Cave Diving Photos from Mexico

[boydski]

I just returned to the "not so sunny" Pacific Northwest after two weeks of Cave Diving in the Yucatan Peninsula.

I was very fortunate to be able to spend about half of my time there diving with Kim Davidsson, the chief explorer of Chan Hol and several other systems South of Tulum. Watching Kim negotiating super small and delicate restrictions in his side mount gear was amazing. It will definitely make you consider side mount diving (which I have not tried yet).

Despite some technical glitches (i.e. remote strobes that just don't want to work when you need them), I did manage to get a few good photos. I can't wait to get back down there:



Side Mount diver in the Sac Be Ha cave system.



Barbara J Dwyer in the Chan Hol Cave system.



Kim Davidsson negotiates a delicate restriction with side mount gear.



The very popular Mayan Water Pots at Chan Hol.

Kim found them on the floor, just inside the entry during his very first dive in Chan Hol.

[Dashrynn]

Absolutely stunning, this is a contributing teaser and motivating reminder to eventually get cave certified

[Jan K]

Scott, as always - superb photography -

[airsix]

Thanks for sharing, Scott! Glad you had a good trip. Pictures are fantastic!

[dieseldude]

You should give sidemount a shot. I love it. I dove my dubs again last weekend after several trips sidemount & the dubs were killing me. I'd like to get my hands on one of those helmets so I can mount some lights on my head. Very cool.
MJ

[limeyx]

Nice Scott !

[spatman]

awesome pictures, as always, scott.

[LCF]

Oh, Scott, you're such a meanie! My recent trip was just fading into memory enough so it wasn't torturing me on a daily basis . . . and now these beautiful pictures!

Chan Hol is one of my very favorite caves, although I was sad to see that the bones have been removed.

Oh, and sidemount . . . You DEFINITELY need to try it. Peter and I had a chance to swim a modified Nomad around in the cavern at Jackson Blue. It took about thirty whole seconds for me to decide that that was the most fun I had EVER had diving. The stability -- AND mobility -- are amazing, and it's more comfortable, too. We're currently doing research on exactly which system to adopt and how to go about it; once we have ours, you should come up and play with it in the pool. You'll be hooked!

[boydski]

Chan Hol is one of my very favorite caves, although I was sad to see that the bones have been removed.

Oh, and sidemount . . . You DEFINITELY need to try it.

Thanks Lynne, I definitely do need to try sidemount out. I was really amazed at how graceful the rig looked in the water. My back would sure thank me for not having to haul doubles through the jungle any more! I heard lots of good-natured debate between the sidemount divers on Razor vs Nomad. Now if they'd just make a buoyancy compensator for my camera!

I was sad to hear about the bones being removed from Chan Hol as well. I put some photos of the bones that I took a few years ago up on my web site (several people had asked about them). Apparently they were dated at about 10,000 years old and belonged to a young boy.

[LCF]

From the research I'm doing, it appears that the Razor system is really optimized for warm water and aluminum tanks, and for EXTREMELY small passage.

The Nomad has enough lift that you can use it for tech diving in cold water. The Oxycheq Recon does, too, but the Armadillo is only 30 lbs of lift. My plan for doing this is to avoid doubles altogether, as much as possible, so I'm interested in a rig I can use at home as well.

[boydski]

From the research I'm doing, it appears that the Razor system is really optimized for warm water and aluminum tanks, and for EXTREMELY small passage.

The Nomad has enough lift that you can use it for tech diving in cold water. The Oxycheq Recon does, too, but the Armadillo is only 30 lbs of lift. My plan for doing this is to avoid doubles altogether, as much as possible, so I'm interested in a rig I can use at home as well.

Thanks Lynne,

I heard the same thing about the Razor. Great for exploration, but no way to carry any extra weight (like a camera or stage bottles with you). Anyone local that is an expert at Sidemount diving?


Here are few more photos from this trip to Mexico:


Sunlight streaming into the Temple of Doom Cenote.



Speleothems in the Pit at Dos Ojos, just above the Hydrogen Sulfide Layer.


Hopefully, this one doesn't break the formatting on the web site:




Diver descending into The Pit at Dos Ojos.

