Cave Heaven

Caveheaven Tulum accommodation and diving

2012-01-27T11:12:00.001-06:00

Hi guys,

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...

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 :-) !!!

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.

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.

Our diving/accommodation packages include full breakfast (choice of eggs or continental type breakfast, cappuccino/coffee and fresh juice).

We are very proud and happy that our project/vision has come to fruition and we are looking forward to welcoming you soon !

Best Ela & Adam

Cave Heaven Tulum diver packages

2011-12-20T06:50:00.000-06:00

We have just added some packages to our website.

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.

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.

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!

http://caveheaven.com/packages.html

hasta luego,

Ela & Adam

UTD cave safety

2011-12-12T09:32:00.001-06:00

Guys

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.

I have created an open group in UTD website, please join it and post your comments:

http://www.unifiedteamdiving.com/group/utdrivieramaya?xg_source=activity

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.

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.

Enjoy and safe diving

Emanuela Bertoni
UTD #37
NSS CDS #363

Photo by Nick A.

UTD Cave week video @ Cave Heaven Tulum

2011-11-22T11:49:00.000-06:00

Gang :

this is a little video of some of the divers that were here for cave week:

Jason Hess
James Williams
Steve Zeder
Geoff Belter
& Ela Bertoni

The video is a result of a combination of dives @ Carwash (Room of tears) & Jailhouse (Yaxbe tunnel)

Video and editing by Adam Korytko

Enjoy!

UTD Cave Week report , Nov. 2011

2011-11-14T14:06:00.000-06:00

Guys we had a blast at UTD cave week here in Tulum, I want first of all thanks all the participants:
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).
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).
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.
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?).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Last night was BBQ time again and we organized a super burger night which we enjoyed and had some good stories around the table.
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!!!
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 !!!

Dive safe & have fun

Ela & Adam

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 dinner

UTD Cave diver training video

2011-11-13T14:56:00.001-06:00

Rebreather conference Ponza Island Italy , October 2011

2011-10-27T17:09:00.000-05:00

October 7-9, 2011

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 .

What follows is a little report of the event as it was fun and very interesting at the same time.

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.

The organization and hospitality of Ponza Dive Center was remarkable and enjoyable, special thanks to Andrea and Daniela (DC’s owners).

There were around 40 divers from all over Italy, with a big presence from Padova and Rome.

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.

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:

Oxygen sensor for rebreather, life and mechanism, by an electrical engineer
Suex scooter introduction of different models, by Simone Iaria, Suex sales representative
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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Dive safely

Emanuela Bertoni

Ela & Gigi Casati

Is it safe to travel to Mexico?

2011-08-24T08:56:00.000-05:00

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!

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fc%2Fa%2F2011%2F08%2F18%2FTR3O1KLPOQ.DTL

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.

We look forward to welcoming you on your next vacation!

UTD cave part 2 - Kim and Jeff taught by Adam

2011-08-10T13:04:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to Kim and Jeff who just completed their UTD cave part 2 training with Adam.

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.

Kim was diving backmount, Jeff sidemount in a Z-system and the DIR-compatible mixed team operated smoothly throughout.

It was load of fun .... Kim and Jeff are now enjoying a week of diving, practising their newly acquired skills in the Tulum area.

Caveheaven Tulum is up and running!

2011-07-27T10:34:00.000-05:00

Hi friends,

Caveheaven Tulum is up and running!

THE STORE

- is well-stocked with equipment from Light Monkey (we are the importer for Mexico), UTD, Oxycheq, XS Scuba and Hollis, including:

Light Monkey primary (LED and HID) and backup lights

Wings, UTD Z-systems, backplates, harnesses and hardware

Most lengths of hoses

Turtle fins and spring straps

Light Monkey reels and spools

Personal markers, wetnotes, cutting devices

Stage kits and markings

Equipment rentals (lights, regs, fins, full cave-ready setups)

…. and more.

FACILITIES

Tank rentals (including doubles, singles, stages, deco and drysuit inflation bottles), as well as scooters

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.

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.

Covered and locked suit drying rack, high enough even for drysuits – again for your convenience. A rinse tank is next to the rack.

Workshop, enabling repair and replacement for items such as lights, regs, or just for setting up your gear.

Wi-fi connection in the air-conditioned comfort of the dive store.

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.

TRAINING

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. Read more ....

NSS-CDS training is also available to Full Cave.

GUIDED CAVE DIVING

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. Read more ...

GUIDED CAVERN DIVING

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. Read more ...

UTD CAVE WEEK 2 HOSTED BY CAVEHEAVEN, TULUM

November 6-12, 2011

Dive the caves and caverns of Mexico!
The all-inclusive package includes:
6 nights' accommodation (double occupancy)
10 sets of Nitrox 32 double tanks
5 Cenote entrance fees
Ground transportation to and from the dives sites
Lunch and water each day
Guided cave dives
Guided cavern dives
Gear storage
Evening seminars
Welcoming barbeque
Closing dinner
Unlimited fun

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.
Price is $1,495 and the trip is limited to 20 divers. Sign up now to reserve your spot by contacting us or visit the UTD site. We accept Visa and Mastercard, which are charged directly in USD.

CAVE HEAVEN TULUM (a UTD facility) IS OFFICIALLY OPEN TODAY!!!!

2011-07-15T17:40:00.000-05:00

Hey guys

here we are we are finally OPEN !!!! YESSSSSS

It has been very hectic since the day we decided to start with the project in 2009.

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.

Location was perfect, title in place....so we decided to buy it!!!

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.

January 2011 contract was signed and February 2011 the building finally started!!!!

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 .

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 !!!

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.

Of course UTD diving courses, guided dives, fun and social time !!!!

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.

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!

Safe diving and SUERTE CAVE HEAVEN !!!

Ela & Adam

Caveheaven Tulum - progress update

2011-07-13T08:04:00.000-05:00

The last few weeks have been fairly hectic, but the results are showing!

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!

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.

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!!!!

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!

hasta luego!

Caveheaven Tulum is almost ready!

2011-07-03T18:17:00.000-05:00

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!!!!

Minor details need to be ironed out regarding the transformer, lots of paperwork needed to make any progress ... frustrating but necessary!

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.

All so close, not quite within grasp but almost!

updates will follow much more frequently!

Remember we have a special for the summer, 10 USD store credit for every 100 USD spent on services, rentals and equipment.

see you all soon,

Ela & Adam

UTD Overhead Protocols and tech 2 classes in New Mexico

2011-06-27T17:35:00.001-05:00

We have just finished a very busy weekend of UTD Overhead Protocols and Tech 2 courses @ Rock Lake , New Mexico.

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.

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.

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.

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 .

Both courses were done this weekend by Emanuela Bertoni for the Overhead protocols part and George K Watson for the Tech 2.

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!!!

I also would like to thank Ocean First Divers, Boulder, Colorado for the logistic support .

Will keep posted on new courses and fun happening!!!

See you soon in Cave Heaven Tulum for some cave diving!!!

Ela Bertoni

New courses @ Cave Heaven Tulum

2011-05-30T17:49:00.001-05:00

NEW UTD COURSES AVAILABLE AT CAVE HEAVEN TULUM

Hi guys

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.

We also have some news from Cave Heaven Tulum, we recently updated the UTD cave diver program as follows:

Cave 1 and 2 are now part of a complete certification called cave diver.

Cave 1 is mainline only and expires after 24 months.

Cave 2 is unlimited navigation and does not expire (includes circuits and traverses)

Endorsements are available for cave stage, tech cave, scooter cave, side mount cave and rebreather cave.

