Ya que los humanos han vivido en cuevas durante milenios, parece que hemos desarrollado un fuerte, a veces inconsciente, lazo con ellas.  Las cuevas han provisto a los humanos de refugio del ambiente externo por largo tiempo.

Cuando evolucionó la exploración de las cuevas secas a la exploración de las cuevas inundadas, las primeras técnicas utilizadas fueron sosteniendo la respiración.  Con el desarrollo de Aqualung, los buzos empezaron a aventurarse en las cuevas inundadas y nació la exploración de cuevas submarinas.  Los pasados accidentes de buceo en cueva eran con frecuencia vistos como sensacionalistas por el público pero, vistos en el periodo de la exploración de cuevas submarinas, el número de buzos de cueva que han fallecido en cuevas inundadas es menor de 2 al año.

Análisis de Accidentes de Buceo de Cueva

El pionero del buceo de cueva Sheck Exley publicó en 1979 “Un plano azul para la supervivencia” donde investigó y analizó las muertes en cueva ocurridas hasta ese punto e identificó tres factores principales que han contribuido a los accidentes.  Con su estudio, Sheck Exley fundó las bases para el entrenamiento de buzos de cueva y el futuro entrenamiento incluyó la prevención de estos tres factores.  Al inicio del año 1983, Wes Skiles continuó la investigación de accidentes ocurridos hasta ese punto e identificó otros dos factores principales que contribuyen a los accidentes en el ambiente de la cueva submarina.  Los cinco factores que contribuyen han sido denominados las cinco reglas del análisis de accidentes pero existen factores adicionales que contribuyen a su existencia.  Las reglas del análisis de accidentes forman la base del entrenamiento del buzo de cueva actual.

Reglas del Análisis de Accidentes y Factores que contribuyen

Para la población de buzos en general.  Las siguientes son las reglas originales y los factores que contribuyen del análisis de accidentes en el orden en que ocurren de acuerdo a las estadísticas.  Estas reglas y factores aplican para la población y comunidad general de buceo que no está entrenada de ninguna manera en ambientes techados como caverna, cueva, naufragio o buceo en hielo.

1.  Falta de entrenamiento en buceos de entorno cerrado.

Los buzos entrenados para el buceo de aguas abiertas, aún aquellos con mucha experiencia que entran en entorno cerrado, no están preparados para el autoentrenamiento del riesgo específico del buceo de cueva o caverna.  Es la falta de conocimiento acerca del riesgo, las técnicas y el equipo utilizado lo que pone en riesgo al buzo de aguas abiertas.

2.       Falla al mantener la continuidad de la línea guía hacia aguas abiertas.

La falla al mantener una sencilla línea guía continua desde la ubicación de uno en la cueva de regreso a aguas abiertas, es la segunda razón más directa para las muertes en buceo de cueva.  Los buzos de aguas abiertas no procesan el conocimiento de la importancia de una línea guía continua a la superficie.  Cuando estos buzos entran al ambiente techado la visibilidad en muchos casos es muy buena pero puede cambiar durante la penetración cuando no se utiliza el equilibrio apropiado y las técnicas de propulsión.  Cuando se voltean, estos buzos pueden enfrentar una situación de visibilidad cero donde es imposible ver y encontrar el camino a la salida.

3.       Falla al reservar al menos dos tercios de la provisión de aire respirable del inicio para la salida.

Bucear en entorno cerrado requiere suficiente volumen de gas respirable para asegurar que un buzo pueda salir con seguridad de la cueva y puede brindar asistencia a un buzo sin aire compartiendo su provisión de gas respirable en el caso de una pérdida catastrófica de gas en la máxima penetración y aún salir con seguridad del ambiente de cueva o caverna.  Los buzos deben asegurarse que un tercio de la provisión de gas es utilizado para la penetración de la cueva, un tercio para la salida y un tercio como mínimo para emergencias.  La falla de reservar como mínimo dos tercios de la provisión de gas respirable para la salida es la tercera razón directa para muertes en cueva y su violación genera un serio tema de seguridad no sólo para el buzo que viola la regla de tercios sino para el equipo completo y para quien pueda depender de ese gas respirable para una salida segura en caso de emergencia.

4.       Buceando a exceso de profundidad

El buceo profundo genera una variedad de problemas potenciales y es la cuarta razón directa para las fatalidades en cueva.  Cuando un buzo se aventura en la profundidad de la columna de agua se genera una variedad de problemas adicionales que deben ser mencionados.  Al bucear a mayor profundidad utilizamos más gas respirable que en aguas poco profundas, por lo tanto tenemos menos tiempo de penetración bajo la regla de tercios y más importante, menos tiempo para resolver problemas que puedan ocurrir como tardanza en la salida o enredos.  Otros factores como el aumento de CO2, narcosis por nitrógeno, toxicidad por oxígeno y desmayo por profundidad son factores de las prácticas de buceo de aire profundo y no deben practicarse.  El estrés por descompresión es otro factor del buceo profundo y debe tomarse precaución especial para acomodar los procedimientos de descompresión.  Con la disponibilidad del entrenamiento y el equipo para nitrox, la descompresión acelerada y trimix, algunos de los factores mencionados arriba pueden ser agendados con seguridad en la era actual del buceo.

5.       Falla al usar por lo menos tres luces

Los buzos de cueva deben cargar tres luces por buzo para entrar al ambiente de la cueva con seguridad.  Los buzos de caverna utilizan la luz solar cerca de la entrada como su fuente primaria de luz y requieren cargar solo dos luces mecánicas (la luz del sol es utilizada como la tercera fuente de luz)  Mientras que la pérdida de una fuente de luz puede causar que el buzo retrase su salida, no debe contribuir a una fatalidad ya que salir de la cueva con una luz de respaldo o sin ella usando la línea guía continua a la superficie son ejercicios importantes practicados durante el programa de entrenamiento del buzo de caverna o cueva.

Para buzos de cueva entrenados.  Las siguientes son las reglas originales y los factores que contribuyen del análisis de accidentes en el orden en el que ocurren estadísticamente para buzos de cueva.  Estas reglas y factores aplican para la población de buceo de cueva que está entrenada en buceo de cueva y caverna.

1.   La razón número uno para que mueran buzos de cueva es exceder los límites de profundidad del entrenamiento o la experiencia. Mientras el buceo de cueva es una actividad potencialmente peligrosa, también lo es el buceo profundo.  Combinar estas dos actividades es estar engendrando un animal potencialmente peligroso.  Cerca del 80% de todas las muertes de buceo de cueva ocurren debajo de los 150 pies / 46 metros y pueden haber sido contribuidas por la narcosis por nitrógeno, los requerimientos de volumen de gas, los gases respirables utilizados o el cambio de gas conducido a la profundidad equivocada excediendo un PO2 de 1.4 ata o un END de mayor profundidad de 130 pies / 40 metros.  El buzo de cueva actual tiene una variedad de entrenamiento apropiado y de gases respirables disponibles y puede permanecer dentro de los parámetros de procedimientos y práctica establecidos para un buceo seguro.

2.       La razón número dos para que mueran buzos de cueva es la falla al tender una línea guía continua a la superficie, visualmente brincar de una línea a otra o marcar incorrectamente los saltos o intersecciones permanentes.  Si los buzos penetran una cueva o caverna sin una línea guía o nadan de una línea guía a otra sin colocar e instalar una línea de salto, voluntariamente ponen en riesgo sus vidas debido a que un levantamiento de sedimento puede ocurrir detrás de ellos debido a sus propias técnicas de nado o que otro buzo del equipo entre detrás de ellos reduciendo la visibilidad a cero.  Encontrar la otra línea o la salida puede probar ser excesivamente consumidora de aire y tiempo para salir con seguridad del ambiente techado.

3.       La razón número tres para que mueran buzos de cueva entrenados es la falla al reservar dos tercios de la provisión de aire respirable al inicio..  La violación de asegurar un tercio de la provisión de gas para un compañero que la necesite pone no sólo al buzo mismo en riesgo sino a todo el equipo.  Una vez que el buzo ha utilizado el aire, éste no puede reproducirse, no puede utilizarse para emergencias.

Factores contribuyentes

Mientras estas reglas y factores contribuyentes del análisis de accidentes están muy bien establecidos, otros factores contribuyentes como bucear más allá de los límites y experiencia de uno, bucear una cueva o ambiente nuevo, bucear con equipo nuevo, utilizar equipo inapropiado o insuficiente, bucear a través de las restricciones o bucear más allá de la zona de comodidad, bucear con compañeros inapropiadamente entrenados o experimentados, buceos con traje seco, buceos de aguas frías, buceos de navegación compleja, buceos de observación, buceos DPV, buceo de cueva en grupos largos, seguir ciegamente a un guía en la cueva, buceos de varias paradas, buceos de varios gases de respiración, hiper o hipotermia, deshidratación o fotografía pueden potencialmente contribuir a los accidentes de cueva debido a la carga de tareas, al cansancio físico o la tardanza en la salida.

