Cave 2010
This year, I finally broke down and decided to try cave diving. Back in the dark ages, I tried a cavern dive in Mexico. While I enjoyed the dive, it was too early in my diving to fully understand the nuance of the dives.
This year, Becky invited us on a Manatee dive down in Florida, and figured I’d stay in the area and take a cave class. After many discussions on cave instructors, I settled on Paul Heinerth. I wanted an instructor that would challenge me rather than let me coast through the class. My Trimix instructor (Corey Mearns) introduced me to Paul at a social gathering last fall. Others echoed the recommendations, so I made plans to stick around and take the class.
Little Devil
The cavern portion of the class involved a number of new of skills. Many were familiar, some were not. Much of the class pushed me to the limits of my comfort zone. However, after it was all done, I felt much more comfortable diving in this environment. I guess that’s the point. I want to thank Paul, for suffering with me. I’m sure he’s dealt with worse, but I know I was a handful. After the class, Becky and Dave were kind enough to take their time to dive with a cave newbie. I’m sure it can be a bit annoying to dive with a novice. I appreciate them taking the time to dive with me. Given all the flooding in Florida, we ended up in Ginnie Springs. Two days of our class was spent at Ginnie, so I knew a little bit about of the layout. Diving after the class removed much of the “stress” involved, and we had a lot of fun. Becky took a lot of photos. I’ve posted a few here, but check out her website for more great shots.
I returned to the scene of the crime for some more shots of the cavern and caves. The weather up North (NJ/PA) was not good, so my lovely wife (Val) suggest that I stay in Florida. Did I mention that I love my wife?! I spent the next two days practicing my skills, and taking pictures. I’m not sure if I’m a died in the wool cave diver, but I did have a good time diving with some good friends.