Welcome to the fascinating and rewarding world of cavern diving! But beware, once you've tried it, you may not want to dive any other way. Imagine the spectacle of a large underwater room, filled with rapidly darting silversides, curious lobsters and gigantic seashells. Shafts of soft sunlight filter through coral crevices, your bubbles appearing as reflective mercury on the ceiling of this subsurface cathedral. 

As exacting as science, as individual as your fingerprint, as challenging as you care to make it--this is a thumbnail sketch of cavern diving. It's something different to each participant. When you are reading and learning safe cavern diving, remember that the knowledge and experience required for a long and enjoyable career of cavern and cave diving come a little at a time; on each dive, you learn and understand a particle more of the state of the art. Sunrise Scuba Adventures will not make you an expert, but will hopefully give you a firm foundation upon which to build. 

While cavern diving is fun, relaxing, pleasant, even an aesthetically stimulating adventure, it is also a serious, technically specialized form of scuba diving requiring maturity, concentration, a safety-minded attitude and, above all, specialized training. 

Our TDI - Overhead Environment/Cavern Diver Specialty Course is designed to develop the minimum skills and knowledge for cavern and overhead environment diving within the limits of light penetration; in addition outlines specific hazards associated with cave diving. The cavern course is 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. 

Problem solving in cavern diving includes, but is not limited to, body positioning (trim), buoyancy control, emergency procedures, line following, and propulsion techniques. Accident analysis forms the basis of this learning experience. Special emphasis on the unique environment includes silting, entanglement, disorientation, and equipment modifications. Upon successful completion of this course, graduates are qualified to enroll in the TDI Introductory Cave Course.  

Our TDI - Overhead Environment/Cavern Diver Specialty Course consists of three(3) scuba dives at two different sites with a total bottom time of eight(80) minutes, plus shallow water line drills, with a maximum of two dives per day. Participants must be Open Water Divers or equivalent with a minimum of 20 dives, be at least 18 years of age or 15 with parental consent. The tuition of $570.00 is a package price; there are no additional fees. Included are: manual, c-card, use of all necessary scuba equipment (including specialty items such as five-foot LP hose, primary and safety reels, compass, computer, u/w lights, knife, slate, misc. tie wraps, straps and line arrows, etc.), Warm rinsing shower, light snacks, bottled water and an assortment of beverages are included. 

Prerequisites: Open Water Divers or equivalent with a minimum of 20 dives, be at least 18 years of age or 15 with parental consent.  

Reading/Text: TDI Cavern and Cave Manual, NSS - Cavern Diving Manual, NACD - The Art of Safe Cave Diving, CDAA - Cavern/Sinkhole Manual . 

Equipment: All personal standard scuba equipment, including mask & fins (straps taped if required), but no snorkel (if snorkel is used, it is to be removed & clipped to the guideline prior to entering the cavern), regulator hose, tank with at least 50 cf of air & minimum 2000 psi at beginning of dive, weight belt, wet suit, depth gauge, compass, timing device, slate, knife (small, arm or chest mount), Line cutting device, two (2) battery-powered u/w lights, submersible repetitive dive tables or computer, one safety reel with 50' line, also one primary reel with line per team (provided by instructor). 

Tuition: $570.00 - full tuition due by Day 3 (or by prior arrangement). Limited enrollment. Due to specialty equipment needs, a non-refundable deposit of $100.00 is due on Day 1. 

The rental of the following required specialty equipment IS INCLUDED in the tuition: 

-one safety reel with 50' line; 
-one five-foot low-pressure hose; 
-two rubber tank bands, retaining straps, tie wraps, line markers/arrows; 
-NSS Cavern Diving Manual, NACD - The Art of Safe Cave Diving, CDAA - Cavern/Sinkhole Manual.