Cavern

Are you a serious adventure seeker wishing to explore overhead environments? Sign up for the TDI Cavern Diver course! This course is designed to develop the minimum skills and knowledge for cavern and overhead environment diving within the limits of light penetration, and outline specific hazards associated with cave diving. The cavern diver course in not intended to provide instruction for cave diving environments. The objective of this course is to train divers in the proper planning, procedures, techniques and hazards of cavern diving.

What you can expect to learn

The TDI Cavern Diver course takes an in-depth look at all of the following and more:

• Policy for cavern diving
• Gas management procedures and management to include dissimilar volumes
• Psychological considerations of cavern diving
• Equipment considerations including:
  • Cylinder options
  • Regulator options
  • Buoyancy compensator/harness options
  • Proper weighting
  • Reel options
  • Equipment configurations
• Communication (light and hand signals)
• Swimming techniques
  • Body posture/trim
  • Buoyancy control
  • Line following
  • Propulsion (finning) techniques
• Physiology
  • Breathing techniques
  • Stress management
• Cavern environment
• Cavern conservation
• Problem solving
  • Emergency procedures
  • Equipment failure
  • Silting conditions
• Accident analysis
• Cavern diving etiquette
• Review of dive tables and decompression theory

Course Equipment Requirements

The following are required for this course: 

• TDI Cavern Diver manual and Knowledge Questor eLearning
• TDI Cavern Diver Instructor Guide

Other suggested reading materials:

• Basic Cave Diving – A Blueprint for Survival
• TDI Diving in Overhead Environments manual or eLearning

The following equipment is required for each student:

• Primary cylinder, volume appropriate for planned dive and student gas consumption; students are permitted to use double cylinders, but would be limited to the 1/6 air rule
• Regulator with pressure gauge and alternate air source; although not required, it is suggested one regulator be mounted on a hose approximately 2 metres / 7 feet in length
• Buoyancy compensator device (BCD)
• Exposure suit adequate for diving environment
• Mask and fins
• Line cutting device
• Safety reel with a minimum of 37 metres / 125 feet of guideline
• One primary reel with length appropriate for intended dive
• Two battery powered lights, each with burn time suitable for the planned dive time
• Computer or watch (bottom timer) and depth gauge
• Slate or wet notes and pencil
• Submersible dive tables or backup dive computer (recommended)
• Three directional line arrows

Course Prerequisites

• Minimum age 18, 15 with parental consent
• Provide proof of an SDI Open Water Scuba Diver or equivalent
• Provide proof of a minimum of 25 dives
• Divers must have a deep diver specialty certification or be able to provide proof of experience in order to dive deeper than 18 metres / 60 feet in this course