Category — Cave Course

I just finished up a great week with Wayne who came down for his third time in an effort to satisfy his cave diving addiction…

The entire week was dedicated to sidemount diving. The first three days we spent setting up Wayne’s rig ensuring that he felt comfortable and that it works for the environment he will dive.   He had done a bunch of research before the course which really gave us a great head start and brought us into the cave quickly.

We started the morning with theory and an equipment workshop.  After having lunch, we jumped in the water to see how everything looks.  A lot of great ideas on the surface turn out to be total failures below the surface, therefore I believe this is a critical part of any course and devote ample time focused on getting the student comfortable with his equipment.  I pay special attention to head to toe trim, lateral trim and proper weighting. My goal is to make the equipment an extension of the body, thereby removing a major distraction allowing for more awareness of the cave, the line and the team.

We spent quite some time fine tuning and adjusting.  After that we ran through various drills and exercises.  By the time we left the cenote we had a great foundation.

The dives lengthened over the next two days as we refreshed line laying skills, marking protocols, and touch and go exit drills in zero visibility. We dived a lot in low bedding plains which would have been difficult for backmount divers to pass, especially if performing touch contact exit.  The conditions were ideal for illustrating the advantages of sidemount.

After that we had four super great days of guided cave diving in Tulum. We started with Dream Gate just south of Chemuyil. Dream Gate is a really awesome cave with shallow depths which make for long dives through the intensely decorated passages. I was stoked to dive the downstream section to show Wayne all of the recently explored lines bearing line arrows marked with 09 for last year. I find it very exciting to dive in places that are still being explored or have been recently explored.  It gives me a feeling of being one of the first to see them.

Unfortunately, to my frustration, we discovered the explorer’s line arrows had been replaced by generic orange arrows with the name of a dive center which had nothing to do with the exploration of these lines.   I felt a range of emotions starting with anger and frustration, then sadness and finally pity for the person who feels the urge to go through the trouble of replacing all these arrows out of envy. Even here in paradise we have some sad stories.

Never the less the dive was awesome!  I was super excited to see the Mayan pottery for the first time.  It is just sitting there next to the line after the T in front of a debris cone which is under a tiny cenote. Our second dive was upstream checking out the many T intersections.

The next day we went to Dos Pisos south of Tulum. It is one of the most amazing caves I know. It has an average depth of less than 20ft, so we decided to do one loooong dive and really swim some distance and enjoy this marvelous cave. The bright white color and the density and variety of the decorations makes this a cave diver’s Mecca. I especially love the beginning as you pass a shallow bedding plain and then a small winding tunnel with crystal white calcite on the floor looking like powder snow. Then the cave opens up in ever larger rooms with breathtaking formations all around. Wayne clearly found his favorite spot and was still smiling hours after we had surfaced.

Wayne on the back of the truck

Next we dove another cenote south of Tulum, Regina.  Regina couldn’t be any more different from Dos Pisos. It is darker and deeper.  With its ever changing shape and depth I can use only one word to describe it, intriguing.  Lots of tannin in the water makes for interesting colors and a generally spooky feeling.  With the numerous transitions from salt water to fresh water and back and an average depth of 50ft it is a great place to accumulate experience for a newly certified sidemount diver. It definitely takes more awareness of tank alignment and gas management.

On the last day we went to Cenote Muchachos and Cenote Mud. These dives were a great finish to the week. Wayne really enjoyed both cenotes and the adventure of getting into Cenote Mud.   Cenote Muchachos and Cenote Mud, although close in proximity have completely different personalities.  In Cenote Muchachos we went up the Black Forrest line and enjoyed the huge passages and incredible ceiling.

In Cenote Mud we swam a white passage with massive decoration that leads you to another cenote with bright green and cold tannic water. There we took the T down which leads you what looks like a dungeon, a really bizarre place where one can see the forces of water shaping our planet.

This was a really cool week with some of my favorite dives here in the Riviera Maya and all of that back to back. I really love it when I come home from diving already looking forward to the next day and the dives I am going to do…

Now I am on vacation and am going cave diving of course =)

Cheers
P

Endlich war es soweit, meine erster Kurs mit Landsmaennern und Frauen und dann auch noch eine super Gruppe von der Tauchschule Traunsee. Veronika, Andreas, Ursula und Markus kamen den langen Weg vom kalten Österreich hierher in die Riviera Maya um ihre bereits breite Erfahrung im Tauchen um eine Nische zu erweitern, Hoehlentauchen!!!

Von Anfang an war die positive Motivation und eine entspannte Atmosphäre zu spuehren, die natürlich den anstrengenden Kurs um einiges leichter machte. Die 4 wurden von Andy, einem Australier komplettiert. Da aber nur 3 Schueler pro Tauchlehrer erlaubt sind, teilten sich Nando und ich die Gruppe. Die Theorie erarbeiteten wir  immer gemeinsam und dann im Wasser trainierten Veronika, Ursula und Andy mit Nando; Markus und Andreas mit mir.

Die ersten Tage sind immer die längsten, bis man alles ins Rollen gebracht hat und so begannen wir täglich um 08:30 und unsere Tage endeten mit wenigen Ausnahmen gegen 18:00.Uhr..sorry =)

Tag eins begann mit Papierkram und sich ein bisschen kennen lernen, Hauptregeln und Ablauf des Kurses besprechen und eine kleine Vorschau auf das, was so auf einen zukommt…letzte Chance es sich noch einmal anders zu überlegen!

