tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70530126858704411612024-02-06T21:05:22.355-06:00Caveheaven TulumCAVEHEAVEN - UTD/DIR instructor development and cave diver training,
guided cave diving, accommodation, equipment retail and rental in Tulum, Mexico.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09825158244524462495noreply@blogger.comBlogger52125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7053012685870441161.post-67976147083375612502013-06-17T14:49:00.002-05:002013-06-17T15:05:05.235-05:00I love (and cave dive) Tulum<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/fcjZMny6EeY" width="560"></iframe><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px; line-height: 18.88888931274414px;">After Playa, Tulum is about to sign a strategic water bill, a lot is still to be done. Please do not be skeptical, please avoid all-inclusive hotels (some of the worst environmental offenders). Support Tulum, the world capital of recreational cave diving, otherwise this will be another paradise lost. Reduce, recycle, reuse - PLEASE!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px; line-height: 18.88888931274414px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px; line-height: 18.88888931274414px;">The key to the Yucatan peninsula is its aquifer ... we need to raise the level of awareness, avoid plastic bottles (bring your AL canteen, I will fill it for free!), I will give you reusable carrier bags for your shopping ...</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px; line-height: 18.88888931274414px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px; line-height: 18.88888931274414px;">We are not masters of the Earth, please have the humility to accept that - no prayers stop a hurricane or a volcanic eruption, the Earth does not fear us, but WE need to survive on the only planet that supports us! This is not a conservative/liberal debate, simple reality.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px; line-height: 18.88888931274414px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px; line-height: 18.88888931274414px;">Please contact me regarding any tips you have for helping the general situation here!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px; line-height: 18.88888931274414px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px; line-height: 18.88888931274414px;">hasta luego amigos,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px; line-height: 18.88888931274414px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px; line-height: 18.88888931274414px;">Adam </span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09825158244524462495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7053012685870441161.post-86353616493101799352013-03-26T13:31:00.001-06:002013-03-26T13:31:23.729-06:00UTD OHP - Overhead Protocols training in San Diego, May 2013<span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hi guys,</span><br />
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</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic9CNsbJsgkKhUS-tKuu7QECdpUZl9EQEfHV-PX4EgUwyd54kBLf-1-u0wcosaBL8YqufzOkyBlIYyaJZMYb4uQwFyzD1EAkTESZGxl-gw1XXm2mNgSUOM_oi3F7ftituCswD3SJifj-s/s1600/IMG_0164.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic9CNsbJsgkKhUS-tKuu7QECdpUZl9EQEfHV-PX4EgUwyd54kBLf-1-u0wcosaBL8YqufzOkyBlIYyaJZMYb4uQwFyzD1EAkTESZGxl-gw1XXm2mNgSUOM_oi3F7ftituCswD3SJifj-s/s1600/IMG_0164.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></span></a><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have dates available for 2 consecutive 3-day UTD Overhead Protocols classes which will take place at UTD Headquarters in San Diego, California from 11-16 May 2013.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The UTD Overhead Protocols course is a mandatory prerequisite to UTD’s Wreck 1 and Cave 1 classes, and acts as Part 1 of any overhead environment course. As there are so many skills and techniques common to both wreck and cave diving, the Overhead Protocols class presents the student with the foundational skills that are necessary to be a safe, thinking diver in any overhead environment.</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 17px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This three-day class takes place in non overhead environment (open or confined water), generally at depths of 30’/10m or less, and introduces the student to line-laying, line retrieval, no-visibility line following, touch contact communication and skills, critical skills while no-visibility line following, lost line, lost buddy and lost light. Once these skills are learned, the class introduces a series of simulated failures while on the line: out of air situations, valve failures, etc. These are tested to a level similar to that of Tech 2 skills, but complicated by the necessity of staying on a line and simulating the need to navigate back to open water.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizY2itUJ0wKExULq10cGaED2eI5v4oZP01aa9egsbluwC7zyxOySf3E0XRSXMTqgGRYlAPBPcVRn1Cxr0NF2coVMTTryQ84kARqRQaXhQ7QFKp3rXG7_RZLKdzztmr_cu-w_j8eWA82Aw/s1600/IMG_0026.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizY2itUJ0wKExULq10cGaED2eI5v4oZP01aa9egsbluwC7zyxOySf3E0XRSXMTqgGRYlAPBPcVRn1Cxr0NF2coVMTTryQ84kARqRQaXhQ7QFKp3rXG7_RZLKdzztmr_cu-w_j8eWA82Aw/s1600/IMG_0026.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 17px;">Completion of this class qualifies a diver to move on to UTD Wreck 1 or UTD Cave 1, each of which is another three-day class that takes place in the actual overhead environment. If a student wishes to complete both Wreck 1 and Cave 1, he/she will not need to repeat the Overhead Protocols class, eliminating the repetition of the line skills. Both Wreck 1 and Cave 1 contain a complete review of line procedures in case there is a time gap between the Overhead Protocols class and Wreck 1 or Cave 1.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b style="background-color: #f1f1f1;">Prerequisites</b></span></div>
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<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Must be a minimum age of 18 years</span></li>
<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Must have a minimum of 75 dives beyond open water qualification</span></li>
<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">UTD Rescue and Emergencies Procedures or equivalent</span></li>
<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Must be able to swim at least 300 yards/275 meters in less than 12 minutes without stopping</span></li>
<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Must be able to swim a distance of at least 60 feet/18 meters on a breath hold</span></li>
<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">DAN Membership and Insurance or equivalent</span></li>
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<span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Duration</b><br /><br />The UTD Overhead Protocols class is normally conducted over a 3-day period. It involves a minimum of 24 hours of instruction, encompassing both classroom and in-water work.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b style="background-color: #f1f1f1;">Course Limits</b></span></div>
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<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">General training limits as outlined in Section 1.6 of UTD S&P</span></li>
<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Maximum depth 60 feet/18 meters</span></li>
<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">No overhead environments</span></li>
<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">No decompression</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b style="background-color: #f1f1f1;">Texts</b></span></div>
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<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Online Classroom – Overhead Protocols</span></li>
<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Gas Planning Worksheet</span></li>
<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Essentials of Overhead Diver DVD is recommended</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b style="background-color: #f1f1f1;">Academic Topics</b></span></div>
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<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">UTD organization, limits of training, and course completion requirements</span></li>
<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Reel and guideline use</span></li>
<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dive team order and protocols</span></li>
<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Touch contact</span></li>
<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Use of safety spools and reels</span></li>
<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Basic navigation skills</span></li>
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<span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Land Drills & Topics</b></span></div>
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<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">UTD equipment configuration</span></li>
<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Reel and guideline use in standard operating procedures</span></li>
<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Team order and protocols</span></li>
<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All equipment failures</span></li>
<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Use of safety spools/reels</span></li>
<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Reel and guideline use in emergency procedures, including touch contact and air-sharing techniques</span></li>
<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lost diver procedures</span></li>
<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lost guideline procedures</span></li>
<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Basic navigation skills</span></li>
<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Visual referencing skills</span></li>
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<span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Required Dive Skills & Drills</b></span></div>
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<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pre-dive planning to include:</span><ul style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0.2em 0px 0px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Assess and review diving limitations</span></li>
<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dive plan review</span></li>
<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Equipment review</span></li>
<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Equipment familiarization</span></li>
