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Cave Diver Level 1

Purpose

The GUE Cave Diver Level 1 (Cave 1) course is a diver education program that introduces divers to the underwater cave environment and to an appreciation of its subtle dangers. The course covers the basic principles of cave diving and is designed to introduce divers to the skills and knowledge required for limited penetration into the underwater cave environment. Training includes an emphasis on awareness, dive planning, team work, cave environments, stress management, navigation, conservation, standard and emergency procedures, cave diving techniques, and the hazards of cave diving. To qualify for this type of instruction, participants do not need prior overhead training but must be proficient with advanced buoyancy control skills. Only very capable divers should consider this training.

Prerequisites

  1. Must meet GUE General Course Prerequisites as outlined in Section 1.6
  2. Must be a minimum of 18 years of age
  3. Must be GUE DIR Fundamentals qualified
  4. Must have a minimum of 75 dives beyond open water qualification
  5. Must be able to swim a distance of at least 60 feet/18 meters on a breath hold
  6. Must be able to swim at least 300 yards/275 meters in less than 12 minutes without stopping. This test should be conducted in a swimsuit and, where necessary, appropriate thermal protection.

Duration

The GUE Cave 1 class is normally conducted over a 5-day period. It involves a minimum of forty (40) hours of instruction, encompassing both classroom and in-water work.

Course Limits

  1. General training limits as outlined in Section 1.4
  2. Student to instructor ratio is not to exceed 3:1 during any overhead diving activity
  3. Gas consumption: 1/3 of doubles or 500 psi (35 bar) for penetration, whichever is less
  4. Maximum depth: 100 feet/30 meters
  5. Minimum 30 feet/9 meters of visibility to enter a cave
  6. Minimum 100 cubic feet/2832 liters of gas to enter a cave
  7. No passages in which divers are forced to travel single file
  8. No complex navigation (jumps, traverses, circuits); no gaps unless an open water exit is transited
  9. No planned decompression
  10. No scooter diving
  11. No exploration
  12. No stage cylinder use allowed

Course Content

The GUE Cave 1 course is normally conducted over a 5-day period, and cumulatively involves a minimum of forty (40) hours of instruction (lecture and in-water) designed to instill in divers an appreciation of the dangers, challenges, and beauty of the cave environment. Special emphasis is placed on the unique challenges posed by overhead exposure and the identification, management, and resolution of these.

Course requirements include ten (10) hours of academics and twelve (12) dives at a minimum of three (3) different locations. At least eight (8) of these dives will be beyond the daylight zone. During flood conditions, this requirement can be modified with the prior consent of the Cave Training Director.

Required Training Materials

  1. Doing it Right: The Fundamentals of Better Diving. Jarrod Jablonski, GUE, 2001, High Springs, Florida.
  2. Beyond the Daylight Zone: The Fundamentals of Cave Diving. Jarrod Jablonski, Panos Alexakos, and Todd Kincaid, GUE, 2003, High Springs, Florida.

Academic Topics

  1. GUE organization, limits of training, and course completion requirements
  2. Conservation
  3. Spool, reel, and guideline use
  4. Dive team order and protocols
  5. Touch contact
  6. Basic navigation skills

Land Drills & Topics

  1. Reel and guideline use in standard operating procedures
  2. Team order and protocols
  3. Use of safety spools/reels
  4. Reel and guideline use in emergency procedures, including touch contact and gas-sharing techniques
  5. Lost diver procedures
  6. Lost guideline procedures
  7. Basic navigation skills
  8. Visual referencing skills

