Hi DUI,
Here is a photo of me going over the Goat Track in South Australia’s Tank Cave. This has been a double culmination of efforts in both drysuits and the cave training needed to be allowed to get to this place.
Firstly, this is my first DUI, but my third drysuit. I have found it nearly impossible to buy something off the shelf that would fit me nicely, so after two failed attempts with cheaper drysuits, it was time to buy what I had always wanted – a TLS350 Signature Series. I had a clover leaf added, cordura butt pad, CF200 knee pads and Halcyon relief valve fitted in the DUI factory. I’ve dived it in Southern China caves and many times here in Australia and found it so much easier to vent the gas and maintain proper trim – no more floaty feet. The RockBoots were a little tight for my Jetfins, so I replaced them with some Converse basketball shoes and they work well with the neoprene socks. I am very happy with my DUI drysuit and the service from the guys at Dolphin Scuba in Sacramento has been second to none.
Tank Cave is Australia’s largest and most complex cave with over 10km of diveable passage and over 7km of permanent cave line. To dive it, one must complete four courses with the CDAA (Cave Divers Association of Australia) and then hold the advanced cave certification for 12 months and dive multiple tight and difficult cave sites before being allowed to enter Tank Cave. This takes somewhere from 3 to 10 years depending on how active people are in making the 1300km round-trip interstate just to get to the limestone coast. Once you are allowed into Tank Cave, there are six different levels of Tank Cave experience that you must reach and over 30 dives before being allowed to go to the Goat Track. I was fortunate enough to be taken to the Goat Track by the National Director of the CDAA – Warrick McDonald on the day I finished my final levels and he took this picture of me in the normally very silty and difficult to traverse passage called the Goat Track. In my new TLS350, I was able to keep my body position exactly where I wanted it and stay out of the silt and off the roof. Accolades go to the team at DUI for making my suit fit me first time – perfectly!
More information on Australian Cave Diving can be found at www.cavedivers.com.au
Warm regards,
Jason Caldwell
Melbourne Australia