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<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Navigation, to include:</span><ul style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0.2em 0px 0px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Visual reference</span></li>
<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Guideline and Markers use</span></li>
<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Limited and simulated zero visibility</span></li>
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<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Procedures for gas failures; including valve manipulation, air-sharing, and regulator switching (as appropriate), included but not limited to Zero visibility scenarios</span></li>
<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Demonstrate proficiency in safe diving techniques, including pre-dive preparations, in-water activity, and post-dive assessment.</span></li>
<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Air-sharing scenarios to include:</span><ul style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0.2em 0px 0px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Breath hold management</span></li>
<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Out of air diver</span></li>
<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Air-sharing of at least 200 feet/60 meters</span></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Use of various propulsion techniques according to environment (silt, high flow, delicate)</span></li>
<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Use of touch contact for limited and simulated zero visibility situations.</span></li>
<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Use of line following techniques for limited/no visibility experiences.</span></li>
<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Demonstrate the efficient deployment of a reserve light in less than 30 seconds.</span></li>
<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Demonstrate excellent buoyancy control skills.</span></li>
<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Perform a Lost Diver drill while remaining calm and maintaining a horizontal attitude and neutral posture.</span></li>
<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Perform a Lost Line drill while remaining calm and maintaining a horizontal attitude and neutral posture.</span></li>
<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Demonstrate effective valve-management by switching regulators, shutting down a valve ,and then returning the valve to the open position.</span></li>
<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Demonstrate proficiency with guideline management in the following situations:</span><ul style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0.2em 0px 0px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Simulated zero visibility line following; this would incorporate touch-contact skills</span></li>
<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Efficient deployment of the guideline while following international protocol</span></li>
<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Efficient removal of the guideline</span></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Resolving line entanglement scenarios</span></li>
</ul>
<div style="line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; min-height: 1em; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b style="background-color: #f1f1f1;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; min-height: 1em; padding: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Equipment Requirements</b></span></div>
<ul style="line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tanks/Cylinders: Students are required to use dual tanks/cylinders connected with dual outlet isolator manifold, which allows the use of two first stages.</span></li>
<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Regulators: Two first-stages, each supplying a single second stage. One of the second stages must be on a 7-foot/2-meter hose. One of the first stages must supply a pressure gauge and provide inflation for a dry suit (where applicable).</span></li>
<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Buoyancy Compensator: Back-mounted wings, mated with a harness and back plate.</span></li>
<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At least one depth-measuring device.</span></li>
<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One timekeeping devices.</span></li>
<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Compass</span></li>
<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mask and fins: fins must be of the non-split variety. Back up mask required.</span></li>
<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At least one cutting device.</span></li>
<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wet Notes with u/w pencil</span></li>
<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One spool with 100 feet/ 30 meters of line, per diver.</span></li>
<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One primary reel per team, with a minimum of 300 feet/90 meters of line.</span></li>
<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Three lights: one primary and two secondary.</span></li>
<li style="line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Exposure suit appropriate for the duration of exposure.</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<span style="background-color: #f1f1f1;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: #f1f1f1;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: #f1f1f1;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dates are 11-13 and 14-16 May 2013. Maximum 3 students per class.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f1f1f1;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cost: USD 850 per student - includes instructor training fee, tanks, pool rental. Not included: gas fills, instructor travel and accommodation expenses (indicatively, USD 150 per student).</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f1f1f1;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Please contact me at <a href="mailto:adam@caveheaven.com">adam@caveheaven.com</a> for further details and/or queries.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">dive safely, Adam</span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09825158244524462495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7053012685870441161.post-75053312202399766742013-03-16T20:35:00.002-06:002013-03-18T19:08:53.425-06:00Adam's Foundational IDCHi,<br />
<br />
I am just back from UTD HQ in San Diego, having successfully completed my UTD Foundational Instructor Trainer path.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihz14MR8g5s8Ru2CeFZ-JTVb5GUsFF-j57jAngHy1tf3-zV7XfZZTH_TSI7sQU2Qbw6Yfvkj66zYbqoUQSn6p_3-_41VxGAyA3jGnE-s5tSbO8PJgCUNrdnL-GowmJCAPcq0CpBe9Oz3U/s1600/CAM00053.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihz14MR8g5s8Ru2CeFZ-JTVb5GUsFF-j57jAngHy1tf3-zV7XfZZTH_TSI7sQU2Qbw6Yfvkj66zYbqoUQSn6p_3-_41VxGAyA3jGnE-s5tSbO8PJgCUNrdnL-GowmJCAPcq0CpBe9Oz3U/s1600/CAM00053.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Adam, Wang Yuan and Jeff</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
This was an awesome learning experience - a first internship in September 2012 with Jeff Seckendorf leading the IDC, me auditing the process and understanding how things were done. Then a co-teach in San Diego earlier this year, again under the guidance of Jeff and AG, putting into practice teaching how to teach. Finally, last week, I ran the show just about alone, with a great instructor candidate, Wang Yuan from Hong Kong, who cave trained with <a href="http://caveheaven.com/" target="_blank">Caveheaven</a> last year.<br />
<br />
It was an exhausting yet exhilarating four days, involving lectures, dry runs, pool sessions, open water dives, briefings, debriefings ... a huge learning curve for all involved! Many thanks to AG and Jeff for their support and guidance during the whole process.<br />
<br />
Now, I am proud to be a UTD Foundational Instructor Trainer and I look forward to developing future instructor candidates from all corners of the world in the Riviera Maya in the UTD/DIR/Hogarthian way of teaching. Caveheaven is the first and only UTD Professional Development Facility in Latin America.<br />
<br />
For further information on UTD Instructor Development Courses, cave diver training in the world center of cave diving or improving your diving skills in general, at whatever level, please contact me at <a href="mailto:adam@caveheaven.com">adam@caveheaven.com</a>.<br />
<br />
dive safely and have fun,<br />
<br />
Adam<br />
<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09825158244524462495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7053012685870441161.post-90102522254097258672012-09-01T13:27:00.003-05:002012-09-01T14:08:56.712-05:00New Caveheaven T-shirts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8eXz8ed_YWvbFmHJwOo_tjDuNF6d_GqWgygEvXmjFwAikOfd7Z1P1XSAS3Nz7s4aIfXIZ6nuyajifwGalm7bKYgU6cQyFngjYxwPGrB6awiwJnk5mj2hb5SVhtCA8tPow4Fv66qQ-eME/s1600/AFCF855A-80E1-4DC0-826E-358EF5900076.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8eXz8ed_YWvbFmHJwOo_tjDuNF6d_GqWgygEvXmjFwAikOfd7Z1P1XSAS3Nz7s4aIfXIZ6nuyajifwGalm7bKYgU6cQyFngjYxwPGrB6awiwJnk5mj2hb5SVhtCA8tPow4Fv66qQ-eME/s320/AFCF855A-80E1-4DC0-826E-358EF5900076.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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In preparation for the winter cave diving season, we have made a new T-shirt!</h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHhicdHJqpvNHJ42za70Rr1GCqbpPW6yZNCvRAjlq9qhhZWuPH1v6Ipo3gNBUtQGfyXDsQGQ8FF974GbUuTeYWD4_k_BquFaSbjFcQumfHGSu6KX1zxTCuXiFtueI5sGNLIy8YqyYVlnY/s1600/8FF903CA-5301-4B2C-9B07-2F7982180CDC.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHhicdHJqpvNHJ42za70Rr1GCqbpPW6yZNCvRAjlq9qhhZWuPH1v6Ipo3gNBUtQGfyXDsQGQ8FF974GbUuTeYWD4_k_BquFaSbjFcQumfHGSu6KX1zxTCuXiFtueI5sGNLIy8YqyYVlnY/s200/8FF903CA-5301-4B2C-9B07-2F7982180CDC.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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The first thing that jumps to the eye is the new Tulum logo on the lower rear of the shirt, celebrating 2012 - the end of the current Mayan calendar. Many thanks to Daniele Pasqualino for digitizing the graphics!<br />
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The "in your face" front logo seemed to be much appreciated on our original model, so we have brought this back, with a larger "reach beyond, reach within" script below it.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM2e9alaq_am0BrYWEgj2Vlam_tbcWwPkf9o50zmSrJjiaWkP7mJdylkto3PMWx6QSKcT7CUDFNfrSzTSpefbdNidYYdMQuV28T9wxwiKl4p3mfkkMxS8hu-LnbHyb4YKK0_ZENmKAQ3w/s1600/415553EC-7241-482F-BB77-B3F7D752E097.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM2e9alaq_am0BrYWEgj2Vlam_tbcWwPkf9o50zmSrJjiaWkP7mJdylkto3PMWx6QSKcT7CUDFNfrSzTSpefbdNidYYdMQuV28T9wxwiKl4p3mfkkMxS8hu-LnbHyb4YKK0_ZENmKAQ3w/s200/415553EC-7241-482F-BB77-B3F7D752E097.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