Overhead protocols is mandatory within 12 months prior cave 1.

N.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.

We are also running the following classes:

Cave diver gold (stage cave diver), 3-day program, allows the use of up to 2 stage bottles during cave dives to extend bottom time.

Technical cave diver, 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.

Scooter cave diver, 6-day program, develops the cave scooter diving techniques for certified cave divers who are also certified UTD Scooter 1 (open water) divers.

N.B. Can be combined with cave diver gold (stage) at the discretion of the instructor.

Advanced Side Mount cave diver, 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.

Please contact us at info@caveheaven.com for any enquiries and booking.

For full details on cave courses please visit UTD site on Standard and procedures http://www.unifiedteamdiving.com/page/standards-and-procedures

We also have Instructor Development training (as well as instructor crossover) program runs by Andrew Georgitsis and Jeff Seckendorf.

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.

Take care and safe diving

hasta luego

Ela & Adam

Dive in the Pit

2011-05-18T06:38:00.001-05:00

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Cenote Calavera - fun with halocline

2011-03-21T08:30:00.002-06:00

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.

Cave diving Mexico - Caveheaven sidemount at Kalimba

2011-03-18T21:05:00.000-06:00

UTD Cave Week in Mexico, Feb/Mar 2011

2011-03-09T09:09:00.000-06:00

We had the great pleasure of hosting our first UTD Cave Week, which has just finished.

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!).

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.

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!

A special thanks to those attending - John Bailey and Sergio Boccia from Ontario, and our own Jeff, Kim, George, Nick A, Brian and Jeanna!

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!

This week we are preparing Z-system sidemount educational material and updating training standards - the benefits for you will be published soon!

hasta luego amigos, dive safely

Ela & Adam

Light Monkey safety spools

2011-02-24T10:35:00.000-06:00

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.

The new 25' spool is ideal for shorter cave diving jumps and gaps, practical without filling up your pockets/D-ring.

We have all three sizes in stock.

dive safely,

Ela & Adam

Cave Heaven Tulum is growing!!!

2011-02-17T12:18:00.002-06:00

Gang

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.

Hope you enjoy

Ela & Adam

CAVE HEAVEN FIRST DAY OF CONSTRUCTION

2011-02-08T17:26:00.005-06:00

Gang, this is amazing news.....WE FINALLY STARTED OUR BUILDING IN TULUM, today the first few rocks were moved around, the land was cleared and properly marked......Grace already marked her new territory!!!
We will update the blog every week with some new pictures just to share our experience and see the progress, hope you enjoy and hopefully see you soon @ CAVE HEAVEN Tulum!!!

Have fun

Ela & Adam

Z-System Trim Device Is Here!

2011-01-26T18:23:00.006-06:00

Finally, minimalist sidemount divers have a trim device!
Yesterday we tested the Z-trim and its 20 lbs of lift were more than enough for 2 AL80s and had no trouble when twin stages were added.
The power inflator and over pressure valve are both located on the inside of the device, as are two zipped weight pockets.

Get yours today!
We have the trim devices in stock in Puerto Aventuras at a retail price of USD 360, all taxes included. Call us on 984 128 5485 or 984 142 4588 to order your Z-trim device

Z-system
The trim device is just one part of the Z-system .... try out the Z-harness, you can also add the manifold and QC6 hoses for quickly changing gases without need to change regulators.

NEW EQUIPMENT STOCK @ CAVE HEAVEN

2010-12-29T11:34:00.004-06:00

Guys
we are working on an online store that should be up soon, in the mean time here it is a list of products currently in stock for sale in MX.

We are very proud to announce as well that we are now LIGHT MONKEY Mexico distributor so we are definitely focusing on their products along with UTD,XS SCUBA,OXYCHEQ, HOLLIS and WEEZLE, which we are dealers of.

All equipment is properly imported, prices include 11% local sales tax (IVA) and invoices are provided for all sales. We accept Visa and Mastercard, along with cash and bank transfers.

Light Monkey lights have proven to be second to none and their service customer is amazing.

Lots of equipment is coming soon from UTD, such as heated vests, horse shoe wings together with the Z-harness plus wing, and much more.

If you have any special requests from these manufacturers, we can help you by making a special order.

Here it is a list of what we have right now :

LIGHT MONKEY

10-21W LED primary light (5 hour burn time)
20-21W LED primary light (10 hour burn time)
10-21W HID primary light (5 hour burn time)
5.2-12W LED primary light (5 hour burn time)
2W LED backup light (6 hour burn time)
3W LED backup light (10 hour burn time)
4' E/O cord
NiMH charger with Anderson connectors
Li-Ion charger with Anderson connectors
Goodman handle with loop for 9W and 12 W LED
Elastic handmounts
Tekna knife for Goodman head handle
Line stops for reels
Line cutters
Balanced P-valves with quick disconnect
Dry suit heater adapters
Backplate webbing with hardware kit
2" PSI SPG
2" bar SPG
100' safety spools
150' safety spools
400' primary reels
800' primary reels
1200' primary reels
Wet note books with Cordura cover
SS 3/8" Bolt snaps
SS 1" Bolt snaps
SS 4" double enders
7.25" Stainless steel tank bands
Bolt kits for tank bands
200 BAR manifolds
Stage kits for AL 40
Stage kits for AL 80
Rubber bands for 40 cf tank
Rubber bands for 80 cf tank

UTD

Heating systems
55lb horseshoe wings
Mask straps
DIR knife and sheath
Cookies
UTD stickers
Oxygen 20 ft stickers
Oxygen 6 m stickers
Argon stickers
70 ft stickers
21m stickers

XSSCUBA:

Thermo valve DIN/yoke combo 3000 psi
15" L.P. Hose with Quick Disconnect
26" L.P. BC Hose with Quick Disconnect
6" H.P. Gauge Hose
24" H.P. Gauge Hose
40" L.P. Regulator hose
84" L.P. Regulator hose
Miflex 6" H.P. hose - Black
Turtle-fins XL, 2XL, 3XL
Spring straps - 8", 10", 12"
Scuba Multiple Tool
7" No bump cable ties
Highland compact DIN first stage

OXYCHEQ:

Expedition-X oxygen analyzers
R17S Oxygen sensors
Sensor Tees
55lb lift Vertex Signature Series, single bladder/single inflator wings
Medium stainless steel backplates
Intermediate freedom catheter 31mm
Large freedom catheter 35 mm

Please contact us for any requests, even for items not listed above.

all the best for 2011, dive safely

Ela & Adam

Cave diving Mexico - Dos Pisos

2010-10-13T15:08:00.001-05:00

ENJOY IT!!!

E & A

CAVE HEAVEN AROUND THE WORLD

2010-10-06T11:43:00.008-05:00

Hi guys we are starting a new concept: CAVE HEAVEN AROUND THE WORLD!!!
We want to collect pictures of you with our logo shirt in as many places as possible and in an ADVENTURE MODE .... our motto since we opened our company 4 years ago and that we put on the T shirt is "REACH BEYOND, REACH WITHIN". This motto really expresses our philosophy/feelings behind cave diving, knowing ourselves in depth and accepting our limitations in an environment that is not really our natural one, respect for the environment and understanding our own limitations will allow us to cave dive for a long time, and be ready to go and explore new caves around the world.

In one year's time we will do a competition to choose the best 3 with some prizes.

This idea started with a Quebecois who give us a picture of himself skiing with our shirt on...pretty funky to see on the mountain....

Please send us pictures at: info@caveheaven.com if you wish to participate.