En el buceo de cueva como en el buceo de aguas abiertas el procedimiento y concepto del compañero debe ejercitarse y fallar en esto puede llevar potencialmente a situaciones donde un buzo sólo muere en una cueva mientras un miembro del equipo pudo haber ayudado con el enredo, compartiendo gas o en los errores de navegación.  Fallar al bucear con un miembro del equipo puede ser un factor que contribuya a una fatalidad del buceo de cueva.  El buceo solitario es una forma muy especializada del buceo de cueva y sólo puede garantizarse en circunstancias muy especiales.  El entrenamiento especial, el equipo y los procedimientos deben seguirse estrictamente para bucear con seguridad en solitario.

Motivación

Desde el inicio de la humanidad, las cuevas submarinas han tenido una fascinación especial.  Los inexpertos las han visto frecuentemente como oscuras, laberintos de premoniciones abiertos a lo más profundo de la tierra.  Los antiguos Mayas de América Central creían que eran una ventana de agua que la muerte utilizaba para alcanzar el Inframundo.  El mundo espiritual de los Mayas relacionaba los Cenotes (de la palabra Maya Dzonot- Muy Sagrado) con la entrada al inframundo donde vive Chak el dios de la lluvia.

Aquellos de nosotros que hemos penetrado en este bajo mundo de agua sabemos que el buceo de cueva es una de esas pocas experiencias que actualmente ofrecen la oportunidad de explorar el espacio interior.  Hemos aprendido que las cuevas son el espejo de la eternidad, penetrando más allá de nuestra presencia al reino de la eternidad.  Hemos sentido la intriga de descubrir lo que hay más allá de la siguiente vuelta.  Hemos, de hecho, tomado el camino menos transitado.  Hemos estado en un pasaje de lo desconocido.  Nuestros sentidos han sido alertados.  La cueva, por un breve momento, se vuelve el enamorado.

The continuing exploration of particular Cenotes, cave systems and sinkholes within the Yucatan Peninsula takes time in terms of divers committing to exploration with training and experience, the financial as well as the time burden that such explorations are coming with.  Another large aspect of cave exploration is finding the right dive team that is equally experienced to dive the cave or sinkhole at hand, to train continuously and work up to the planned dive pluis the logistical support needed for such projects.

decompressing deep diver

In January of 2010 all came together when a polish deep diving team around Jurek and Cezary were ready to continue the deep exploration of the Sabak Ha (Turbid Water) Cenote in the central Yucatan some 60 kilometers / 40 miles south of Merida. I was diving deep in Sabak Ha around 1997 - 2000 to a depth of 150 meters / 500 feet with a large room clearly continuing horizontally as well as vertically down. No walls where to be seen, no ceiling and no bottom with a visibility of around 30 meters / 100 feet. When Jurek heard about this site we went for a recon dive earlier this year ,and he was all for a project to push the boundaries.

lowering gear to the water

The 2010 exploration team consisted of Jurek and Cezary as deep push divers, Robert and Dariusz as support divers, Conrad filming underwater, Jacek and Piotr filming on the surface. me from the ProTec Dive Center in Playa del Carmen was responsible for local support, logistics, gas mixing, photography underwater and on the surface, liaison with local authorities and press as well as translation. All participating divers where technical cave divers as well as Trimix divers experienced in deep cave diving as well as Mexican cave diving. Dive team preparations prior arriving in Mexico included multiple deep cave diving in the Red Sea in the 100 - 120 meter / 330 – 400 feet range to get the team procedures in sync. When the dive team arrived in Q. Roo during the beginning of January 2010 three days of horizontal cave diving in large doubles where conducted to acclimatize to Mexican caves and the tanks to be used during the deep diving project.

For the first deep diving day in Sabak Ha all breathing gases such as a number of Trimix mixtures, Nitrox and oxygen were mixed by me in Playa del Carmen’s ProTec Dive Center. A total of 25 80 cft alm stage tanks, 2 sets of 80 cft alm double tanks, 2 sets of 104 cft steel double tanks and 2 sets of 125 cft steel doubles tanks got filled, rigged and came along for the trip. This was going to be an all open circuit assault as all divers where experienced in open circuit deep diving. The project was scheduled in a way to dive one day then mix gases / rest the next day, dive one day then mix gases / rest the next day, and so on.

mixing it up

After arriving on site at the first diving day all came together as we met our porter team around Dionicio and Chepo from the Ecology Department of Yucatan who introduced us to the helping hands they had organized. The 2010 Sabak Ha exploration project was in the planning for over 6 month with continuous support from the Ecology Department of Yucatan who contributed with a rescue team and vehicle on site. As all gases where mixed in Playa del Carmen the team went to the dive site for a recon dive that led the whole team to a depth of 65 meters / 215 feet. During that time one camera man was diving with the team documenting the environment, two camera men stayed on the surface documenting the surface activity and I me remaining on the surface organizing the surface support as well as taking still images for later articles that where to be published in Poland.

gear assembly

underwater camera man

The next day after the recon dive was a mixing day with a 6 hour long mixing session at Dutton’s Machine Shop in Merida, the only filling station in Merida. During that mixing session a number of breathing mixes did not turn out the way they should have been. The affected breathing mixtures were analyzed and identified the same evening but could not be changed due to fill station time restraints and gas supply company hiccups, the gas company not being able to deliver the gases I had reserved and they had confirmed. The blending issue was identified to as helium tanks containing less than 100% helium. The average helium purity was established and analyzed around 93-94% helium, with one tank 70% helium and another 80% helium. This mix up of breathing gases could have been easily avoided if I would have analyzed all helium tanks for helium content before starting the mixing process. In order to fix the breathing mixtures the next planned diving day fell into the water as the remixing of a number of Trimix mixtures took some 3 1/2 hours as soon as the filling station opened, and at this time the dive team did not feel it wanted to be rushed into deep cave diving, and canceled the dive of this day.

fill station in Merida

The second diving day lead the deep diving team to the 100 - 110 meter / 330 – 360 feet horizontal passage from where the line leads into the large room where no walls, bottom or ceiling can be seen. When continuing into this passage exploration starts at 120 meters / 400 feet horizontally and when following the line down at 150 meters / 500 feet depth at the end of the line with no bottom in sight. The deep team was continuously documenting the whole dive with a helmet mounted video camera. The shallow diving team went into the shallower 65 meter / 215 feet cave passage to investigate the potential for further exploration. During that dive the underwater camera man was filming the deep team to a depth of 100 meters / 330 feet while this author was taking underwater still images to a depth of 30 meters / 100 feet as well as surface photography.

Due to delays with the gas company providing the helium and oxygen, and the weekend becoming a major factor of not being able to blend breathing gases in the fill station the day was used to shoot surface footage at the Uxmal ruins. Nice day, nice footage, not much diving through. At this time the project schedule started to slide but the day in the ruins was a great way to not think about diving too much.

The following day started with fully restocked helium and oxygen supplies and the next 6 1/2 hour mixing marathon session began to blend breathing gases for the upcoming push dive. This time we had no bad helium tanks but all tanks were analyzed to be around 93 - 94% helium. While being at the fill station all day long I really appreciate the help from Elias who helped me so much pumping all that air that was needed to drive the so important booster pump as well as to top of all them tanks.

tanks come up the line in darkness

The next diving day came with us leaving Merida around 8:00 am from the Tecnotel Motel right in Merida and close to the fill station with about an hour’s drive to the village of Mucuyche where we met at the house of Dionicio and Adelaida to gather the rest of our porters. Today old trusted Pedro came along to help out, bringing the porter crew up to four porters. Arriving shortly after 9:00 am at the dive site it took about 1 1/2 hours to get all the tanks set up, down the rope and towards the water’s edge. The rescue teams daily arrival was around 11:00 am, just before the divers went into the water.  The hang line was installed daily to hang travel gases, deco gases and extra tanks onto the line prior the divers went into the water. Support divers verified the tank depth. During the deep part of the dive one of the deep support divers got entangled into the guideline at around 100 meters / 330 feet depth and the guideline had to be cut to free the support diver. At this moment the dive was called and the divers came back to the surface well before the 6 hour long planned dive that would have been the push dive. Better safe than sorry.

tanks come up the line in darkness

As the project time was running out slowly with the project duration coming to an end it was decided to do one more dive to fix and repair the guide line at 110 meters / 360 feet in order to leave an continuous guideline for following dive teams. Breathing gases where filled and remixed early in the morning the same day with a late start arriving at the dive site at 11:00 am putting the divers into the water around 13:00 pm. The deep diving team was able to repair the line on this last dive and to push on into the deep part of the cave to a depth of 130 meters / 430 feet. As we had a late start into the dive darkness came up fast. The generator was started up around 17:00 pm providing light with two 500 watt working lights, thus enabling the surface crew to safely bring all the tanks back up the line and stored into the vehicles.

During our stay we gave a number of interviews for local news papers and local TV stations that demonstrated that the local populations interest in how the sinkhole of Sabak Ha, the deepest geological feature of the Yucatan may continue and what new passages might be found. During the diving days we had quite a large number of up to 40 visitors that came from the surrounding villages to see what we do, have a chat and lend a hand. 