Last, but not least, we have added a tricolor "Mexico" script on the left arm.<br />
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Available in navy blue (more colors to follow) and in sizes S-M-L-XL.<br />
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We hope you enjoy these as much as you have our previous models. Dive safely and hasta luego en Tulum, Adam.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09825158244524462495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7053012685870441161.post-88341232165501366242012-01-27T11:12:00.001-06:002013-01-04T16:20:21.078-06:00Caveheaven Tulum accommodation and diving<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hi guys,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">here are a few pictures of our brand new accommodation @ Cave Heaven in Tulum, a few minutes away from the major Cenotes, such as Sac Aktun, Carwash, Temple of Doom, Mayan Blue, Naharon, Jailhouse, etc...</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw0Iomd_4Atz53nuGnysxoPPbaBSBqC5wuHQkNGzroWf4ptn9zpuDNk9bL7QMp2G8-cBMgAtvzLuQPU-kE2__LXy0PBogwmpoAia6yJlGfnrDWKeGKK1xE8S10hXhVndz5ofrGvHz2Dwk/s1600/Bathroom+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw0Iomd_4Atz53nuGnysxoPPbaBSBqC5wuHQkNGzroWf4ptn9zpuDNk9bL7QMp2G8-cBMgAtvzLuQPU-kE2__LXy0PBogwmpoAia6yJlGfnrDWKeGKK1xE8S10hXhVndz5ofrGvHz2Dwk/s320/Bathroom+2.jpg" width="237" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiZfnv9COjdVVWIpwTOBw_WgrktSYPQCCRUNwzxmGIkSwOSZMxXkv7s9O14GqjcloBtf-QT3woccI3Kx-DfICy_FuoPUV32-eHTTTHj5KnoN_JXmL2rCVy2pl9Hx_w4aRWF4JxXbCnU9o/s1600/Bathroom+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiZfnv9COjdVVWIpwTOBw_WgrktSYPQCCRUNwzxmGIkSwOSZMxXkv7s9O14GqjcloBtf-QT3woccI3Kx-DfICy_FuoPUV32-eHTTTHj5KnoN_JXmL2rCVy2pl9Hx_w4aRWF4JxXbCnU9o/s320/Bathroom+1.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXTH1XrCUpDb76p1j1-TLyUKmHh0D_I4OfrP9EWWRRB2Uuv-JeE8fMcZj4G38P0vD5RAj8ffbCXLZ6CSiO4r9iNleBS-930am71PKifaIVN5kR_4-JohZZXfhk0OzeBlG-rXzvb-M96QA/s1600/Rear-courtyard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXTH1XrCUpDb76p1j1-TLyUKmHh0D_I4OfrP9EWWRRB2Uuv-JeE8fMcZj4G38P0vD5RAj8ffbCXLZ6CSiO4r9iNleBS-930am71PKifaIVN5kR_4-JohZZXfhk0OzeBlG-rXzvb-M96QA/s320/Rear-courtyard.jpg" width="237" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Tulum is a great town, very spiritual with its archaeological site overlooking the Caribbean ocean, lots of restaurants, great people and of course....lots of CAVES :-) !!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our accommodation is situated on the top of the dive center in a quiet location but well positioned, in fact we have two supermarkets, bank, car rental, 3 restaurants and bars, few yards from it, within easy walking distance.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The rooms are equipped with air conditioning, coffee maker, fridge, private bathroom, balcony with hammocks to relax and we have a washer and drier for guests to use as well.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We are very proud and happy that our project/vision has come to fruition and we are looking forward to welcoming you soon !</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dive safely, hasta luego, Adam</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09825158244524462495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7053012685870441161.post-14058844860622535492011-12-20T06:50:00.000-06:002011-12-20T06:52:17.208-06:00Cave Heaven Tulum diver packages<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We have just added some <a href="http://caveheaven.com/packages.html">packages</a> to our website.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For your convenience, you may book instruction, cave diving and accommodation at our facility all in one, enabling you to have a 360º reference for your diving vacation in Mexico.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We have 3 packages; one for training, one for guided cave diving and one for tank rentals, all bundled with accommodation, gear lockers, wifi, air conditioned rooms with fridge and coffee maker.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We believe this opportunity will enhance your diving vacation and enable you to have fun while diving in Tulum, the world center of cave diving!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://caveheaven.com/packages.html">http://caveheaven.com/packages.html</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">hasta luego,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ela & Adam</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09825158244524462495noreply@blogger.com0Tulum, Quintana Roo, Mexico20.212 -87.46620.1971795 -87.485655 20.2268205 -87.446345tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7053012685870441161.post-8365592847766427972011-12-12T09:32:00.001-06:002011-12-12T09:33:43.789-06:00UTD cave safety<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs0Jj-YvedbNu2-65PPZBqskPWeIKD3Yu1TuHAQP53Ytaxf3HONRX2nAInwMHlbvej5GOPJXriZy6817y-dBYKbt97FZCKz0Vp9m4Na1Qv5zOkVGJ34k35QDbfZwg-Z08joL60ird9Zbc/s1600/Ela+%2526+REM+Nohoch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs0Jj-YvedbNu2-65PPZBqskPWeIKD3Yu1TuHAQP53Ytaxf3HONRX2nAInwMHlbvej5GOPJXriZy6817y-dBYKbt97FZCKz0Vp9m4Na1Qv5zOkVGJ34k35QDbfZwg-Z08joL60ird9Zbc/s400/Ela+%2526+REM+Nohoch.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Guys<br />
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I have been appointed the UTD safety officer of Q.Roo, the plan is to discuss with divers then meet with the other agencies regional safety officers and create a bulletin where I will report any authorized line changes that happen here in Riviera Maya caves.<br />
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I have created an open group in UTD website, please join it and post your comments:<br />
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<a href="http://www.unifiedteamdiving.com/group/utdrivieramaya?xg_source=activity">http://www.unifiedteamdiving.com/group/utdrivieramaya?xg_source=activity</a><br />
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As always discussion is open to UTD or non UTD divers, only one favor is to keep politics out of that group and just use it in a positive, constructive way.<br />
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I decided to put my little spare time to "volunteer work" in order to make safer cave diving in the Riviera Maya for locals and all visiting cave divers.<br />
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Enjoy and safe diving<br />
<br />
Emanuela Bertoni<br />
UTD #37<br />
NSS CDS #363<br />
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Photo by Nick A.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09825158244524462495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7053012685870441161.post-27804347052809922462011-11-22T11:49:00.000-06:002011-11-22T11:49:39.995-06:00UTD Cave week video @ Cave Heaven Tulum<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/CY1PKg78NG8?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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Gang :<br />
<br />
this is a little video of some of the divers that were here for cave week:<br />
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Jason Hess<br />
James Williams<br />
Steve Zeder<br />
Geoff Belter<br />
& Ela Bertoni<br />
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The video is a result of a combination of dives @ Carwash (Room of tears) & Jailhouse (Yaxbe tunnel)<br />
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Video and editing by Adam Korytko<br />
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Enjoy!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09825158244524462495noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7053012685870441161.post-53632678770998993562011-11-14T14:06:00.000-06:002011-11-14T14:06:06.271-06:00UTD Cave Week report , Nov. 2011Guys we had a blast at UTD cave week here in Tulum, I want first of all thanks all the participants:<br />
James W., Jason H., Steve Z., Geoff B., Shawn B., Diane B., Dave H., Andrea S., Klaus and Claus from Germany, special guest "Grace" and of course ourself as hosts (Ela & Adam).<br />
The previous week James, Jason and Shawn attended UTD cave diver training with EB as instructor , the class went well and we had good time (report of the class will be published shortly).<br />
We started Cave week with a huge rib eye BBQ @ Cave Heaven, Adam was on the grill and Ela in charge of the Margarita mix.<br />
The following day we started with an all-time classic dive @ Sac Actun, Cuzan Nah loop and Paso Del Lagarto jump to Much's maze; so that the cave was not too full of divers at the same time in fact we did 2 groups, one of 3 divers and one of 2 divers, same organization for the following days. Shawn and Diane wished to dive the cavern of Dos Ojos together as it was the first time for Diane in the Cenotes and he wanted to be there with her (nice couple eh?).<br />
Day 2 we start "breaking the ice" with halocline and entry kind of 0 viz in Jailhouse, what better then White River and Yaxbe tunnel to look at some bones as second dive, we squeezed in some cool video too.<br />
Jailhouse is interesting to dive in as it is a "black cave" in the fresh water passage and a "white super decorated cave" into the salt water passage, very similar to Cristal and Mayan Blue as they are all connected together, last year the whole Naranjal system was connected to Ox Bel Ha and made the biggest underwater system in the world.<br />
Day 3 time to another classic @ Carwash Room of Tears passing through Luke's Hope Cenote and the other dive downstream passing through Satan's Silt Hole into the basement T's.<br />
Day 4 we decided to go to Pet Cemetery and have a nice shallow relaxing dives, or at least it was the first one to Dark Side of the Moon and a bit more entertaining the one passing tank on tank off restriction on the way to the Blue Abyss via the X line.<br />
As last day we choose the Pit shallow dives upstream to see the bones and the amazing downstream passage toward Dos Ojos, also we enjoyed dropping down after the first dive at 100 ft to check the fog of hydrogen sulfide at the bottom.<br />
Day 6 started with AK presentation on Cenote formation and as it was an extra day, we did a fun single dive in Kalimba, jumping to the Bosh Chen line, again another classic of the Riviera Maya.<br />
Dave H. (UTD instructor) joined us as in the previous few days he was teaching Diane B. UTD Essential of Rec, which she enjoyed very much.<br />
