Nekton

Cave Training with Global Underwater Explorers
GUE Cave 1 with David Rhea (Part 1)

It all began with David Rhea - GUE Cave Training Director noting two available places on an upcoming GUE Cave 1 training, via the DIR Quest discussion forum. Little did I realise at the time, but this opportunity would prove the realisation of a personal dream.

In a veritable whirlwind of activity my good friend Mike Lindsay and I found ourselves furiously laying down pre-trip logistical "covering fire" in the form of International phone calls and emails, preparing for our planned 7-week stay in Florida. This was a "mild" logistical challenge some 20,000km from Gainsville, Florida!

We secured rental accommodation, SUV hire, arranged dive equipment, and planned our GUE Cave1 and GUE Cave 2 training schedules. We departed Auckland, New Zealand and allowed a full week to settle into Floridian life before starting GUE Cave 1.

This proved a quality choice as we gently adjusted to the 17-hour time shift and afforded us ample time to explore the Gainsville/High Springs regions. Our first dive in "High Springs" was a check out dive performed in the famous Ginnie Springs - Cavern, with our borrowed twinsets of double PST104's.

It was a stunning introduction to white limestone, generous flow and blue tinted, gin clear water all at a balmy 21 C.
The next day the first of three successive devastating hurricanes arrived on our doorstep. Hurricane "Frances" was initially viewed as a novelty, until we realised the severity of the situation�

The entire Gainsville/High Springs regions flooded causing the local caves where our training was to be conducted to transform into fast-flowing, undiveable, tannic maelstroms. This was an unforeseen major event that seriously affected our plans. We made rapid hurricane contingency preparations, stocking up on supplies and petrol and decided to wait it out.

We uplifted Thomas our Swedish contingent and third member for Cave 1 from the airport just before it was shut down and all moved into David Rhea's house to weather the storm.

The first two days of Cave 1 were spent doing lectures and line drills in a hurricane-swept front yard. We waited out the weather with no reprieve and finally in desperation for clear cave, made arrangements to fly to Mexico the next morning at 10am, if nothing developed overnight and slept on it.

Morning came and David was up early, commanding "Pack up, we're heading upstate"�He had a plan.

David loaded the favourite of his 3 Hummers (the H1) and after securing Gavin underwater scooters onto the roof for our DPV workshop, we then set off in convoy for the 4+ hour drive north to Vortex Spring in Jackson County.
The Tallahasse region is an area previously unused for conducting GUE training, so it was an adventure for all of us.

Vortex has a natural entry-level cave with an extensive man made submerged cave/adventure park, situated in the large open water spring basin. This proved to be the perfect introductory environment for developing line laying/retrieving skills, simulated zero visibility air sharing - line following techniques, along with refining communication and team awareness skills.

We soon progressed into the natural cave, instantly undergoing multiple simulated light failures, and the first of many simulated out-of-air (OOA) exits. We shared gas via our donated 7 foot "Doing It Right" (DIR) primary regulator hoses.

David hammered on correct emergency protocol and critical diver positioning, which forced us to think laterally on the fly. We learnt to consistently make the right decisions and to anticipate all manner of endlessly changing factors in the composition of our strategically optimised exits.

David is a world class GUE Cave Instructor with 25+ years experience teaching elite level Cave diving. He focussed intensively on refining our technique, body position, in water trim, communication and team awareness.

Our initial training was very hard work and we applied ourselves diligently, with each dive's debriefed recommendations instantly incorporated into our very next dive. David liked our "can-do" attitude. Failure was never an option!

The many hours invested training back home in Lake Pupuke, perfecting our Doing It Right Fundamental techniques were an investment in excellence that was now paying off "big time".

We progressed rapidly and soon left Vortex behind, driving down from Jackson County to Marianna County where David introduced us to a "Goddess" amongst caves.

The raw, sensually vapid beauty of Jackson Blue, stretching a full 4500ft upstream, ending in a massive labyrinth of jumps, traverses and circuits was intoxicating.

Here we duly completed the performance requirements for Cave 1 and received our full Cave 1 pass.

Our final days of Cave 1 saw us cutting our teeth in world class style, with simulated lost diver drills, OOA longhose exits, time/gas management, along with the final open water dives of our Gavin underwater scooter DPV workshop, which was some excessive good fun.

Once finished Mike and I returned to High Springs and began our intensive pre Cave 2 training schedule.

We moved into our pre-rented summer house set deep in the back woods on the bank of the Santa Fe River, which came complete with Alligators, squirrels and herds of wild deer freely roaming across the property.

The local Gainsville region caves were all still closed, so we dived "Blue Grotto", a large natural cavern with a sizeable open water area. We spent our time wisely, mastering our pre dive procedures, practicing endless valve drills, full longhose simulated OOA deployment/restows, line laying and re-refined our anti silting finning techniques.

The next day, Manatee State park finally opened for diving, although the main boil was off limits. We were introduced to "Catfish Hotel", the next sinkhole entrance located upstream in the Manatee cave system.

Manatee strikes fear into the heart of many Cave divers, as it is legendary for it's excessively high flow and jet black walls that dissolve even the most specialised18W HID light beams we carried, all this within an aura of serious "attitude".

Manatee was perfect for our experiential development, as the massive flow quickly taught us to read the Caves layout on the fly and we progressed further upstream with each successive dive. We identified areas where the flow naturally diminished, sometimes riding the sculpted ceiling and regularly switching sides depending on flow and available hand holds.