As the project came to an end the team did no reached the goal they came here to Sabak Ha to fulfill, the exploration to maximum depth, however, the team established the potential of exploration at the 120 meter / 400 feet plateau. When the guideline broke it became a priority to repair the guide line and they spend a dive on repair instead of a deep push dive. During the four conducted deep dives no one was hurt, no one was bent, not even a strained ankle, shoulder or scratch on the arm. As it turns out at times deep cave exploration is not an easy feat but if you can walk away from it and talk about it, it was a great successful project. The dive profiles where for dive 1) to 60 meters / 200 feet, 20 minutes bottom time, 1,5 hrs total time, dive 2) to 60 meters / 200 feet dive, 30 minutes bottom time, 2,5 hrs total time, dive 3) to 113 meters / 370 feet, 17 minutes bottom, 2 hrs 15 minutes total time, dive 4) to 100 meters / 330 feet, 11 minutes bottom, 1,5 hrs total, dive 5) to 130 meters / 430 feet, 30 minutes bottom, 4,5 hrs total time.

decompressing deep diving team

I would like to thank the Ecology Department of Yucatan for their support, the Bomberos rescue team to be there for us, the porter crew to make it happen, Adelaida for the great Yucatecan food, Pedro to not give up teaching me some Maya and Dionicio to have the great skill to move a mountain of equipment without a scratch.  

I would like to thank the Polish deep team Jurek and Cezary, the support team Robert and Dariusz, the underwater camera man Conrad, the surface film crew Jacek and Piotr to come here to Mexico and trying to push the known boundaries of these deep caves. I would like to mention as well that part of making the project happen was the generous project support of the main sponsor Infovide-Matrix a Polish IT consulting company which also sponsored Jurek’s 231 meter / 757 feet depth record in 2007, the main media patron National Geographic Poland and the equipment sponsored by Liquivision - X1 Trimix computers and Ammonite Polish underwater lights.

family matters

The last weeks have been awesome, it started of with a basic Sidemount course, followed by a CCR experience, a multistage course, then Basic Cave DPV, an Intro to Cave course, taking some pictures with Matt and some guided CCR cave diving…I really like to do different things, so a schedule like this is just perfect for me.

First on the list was Tristan who lives and works here in Playa and felt it was time to expand his horizon and move into sidemount diving. First step was to work on a rig and after listing up his different options he decided to go with a basic webbing harness and a modified recreational bcd on top as buoyancy device. We used to first day for theory, talking about equipment, gas management, some history, benefits and dangers of sidemount diving among other things. The afternoon was spend with configuration and some time in the pool to fine tune the rig.

On the next day we went to Cenote Xtabay, to work on buoyancy, trim, fining techniques, equipment familiarity and zero visibility procedures. A very long day with hours in the water but leaving with a streamlined rig that started to be more and more an extension of Tristan’s body.
On the last day we went to Cenote Chac Mool to dive in low ceiling cave to show how easy and fast you can move in a sidemount configuration in passages that would really slow you down diving in backmount.

The very next day, I spent with Arthur who had just finished his cave course with Nando but wanted to try out CCR diving before going back to Poland. For his try out he chose the Classic Kiss . We met in the morning and I started with some basics on ccrs, different types and units, potential hazards and advantages over OC diving. Later we went to Ponderosa where he had the chance after some basic exercises to swim the unit in the open water and make his first bubble free experience underwater.

Right after that the finish invasion started with Lauri who came in from cold Helsinki to further his knowledge and experience in cave diving with a stage multistage course followed by a basic cave dpv course. A really perfect combination since it follows the principal of progressive penetration.
There are many different schools of thought coming from different point of views, environments, agencies and other ideas and so the first step always has to be to analyze and review them and see which one fits best ones believes. These also may change with time and from one environment to the next and so to be open minded and willing to try different things is the key in my opinion.
The main  topics for the two courses definitely should be different rules of gas management, streamlining of gear, team protocols, zero visibility training including pick up and switching, different failures and the response to these failures and then just train, train, train.
We definitely had a cool time and did some super nice long dives where one drill followed the next keeping us busy and alert. Lauri handled everything I was throwing at him from out of gas drills to zero viz having to pick up and switch to stages with his eyes closed while staying in contact with the team retrieving his scooter while lights out then towing and pushing fellow divers with dpv malfunctions and  all of that several thousand feet back in a cave. He mastered the techniques  necessary for long penetrations understanding the risk of these dives and accepting to start slow and never making too big steps. Now it is up to him to stay sharp and to adapt the skills learned in the Mexican caves to  the cold mine diving he is doing back home.

A couple of days later the finish invasion continued with Veli, Mia, Saara and Miksu that all came to do their intro to cave training with Matt and I. Although we had to fight with sickness and cancel sightseeing trips we fought our way through and at the end all four left as certified intro to cave divers.   I also had the chance to take Miksu and Saara on some guided dives afterward where they finally had the chance to try the learned outside the course environment. We went to places like Nohoch and Dos Ojos which are famous for their beautiful decorations.

Having some days off in between Matt and me took the opportunity to go and take some pictures  in Grand Cenote…here a little taste:

Finally I had the great pleasure to take Dr. Mel Clark on some guided ccr cave diving. Having been sick before I wasn´t quiet 100%  but to be around an energetic and fun person like her immediately made me feel better. She was packing her revo ccr and a camera and so we went for some longer dives taking what felt to me like 1000s of pictures. First day we were out at Cenote Pet Cemetery to dive both lines towards the blue abyss and a bit beyond. On the second dive we where joined by Michael another ccr diver with a Megalodon that made our team complete.
The day after we went to Mayan Blue to dive from B tunnel to E and F and finally back over towards A after the T. One of my absolute favorite dives!!!!
Definitely cool  to hang out with her and share experiences and discuss some different ideas, great time!

So that’s it, a short report on what I did the last weeks and maybe it also explains why I didn’t sit down in the evening to write about it, I was a bit exhausted =)

Thank you very much to all the divers that gave me the opportunity to show them a little bit of my world, it was a great to meet and dive with you. Hope to see you all back here soon!!!

Cheers
Patrick

La parte más importante de un sistema de apoyo de vida eres tú y tu computadora principal que descansa sobre tus hombros, tu cerebro.  Debes ser un buzo alerta y competente.  Cada pieza del sistema de apoyo de vida debe ser seleccionada ya que tu vida depende ello, porque así es.  La orientación de la configuración debe ser eficiente y proveer los requerimientos de seguridad personal.  Mientras se desarrollan nuevas ideas, estilos, configuraciones y equipo, debemos estar dispuestos a modificar nuestro equipo mientras su configuración sea necesaria.  Una actitud con la disposición de evolucionar en caso necesario.  No hay que estancarse en aproximaciones, actitudes o equipo.

La comunidad del buceo de cueva ha estado consistentemente en la orilla de la tecnología submarina.  Los buzos han continuado a mayor profundidad y más lejos que ningún otro grupo de buzos.  Lo que los buzos de cueva han aprendido y desarrollado continúa dando forma a la comunidad entera del buceo.  El rango de equipo necesario para el buceo de cueva varía.  Las necesidades con frecuencia varían de acuerdo al sitio de buceo y al objetivo.  Estas variables dictan lo que necesitará un buzo de cueva para un ambiente de buceo dado.  Sin embargo, hay un número de artefactos comunes a todas las formas de buceo de cueva incluyendo aquellas para aplicaciones específicas.  Las variaciones serán discutidas para permitir la personalización de acuerdo a las necesidades del individuo.  El conocimiento y la experiencia que se cubre en este capítulo vienen de décadas de experiencia en buceo de cueva que incluye miles de buceos.  Invitamos a una menta abierta mientras recomendamos técnicas e ideas que pueden ser implementadas cuando se diseña la configuración del buceo de cueva.

La razón por la que el buceo de cueva es de mayor intensidad de equipo que otras formas de buceo es fácil de explicar.  Por su propia naturaleza, los buceos de cueva cuando se comparan a buceos de aguas abiertas o de naufragios, son más largos de completarse.  Este proceso requiere un descenso seguido de una penetración en un ambiente oscuro y techado.  Las paradas de descompresión deben ser planeadas.  En este ambiente extremo, los buzos deben ser tanto autoconfiables como autosuficientes.  Una de las máximas del buceo de cueva enfatiza que el equipo debe garantizar la habilidad para el autorescate mientras al mismo tiempo provee el grado necesario de redundancia.  Los buzos necesitan anticipar una rotura o descompostura de equipo.  Si esto amenaza la vida, el buzo de cueva debe estar en posición de superar la amenaza por sí mismo.

Las configuraciones del equipo deben ser aerodinámicas y proveer fácil acceso así como un uso amigable.  Los artefactos deben ser  configurados de tal manera que sean localizados con un simple toque.  Todos los manómetros y consolas no deben ser montados en la cintura sino colocados en el BC o en el arnés.  Las consolas que cuelgan con frecuencia se enredan o rayan o dañan.  Mantener las computadoras y las consolas en la cintura y/o cerca del cuerpo reduce el arrastre.

Las mangueras de la provisión primaria de gas también deben mantenerse tan cerca del cuerpo como sea posible utilizando tamaños y largos de manguera personales.  Pueden ser insertados en la espiral de tubos quirúrgicos (o algún otro material).  Las mangueras no deben extenderse fuera y más allá del ancho del cuerpo del buzo o fuera del diámetro de los tanques, de ser posible.  Desarrolla una configuración orientada que tenga todas las mangueras apuntando hacia abajo o cruzando detrás de tu cuello.  Nuevamente el objetivo es mantener el equipo tan limpio y aerodinámico como sea posible.