Last night was BBQ time again and we organized a super burger night which we enjoyed and had some good stories around the table.<br />
I also have to mention that our driver Manuel did an outstanding job on driving divers around the Cenotes but also preparing lunches, water and ice for the day, not to forget his help on pulling double tanks at the Pit .....thanks Manuel!!!<br />
I have to admit this was a fantastic cave week, we enjoyed the company of those guys and it was a pleasure to be their hosts for the week, we are sure to see them again very soon in the caves in MX !!!<br />
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Dive safe & have fun<br />
<br />
Ela & Adam<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2ZYcOGbf9_w/TsFv_6vYEII/AAAAAAAAA1Q/673BEzs5zS0/s1600/IMG_2514.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2ZYcOGbf9_w/TsFv_6vYEII/AAAAAAAAA1Q/673BEzs5zS0/s320/IMG_2514.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYyKcQEa8ugK8GW9quZ5b10P7UF3Qfq6mpxV2Zhw6uKahxVcbccsme7shIP5FU2-mXGJ_t2WKXrOEgBtnHQH9r6CYifI0dK55NoyT1SMDGpNskJyL5zAZWwmKoaAYxJpCHQ7NeB5Tm7-c/s1600/IMG_2498.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYyKcQEa8ugK8GW9quZ5b10P7UF3Qfq6mpxV2Zhw6uKahxVcbccsme7shIP5FU2-mXGJ_t2WKXrOEgBtnHQH9r6CYifI0dK55NoyT1SMDGpNskJyL5zAZWwmKoaAYxJpCHQ7NeB5Tm7-c/s320/IMG_2498.jpg" width="239" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcoQ9gvTeu0pifF65_5IKipjA3FsLGsizT7ycmnfk1QTkdvUK-VS-XySc0aHdYp7sbeSFDrjdfsoXW3rXnHgHb8T6D_IFUbBCmLQafUjbYvI_2gsXVPoC_x4gWQe3xhjMouUxZ9HBCRU8/s1600/IMG_2526.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcoQ9gvTeu0pifF65_5IKipjA3FsLGsizT7ycmnfk1QTkdvUK-VS-XySc0aHdYp7sbeSFDrjdfsoXW3rXnHgHb8T6D_IFUbBCmLQafUjbYvI_2gsXVPoC_x4gWQe3xhjMouUxZ9HBCRU8/s320/IMG_2526.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>Ps ...we forgot to mention that we have been in some of the best restaurants in Tulum, The Asadero grill, Altamar, Sale & Pepe and The Mezzanine for a beach dinnerAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09825158244524462495noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7053012685870441161.post-1995718576165698142011-11-13T14:56:00.001-06:002011-11-14T15:47:25.178-06:00UTD Cave diver training video<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/M57Mkb7Ivok?fs=1" width="480"></iframe>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09825158244524462495noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7053012685870441161.post-4814363496087900882011-10-27T17:09:00.000-05:002011-10-27T17:09:08.995-05:00Rebreather conference Ponza Island Italy , October 2011<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px; text-align: center;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">October 7-9, 2011</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px; text-align: center;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">While I was in Italy for a business and family trip I was gladly invited to the rebreather conference @ Ponza Island, organized by Ponza Dive center .</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">What follows is a little report of the event as it was fun and very interesting at the same time.</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">A friend of mine (Simone Iaria) was heading down with Marco Barlocco to perform a SUEX scooter demo during the week end for the participants of the conference.</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The organization and hospitality of Ponza Dive Center was remarkable and enjoyable, special thanks to Andrea and Daniela (DC’s owners).</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">There were around 40 divers from all over Italy, with a big presence from Padova and Rome.</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">We arrived at Ponza island Friday the 7th late evening, as the boat was delayed by a very rough Mediterrean sea, where we were immediately welcomed (as we always do in Italy) with a huge dinner and white wine in a nice little restaurant in the harbor area with all the other members of the conference.</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The following day we started around 10.30 am (Italian time.... ehehehe) with different presentations in a nice terrace overlooking the Sea, the subjects of the conference were: </span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></div><ul><li style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Oxygen sensor for rebreather, life and mechanism, by an electrical engineer </span></li>
<li style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Suex scooter introduction of different models, by Simone Iaria, Suex sales representative</span></li>
<li style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">History of the use of different types of rebreathers in the history of cave diving exploration, done by the most famous Italian cave explorer Gigi Casati.</span></li>
</ul><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">It was very interesting to see old pictures of Casati and his team during exploration and to listen to his reasons of the use of different kind of rebreathers for different purposes and at different times.</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">In the afternoon they all went diving, in the boat we had Sentinels, Copis Megs and the voyager’s one. Also Simone and Marco offered the divers the opportunity to try different kinds of SUEX scooters they brought with them for the event (Enjoy, XK and Zeuxo).</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">After diving and just before dinner we enjoyed the movie “The Ocean” that Roberto Bordin(who participated on some of the video shoots, together with the photographer) , brought up for us, just after the movie we enjoyed the usual super dinner and social.</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Sunday morning was time to see some deep cave diving explorations video from Casati, exploration done in Greece and Italy, amazing dive sites and very difficult explorations were done by him and his team.</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I was very glad to meet him as he is part of cave diving exploration history in Italy and internationally too, as he was the principal explorer of many deep caves around the world as well as setting records in depth while exploring caves.</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">We had the last social with all the members while enjoying a glass of wine and some freshly cooked pasta on the boat before we started to head home.</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">We had 2 1/2 hours boat back to Formia (Naples) and 7-8 hours drive up to Milano in front of us. We arrived home around 2.30 am and I was getting ready the other luggage to go back to Mexico the next day.</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I am very glad I could participate to this social conference (thanks again to Simone Iaria for inviting me) as I could meet interesting people/divers and also look around new equipment and different style of configurations. As a dive professional I believe is important to stay updated all the time and keep the vision open at other equipment and style of diving.</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I am very happy to be back in Mexico and diving Cenotes again after almost 2 months trip to Italy where I enjoyed my family company, rock climbing in the Alps and went around to meet some divers and introduce me and Cave Heaven Tulum to the Italian cave and tech community.</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Dive safely</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Emanuela Bertoni</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF5f7gEoptJ6Fw-6MNA_HHIG3zXmm7Vhd9okpDxOdqgNhS3HKduZQweJTrBeCn3iq8Tfx_JiR08NNLxWxTs_-pE7nNckX7kJOCUUcOXH-b2rr5rNpzxCLx3kZFsJLQ3GM2lxai1bSkluQ/s1600/IMG_2321.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF5f7gEoptJ6Fw-6MNA_HHIG3zXmm7Vhd9okpDxOdqgNhS3HKduZQweJTrBeCn3iq8Tfx_JiR08NNLxWxTs_-pE7nNckX7kJOCUUcOXH-b2rr5rNpzxCLx3kZFsJLQ3GM2lxai1bSkluQ/s400/IMG_2321.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vt4fnaKlZUc/TqnVn63oy_I/AAAAAAAAA1E/DFVzmYTtZWQ/s1600/IMG_2230.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vt4fnaKlZUc/TqnVn63oy_I/AAAAAAAAA1E/DFVzmYTtZWQ/s400/IMG_2230.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kRwKnSWRMcA/TqnT0s8aMyI/AAAAAAAAA08/tBu9NHQDM0Y/s1600/IMG_2261.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kRwKnSWRMcA/TqnT0s8aMyI/AAAAAAAAA08/tBu9NHQDM0Y/s400/IMG_2261.jpg" width="298" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Ela & Gigi Casati</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09825158244524462495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7053012685870441161.post-48294197896069815922011-08-24T08:56:00.000-05:002011-08-24T08:56:36.214-05:00Is it safe to travel to Mexico?The link below sends you to a recent San Francisco Chronicle article that puts some perspective on the perceived risk of traveling to Mexico - a must-read!<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fc%2Fa%2F2011%2F08%2F18%2FTR3O1KLPOQ.DTL">http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fc%2Fa%2F2011%2F08%2F18%2FTR3O1KLPOQ.DTL</a><br />
<br />
Personally, I would not have invested in this part of the world if I were not fully comfortable with the "risks". Tulum provides the best cave diving vacation possible, alongside one of the most beautiful beaches around, a fun, relaxed atmosphere and great attractions nearby.<br />
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We look forward to welcoming you on your next vacation!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09825158244524462495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7053012685870441161.post-72395035273902347782011-08-10T13:04:00.000-05:002011-08-10T13:04:46.433-05:00UTD cave part 2 - Kim and Jeff taught by Adam<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9oUrpObg6bC3c6OomUgrLGUOZaVGbnUaBbSaW3QttTgBwSzjpezqfmM78lvCJ6Ky2JEGpBE8E_AuMH2XS6hWTOJNRYYeeOhpzH9OYnev_HV9xrNsEoA_VsgI5vpuuqze0zloDyhrjOeY/s1600/P8080337.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9oUrpObg6bC3c6OomUgrLGUOZaVGbnUaBbSaW3QttTgBwSzjpezqfmM78lvCJ6Ky2JEGpBE8E_AuMH2XS6hWTOJNRYYeeOhpzH9OYnev_HV9xrNsEoA_VsgI5vpuuqze0zloDyhrjOeY/s320/P8080337.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Congratulations to Kim and Jeff who just completed their UTD cave part 2 training with Adam.<br />
<br />
