05x04 - Cave Training in the Bahamas

[bunniefuu]

- [Announcer] This time on "Blue World,"

Jonathan heads to The
Bahamas to learn cave diving

from a world renowned cave explorer.

[upbeat music]

Meet Jonathan Berg,

one of the world's top underwater
nature cinematographers.

Traveling the world on assignment

for all the major networks,

he is an Emmy Award-winning authority

on the underwater world.

In freshwater or salt,
reefs, wrecks, or caves,

Jonathan documents the
world beneath the waves.

Welcome to the "Blue World."

[upbeat music]

- [Jonathan] I am deep in a cave,

blindfolded being spun around

to intentionally make me disoriented.

I'm completely lost,

and now I have to find
my way out of the cave

all by myself, blind.

[dramatic music]

I start off by tying a guideline
to a rock by feel alone.

[dramatic music]

Then I grope around in
the dark for a while

trying to find the main
line out of the cave.

Eventually I do find
the line, and I tie in.

Then I follow that line
towards the cave entrance.

You might be wondering what am I doing?

In the past few years,

I've become really
interested in cave diving,

so I thought it was time to
finally advance my dive training

to a full cave certification.

Full cave certification

is kind of like the black
belt of scuba diving.

It's not easy.

The training is intense,
designed to test your nerves

and your confidence.

It has to be because underwater caves

are extremely dangerous.

If you get lost and run
out of air, you will die.

The training is designed to
teach divers not to panic,

not to get lost and
never to run out of air.

So obviously, choosing the
right instructor is important.

That's why I contacted Brian Kakuk,

one of the world's most famous

and respected cave explorers,

known for his impressive
discoveries and passionate efforts

to protect some of the
world's most fragile

and vulnerable caves.

Caves are his passion,
but Brian also spent years

as a dive safety officer

working on big Hollywood film productions

like the Pirates of the
Caribbean movies and many others.

Brian agreed to accept me as a student,

but he wouldn't go easy on
me because I'm a TV guy.

In fact, photographers often
do the most damage to caves

with big, cumbersome cameras,

so I will have to work extra
hard to earn his approval.

Brian is based out of Abaco,
an island in The Bahamas

known in the cave diving community

as the home of the most
exquisitely decorated caves

in the world.

[dramatic music]

So my training begins with
a flight to the Bahamas,

and I have no idea what I'm in for.

Brian picks me up in his scuba van,

and it's off to his shop

to show me how to get some
of my new cave diving gear

set up.

The hardest thing for me will
be my new side mount gear.

Side mount diving is something
completely new to me.

- It's a lot easier to
do it with the cam band

than it is with the stainless band.

- [Jonathan] Cameraman Todd
is already cave certified,

but side mount diving
is new to him as well.

So Brian also helps set up his gear.

- We want this to end up
in the thorax right here.

- [Jonathan] Cave divers
need to wear two scuba tanks.

Side mount is a style of diving

where the diver wears the
scuba tanks on the sides

instead of the back.

Not only is it a lot more comfortable

than wearing both scuba
tanks on your back,

but it creates a lower profile

so you can fit through small restrictions.

Because the caves in Abaco
are filled with restrictions

and delicate formations, a lower profile

means less damage to the cave
and more places you can go.

[dramatic music]

But before I can start
diving, there's a lecture.

You're never too old to go back to school

and learn something new.

My progression from open water diver

to full cave diver will take
at least nine long 12-hour days

of instruction in both the
classroom and the water.

Otis has heard this one a million times.

- We talked a little bit about signaling.

Diver one, instead of
having to turn around

and ask everybody, are you okay?

He'll shine his light up here

and say, hey, are you guys okay?

Big circle on the wall
where everybody can see it.

- [Jonathan] Because using a
guideline is a critical skill,

we head out into the parking
lot for some dry practice.

- If you don't check your buoyancy first,

you're gonna be doing this,
pushing off, pushing off,

trying to get this undone,

and you're gonna keep
falling down or floating up.