Algunos buzos técnicos y de cueva también utilizan correas hechas de plástico quirúrgico para mantener tanto el tanque principal y las segundas etapas dentro de una zona triangular cerca o justo debajo de la barbilla.  Estas correas se colocan alrededor del cuello para mantener las piezas de la boca del regulador cerca de la garganta del buzo.  Esta configuración hace que los reguladores sean muy fáciles de localizar si hay algún problema.  Esta estandarización también significa que todos los miembros del equipo saben donde están localizadas las segundas etapas de sus compañeros.

No existe ningún sistema perfecto.  Los buzos, como su orientación, vienen en todas las formas y tamaños.  Lo que funciona para uno, entorpece a otro.  Iniciando con las recomendaciones los buzos pueden experimentar con todas las partes y variaciones de los conceptos básicos y descubrir la forma que le funcione mejor al buzo.  A lo largo de los años, algunas ideas realmente buenas han sido desarrolladas, también se debe ser receptivo a las ideas que ofrecen otros buzos.  Lo que les funciona a ellos también puede funcionarle a uno.  Es importante evolucionar tantas ideas diferentes como nuevos equipos que surgen.

Consideraciones importantes al configurar la orientación son el aerodinamismo y la limpieza.  No lleves lo que no necesitas.  Una cantidad razonable de redundancia pero no sobreredundancia y la creación de mayor número de puntos potenciales de falla, manteniéndose lo más aerodinámico posible, sin equipo que cuelgue para proteger el frágil ambiente de la cueva del equipo.  Conocer el equipo, las mangueras y válvulas, marcar los gases claramente y debe ser posible identificarlos al toque.  Las segundas etapas con mezclas de alto contenido de oxígeno deben ser cubiertas con una guarda protectora para prevenir un uso no deseado a la profundidad equivocada.  Siempre sean de mente abierta para buscar una mejor manera de mantener bien el equipo, es el seguro de vida de los buzos de cueva.

Las consideraciones adicionales en relación a la configuración del equipo deberán ser evaluadas de la misma forma.  Algunos buzos utilizan dos consolas de presión sumergibles (SPG´s) en su provisión primaria de gas.  Otros sienten que esto es un arrastre agregado.  Sienten que si su provisión primaria de gas falla, el buceo debe terminar.  Dada la opción, una consola sumergible es suficiente.  De hecho, sienten que el SPG de más, es sólo algo más que puede romperse.

El SPG debe tener una manguera más corta para que no se abulte fuera del ancho del buzo.  Estas son varias maneras de asegurar la manguera del SPG.  Un método es ponerla en un anillo “D” arriba en el arnés del BC.  Si se conecta la base del SPG con un conector corto, será fácil leer sin que el buzo tenga que agarrarlo o voltearlo.  Otro método es montar el SPG a un anillo “D” a la cintura.  Un tercer método utilizado por muchos buzos que insisten en las consolas, traen el SPG cruzando el cuerpo.  Mientras sea efectivo, cualquiera de estos métodos de asegurar un SPG requiere que el buzo pueda manejar la consola para leerla, en oposición al método “sin manos”.

Configuraciones del Equipo

¿De qué manguera respirar?, ha sido debatido durante la historia del buceo de cueva y seguirá siendo debatido.  En realidad ambos sistemas, respirar de la manguera corta y respirar de la manguera larga es de igual efectividad en los registros de seguridad y se reduce a un simple hecho de preferencias.  Es importante cuando se bucea con un compañero, que estén totalmente familiarizados con la configuración uno del otro.  Cuando los compañeros ajustan su equipo de manera diferente antes de bucear juntos, deben ensayar y practicar utilizando el equipo de cada uno como si estuvieran en una emergencia real.  Los buzos que son compañeros constantes deben estar de acuerdo con la configuración para permitir la compatibilidad en aquellos artículos que serían cruciales en una emergencia.  Esto no significa que cada artículo sea idéntico, pero las piezas de equipo empleadas en emergencias deben estar arregladas de modo similar para que las reacciones de reflejo sean consistentes bajo estrés.  Algunos buzos hacen esfuerzos innecesarios para hacer que cada pieza del equipo sea de la misma marca exactamente.  Esto es un poco extremista y no tiene un efecto de seguridad verdadero.  Pero, por otro lado, si funciona, háganlo.  Traten de mantener la mente abierta para futuras actualizaciones de equipo y su configuración para no volverse obsoletos.

Además del debate si uno debe respirar de la manguera corta o larga, existe una discusión acerca de si la manguera larga debe ir en el poste izquierdo o derecho del manifold.  Los buzos que prefieren tener la manguera larga en el poste derecho argumentan que el regulador primario está en el poste derecho para evitar que una válvula se doble en una situación de compartir aire a través de una restricción con el buzo sin aire enfrente, y un regulador apagado sin forma de comunicación o apertura de esa válvula.  Con este arreglo, si la válvula está cerrada, el buzo puede inmediatamente volverla a abrir.  Si la manguera larga del regulador se coloca en el poste izquierdo, el cierre accidental puede generar el aumento de estrés, si se hace un cambio a un regulador que se ha cerrado inconscientemente, causado porque el buzo piense que se quedó sin aire.

Respirando de la Manguera Corta como Fuente Primaria de Aire

Un buzo respirando de la manguera corta simplemente quita la manguera larga que tiene asegurada en el pecho.  Una posible desventaja es la localización del regulador de la manguera larga que puede variar de buzo a buzo o puede estar en una posición escondida y el regulador puede no estar trabajando tan bien o en absoluto si es rara vez utilizado por el buzo.  El almacenamiento de la manguera larga puede hacerse bajo el manifold con problemas potenciales de enredo de manguera y la incapacidad de regresar la manguera a su lugar sin ayuda.  Otro lugar de almacenamiento es enrollar la manguera a lo largo de un lado del plato de la espalda o echarla a lo largo del tanque.  Ambas variedades de almacenajes tienen la desventaja potencial de que regresar la manguera larga a su lugar requiere ayuda de un compañero y puede ser difícil de lograr por uno mismo.

Respirando de la Manguera Larga como Fuente Primaria de Aire

La configuración Hogarthiana ha evolucionado hacia una de las configuraciones más aerodinámicas.  El regulador de respaldo es puesto en el poste izquierdo y utilizado bajo la barbilla puesto con un collar alrededor del cuello.  La manguera larga proviene del poste derecho y hacia el cinturón que carga la luz primaria.  El cinturón que carga las luces primarias es aerodinámico y está protegido para no sentarse en él con los tanques además de que se quita fácil y rápido en caso de tener que hacerlo en una situación difícil.  La manguera larga lleva una ruta bajo el bote de la luz primaria hacia y cruzando el pecho, finalmente da media vuelta al cuello y de ahí al frente del buzo.  En caso de una emergencia de falta de aire se saca el regulador liberando inmediatamente 4-5 pies / 1.2-1.5 metros de manguera larga.  Otras ventajas es que el regulador donante está trabajando y está localizado centralmente en la cabeza del buzo, fácil de ser localizado aún en situaciones de visibilidad cero.

Una aproximación diferente es la que utilizan otros buzos de cueva respirando de la manguera larga en relación a la ruta y almacenaje de la manguera larga.  Más a menudo, la manguera larga es enrollada y plegada en  la correa de la cintura de la estructura del arnés del BC.  Algunos buzos, sin embargo, dan vuelta a la manguera a través de un tubo quirúrgico asegurado al manifold y otros buzos respiran de la manguera larga en la ruta de la manguera a través de circuitos quirúrgicos puestos al lado derecho del plato de la espalda.  El regulador aún es puesto alrededor de la garganta con una retención hecha de tubo de plástico.  Los buzos que utilizan la manguera larga como primaria, típicamente montan el paquete de baterías de su luz primaria en el lado derecho de la cintura.  Esto se hace para recoger el exceso de largo de la manguera.

Si ocurriera una emergencia de compartir gas, el buzo utilizando la manguera larga como primaria cambiaría a su regulador de “manguera corta” y pasaría la unidad de manguera larga al buzo con problemas.  Esto permite que ambos buzos mantengan un nado cómodo mientras alcanzan la salida.

¿Dónde va la Luz?

Muchos buzos de cueva de temporada y completos utilizan la luz primaria en el lado derecho de la cintura.  Las luces montadas lateralmente pueden utilizarse del lado derecho o izquierdo del cuerpo.  Una de las configuraciones más comunes es el lado derecho.  Esto facilita el control y la ruta de la manguera larga, que está estirada bajo el bote de la batería.  Las luces primarias pueden estar “montadas atrás” en la base de los tanques para aerodinamizar al buzo.  Una luz montada atrás produce menos arrastre que otros métodos de asegurar las luces primarias y sobre todo es un sistema más limpio pero la luz primaria no puede ser sacada y vuelta a colocar tan fácilmente como una luz montada lateral en caso de enredo.  Una luz montada atrás presenta un problema potencial adicional con la posibilidad de parar los tanques dobles sobre el bote de la luz, lo que provocaría un daño en la luz primaria.  Como alternativa, algunos buzos optan por tener su luz colocada a un lado de sus tanques con el potencial de un menor perfil aerodinámico y contacto con la cueva en un área estrecha provocando daño a la cueva y a la luz primaria.