Part 2 focuses on navigating beyond one jump and we had great fun setting up and executing some more advanced dive plans, involving a complex circuit, negotiating opposing system arrows and refining communication. We also simulated a cramp, an issue that could arise, considering cave dives here can easily run over 2 hours.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF-3Vin04I2tEZX8u0nIDdZOjSMedOzSt8jflPMEABJtOUPdD-qSGGtsUZ3lcLB0jjlkvGFXn5OUiG-yBjPukqGkV5kP4ujl6H9E4b_alM-qxTcZ3dmB4g6ZZ2gMwUujl8oReY1Ge2Pbk/s1600/P8080340.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF-3Vin04I2tEZX8u0nIDdZOjSMedOzSt8jflPMEABJtOUPdD-qSGGtsUZ3lcLB0jjlkvGFXn5OUiG-yBjPukqGkV5kP4ujl6H9E4b_alM-qxTcZ3dmB4g6ZZ2gMwUujl8oReY1Ge2Pbk/s320/P8080340.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Kim was diving backmount, Jeff sidemount in a Z-system and the DIR-compatible mixed team operated smoothly throughout.<br />
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It was load of fun .... Kim and Jeff are now enjoying a week of diving, practising their newly acquired skills in the Tulum area.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOe84b82JKaAJe_pOOR0Sj1psVkpM7iS_ETQZTfif-vw3RnUqkQNMyu-eql3Vf9fBcobS8_fEN9XUohqN8EJkyZjXI9zHfJb64gzRDlCP_3s5r0ZknVTy6ljbhfx71w_dGUuswYsRjni4/s1600/P8080343.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOe84b82JKaAJe_pOOR0Sj1psVkpM7iS_ETQZTfif-vw3RnUqkQNMyu-eql3Vf9fBcobS8_fEN9XUohqN8EJkyZjXI9zHfJb64gzRDlCP_3s5r0ZknVTy6ljbhfx71w_dGUuswYsRjni4/s320/P8080343.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09825158244524462495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7053012685870441161.post-78148183332219294782011-07-27T10:34:00.000-05:002011-07-27T10:34:13.768-05:00Caveheaven Tulum is up and running!<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Hi friends,</div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div align="JUSTIFY" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><a href="http://caveheaven.com/"><b>Caveheaven Tulum</b></a> is up and running!</div><div align="JUSTIFY" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div align="JUSTIFY" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b>THE STORE</b></div><div align="JUSTIFY" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">- is well-stocked with equipment from Light Monkey (we are the importer for Mexico), UTD, Oxycheq, XS Scuba and Hollis, including:</div><div align="JUSTIFY" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Light Monkey primary (LED and HID) and backup lights</div><div align="JUSTIFY" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Wings, UTD Z-systems, backplates, harnesses and hardware</div><div align="JUSTIFY" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Most lengths of hoses</div><div align="JUSTIFY" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Turtle fins and spring straps</div><div align="JUSTIFY" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Light Monkey reels and spools</div><div align="JUSTIFY" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Personal markers, wetnotes, cutting devices</div><div align="JUSTIFY" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Stage kits and markings</div><div align="JUSTIFY" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Equipment rentals (lights, regs, fins, full cave-ready setups)</div><div align="JUSTIFY" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">…. and more.</div><div align="JUSTIFY" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div align="JUSTIFY" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b>FACILITIES</b></div><div align="JUSTIFY" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Tank rentals (including doubles, singles, stages, deco and drysuit inflation bottles), as well as scooters</div><div align="JUSTIFY" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">We will shortly have our Bauer compressor online, with 6,000 psi storage tanks, providing nitrox 32. O2 and mixed gas will also be available, all priced on actual cubic feet filled. Top-ups will be available during the day.</div><div align="JUSTIFY" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Personal gear lockers with individual padlocks, so that you can leave your gear safely and not need to drag it back to your hotel/condo.</div><div align="JUSTIFY" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Covered and locked suit drying rack, high enough even for drysuits – again for your convenience. A rinse tank is next to the rack.</div><div align="JUSTIFY" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Workshop, enabling repair and replacement for items such as lights, regs, or just for setting up your gear.</div><div align="JUSTIFY" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Wi-fi connection in the air-conditioned comfort of the dive store.</div><div align="JUSTIFY" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">All this, conveniently located on the Cobá road, within 5 minutes of Gran cenote, Kalimba, Temple of Doom, Carwash, Camilo, Maya Blue, Jailhouse, Cristal …. And a couple of minutes from “downtown” Tulum.</div><div align="JUSTIFY" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div align="JUSTIFY" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b>TRAINING</b></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="en-US">UTD training is now available for Scooter Cave, Advanced Sidemount Cave and Cave Gold (Stage), as well as Cave Diver (parts 1 and 2), Overhead Protocols and Essentials of Overhead. </span><a href="http://caveheaven.com/cavediver.html"><span lang="en-US"><b>Read more ....</b></span></a></div><div align="JUSTIFY" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">NSS-CDS training is also available to Full Cave.</div><div align="JUSTIFY" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div align="JUSTIFY" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b>GUIDED CAVE DIVING</b></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="en-US">If you are cave certified and want to find those “elusive” passages or just have a knowledgeable dive buddy, we can guide you in the uniquely beautiful caves around here. </span><a href="http://caveheaven.com/cavediving.html"><span lang="en-US"><b>Read more ...</b></span></a></div><div align="JUSTIFY" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b><br />
</b></div><div align="JUSTIFY" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b>GUIDED CAVERN DIVING</b></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="en-US">Not yet cave certified? Our experienced cavern guides can safely accompany you in the daylight zone, providing you with an awesome experience and some amazing memories to take home. </span><a href="http://caveheaven.com/cenotetours.html"><span lang="en-US"><b>Read more ...</b></span></a></div><div align="JUSTIFY" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b><br />
</b></div><div align="JUSTIFY" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b>UTD CAVE WEEK 2 HOSTED BY CAVEHEAVEN, TULUM</b></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">November 6-12, 2011</div><strong>Dive the caves and caverns of Mexico!</strong><br />
The all-inclusive package includes:<br />
<em><span style="font-style: normal;">6 nights' accommodation (double occupancy)</span></em><span style="font-style: normal;"><br />
</span><em><span style="font-style: normal;">10 sets of Nitrox 32 double tanks</span></em><span style="font-style: normal;"><br />
</span><em><span style="font-style: normal;">5 Cenote entrance fees</span></em><span style="font-style: normal;"><br />
</span><em><span style="font-style: normal;">Ground transportation to and from the dives sites<br />
Lunch and water each day<br />
Guided cave dives<br />
Guided cavern dives<br />
Gear storage</span></em><span style="font-style: normal;"><br />
</span><em><span style="font-style: normal;">Evening seminars<br />
Welcoming barbeque<br />
Closing dinner<br />
Unlimited fun</span></em><br />
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Certified cave divers will dive a different cave system each day. You can join a guided dive or dive on your own. For those who are not cave certified, each day we provide a guided cavern dive daily. For those who would prefer to stay in the open water, we'll always have an option for that in the cenotes.<br />
Price is $1,495 and the trip is limited to 20 divers. Sign up now to reserve your spot by <em><a href="mailto:info@caveheaven.com?subject=Cave%20Week%202%20in%20Tulum,%20Nov%206-12,%202011"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>contacting us</b></span></a></em><b> </b>or visit the UTD site. We accept Visa and Mastercard, which are charged directly in USD.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09825158244524462495noreply@blogger.com0Tulum, Quintana Roo, Mexico20.215489150444689 -87.454069035736120.201232150444689 -87.4729305357361 20.22974615044469 -87.4352075357361tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7053012685870441161.post-2565704118394745682011-07-15T17:40:00.000-05:002011-07-15T17:40:29.205-05:00CAVE HEAVEN TULUM (a UTD facility) IS OFFICIALLY OPEN TODAY!!!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAXO16hGLX29PhKUQt2pwRzA5m813PSphootyXRXRhJ5fOYFC36d5EsKoLFdmhYc5SvOSPs45sOWQyhdMibx6a0eWQeFA3JiS0YxuMVxIlFNhMq29ye23_XK0gpBYw3wFCCTeulGrg6lc/s1600/IMG_1745.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAXO16hGLX29PhKUQt2pwRzA5m813PSphootyXRXRhJ5fOYFC36d5EsKoLFdmhYc5SvOSPs45sOWQyhdMibx6a0eWQeFA3JiS0YxuMVxIlFNhMq29ye23_XK0gpBYw3wFCCTeulGrg6lc/s320/IMG_1745.jpg" width="239" /></a></div><br />
<br />
Hey guys<br />
<br />
here we are we are finally OPEN !!!! YESSSSSS<br />
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It has been very hectic since the day we decided to start with the project in 2009.<br />
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We were looking for a piece of land with legal title and in a strategic position in Tulum.....well more easy to say then to find it.....in fact we spent around one year checking properties out in the area when late 2009 we found this opportunity in Avenida Coba on the way to Gran Cenote, Carwash, Temple of Doom, Vaca Ha , Tortuga and many other Cenotes, yet a few blocks from Tulum centre.<br />
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Location was perfect, title in place....so we decided to buy it!!!<br />
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Now the fun part....drawing the dive facility!!!! We took about 1 year between finding/changing architects/builders when, we finally made a contract with one of them in early 2011.<br />
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January 2011 contract was signed and February 2011 the building finally started!!!!<br />
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After of course tough time with builder/politics/bureaucracy Cave Heaven officially opened in Tulum today July 15th, of course later then we expected but we cannot complain.... here we are .<br />
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Like everything in Mexico we are still working on rooms for clients upstairs but the ground floor is ready to go, equipment for sale is in the shop and the compressor is in !!!<br />
