Mailing List Archive Mailing List Archive
On Mon, 25 Oct 1999 20:18:49 +0200, you wrote: >I have thought about it a while. My plan would be to go for GUE CAVE = DIVER Level1. This would be possible in one week time with (I hope) some = time left for extra practising.=20 Congratulations on your decision to choose GUE. I wish that it was an option when I began my training. >One question remains however: assume I get certified GUE CAVE DIVER = Level1: what kind of dives and under what circumstances will they be = allowed ? (I did not find this mentioned anywhere on the GUE website). = The GUE website mentions 600' penetrations (also max narcotic depth of = 130'), so would this be the limit for the certification ? Can I join cave= trips like the ones that Connie is organizing for instance in Yucatan ? = (or is this for experienced cavers "pro's" only?). I ask this because = conditions here at home are nearly impossible, so I would have to = practise abroad. Any additional information about practising fields = (caves) matching the GUE CAVE DIVER certification level would be = appreciated. Experience needed??...yes and no. I just got back a few days ago from Connie's trip and can say that it was the best vacation that I have had yet. We got in about 12 dives over the week with only two being less than an hour and with no more than 20 minutes of decompression for the whole trip. I am afraid that I am not aware of the certification levels or limitations of the GUE course, but the max depth of the trip was around 74 with most of the caves bottoming around 40 feet. Experience is needed because of the small size and fragile nature of much of the caves. Of our group of 11 last week, only one seriously lacking any skill and ability. Everyone else in our group brought in a good deal of experience in many areas. We even had a diver join us at the end of the week since she had finished her full cave class during the first part, and she was excellent in the water (although she did have hundreds of dives previous to the trip). All of the dives are guided though, so it is difficult to make your own plans. The systems were absolutely beautiful and the overall environment incredible. You can practice anywhere, not just in caves. There must be some silty open water site nearby (most places have an abundance of them). Practice swimming as close to the bottom as possible without kicking up anything or dragging any equipment. Every time I get a new piece of gear, I will spend quite a while in the open water or the pool in order to get it set up and in order to become very familiar with it. You don't need long penetrations to learn anything. I have done a few dives where I didn't even go past the lips at Ginnie when I'm working with new gear. If you ever dive a drysuit, then it is probably a good idea to practice using it for buoyancy control in case you ever lose your wings. Staging should also be practiced well before you start doing it. "Four boxes keep us free: soap, jury, ballot, cartridge."
Navigate by Author:
[Previous]
[Next]
[Author Search Index]
Navigate by Subject:
[Previous]
[Next]
[Subject Search Index]
[Send Reply] [Send Message with New Topic]
[Search Selection] [Mailing List Home] [Home]