I took a cavern class at Ginnie Springs this weekend and managed to obtain my NSS-CDS Cavern Diver certification. This was a great but difficult course. My instructor was
Reggie Ross (CDS #286). I learned lot about safety, gear setup and new diving skills. The course took 2 full days (9am-7pm). Day 1 morning: theory (protocols, communications, turn around pressures, NDL, cave formation, the Golden Rule); afternoon: gear configuration and land drills. Day 2: Cavern training drills: guideline use, with and without visibility, sharing air without visibility, and with no mask, light failure, lost buddy / entrance recoveries, gas sharing and exit using touch-contact communications.
Did 6 short, 20-30 mins, dives. 5 were caverns for a cumulative of 1h50 of cavern time. I was fortunate to finish early enough and do a couple fun cavern dives as we were running fine on time. I dove Ginnie Springs, Devil`s Ear and Devil`s eye (cheminey). The flows at Devil`s ear and eye were pretty impressive for a novice... Water temperature was 70F.
In short, this is a great class that requires hard work to pass. It is without any doubt the most demanding diving class I took so far. Thanks Reggie for teaching me and sharing your experience.