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We have spent an incredible amount of time and effort to reach this point and try to provide a professional and complete dive facility in Tulum, a 360 degrees one stop shop, we have equipment for rental and for sale, filling station , lockers for divers equipment storage , chill out area with WIFI and credit card facility.<br />
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Of course UTD diving courses, guided dives, fun and social time !!!!<br />
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Specialized in Light Monkey lights/equipment (which we are the Mexican importer/distributor for) , we also have UTD , Oxycheq, XSscuba and Hollis gear available in the shop.<br />
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If you are in the area please pass by and say hi, we will be very happy to show you around and have a chat!<br />
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Safe diving and SUERTE CAVE HEAVEN !!!<br />
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Ela & AdamAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09825158244524462495noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7053012685870441161.post-2626493320719302322011-07-13T08:04:00.000-05:002011-07-13T08:04:10.237-05:00Caveheaven Tulum - progress updateThe last few weeks have been fairly hectic, but the results are showing!<br />
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Work on the connection to the electricity system and the final touches to the transformer should be completed this week, then an inspection will take place and (hopefully) we will get signed off and the compressor/fill station can come into action!<br />
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We expect work to begin on our connection to the new local sewage system, thereby avoiding a septic tank (the contents of which do not always get disposed of properly!) and contributing to protecting the environment we dive in.<br />
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We are filing all the necessary local permit requests, so it is reasonable to believe the store, fill station, lockers and all other diving facilities we have will be ready to formally open for business by the end of this month!!!!<br />
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So, who is interested in a few days diving in Tulum this summer, combined with an inauguration party? Let us know, the more friends we have here, the more fun we all have!<br />
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hasta luego!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJRR-V7jR5oLLov0Pj-0kYfpAn8P_Ek6GwXRpbyyGTE1EVWbCjdKz7nY8iqtJcHCRCEpLaZwIuovbB84icm7NV-HwWE_Vw8MuYasb6AyBy82Amu57ULBu1l_VSQ2wxY6WqAZvOgld2twk/s1600/Compressor+room+and+fill+station+small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJRR-V7jR5oLLov0Pj-0kYfpAn8P_Ek6GwXRpbyyGTE1EVWbCjdKz7nY8iqtJcHCRCEpLaZwIuovbB84icm7NV-HwWE_Vw8MuYasb6AyBy82Amu57ULBu1l_VSQ2wxY6WqAZvOgld2twk/s320/Compressor+room+and+fill+station+small.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXiWjuHGzLfC87T7oNk72K6sgfK79NadrrFfFDlvPYr6xm9vWIuLzO8CNFolcfqUEou9HACFFAZJ3jW3CxbC69-p3wSlB0VIARItOFUtaSEASg1qGZ4to5de63yY7znmPBIXaQR7NsYXU/s1600/Fill+station.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXiWjuHGzLfC87T7oNk72K6sgfK79NadrrFfFDlvPYr6xm9vWIuLzO8CNFolcfqUEou9HACFFAZJ3jW3CxbC69-p3wSlB0VIARItOFUtaSEASg1qGZ4to5de63yY7znmPBIXaQR7NsYXU/s320/Fill+station.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09825158244524462495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7053012685870441161.post-72390722393307926712011-07-03T18:17:00.000-05:002011-07-03T18:17:29.683-05:00Caveheaven Tulum is almost ready!The new Caveheaven facility in Tulum is very close to opening! Pending no last-minute bureaucratic glitches, we should have store and fill station open in July!!!!<br />
<br />
Minor details need to be ironed out regarding the transformer, lots of paperwork needed to make any progress ... frustrating but necessary!<br />
<br />
Tomorrow (hope we are not tempting fate!), town hall should give us the nod to allow us to apply for our operating license for the store, fill station, business in general.<br />
<br />
All so close, not quite within grasp but almost!<br />
<br />
updates will follow much more frequently!<br />
<br />
Remember we have a special for the summer, 10 USD store credit for every 100 USD spent on services, rentals and equipment.<br />
<br />
see you all soon,<br />
<br />
Ela & AdamAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09825158244524462495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7053012685870441161.post-50655971022467649832011-06-27T17:35:00.001-05:002011-07-01T14:55:36.942-05:00UTD Overhead Protocols and tech 2 classes in New MexicoWe have just finished a very busy weekend of UTD Overhead Protocols and Tech 2 courses @ Rock Lake , New Mexico.<br />
<div>This fresh water spring is located in the middle of the desert, and is 280ft /85 m deep and the water is crystal blue all year around (with some exception of first 30 ft during some time of the year due to the algae bloom), we are very privileged and lucky to be able to get access to this spring due to the great relationship between the landowner and George K Watson/Ocean First Divers. In fact is a great location for any kind of courses , especially the tech/trimix classes and offer a really good open water area to conduct Overhead protocols, some of the interesting features of this spring are the gypsum crystal growth and fresh water sponges.<br />
<div>UTD Overhead protocols class is an entry level course to prepare a diver to get familiar with line work and emergency procedures in order to enter a UTD cave class. The course is conducted in an open water scenario o get able the student to practice those skills prior entering in a overhead environment.</div><div>UTD OHP is done generally over 3 days and it was create not only to help divers to perfect their skills before entering in an Overhead environment but also to let them be able to do it comfortably back at home in an open water area and be ready to travel then for the cave class.</div><div>UTD tech 2 allow to use stage bottle and ratio deco with 50% as the deco gas, skills emphasis on blue water ascents and drills, the course is done typically in 3 days .</div><div>Both courses were done this weekend by Emanuela Bertoni for the Overhead protocols part and George K Watson for the Tech 2.</div><div>It was a fun weekend, congratulation to Shawn B., Justin D., James W. and Jason H.(J team), looking forward to see them for their cave course with Cave Heaven in Mexico during UTD cave week in November!!!</div><div>I also would like to thank Ocean First Divers, Boulder, Colorado for the logistic support .</div><div>Will keep posted on new courses and fun happening!!!</div><div><br />
</div><div>See you soon in Cave Heaven Tulum for some cave diving!!!</div><div><br />
</div><div>Ela Bertoni </div><div><br />
</div><div><br />
</div><div><br />
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</div></div></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09825158244524462495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7053012685870441161.post-19608425855691719802011-05-30T17:49:00.001-05:002011-07-03T06:55:33.700-05:00New courses @ Cave Heaven Tulum<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CgYzYtYcMpc/TeQdvECqzuI/AAAAAAAAAoo/pUzzCLvDtZo/s1600/2011-03-04-WhiteRiver-397.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CgYzYtYcMpc/TeQdvECqzuI/AAAAAAAAAoo/pUzzCLvDtZo/s320/2011-03-04-WhiteRiver-397.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<div style="font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">NEW UTD COURSES AVAILABLE AT CAVE HEAVEN TULUM</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Hi guys</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0964f6; font-size: 16.8px;">we have decided to run a special for the summer (June 1 through September 30) which entails a 10 USD store credit for every USD 100 spent on equipment, services and rentals. </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">We also have some news from Cave Heaven Tulum, we recently updated the UTD cave diver program as follows: </span></div><div style="font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Cave 1 and 2 are now part of a complete certification called cave diver.</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Cave 1 is mainline only and expires after 24 months.</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Cave 2 is unlimited navigation and does not expire (includes circuits and traverses)</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Endorsements are available for cave stage, tech cave, scooter cave, side mount cave and rebreather cave.</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Overhead protocols is mandatory within 12 months prior cave 1.</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></div><div style="color: #333233; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; line-height: 19.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><b>N.B. </b>Cave 1 cards already issued are of course still valid and do not expire, and can be upgraded to the Full cave diver program (Cave diver part 2) so as to do unlimited complex navigation, circuits and traverses, and this upgrade should take around 2 days of training.</span></div><div style="color: #333233; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; line-height: 19.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></div><div style="color: #333233; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; line-height: 19.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">We are also running the following classes:</span></div><div style="color: #333233; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; line-height: 19.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></div><div style="color: #333233; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; line-height: 19.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">Cave diver gold</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> (stage cave diver), 3-day program, allows the use of up to 2 stage bottles during cave dives to extend bottom time.</span></div><div style="color: #333233; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; line-height: 19.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></div><div style="color: #333233; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; line-height: 19.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">Technical cave diver</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">, 5-day program, refines the cave diving techniques of certified cave divers who have mastered the requirements of UTD Tech 1 and 2. Use of stage bottles and single deco gas for decompression.</span></div><div style="color: #333233; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; line-height: 19.