Day 4 & 5 : intro to cave diver

Location: Mexico
Date: May 8, 2012 


Day 4


Yesterday we experienced our first cave dive. That means you go pass the "peligroso" sign which you cannot do if you are "just" a cavern diver or not trained at all. I the first dive I was second in the group and Angel was leading and deploying the lines. We went to Tajma-Ha a cenote that has 2 different cave routes. One goes a bit more to the eft and one goes to the right. It is very important that you start to memorize the caves whilst going in. I.e. where are the tie-off's, what is the layout, which direction are we going etc. Next to this you also have to keep an eye on your air ( as sidemount divers you have to switch regulators ( thus the tanks you are breathing from) every lets say 200 PSI to keep them evenly heavy or floaty. We encountered hailoclines, silt and beautiful decorations. this was the first time we saw these decorations and it was stunning and i was in awe. Once we reached our turn around pressure we turned around and I was leading the group out. Off course we did some more drills but this was just to get us more comfortable with the exercises. We eventually got out and debriefed.


The second dive I was leading the group in, this time using the other line. Leading a group in always asks more attention and effort which could lead to a bit more stress. so i was trying to be as Zen as possible. it took me some time to go in and tie-off the correct way but eventually we reached the line. We continued for a little bit until it was time to turn around and find our way out of the cave blindfolded. This time Angel was instructed to be out of air and Remco was the donor which let me at the end basically scraping the caves as we went out. The boys have a habit of untying the tie-offs so I was entangled a fair bit. And with my habit of letting go of the line ( not good at all) I put myself in some nasty situations ( where this to be real life). But finally got the hang of holding on to the line... CONCENTRATE.... I am also very happy I have a helmet the amount of times i banged my head fiercely into the cave or into my buddy in front of my is countless. Not to mention the amount of times my instructor hits me on the head with his torch whenever I do something wrong. 


AT the end of the day we practised the lost line lost diver skills in the garden. which we would off course practise in the water on day 5.


Day 5


Would today be the day that we get certified as intro to cave divers? Today we had 2 more dives planned which included the skills Lost Diver & Lost Line. Remco was the first one to lead us in which meant that Angel was in the middle and I was in the end. A position I like as you don;t have to worry about the guys in the back but just about you entering the cave and taking it all in. In the back you do have more silting or moving hailocline issues which could limit your view but that doesn't bother me as much. To be fair all my team mates are very careful with the placement off their fins to keep the silting to a minimum ( this is when we actually have no blindfold on). Anyways, i was just enjoying the views and finally feeling my tanks a bit more and knowing when to switch without actually having to check your gauges and going Oh &^^*&*&  I have to switch. On our way back we stopped mid line where were taken of the line ( blindfolded) and placed somewhere in the cave. I was really sure I knew which direction I had to go so started tying off my spare reel using the Lost line technique to find my line back. Now apparently I did the classic thing students can do. Stop about 10 cm away of the line thinking you have gone in the wrong direction and go back............ haha once I did find the line back eventually I hauled my ass out of the cave and actually found my way out... blindfolded :) YEY ME!

The second dive, I was in the lead again and focussed on the tie-offs once again. Going pass the  skull sign always makes my heart jump a little bit - I am actually doing this :) so kewl :) once I found the cave line we continued and at turn around point the boys had to do the lost diver skill. I had to stay put which gave me the chance to completely freeze to bits. I was shivering so bad my light was actually shaking! hahaha. Anyways once the boys were done they continue to exit and it was my turn. With looking for a lost diver you actually have to think about a lot. What area shall I search, how many air can I "waist" doing it etc etc. I ended up in a very silted out area which is a great experience but found my imaginary lost diver and ended the dive. . At safety stop level ( I now had been in the cave for 53 minutes  bear in mind the water is 25 degrees) I was absolutely shaking. Whilst we were there another student was practising her tie off skills as well which is actually great to observe if it doesn't involve you. 
When i came up I was actually sad that the day was over. So I am now a tired but very satisfied Intro to cave diver. Wednesday I will start my full cave certification. 

XOXO