Enjoy, dive safely

Ela & Adam

Check this link with some of them:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/album.php?aid=41057&id=110467915632039

Or:

http://www.unifiedteamdiving.com/photo/album/show?id=2666155%3AAlbum%3A77983&xg_source=activity

DAVE HARRIS' UTD OHP and CAVE 1 course report

2010-09-20T12:21:00.004-05:00

Hi guys

here is the latest course report, even if the course was in May...thanks so much Dave to spend time to share your experience with us!!!

He enjoyed so much the UTD approach that he decided to become a UTD open water instructor, we are so glad to have you on board!!!

Next step...help out CAVE HEAVEN in Mexico.....hahaha...

" Ok, so it’s a few months late, but who’s counting? I did say I'd get round to this eventually!

I got hooked on cave diving in about 5 minutes after snorkeling a sump in Honduras a couple of years back, so having the time to spend May in Mexico was an unmissable opportunity. After emailing probably every cave diving center on the mayan riviera I was most impressed by Adam and Ela’s enthusiasm and response. I figured that would be about as good an idea as I would get as to how the instruction would be and looks like it worked out pretty well!

So we started out with essentials of overhead. Ela went through my gear siphoning out the bits and pieces that needed changing a few hoses here and there, some bolt snaps and bungie sorted that out, mostly it was ok. I’d ordered a bunch or gear from the UK that never turned up in time for the trip, so a quick visit to the local dive shops and we were good to go. Free plug here for Divelife in the UK that refunded me for all the gear that never quite made it in time. They didn’t have to do that, so good on them.

Time to get into the water. After the pre-dive brief I have to say I was quietly confident about this. I was a padi DM, could hover perfectly, had spent plenty time helping students with buoyancy control issues, I’d read how steady you are in doubles and watched the videos for the class. Easy right? I think the only piece of equipment I was wearing that I’d ever used before was the backup mask in my pocket but that shouldn’t be an issue right? So I was more than a little surprised to decend 3 ft, get into trim, get straight back out of trim then surface ass first into a nice forward roll. I think it was about this point I realized I was about to learn a lot more than gas management and navigation in overhead environments.

The rest of the session was spent on buoyancy, trim, propulsion and basic 6. Re-learning everything that I’d usually take as 2nd nature and unlearning the bad habits. I’ve never had such a steep learning curve diving since Open Water, but with Ela in front of me completely motionless it was easy to see that it just takes a bit of time. By the end of the day there was a good bit of improvement thanks to Ela’s patients and constructive instruction. The next couple of days went pretty well with a steady improvement on the back kick, valve and s-drills. The first SMB shoot was a good one. It’s interesting how something so basic can change when you’re concentrating on other things! Trim/depth/bag, Trim/depth/bag.. I actually thought I’d done pretty well until looking at the video I must’ve done a complete lap of the Cenote, maybe 2 and checked on the team (Ela) about once. We got there in the end though!

I had a couple of days here before OHP started, so went for a couple of boat dives with Aquanauts in Puerto Aventuras, Nick was happy to take me with doubles, so that was great. Straight away it was very different using the skills I’d just learned and really saw where I’d improved in the last few days. I got a couple of dives just myself and Nick which was great to drift along the reef to min deco limits. I think those were the first fun dives in about year where I’d not had to lead resort style divers so great fun.

As soon as my team mate for the course arrived we got cracking with OHP/Cave1. We started out with the usual dry runs, an intro to failures we ‘may’ come across during the upcoming dives and talking through how things should go. I think the cenote must have been slightly acidic or the like as shortly after the initial s-drills/v-drills valves and lights started failing left right and center! Luck certainly seemed to be against us every few tie offs. It was good though, the first day is always going to be a bit of a mess and we were working better as a team by the end of it.

Day 2 and after the mornings dry runs the failures were becoming a bit more complex as we worked better together as a team. By this point most of the basic cave skills have been introduced and it’s actually quite a lot of fun practicing running line and navigating around a cenote with continual disasters erupting all around you. I’m sure this is just down to Ela and Adam actually enjoying what they do. Over my time there I’d see a few classes going on where it appeared that enjoying yourself was not to be tolerated!

The final day of OHP was a lesson in blindness with Adam taking a turn as our tormentor, we may as well have started the day in blackout masks and kept them on. Blackout exit, blackout exit air sharing, lost line and lost buddy. Even the dry runs for these are challenging enough. In the water completely blacked out for the first time spacial awareness goes out the window. 60ft along a line feels like forever, any reference you would normally have with no mask is gone.

Eventually it was time to get into the Caves and put all this into practice. Unlike in the cenotes we can’t just surface at any time for a debrief and start the next dive. So here all the scenarios lasted a bit longer, great for us to actually get a bit of time to look around the caves for the first time with the occasional solvable problem. Getting out with major failures was a little more tricky. It was good to see the things that had caught us out in OHP improved upon, and as always there’d be a few things thrown in there that needed sorted out. The scenarios for lost line/lost buddy and zero vis really are great to do in a controlled environment. It certainly leads to the feeling that after the constant barrage of failures during the course that should the most likely of problems occur on an actual dive it would be pretty much a non-event.

The highlight for me had to be primary light failure on both team members. I don’t know if you’re supposed to have favorite failures, but coming out of the cave into the cavern zone with limited light is just awesome.

Many thanks to Adam and Ela for a fantastic course, I’ll be back in November for the next trip. And of course my buddy Dan, great to dive with someone willing to laugh about our mistakes, it was a good team.

Dave " THE END ....

Hope you enjoyed as much as we did during the course and hope to see you all soon in Mexico!!!

Dive safely and have FUN !!!

Ela & Adam

CAVE COURSE REVIEW BY JOHN BAILEY, part 2

2010-08-02T12:51:00.005-05:00

.....continued from part 1.....

Next day, we were off to Taj Mahal. Three dives there, first two upstream and last one downstream. Diving 1/6s. I led the first and last dive. Usual sets of failures on the first dive. I left my isolator closed and did not recognize it in the equipment check for the second dive. I realized it when my SPG had only moved slightly (from inflating my drysuit) as I was questioning my sudden dramatic improvement in air consumption. Opening the isolator made things right again and the flow between tanks was audible. Now my pressure was where it should have been. While I was not pleased that I missed it in the pre-dive check, I was glad that I realized what happened and rectified it in the dive. Various failures on the way out and a debrief with lots of discussion about the isolator. After pre-dive planning etc. for the third dive, we dropped down and I started to tie in the reel. Adam called the dive and puzzled, I followed him up. I had forgotten to do the S drill, even though every dive started the same and I had just finished visualizing and talking about the dive on the surface including the drill. Back down, started the dive properly and continued. Always failures or drills continued on the exit. On this exit, while I was out of air in the drill and following the line in zero vis, I managed to break off a piece of rock the line was tied to. Lots of slack all of a sudden! I cut the drill and we fixed the line then continued the exit. Adam told me I did the right thing to cut the drill and we talked about what we would have done if it had not been a drill.

This ended the day. There had been the possibility of one more dive but while I didn’t recognize it, I think I had reached my limit and needed a break. I remember feeling disappointed at the time that we weren’t doing one more dive. I’m sure Adam recognized this and felt pushing for another dive would result in diminishing returns. I didn’t feel stressed but I know after the next day off (Christmas Day), I returned to training realizing that I had been mentally exhausted and the break was good.