Todos estos sistemas y cualquiera de sus variaciones son aceptables con la luz montada a la cintura siendo la configuración más aerodinámica con la mejor protección para la lámpara misma y para el ambiente de la cueva.

Conceptos Generales para la Configuración

Existen muchos estilos diferentes de configuración que uno puede encontrar en la comunidad de buceo.  El punto más importante de los cambios de las configuraciones es mantenerlas limpias y aerodinámicas con un bajo perfil de arrastre y sin equipo que cuelgue que pueda ser arrastrado por el sedimento o dañe al ambiente de la cueva.  Los componentes de equipo que no son necesarios durante el buceo no deben ser introducidos a la cueva por la posibilidad de enredos o impacto negativo en la cueva.  El acceso fácil es la llave para la orientación de una exitosa configuración.  El regulador de manguera larga tiene que estar accesible en todo el momento y la manguera larga tiene que estar limpia sobre todo el equipo en cualquier momento.  El equipo redundante y de emergencia debe estar colocado en todo momento en la misma ubicación estándar para facilitar el acceso y el tiempo de reacción en situaciones de emergencia.  El equipo debe estar balanceado para tener una posición libre de nivel y de estrés en el agua.  El equipo debe ser confiable, al final es el equipo de soporte de vida el que asegura nuestra supervivencia en un ambiente de otra manera hostil, y debemos tratarlo de acuerdo a ello.

A little while ago while I was still super busy with the polish group training and preparing their  distance record, I met Anders, a PADI Course Director working for Pro Dive Mexico. Since I have a bunch of friends working there I had already heard that he was interested in cave diving, and now finally he was in the shop to talk about dates and pay the deposit.

From the first moment his enthusiasm about learning something new was obvious and there is really nothing better for me then teaching people that are as stoked about diving as I am. It is also somewhat rare to meet people that are in the industry since a long time but still enjoy to dive for pleasure and even do courses themselves.

Personally I find it very important to be back in the shoes of a student every once in a while to not lose the perspective and to remember that it is hard to learn something new at the beginning.

Since I had a previous work assignment as DSO on a commercial diving project in Toluca and Anders a big IDC right after that, we were a bit in schedule trouble, so we decided to split the course in two four-day runs. Which was also somewhat cool, since it gave him the possibility to practice some of the skills we were working on during the brake.

We started the first day in the classroom to cover some of the basics, and have a look at equipment and communication. In the afternoon we spent about 3h in open/confined water to simply work on buoyancy, trim and propulsion. Plenty of time to really work on the configuration and make the gear and extension of his body as well as introducing Anders to the different fining techniques that are so important for cave diving. Cave diving is about traveling distances as efficient and easy as possible and therefore I spend quiet a lot of time with my students developing these skills.

Second day was all about line drills, first out of the water and then in the water. Training for all sorts of zero visibility emergencies including entanglements and gas sharing. We stayed all afternoon in the water running drill after drill until it became second nature. After that as usual back to the dive center to continue with theory sessions.

Day three arrived and we were ready to go cave diving!!! Having spent all that time before in very shallow open water working on the basic skills with doubles and zero viz now really payed off as we could put all our focus on the cave environment and the team diving concept. It is important that all the other things are somewhat automatic or at least don’t need all of the attention of the diver, if not task loading becomes very fast an issue.

So day three and four were used to practice line laying techniques, team communication and emergency drills inside the overhead environment.

After the brake we met again in December to continue and Anders had really used the brake to work on his skills and study some more the manuals which set us up for a good start.

So we first went to Chac Mool to talk about lost line and lost diver scenarios and give it a try later in the water. Not the easiest skills to start with but Anders did a good job and stayed focused throughout the looooong day.

The next days we started with navigation, completed a complex circuit, negotiated restrictions while sharing gas in simulated zero visibility and did a couple of long awesome cave dives!

It was also nice to hang out and chat as we are both since quite some time in this industry and have in some ways very similar experiences and in other ways very different ones. The one thing we definitely share though is the pride and perfectionism in our profession. Anders just created a training center for people that are interested in becoming a dive professional where candidates have the opportunity not only to get pushed through courses barely fulfilling the minimum requirements. Instead they have the possibility to work in the resort environment, under supervision, to get a real taste of what it is like to work in this job and get the foundation that prepares them to work wherever in the world the day after they completed their training. He and his team also offer additional training in things like free diving and workshops on the underwater environment amongst other things. All in all I think it is an awesome idea  and great to see that there are more and more instructors interested in giving a little more rather than just pushing people through the ranks.

If you wanna get in touch with Anders to find out more about what him and his team are doing, please don’t hesitate and write me an mail and I will put you in touch.

The last day we went down to Tulum to dive in Grand Cenote. The perfect finish were we could apply all the things we had worked on during the course. Prepared with a detailed dive plan utilizing the map at site we completed two long dives incorporating several jumps and passing restrictions of all seizes and shapes.

So from my side there is nothing left to say but: “Congratulations Anders and Welcome to the Dark, Mysterious and Wonderful World of Cave Diving!”

Cheers
Patrick

Durante los últimos 150 años se han dado tantos eventos en el buceo y la exploración de cueva que han sido archivados; la siguiente lista no está de ninguna manera completa pero nos da una idea de la larga historia del buceo de cueva donde individuos de varios continentes han contribuido al entendimiento de las cuevas submarinas incluyendo la invención y desarrollo de equipo de buceo utilizado hoy por los buzos recreativos.

1878  Nello Ottonelli exploró por primera vez el Fontaine de Vacluse utilizando un traje de buzo de alta temperatura.  Francia.

1935    Dos buzos de alta temperatura exploraron el pozo Wookey Hole.  Inglaterra.

1946    y 1955  Jacques Cousteau exploró el Fontaine de Vacluse.  Francia.

1946  Recicladores de oxigeno fue utilizado para la exploración de cueva.  Keld Head.  Inglaterra.

1950  Inician las primeras exploraciones de buceo de cueva en Florida con la llegada de Aqualung.  Estados Unidos.

1950 y principios de 1960 Son descubiertos otros manantiales en Hornsby, Madison Blue y Orange Grove.  Estados Unidos.

1953   Exploración por buzos deportivos.  Mount Gambier Sinkholes.  Australia.

1953  Los buzos Buxton y Davies hicieron un buceo récord de penetración de 800 pies / 244 metros.  Clapham Beck Head.  Inglaterra.

1953 y 1956  El Manantial de Wakulla fue uno de los sistemas de cueva más largos descubierto y los asombrosos resultados exploratorios fueron archivados por Charles McNabb y Bill Ray.  Estados Unidos.

1961  Hasenmayer alcanzó el punto más profundo cercano a la entrada e hizo continuos avances en 1974, 1981 y 1985 a más de 4.920 pies / 1.500 metros de penetración.  Blautopf.  Alemania.

1965  Un equipo de la CSSL alcanzó 721 pies / 220 metros de penetración en Chaudanne Spring.  Francia.

1967  Descubierto en exploración de cueva por el pionero George Benjamin, con Tom Mount y Dick Williams en 1970 con alcances a 984 pies / 300 metros de penetración y 240 / 80 metros de profundidad.  Benjamin Blue Hole.  Bahamas.

1967  Se forma la agencia de entrenamiento de buceo en cueva NACD.  Estados Unidos.

1970´s  Entra a escena el DPV y son posibles las penetraciones más largas.  Estados Unidos.

1970´s  El explorador de cueva americano Sheck Exley acumuló penetraciones de 2.000 pies / 600  metros y fue el primer buzo en acumular 1.000 buceos de cueva, seguido de Tom Mount.  Estados Unidos.

1970´s  Desarrollo del BCD, el inflador de poder, el octopus y la válvula multiple  [ manifold ] por los pioneros del buceo de cueva.  Estados Unidos y Bahamas.

1970  Descubierto por Benjamin; Martin Farr llegó a una penetración de 2.296 pies / 700 metros en el año de 1981 en Conch Blue Hole.  Bahamas.

1972  Exploró a una distancia de penetración de 984 pies / 300 metros.  En 1976 buceó a una distancia de 1968 pies / 600 metros de penetración conducidos por Bailey y su equipo.  Cocklebiddy.  Australia.

1972  Ian Lewis y un equipo llegó a una distancia de penetración de 797 pies / 243 metros a 134 pies / 41 metros de profundidad.  Weebubbie.  Australia.

1972  Los tanques dobles se vuelven comunes y los buzos de cueva desarrollan el octopus y el inflador de baja presión.  Estados Unidos.

1972  Se forma la agencia de entrenamiento de buceo en cueva NSS-CDS.  Estados Unidos.

1972  Sheck Exley. Court Smith y Holtzendorf logran penetraciones de 4.100 pies / 1.250 metros en Manatee Springs.  Estados Unidos.

1978  Un buceo de larga penetración es llevado a cabo por J.L. Fantoli y Claude Touloumdjan.  Emergente du Ressel.  Francia.

