DPV Cave Course
Certifications available thru NSS-CDS, IANTD and TDI
Purpose:
- This Program is designed
to provide advanced training in cave diving skills to the experienced, certified,
responsible cave diver
who wishes to conduct dives that warrant DPV use and techniques.
- Expose cave divers
to conservation concerns and ethical responsibilities that present themselves
during DPV uses either for
extended penetration, touring, or exploration.
Prerequisites:
- Must be qualified
as a Cave Diver.
- Must be a minimum
of 18 years of age.
- Have a minimum of
50 logged non - training cave dives
We will
talk about and practice:
- Cave
conversation
- Demonstrate perfection
of buoyancy and trim while diving using a DPV.
- Towing procedures
- Swimming with the
scooter efficiently using proper kicks
- Installing a temporary
guideline from a safe exit point
- Matching speed with
your dive buddy
- Dropping and recovering
the scooter in the cave to avoid cave impact
- Installing jumps
- On at least one occasion
an out of gas drill will be performed without the donor being aware of whether
it is a drill or real out of gas situation.
- Exit the cave during
a simulated zero visibility situation while avoiding entanglement or loss
of the guideline and maintain team touch contact.
- While using DPVs
perform at least 2 towing methods, at least one of which is while sharing
air.
- Simulate a failure
of all DPVs in team and swim the units out of the cave.
- SAC rates and distance/time
calculations. We will gather data regarding your SAC rate and the teams' speed
and practice/plan dead reckoning into the cave so as to plan dives.
- Gas Matching for
dissimilar volume cylinders.
Program limits:
- No dives may be conducted
to depths greater than the qualification of the student.
- Oxygen partial pressure
may not exceed 1.40 ATA during the working portion of the dives, nor exceed
1.61 ATA during the
decompression portion of the dives.
- All dives will be
planned using the best gas in consideration of PO2, END, and Decompression
requirements.
- Students who use
dive computers must also carry dive tables as a backup. Divers without a dive
computer must use
appropriate dive tables.
- All dives must be
completed within both the oxygen CNS% and OTU limits.
- All appropriate
safety or required decompression stops must be performed.
- Any and all of the
above limits not thoroughly understood by the student will be reviewed in
a classroom setting.
