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.
You may wonder why the price
is not set like the other classes are set. The fees for this class vary with
the past experience of the diver. If the diver has never piloted a DPV at all
it will take a lot longer for us to get the diver up to speed with thre DPV
than it would, say someone who has been riding DPV's for years and simply needs
the new skills required for cave diving with the DPV. Training standards require
a minimum of 3 training dives. I have found it takes several more unless the
diver is very experienced with the DPV when s/he shows up for class.
