Newbie cave diver converted to the dark side

Our goood friend and dive buddy Scubagirl was down in Florida with the Cave Crew in November to do her cavern and basic cave course. She asked me to post the write-up of her experiences for your delectation:

NSS Cavern & Basic Cave, Nov 12-15 2006

Cavern Day 1:

Classroom work, equipment checkover and line following on land (no diving that day since Ginnie is closing early due to the 30th anniversary party). Equipment check takes about 10 minutes since we're all diving doubles with long hoses and only have a couple of minor suggestions made to us. While doing line drills, we notice that it takes longer to follow a line with eyes closed, especially when using touch contact with a buddy. It's also tough to keep your fingers looped in an "OK" shape around the line, rather than tightening it up, which seems more natural to us wreck divers.

Cavern Day 2:

2 dives in Ginnie Basin & Cavern to practice finning techniques (frog & modified frog), follow a line course with 1) eyes open, 2) eyes closed mask off, 3) donating with eyes closed, and 4) receiving with eyes closed. We notice that following a line underwater with eyes closed and/or mask off takes a LOT longer than with eyes open. Getting a hose stuck under a rock when you and your buddy are doing an OOA eyes closed line following task is interesting. And then there's the instructor, who tries to pull the line out of your fingers. Point reiterated: This is your lifeline -- do not allow your fingers to drop the line! It becomes clear why the line is so important. I manage to split my neck seal while doffing my drysuit during lunch break. Good thing I brought my wetsuit as backup! 1 dive in Devil's Ear to practice primary and secondary tie-offs, line placements and lights out drills. We each take a turn running a primary and secondary tie-off in the cavern, and reeling it back in. I manage to make a rat's nest out of a borrowed reel (oops!). We all mess up during our lights out drill, not thinking for ourselves and just following each other's lead (wrong!) Cave diving is both teamwork AND independent thinking. 1 fun dive (first cave dive) in Devil's Eye with instructor leading. No drills on this dive, yay!

Basic Cave Day 1:

1 dive at Peacock 1 (Peanut Tunnel). I lead the team into the cave, and lay the line. tying it to the mainline. It's fun to lead. You feel free because you can set the pace. Unfortunately I become the example of what not to do. I end up way ahead of the team and have to swim back. The instructor animatedly chews me out for getting too far ahead of the team. We all learn a lesson. I thumb the dive somewhere between the 600 and 700 ft marker. OOA lights out drills on the way out, both donor & receiver. It's eerie doing one of these in the cave with lights out. Your fingers are looped around the line, and you know you're moving in a straight line, yet it feels like you're swimming around in circles. I breathe a sigh of relief when I feel a line arrow marker, and the drill is over. It really strikes home that this is your lifeline. I can't imagine being in the
dark in a cave without a line. 1 dive at Little River. OOA/lights out & lost buddy drills on the way out. Instructor shoves me into a side passage a couple of times, to play 'lost buddy'. The first time, I can't even squeeze in, so I curl up in a ball and try to look inconspicuous. The second time, it's a nice tight passage with barely enough room for a modified frog. I kick about 20 feet in until I find a spot to turn around and move forward a bit so I can see the 'action'. My computer reminds me I have some deco while I'm in here waiting to be found. Buddy finds me and slightly silts up the tunnel. Luckily there is a gold line in there and I've got my fingers looped around it like any good cave newbie. We exit on another lights out OOA drill and do some deco in the cavern. I'm shivering in my wetsuit. Buddy #2 learns a lesson on this dive about diving the same gas as the rest of the team. He's got 24 minutes of deco, to our 8 minutes. During the debrief, the instructor informs me I pulled a 'Marie' when I played lost buddy the second time. I think he should rename it the 'Natalie'...

