Full Cave Course - 21 July 2011

[DBBM]

Full Cave Course Report

Students: NW & IZ

Swim Along: TV & SC

Instructor: Tom Johnson & Denise Johnson

I decided to upgrade to a Full Cave skill set and after some rearch found that Dayo Scuba offered what I needed in terms of both timing of a course and experienced instructors.

After a monumental struggle with weather, airlines and the like, I arrived at Peacock springs 24 hours latter than planned. This limited my acclimatization dives to just one with TV down the main line in Peacock I. TV was primarily interested in getting some good video from the dive, so the penetration was limited (not much beyond Pothole) and instead, I was working on posing for the camera.



Dive two for the day and we are into the course. This time, both students plus TV and his trusty video camera went a few hundred feet down the main line at Peacock I. Denise set up some mock jumps and showed us how to tie in. She then proceeded to correct each of attempts. She is a good teacher and my second jump line attempt was passable.

The next morning and TJ asked us to do some jumps in Peacock I. NW, IZ and TV on the dive down the main line, tie into the 200ft arrow, jump to the left into an unmarked tunnel that runs parallel to the main line, jump back to the main line at Pothole. Spend some time at Pothole taking photos of the bones, then back the way we came. On the way out, we get to the 100ft marker and jump to the left again. Now we are in the well. Low and silty! Down the chimney and on a few yards more, until I called the dive.



The afternoon was spent in all three of the Peanut Line, Main Line and the Well. It contained a combination of pulling our jump lines (we left them on the first dive) and a repeat of the Intro level skills.



After a good night’s sleep, TJ, NW, IZ and SC headed to Madison Blue for some flow diving. It turns out that the flow is really down at the moment and is one of the best sites I have dived. The plan was to dive down the main line, make one jump and complete the traverse to the Martz Sink. I was leading the dive and must say thank you to whoever wrote the names of the jumps on the arrows. (TJ has no problem letting you make the wrong jump and then waiting to see when you realize your error). My first traverse was completed. The dive was a lot of fun and I have a recollection of coming back with some more OOA and dark drills. What I noticed this time was that even with lights out (and on IZ’s long hose), I knew exactly where I was based on how the line was running and its placement on the rocks. Wow, I must be learning something.



The afternoon was at Peacock III siphon. The plan was to head up to the second jump on the main line, jump to a side line and head down to where it jumps back to the main line, then to continue further down the main line. This time it was IZ turn to lead and Peacock III does not have the jump names written on the jumps. Needless to say, we jumped early (I admit I did not realize and thought we were on plan). The side line we were following runs for a couple of hundred feet and then disappears under the silt. I knew we had not done the 1200 ft planned on the jump line, and will not for get the “what the Hell??” feeling of the cave not being what I expected. After a few seconds of pondering, we headed back to the main line. TJ showed us where we had gone wrong and we headed down the correct jump. We get to the end of that line were it joins the gold line and my SPG tells me it is time to extend my hand and raise my thumb. Back we go.



Next morning and TJ, NW, IZ and SC head off to Ginnie Springs. TJ explains that we should get some more flow than at Madison and that it is my turn to lay the line through the eye. Of course he then plans a complex circuit that required the jump just after cornflakes, followed by the next jump left, then to the end of the line, jump left, then to the end of the line again and jump left, drop a cookie when you need to turn based on gas rules. Yeah right. I tie off to the tree and start to fight the flow in the eye. There I am crawling, fighting, swimming, and pretty much inching forward. After what feels like a year of exercise, I get to the gold line and tie in. Look at the SPG and half of my usable gas is gone! OK from the team and off we go. I make it to the second jump, and then up comes my thumb.

I moan to the team about the flow and getting tied in. TJ laughs, and explains that after getting fills IZ is going to tie in through the ear. Well here we go . . . IZ eventually manages to do a good job of getting us to the gold line. This time we stick on the main line and complete the circuit from the other side. We manage to get all the way to my cookie before I use my thumb. Back the way we came. At the ear, I turn around and exit backwards, trying to help IZ with the reel. (TJ is big on team work). I will never forget wedging my feet into the sides to slow down, while releasing placements.

Final dive of the day and we plan to complete the circuit and pull all jump reels. The dive goes as planned. I am way better at pulling on the bottom by now and only need 1/8th of usable gas to get to the gold line. All is going to plan, so at cornflakes TJ throws a light out exit at us. No problem, I have done this before! What I didn’t know is that SC had been littering the main line with reels that are very similar to my primary, of course these are tied off to random stones in the cave that are nowhere near my exit. Yes, I pulled the wrong one. Fortunately I held it for 20 seconds and realized my error. Still I had now let go of the main line. Realizing my error and thinking I was busy killing some other diver by pulling his reel, I turned on my main light to tie this other reel back to the main line. TJ was not keen on my turning on the light and it took a while for me to realize that the reel I was pulling was his decoy.



The next morning and the final dive of the trip. Little River to experience some T’s. Another lovely dive (and two T’s); what a way to end the trip!

If I were to sum it up the Full Cave Course is a lot of fun. I personally found Intro to be hard work and was worried about Full Cave. It turns out that with longer dive times and far more to see and enjoy the Full Cave course was just plenty of fun.

[DBBM]

And of course, no course is complete without;

The link to TV's video - http://youtu.be/b29lyB-UmLc

[Sludge]

Have I time traveled?


(edit: there was a typo in the title such that this trip took place in the future. Someone has fixed it.)

[Tegg]

Have I time traveled?

South Africa's dates are ahead of ours. It's a timezone thing.