Single Tank Cavern Diver

Course Description

The NSS-CDS Single Tank Cavern Diver course is a safety and awareness course aimed at open-water sport divers. It is not a prerequisite for, nor does it count toward, any level of cave diver training and certification.

What you can expect to learn

The NSS-CDS Cavern Diver course is

intended to allow students to:

• Avoid the mistakes which commonly lead to cavern and cave diving fatalities.
• Educate fellow divers about the risks and hazards inherent in cavern and cave.
• Improve critical diving skills such as buoyancy, trim, balance, and propulsion.
• Improve the functionality of single-tank, sport diving gear configuration.
• Better dive as a team with similarly trained teammates.
• Use dive lights in state parks and other sites where such use is limited to certified cavern and cave divers.
• Safely dive in overhead environments while remaining within clear sight of the entrance and daylight.
• Learn about cavern fauna and geology.
• Be a voice to promote conservation of fragile cavern and cave environments.
• Be better equipped to assess whether they possess the skills, time, and resources needed to pursue further overhead training.

Course Equipment Requirements

Students in the Single Tank Cavern Diver course must use standard, single-tank sport diving equipment.

• Mask and fins.
• Adequate exposure protection for depth, time, and water temperature of site(s) used.
• Buoyancy compensator with power inflator.
• Single cylinder capable of providing a starting gas volume of at least 1850 L/65 ft
• Regulator system with primary and backup second stages. The primary second
• stage may have a standard octopus hose.
• At least one dive computer capable of monitoring exposure to the gas mixtures used. Students must be familiar with its use prior to the start of the course.
• At least one cutting tool designed to deal with guideline entanglement.
• Primary dive light with a rated burn time of at least 150 percent of the expected dive
• One battery operated or rechargeable backup dive light.
• One primary reel per team with approximately 60 m/200 ft of guideline.
• At least one safety reel/spool per diver with approximately 30 m/100 ft of guideline.
• Wetnotes or equivalent and pencil.

Course Prerequisites

• Be at least 18 years old.
• Possess Open Water Diver or equivalent certification from a recognized diver training organization. There is no requirement for a minimum number of dives.
• NSS-CDS Nitrox certification is not required, but may be taken concurrently.

How long will this take?

This course generally takes two days. Students must make a minimum of four dives and accrue at least 90 minutes of bottom time in caverns.