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></div><div style="color: #333233; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; line-height: 19.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">Scooter cave diver</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">, 6-day program, develops the cave scooter diving techniques for certified cave divers who are also certified UTD Scooter 1 (open water) divers.</span></div><div style="color: #333233; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; line-height: 19.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><b>N.B. </b>Can be combined with cave diver gold (stage) at the discretion of the instructor.</span></div><div style="color: #333233; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; line-height: 19.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></div><div style="color: #333233; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; line-height: 19.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">Advanced Side Mount cave diver</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">, 5-day program, develops the cave diving proficiency in this configuration, refining the techniques of certified cave divers who have both master the requirements of UTD Essentials of Overhead Side Mount diving and gained the necessary experience in side mount configuration at their level of certification.</span></div><div style="color: #333233; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; line-height: 19.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></div><div style="color: #333233; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; line-height: 19.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Please contact us at <a href="mailto:info@caveheaven.com"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">info@caveheaven.com</span></a> for any enquiries and booking.</span></div><div style="color: #333233; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; line-height: 19.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"></span></div><div style="color: #333233; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; line-height: 19.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">For full details on cave courses please visit UTD site on Standard and procedures <a href="http://www.unifiedteamdiving.com/page/standards-and-procedures"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">http://www.unifiedteamdiving.com/page/standards-and-procedures</span></a></span></div><div style="color: #333233; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; line-height: 19.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></div><div style="color: #333233; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; line-height: 19.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></div><div style="color: #333233; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; line-height: 19.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;">We also have Instructor Development training (as well as instructor crossover) program runs by Andrew Georgitsis and Jeff Seckendorf.</div><div style="color: #333233; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; line-height: 19.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></div><div style="color: #333233; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; line-height: 19.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">As many of you already know our facility in Tulum is about to get ready to open, compressor is in, we are so excited about it.</span></div><div style="color: #0964f6; font: 14.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; line-height: 19.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></div><div style="color: #333233; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; line-height: 19.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></div><div style="color: #333233; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; line-height: 19.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Take care and safe diving</span></div><div style="color: #333233; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; line-height: 19.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><br />
</span></div><div style="color: #333233; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; line-height: 19.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">hasta luego</span></div><div style="color: #333233; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; line-height: 19.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #333233; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; line-height: 19.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Ela & Adam</span></div><div><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><br />
</span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09825158244524462495noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7053012685870441161.post-23813979613510979972011-05-18T06:38:00.001-05:002011-05-18T18:11:52.672-05:00Dive in the Pit<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"></span><br />
<table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" class="tborder" id="post505354" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: navy; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-color: rgb(11, 25, 140); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-color: rgb(11, 25, 140); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(11, 25, 140); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(11, 25, 140); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; color: black;"><tbody>
<tr valign="top"><td class="alt1" id="td_post_505354" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f5f5ff; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 128); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; color: black; font: normal normal normal 9pt/normal verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><div id="post_message_505354"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">On May 15th, Emanuela Bertoni and George K. Watson conducted a dive in the Pit cave in Quintana Roo, MX. The purpose of the dive was to develop exploration possibilities, look at the existing work and note new leads along the existing line. We also were interested in extending our methods of diving as mixed open circuit/manual CCR team.<br />
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The planning for the dive began shortly after our last dive to the end of the Wakulla Room. We developed a far more aggressive plan requiring multiple support and staging dives and a much larger gas load for both divers. We planned the open circuit/bailout decompression gasses to give ourselves a wide range of average depth and bottom time possibilities as information regarding the cave configuration is limited at this time. We also planned for a series of training dives to refine techniques for dealing with contingencies as a mixed team in zero/low visibility and under other varied stressors.<br />
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The bottom gas plan consisted of using 15l/HP130 cylinders filled with 10/70 to 3500psi to be used for stage switches and in case of an emergency. Emanuela carried five stages filled with 10/70 and George carried three. She would have 400cf of usable gas added to the 260cf on her back for a total of 660cf of 10/70. George carried the same 260cf of back/bailout/diluent gas along with three stages of bailout gas. Each bailout gas stage carried a QC6 equipped regulator to allow George to drive the rebreather from a stage in the event of a total backgas/diluent loss. We planned to start utilizing decompression gasses at 190ft based on the best information we had about the cave. We placed two alu80 bottles of 21/35, four alu80 bottles of 35/25, four alu80 bottles of 50/25 and three bottles of alu80 O2 in the system. George carried an additional 80cf bottle of O2 for the drive gas for the rebreather and as a start on bailout decompression.<br />
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We planned on taking four scooters into the system, dropping the first two somewhere around twenty minutes into the dive, burning the second set for up to 40 minutes, then switching back to the originals.<br />
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The team exercises went well despite some small (real) failures and we felt ready to pull the trigger on setting up the system. The shallow support team placed the first bottles in the system three days before the dive and the deep support team placed the remaining bottles at 190ft and 240ft (safety bottles) the following day.<br />
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During the time we were training during the day, we were busy filling our cylinders at night with the huge amounts of gas that were going to be required. All of the 10/70 cylinders and the O2 cylinders had to be finished with a booster, which was very time consuming. The booster was unable to help with the large doubles, so we turned to Bernardo at Cuzel for a solution. Utilizing his own helium feed invention, he used the large compressor at Cuzel to pump our doubles with helium, finishing them with the 32% needed to make our 10/70. His help in this area was crucial to us.<br />
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We took a day off to relax and get focused and on Sunday we woke early to do final preparations. Lucio and his surface support crew met us at the junction of the trail and road and carried the scooters down. Adam Korytko and David Mayor delivered the stages, doubles and rebreather to the cenote. Lucio lowered all the equipment into the basin. We dressed and jumped in along with the support team. The support guys helped us into our gear, passing us breathable regulators as needed as our bottom gas was not usable on the surface.<br />
