Cave Diving

[Mtrewyn]

I read a post the other day about cave diving on the Discovery channel, and they could not remember what it was,

Well it is on the Planet Earth the episode is "Caves" it was on late last night.

[mpd525]

you might also read "caverns measureless to man" it was written by sheck exley, i started reading it last night and i can't put i down.

[BuzzF117]

Cave diving? Not this guy I don't even like the idea of spelunking!

[CaribbeanDiver]

cave divers are a special breed. most people have no idea of the skill and discipline required to cave dive safely. Most of the equipment we use now was developed by some cave diver somewhere trying to improve his gear. The first BC were milk cartons tied to the back of a diver. He inflated with his regulator and deflated with a tip of the carton. The idea of a backup regulator was also some cave diver's idea.
DIR is a result of the search for safer, better equipment and a better, safer method of diving. The 7 foot hose, the backplate and wing, the bungied backup reg, all from cave divers.
I may not nor will I ever cave dive but I am sure glad they keep inventing better ways of doing things.
As for Sheck Exley, he is a pioneer of cave diving. Another of his great books is Basic Cave Diving" a blueprint to survival" outlines some of the roots of cave diving and explains why many protocals are necessary for safe cave diving.

[navyhmc]

I admire those who do the cave diving especially the extreme caver divers. I tried once-too clautrophobic. I met Sheck once fairly nice guy-definitely knows his stuff.

[cummings66]

While I have never done cave diving, I have dove in a Cavern and I got to say it was the most awesome experience of my life. The swift current which tried to push you out, the walls which weren't that far away led to a sense of being shallow even though you could go deep and not know it. The visibility being exceptional due to the lack of mud or silt, it just can't be compared to normal diving and is simply unbelievable.

I don't think I could cave dive because how do you know the opening won't close off. I've seen the openings change size before and I don't know what you'd do if it closed off while you were in there. Too risky for me, but the caverns are nice.

[ianr33]

Originally Posted by navyhmc

I admire those who do the cave diving especially the extreme caver divers. I tried once-too clautrophobic. I met Sheck once fairly nice guy-definitely knows his stuff.

Sadly that should be "knew his stuff" rather than "knows his stuff"

[Mtrewyn]

Just the thought of having to squeeze into something gives me the chills, so no caving for me wet or dry!

I just say the thing on discovery and was trying to post it for people to see if they wanted to see it, is was pretty cool, just not for me.

[in_cavediver]

I love to dive in caves. I have seen some beautiful stuff that very few others will ever see. I do want to add a few corrections though.

First, Sheck sadly passed on in a record depth attempt. I believe he made it to 921'. He was one of the divers to originally apply accident analysis to diving and cave diving specifically. It too is one of the most important tools for making diving safe for everyone. The whole learn the lessons written in blood idea.

Many other idea's came from cave/tec diving as well. Nitrox, trimix and CCR's gained sport use after pioneering dives made by cavers. (Not new, military/commercial divers used them for years before). Heck, even the infamous DIR is a direct outshoot of cave diving.

Second, the notion that caves are small and tight. Most of the caves my wife and I dive are quite large. Definitely larger than the passages in some wrecks I've dove. You can find small tight caves if you want and start using different configurations such as side mounted tanks or no-mounted tanks but its definitely not required.

Lastly, the 'Caves' show was filmed in the Yucatan in Mexico. Other popular North American locations are in Missouri and North Florida.

If you want to see what its like, take a cavern class from the NACD or NSS-CDS. You'll learn a ton and see quite a bit and do it in relative safety. Who know, you might get the bug and have to get the 2nd, 3rd and 4th credit cards to buy the cave gear and cave class. (its kinda expensive)

[Dive-aholic]

Let's not forget sidemount was also invented by cave divers.

Also, to back up in_cavediver, most caves are on the large side, not the small and tight spaces some of you are referring to. I've been down passages you can take 2 semis side by side through, as well as even bigger rooms. But, yes, I've been through passages in which I've had to contort my body to keyhole the opening while in sidemount.

And the chances of the opening closing aren't that great. You probably have a better chance of winning the lottery.