Basic Cave day 2:

2 dives at Devil's Ear. I'm back in my drysuit with a new neck seal. It floods before we get to the cavern -- the neck seal was precut for me. I should have aborted the dive before I even got in (hindsight's a bitch). While entering the Ear, I forget everything I've been told and don't dump absolutely all the air out of my wing, get caught by the flow in the entrance and flipped nearly upside down, wedged between two rocks. My mask is flooded, askew on my face; my long hose is caught on a rock and gets pulled out of my mouth. A true Kodak moment. I retrieve my primary, clear my mask and start trying to get myself un-wedged. Too late. The instructor has seen me and is pissed. He grabs my manifold and pulls me into the cavern. I catch my breath and we abort the dive, much to my dismay. I'm sure he's going to kick me off the course now, but after the debriefing/ass kicking/humiliation (some of it self-inflicted) we go in for another shot. This time I make it inside easily enough, though not without scraping another layer off my cave fingers. We turn around at the park benches. I'm expecting OOA lights out drills, but nothing. On the way back to the exit stairs, I endure some more humiliation in the crack at Little Devil's (see, I can descend head-first), then we get out and go for lunch. I'm told I have a chance to redeem myself on the next dive. So much for our 'fun' dive after lunch... 1 dive at Devil's Eye. I'm back in my wetsuit, determined to show the instructor that I can do this, and do it well. I know he's going to ask me to run the reel, and sure enough, he does. I make sure the line is set good and tight, and we're off. I try not to hit the ceiling and think of the upcoming lost line drills that await us on our way out. As I approach the park benches, I'm distracted by some other divers hovering near the ceiling. I turn away just as the strobe fires. It's the Caveman playing photographer. When the rest of the group is through, we turn around and do some OOA lights out drills back through to The Lips. Buddy and I wait our turns to do the lost line drill, off to the left just inside The Lips. I start to shiver, but when it comes my turn I get warmer by moving around. Lights go out. I feel for the designated rock outcrop, tie off my spool, double check to make sure it's tied tightly, turn around and move in the direction I think the gold line lies, spooling out line as I go. I stop at one point to verify the direction of the flow. I face into it and know the line is to my right somewhere. I find the rock wall but I think I've gone too far since the line is not there, so I start to reel the line back onto my spool. The instructor turns me around again, and this time around I manage to find the line! I'm pretty sure that on my first try I moved back into the cave, then started moving parallel to the line. Now I'm back in my sheltered spot inside The Lips, and this time I can see the next diver doing his lost line drill since a couple of divers are coming back through. It's eerie watching someone else do this drill. I realize at one point that I've lost a fin; it has cracked along the side of the foot pocket and thankfully lies just below me. I retrieve it, put it back on and make a mental note to buy a new set of fins tomorrow. After the other group has gone through, it becomes pitch black again. I relax and just breathe, in the darkness with the strong flow blowing past my mask. I wonder what it's like to be really lost in the darkness and I shiver, though it's likely because I'm just cold. Buddy finishes his drill and we're all exiting with primary lights, but my HID doesn't strike so I deploy my backup. I'm resigned to exit first, and buddy is delegated to reel in the line. We do a few minutes of deco and we're out. I wonder whether I've done well enough on this dive to pass, and I'm kicking myself for every mistake I made. Later, when I find out I have passed, I'm elated. But I know I could have done better and I berate myself for it. I felt like a complete newbie for much of the course, and well, I WAS a newbie in that environment. However, I was able to demonstrate that I possess the skills I need for Basic Cave Diver, and now it's up to me to improve upon those skills. I know where I need to make improvements, and I plan to continue improving until I can confidently pass Apprentice and Full Cave.

Sidemount vs backmount - in practice

Mrs Caveman and the Caveman did a pair of drift dives from a boat in the Thousand Islands today - with backmount doubles. Both dives were very enjoyable - the current was ripping and the viz was pretty good. Lots of up and down drafts, with some interesting eddies. But, dang, those 100 pound+ doubles are a pain in the proverbial to hoist around. Good thing the Caveman and the Mrs are gym creatures during the week. One thing the dives really hammered home was that sidemount was a heck of a lot more stable than backmount. Sidemount, you have to work really hard to come off the horizontal plane. Its naturally stable like you wouldn't believe, once you got the rig tuned properly. Backmount, no matter how well tuned, at some point that mass of steel on your back is gonna want to make you go turtle - basic physics.