December 26. Refreshed and back at it in Chac Mool for three dives. New drills were no vis lost line and lost buddy drills. What an eye opener! I didn’t find the line in the first drill. Talk about a lump in your stomach… I had let myself get disoriented direction wise and started my search almost 180 degrees from the line. The floor of the cave was filled with snags where we did the drill and Adam cut the drill when it became evident I was not making progress. In hindsight, rather than continuing up the wall, I should have realized I had gone too far and reeled in to start over in a different direction. Next dive was the same drill and I was very careful to focus on my initial tie offs with the safety spool. I found line just about the time that I was beginning to think I had gone too far. These drills reinforced why you never want to lose the line! The last dive of the day introduced the lost buddy drill. I thought this went reasonably well, although it seems like forever when you are recalculating gas for the search. I didn’t think I was stressed, but Adam said he could clearly see me chugging air as I was rising and sinking while calculating gas and writing in my wet notes.

Gran Cenote on Dec. 27 was my first dive on 1/4s. We were only a two man team and there is little flow to assist with exits so this was as much gas as we would ever plan to use in the dive plan. We needed to remain conservative! We started with a lecture on navigation and did land drills. Following this a dive was planned including up to 3 jumps although we didn’t get that far. I led the first dive. Adam led the second dive and we did a different jump. We changed position at the exit so that I could do the reel work as I needed all the practice I could get with this.

On Dec 28, we dove at Minotauro. Another lecture on navigation, this time circuits. I led. This was a very tight cave (I thought) for the first 10 minutes. We had planned a circuit and I installed a jump line for this, then we backtracked to the mainline leaving the jump line in. We continued on the mainline until I turned on gas and left an arrow for the circuit. I thought I handled a failure in my alternate well and then in the open water we practiced inflator malfunctions – these were not as smooth. I led the second dive and this time we took the jump line that I installed on the previous dive. Unfortunately, we turned on gas prior to completing the circuit. At an inopportune time during the exit (in the middle of pulling the jump line) my primary failed. I responded to that well but bobbled the spool.

Dec 29. Last day of training. We planned one dive at Naharon as a deco dive. I found this to be an extremely dark cave as well as deeper than the previous caves. It was an uneventful dive, although it was interesting to plan for deco – another layer to add to the dive planning! I silted things up a bit on the entry due to the steep silty incline. Following the dive we practiced rescuing an unconscious diver and my training was over for now. Adam congratulated me for completing the course and I have to say that for the first time after completing a course, it really feels like this is just the beginning of the learning process.

This is the first course I’ve completed where I believe that I have a real significant opportunity to get myself in trouble during the dives. It is a sobering thought and I had it a few times during the training. I think that is why at times I found the diving mentally exhausting. At the same time, the dives were spectacular and I can’t wait until I have the opportunity to go back and continue to cave dive.

I wish Ela and Adam all the best in their future plans and look forward to seeing their new place in Tulum once the construction is completed.

....THE END....

Thanks to John Bailey for spending time to share his experience, see you soon in MX!!!

Emanuela Bertoni & Adam Korytko

CAVE COURSE REVIEW BY JOHN BAILEY, part 1

2010-07-29T16:25:00.003-05:00

This is a review of last year cave course Adam K. did with John Bailey.
John did great job during his Cave course, due to his skills, positive attitude but also for sure the fact that he arrived ready with his equipment and basic skills squared away, so we could do a first day to check and introduction followed by the start of the cave program.
We believe GUE fundamental helped him very much to get the basics sorted out, now we teach through UTD and we recommend UTD Essentials of Overhead prior taking a cave course.
The review is based on the NSS CDS program we did last year (2009), thanks John for sharing it!!!

Cave Course Review – Cave Heaven, Dec. 22-29, 2009

I’ll start by saying that this was without a doubt the most enjoyable course I’ve taken to date. I’m sure this was in no small part due to Adam Korytko’s calm manner in addressing my deficits but I also completely enjoyed the cave environment and believe that the amount of diving I did in 2009 and previous courses, particularly GUE Fundamentals greatly assisted by building good basic skills.

In February 2009, our family booked a 10 day vacation in Mexico for the end of the year and once that was done, I began to investigate what I could do. It seemed a waste to be in Puerto Aventuras and not take advantage of some of the opportunities for diving that were available. Everyone in my family dives, but I was the only one with an interest in a cave course.

Forums and emails/pms to people I knew in real life or on the net assisted in finding some prospective instructors. I searched on the net, narrowed it down and began emailing instructors. From email responses, I narrowed things further and began calling instructors.

I was impressed from the start with Cave Heaven. They responded quickly to emails and answered questions readily. It was clear that they were not giving a generic response and in turn had questions of my diving experiences etc. While the training was to take place in Mexico, they also had experience in Florida and I thought this would provide insight into the differences in both types of caves. Within a few of weeks of starting my search, a deposit was on the way and I was booked for the cavern to cave course (minimum of 7 days) starting on December 22. We kept in touch during the long wait to travel and finally, we were on our way to Mexico.

After arrival, I called Adam and made arrangements to begin the next day. He picked me up at our condo and we were off to fill out forms, personalize arrows and markers, check equipment and get the preliminary routine stuff out of the way. This first day was filled with skills and drills (air shares, valve drills, propulsion techniques, line drills, no vis drills including air shares and following the line) in the Ponderosa System, Garden of Eden. What a beautiful cenote! Everything was in open water the first day and I could only wonder what awaited me the next day. I was diving dry for the course and it was a pleasure to be in such light undergarments – water temp was consistently 77F. Adam’s valve drill was different from the one I had learned and this did cause me some difficulty later.

Next day (Dec. 23) was my first cavern dive at Garden of Eden. I think this was the day that I realized that I had punctured my wing when I packed it in the crate the day before. Adam had another one and we dropped mine off at Zero Gravity for repair in the afternoon. Zero Gravity provided another wing until mine was repaired. Every dive started with bubble check, equipment matching, dive planning and S drills. I know I was slow at this at first (it felt like it took forever, but this did go quicker as the course continued). Adam led and I was quickly hooked! I found it relaxing and beautiful. Adam simulated primary failure on the exit and we re-ordered. Note taking and valve drill completed every dive while at our stop. I thought the view when you see the daylight as you exit was spectacular.

The next dive (my 100th of 2009) was to be my first cave dive! I led, we were diving 1/6s and not surprisingly, I turned the dive on gas! This was a common theme, I need to get my air consumption rate down… Failures on the exit were my primary light and an out of air drill. I noted that I had some issues with buoyancy at the end of the dive. My first experience with a reel was less than successful. I managed to jam it up fairly well. I noted that the halocline was really nice to look at but was quite effective at making the line difficult to see. Another dive followed in the same cave. More failures on the exit and I noted that I mucked up the valve drill as well as jammed the reel again (but not as bad). Hmmm. Some work was needed!

....to be continued....

UTD heated vest

2010-07-26T13:39:00.004-05:00

UTD heated vest is available in different models depending on your needs. The model that you see above in the picture is the outdoor model, where the battery is splash proof but not totally waterproof and it is to wear inside the dry suit, 60 minutes burn time at top heat. We would recommend the Adventurer model that just came out where the battery is housed a totally sealed little canister.
If you need more than 60 minutes, you would have to choose the explorer system that include an external plug to plug into your canister pack.
We are using the heated vest here in Mexico only for very long dives during the deco time when you don't move much, it is an incredible relief...now we can enjoy our deco more comfortably.
We believe it is a great product especially for cold water diving and long deco times, once you try it you will be addicted to it!!!
The possibility to adjust the temperature is a plus and we like that idea, the waterproof battery and accessory is great, in case of a small dry suit leak you are not risking to have to change the battery.
Teaching cave diving down here, its is also nice to have the option for that particular day when you feel colder then normal to use this during surface interval debriefings...even if to be honest we don't really need it down here.
Having the heated vest you can have the possibility to wear fewer undergarments, therefore less weight will be needed, leaving you light but warm.

