My introduction to Florida caves

peterdevlin · December 22nd, 2005, 03:45 PM

In response to Clare's posting suggesting dive write-ups, here is a dive report I submitted to the Oxford Uni Cave Club journal early in 2005.

Although I've been dabbling in cave diving in this country (UK) for a little while I found myself totally unprepared for Florida style cave diving. Up until this point my exposure had been to either no flow or relatively low flow caves or mines, furthermore the penetrations I have been doing are distinctly of the kindergarten variety (50 to 100m at a depth of 5 or 6m). My first dive, in Devil's Ear with a local cave diver was a 300m penetration against strong current at a depth of 30m. On the way in I think I was suffering from stimulus overload and over-breathing from pushing hard against the current in a complex cave. It wasn't until we went beyond the 500' marker and I turned the dive that I realised how far we were in and how unprepared I felt for diving in that environment. It was at that point that a respectable burst of narcosis set in. Fortunately coming out with the current was a lot easier than the way in. I came out as emotionally exhausted as after my first caving trip to Swinsto.

The next day I started 4 days of classes that I hoped would earn me the apprentice cave diver and full cave diver qualifications. It very quickly became clear that from a number of perspectives (trim or how you position yourself in the water, reel handling using thin line instead of the thick line used in the UK, tolerance for kicking up silt) my skills weren't as good as they needed to be. The format of the dives followed a simple pattern: dive the agreed plan on the way in, then do drills on the way out. Drills on the way out involved the instructor simulating failures of virtually everything except an actual failure of air supply. These ranged from my main light failing and using a backup light to the instructor swimming off down a side passage leaving me to tie off and start to execute a lost buddy drill. Beyond any shadow of doubt the most intense was the lights out/air sharing exercise. This was executed about 200m into the cave: using touch contact as the only method of communication in pitch black my buddy and I (whom I had only met 1/2 an hour before) did this for what seemed like an eternity (probably only 10 minutes). The section of the cave we were in was such that the depth range was between 30 and 15m, through constrictions and of course in high flow (current). At one point the current was so strong that it flipped me around from being head first to fin first and pulled my buddy off the line. I grabbed him and put his hand back on the line: as I had his regulator in my mouth my motivation was not altruistic. As a bonding experience this is certainly one of the most intense I have experienced.

The lost line skill was another fun one. This involved a blacked out mask, a reel and being taken off the line and disoriented. I had done this drill before, but not in high current. Just to add a frisson, during this exercise my computer started beeping at me. In retrospect it was telling me that I was going into deco (ie I would now be required to do a decompression stop), but I was convinced that I was getting a warning that I was about to run out of gas: the thought of running out of air while blindfolded in a high flow cave didn't help me execute the required search pattern.
My disappointment at not getting the full cave diver qualification was offset by the fact that I learnt more from a skills perspective in those four days than I had in four years of diving. The caves I dived were spectacularly beautiful and the visibility was amazing (20 to 30m), and I'm now very clear what skills I need to work on. All in all it was a great trip and I very much intend to return to Florida to dive some more high flow caves sometime in the future. In the meantime I'll just have to lug my dive gear up the hill to Silica Mine and practice my skills there.

Ciao,
Peter

**jb2cool** · December 22nd, 2005, 05:10 PM

Nice report, sounds intense. So have you been brushing up on your skills to enable you to attain a full cave rating? if so, have you managed to get it yet?

peterdevlin · December 22nd, 2005, 05:36 PM

Quote: (Originally Posted by jb2cool)

Nice report, sounds intense. So have you been brushing up on your skills to enable you to attain a full cave rating? if so, have you managed to get it yet?

I did my Full Cave here in the UK with Martyn, but conditions in the UK are quite different in terms of access to sumps, gear and viz to Florida, so Martyn emphasises different skills for diving in our sumps.

I continue to work on trim and buoyancy and hope to get back to Florida at some point.

Divingniknaks · December 22nd, 2005, 10:56 PM

Great report.

Scary but a great report, I have nothing but respect for people who get through Cave training.

