Cavern Tech Diver

Course Description

The NSS-CDS Cavern Tech course is a stand-alone course that is intended to prepare a student for NSS-CDS Cave training.

What you can expect to learn

• Avoid mistakes which commonly lead to cavern or cave diving fatalities.
• Educate fellow divers about the risks and hazards inherent in cavern and cave diving.
• Improve critical diving skills such as buoyancy, trim, balance, and propulsion in a technical diving configuration.
• Improve the functionality of technical dive gear configuration.
• Dive better 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 in clear sight of the entrance and daylight.
• Be better equipped to asses whether they possess the skills, time, and resources need to pursue further overhead training.

Course Equipment Requirements

• Mask and finsAdequate exposure protection for depth, time, and water temperature of (site(s) used.
• Configuration must include buoyancy compensator, harness and backplate if required for the configuration or by the instructor.
• Backplate or sidemount double cylinders capable of providing a starting gas volume of at least 2,800 L / 100 ft3 or a rebreather with a minimum of 40 ft3 of bailout gas.
• Regulator system with primary and backup second stages. One second stage must have a 2 m/7 ft or longer hose.
• At least one dive computer capable of monitoring exposure to the gas mixtures used. Students will be familiar with its use prior to the start of the course.
• At least one cutting tool designed to deal with guideline entanglement.
• Primary light with a rate burn time of at least 150% of the expected dive time
• Two battery operated or rechargeable backup dive lights.
• One primary reel per dive team with approximately 60m / 200ft of guideline
• At least one safety reel/spool per diver with approximately; 30 m/100 ft of guideline
• Wet notes of equivalent and pencil

Course Prerequisites

• Minimum age 18.
• 25 logged dives beyond open water certification
• Students must use back mount or sidemount doubles or a rebreather.
• Id diving sidemount doubles or a rebreather, students must have the appropriate certification from a recognized training agency before the start of the course.
• NSS-CDS Nitrox or equivalent from a recognized training agency. May be taken concurrently.
• The NSS-CDS Single Tank Cavern courses is not a prerequisite for this course.

How long will this take?

This course generally takes two days. Students must make a minimum of four dives and accrue at least 120 minutes of bottom time in caverns. If NSS-CDS Basics is taught in conjunction, add a minimum of at least one additional day.