Fun video. I agree that it's more beautiful and less scary than I previously thought. Years ago I never thought I'd be a cave diver, but when I got more experienced I got to a point where I was comfortable sidemounting, got my buoyancy and propulsion under control and felt like I was ready. I got Full Cave certified two years ago by Kim Davidsson at Protec Tulum and have been back a number of times for more diving and training. It's addictive. Also visited Sardinia and the Lot in France. It's definitely a skill you need to keep practicing and an occasional refresher of the drills is wise, especially ones you don't commonly experience, like a zero-viz out-of-gas air-sharing exit. I think you will love the additional freedom that complex navigation provides, especially in Mexico's mazes, when you get to Full Cave. But there's plenty to explore yet. Many caves in France don't require complex navigation and can be explored just fine with Intro to Cave. Enjoy and greetings from The Netherlands.
Excellent work guys, and congratulations on your cave certs! Some very good points about building up some experience before tackling full-cave and also taking some time to get more comfortable before taking cameras and lights on a cave dive - I couldn't agree more! Looking forward to more Dive Saga cave content in future 😉
Great video as usual! I'm really looking forward to hearing everthing about this journey especially since I'm wanting to embark on the same journey to cave certification.
Great video- have 1000s of dives and never thought I would like cave diving - just got back from a Cenote dive and am really looking at training down there again- amazing experience
That is such a cool video, Nick! Big congratulations to you again. It was a pleasure and an honour to work with you and Gabiy and your certifications are well deserved. I am excited to see more of your journey and can't wait to cave dive with you again here in Mexico. Hasta pronto ❤
Split the course in half or even in three. I was unfortunately too overwhelmed by all the things I had to remember/perform, and of course, unlike all other outdoor activities, we unfortunately could not pause and clarify during execution
There are a couple of instructors here in Florida that offer a PADI Cave Diver Distinctive specialty. 🤣 It is full cave level only, and is offered as a secondary card with the primary being bring a more respective cave diving agency.
@@DiveSAGA I wouldn't be surprised, from what I understand they just refreshed their Tech/Rec courses. But they might find breaking into the cave community a harder nut to crack than OW tech. And they aren't exactly successful in OW Tech.
@@Teampegleg I actually just taught the revised Tec 40/45/50 and it's actually really good. But yes the common perception is not in their advantage. Their stance generally has always been to leave the highly specialized activities to the specialized agencies so we'll see if it happens!
@@DiveSAGA I was speaking more in total instructor count than quality of their courses. I can only think of one PADI OW Tech instructor. Which I know of at least a dozen IANTD and dozens of TDI instructors. And I agree, this is something that is better left up to more specialized agencies. Particularly when practices vary from area to area. Florida and Mexico have a lot of similarities since the Mexico community grew out of the Florida community. But you get major deviations once you start talking to European cave divers.
Nice! I did my full cave in Playa del Carmen and now live there to cave dive ❤
Fun video. I agree that it's more beautiful and less scary than I previously thought. Years ago I never thought I'd be a cave diver, but when I got more experienced I got to a point where I was comfortable sidemounting, got my buoyancy and propulsion under control and felt like I was ready. I got Full Cave certified two years ago by Kim Davidsson at Protec Tulum and have been back a number of times for more diving and training. It's addictive. Also visited Sardinia and the Lot in France.
It's definitely a skill you need to keep practicing and an occasional refresher of the drills is wise, especially ones you don't commonly experience, like a zero-viz out-of-gas air-sharing exit.
I think you will love the additional freedom that complex navigation provides, especially in Mexico's mazes, when you get to Full Cave. But there's plenty to explore yet. Many caves in France don't require complex navigation and can be explored just fine with Intro to Cave. Enjoy and greetings from The Netherlands.
Yes I agree with all the above. I'm happy I did it with my partner so we can refresh the skills together regularly!
great video (as always)...It's been on my list as number 1 for a while and planning to take intro to cave next year in Lot, France...
Thank you! Yeah you will definitely enjoy it. I know I did!
Julia and Tom. Great team. Amazing people.
@@marianoschaller9066 I agree!
Excellent work guys, and congratulations on your cave certs!
Some very good points about building up some experience before tackling full-cave and also taking some time to get more comfortable before taking cameras and lights on a cave dive - I couldn't agree more!
Looking forward to more Dive Saga cave content in future 😉
Thank you Tom! Trying to get back here in April or so and will definitely give you a heads up for a shoot!
Great video as usual! I'm really looking forward to hearing everthing about this journey especially since I'm wanting to embark on the same journey to cave certification.
Thank you! I highly recommend it to anyone who's ready for it!
Great video- have 1000s of dives and never thought I would like cave diving - just got back from a Cenote dive and am really looking at training down there again- amazing experience
@@MrCotoole once the bug bites you, you'll never look back! Enjoy your training!!!
That is such a cool video, Nick!
Big congratulations to you again. It was a pleasure and an honour to work with you and Gabiy and your certifications are well deserved. I am excited to see more of your journey and can't wait to cave dive with you again here in Mexico.
Hasta pronto ❤
Thank you Julia! It was a perfect course and we'll be back before you know it!
Awesome. Really cool. We are Florida Cave divers. I did Cavern down there years ago
@@buckyplayz1919 awesome! I still have to make my way to some of those famous Florida caves!
Nice video. Thanks for sharing your experience!
You're very welcome!
Great video as always! I did my intro to cave last year and looking forward to full cave soon.
I'm thinking of doing my full cave in Spain this year!
I totally agree to take it slow, it was a big mistake on my part to take the full path to cave diver in one take
Thank you for that insight! What would have done differently?
Split the course in half or even in three. I was unfortunately too overwhelmed by all the things I had to remember/perform, and of course, unlike all other outdoor activities, we unfortunately could not pause and clarify during execution
@@jeanlanglois7892 thank you again for sharing that. That definitely affirms my feelings about it all!
There are a couple of instructors here in Florida that offer a PADI Cave Diver Distinctive specialty. 🤣
It is full cave level only, and is offered as a secondary card with the primary being bring a more respective cave diving agency.
I think PADI is currently developing their own full cave certification but I'm not sure what the details are
@@DiveSAGA I wouldn't be surprised, from what I understand they just refreshed their Tech/Rec courses.
But they might find breaking into the cave community a harder nut to crack than OW tech. And they aren't exactly successful in OW Tech.
@@Teampegleg I actually just taught the revised Tec 40/45/50 and it's actually really good. But yes the common perception is not in their advantage. Their stance generally has always been to leave the highly specialized activities to the specialized agencies so we'll see if it happens!
@@DiveSAGA I was speaking more in total instructor count than quality of their courses. I can only think of one PADI OW Tech instructor. Which I know of at least a dozen IANTD and dozens of TDI instructors.
And I agree, this is something that is better left up to more specialized agencies. Particularly when practices vary from area to area. Florida and Mexico have a lot of similarities since the Mexico community grew out of the Florida community. But you get major deviations once you start talking to European cave divers.