Cave diving over a distance of 21 km!

On 27 August the team Cavemexico.com conducted a cave dive over a record distance (literally) of 21 km! The dive, which lasted just over 10 hours, took place in a sidemount configuration and using open circuits. The dive was of course led solo by Bartek BA, with Kay, Leo and Edwin as support.

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The entire immersion took place in the Dos Ojos cave system and followed the following sections: Kentucky Castle, Tikim Chi, Pit Princessa, LSD, Inch away and few jumps more in Pit and Tikim Chi section, Dos Ojos, Tac Be Ha, Mott Mott, Dos Palmas, High Voltage, Tapir’s End and Monolitho. The total distance covered was 21600m in 608 minutes and with a maximum depth of 18.5m.

During the traverse of the given distance 16 deposit cylinders with the following gases were used: air, EAN 32, EAN 44 and oxygen. Additionally, 8 diving scooters were used! Among the means of transport used during this record-breaking dive were: 3x UV 18, 2x UV Life 40, 2x UV 26 and 1x Viper.

Here are a few words from the silent hero, which he posted as a summary of his dive:

“Today was the last day of the summer training and of course I had to do something longer to practice all the elements I had worked on for 10 days. Unfortunately, due to ‘objective’ reasons, I chose a shorter variant, but it turned out quite well, as it was over 21 km.

I set up all the stages and scooters in the cave by myself and towing 4 scooters and depositing them during the final dive was the real finishing touch. The fact that I only had two powerful machines only added to the logistics.

I did most of the jumps (10) and navigated 11 intersections (T) on the fly which was quintessential cave diving. I added an extra section to explore before the dive itself to gather even more data for the system’s tic map.

I swam part of the distance (in the cenote Pit) with a fin not wanting to damage the delicate cave, which is incredibly beautiful in this area. It was a great experience, lots of underwater work and I learned a lot about my own body’s behaviour. A big thank you to my friends Kay, Leo and Edwin.

For now, the exercises are over and next year it’s time for real challenges. I will add to these dives depth, rebreather and it should come out something decent. In the meantime, the day after tomorrow is the next Cave Training. “May the Cave be with you…”

Dives during 2 weeks of training (DPV times):

1. 12.08 – 150′ 2 X DPV, 4 tanks (on board), 2 tanks deposit
2. 13.08 – 173′ 2 X DPV, 4 tanks (on board), 4 tank deposit
3. 14.08 – 204′ 2 X DPV, 4 tanks (on board), 5 tank deposit
4. 16.08 – 217′ 3 X DPV, 4 tanks (on board), 5 tank deposit
5. 17.08 – 222′ 2 X DPV, 4 tanks (on board), 5 tank deposit
6. 20.08 – 306′ 3 X DPV, 4 tanks (on board), 5 tank deposit
7. 22.08 – 149′ 2 X DPV, 4 tanks (on board), 5 tank deposit
8. 23.08 – 146′ 2 X DPV, 4 tanks (on board), 6 tank deposit
9. 27.08 – 608′ 4 X DPV, 4 tanks (on board) + 4 DPV deposited, 8 deposit

Source: cavemexico.com