1978      Emergence du Ressel – J.l. Fantoli y Claude Touloumdjan.  Francia.

1979  “Un plano azul para la supervivencia” fue publicado por Sheck Exley fundando los Análisis de Accidentes como la base para el entrenamiento de buceo en cueva.  Estados Unidos.

1979  Un buceo con una penetración de 5.000 pies / 1524 metros fue hecho en River Sink.  Estados Unidos.

1980  Un equipo suizo entra a más de 3.000 pies / 914 metros utilizando Scooters.   Emergente du Ressel.  Francia.

1980  Jochen Hasenmayer penetró el Emergente du Ressel a más de 4.000 pies / 1.219 metros con su invento Speleo Dobles Recicladores, para alcanzar en 1981 más de 12.464 pies / 3.800 metros de penetración.  Francia.

1980´s  Llegan los primeros buzos de cueva de los Estados Unidos a la Península de Yucatán y al Centro de México donde el resurgimiento de los ríos como el Río Mante y los Cenotes como el Carwash, el Naharon y el Maya Azul fueron explorados.  Los 80´s terminaron con el descubrimiento de los sistemas de cueva de Dos Ojos y Nohoch Nachich que llevan el liderato en una larga competencia de quien tiene las cuevas más largas, terminando como la segunda y tercera cuevas submarinas más grandes en el mundo.  México.

1981  Jochen Hasenmayer descendió a 469 pies / 142 metros con la ayuda de un reciclador.  En 1981 Hasenmayer penetró el Emergente du Ressel a 12.400 pies / 378 metros a una profundidad entre 180 pies / 55 metros y 240 pies / 73 metros utilizando sus recicladores y scooters.  Francia.

1981  Buceos de penetración de 7.660 pies / 2.355 metros fueron conducidos por Sheck Exley en Friedman Sink.  Estados Unidos.

1981  Un equipo suizo alcanzó 5.770 pies / 1.759 metros de distancia de penetración a 180 pies / 55 metros en La Doux de Coly.  Francia

1982  Palmer, Parker Walter y Boycott llegaron a 3.781 pies / 1.153 metros de penetración.  Conch Blue Hole.  Bahamas.

1982  Buceos de mezclas de gas y recicladores por Olivier Isler en Chaudanne Spring.  Francia.

1984  Formación de la agencia de entrenamiento de buceo técnico y de cueva IANTD.  Estados Unidos.

1984  Source de la Loue – Jochen Hasenmayer desarrolló los recicladores y penetró más de 2.000 pies / 609 metros.  Francia.

1984  Olivier Isler alcanzó 10.168 pies / 3.100 metros de penetración.  La Doux de Coly.  Francia.

1984  Un ROV (Vehículo a Control Remoto) alcanzó 1.000 pies / 304 metros de fondo en Fountain de Vacluse.  Francia.

1987  El proyecto Wakulla conducido por Bill Stone con penetraciones máximas de 4.176 pies / 1.273 metros a 280 pies / 85 metros de profundidad con más de 400 buceos exitosos.  Estados Unidos.

1988  Una penetración de 1994 pies / 608 metros a 469 pies / 143 metros de profundidad fue alcanzada.  Chaudanne Spring.  Francia.

1990  Sheck Exley intenta un buceo de penetración de 10.900 pies / 3.323 metros en Catedral Canyon.  Estados Unidos.

1994  Formación de la agencia de entrenamiento de buceo técnico y de cueva TDI.  Estados Unidos.

1994  Exploración de la cueva profunda de Zacatón a más de 900 pies / 274 metros.  México.

1996  Formación de la agencia de entrenamiento de buceo técnico y cueva GUE.  Estados Unidos.

1996  Exploración de Wakulla Spring a más de 18.000 pies / 5.487 metros de distancia a alrededor de 280 pies / 84 metros.  Estados Unidos.

1997  Exploración del Centro de Yucatán por Andreas W. Matthes con el descubrimiento del Sinkhole (sumidero) Sabak Ha en la Península con más de 500 pies / 152 metros.  México.

1998  El proyecto Wakulla II utilizando recicladores CCR y un mapeador digital produce el primer mapa digital en tercera dimensión.  Estados Unidos.

2002  El equipo de exploración de Dan Lins, Steve Bogaerts en la cueva Dos Ojos alcanza una profundidad en el Pit de 390 pies / 118 metros.  México.

2003  En la cueva Moraig, Waldbrenner y Buchali alcanzan más de 18.000 pies / 5.487 metros de penetración.  España.

2004  Ox Bel Ha permanece como la cueva submarina más larga del mundo con más de 400.000 pies / 12.951 metros de pasajes de cueva explorados.  México.

When diving into caves, wrecks or under ice divers are introduced to a number of hazards not associated with open water diving. Some of these are easily managed. Others may be life threatening. General hazards include total darkness, loss of visibility, increased potential for confusion, unexpected currents, cave ins, restrictions, depths, unknown distances, mazes, turbidity / silting, current, sharp surfaces and projections, collapse, debris slides, restrictions minor and major, depth, distance, time.

Darkness

Absolutely no light penetrates most cave systems and one of the first things to realize is that the darkness is total. Not the slightest bit of light penetrates the solid rock ceiling, there are no stars and there is no moon. In caves the prospect of being lost in the dark can have chilling effects. When lost or when loosing ones light stress levels typically climb. Don’t let panic skyrocket. Cave diving requires disciplined self control to function correctly. This discipline must be learned and practiced.

Being Lost

Several common factors, or combinations of factors, contribute to the possibility of a cave diver becoming lost. Becoming lost is a threat on any cave dive. Caves frequently present divers with a number of mazes, dead ends and multiple levels of formation. Accidentally wandering into an unintended passageway can result in dive partners becoming lost. In fact, one of the leading causes of cave fatalities is the failure to follow a continuous guide line and set jump lines that lead all the way back to the surface. Guide lines are the diver’s path back to the entrance, they are a cave divers life line. Guide lines offer life insurance by providing cave divers with a marked path to the surface. It is imperative to keep an eye on these lines at all times. When visibility is good you should swim close to the line at all times so the line can be easily located. It is important not to stray too close to the line neither since the possibility of becoming entangled in it increases. Entanglements can become killers because they can result in broken or loosened lines. When limited visibility conditions occur, one must stay closer to the line. The best technique to stay in touch with the line once visibility has deteriorated is to swim with your thumb and forefinger forming a ring and looped over the line.

Visibility

In explored caves it is common to find permanent lines with arrows pointing toward the nearest route to the surface. Turbidity is caused by stirring up debris on the cave floor due to poor swimming techniques or due to percolation when exhaust bubbles hit the ceiling. It can reduce visibility to zero within seconds. From both a dive safety standpoint and an environmental point of view with cave conservation in mind, it is important for you not to stir up the bottom of a cave. Tannic acid is the color of soil and can be washed into the water by rivers or rain. It has the color of tea or coffee with the same visibility characteristics. A Halocline is the interface of fresh and salt water and when mixed produces zero visibility.

Water Flow

Current in caves can range from none to mild and even to severe. New cave divers are often intimidated by these currents. They tend to overwork and become tired quickly. By carefully employing proven techniques, the work may be reduced to a less demanding level. The best way to beat the current comes with learning to read the cave. Areas where the surface is smooth have been polished by the flowing water. So, you should look for jagged and pitted surfaces. They exist where the current is weakest. Current can also be out flowing or in flowing. Sometimes caves divers may encounter passageways featuring flows differing in direction from the passage currently being explored.

Cave or Wreck Collapse

Cave-ins ( collapses ) are rarely encountered in cave diving. Water pressure acts as a support and stabilizes submerged tunnels. It is only when water levels drop that the possibility of collapse exists. Occasionally, in some caves a small portion of the cave structure will fall in.

Debris

During floods, debris builds up in the down slopes of cave openings and in the runs. When the water table drops, additional debris is blown out of various passageways and is deposited on the cave floor. As these strictures extend toward the surface, more debris builds up in the run. At some point, the volume of these deposits reaches a point where gravity causes it to slide back into the cave. The result, in both cases, is an instantaneous loss of visibility. In fact, on one of these occasions visibility can be so obscured that it would proof impossible to get out if divers hadn’t had the mandatory foresight to install guide lines beginning at the cave opening. In some situations, it is possible that the cave opening actually becomes blocked.

Restrictions

Restrictions are choke points where access is reduced. They can be either minor or major. A minor restriction is a slight narrowing which, although restricted, still allows two divers to pass through it not side by side or on top of each other but in a single file following one another. A major restriction, on the other hand, only allows one diver to pass if the equipment is to be taken off and pushed through the restriction. As a rule of thumb the equipment is never taken off due to potential problems with buoyancy, damage, entanglement and cave conservation. If the need arises to pass through a mayor restriction gear configuration such as sidemount or no-mount have to be implemented. Obviously, the risk associated with a major restriction involves becoming stuck. When entering restricted areas be careful to evaluate the best passage route while also concentrating on relaxed breathing. If stuck, exhale some air and slowly maneuver your body and simply dislodge your self. Do not try to “ power through ” restrictions. You may become severely wedged. We can’t stress it hard enough. Take it very easy when swimming in tight spots. It is very easy to tear a BC bladder or damage your gear. Again, learn to read the cave and avoid abrasive and protruding surfaces.