Below look at the specifications, and please don't hesitate to contact us for more details on this products.

UTD Signature Series - Outdoor Heating System

Designed with the outdoor person in mind.

Heating Vest
Internal, portable and weatherproof 4.7amp Li-Ion Battery pack
LiIon Universal Charger
Adapter for charger to battery

Heating Vest

Lightweight and flexible carbon fiber heating elements positioned carefully to provide consistent even heat specifically for divers needs
Comfortable Rip Stop nylon shell with a soft taffeta lining
100g Polyfill insulation increases warmth and heat retention
Solid sate electronically controlled thermostat easily and accurately adjusts through three heating levels, which provide a consistent and even heating system without risk of burning or On/Off or the Hot-Cold-hot-cold effect
Temperature Setting - High 167ºF/75ºC, Med 150.8ºF/66ºC, Low
Adjustable strap for attachment of thermostat to body
Expanding side panels allow for a snug and comfortable fit and the diver to still be able to stretch and reach valves and so on.
Waterproof Heating Elements and wiring reducing risk of injury even with a flood suit

* Note you can selected to have fixed temperature (High) plug rather than the controllable thermostat

Internal, Portable, weatherproof and splash proof battery

Provides 60 mins or more of heating time*
Coated with a weather proof and splash proof rubberized coating to reduce risk of injury.
Internal battery packs can be exchanged.

* Use time is based on temperature setting used.

Specifications

Heated Vest

12- Volt DC
Draw 4.2 Amps, 4.0 amps, 3.8 amps
Temperature - High 167ºF/75ºC, Med 150.8ºF/66ºC, Low 125.6ºF/52ºC
Carbon Fiber Heating Elements
Rip Stop Nylon Shell
Polyfill Insulation
Controllable Thermostat (Can be exchanged for a fixed temperature "Always On" plug )
7 sizes. XS-38, S-40, Med-42, Large-44, XL-46, XXL-48, XXXL-50.

Internal, Portable and Weatherproof Battery - 4.7 amp Li-Ion Battery Specifications

A 4.7 Ah Li-Po Battery Providing 60 Mins +.(1 hours) of burn time
Recharge time from complete discharge 3 hours
80mm(3.25") x 55mm (2.0") x 17mm (0.5") Smaller than a Cell Phone Iphone/Blackberry
Weatherproof and splash proof coating and wiring
Complete with charger

UTD Universal LiIOn Charger

Input: 110v - 240v - 50/60hz 0.3 A
Output: DC12.6V/1.8A
US Input Cord Provided, UK and European Input Cord Available

Charger Adpater

Use your Universal charger with Male Banana plugs to charge your Weatherproof Battery
Female Banana to Female Waterproof Co-Axial Charging

Safe and warm diving.

Emanuela Bertoni (UTD 37) & Adam Korytko (UTD 38)

Weights for double tanks, part two, 8 pounder

2010-07-20T17:55:00.005-05:00

Please note: Lead is a poisonous substance to animals. It damages the nervous system and causes brain disorders. Excessive lead also causes blood disorders in mammals. Like the element mercury, another heavy metal, lead is a potent neurotoxin that accumulates both in soft tissues and the bones. BE CAREFUL WHEN YOU WORK WITH IT, if you want to know more, please read more on Wikipedia.

We did the weights in two sizes:

- the smaller triangular one of 4 pounds (previous blog post)
- the "bigger strip" of 8 pounds

Both shapes need to fit between your double and your wing, it is also very important that the lead is not too high so you can comfortably add the wing and backplate and still be able to secure the wingnuts.

8 POUND WEIGHT , how we did it

STEP 1 : you have to find someone to mold the lead for you.

STEP 2 : lead is a soft material so it is very easy to work with, however there are some little tricks we learned on the way and that we want to share with you.
The 8-pound weights need to have two holes and will be fixed between the double and your wing, the holes need to be bigger then the two tanks band securing bolts so when you put on your weight you don't damage the thread.
Drill a hole on one side of the weight, make sure you measure where exactly you want it.

STEP 3 : measure the 11" distance with a backplate and drill the second hole

STEP 4 : personalizing them is easy , just buy letters and numbers that you can stamp on it just by using your hammer

.....Job done....

We hope you find this info useful, please contact us if you have any other queries or suggestions.

Safe diving

Emanuela Bertoni & Adam Korytko

Weights for double tanks, part one - 4 pounders

2010-07-20T16:11:00.022-05:00

Please note: Lead is poisonous substance to animals. It damages the nervous system and causes brain disorders. Excessive lead also causes blood disorders in mammals. Like the element mercury, another heavy metal, lead is a potent neurotoxin that accumulates both in soft tissues and the bones. BE CAREFULL WHEN YOU WORK WITH IT, if you want to know more , please read on Wikipedia.

We did the weights in two sizes:

- the smaller triangualar one of 4 pounds
- the "bigger strip" (upcoming post) of 8 pounds

Both shapes need to fit between your double and your wing, it is also very important that the lead is not too high so you can comfortably add the wing and backplate and still be able to secure the wingnuts.

4 POUND WEIGHT , how we did it

STEP 1 : you have to find someone that will mold the lead for you.

STEP 2 : lead is a soft material so it is very easy to work with, however there are some little tricks we learned on the way and that we want to share it with you.
Drill a hole about 2 inches from one end of the weight (on the flat side).
The drill bit needs to be for metal and to be no larger than the stainless steel screw that you will screw into the weight.
We want to install the 4 pounds piece with a piece of webbing so that you can fix it in one of your tank band securing bolts (either upper or lower, depending where you will need it to trim out) and the lead will not move up and down while you are diving.

STEP 3 : when the hole is done, you can manually install the screw into the webbing (that you previously did the hole with a hot point), as you see on the picture above.

STEP 4 : tighten it up with the drill, but be careful not to over-tighten or you will make the hole bigger and the screw will fall out.

STEP 5 : make the measurement you will need to do the other hole in the other side of the webbing (by burning the webbing with a round metal point) so you can insert your webbing and weight in one of the bolts of your doubles and comfortably add wing and backplate .

STEP 6 : personalizing them is easy , just buy letters and numbers that you can stamp on it just by using your hammer

We hope you find this info useful, please contact us if you have any other queries or suggestions.

Safe diving

Emanuela Bertoni & Adam Korytko

WEEZLE UNDERGARMENT

2010-07-15T14:07:00.006-05:00

WEEZLE EXTREME

Ela @ Aktun Hu

We know the extreme series seems a bit over-warm for most people wanting to cave dive in Mexico but that is exactly what Ela is using for her dives. As instructors, we stay a long time in the water every day so we are getting colder then normal divers that may dive for a week at time but not every day of the year.
This undergarment is one piece and it is made from 4 layers of specially chosen fibers each chosen to perform differently, offering good thermal protection under any type of dry suit in waters similar to those round the UK (that is how WEEZLE describes it).
From my point of view, it is a very impressive product, even in the case of a leaking drysuit, that can keep the water out and keeps you dry and warm all the time .
Our test was for a 3 hours dive and we created a leak in the dry suit at the beginning of our dive, to check the effects and it worked beautifully, I was dry under my WEEZLE !!!
It is perfectly sized as described in the website, in fact we bought it based on their size chart and it was PERFECT fit, that is our usual problem when we buy online.