One of the more interesting photos, that didn't really turn out was a lucky shot that I snapped just a diver jumped into the Temple of Doom Cenote (about a 10' leap with all of your gear). Not a great photo, but interesting.

[Waynne Fowler]

Dang Scott! I shoulda quit my job so I coulda went!!
Thanks for the photo's, sorta makes me feel better..... well... not really but keep em' comin' anyway

You have a great eye for taking some beautiful shots.

Though I've never dove a sidemount system yet, I've been investigating them for several years now and have had the pleasure of helping a couple people locally set up some SM kit's. The Nomad seems to be a really well rounded system that'll work here as well as in a tropical setting.
UTD just came out with a new rig called the Z-harness.

[LCF]

I looked at the Z-harness material on the website. As best I could puzzle things out, because you route the hoses into a "distribution block" which is in the most inaccessible place possible, you have no way to solve a leak in the hoses into the block except to disconnect both tanks from the thing. As a result, you have to have a second stage on each tank, in addition to the bungied backup and long hose. Although it might not make much difference in open water diving, you definitely wouldn't want those hoses and second stages on sidemount tanks in cave. And to me, the whole setup adds a bunch of failure points and negates one of the biggest pluses of sidemount, which is that everything that can leak is in front of you, where you can see and diagnose it.

I believe the trim device is fairly low lift, also.

[Nwbrewer]

I looked at the Z-harness material on the website. As best I could puzzle things out, because you route the hoses into a "distribution block" which is in the most inaccessible place possible, you have no way to solve a leak in the hoses into the block except to disconnect both tanks from the thing. As a result, you have to have a second stage on each tank, in addition to the bungied backup and long hose. Although it might not make much difference in open water diving, you definitely wouldn't want those hoses and second stages on sidemount tanks in cave. And to me, the whole setup adds a bunch of failure points and negates one of the biggest pluses of sidemount, which is that everything that can leak is in front of you, where you can see and diagnose it.

I believe the trim device is fairly low lift, also.

First of all, Scott those pictures are amazing and make me want to learn to cave dive. :angry:

On the SM thing, isn't the issue with the Z/razor one of what's currently available for lift? Once stripped down there doesn't seem to be all that much difference between any of the harness systems. It seems that all that's really needed is a creative solution for attaching a bladder with the desired amount of lift to the razor. Cold water amounts of weight can be carried on the vertical strap on your back, and a weight belt, or a DUI trim sustem, or can be threaded onto the shoulder straps like they do on the armadillo etc. Or is there something more fundamental that I'm missing?

Jake

[BDub]

A quick note about the Z Harness...

First, I have nothing to do with the equipment side of UTD. However, I was in San Diego at UTD HQ when the prototype was being developed. As it stands right now, the Z is simply for open water diving with aluminum cylinders. Actually, its primary purpose is to make monkey diving a bit safer, since typically we're scootering with a single al80 and a single first and second stage. It does allow the flexibility of adding a 2nd tank, etc etc etc.

Regardless, it is not a cave diving rig. My understanding is Ela and Adam at Cave Heaven are playing around with the configuration in Mexico to see if and how it can be incorporated into cave diving, but that is not its intended purpose.

Sorry for the hijack. Beautiful pictures as always, Scott! I was already excited to head back down there in February. This just makes the wait even worse!

[John Rawlings]

First off.....Scott! AMAZING photos! Congratulations on some really fine work, my friend!

....the Armadillo is only 30 lbs of lift.

While not a huge difference, the Armadillo is actually rated as having 34 lbs of lift according to Curt, the designer.

Based strictly on what I have observed, I really don't see the need for much more. In October I dived with Curt for a week up in Nootka Sound and he used his Armadillo with a pair of Bob Bailey's steel 119s. He had no problems maintaining his buoyancy underwater or on the surface, including our dive to the corals during which he added one of my AL 80 bail-out bottles to his load. He was also carrying his full camera and strobe system and had added two 5 pound weights to his Armadillo shoulder straps.

- John

[Nwbrewer]

My understanding is Ela and Adam at Cave Heaven are playing around with the configuration in Mexico to see if and how it can be incorporated into cave diving, but that is not its intended purpose.