Depth

Depth in caves can be very deceptive because you have a roof over your head and a floor under your feet. Don’t forget to monitor depth regularly. Depth increases gas consumption, the risk of nitrogen narcosis arises, can cause oxygen toxicity and produces a greater decompression obligation. This is why many cave divers use Normoxic or Hypoxic Trimix mixtures for deep cave exploration.

Distance

When a problem arises we realize it’s a long way back. Distance, in this instance, may produce additional time-pressure stress. In worst case scenarios, your gas supply may be compromised if one team member experiences gas failure. Training and awareness, combined with careful planning, will enable you to deal with the hazard of distance. The ceiling over your head prevents direct access to the surface. This is why highly reliable equipment combined with redundancy is used for cave diving.

Changes in respiratory patterns, such as response to mental and physical stress will also increase gas consumption. When divers slow their pace, gas consumption is reduced. Never forget that your exit speed must match your entrance pace. You must cover the same amount of ground in the same time “coming out” as “going in” to insure you won’t run out of gas.

Air and Team Management

Since dive teams are obviously composed of individuals, a “ team gas management ” rule must be established. This rule incorporates all the factors involving individual considerations with another dimension. This dimension is created by people working together. When diving alone, dive techniques and gas management are different as if diving as a team member of a dive team.

The size of the dive team will dictate effective gas management. Obviously a two person dive team is the most efficient from a dive performance standpoint. It needs less communication and requires less choreography. Both divers know where their partner is. Swim pace is easier to regulate. A small team reduces the level of environmental management needed. For example, silting is just one of many factors that’s easier to anticipate and prevent.

However, there are strong arguments to support the advantages of a three person dive team. The group gas supply can go much further when shared between three people. Two people are usually better able to rescue an individual in trouble. Irregardless, the gas plan to be used must be developed from a swimming based surface rate ( vs. a resting rate ). It must be fine tuned by adjusting anticipated gas consumption against the environmental factors you expect to encounter. Experience has taught us this method is almost always totally accurate for planning dives involving a lot of swimming. To do this right, all dive team members must know their individual RMV’s.

Even with proper gas matching, it is still imperative that all dives remain within normal parameters for these rules to work. When conducting cave diving on your own, or with new team members, it is advisable to add a couple of hundred psig / dozen bars to any turn around point and turn around earlier. This practice should be continued until divers have sufficient experience to develop the discipline to function normally under stress.

Running out of Air

By taking corrective actions with gas supply problems, for example, before things escalate, divers can begin sharing gas before the diver with the problem actually runs out completely. This is good stress management. It allows the distressed diver to use his or her own gas whenever a restricted or hazardous point in the dive is reached and share air in the long, unobstructed passages. Once any member of the dive team is using a back up regulator, the dive should be terminated. All divers should begin their pre-planned exits.

I recently had the great pleasure to hang out and dive with two fellow dive professionals from the other part of the world:

Tom from the Philippines and Kelvin from Truk Lagoon. Both of them came by after they had visited the DEMA trade show. Tom just the day before Hurricane Ida and Kelvin just after. At first we were a bit nervous if Ida would destroy our plans of cave diving the next days but then she passed us far and we only got a day of wind and rain followed by excellent weather.

Tom was in for some guided cave diving to see what the Mexican caves were all about and so we sent him out with one of our guides to give him an overview. Unfortunately he was on a tight schedule planning to do other things besides cave sightseeing and so Santi could only show him the tiny little tip of the iceberg leaving a lot of fantastic sights out of the tour.
On the plus side Tom could use the time to get certified as Basic Sidemount Diver which was a new experience for the PADI Course Director who also happens to be Instructor for Cave and CCR diving.
It is one of the greatest things for me about this sport that even after years of working in this industry and having logged thousands of dives there are always things left to do and new techniques to be learned. It simply never stops, always fields and places left to explore.

It was definitely cool to share stories and experiences with him as well as comparing techniques and protocols. I definitely took a lot from it and am always grateful to encounter open minded people who like to share their experiences and knowledge with others.
I hope to see him back here soon for some more…this time Sidemount cave diving. Or maybe Wreck diving in the Philippines.

Kelvin is running a big technical diving shop in Truck Lagoon which is one of my dream destination since my wreck diving days in Egypt. Just the drives in the car to the Cenotes were super interesting and filled with stories about sunken battle ships and wreck diving techniques in comparison with cave diving techniques. We also have both a passion for mixed gas deep diving, which made for interesting discussions about decompression theory, gas selection and ascent protocols.

Kelvin was thinking since a long time to come to Mexico and start with cave diving but it had never quiet worked out until now. He started his course with Santi who dialed him in on buoyancy, trim and propulsion, as well as giving him his first experiences in the non metal overhead environment. All in all a good start and preparation to the adventures that were yet to come.

Once I came back from Toluca we met in the evening and the next day we were diving the three of us together. Objective of the day was to finish Toms Sidemount course and for Kelvin some more time to get used to fresh water and train the skills he had worked on with Santi.
The next day it was me and Kelvin in Chac Mool working on lost line and lost diver drills. A nice day with lots of discussions about procedures and protocols and eventful dives with multiple emergency drills. We train hard and dive easy!

The next couple of days we were getting into restrictions and navigation and even though we had to fight with equalizing problems on Kelvins part we still managed to finish the course. Kelvin had a great time and did not only learn some new diving skills but also learned some things about himself. Often asked questions about how he would react in certain situations where answered during the course.
I hope to see him back here soon as we did not have any time after the course to go and do some fun diving. There are still sooooooooooo many caves he has to go and look at! I am also looking fwd to meet his wife as she was the star of most of Kelvins stories…although I have to admit I am a bit scared =)

Looking back it was just one of these times where you get the chance to hang out with some good people and share experiences, stories and a lot of laughter . Although we are all from different parts of the world, have a different age and different opinions about a lot of things, we are all still united by the same passion and fascination of the aquatic realm.

Now I stop writing and go diving instead!

Cheers
Patrick

This project has been long time in the making. October 2008 was the first time Leszek and his guys where diving with me, only a couple of days to get back into Mexican cave diving. In February 2009 the team was back with a bunch of brand new Cuda dpvs and ready to scout dos ojos to see how the lines had changed since there last project in 2005. It was also used to train their side mount techniques utilizing multiple scooters and stages.
Now in October 2009 almost exactly 4 years later they had assembled a strong 7 man team to try and push their old distance. The first days where used for scouting as well as establishing procedures and protocols for the team. Leszek also tried different equipment configurations to determine which would work the easiest for his 10h run time. He went from back mount to side mount and even tried a “quad” (4 tanks on the back) but ended up deciding that side mount with additional stages would be the best compromise given that he was diving solo and the passage seize especially downstream of cenote monolito.

In the same time other team members where locating and cutting trails to different cenotes which would be used as possible bail out points. The day after the whole team including 4 Sherpa where taking off to cenote kentucky castle 1.3km in the dense jungle to scout the lines around this area as well as leaving some equipment staged for the big dive.

The day after we decided to take a brake and relax a little, which also gave me the time to prepare some   custom gas blends for the deep dives that followed in the Pit. These deep dives where the last missing puzzle pieces for the declared long distance dive that would start off with a deep drop at the short line right under the cenote.

Everyday passed in a very relaxed atmosphere with plenty of laughter and good spirits. Always with a cooler full of drinks and food and hammocks for the surface support to relax while waiting for the dive teams.

Finally the day had arrived and we started our day early at Cenote The Pit. In the days before we had finished dropping tanks, scooters and lights at predetermined locations through out the cave which would enable Leszek to travel the 17km without ever having to surface.
He started his journey with a drop to 72m before exchanging tanks in the dome and then taking off towards the passage named link. After reaching the end of the line there, he turned around and passed the pit once more on his way to tikin chi and afterwards to Cenote Kentucky Castle. There a team was positioned which informed the rest of us when Leszek was passing by. Then he made his way towards Cenotes M1 and M2 but was forced to turn as a collapse had made the passage too small for him to pass. Now he was on his way downstream and followed the lines up to the end of the LSD area and back. He was making good speed, reaching every waypoint at almost the exact previewed runtime. Half way through he passed the Main Entrance of Dos Ojos and now continued downwards to Cenote Monolito passing several other Cenotes on the way. There he changed his gear to slim down for the restrictions lying ahead. After almost reaching Cenote Hilario he truned back and finally surfaced slightly tired but happy in Cenote Esteban where the team greeted him and took his gear for the final 500m walk back to the cars. It was almost 10 o’clock at night and his Liquivision X1 marked exactly 558min after submerging.

A great achievement and the perfect end for an awesome project that lasted at the end for 12 days. I really had a nice time with genuine people that always smile and joke even after a 90min hike through the jungle with a 30kg backpack and 1.2million mosquitoes chasing them.

The team:
Leszek – dive leader
Remek – main support diver
Cisek – rescue expert and support diver
Mirek – support diver
Bogush – surface support and protection =)
Richard – surface support and equipment expert
Waldek – surface support and equipment expert
Patrick – logistics, transport and diving safety officer
Lucio – Equipment transport at Pit

This will definitely not be the last you heard from this extraordinary team as future projects are already planned.