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At around 2pm, we began our descent after having dealt with a few small regulator issues. At 120ft Emanuela switched from her travel gas to the bottom gas. Given the planned depths and duration of the dive I decided to run the rebreather at 0.8/0.9ATA PPO2 and I quickly made my adjustments. We checked all the deco tanks on the way down, ensuring the integrity of our deco gasses. We took 6 minutes to make 120ft. After Emanuela’s switch, we got on the trigger on the first scooter set and headed in. We checked our remaining deco and safety bottles at 190 and 240 ft on the way to the first bypass. We passed the first T prior to the bypass restriction at 10 minutes, or four minutes of trigger time after the descent. We scootered the restriction and reached the second T, a four way intersection, about a minute later at the beginning of the Wakulla room. At 12 minutes Emanuela switched her first bottom stage, about the middle of the Wakulla room at about 290ft. We hit the third T at 14 minutes. at the end of the Wakulla room. At this point the line goes down sharply and to the left into an interesting set of low passages and a restriction and the deepest part of the dive. Emanuela dropped her second stage and we dropped our first scooter set just before the deep restriction at 16 minutes. The passage here descended significantly into a low bedding plane and then went up through a restriction. The low bedding plane is at 350ft, the deepest part of the dive. The rock here is incredibly soft and the percolation effects and just the passing of two divers quickly reduced the visibility to zero. We passed a T prior to entering the restriction at about 20 minutes where the line goes left and up and hit the restriction at 21 minutes at a depth of 340ft. We were incredibly careful in this section, moving slowly and deliberately pushing the remaining scooter in front to avoid any unnecessary silting, though the visibility was already zero from the percolation. We entered and quickly traversed Jill’s Chamber, entering a large tunnel.<br />
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After this, the cave opens tremendously into a beautiful tunnel with stark white ceilings and blue water. The surface of the ceiling looks lunar with small pock marks contrasting the white. This tunnel seems to go forever and is a mesmerizing. We did another stage drop at the start of the tunnel at 25 minutes. There was a parallel line on the right side and then an odd junction which forms sort of an ‘H’ between the two lines that we hit at about 30 minutes. Past the ‘H’ we jumped to the right hand line as the left hand one had ended. Not long after this we did our fourth stage drop at 38 minutes. Shortly after this we arrived at the end of the SMB line and began following the line recently installed by the Polish team. We followed the line for a while until we turned the dive on gas at 54 minutes. There was a ‘Y’ junction with a white arrow where we turned the dive with the right line with heading slightly up and the left line continuing at the same depth. Riding back together we were both struck by the beauty and the possibilities in this tremendous cave.<br />
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Passing back through the restriction and the percolation was uneventful. Back in the Wakulla room we traversed efficiently to the bypass restriction, scootering it again and heading for the safety bottles at 240 which would mark the beginning of the deep stops for our decompression.<br />
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We had spent 90 minutes at an average depth of 290-300, so we would have significant decompression to do. Using the UTD cascading ratio deco method, we determined that our time on O2 would be 140 minutes, with an additional 140 minutes spent on 50/25. We would do 70 minutes on 35/25 and 35 minutes over the seven stops from 190-120.<br />
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The support team joined us at 120ft removing our surplus bottles/scooters. We were pleased to be relieved of our extra burden as we would have to manage our deco bottles for a while. We finished the 190ft-130ft segment and 120ft-80ft segments uneventfully and arrived at our 70ft bottles where the support team had left a Camelback with a mixture of electrolytes and water. At 60ft, a little more than 5 hours into the dive, my scrubber started to break through and I switched to open circuit, spending the rest of the 70-30ft segment and the entire O2 segment on open circuit. This was expected, given the length of the dive and there was plenty of planned bailout deco gas available. The little over two hours of the O2 segment was spent relaxing, eating, drinking and writing notes about the dive. At one point after dark we switched off our lights and just relaxed in the darkness. The support team visited us a couple of more times in this area, checking how we were doing and watching our gas supplies.<br />
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At exactly 8 hours, we started a 20 minute ascent moving slowly up the line to the surface. We were met by our support team who stripped our gear and got everything sent up to the edge of the pit. After stripping our suits and rinsing ourselves off, we relaxed at the site, drank some more water and a little coffee, and planned our usual post dive celebration in Playa Del Carmen. The decompression was completely successful with no issues and both of us feeling full of energy for a post dive night.<br />
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We now feel fully prepared to further explore this tremendous system. This will be our last time as a mixed team as Emanuela will now go closed circuit. We feel we have reached the limit of what can be done practically and safely with open circuit technology and have validated our methods of diving as a mixed team. Being the 2nd and 3rd persons to have a look at this area of the system was a tremendous honor and something we will never forget. We look forward to organizing and conducting further efforts in this system.<br />
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We would like to thank our principle support team Adam Korytko and David Mayor for their incredible effort helping us through all the preparation and dive. Without their hard work we could not have done this.<br />
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We would also like to thank: Cave Heaven, UTD, Ocean First Divers, Andrew Georgitsis, Jeff Seckendorf, Lucio at Pet Cemetery and his surface support crew, Cuzel, Bernardo, Lorenza, Alessandra Figari and Zero Gravity.</span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09825158244524462495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7053012685870441161.post-25653778228656818502011-03-21T08:30:00.002-06:002011-03-21T11:13:12.528-06:00Cenote Calavera - fun with halocline<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">George Watson and John Bailey enjoying the halocline at cenote calavera, Tulum during UTD cave week hosted by Caveheaven. Video and editing by Adam Korytko of Caveheaven.</span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="295" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/a4wqBN6aDNI?fs=1" width="480"></iframe>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09825158244524462495noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7053012685870441161.post-76235559019145030962011-03-18T21:05:00.000-06:002011-03-18T21:05:27.465-06:00Cave diving Mexico - Caveheaven sidemount at Kalimba<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="295" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/fmvVfkUHKHo?fs=1" width="480"></iframe>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09825158244524462495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7053012685870441161.post-54213973899682915032011-03-09T09:09:00.000-06:002011-03-09T09:09:41.283-06:00UTD Cave Week in Mexico, Feb/Mar 2011We had the great pleasure of hosting our first UTD Cave Week, which has just finished.<br />
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We centered accommodation in Puerto Aventuras, to simplify logistics, since our dive center in Tulum is not yet quite ready for operations (Easter should see the grand opening of the store, fill station and support facilities!).<br />
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We had a wide range of divers, from cavern to Expedition, and the diving was awesome .... Dos Ojos, Taj Mahal, Mayan Blue, Jailhouse, The Pit, Pet Cemetery, Dreamgate, Angelita, Gran Cenote, Carwash, Temple of Doom - accommodating all tastes, all the way from cavern to the Blue Abyss and the Pit (deep), as well as lots of cool dives in between.<br />
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It was great to put faces to names and meet more members of our UTD community, we all had a blast both in and out of the water!<br />
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A special thanks to those attending - John Bailey and Sergio Boccia from Ontario, and our own Jeff, Kim, George, Nick A, Brian and Jeanna!<br />
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We are already planning a second cave week in November this year, based out of our new Cave Heaven dive center in Tulum - details will be posted as we crystallize the format. Please let us know if you are interested, for sure the numbers will see a sharp increase!<br />
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This week we are preparing Z-system sidemount educational material and updating training standards - the benefits for you will be published soon!<br />
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hasta luego amigos, dive safely<br />
<br />
Ela & AdamAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09825158244524462495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7053012685870441161.post-72490286444848528322011-02-24T10:35:00.000-06:002011-02-24T10:35:51.550-06:00Light Monkey safety spools<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="450" height="283" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/uACgD1Jq7GI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
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Check out the video and see the variety of Light Monkey safety/jump spools - in three sizes, 25 feet, 100 feet and 150 feet, solid delrin construction with double ender and line included.<br />
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The new 25' spool is ideal for shorter cave diving jumps and gaps, practical without filling up your pockets/D-ring.<br />
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We have all three sizes in stock.<br />
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dive safely,<br />
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Ela & AdamAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09825158244524462495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7053012685870441161.post-26318715504059344692011-02-17T12:18:00.002-06:002011-02-17T12:45:31.455-06:00Cave Heaven Tulum is growing!!!Gang<br />
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here is a short video of the construction project of our dive shop, filling station and accommodation in Tulum, check it out we are moving very fast and trying to get ready the ground floor by end of April.<br />
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Hope you enjoy <br />
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Ela & Adam<br />
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<iframe width="480" height="295" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/u6yhWEgvOr0?fs=1" frameborder="0" allowFullScreen=""></iframe>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09825158244524462495noreply@blogger.com0