I love (and cave dive) Tulum

After Playa, Tulum is about to sign a strategic water bill, a lot is still to be done. Please do not be skeptical, please avoid all-inclusive hotels (some of the worst environmental offenders). Support Tulum, the world capital of recreational cave diving, otherwise this will be another paradise lost. Reduce, recycle, reuse - PLEASE!

The key to the Yucatan peninsula is its aquifer ... we need to raise the level of awareness, avoid plastic bottles (bring your AL canteen, I will fill it for free!), I will give you reusable carrier bags for your shopping ...

We are not masters of the Earth, please have the humility to accept that - no prayers stop a hurricane or a volcanic eruption, the Earth does not fear us, but WE need to survive on the only planet that supports us! This is not a conservative/liberal debate, simple reality.

Please contact me regarding any tips you have for helping the general situation here!

hasta luego amigos,

Adam 

UTD OHP - Overhead Protocols training in San Diego, May 2013

Hi guys,

I have dates available for 2 consecutive 3-day UTD Overhead Protocols classes which will take place at UTD Headquarters in San Diego, California from 11-16 May 2013.

The UTD Overhead Protocols course is a mandatory prerequisite to UTD’s Wreck 1 and Cave 1 classes, and acts as Part 1 of any overhead environment course. As there are so many skills and techniques common to both wreck and cave diving, the Overhead Protocols class presents the student with the foundational skills that are necessary to be a safe, thinking diver in any overhead environment.

This three-day class takes place in non overhead environment (open or confined water), generally at depths of 30’/10m or less, and introduces the student to line-laying, line retrieval, no-visibility line following, touch contact communication and skills, critical skills while no-visibility line following, lost line, lost buddy and lost light. Once these skills are learned, the class introduces a series of simulated failures while on the line: out of air situations, valve failures, etc. These are tested to a level similar to that of  Tech 2 skills, but complicated by the necessity of staying on a line and simulating the need to navigate back to open water.

Completion of this class qualifies a diver to move on to UTD Wreck 1 or UTD Cave 1, each of which is another three-day class that takes place in the actual overhead environment. If a student wishes to complete both Wreck 1 and Cave 1, he/she will not need to repeat the Overhead Protocols class, eliminating the repetition of the line skills. Both Wreck 1 and Cave 1 contain a complete review of line procedures in case there is a time gap between the Overhead Protocols class and Wreck 1 or Cave 1.

Prerequisites

• Must be a minimum age of 18 years
• Must have a minimum of 75 dives beyond open water qualification
• UTD Rescue and Emergencies Procedures or equivalent
• Must be able to swim at least 300 yards/275 meters in less than 12 minutes without stopping
• Must be able to swim a distance of at least 60 feet/18 meters on a breath hold
• DAN Membership and Insurance or equivalent

Duration

The UTD Overhead Protocols class is normally conducted over a 3-day period.  It involves a minimum of 24 hours of instruction, encompassing both classroom and in-water work.

Course Limits

• General training limits as outlined in Section 1.6 of UTD S&P
• Maximum depth 60 feet/18 meters
• No overhead environments
• No decompression

Texts

• Online Classroom – Overhead Protocols
• Gas Planning Worksheet
• Essentials of Overhead Diver DVD is recommended

Academic Topics

• UTD organization, limits of training, and course completion requirements
• Reel and guideline use
• Dive team order and protocols
• Touch contact
• Use of safety spools and reels
• Basic navigation skills

Land Drills & Topics

• UTD equipment configuration
• Reel and guideline use in standard operating procedures
• Team order and protocols
• All equipment failures
• Use of safety spools/reels
• Reel and guideline use in emergency procedures, including touch contact and air-sharing techniques
• Lost diver procedures
• Lost guideline procedures
• Basic navigation skills
• Visual referencing skills