Cheers

December 22nd, 2005, 03:45 PM	#1 (permalink)
peterdevlin(Offline) New Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: UK Posts: 9	My introduction to Florida caves In response to Clare's posting suggesting dive write-ups, here is a dive report I submitted to the Oxford Uni Cave Club journal early in 2005. Although I've been dabbling in cave diving in this country (UK) for a little while I found myself totally unprepared for Florida style cave diving. Up until this point my exposure had been to either no flow or relatively low flow caves or mines, furthermore the penetrations I have been doing are distinctly of the kindergarten variety (50 to 100m at a depth of 5 or 6m). My first dive, in Devil's Ear with a local cave diver was a 300m penetration against strong current at a depth of 30m. On the way in I think I was suffering from stimulus overload and over-breathing from pushing hard against the current in a complex cave. It wasn't until we went beyond the 500' marker and I turned the dive that I realised how far we were in and how unprepared I felt for diving in that environment. It was at that point that a respectable burst of narcosis set in. Fortunately coming out with the current was a lot easier than the way in. I came out as emotionally exhausted as after my first caving trip to Swinsto. The next day I started 4 days of classes that I hoped would earn me the apprentice cave diver and full cave diver qualifications. It very quickly became clear that from a number of perspectives (trim or how you position yourself in the water, reel handling using thin line instead of the thick line used in the UK, tolerance for kicking up silt) my skills weren't as good as they needed to be. The format of the dives followed a simple pattern: dive the agreed plan on the way in, then do drills on the way out. Drills on the way out involved the instructor simulating failures of virtually everything except an actual failure of air supply. These ranged from my main light failing and using a backup light to the instructor swimming off down a side passage leaving me to tie off and start to execute a lost buddy drill. Beyond any shadow of doubt the most intense was the lights out/air sharing exercise. This was executed about 200m into the cave: using touch contact as the only method of communication in pitch black my buddy and I (whom I had only met 1/2 an hour before) did this for what seemed like an eternity (probably only 10 minutes). The section of the cave we were in was such that the depth range was between 30 and 15m, through constrictions and of course in high flow (current). At one point the current was so strong that it flipped me around from being head first to fin first and pulled my buddy off the line. I grabbed him and put his hand back on the line: as I had his regulator in my mouth my motivation was not altruistic. As a bonding experience this is certainly one of the most intense I have experienced. The lost line skill was another fun one. This involved a blacked out mask, a reel and being taken off the line and disoriented. I had done this drill before, but not in high current. Just to add a frisson, during this exercise my computer started beeping at me. In retrospect it was telling me that I was going into deco (ie I would now be required to do a decompression stop), but I was convinced that I was getting a warning that I was about to run out of gas: the thought of running out of air while blindfolded in a high flow cave didn't help me execute the required search pattern. My disappointment at not getting the full cave diver qualification was offset by the fact that I learnt more from a skills perspective in those four days than I had in four years of diving. The caves I dived were spectacularly beautiful and the visibility was amazing (20 to 30m), and I'm now very clear what skills I need to work on. All in all it was a great trip and I very much intend to return to Florida to dive some more high flow caves sometime in the future. In the meantime I'll just have to lug my dive gear up the hill to Silica Mine and practice my skills there. Ciao, Peter

December 22nd, 2005, 05:10 PM	#2 (permalink)
jb2cool(Offline) Padawan learner Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Bracknell, Berkshire Posts: 797	Nice report, sounds intense. So have you been brushing up on your skills to enable you to attain a full cave rating? if so, have you managed to get it yet? __________________ http://jb2cool.bulldoghome.com

December 22nd, 2005, 10:56 PM	#4 (permalink)
Divingniknaks(Offline) Resident purveyor of shiney kit.... Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Midlands UK Posts: 1,038	Great report. Scary but a great report, I have nothing but respect for people who get through Cave training. Cheers __________________ Phill ----------------------------- Salvo Lights, DirZone Gear , Frog Wings Dive ? http://www.divingniknaks.com

December 22nd, 2005, 05:36 PM	#3 (permalink)
peterdevlin(Offline) New Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: UK Posts: 9	Quote: (Originally Posted by jb2cool) Nice report, sounds intense. So have you been brushing up on your skills to enable you to attain a full cave rating? if so, have you managed to get it yet? I did my Full Cave here in the UK with Martyn, but conditions in the UK are quite different in terms of access to sumps, gear and viz to Florida, so Martyn emphasises different skills for diving in our sumps. I continue to work on trim and buoyancy and hope to get back to Florida at some point.