Cavern Diver Course

Program Purpose

The Cavern Diver course offers the certified advanced open water diver a first glance into the truly mesmerizing world of underwater caverns.

The program is designed to develop cavern diving skills and to insure that divers are aware of self-responsibility and capable of risk management in the overhead environment.

As the first of three steps toward the full Cave Diver certification, this course will allow you to explore that portion of the cave system within the daylight zone. It will provide you with the opportunity to experience the overhead environment in a controlled setting to determine if cave diving is of interest to you.

Whether or not you decide to pursue additional cave training, the knowledge and experience gained during the Cavern Diver course will serve to greatly improve your open water diving skills and awareness.

Program Prerequisites

Certifications requirements: Candidate must hold an Advanced Open Water Diver certification

Age requirement: Candidate must be a minimum or 18 years of age

Dive experience: Candidate must provide proof of a minimum of 25 logged dives

Program Requirements

Candidates must complete:

– A minimum of 100 minutes of overhead environment bottom time

– Minimum of four (4) dives

Program Limitations

– Dives must begin with a minimum visibility of 12m/40ft

– Dives are performed within the “daylight zones” of any solid overhead

– Maximum penetration is limited to 60m/200ft from the surface

– Maximum depth is limited to 21m/70ft – No single file restrictions

– Dives must remain within no decompression limits

Program Content

Lecture includes but is not limited to:

– Academic classes

– Equipment configuration including redundancy and streamlining

– Land drills: practice running the line and making tie wraps; touch contact communication; follow the guideline with and without vision; and learn how to perform an “S” (safety) drill

– Water skills development: become proficient in different propulsion techniques used in the cave environment; run line and make tie wraps; follow a guideline with eyes closed, while exiting the overhead environment, using touch contact communication; share breathing gas, while exiting the overhead environment, both with and without visibility.