So the first thing you do
when you find a tie off

is you come up to it,
hover, neutrally buoyant.

Now I can reach back, unclip
this and bring it forward.

- Okay.

- All right, so buoyancy first, always.

- [Jonathan] Buoyancy will become

a common theme in my class.

Cave divers must exhibit
near perfect buoyancy,

not only to keep from breaking
the formations in the cave,

but to keep from kicking up silt.

First, Brian runs a guideline
around an imaginary cave.

- What you're going to do
is first stop, buoyancy.

- [Jonathan] Then it's
time for me to learn

some guideline techniques.

- One, two.

- [Brian] Yeah, just like that.

- And then I'm gonna do one, two.

- [Brian] There you go.

- [Jonathan] But I'm not just learning

how to run a guideline.

I also have to learn how
to use it in an emergency

such as in the pitch darkness.

So I have to practice with my eyes closed.

- [Brian] You're moving forward,

go ahead and start doing that.

You really wanna keep
your head down, right,

and so you want that hand
to be the highest point.

- [Jonathan] You don't wanna
be whacking into anything.

- [Brian] Exactly right.

- [Jonathan] Back in the shop

we make a few last
minute gear adjustments,

then it's finally time to
head over to Dan's cave

for some in-water skills.

We load up Brian's big van full of gear.

Then it's off to the cave.

Dan's Cave is located
about 35 minutes south

of Brian's shop.

We drive a while and then turn
off down an old logging road.

We travel into the middle
of a huge pine forest.

Finally, we arrive at a small clearing.

Brian keeps the place
tidy, the grass mowed,

and has even built some small
structures to hang the gear.

For the ultimate in luxury,
he sets up an awning

to give us a little shade
from the hot Bahamian sun

as we put our gear together.

After years of anticipation,
I get my first glimpse

of the cave where I will be
doing 90% of my training:

Dan's Cave.

It's beautiful and peaceful and small.

It's hard to imagine
that this tiny opening

leads to miles of caves that
Brian has explored and mapped.

This little oasis attracts life.

Birds are chirping hundreds
of butterflies flit about,

and a curly tail lizard
watches us intently.

To a chorus of frogs, we carry
our tanks down to the water.

[frogs croaking]

With side mount, you don
your tanks in the water,

so we carry them down to the cave entrance

and place them for later.

[frogs croaking]

Preparing for our dive into Dan's cave,

Brian and I are suiting up for a dive

that should last at least two hours.

Since the water is only
around 75 degrees Fahrenheit,

a wetsuit is necessary to keep warm.

Then I don my side mount harness,

which is kind of like
the buoyancy compensator

I normally use, but there's
no tank strapped on the back.

In the water, I clip my tanks
to my harness, run my hoses,

check my gas, test my
regulators and inflator valve

and test my lights.

Helmets provide a convenient place

to mount a backup light or two

and provide some protection
from an accidental contact

with the cave ceiling.

When I'm ready, Brian and
I do a very careful check

of each other.

In cave diving, small equipment issues

can quickly turn into big problems,

so catching anything
small now is important.

- [Brian] Are we good to go?

- [Jonathan] Yes, we're good to go.

- [Brian] Okay.

- [Jonathan] Finally,
we're ready to submerge,

and I have to practice tying off our reel

in what is called the primary tie off.

Then we descend down into the cavern.

I continue to make tie offs
where Brian tells me to.

He's having me practice on
all kinds of different shapes.

[dramatic music]

Finally, we make the final tie
off called a terminal tie off

right next to the stop sign.

The stop sign signifies
the end of the cavern zone,

the part of the cave

where you can still see
light from the opening.

I can't go past this sign at
this stage of my training.

The first exercise I have to perform

is a simulation of a blind navigation

in an out of air situation.

I'm breathing from Brian's
long hose regulator

while following the
guideline with my eyes shut,

and he's using me as his
guide by holding my arm.

Then we switch positions,
and he's the one out of air.

Normally this would be done
with our lights off in the dark,

but we need light for Todd to film it,

so I have to promise to keep my eyes shut.

