Is Cave Decompression necessary for Open Water Deco Divers?

[SUB ZERO]

I can't even find anything about this class on the TDI website. It's not on the class stucture overview thing.
On the PSAI site it say this: "... It is highly recommended the Cave Decompression Diver students also take Narcosis Management? ? Level II ..." (https://psai.com/2016/03/30/psai-cav...ression-diver/). Who does that?
Didn't you just ask about Narcosis Management the other day? Yeah, I find that odd.

PSAI course structure follows something like this ...

Open Water (Certified to 60 feet only)
Deep Diver (Certified to 90 feet only)

After 90' feet they believe Narcosis to be a factor where many people will find themselves compromised due to Narcosis so they have Narc levels.

Narc Level 1 = 100
Narc Level 2 = 130

While most agencies like PADI, SSI and SDI have a Deep Diver certification which certifies you for a 130 ft dive, PSAI believes that a lot of people will not be able to manage Narcosis to do that safely even as a recreational dive. This is why these levels begin. I spoke to one of their instructors and was told that Narcosis varies a lot from person to person and they can not "train someone" to add more depth if they are already having problems at a specific level. In other words, whatever your limits are, you, you do not progress much. So after PSAI level 2, you would be equal to an SDI or PADI Deep diver, but with superior understanding of how crippled you are due to Narcosis.

As for Cave Deco, it is not a PSAI specific thing by itself. GUE Cave 2 is a higher level certification than TDI Full Cave because it includes decompression in a Cave. UTD Cave 2 takes you to the same level as TDI full cave and cover stage bottles or deco bottle as Cave 3. I have not seen the TDI Cave Deco course on their flow chart but there are places that teach that and here is one.

https://www.rebreatherzone.com/scuba...ression-diver/

Their website lists this one which I assume would have the same skills as Cave Deco?

https://www.tdisdi.com/tdi/get-certi...ge-cave-diver/

[bent]

We have been visiting Gozo on and off for the past 30 years as a fantastic place for fish watching and scenic open water diving with great drop offs straight from the shore. There are a number of large sea 'caves' some of which do go back maybe 30-40 metres but they are so large that even at the back not only is the entrance clearly visible but there is no need for a torch as it is light. Over the past few years some of these large caverns have gained spikes close to the entrance presumably to run a line from during cavern courses and we have been amazed to see that some of the local dive shops are offering 'cave' courses. Unless there are some secret caves in Gozo somewhere that we are not aware of then unless the requirements for cavern/cave training have changed markedly over the past 25 years that we have been cave diving then I have no idea how even a cavern ticket could be obtained in Gozo.

Thanks Pete.

See Ken, I'm not full of ####. The people who offer these classes are facebook famous tdi people. I bet you've see a few hundered of their pic/adds on fb.

who thinks that the agency on the card is any determinant of a diver's skills has issues that need to be checked out. Grow up, people!

Nobody said that.

[bent]

PSAI course structure follows something like this ...

Open Water (Certified to 60 feet only)
Deep Diver (Certified to 90 feet only)

After 90' feet they believe Narcosis to be a factor where many people will find themselves compromised due to Narcosis so they have Narc levels.

Narc Level 1 = 100
Narc Level 2 = 130

While most agencies like PADI, SSI and SDI have a Deep Diver certification which certifies you for a 130 ft dive, PSAI believes that a lot of people will not be able to manage Narcosis to do that safely even as a recreational dive. This is why these levels begin. I spoke to one of their instructors and was told that Narcosis varies a lot from person to person and they can not "train someone" to add more depth if they are already having problems at a specific level. In other words, whatever your limits are, you, you do not progress much. So after PSAI level 2, you would be equal to an SDI or PADI Deep diver, but with superior understanding of how crippled you are due to Narcosis.

As for Cave Deco, it is not a PSAI specific thing by itself. GUE Cave 2 is a higher level certification than TDI Full Cave because it includes decompression in a Cave. UTD Cave 2 takes you to the same level as TDI full cave and cover stage bottles or deco bottle as Cave 3. I have not seen the TDI Cave Deco course on their flow chart but there are places that teach that and here is one.

https://www.rebreatherzone.com/scuba...ression-diver/

Their website lists this one which I assume would have the same skills as Cave Deco?

https://www.tdisdi.com/tdi/get-certi...ge-cave-diver/

Just FYI, the rebreatherzone guy had a fatal accident this summer.

I'm not sure what you're trying to do. AFAIR you wanted to take UTD training, GUE training, zero-to-hero, do sidemount, wondered if cave training is worth it, asked for deep air diving etc. Now you're asking for cave deco without any cave training. All those things dont really align. I dont get it.

[SUB ZERO]

Just FYI, the rebreatherzone guy had a fatal accident this summer.

I'm not sure what you're trying to do. AFAIR you wanted to take UTD training, GUE training, zero-to-hero, do sidemount, wondered if cave training is worth it, asked for deep air diving etc. Now you're asking for cave deco without any cave training. All those things dont really align. I dont get it.

Which is why we should attempt to address the question raised in the post rather than to psychoanalyze the person making the post, whom we have never met.

[bent]

Which is why we should attempt to address the question raised in the post rather than to psychoanalyze the person making the post, whom we have never met.

What question? If stage cave is the same as cave deco? No, it's not. Stage class is for extending penetration distance and stage gas planning. Kensuf explained what cave deco is a couple of pages back.

[floridabob]

It's threads like these that remind me why cave divers don't have any friends.

That aren't narcissistic cave divers.

Discuss the topic and keep the postulating to yourself... Or behind the OP's back like a normal person.

Bob.

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[bent]

I dont know what postulating means.

[floridabob]

Too bad, I think you would find the word appropriate.

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[Draker]

?cave divers don't have any friends.

That aren't narcissistic cave divers.

Bob.

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I knew there was a reason I liked you.


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[floridabob]

Sunnavabish!

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