How often should you cave dive?

[Kelly Jessop]

The other consideration is that the level of dive may be dependent on frequency of diving. For example, if someone is just a twice a year cave diver, this individual may want to limit their dive to gold line with partial penetration distance. We have seen a handful of cave diver fatalities from those who come very infrequently.

[DogDiver]

The other consideration is that the level of dive may be dependent on frequency of diving. For example, if someone is just a twice a year cave diver, this individual may want to limit their dive to gold line with partial penetration distance. We have seen a handful of cave diver fatalities from those who come very infrequently.

Good advice. How many of us local cave divers have seen vacation divers do a total cluster dive. My advice would be to keep it simple. Dive within your comfort zone. Don?t let peer pressure convince you into doing something stupid.


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[MORGAN]

We do three weeks of cave diving twice a year, for a total of 40-ish cave dives per year. But we look at every other dive we do as a training dive for caves, and the first few dives of a caving trip are always easy ones. The Crossover Tunnel circuit in Peacock is our most common first dive.

[phillip1]

I did about 40 hours in my pool with no fins on to practice buoyancy skills with the Sidewinder before I did cave CCR.

[Sludge]

The last fourteen years I lived in Georgia I averaged 64 dives a year, with about fifty being cave dives. Then I moved to Florida seven years ago and I've averaged just over twenty dives a year, with about four being cave dives.

The things we do for love...

[mer]

Only you can value with your time and money means to you for an investment in a hobby/sport/passion.

One thing I do want to draw attention to is for those cave divers who have breaks in their cave diving, you need to EASE back into the activity. There are mistakes that have been made before from people trying to jump right back in where they left off on their "previous cave trip."

How long makes it a "break" and what "easing" back in means to you has a lot of variables: how much cave diving experience you had before the break, how much total diving experience you have, what level of cave dives you were doing, and when outside of cave country, how much do you use skills that have overlap with cave diving (2x tanks, lights, line work, anti-silting kicks, gas switches, currents, etc.) Those with less experience and/or desiring more complex dives are LESS TOLERANT of a break from cave diving.

The universal is: scale it back and build back gradually. There are tons of beautiful things to see along the way.

I feel this is especially important over the next year with many cave divers coming back from COVID-related breaks from cave diving due to travel restrictions etc.

Also, when in doubt, have a proficient instructor or a proficient and experienced cave diver give you feedback on your skill set before you kick it back up a notch.

As someone who does not live near caves, I will be driving a good 14 hours to the site or taking a plane if Covid situation allows. It makes me wonder, before I spent major bucks on getting cave certified, how often does one need to be cave diving to keep their overhead skills sharp? I am sure that there are plenty of cave divers who are as geographically disadvantaged as me so how much cave diving do you end up doing and do you think it justifies your investment into cave training? Thanks.

[Lamar English]

SUB ZERO,
There are things related to cave diving of which, you are unaware:
1. You have to to get some some level of formal training, even if it's just "Cavern Certification" before you can make the decision of "Is it worth it?" I would guess that 99% of the people who make a dive underwater cave either, A.Love it & can't get enough, or B. Get the "Heebie Jeebies" and say, "Oh,Hell No!, Ya'll are Crazy!"
2. The "Cave Bug" when it bites, is known to make people move thousands of miles, change careers, get out of the "Rat Race", marriages and anything else that becomes a hindrance to going cave diving. If your financial situation is a bit tight, you look a purchases in relation of what the $ translates into dive gear; Crap! That's 2 sets of 104's and a a new drysuit! Believe me, it happens.
3. Cave diving often evolves into a way of life, becoming the focal point of your very existence. "Normal" people, who don't cave dive will think, "There's something bad wrong with you, & I mean Bad Wrong!"
4. Being 'geographically challenged" with regard to the dive sites and and the potential expenditure of big $ on what may or may not be a "hobby" or way of life is not a viable excuse for lack of training. What you don't know will kill you.

Sincerely,
Lamar

[SUB ZERO]

Thanks for your insights Lamar. I totally see what you mean. I have a few friends who signed up for the zero to hero cave training. After that, I do not see them diving caves. Distance to location is a factor but like you mentioned, the same people go to Truuk lagoon for wrecks so it all comes to if you caught the bug or not.

[SUB ZERO]

Only you can value with your time and money means to you for an investment in a hobby/sport/passion.

One thing I do want to draw attention to is for those cave divers who have breaks in their cave diving, you need to EASE back into the activity. There are mistakes that have been made before from people trying to jump right back in where they left off on their "previous cave trip."

How long makes it a "break" and what "easing" back in means to you has a lot of variables: how much cave diving experience you had before the break, how much total diving experience you have, what level of cave dives you were doing, and when outside of cave country, how much do you use skills that have overlap with cave diving (2x tanks, lights, line work, anti-silting kicks, gas switches, currents, etc.) Those with less experience and/or desiring more complex dives are LESS TOLERANT of a break from cave diving.

The universal is: scale it back and build back gradually. There are tons of beautiful things to see along the way.

I feel this is especially important over the next year with many cave divers coming back from COVID-related breaks from cave diving due to travel restrictions etc.

Also, when in doubt, have a proficient instructor or a proficient and experienced cave diver give you feedback on your skill set before you kick it back up a notch.

SEE! It is this exact safety-first mindset that makes me want to sign up with you for my Cave course.

[lord1234]

SEE! It is this exact safety-first mindset that makes me want to sign up with you for my Cave course.

I hope you do. Have you taken fundies or any tech training yet? You've been posting here for ~5 years....it's probably about time to s*** or get off the pot