We utilised natural rock formations that create hydrodynamic eddy's to remain in effortless relaxed hovers, catching our breath, all the while mastering the pull and glide technique. We maxed out Manatee within the confines of our GUE Cave 1 gas management limitations of 1/6th the next day, finally making it a good distance up past "Sue's sink" after having mastered the "mojo" of Manatee.

Mike and I then headed back up to dive Jackson Blue, as I was missing her beauty already and also hoped to have the opportunity to dive Hole in the wall and Double Cave, another two majestic cave systems situated well off the beaten track and hardly dived by the local community.

We made arrangements with Ed Sorrenson the owner of Cave Adventures -Marriana, who operates a dive store out of his waters edge home and was to become, yet another very good Floridian friend. He very kindly agreed to assist us, as we had come so

Finally we had serious "game on" and three fantastic caves, laying literally "at our feet". Diving these reclusive caves entailed hiring one of Ed's river pontoons and negotiating our way through the "bayou" to the cave entrances located in the riverbed downstream from the source spring, Jackson Blue (JB).

Our first dive in JB after Cave 1 was truly surreal and something that will forever remain etched in my memory. We swam into gin-clear, blue-tinted water, flowing out through majestic limestone cliffs and formations of every shape and hue. All composed within myriads of coloured textures, so beautiful �surely they must have been sculpted at the hands of angels.

We passed through deep violet/malbec coloured "Swiss cheese" shaped free-standing limestone formations, with delicate smooth white sculpted layered ceilings and walls. Huge Glacial white "floating islands" extended out unsupported from the cavern walls, containing infinite fossilized sea shells from a pre historic time where this area was deep under the ocean. We dropped almost vertically down a massive fissure crack, where the main conduit descended deep into the abyss.

Upon levelling out, a vast bedding plane opened before our eyes covered in a carpet of prehistoric sea urchin spines, all fed by deep dark twisting tunnels of weathered hour glass formations, framing kaleidoscopic mud banks and flowing dunes of silt. All hidden deep within the undercut reaches as the expansive ceilings gradually tapered to meet the floor.

We experienced many wondrous sights, revealed only to those who explore the eternal darkness, illuminating for a insignificant flicker in time the hidden treasures of mother earth.

Upon exiting through the air-clear water filled entrance cavern, we saw the expansive cave mouth framing a tree-lined cobalt blue sky, where wisps of cloud slowly passed overhead, all clearly visible from still deep within the cave.

Decoing in the cavern entrance, we hovered over a nest of huge freshwater crayfish with beautiful "petrol on water" coloured bodies and huge nippers, each one safe, secluded deep within its smooth cylindrical home.
Reluctantly, we finally exited over blazing coral-white limestone sands, embellished with infinite dancing rainbows, created by the suns rays refracting through the subtle breeze rippled surface. It was breathtaking!

We dove Jackson Blue dawn till dusk for several days straight, gaining imperative knowledge and experience, pushing our explorations further with each and every dive�it was fantastic.

Techniques were re-refined, teamwork became "supersensory" as we familiarised ourselves with natural landmarks, mentally monitoring gas consumption, depths, entry and exit times, distances, jumps, leads, circuits, T's and environmental changes.

The high flow skills Manatee imparted to us were invaluable and added to in quick succession. This time we invested in assimilating our training post Cave 1 was a priceless asset to our development. We found our skills rapidly growing with each successive immersion, complimented by the individuality and unique conditions endemic to each Cave system.

Our confidence soared and our in water discipline was slick to the point it was time to spread our wings exploring some tighter silty cave and we booked the pontoon boat to execute our initial forays into the Hole in the Wall and Double Cave systems.

Hole in the wall and Double Cave are both stunning caves in their own right, each with their own personalities and distinctive feel. They were gentle, yet needed to be respected for you didn't dare turn you back on these guys for a second.

The floors of both Caves consisted of thick jelly like silt which visibly shuddered a full meter down from an outstretched palm moved in a rapid vibratory motion. This posed a potentially life threatening trap, for the unwary, or unskilled cave diver.

The massive domed ceilings of Hole In The Wall were truly "Vatican" like and made from the most beautiful bleached white limestone, featuring gargantuan and gothic like "goethite" dangling chandeliers, ranging in colour from gold to almost black. It was phenomenal.

Double Cave was more conformed in passage size, but equally pretty with a beautiful "eye" shaped swim through high in the ceiling and huge fissure cracks descending deep into a blackened abyss.

As if on cue, albino crayfish dropped eerily from the ceilings and endemic albino salamanders that are found only in this particular region of the world swam frantically across our paths attracted by light and movement.
We swam over extensive catfish burrows that extended deep into the more solidified areas of mud bottom, like rabbit warrens.

Both cave entrances were tight and extremely silty with Hole in the wall disappearing straight into the riverbank and Double Cave directly down into the riverbed itself.

The waters surface hiding the entrance to Hole In The wall was choked in a dense congealing green layer of scum, slime, and light green duckweed that contained all manner of skanky stuff. Under the surface we swam concealed through crystal clear waters clogged with Hydrilla weed and various plant life, all potentially infested with alligators and cotton mouth vipers� it was eerie.

In the next issue, Paul Berry concludes with an account of GUE Cave 2 training with Jarrod Jablonski.

The director of Inner Realm, the New Zealand Specialists in Halcyon diving equipment and DIR Technical Diving Systems, Paul Berry can be contacted at: Inner Realm, 116 Onehunga Mall, Onehunga, Auckland, NZ. Tel: +64 (09) 6365484. Mobile: +64 021467756. E-mail: sales@innerrealm.co.nz Or visit the website at: www.innerrealm.co.nz