Only problem with sidemount is that it's a tad awkward on a boat, but some day I'll try it anyways, even if it's just to spare my aging back and knees the joy of lifting doubles off the bench multiple times during an outing.

That being said, the autumn cave country trip is fast approaching, so I think it'll be the last backmount doubles dive before hitting the crystal clear waters of Northern Florida springs.

Dang, but sidemount does rock, and not only because it spares the old knees and back, and is inherently more stable than backmount. Accessorizing with a cool helmet, complete with helmet-mounted light, is one of the neat things you can do once you break out of the relatively inflexible gear configuration paradigms peddled by some. That would be the divers who laugh at helmet-clad sidemounters but who couldn't, no matter how much they tried, get into a hockey-sock full of cave tunnels without damaging the cave. And damaging cave isn't just uncool, it isn't doing it right.

Labour Day weekend boom and bust

Well, the weekend was a mixed bag for diving. Friday, Mrs. Caveman and the Caveman went to the quarry for some sidemount practice, Saturday, as you can read below, we dove a nice cave with Scubajim and MarcG. But Sunday, delightful as it was, became a non-diving day. The Caveman re-grouted bathroom tiles instead *yuck*.

Monday, Mrs and I went to Lock 21 for a spot of sidemount scootering, which turned out to be fairly decent even though before the dive, the Caveman had a run-in with a very unpleasant individual who was fishing at the usual downstream entry-point. We're slowly getting the hang of this sidemounting stuff, although I suspect we'll be tweaking this and that for just about as long as we'll be diving - but that's part of the DIS (Doing It Sidemount) fun: constant evolution. Mind you, scootering is always a blast and we did a good 70 minutes exploring places in ways mere swimming divers can't.

We found out, upon our return from the Lock, that Scubajim had sweet-talked his way into that shore-diveable cave we wanted to dive on Saturday. Man has a silver tongue. Read about it in his journal.

The Rules of Sidemount

Seems like you can't start a semi-religious movement without having rules. So as I sit here with a scotch and soda, surfing the blogosphere, my mind turns to the rules that should govern DIS (Doing It Sidemount). King Helmet aka Scubajim may wish to toss in his opinion. We'll get something started, I'm sure.

Without further ado, here are the 6 (draft) rules of DIS:


The Rules of Doing It Sidemount

1. Never dive with people who don't understand why sidemount works
2. Never be afraid to tinker with your gear
3. Wear the helmet with pride - it shows intelligence and forethought
4. Explore where backmounters hesitate to go - or just plain can't go
5. Be nice to the DIR people - remember that Jesus was nice to Pharisees
6. Never worry about how you look underwater. The only thing that counts is not damaging the cave.
7. Avoid useless expenditure of effort - dive lazy

The Caveman's sidemount helmet

The DIS (Doing It Sidemount) gear configuration for tight caves requires a helmet to protect the noggin. Unlike other Doing It creatures, sidemounters do not have heads made of impervious material such as several inches of bone. A helmet allows for more self-expression and a further move away from the standardisation of other Doing It creatures. Herewith some pictures of the Caveman's new helmet, which got its baptism of caving yesterday in a low, sidemount tunnel that no backmounter could visit.

Two side views of the Caveman's sidemount helmet, with the DIS slogan




A rear view of the Caveman's helmet with the warning to get off his ass

A fine day's cave diving

Yesterday, Scubajim, MarcG, Mrs. Caveman and the Caveman himself went for a bit of cave diving in the Ottawa River, a few kilometers downstream from Pembroke. After our plans to shore dive another cave were changed due to unforeseen circumstances, we found ourselves renting a boat from a nice gentleman running a small resort a short distance away. Getting 4 divers, 8 steel cylinders and sundry cave gear into the aluminum runabout was a small feat of logistics, but Scubajim, keen as ever to explore new caves, got us organised and out on the water faster than you can do a GUE-approved S-drill. Using a map of the area that Scubajim obtained via one of his many connections, we puttered to a heavily wooded and uninhabited island's south shore and began looking for the tell-tale surface disturbance of an underwater cave resurgence. Lo-and-behold, within less than 10 minutes we had found the entrance to the cave in a sink hole less than 20 feet from shore.