Stage cylinders are generally used in addition to “back mount” cylinders or in addition to “side mount” cylinders while cave diving.  The reasons that cave divers, wreck divers and technical divers use stage cylinders include but is not limited to increase the total volume of gas during a dive so that penetration distances or dive times can be greater, to hold different gas mixes (for example a decompression mix, a travel gas, or a bottom mix), to hold a volume of gas needed for team planning or as a safety bottle, and to provide an open circuit bailout source during Rebreather diving applications, to provide safety air volumes needed when planning dives using DPV’s and calculating for failures requiring a swim out.  The diver throughout the entire dive may carry these cylinders, depending on the objective and dive plan, or they may as well be placed along a cave or anchor/ascent line to be retrieved during the exit from the dive depending on the environment and conditions they are diving. 

Diving with single and multiple stages in the overhead environment (cave, wreck, or decompression) should only be attempted by divers who have perfected diving skills in their back mount or side mount gear.  These advanced techniques are to be used only once a diver has achieved perfection in the environment they are diving and have a real need and desire to progress greater into the dive.  The reasons divers use stage diving techniques may be enticing but as well with these practices comes a greater responsibility and greater risks for divers to be aware of.  Divers are now entering further into the overhead environment, they may be leaving tanks in water filled caves which may impact the cave, and they are increasing task loading during the dive while making a more complex dive plans.  Divers using the techniques and information in this manual must as well understand and completely accept the risks involved in planning extended penetration dives.  

Stage bottles need to be secured to the divers harness via clips to the d-rings. The preferred clip is a bolt clip made out of stainless steel due to a longer life span and ease of use while brass clips become more difficult to operate with time. The size of the clips is depending of the environment, where cold water divers need larger clips due to the gloves or mittens worn. A carry strap can be attached to the stage bottle with the two clips firmly attached to the strap. The strap is used below water to handle the tank and less for the surface. A stainless steel clamp covered in a tubular webbing makes a perfect tank band to hold the strap in place. The connection from tank to clip should be of a cutable kind, a metal to metal connection is not desirable since it can not be cut in case of a clip failure or entanglement scenario when it becomes important to drop or remove the stage tank to solve the problem.

All stage tanks should be labeled clearly in regards to what breathing media is inside the tanks, the marking of maximum operational depth on the side of the tank in large number does have the advantage of the team members being able to see and verify that the correct breathing mixture is being used ant the correct depth.

Each stage regulator does need its own pressure gauge with a preferable short high pressure hose of about 15 cm length. The gauge is bend upward during use and attached to the first stage via a bungee cord or surgical tubing. During periods of non use the gauge can be released to ease the stress on the hose. During the dive when the stage bottle is not in use the valve is to be maintained close, during descent and at maximum depth the valve should be opened shortly to pressurize the first stage, a prevention of water entering the first stage due to pressure differences.

Safety and Deco

Decompression diving and accelerated decompression schedules are in need of a variety of breathing gases ranging from bottom gases to travel gases and a variety of decompression gases. All these breathing media have to be planned, blended, labeled, analyzed and then used at the appropriate time and depth during and according to the dive plan. Depending on the environment dived and the planned bottom times stage tank size and material are of consideration to the diver, while most divers prefer aluminum stages because of their lesser weight and lift requirements.

In ocean drift diving and wreck diving scenarios the decompression stage bottles are usually carried by and with the diver throughout the whole dive, even if that means that the breathing mixture is carried below safe breathing depth. In cave diving scenarios the decompression stage bottles are clipped to the line in a way that not to much stress is exerted onto the line and left at a depth where the breathing gas can be safely breathed, eliminating the potential danger of breathing the wrong mix at the wrong depth.

Extended Penetration

Stage diving must be well thought out. Staging allows the diver to extend the distance of safe exploration. Due to being further into the system it may also produce additional time pressure stress. Training and gradual build up in penetration distances will help offset this stress. In addition stage diving is similar to flying a airplane in that the diver must think well ahead of their position. By thinking ahead and being familiar with stage techniques the diver avoids delays during stage drops and retrievals and the diver will also avoid sudden changes in buoyancy.

Stage and multi-stage diving are other techniques used to further penetration into the caves or wrecks but allows as well longer bottom times during technical dives. When a diver reaches his turnaround pressure but wishes to further penetrate the cave or wreck then a stage or extra tank becomes a necessity. A stage tank can be worn on either side or all on the left hand side depending on configuration preferences. The dive is generally started on the stage tank and when the pre-established turn pressure is reached the diver switches over to another stage or the primary tanks either back mounted or sidemounted. When turn pressure on the primary tanks is reached the diver will turn around and will find his or her stage that was clipped to the line, then change over to the stage tank and exiting the cave or wreck breathing of the stage tank or tanks. Stage diving has a potential high impact on the cave and wreck environment and damage can be extended far into the cave or wreck. Care should be taken not to harm the cave or wreck. Special training is needed to use stage tanks safely in the cave or wreck environment.

Gas and Stage Switching Procedures

How you and your team will switch between your cylinders during the dive needs to be preplanned and practiced in open water situations prior to attempting them in the overhead environment or in real decompression situations.  There are a few common and ¨accepted¨ ways that this can be accomplished.  However your team decides to accomplish gas switches it needs to be remembered that there are many things that can go wrong when switching gases and going to and from regulators.  The end result of an improper switch can end in loss of gas, loss of a way to deliver gas, hypoxic and hyperoxic situations.  Gas switches no matter how done need to have the entire teams attention at 100%.  This is true if you are doing a switch to a bottom gas, travel gas, or a decompression gas.  In addition to verifying your own gas supply and system you must also verify that the other members of your team have made a proper switch as well.

Entire team switching gas and stages

One way that teams prefer to switch gases is the entire team switching at once.  This means that at one point, after the signal has been given and confirmed by the entire team, every member of the team will initiate and switch gases at the same time.  The sequence for this is:

a.     One team member gives signal to switch gases upon arrival at the correct depth or point of dive

b.     Team confirms the need and place to switch

c.      Every diver locates proper cylinder

d.     Divers read labels and check depth vs. MOD

e.     Everyone turns on the correct stage cylinder

f.       Divers deploy regulator of stage and get it into position to breathe

g.     Purge regulator you are planning to breathe from, confirm it will supply gas

h.     Switch to new regulator and breathe prior to storing previous gas (you may need to go back to it)

i.        Store hose that is no longer needed

j.       Trace regulator back from your mouth to the stage bottle and check mix and MOD vs. your actual depth

k.     Check other team members to verify they are doing switches and to proper tank and breathing gas

l.        Once all team members have switched and confirm okay, continue dive or decompression

This type of switch is best accomplished with all the team members facing each other.  While you are completing each of your steps you are as well going to be keeping up to date with what the rest of the team is doing.  How is their buoyancy, are they at the correct depth, are they switching to the correct tank, is the tank on, is somebody out of gas?  The ability for every member of the team to be able to see each other and the cylinder that each member switches to is critical.  A wrong switch to a wrong tank and breathing gas is a life-threatening event for every member of the team.  Every team member must stay in complete control of the procedures during this time of task loading. 

Individual Gas Switches

The second style of gas switching is very similar to the first in the stops but has a different team strategy.  Some teams prefer to switch with one person always acting as observer.  This means that one person will delay their switch and act as an observer until the rest of the team has confirmed their switch.  Upon confirmation of the gas switch of the rest of the team this diver will then switch gases with the rest of the team observing them.  This second way will take a longer time to get the entire team switched but gives you the added benefit of always having one diver less task loaded and paying attention to confirm the switch of the other team members and can respond in case of any failures.

a.     Team member gives signal to switch gases upon arrival at the correct depth or point of dive

b.     Rest of team confirms the need and place to switch

c.      Rest of team locates proper cylinder (leader does not switch)

d.     Team read labels and check depth vs. mod (leader observes)

e.     Team turns on the correct stage cylinder (leader observes)

f.       Team deploy regulator of stage and get it into position to breath (leader observes)

g.     Team purges planned next regulator, confirming it will supply gas (leader observes)

h.     Switch to new regulator and breath prior to storing previous gas (leader observes)

i.        Store hose that is no longer needed (leader observes)

j.       Team traces regulators back to the stage bottle and check mix and mod vs. actual depth (leader observes)

k.     Team members verify they are done with switch and to proper tank (leader confirms or makes any adjustments needed)

l.        Upon completion and confirmation of the entire teams successful switch the team leader will then start at the top of the list and complete theirs with the rest of the team acting as observers.

Once the team leader has switched and now the entire team is on the new breathing gas and or stage tank the dive will continue or the decompression will start.

Either way that you decide to switch gases team members must be responsible for their own switch while ensuring the safety of the other team members.  Regulators will be coming out of mouths making potential out of air situations more likely.  In situations of reduced and zero visibility extreme caution must be used, especially when you are carrying mixes that have maximum operating depths shallower than any parts of the dive.  A wrong switch has been the end of divers lives on more than one occasion, usually involving switches to high oxygen content tanks at depths over maximum operating depths.