Required Dive Skills & Drills

  1. All skills and drills as outlined in General Diving Skills, Section 1.5.
  2. Pre-dive planning to include:
    • Assess and review diving limitations
    • Dive plan review
    • Equipment review
    • Equipment familiarization
  3. Navigation, to include:
    • Visual reference
    • Guideline use
    • Limited and simulated zero visibility
  4. Procedures for gas failures; including valve manipulation, gas-sharing, and regulator switching (as appropriate).
  5. Demonstrate proficiency in safe diving techniques, including pre-dive preparations, in-water activity, and post-dive assessment.
  6. Gas-sharing scenarios to include:
    • Breath hold management
    • Out-of-gas diver
    • Gas-sharing of at least 200 feet/60 meters
  7. Use of various propulsion techniques.
  8. Use of touch contact for limited and simulated zero visibility situations.
  9. Use of line following techniques for limited/no visibility experiences. 
  10. Demonstrate the efficient deployment of a reserve light in less than 30 seconds.
  11. Demonstrate proficient buoyancy control skills.
  12. Perform a Lost Diver drill while remaining calm and maintaining a horizontal attitude and neutral posture.
  13. Perform a Lost Line drill while remaining calm and maintaining a horizontal attitude and neutral posture.
  14. Demonstrate effective valve-management by switching regulators, shutting down a valve in less than 15 seconds, and then returning the valve to the open position again in less than 15 seconds.
  15. Demonstrate proficiency with guideline management in the following situations:
    • Simulated zero visibility line following; this would incorporate touch-contact skills
    • Efficient deployment of the guideline
    • Efficient removal of the guideline
  16. Show aptitude in resolving line entanglement where appropriate.

Equipment Requirements

Each student should have, and be familiar with, all of the following required equipment.

  1. Tanks/Cylinders: Students are required to use dual tanks/cylinders connected with a dual outlet isolator manifold, which allows the use of two first-stages. All dives must start with a minimum of 80 cubic feet/2250 liters of gas.
  2. Regulators: Two first-stages, each supplying a single second-stage. One of the second-stages must be on a 7-foot/2-meter hose. One of the first-stages must supply a pressure gauge and provide inflation for a dry suit (where applicable).
  3. Backplate System: A rigid and flat platform, of metal construction with minimal padding, held to a diver by one continuous piece of nylon webbing. This webbing should be adjustable through the plate and should use a buckle to secure the system at the waist. A crotch strap attached to the lower end of this platform and looped through the waistband would prevent the system from riding up a diver's back. A knife should be secured to the waist on the left webbing tab. This webbing should support five D-rings; the first should be placed at the left hip, the second should be placed in line with a diver's right collarbone, the third should be placed in line with the diver's left collarbone, the fourth and fifth should be affixed to the crotch strap to use while scootering or towing/stowing gear. The harness below the diver's arms should have small restrictive bands to allow for the placement of reserve light powered by three in-line c-cell batteries (where necessary). The system should retain a minimalist approach with no unnecessary components.
  4. Buoyancy Compensation Device: A diver's buoyancy compensation device should be back-mounted and minimalist in nature. It should come free of extraneous strings, tabs, or other material. There should be no restrictive bands or "bungee" of any sort affixed to the buoyancy cell. In addition, diver lift should not exceed 80lbs. Wing size and shape should be appropriate to the cylinder size(s) employed for training.
  5. At least one depth-measuring device
  6. One timekeeping device
  7. Decompression tables
  8. Mask and fins: Mask should be low volume; fins should be rigid, non-split
  9. At least one cutting device
  10. Wet Notes
  11. One spool with 100 feet/30 meters of line per diver
  12. One primary reel per team, with a minimum of 300 feet/90 meters of line
  13. One primary light: A primary light should be minimalist in design; its power source should consist of a rechargeable battery pack residing in a canister powering an external light head via a light cord. Primary lights should produce the equivalent output of 50 watt halogen/10 watt HID lighting or greater.
  14. Two reserve lights: Reserve lights should be non-rechargeable in-line three c-cell battery lights with a minimum of protrusions and a single attachment at its rear. The light should be activated by twisting the front bezel towards the body, deactivated by turning it away from the body.
  15. Exposure suit appropriate for the duration of exposure
  16. At least five (5) line markers, of which at least three (3) should be directional (line arrows) and two (2) non-directional

Note: Prior to the commencement of class, students should consult with a GUE representative to verify equipment requirements. Whether or not a piece of equipment fulfills GUE's equipment requirement remains at the discretion of GUE and its instructor representatives. Participants are responsible for providing all equipment or for making provisions to secure all necessary equipment before the start of the course. In general, it is better for the student to learn while using his or her own equipment. However, students should exercise caution before purchasing new equipment to avoid acquiring substandard equipment. Please contact a GUE representative prior to making any purchases. Information about recommended equipment can be obtained from the equipment considerations section of GUE's web site.