Cenote Cave Diving - A Fully Narrated Cave Dive
Вставка
- Опубліковано 14 чер 2022
- Today's cenote cave dive is fully narrated. I've had a lot of people ask me about cave diving, cenotes, and it's a pretty interesting activity. Likewise, when I was considering taking this up I didn't see anything like this.
In this video I run through the basics, explain what we're doing, thinking, and you're going to see some pretty cool stuff, including some typical challenges. Please know that this is not an everything you need to know video, nor am I trying to instruct. This is just me diving and talking about things that I'm frequently asked.
As always, I'd love to hear what you think, any ideas you have, and any questions. Thank you for watching
If you'd like to show me some love and buy me a coffee, head here:
ko-fi.com/meridacavediver
Want to dive with me or learn? Check out:
meridacavediver.com/
I'm also on Instagram as @meridacavediver and Facebook as Media Cave Diver
Disclaimer - Please, please, please do not do what I / we do if you are not properly trained. It's enticing and looks simple, I get it. But things can go wrong very quickly. Please be safe and dive responsibly, within your limits and training.
I am a certified Dive Master for both Recreational and Technical diving as well as Tech Deep through PADI and TDI.
Want to become a cave diver? I'm not an instructor, but I do dive with a very good local shop, and I highly recommend them. Plus, more than likely I'll be around :)
#shortfilm #showcase #national #geographic #natgeo #animals #wildlife #science #explore #discover #survival #nature #culture #documentary #showcase #shortfilms #filmmakers #wildlifefilms #films #underwater #cavediving #exciting #adventure #travel #risk #scuba #experience #hobbies #danger #cold #freezing #dark #unexplored #exploration #video #youtube #scubadiving #cenote #cavediver #caveexploring #tecdiver #diveinstructor #spelunking
This is stunning and so informative. Brilliant! Beginners should watch this. Im very impressed!
Ah thanks, good to see you back!
Thank you so much for this information
Hi Ivory, I’m glad you enjoyed it.
If you're curious "deco" came in around 34 min.
The jump you did with the silt reminds me of a cave we dove here in the DR called "La Picina". We did pretty good and didn't silt it up much. 42 meters max depth. In a tighter spot I put my hand down and sank past halfway up my forearm and never hit bottom! Fun dive.
Yeah it really is amazing how misleading silt can be. Even when I was first starting I was thinking that visibility could never be "that" bad 🤣
@@meridacavediver I came to the end of the line the other week. It looked like it could go farther. I put a jump line as we do. Nice and clear. It started getting tight and then choked. I turned and socked out! At one point I couldn't even see the reel as I reeled back. Life line! 😁
Thanks mate. Very helpfull❤
I’m really glad you enjoyed it, thank you for taking the time to comment.
Great video and appreciate your narration.
Hey there, thank you very much. I'm working on my first episode for my new season which is also a narration and I'm stuck in my head. I appreciate you taking the time to comment.
Awesome content. Thank you so much for your videos.
Well thank you very much for watching it! This video really took a long time to make, so it means a lot to me, to see people appreciating it. Thank you.
Excellent material! Well done WHILE filming!
Thank you Johann, I appreciate you watching
@@meridacavediver Very atmospheric material. I like watching after my dives. Keep Going!
Excellent video 👍
Really glad you liked it, thank you for taking the time to comment.
Very cool.
Hey Lucas, thank you for that. I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Fantastic video!!
Thanks very much, I appreciate the note.
This is brilliant, thanks a lot for sharing ❤
Well thank you very much. I have a new surprise coming out in January, that is along the lines of this but much more in detail. I’m filming for it now, I hope you like it.
@@meridacavediver looking forward to it!
I like the filming without any cuts. The way my ANDP class went is need to do that on trimix for the narcosis. It would mess with me with the navigation I think, but judging by the shortie wetsuit it was way more comfortable temps.
How did you have you GoPro and video lights rigged for this shoot? Keep em coming.
