Fun & Training Camp Week Lot 2019

Team: Marc, Heinke, Max, Steffen K., Zeljka, Marcel, Mats, Olli, Steffen B., Aline

21.09.-28.09.2019

After the Cavebase is happy about a lot of fresh wind through new candidates, the idea came up to combine the fun with the useful with a stay in the French Lot. First of all we wanted to combine fun with exciting and complex dives in a team. Furthermore we wanted to harmonize and increase our cave diving skills. For this purpose we wanted to deal with different topics and goals for a whole week. According to the motto: "After the project is before the project! 

Topics were first of all basic things like labeling and rigging of stages in the cavebase, CCR Predive checklist and general procedures in the team. In addition, the personally dived range of the caves known by us should be significantly expanded. With the handling of the newly gained habitat, more procedures were added to build, use and operate. As the icing on the cake, we used the dives to try out various experiences from other exploration projects for the team and thus, for example, to enable modern procedures in deco for the benefit of safety during long exploration dives in the future. 

After a long journey on Saturday for all team members until late in the evening, the first thing to do on Sunday morning was to have breakfast together. At this breakfast we started with theory and exciting discussions. Afterwards, everyone prepared for a first dive in the Emergence du Ressel, which was to be dived in 2 phases. On the first dive of this week the support teams wanted to have a look at the 60m area with the scooter. Our push team Max and Oli planned to dive to the deep shaft at 83m. For the support teams this dive was supposed to be a preparation for the deep loop. The push team planned to dive to the bivouac hall around the middle of the week. In the pouring rain, we set up the equipment for the cave. The support divers also got ready to bring depots for the push team into the cave. The teams started one after the other. In the deep area all divers were rewarded with crystal clear water. With dive times of 2-4.5 hours all members finished their dives successfully. In the light of the lamps we put away the material and drove back to the accommodation. 

In the run-up to the week we were already carried to the current good visibility in the Gouffre de Cabouy. Reason enough to include the cave in our planning, as this condition is not very common. In addition, it also fit into our increasing training profile and to raise our scooter distance & time to over two km one-way. Due to the depth and dive times to the next dives it only required one stagedepot by the support team and so the formed teams were able to super realize their individually set goals. Marc, Marcel, Mats and Steffen B. planned to dive to the end of Sump 1, and there to deposit scooter and gas for the push team. On the way back we practiced a few exercises like towing a diver with a broken scooter. Near the exit the team of four was met by Steffen K. and Heinke. They had thought about some training scenarios for the others and so suddenly our solenoids were stuck in open or closed position and we had to cope without diluent or oxygen. After the training session Steffen K. and Heinke also dived a little bit into the Cabouy. Max and Olli the end of S1 after 2km was not enough and so they made their way to the entry of S3. Challenges during the 5.5 hour trip was the transport of CCR, Bailout and Scooter over the non-diveable sections and the overcoming of the partly narrow dry passages.

Due to the currently very good visibility, the dimensions of the corridors in S1 could be seen for the first time. In the middle part after S1 to emergence S2 these corridors became larger and larger and ended in a huge cathedral before S3. This huge hall was so big that these could not be illuminated at once. Totally amazed by the dimensions of the Cabouy, the Push team made their way back in time to arrive at the rest of the team on time as planned. There they were surprised with a pizza, and could share the gained impressions. 

For the 3rd day, the teams separated to be able to individually address the topics of UW cave photography and sidemount diving. Today we just wanted to relax with a relatively easy dive to give the last days more gas.

Sidemount diving is a means to an end at Cavebase and so Max and Olli headed for the Source de Marchepied. This cave is characterized by a longer restriction, which can only be dived comfortably with a sidemount system. Turning around is not possible here and they have to continue diving until the passage opens again. Once there, they were rewarded with sensationally clear water. The distance of the beam of the lamp was only limited by the cave profile.

The rest of the team wanted to dive Resurgance de Trou Madame that day. This cave was previously unknown to many members and, with its shallow water depth, offers an ideal mecca for long extended cave dives. After parking all four vehicles, the team set out on foot to explore the entrance. Unfortunately, they found out that the water level was very shallow due to the long drought and they had to climb over 100m into the cave first. There was no real motivation in the whole team to transport all the material here and so it was decided to move the dive to the Source de Landenouse.

Here the new stairs could be used, what can we say: "pure luxury".

3 teams were formed. Marc and Steffen B. explored the cave with the scooter, Marcel and Mats grabbed the photo equipment and tried out a few settings with discarded lamps in the cave. Unfortunately, the Landenouse did not have the ideal conditions that day and was very milky especially in the entrance area. The 3rd team consisted of Heinke and Zeljka. They also set out on foot. That evening, the whole team managed to be back at the accommodation once in daylight and to fire up the grill. 