Service is impeccable and we decide to become DEALERS of WEEZLE undergarments.

Of course they have various models, depending on your needs:

COMPACT- suitable for under neoprene or for warmer waters

EXTREME- (the one I am using) for any type of dry suit in water similar to those around the UK

EXTREME PLUS- exceptional protection from the cold, possibly the warmest undersuit on the market (the equivalent of a compact and an extreme together)

Their products line also includes boots, a 2 piece undersuit, Weezle skins (base layer garments made to be worn either in combination with Weezle undersuit or solo)and more.

DIVE SAFELY, WARM AND HAVE FUN!!!

Emanuela Bertoni & Adam Korytko

CAVE HEAVEN ACCEPTS CREDIT CARDS

2010-07-01T15:43:00.006-05:00

Hi all

just to keep you updated on our work, as we already promised to many of you ,we now finally DO accept credit cards at our point of sale:

VISA and MASTER CARD

Welcome CAVE HEAVEN to the 21st century!!!!

Ela & Adam

UTD training in High Springs, Florida

2010-06-22T08:28:00.003-05:00

We have decided to temporarily move Cave Heaven to cave country !

Well, not quite .... but we will be in the High Springs area early August to teach some UTD training courses, Overhead Protocols and Cave 1.

While Mexico offers amazingly beautiful caves, many prefer the challenge of the higher flowing Florida caves, which also provide wonderful diving and a great opportunity to work on skills.

We will be offering a combined Overhead Protocols and Cave 1 course from August 4-8 and it looks like we will need to put on more courses by the requests we have been getting!

Check out our website UTD training and/or call us on (386) 868 2050 for further details.

see you soon, have fun and dive safely,

Ela & Adam

TULUM VIDEO !!!

2010-06-09T11:06:00.001-05:00

Here it is an amazing video clip of TULUM, the magic town!!! A combination of eco hotels on the beach, great people, good food, kite surfing paradise, "LA MECCA" of CAVE DIVING in his unique Cenotes.....really now it is up to us to enjoy but preserve it in the same time as local and as turists.
Enjoy the video and hope to see you around Tulum soon!!!

May 2010 class report, UTD CAVE 1 course by Adam & Ela

2010-06-04T11:50:00.008-05:00

Just some picture of our latests cave 1 course in May with Dave, Daniel, Chris, Sean & Brian.
Dave H. was so excited about the UTD concept that he decided to go up to S. Diego for IDC and further training at the HQ with Jeff and Andrew...good luck Dave!!!

Top picture from left to right: Chris, Sean & Brian @ Ponderosa
Second picture from left to right: Dave H. & Daniel @ Ponderosa

Light Monkey primary canister lights

2010-05-03T11:14:00.010-05:00

10-21 HID, 10-21 LED, 5.2-12 LED

10-21 LED, 10-21 HID

Those are the 3 primary light we have been testing lately.

They are all perfect for cave diving, of course with different beam intensity, burn time and dimensions , as you can see from the pictures on the top part of the page.
They all offer a very good burn time, dimension wise is also interesting, the head is not huge as the ballast is inside the canister and not on the head.

Canister with batteries are water sealed, you don't have to take the batteries in and out for charging them and mess around with the cables to make them work (like the old Dive Rite design for example).
There is also a safe way to lock the canister when you travel so the light cannot be switched on.
We love the design and the great quality that Light Monkey are using.
We still remember when we first walked into the Salvo store 5 years ago in High Springs and they showed us how solid their primary light was by smashing the HID head on the floor repetitively in front of our amazed eyes and then the light was still working....
The customer service is also very prompt and careful about their clients needs.
As dealers, we can say we are very proud and happy to be their customers.
We need more professionalism in the scuba industry and we definitively found this with them.

10-21 HID

- 10aH Li-Po Battery: 300 minute burn time
- 1500 Lumen Output @ 6500 Kelvin
- 10.75" (27.2 cm) Length, 3" (7.5 cm) Diameter
- Dry weight 5.8 lb. (2.6kg), 2.5 lb. (1.1 kg) negative in-water
- 5 hour recharge from complete discharge
- 9.00 g ELC

10-21 LED

- powered by a 10aH Li-Ion rechargeable battery providing 240 minutes burn time
- 1100 lumens @ 5600 kelvin
- 9" (22.7 cm) length and 2.75 inches (7cm) diameter
- Dry weight is 5 lbs. (2.3 kg)
- 2 lbs (0.9 Kg) negative in the water
- Recharge time from complete discharge is 7 hours
- 9.0 g ELC

5.2- 12 LED

- powered by a 5.2aH Li-Ion rechargeable battery providing 300 minutes burn time
- 750 lumens @ 5600 kelvin
- elastic hand mount for hands free diving included
- twist on/off activation with double o-ring seal
- 7.5" (19 cm) length and 2" (5 cm) diameter
- ideal for travel, weighing in at a mere 2.5 lbs (1.1 kg)
- the battery pack for the 2.6 - 09W LED can also be used to power the light head for a 150 minute burn time and is available separately
- 4.68 g ELC

We have some primary light in stock, we also can order your favorite model very easily and imported here in about 7 days from the States.
Please contact us for more info and any product requests.

Enjoy

Ela & Adam

Cave diving Mexico - Dos Pisos

2010-04-29T18:27:00.004-05:00

This is our new video at Dos Pisos, Tulum, we did it a few days ago.
Hope you enjoy the video and Santana fantastic guitar playing!!!

Ela & Adam

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJRdbNeXt2U

SPEECH AT PEZ MAYA WITH GVI

2010-04-26T11:51:00.007-05:00

Last week Cave Heaven went to Pez Maya, inside the marine reserve of Sian Kaan to give the monthly speech about the Cenotes to the volounteers that are based there and are studying Reef conservation with GVI .

Adam was in charge of the talk and Ela was taking pictures and trying to help Adam on replying the volunteer questions.

The talk started with an introduction about us, who we are and what are our goals and projects here in the Riviera Maya, follow by a little introduction of how the Cenotes are formed, Mayan beliefs, a bit of local archeological interest surrounding the caves .
After that we focused on how we can make cave diving safe and what we can do to preserve this beauty as divers and as individuals.
The volunteers were very interested on the exploration part so we focused a bit on that , explaining our exploration projects, the aim of exploration and not least the experience and equipment needed for a safe cave exploration.
We showed them some of our pictures in the cave and outside, and we also talked about how they could enjoy a Cenotes swim , dive or cave diving training in the Riviera Maya.

We have been doing these talks for about one year and the GVI volunteers in Sian Kaan and Mahahual have always been very enthusiastic and ready to learn more of the local Cenotes, they always been very welcoming to us, that is why we really appreciate going there and doing these presentations.

We also think that we help a little by explaining to people the beauty but also the importance for us as cave divers and as locals to be respectful and try to preserve caves as much as possible.

Cave diver training definitely focuses on techniques for the safety of the diver but also the conservation of the caves, we believe that offering high quality training will help the community to conserve this environment.

Thanks to GVI for their conservation efforts in the area, special thanks to Daniel Ponce Taylor, GVI regional director who always supported our approach.

Emanuela Bertoni & Adam Korytko

UTD 45 lbs/ 20 Kg lift horseshoe Signature Series Expedition wing

2010-04-21T11:28:00.010-05:00

This is the picture of the wing that we are currently using, made with great material, Cordura on the outside and very resistant material for the bladder too.
Diving multiple stages and multiple deco bottles, we felt perfectly balanced all the time and also getting the air out of the wing was very easy .
The profile outside a double Alu 80 is bigger of course then a 360 degree model, which we used in the past, but if you dive beyond simple doubles, the advantages of a horseshoe are definitely worth it in spite of a bigger profile.
It is comfortable to use, we are definitely happy with the choice and can recommend it to all divers.
Wherever you will go diving, using Alu or Steel doubles this wing offer a good option for all tanks and multiple stages/deco bottles.