Hi Caleb, thanks very much. The temps in the water here are always 26C or 80F but the cold will kick in after about 2 hours for me. Narcosis is real and it impacts people in different ways but I would recommend always staying within your limits. Navigation is a challenge but if you follow cave diving practices such as leaving markers etc, it’s not as bad as you would think.
@@meridacavediver besides line markers I think for myself progressive penetration is my best option. I can always come back to a cave someday if I didn’t see it all.
That silt is crazy, you were doing amazing kicks and still silting. Is there any flow?
That’s a great question. No flow. I can’t speak for all the cenote caves in Mexico but all of the ones I have been in so far have not had any flow, or at least that I’ve detected.
What gas mixes did you use, were both sidemount tanks the same gas. How much helium did you use? Mod of your gas?
Thanks for sharing this awesome video👌
Hey William, this dive was four tanks total. The two sidemount tanks were just normal air or 21% O2, and the two deco tanks were 50% NITROX, and 99% O2. On this dive there was no helium. On my Scooter Gang video I do run a trim is but we’re down at 60 - 65 m and I think on that day I was running 16% O2 24%He.
@@meridacavediver Do you use a rebreather or stick to OC? I'm not a cave diver but I am CCR diver. I really enjoyed this video and the technical narration you did. Maybe someday I'll get full cave certified... where did you get certified?
@@williamsweet7511 Hey William, now that's a very timely question. I was actually researching rebreathers recently. All of the dives I do are open circuit and sidemount configuration. When I looked at the CCR stuff I was a little concerned with task overload so right now I think I will stay OC. But, you can totally do caving in a CCR config and I know a lot of divers that do it. I got certified at Dive Yucatan here in Merida, and Fernando in this video was actually my instructor. With Dive Yucatan I did the full path for caving and the Tech Deep courses due to the depth of the caves here. Today's dive really would have been great with a CCR - 6 tanks, scooter, and we still didn't get to the unexplored area. Let me know if I can help you in any way. Ask me anything.
Stunning footage and I really enjoyed the narration. I was however a little puzzled by the gas choice of air at 55m depth in a cave. Could you elaborate on that choice? Most of what I’ve learned would indicate helium at much shallower depths especially with the added risk of an overhead environment. Is there no helium available? Is it because of the helium prices? Do you just find it to be an acceptable level of risk? What do you consider the maximum END for these caves?
Hey Steiner, what a GREAT question! Everything you have learned is right. There are a few different nuances here but letter of the law you are 100% correct. Here are the additional factors that went into our decision.
1. The nature of the dives here are quite up and down, so 55 was max depth but it was not sustained for any real length of time. I believe max depth was hit at the end of the first run. I’d have to check my dive computer but I think average depth was 29. This cenote has different cave entrances so I’d have to dig through some stuff to find the exact dive.
2. Narcosis is an interesting beast. If I get off a plane after a few months away, and dive to 45m I will be narc’d out of my mind. If I’ve been in Mexico for a few months and on average dive to depth about 3 times a week, I don’t seem to feel anything until about 57m BUT (and this is very important) I make a conscious note to realize that I am probably narc’d just not feeling the full impacts. I don’t want to call it tolerance because I don’t want to be dismissive, it’s very important.
3. I did have a pretty serious narc situation once and it was both frightening and in a way educational. There are many different reactions someone can have. Mine was half of my brain freaking out with un ease and a feeling like I need to get out. The other half of my brain was calmly explaining what was happening, and the options. It wasn’t fun by any means but it did give me a level of comfort that I will react in a positive way…. Although that sounds really odd to type.
I do wat to be very clear here though. I’m not advocating or encouraging air at depth nor at depths past the recommendations, I’m just explaining that dive and that day. There are many dives I do on trimix, even if the time at depth is minimal. For example, anything at 60 or deeper, regardless of time in Mexico and “tolerance”.
Oh, you asked about helium. It wasn’t really a factor for this dive but yes, I do have access to helium and yeah the price is substantially higher. My decision though was not based off of cost.