Nach ein wenig Theorie und einem ausführlichen Ausruestungs Workshop ging es ab zur ersten Cenote, Chikin Ha/Xtabay, wo wir uns um die Hauptfundamente kümmerten, und  zwar Tarierung, Trim und die verschiedenen Flossenschlagtechniken und all das in der neuen Konfiguration mit den Doppelflaschen.
Das Hoehlentauchen ist nicht nur eine körperliche sondern vor allem eine mentale Herausforderung, weil man sich zu jedem Zeitpunkt auf sehr viele Dinge konzentrieren muss, dabei sollte man eine stabile Position unter Wasser haben, ohne sich dazu großartig zu bemühen oder sich bewegen zu müssen.

Am naechsten Tag ging es gleich in der Frueh auf zur Cenote Cristalino. Dort angekommen verbrachten wir erst mal ein paar Stunden zwischen den Baeumen, um Uebungen mit den Leinen zu machen, damit man lernt, die Hoehle in Nullsicht sicher gemeinsam mit seinem Team zu verlassen. Dies war der Beginn vieler Uebungen mit geschlossenen Augen und die Antwort auf die Frage: Wie kann ich mich mit meinen Partnern verstaendigen ohne sie zu hoehren oder zu sehen?
Der gesamte Nachmittag wurde im Wasser verbracht, um das am Land Gelernte unter Wasser zu trainieren. Anfangs noch jeder fuer sich, dann  im Team. Jede Menge Situationen, wie sich im Seil verhaengen, keine Luft mehr haben, Tarierungsprobleme, Fuehrungsleine verlieren und noch viele andere mussten bewaeltigt werden. Und als ob das alles noch nicht genug gewesen wäre, hatten wir dann abends noch eine Lektion in der Theorie.

Am naechsten Tag war es endlich soweit, die ersten Hoehlentauchgaenge standen am Plan. Der erste noch mit dem Instruktor als Fuehrer, der naechste schon alleine als Team, wobei der Tauchlehrer nur alles aus der Dunkelheit ueberwacht und die Uebungen koordiniert. Die Cenote Ponderosa bietet sich hierfuer perfekt an, da es mehrere Leinen zu betauchen gibt. So machten wir 3 Tauchgaenge und begannen bereits mit Nullsichtuebungen, die schon gut gemeistert wurden, dank des ganzen Trainings vom Vortag.
Am spaeten Nachmittag als wir zurueck in Pro Tec waren, machten wir noch ein wenig Theorie und den Plan fuer den naechsten Tag.

Tag vier verbrachten wir in der Cenote Taj Maha mit Konzentration auf die Notfall Situationen mit mehrfachen ohne Luft Notfällen, Nullsicht Situationen und beides gemeinsam durch enge Passagen, die das Team zu mehrfachem Wechsel der Seite auf der Leine zwang. Es ging auch immer weiter in die Hoehle hinein.

Tag fuenf, brachte den Abschluss des Intro to cave Kurses mit den beiden Uebungen: Lost Line und Lost Diver. Zuerst verbrachten wir den Vormittag wieder damit, alles im Trockenen zu ueben um uns mental auf die Uebungen vorzubereiten und alles einmal vorher Schritt fuer Schritt duchzugehen.
Im Wasser haben wir die Uebungen dann auch noch mit „null Sicht“ und „ohne Luft“- Situationen kombiniert um das Training zu intensivieren.
Die Cenote Chac Mool bietet sich hierfür sehr gut an, da der Tunnel sehr dunkel ist und die Halocline das ganze noch um einiges erschwert. 

Endlich im „full cave“ Teil angekommen, ging es zurueck nach Taj Maha, um an den Verengungen zu trainieren und mit Sprüngen auf andere Leinen zu beginnen. Wir starteten, wie fast immer mit Leinenuebungen am Parkplatz und dann gings ab zum ersten 90 min Tauchgang wo eine Uebung die naechste abwechselte und wir uns zum Schluss waehrend einer „ohne Luft Situation“ bei null Sicht durch eine Verengung zwaengen mussten.
Alles lief super gut ab und die beiden tauchten mit einem breiten Lächeln auf!

Tag sieben verbrachten wir in der Cenote Minotauro um einen komplexen Circuit zu planen, vorzubreiten und durchzufuehren und noch mehr die Engstellen zu trainieren. Ein 106 min Tauchgang und ein 78 min Tauchgang waren dazu noetig…was fuer ein Tag und die beiden haben auch eindeutig ihre Lieblingshoehle gefunden.

Am letzten Tag ging es dann nach Tulum, in der Grand Cenote machten wir die letzten zwei Tauchgaenge ohne Uebungen um das Erlernte auszuprobieren. Zwei traumhafte Tauchgaenge durch dieses so wundervoll dekorierte System. Der perfekte Abschluss fuer einen tollen Kurs.

Zurueck in der Tauchbasis haben wir dann noch die Examen gemacht, die alle mit fast 100% bestanden haben und somit war es vollbracht, wir haben vier neue, oesterreichische Hoehlentaucher, und ich koennte nicht stolzer sein.
Ein herzliches Danke an die vier, die sich so tapfer geschlagen haben, auch wenn die Tage lang, die Woche noch laenger und die Uebungen hart waren… oesterreichisches Blut ist eben koa Nudelsuppen.

Ich hoffe euch bald wieder hier zu sehen, um euch ein paar der traumhaften Hoehlen der Riviera Maya zu zeigen…

Sonnige Gruesse aus Playa,
Patrick

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

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

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