Features and Benefits

A horseshoe designed wing which allows gas to accumulate on one side of the wing to support stages/deco bottles weight.
Easy dump air from rear dump
SS power inflator that is reliable and robust never had a recall
CE approved
Heavy duty cover on wing to protect inner bladder
5 year warranty on wing

Enjoy it and have fun!

Emanuela Bertoni & Adam Korytko

MADE IN ITALY!!!

2010-04-14T19:49:00.009-05:00

MADE IN ITALY ....UTD dry suit ...also Ela....

We just receive our brand new UTD X6 Signature series dry suits.
Apart from the look (Italian style of course) , they used super good material and they are very well thought into details.

We got them wet yesterday at Carwash and feel like a pyjama in the water, AMAZING, we are so happy about it that we are already thinking about buying another 2 !!!

Here are some details :

In the X6/9 models we have added extra protective layers, especially in high wear areas such as knees, butts, underarms to ensure the durability of the suit for years. Installed are soft soled boots that allow entries and exits from beaches and rocky shores but are not so thick and rubberized that they become uncomfortable when worn for extended periods and or require one size up fins. We ensure that all suits have triple-glued seams and polymer sealant technology to ensure waterproofing.

As far as general design criteria, we have some things are specific to our needs. We have created a little longer length in the arms to ensure when reaching for the valves the suit does not pull up hard and provide resistance. So you will find that when standing with your arms at your side the material should touch wrist bone while arms are to the side. We have also cut them a little longer in the leg to accommodate the prone position for frog kicks. The Underarm length allows one to reach back to touch the same position as if not wearing a suit and the crotch area is designed to allow a diver to spread his legs for frog kicks.

We have also made the suit slightly larger in the torso to accommodate heavier undergarments, extra layers and heating vests if one was to venture to cold water for expeditions. This is easily compressed during the dive if not filled with undergarment. The flexible and larger torso is also long enough in front so the diver can arch and not pull down on the neck seal causing leaking difficulty in arching causing the knees to drop

As far as valves the suit come with Si-Tech inlets and outlets. The inlet does not have a push button on top, reducing the risk of accidental self inflation from stage bottle and or wreck/cave floors. The Inlet valve allows standard connect LP hoses that come from the bottom. The Outlet valve is positioned to ensure the diver controls the dumping of the valve through body position rather than the valve dumping gas without the divers knowledge.

Left and right bellows pocket are sewn and glued in position, in the appropriate place on the upper outside thigh just above the knee

Also the suit came with pre-installed P-Valve, depending on the model you can have pre-installed plug for the UTD heated vest , as well as the vest and the battery pack for longer burn time.

Enjoy them and have fun!!!

E & A

Tulum project , the first few steps!!!

2010-04-13T17:02:00.006-05:00

Today the project began with drilling to check that the land can bear the weight of the building (IE , that there are no Cenotes/dry caves below), called "mecanica de suelo".

The land is a lot of 10 mt/ 30 ft by 30 mt/100 ft on the Avenida Tulum-Coba and the builder suggested to do 10 holes... basically they drill those holes 10 mt/30 ft in depth and they write down how long time they took every 25 cm/10 inches, depending on that (1,2 more or less minutes each 25 cm/10 inch segment) they can determine how solid the ground is, or at least that
was the explanation of the foreman!!!

We were very excited that we could see things
moving on our land, we will continue this as the
project progresses!!!

As we were looking around our the area we noticed that there are already several interesting places close by such as a pole dancing bar (very nice eh?.....), a Mexican restaurant, an Italian restaurant which by the way is great quality food and wine there, a tour company, Kite surf shop, the only super market in Tulum so far (the S.Francisco), Hertz rental car, bank, various small Hotels...all within easy walking distance (no more then 2,3 minutes....). Of course apart from this,
we are on the road for Carwash, Camillo, Gran Cenote, Temple of Doom, Vaca Ha, etc....at
no more then 5 minutes driving ....not to bad!!!

CAVE HEAVEN IS COMING TO TULUM, HASTA LUEGO!!!

Emanuela Bertoni & Adam Korytko

Cave Heaven in Tulum

2010-04-01T11:44:00.002-06:00

Hi all
we have been planning our new cave diving lounge and shop in Tulum, we are finally are waiting for the permits to pass and we will start the building project very soon.
We will be located close by the S. Francisco supermarket on the Tulum Coba road on the way to Gran Cenote, Carwash and many other Cenotes.
This project is supposed to be ready by the end of this year, let's cross our fingers.
We are excited about it and hope to see you all down there as soon as we open!!!
Have a safe and great diving!!!
Ela & Adam

Blue Abyss check up dive report

2010-04-01T11:41:00.005-06:00

Hi guys

we recently did some dives at the famous Blue Abyss in Pet Cemetery, Sac Actun System.
Here is a short report on the profile we followed
Reach the Blue Abyss 32%, 40 minutes swimming following the X line, 3 jumps involved.
Blue Abyss deco set up: 02 alu40 clipped on the line at 20 ft, travel with alu 80 with Nitrox 50%, not a good idea to clip them on the line because at 70 ft, they could break the line.
Bottom mix on a double 80, Trimix 18/45
Planned time at 200 ft. max 15 minutes (for a maximum of 30 minutes deco, plus deep stop)
Actual time at depth 8 minutes, 3 minutes descent from 20 ft to 200 ft.
Ascent profile: 200ft. to 150 ft. 2 minutes
75% deep stop at 150, then every 10 ft until we reached the 50% deep stop and then the first gas switch at 70 ft. with Nitrox 50% to open the 02 window
Break on back gas before the second gas switch on 02
Second gas switch at 20 ft. with 02
Deco total 16 minutes, 8 minutes with Nitrox 50% in the first part of deco divided by the number of stop every 10 ft. trying to shape it as S- curve, 8 minutes with 02, all at 20ft.
Going back we had left Nitrox 50% so that is the gas we used on our way out, average depth 30 ft.
We used UTD Ratio Deco 1:2
Total run time of the dive 2 hour 45 minutes
We came out clean as a whistle, in fact Ela , 3 hours after the dive, went for a kick boxing 2 hour session no problem.
Love Ratio deco profile, love to not be tired after the dive and love the fact that I could do exercise and continue my normal life even after a deep dive.
Have fun and safe dives!!!

Ela Bertoni & Adam Korytko

Ela & Adam are now UTD Cave 1 instructors!

2010-03-07T18:24:00.002-06:00

Hi,

we are pleased and proud to announce that we just crossed over to UTD (Unified Team Diving) Cave 1!

We completed the IDC with UTD founder Andrew Georgitsis and look forward to continue providing the highest level underwater cave training available.

Feel free to contact us regarding UTD, the courses we offer and our training philosophy.

hasta luego, dive safe and have fun!

Ela http://www.unifiedteamdiving.com/profile/EmanuelaBertoni &
Adam http://www.unifiedteamdiving.com/profile/AdamKorytko
http://caveheaven.com/

2009-03-31T13:42:00.009-06:00

Cave diving equipment configuration considerations for the Riviera Maya, Mexico

2009-03-27T08:39:00.002-06:00

The caves of the Riviera Maya in Mexico are complex low-to-no flow caves, requiring a competent level of trim, buoyancy and navigational precision.