Maybe like this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28qQzQ36sXc

[LCF]

Thanks, Brian. The video blog Andrew posted about the technical use of the Z-system does not make it at all clear that this is not intended for caves. My concerns about the need for four regulators are valid for open water, too, though, I think.

[CaptnJack]

Thanks, Brian. The video blog Andrew posted about the technical use of the Z-system does not make it at all clear that this is not intended for caves. My concerns about the need for four regulators are valid for open water, too, though, I think.

No its not clear at all that its "for" open water. I agree, 4 regs is a bit much.

On the SM thing, isn't the issue with the Z/razor one of what's currently available for lift? Once stripped down there doesn't seem to be all that much difference between any of the harness systems. It seems that all that's really needed is a creative solution for attaching a bladder with the desired amount of lift to the razor. Cold water amounts of weight can be carried on the vertical strap on your back, and a weight belt, or a DUI trim sustem, or can be threaded onto the shoulder straps like they do on the armadillo etc. Or is there something more fundamental that I'm missing?

Jake

Most sidemount divers subscribe to the conceptual concept that you can't lose all your gas. Which is true relative to backmounted doubles. So on a true sidemount rig OOA donation options are more restricted or complicated. e.g. you can't take off a steel 119 and pass it to your buddy but you only have one longer hose on one tank... You have to balance the gas you've breathed etc. Seems easy, until you're really stressed. There's a thread on TDS right now about (sidemounted) bailout gas, pretty sobering how lack of methodical and slow proceedures can trip people up.

The z-system with 2 tanks incorporates the simpler gas management and donation of manifolded doubles but gives up the true independence of sidemount in the process. I'm not sure I buy into that trade off but I'm not sure the one dive I need sidemount for is worth it either. Agree that 20lbs of lift is skimpy.

[boydski]

Most sidemount divers subscribe to the conceptual concept that you can't lose all your gas. Which is true relative to backmounted doubles. So on a true sidemount rig OOA donation options are more restricted or complicated. e.g. you can't take off a steel 119 and pass it to your buddy but you only have one longer hose on one tank... You have to balance the gas you've breathed etc. Seems easy, until you're really stressed. There's a thread on TDS right now about (sidemounted) bailout gas, pretty sobering how lack of methodical and slow proceedures can trip people up.

Since I was diving with several sidemount divers during the week, we always went over Out of Air procedures before the dive, and I was surprised at how different they were amongst the various sidemount divers. Some had 5' hoses, some had very short hoses. All of them indicated that if the "Fit really hit the Shan", they would actually donate the whole cylinder to you. With an Aluminum 80, that's probably feasible unless you're jammed into a restriction.

I did find it humorous that in a mixed team, my backmounted gas was always considered the "best choice" in an Out of Air Situation.

[BDub]

I haven't seen the video blog yet, nor have I really looked at the system since I left San Diego other than a couple of quick glances at the pictures in the Z Group, so I can't comment on that.

Admittedly, I'm not up to date on the harness, so my info may be dated.

My comment was simply to clarify that its original intent was for monkey diving, and if it were to work in cave diving, it'd be a ways down the road.

[spatman]

It seems that all that's really needed is a creative solution for attaching a bladder with the desired amount of lift to the razor.

maybe something like THIS.

[airsix]

maybe something like THIS.

Priceless. My eyes are welling up.

[LCF]

All of them indicated that if the "Fit really hit the Shan", they would actually donate the whole cylinder to you.

Interesting. I just finished Heinerth and Kakuk's book on sidemount, and throughout the book, the statement was made that donating an entire cylinder was a VERY bad idea, and that one should be configured so as not to need to do it. It may be somewhat tank-dependent, though; I think the book is considering the use of heavy steels as well as Al80s.

[boydski]

I just finished Heinerth and Kakuk's book on sidemount, and throughout the book, the statement was made that donating an entire cylinder was a VERY bad idea, and that one should be configured so as not to need to do it.

That sounds like a book I need to read!

I think the donating the cylinder idea was phrased as, "if all else fails, I can always donate one cylinder". I suppose its better than drowning, and going through restrictions sharing gas on a 2' hose is probably not very practical. Having a longer hose on one cylinder makes more sense.