But doesn't Jackson Blue forbid cavern and intro divers?

Depends on which deputy is manning the window.

Here's the problem: the rules say cave divers only. Some interpret that to mean Full Cave, but some interpret it (as do I) to mean overhead trained divers only. Cavern divers are overhead trained.

Hence the effort to get the rules rewritten and clarified.

[steve2281]

Peacock 1 was one of my favorites for what you describe. Dive up the Pothole tunnel to 1/6's, come back to the cavern, recalculate 1/6's and go up the Peanut tunnel. Gets you a good long dive within the limits of your certification.