Equipment should be as tidy and streamlined as possible, be readily accessible and in good working order for every dive.

Below are some Hogarthian configurations that are appropriate for cave diver training and the majority of backmount cave diving in the Riviera Maya.

TANKS

Nearly all double tanks locally are aluminium 80s with an isolator. Fills rarely go beyond 3000-3100 psi (200 bar). Most dives are no deeper than 50-100 feet / 15-30 metres. Depending on the profile, we use EAN 32 or helitrox 25/25. Trimix is also available for qualified divers. All stage and/or deco cylinders are rigged in UTD/DIR configuration.

BACKPLATE, HARNESS AND WING

A single bladder wing with 40 -55 pounds (18-25 kilos) of lift is ideal for Mexico. Bungeed bladders will not be allowed for training and cave diving, since, should the bladder be punctured, the bungees can deflate the wing and are a potential entanglement hazard. Aluminium tanks are narrower than many steel ones, so a narrow profile wing design is suggested.

Aluminium backplates requiring no extra weighting are sufficient for most wetsuit divers. Drysuit divers should consider a steel backplate.

A single strip of webbing is best. Plastic harness clips are unnecessary and not recommended, being a potential failure point.

REGULATORS

How to configure

In order to minimize drag, hoses should be the correct length for your body and be routed down and in. This means that the hoses should not be outside the profile of the tanks/wing.

Convenient first stages are those with 5 LP ports and a swivel turret (for example, the Scubapro MK 25), allowing the end port to be used, thereby crossing the hoses without obstructing the gas flow.

"Flathead" first stages (for example, some Apeks designs) are equally suitable, with hose routing again being down and in.

Types of regulators

The water is a constant 77° F (25° C) and most dives do not exceed 90 feet, with a vast amount of dives at no more than 50 feet. Depth here is not the issue it is in Florida, for example.

Therefore, simple, mainstream balanced piston first stages are suitable for most backmount cave diving in the Riviera Maya. Environmentally sealed first stages are equally appropriate - just be aware that some regulators may be more difficult to service promptly. Remove any plastic covers that may (and invariably will!) dislodge in the caves. We believe divers should be in the overhead environment with DIN connectors only, since yokes can shear off under contact with the cave.

Simple second stages that can be opened underwater without tools are preferred, thereby allowing cleaning.

Hoses

Unless unusually large or small, most divers use a 7 foot (210 cm) hose for the primary regulator, which allows single file air sharing, routed down from the right post to the right hip, then diagonally across the chest, around the left side of your neck, with the second stage breathed from the right. A small dogclip should be attached to the end of the hose with cave line or O-rings - no metal to metal attachments! - for clipping off when not in use.

The backup regulator hose (22 - 24 inches / 55 - 60 cm, depending on body size) is routed from the left post behind the diver and is breathed from the right. The second stage should be attached to a suitably sized bungee necklace and hung around the neck.

The LP inflator hose (15 inches / 38 cm) crosses from the right post behind the diver's neck. The corrugated hose should be bungeed to the harness to avoid it slipping behind the diver's back.

The HP hose routes directly down from the left post. It can be attached either to the left hip D-ring (24 inches / 60 cm is a good size for most divers).

Hose protectors should be removed - they allow dirt to build up and can hide damage and small leaks.

Gauges

The submersible pressure gauge (SPG) is all that is required. No consoles, no rubber boots (see hose protectors above). A small dogclip should be attached to the end of the hose with cave line or O-rings - no metal to metal attachments! - for clipping off when not in use. Gauges may be calibrated in either psi or bar.

PRIMARY LIGHT

A canister primary light attached to the waistband at the right hip is the preferred choice, providing a convenient "holder" for the primary hose. A 10W HID or 12W LED light is sufficient. Burntime should be at least 1.5 times the planned dive time. Avoid unwanted sliding of the canister by attaching a second beltclip to the waistband webbing. You should be able to remove the canister underwater. A Goodman handle is suggested, thereby allowing both hands to be free to use reels, markers, etc.

Dive lights and batteries are rapidly evolving for the better. Both HID and LED technologies are making rapid improvements in burn time and output. It is not unreasonable to imagine primary lights soon becoming the size of current backups.

BACKUP LIGHTS

Your two backup lights should be chosen with a view to attaching them to your chest D-rings and secured with bungee along the chest webbing for streamlining. If placed in a pocket, you/your team may not notice them if they accidentally switch on. A small dogclip should be attached to the end of the light with cave line or O-rings - no metal to metal attachments, which if entangled can spell disaster! - for clipping off when not in use. LED lights are becoming increasingly popular for their high performance in terms of output and relatively long burn time.

CUTTING DEVICES

A small (blunt-tipped) knife or Z-knife (needs to be checked regularly for rust) is required in the event line needs to be cut. For such an essential safety tool, we recommend two cutting devices, stored separately, should you lose or be unable to reach one of them. Waistband and pocket are two suitable choices.

SAFETY SPOOLS

Two safety spools with at least 100 feet (30 metres) of line is required and are stored in pockets.

PRIMARY REEL

Each dive team should bring one sidewinder primary reel (minimum length 300 feet / 90 metres).

JUMP/GAP SPOOLS

Cave diving in the Riviera Maya often involves complex navigational decisions. Ensure you bring enough spools (and no more) to complete your dive plan.

POCKETS

Thigh pockets (whether attached to the divesuit, strapped on or on neoprene shorts) are convenient locations for your accessory equipment. They should all be streamlined and provide easy access. Pockets should have internal D-rings and/or bungee cord for attaching your accessories.

DIVE PLAN SUPPORT

We suggest one wrist bottom timer (or computer in gauge mode), along with a backup timing and depth device. A compass is also required. We suggest attaching bottom timer and compass with rubber mounts and bungee cord, being much less bother than straps.

WETNOTES

While many divers use slates for dive planning, we recommend wetnotes, which allow for detailed dive planning as well as acting as a logbook, without the need to rewrite the details. No mechanical pencils!

EXPOSURE PROTECTION

While the water is a constant 77° F (25° C), cave training and diving can keep you in the water for extended periods, therefore we recommend a drysuit (Cave 1 training requires at least one dive in a drysuit) or at least a 5-7mm full wetsuit with a hood (for protection and securing long hair). No gloves are required since you should not be touching anything other than your equipment, your buddies and the guideline.

FINS

Cave diving finning techniques make split fins impractical and they are not permitted during training. Many cave divers use short, rubber fins (for example, Scubapro Jetfins or Turtle fins) with springs, for cave training rubber straps are not allowed. Freediving fins are not appropriate, since they are too long for cave diving.

MASK

Two low-profile masks are required, with fabric mask straps.

PERSONAL MARKERS

For training, 12 markers are required - 6 directional markers (line arrows) and 6 non-directional markers (cookies), attached on a bungee with dogclip.

GENERAL NOTES

Whether you are a trained cave diver or are signed up for cave diver training, feel free to contact us regarding purchases of new equipment or choosing the best equipment for the job.

The above guidelines are our recommendations for cave diving. The choices are our personal way of diving, are based on being a thinking diver and are consistent with UTD/DIR principles.

Please contact us for any information you may require.

Dive safely and have fun!

Ela Bertoni (UTD #37 & NSS-CDS # 363) and Adam Korytko (UTD #38 & NSS-CDS # 364)

CAVEHEAVEN

Puerto Aventuras, Riviera Maya, Mexico

http://caveheaven.com

info@caveheaven.com