Recovered from the previous day, the Ressel was on the agenda again for the 4th day. After a detailed dive briefing within the group, three dive teams crystallized. The push team planned to go to the bivouac hall. The dive was planned with a total of 6 hours from descent to ascent in the Cele. Team 2 was the deep loop team Heinke, Marc, Marcel, Mats and Steffen B. Here a scooter dive through the deep loop was planned. During this dive additional support for Max and Olli should be done. Two decompression gases O2 and TMX50/25 as well as two times each TMX30/30 and TMX18/45 and backup scooters were deposited. The dive was scheduled for 3-3.5 hours by the deep loop team.

The third team was formed by Steffen and Zeljka as a support team for Max and Olli to take off material on the deco.

First team 2 prepared and equipped themselves with the material of team 1 as well as the self needed material of gases and scooters. The plan was to scoot moderately in the flat area and to increase the speed a bit in the deep area in order not to collect too much deco. At the agreed depot points the gases were deposited accordingly. To the astonishment of the whole team the whole dive went very relaxed and fast and so the team was back after 130 minutes.

Thanks to the good assistance of the deep loop team, Max and Olli were able to cover most of the deep passage much more relaxed and faster as the bivouac hall team. The Ressel shone with fantastic visibility from 40m and very wide corridors, so that most of the time could be scooted side by side. Only shaft 7 up to the Hasenmeyer shaft had to be dived one after the other again. Up to shaft 7 the line situation was fine, after that there were partly several main lines or line pillars. In the Hasenmeyer shaft, the two sat out the resulting deco in order to finally arrive at the bivouac hall via the route towards LAC T, along the METRO, via the chicane.

After checking the CO2 situation, they took off the equipment and then, sitting at the entry of S4, they made further plans inside the Ressel and intensively explored the dry passage.

With this enthusiasm, they headed back towards the exit, enjoying the Ressel to the fullest. They also collected the deep gases again. Unfortunately, team 3 missed the right time to take the material from team 1 and so everyone was amazed when team 1 showed up fully loaded in the Cele. So the third team could then do a leisurely dive up to the shaft.

When in the late afternoon the other dive groups at the Ressel were mostly gone, Steffen B. and Heinke went again to the first T. to test the setup of the new habitat at the existing anchor points. After a good 30 minutes, Habitat 1a was in place in the right aisle. When releasing the air from the habitat, the team unfortunately found out that the hose used was too small and so it took 1.5 hours until the habitat was empty again and could be disassembled. So of course it was already dark night until the action was over. 

The next day was to be all about triple digits, for this there were two teams. Team 150m and Team 100m. The whole thing was to be combined with an already existing habitat in the Source de Saint Sauveur. In the morning a part of the team drove by Olivier. He told us that the old habitat has not been in the cave pool for 3 years. When the whole team arrived at St Sauveur, they found that the current conditions for the project were absolutely modest. The pool was completely covered with duckweed and the visibility was anything but tingling, according to divers coming out up to 70m. Nevertheless we sent a small scout-OC-team consisting of Zeljka and Olli into the water to make an own evaluation for a possible construction of our habitat.

Visibility and anchorages made us leave the St Sauveur again and we headed our car convoy to the nearby Fontaine de Saint Georges.

Here everyone set up their equipment and jumped into the water in several teams. Unfortunately Marcel and Mats had to skip the dive due to technical problems. While putting down the O2 bailout bottle, Olli noticed the torn main line in the source pot. After this was repaired we could start the dive. At the beginning still cloudy visibility made the ST. GEORGES opened after about 100m and the somewhat different structure compared to the other surrounding caves could be marveled at.

On the last day the team went for a little fun dive to the Source du Cunhac (Ressel 2). Here Max, Olli and Steffen dived with Scooter to the end of the line. While Marcel, Zeljka and Mats dived on foot and equipped with camera, unfortunately the visibility for this was not perfect.

Since this week a big goal was to expand the training with the new habitat, we drove in the afternoon again to the Ressel. Here we had the great luck that only one group of divers was still there, because we did not want to disturb the other diving groups with the habitat. So Marcel and Steffen B. accompanied by Mats at the camera went to the first T to set up the habitat. After 30 minutes Max and Olli followed as "Habitat testers". At this point, the habitat only had to be finally aligned and filled with gas.

Afterwards the entry with equipment into the habitat was tried first. In the second attempt Steffen and Marcel took off the divers' equipment outside the habitat and Max and Olli entered OC. There the two of them started to test medical measures and further possibilities in the habitat. At the end of the day they had to climb back into the rebreathers and then dismantle the habitat. All in all it was a three hour dive and as usual everybody came out of the cave in the dark of the night.

Totally exhausted from the week but still in high spirits, the team celebrated the last evening, with delicious French cold drinks and barbecue. The next morning was the journey home.

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