Cave diving with Martyn Farr - part 2

...continued from part 1

We finished off the day’s lectures at the Old Rectory Country Hotel, located just a few hundred metres away from Martyn’s home. I was looking forward to supping a few pints of Guinness and celebrating my birthday, but this wasn’t to be – cave diving is a serious business, and by the time Martyn had finished re-emphasising the morning’s presentations, it was past 10pm and time for bed. I had booked a room in the hotel, so at least I wouldn’t have to crawl too far.

We had chosen the perfect spring weekend, with clear blue skies and sunshine. But it didn’t really matter to us. Day two of the course is spent deep inside the Dinas Silica mine (Silica is a pure form of sandstone used to make fire bricks for lining furnaces). Martyn had joked about a long walk to the entrance, but I wasn’t sure whether he was being serious. Next morning I realised he was being deadly serious. Dinas Rock is an awesome site for climbing and abseiling, but having to hike up and over carrying full diving equipment was a scary moment. At least it was dry. It would have been a complete nightmare trudging through mud and clambering over slippery rocks in the rain. I had been stuck behind a desk for far too long and was totally unprepared for any intense aerobic activity.

Martyn said: “Cave diving keeps me fit” and now I could understand why! Most of the caves and mines are located some way off the beaten track. Craig was full of energy and literally ran up and down in record time, Mike struggled and I almost died. Martyn was jumping around taking photographs while I was nearly having a cardiac arrest. Then I found out that Helen was carrying most of Martyn’s dive kit, cheeky so-and-so! I asked Helen if any other divers had problems with the walk, but she couldn’t recall anything in particular, which made me feel even more embarrassed and inadequate. We climbed over a fence and entered the mine. It felt like jumping off a sunbed and walking straight into a freezer.

One moment I was hot and sweaty and the next I was chilled to the bone. There was no sound whatsoever, no dripping water or chirping birds, just total stillness. We kitted up at the mine entrance and then disappeared into the all-consuming blackness. My watch thermometer only registered 6°C, but Martyn assured me it was definitely 8°C. Either way, it definitely felt cold. Our hot breath was coming out in steam clouds. Drysuits, gloves and warm thermals are essential. We took it in turns to lay the guideline and tie off Snoopy loops along the way. Luckily, there were a few rocks and some old tram lines lying on the bottom to use as tie points. Although having the helmet lights meant I had both hands free, it was difficult not to blind Mike and Craig when I looked in their direction. On the way back we had to turn off all our lights and just use the guideline to get out. This is a real mind-blowing scenario. Pitch black, cocooned in solid rock with no direct access to the surface and just a guide line leading the way to safety – definitely not everyone’s cup of tea.

The mine itself is a maze of shafts, horizontal passageways and different levels. For training purposes we spent all of our time on the upper level at 6m. Martyn said it dropped to around 20m at its deepest point. Underwater visibility averaged 20 metres, but we were all stirring up the bottom with our fins. On a good day it could be more than 30 metres. Our second dive took us in the opposite direction. We came across an old tram which was the only distinctive feature I had seen. Martyn begrudgingly allowed me some time to fire off a few photographs before ending the dive. Photography is not normally allowed during training. By the time I had transported all my kit up and over Mount Snowdon back to the car park, I was totally knackered, but relieved that I had survived the ordeal/training course in one piece. At least it had been a memorable birthday.

The Cavern course showed me the bare bones of cave-diving ethics and gear requirements. Craig lapped up the course and has already signed up for an Intro Cave. Mike really enjoyed himself but won’t be going any further. As for me, I had a great experience and would definitely use some of the training skills that I learnt on future wreck-penetration dives. It’s a shame there had been no time to explore or just get used to being inside the mine, but this course is designed as a ‘taster’ and you get more of this on the Intro Cave Diver course. I will also be visiting my local gym for some serious cardio workouts!

Sport Diver verdict
Extreme diving. Not everyone’s cup of tea. Martyn is definitely the most experienced instructor for this type of training