Tying the boat to shore, we quickly jumped into the water and clipped on our cylinders, sidemount style. For Mrs Caveman, MarcG and me, it was our first time with our new helmets. Very chic and un-DIR. But the sidemount configuration felt good. Stable, lean and entirely appropriate for the cave.

Scubajim and Marc headed out first, with the Mrs and me following a few minutes later. The cave, lined by explorers more than 10 years ago, proved to be larger than we expected. Certainly larger than the shore-accessible cave a kilometer or so south of where we were. The visibility being what it was - Ottawa river water is very tannic - we saw little of the cave once beyond the dull red glow of the entrance sinkhole. Our lights, strong as laser beams from a Death Star in the clear Florida cave waters, were anemic light swords in that water. We could either see the line, or see the cave wall/ceiling, not both. The Mrs and I ended our first dive after 40 minutes and about 500 feet penetration.

A short surface interval later, we returned to the cave and this time, we took a right at a t-junction about 300ft in. This led to a narrow tunnel which we could actual see and appreciate in all its limestone glory. The very silty floor was a challenge, but one we thoroughly enjoyed. We found the end of the line, broken, and turned around.

Back on the mainline, we headed deeper into the cave, meeting Scubajim who was on his way out after a very deep and long penetration. About 500ft from the entrance, the cave made a dog leg and dropped 10ft into a rocky tube with the most heartbreakingly beautiful and fragile rock formations. I can well imagine that the Devil's system in Florida was this beautiful before countless generations of cave divers broke, eroded and generally trampled all over the cave. Using the thick manila rope that did double duty as cave line to pull myself along, I made sure not to touch anything. The shape of the cave and the flow turned our breath exhalations into a rumble that resembled thunder - or the sounds of a cave-in. The area is geologically active, witnessed by a resurgence in this same system that was filled in by a seismically-induced collapse a few years ago. After about 400 feet of this, I decided that the rumbling was getting the better of my comfort and we turned around, letting the flow push us back out.

We met a magnificent three-feet long sturgeon hundreds of feet inside the cave, as well as many catfish and other bottom dwellers.

In short order, Mrs Caveman and I emerged above the sink and rejoined Scubajim and MarcG who were waiting for us. In no time at all, we were out of our rigs, in the boat and heading back to shore.

I cannot wait to dive this cave again.

By the way, although this cave, except for the side passages, was diveable with backmounted cylinders, it would have been a pain in the proverbial to haul 100pound sets in and out of an aluminum skiff. Doing it sidemount was the only logical way.

For Scubajim's story and his pictures of the dive, check out his blog. He took the picture at the top of this entry.

Québec Scuba Diving Permits

Québec, that most statist of political entities in North America will soon sic its Provincial Police officers on hapless scuba divers who fail to buy a permit to scuba dive in the province. This intrusion of government stupidity into the private realm is supposedly as a result of diver deaths in Québec due to inadequate or insufficient training. The solution: have divers qualify for a dive permit by being evaluated by Québecois dive instructors. Am I the only one to see the idiocy in having people certified as competent to dive by those who apparently were part of the problem leading to the diver deaths, thus leading to the permit scheme? More on this at text of the provincial regulation in French and a discussion in English on this useless tax grab at Ontario Diving

The politics of scuba diving

It seems like everything people do brings out the worst in small-time politics, of the "I'm right and you're wrong" variety so common among the more dogmatic of our left-wing intellectuals. Case in point: a simple question on advanced dive training brought forth this gem Simple Advice Gone Wrong