TDI Cavern

Course Overview

TDI Cavern teaches certified divers the minimum knowledge and skills for diving in overhead environments while remaining within the limits of natural light. The official TDI page is clear that cavern training is not cave diving training. Instead, it introduces the planning, procedures, hazards, line work, communication, gas management, and environmental awareness and emergency exits needed to approach cavern dives with respect and control.

This course is suitable for certified divers who want to expand their diving techniques and begin an overhead-environment pathway. TDI lists minimum age 18, or 15 with parental consent, SDI Open Water Scuba Diver or equivalent certification, and proof of 25 logged dives as prerequisites. Students should already be comfortable with buoyancy and basic dive planning before adding guideline and low-visibility skills.

Training covers cavern policy, rule-of-thirds gas planning, equipment configuration, reels, light and hand signals, touch contact, anti-silting propulsion, line following with eyes open and closed, air sharing on a guideline, mask removal and replacement, conservation, emergency exits, and accident analysis. In High Springs, Florida, it is a natural introduction to the spring and cavern environment. Successful students should leave prepared for supervised, conservative cavern dives within TDI limits.