Intro to Cave - Day 3

Dive 1: Average depth - 10.6 m ; Max depth - 15.1 m ; Dive time - 37 min

Dive 2: Average depth - 10.8 m ; Max depth - 16.1 m ; Dive time - 69 min

Day three was one of the most memorable ones from my course, as it was the first time I was the team leader inside the cave as well as the first time we carefully and thoroughly inspected and adjusted my equipment. As any diver knows, adjusting their equipment is a life-long ordeal. After every dive you think of something that could be slightly different - from an o-ring a couple mm higher or a bungee cord slightly longer. The first two days we spent making a mental list of things that had to be adjusted with my equipment, especially the length of the crotch-strap and the placement of the waist belt for my x-deep harness. On day three I met Luis earlier than our start time, and we began adjusted my harness. I learnt that the waist belt has to ideally sit over your pelvic bone, as this provides a better angle for the bottom strap of the tank rigging system so that the tanks are streamlined with your body. To accomplish this, we had to quite drastically reduce the length of the crotch-strap…which as other male divers out there know, is not the nicest of experiences when you first tighten that strap. Second, and this might have been the biggest change with the most drastic impact on my posture underwater, was switching my heavy Jet Fins for something lighter. Jet Fins are great for backmount doubles, because of their weight, but for sidemount, they can result in a slightly vertical posture, instead of horizontal and streamlined. Here, I tried a pair of Luis' fins - an unbranded copy of the Jet Fins, but made with a significantly lighter rubber. This had an incredible effect underwater. From the first moments when I submerged I could feel that I was not working my core as hard trying to keep my feet higher, and my torso lower. These fins also were just as stiff as the jet fins, which I appreciated as I enjoy how stiff they are which makes frog kicking easier, especially when doing a modified short frog kick for restrictions. Since these fins were unbranded, I could not buy them online but after doing some research, I decided to buy the Deep 6 Gear fins, which also have a similar format and hardness to the jet fins but are significantly lighter. I have not yet had the opportunity to try them, though.

Once all the equipment was adjusted, we began learning the duties of the team leader, most importantly, how to lay down reels for jumps or gaps, and how to lay your primary reel to enter the cave system if it's needed. For the jumps, I learned the ARC method, as Luis calls it. ARC stands for Arrow, Reel, Cookies, and it tells us the order of markers to set down when connecting two lines together. Here, a slight technical difference on the term gap and jump. Jumps are made between the mid-sections of lines to another mid-section of another line, or they can be made between the mid-section of your current line to the beginning of another line - in this case it is a T jump. Gaps are between the end of one line and the start of another line. Whichever the configuration, we must use the ARC protocol to properly mark the line. Step one is to place a cave arrow facing the direction of your exit. This is especially important in caves where there are other exits further down the line. You never want to go to an exit that you don't know for a fact it is there, even if it's marked on a map. Second, you place the start of the reel by wrapping it on the arrow and through the loop. Once this is done, you can swim to the new line keeping the reel tight, slack can lead you to tangle yourself on the line. This happened to me once, and it is a lot easier for this to happen than you would expect! So be aware of the line tension! Once you arrive at the other line, you will wrap the reel twice around it, and then clip towards your exit! Hence, you will clip towards the direction you just came from. This makes the clip of the reel essentially become a marker as well. Once this is done, you want to place a cookie, or ideally a REM, on the reel line towards your exit. As team leader, it is always very important that you show your team mates what you are doing by doing an OK signal over your markers, and giving them an opportunity to add a cookie/REM of their own next to yours. As team leader, you will always be the first into the cave, as well as the last to leave. It is your responsability to lay down line as well as pick it up on your way out.

Another crucial aspect of being the team leader, and something I struggled with throughout this whole day, is setting the pace of the dive. As team leader you will be in front, and others will be behind you. You want to keep a good, calm pace so that everyone can enjoy the dive. I was scared to go too slow, and so subconciously began swimming faster and faster. While Luis did not stop be during the first dive, not to stress me, he did mention it during the de-brief so that I would slow down on the second dive. This is still something that I struggle with, as pacing is something that comes with more experience. You get a feel for the team, and a feel for cave diving as a sport and learn what a good pace is to be diving at. This can always then be adjusted to accomodate your team preference. Another important aspect of being team leader is to be aware of what is going on with your team. When you are ahead in the cave, it is easy to forget about those who are behind, even if you are seeing their lights. To avoid this, and always be aware of what is going on, we have a certain configuration for who should point their flashlight where. This is one of those things that make cave diving feel like an orchestra, especially when you know your team better. Knowing how to move, where to be, and what to do in relation to your team is crucial, and when this becomes second nature, it is just a beautiful thing to experience. In a team of two, each diver should go on one side of the line - space permitting, of course. And each diver should light their own side of the cave. The left diver, then, would light the left side of the cave, while the right diver lights the right side of the cave. In a three-person team, the first two people do the same, and the third diver (furthest back) will stay in the middle of the cave and light forwards. This gives the third diver, in the worst position, the best chance to enjoy the cave and see what is ahead. With this in mind, it is up to the team leader to be aware of the lights of each of their buddies. Do they seem calm? Or are they moving the light erratically? Another technique that allows for the team leader to check on their buddies, and concomitantly show that they are aware and care for their buddies, is to take advantage of curves in the cave to look back at your team members. If there is a curve to the left, for example, I would go over to the right side of the line and look left towards the path I just came from to check on my buddies.