Required Dive Skills & Drills

• Pre-dive planning to include:
  • Assess and review diving limitations
  • Dive plan review
  • Equipment review
  • Equipment familiarization
• Navigation, to include:
  • Visual reference
  • Guideline and Markers use
  • Limited and simulated zero visibility
• Procedures for gas failures; including valve manipulation, air-sharing, and regulator switching (as appropriate), included but not limited to Zero visibility scenarios
• Demonstrate proficiency in safe diving techniques, including pre-dive preparations, in-water activity, and post-dive assessment.
• Air-sharing scenarios to include:
  • Breath hold management
  • Out of air diver
  • Air-sharing of at least 200 feet/60 meters
• Use of various propulsion techniques according to environment (silt, high flow, delicate)
• Use of touch contact for limited and simulated zero visibility situations.
• Use of line following techniques for limited/no visibility experiences.
• Demonstrate the efficient deployment of a reserve light in less than 30 seconds.
• Demonstrate excellent buoyancy control skills.
• Perform a Lost Diver drill while remaining calm and maintaining a horizontal attitude and neutral posture.
• Perform a Lost Line drill while remaining calm and maintaining a horizontal attitude and neutral posture.
• Demonstrate effective valve-management by switching regulators, shutting down a valve ,and then returning the valve to the open position.
• Demonstrate proficiency with guideline management in the following situations:
  • Simulated zero visibility line following; this would incorporate touch-contact skills
  • Efficient deployment of the guideline while following international protocol
  • Efficient removal of the guideline
• Resolving line entanglement scenarios

Equipment Requirements

• Tanks/Cylinders: Students are required to use dual tanks/cylinders connected with dual outlet isolator manifold, which allows the use of two first stages.
• Regulators: Two first-stages, each supplying a single second stage. One of the second stages must be on a 7-foot/2-meter hose. One of the first stages must supply a pressure gauge and provide inflation for a dry suit (where applicable).
• Buoyancy Compensator: Back-mounted wings, mated with a harness and back plate.
• At least one depth-measuring device.
• One timekeeping devices.
• Compass
• Mask and fins: fins must be of the non-split variety. Back up mask required.
• At least one cutting device.
• Wet Notes with u/w pencil
• One spool with 100 feet/ 30 meters of line, per diver.
• One primary reel per team, with a minimum of 300 feet/90 meters of line.
• Three lights: one primary and two secondary.
• Exposure suit appropriate for the duration of exposure.

Dates are 11-13 and 14-16 May 2013. Maximum 3 students per class.

Cost: USD 850 per student - includes instructor training fee, tanks, pool rental. Not included: gas fills, instructor travel and accommodation expenses (indicatively, USD 150 per student).

Please contact me at adam@caveheaven.com for further details and/or queries.

dive safely, Adam

Adam's Foundational IDC

Hi,

I am just back from UTD HQ in San Diego, having successfully completed my UTD Foundational Instructor Trainer path.

Adam, Wang Yuan and Jeff

This was an awesome learning experience - a first internship in September 2012 with Jeff Seckendorf leading the IDC, me auditing the process and understanding how things were done. Then a co-teach in San Diego earlier this year, again under the guidance of Jeff and AG, putting into practice teaching how to teach. Finally, last week, I ran the show just about alone, with a great instructor candidate, Wang Yuan from Hong Kong, who cave trained with Caveheaven last year.

It was an exhausting yet exhilarating four days, involving lectures, dry runs, pool sessions, open water dives, briefings, debriefings ... a huge learning curve for all involved! Many thanks to AG and Jeff for their support and guidance during the whole process.

Now, I am proud to be a UTD Foundational Instructor Trainer and I look forward to developing future instructor candidates from all corners of the world in the Riviera Maya in the UTD/DIR/Hogarthian way of teaching. Caveheaven is the first and only UTD Professional Development Facility in Latin America.

For further information on UTD Instructor Development Courses, cave diver training in the world center of cave diving or improving your diving skills in general, at whatever level, please contact me at adam@caveheaven.com.

dive safely and have fun,

Adam

New Caveheaven T-shirts

In preparation for the winter cave diving season, we have made a new T-shirt!

The first thing that jumps to the eye is the new Tulum logo on the lower rear of the shirt, celebrating 2012 - the end of the current Mayan calendar. Many thanks to Daniele Pasqualino for digitizing the graphics!




The "in your face" front logo seemed to be much appreciated on our original model, so we have brought this back, with a larger "reach beyond, reach within" script below it.

Last, but not least, we have added a tricolor "Mexico" script on the left arm.

Available in navy blue (more colors to follow) and in sizes S-M-L-XL.


We hope you enjoy these as much as you have our previous models. Dive safely and hasta luego en Tulum, Adam.

Caveheaven Tulum accommodation and diving

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.

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

Dive safely, hasta luego, Adam

Cave Heaven Tulum diver packages

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

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

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

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

Rebreather conference Ponza Island Italy , October 2011

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?

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

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!

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!!!!

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

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!

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

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

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