What do you mean on your last question, maximum end? Depth vs air choice, deepest caves in my area?
@@meridacavediver Thank you for a detailed answer. Sorry for being unclear, I was referring to the Equivalent Narcotic Depth, in other words what would be your limit without helium. I got my answer when you said your absolute limit is 60m on air. I am not cave trained yet, but that would be well outside my comfort level in OW. In any case I appreciate your response, even if the gas choice still seems a little risky to me.
@@stonewebs1 I think you said it perfectly with “to me”. It’s a slippery slope when you get to personal opinion. I’m actually a very conservative diver IF you compare me to the divers I’m surrounded by daily… but maybe compared to others I would be more risk tolerant? That’s an interesting question. I think for me a lot of it is gut feel. Day 1 off the plane and you’ll find me around 40m doing easy cave dives to get back into my rhythm. 3 months in averaging 3 to 5 dives a week and you’ll see that my depth range and the dives I will do are far more complex. How often do you dive? How many dives do you have? What’s your experience level? I would be very curious to learn about you and your experience as you become certified. Either way, you can’t go wrong with the guidelines though. I think the other side of the discussion and I had this conversation with a student yesterday is the difference between fear and confidence. We were doing open water stuff but she was asking me about caving and I thought she asked some great questions. As you get into caving, you shouldn’t do any dive that scares you… you should do dives where your gut tells you that you have the right training, the right skills, and the right level of competence. In my opinion of course. I say this because as you dive you want to have the confidence that if a situation arises you can handle it. Putting yourself in a fear based dive then with a situation would be bad ju ju. For example I went into cave diving never wanting to do restrictions… now I love them 😂 Let me know if I can be of assistance in any way or ask me any questions you like. I will always give you my honest thoughts.
@@meridacavediver I'm a relatively inexperienced recreational diver, with only about 70 dives, mostly in cold and murky water in Norway. I've had some bad experience with narcosis even at 30m here, so I'll stay conservative. Planning on pursuing tech dive training here before I go to Mexico (I hope) for cave training. Safe diving!
@@stonewebs1 Awesome man! I think you're doing the right thing because you're paying attention to it. 70 dives is an accomplishment. Mexico has some GREAT cave training schools. I am familiar with Under The Jungle and Protec over on the Playa and Tulum side. Here in Merida I dive with Diving Yucatan. Good luck to you!
Amazing video!
What torch are you using? Looks great
Hey there, I’m using the OrcaTorch D630. I’m glad you enjoyed it.
@@meridacavediverOne of my favorite UA-cam videos, not just cave diving videos. Who is Fernando? Is he your regular dive buddy? Is he just someone you hooked up with at the dive site? Or is he a paid underwater guide? He is so polished, and Im sure you are as well. Its as if he dives this cave daily …
@@spaceman8839 Well if this is your favorite I think you're going to like what I have coming. I've been taking a bit of a break from videos but I have a lot of new tricks and toys 😂 Fernando is my good friend, primary dive partner and used to be my instructor. He is very good, and he also owns a local shop that I dive with and sometimes for exclusively. Diving here in Merida is a bit of a small community and a lot of us know each other. Fernando and I will typically do the more challenging complex dives and there are a couple others that we trust enough to join us. On other dives, the group I go with will be different or bigger and it's generally the complexity of the dive that dictates who I go with. Often, I will solo caves but that's a different story. On this particular dive, I wanted to go with Fernando for exactly what you mentioned... he's polished and I wanted to film someone who would demonstrate the proper techniques. One funny bit of trivia is that I'm in his videos lol... This day, believe it or not was a new cave for me but in a very familiar cenote. I had been here many times but had no idea this cave even existed.
@@meridacavediver Kickass! whats Fernandos channel?
Does Gus and Woody know about this video? I would love to see their reactions...
@@spaceman8839 I don't think they do, I'm not very good at promoting myself 😃 This is Fernando's store channel. I'm in some of his reality show episodes. www.youtube.com/@DivingYucatan