Cave Diver Course

Cave Site

Defined as an enclosed body of water containing overhangs, silt, darkness zones, and passages that are at all times large enough for two divers to swim adjacent to each other and turn around together. Cave sites allow a maximum penetration of 1/3 of a twin cylinder gas supply.

Prerequisites

Before commencement of a CDAA Cave Diver training program the candidate must:

1. Hold an entry level SCUBA award for a minimum of 12 months.
2. Hold a CDAA Deep Cavern or Sinkhole Diver award.
3. Have logged a minimum of 30 cavern dives totalling a minimum of 15 hours, or 15 sinkhole dives totalling a minimum of 7.5 hours.
4. Minimum age 18 years.
5. Successfully complete a diving medical statement.

Theory

To include equipment, anti-silting techniques, dive planning, decompression related to cave diving, line techniques, underwater communications, emergency / problem solving, cave conservation, air consumption, physiological considerations, access protocols, accident analysis.

Equipment

Minimum requirements include:

1. Suitable exposure suit
2. Mask and fins
3. Small sharp line cutting device
4. Second knife or cutting device
5. Watch or bottom timer
6. Depth gauge with MDI
7. Compass
8. BCD
9. Twin cylinders of equal capacity
10. Two regulators
11. One primary and two back up lights
12. Submersible decompression tables
13. Pencil and slate
14. Tether clip
15. Reel and guideline

Skill Sessions

To include line laying and reel use, reel locking and abandonment, air sharing while following a line with mask blacked out, line entanglement and cutting, buoyancy and anti-silting techniques, communications, gas management.

Supervised Dives

Six dives in CDAA rated Cavern and Cave sites.