We navigate all the way
back to the entrance.

Doing it with my eyes
closed builds confidence

in the guideline system,

and it's my job to practice
retrieving the line

by spooling it back up.

[dramatic music]

Getting out of the water is
the opposite of getting in.

You take your tanks off
before you climb out.

[water bubbling]

That was super awesome.

We drag our gear out of the water

and haul it back up to the truck.

Cave diving is a lot of work,

but at least you never get seasick.

Soon we take apart our portable base camp

and head back to Brian's shop.

As the sun sets over Marsh
Harbor, I can rest a little,

but that was only day one.

I have another eight days
of training still to go.

Every morning my training
starts the same way.

Bright and early I'm back in the classroom

trying to remember a lot
of new terms, definitions,

rules, and tips as Brian
works his way through

from the basics to the
more advanced concepts,

and after the classroom session,

we analyze our tanks, load the van.

Finally, we're on our way again.

[engine rumbling]

At the cave site, Brian has
another exercise for me,

finding a lost guideline in the dark.

I have to promise to
keep my eyes shut again

as Brian spins me around.

So I don't know where the line is.

If I cheat, I'm only cheating myself

because I won't learn how this is done.

The first step is to tie off to something

so I can find where I started.

Keep in mind, my eyes are shut.

I have to do this by feel alone.

[Brian and Jonathan talking]

Then I pick a direction,

moving slowly while
sweeping my arm up and down

to try to catch the guideline
that will lead me to safety.

In my first attempt,
I'm going the wrong way.

- Well, I feel like I
might have gone too far

- [Jonathan] Since I've gone far enough

that I should have found the line by then,

I go back to the starting point
by reeling myself back in.

- I'm gonna come back.

- [Jonathan] Then using my hands

and the position of the line I tied,

I pick a new direction.

Success, I find the
guideline and tie my reel in.

Now I have to figure out which way is out.

- Okay, so this is tied in now.

- [Jonathan] Line arrows on the guideline.

Always point the way out of the cave.

- I don't know which way is
out in this particular case.

'cause you just made it up.

So I guess I'll just go this way

and I know I'm gonna find out.

- [Brian] Radar, radar, radar.

Use your, there you go.

- [Jonathan] I feel along
until I feel a line arrow

and figure out which way it's pointing.

- Yep, going the wrong way.

All right, the way out is this way.

- [Brian] Awesome.

- I swear I did not cheat.

I had my eyes shut.

- [Jonathan] Somehow I
have a sneaking suspicion

that I'm going to have to
do that again underwater.

With the lost line drill over with,

it's time to start putting
together our gear for the dives.

Once again, we huff our gear to the cave.

[water splashing]

[dramatic music]

Entering the cave for my
third day of training.

I finally get to go past the stop sign.

I'm now past the cavern
part of the training.

It's real cave time.

[dramatic music]

Brian has me lead for a while,

and just when I'm thinking this
is going to be an easy dive,

he springs another blind
out of air drill on me.

[dramatic music]

My training dives are not
all blind exercises though.

Throughout the course as I
progress from intro to cave diver

to apprentice cave diver,

and finally full cave diver,

Brian takes me and Todd to see the sights,

practice our side mount skills

and sometimes snake our way

through the Swiss cheese limestone.

Everywhere I look, Dan's
Cave is full of wonders.

Moving through crystal clear water,

we pass innumerable
extremely fragile formations

that took thousands of years to form.

[dramatic music]

In one room, a massive column,

like a huge candle

of dripping wax, but made of solid stone

deposited over thousands of years.

[dramatic music]

Dan's Cave is a treasure
trove of formations,

the likes of which I've never seen.

[dramatic music]

On one ceiling, the stalactites
are short and knobby.

[dramatic music]

Not far away, they're long
and smooth like icicles

formed of the purest white crystal.

[dramatic music]

In a large room, some 700
feet from the entrance,

a formation Brian calls Aristotle's head.

[dramatic music]

Further in, we enter a forest
of tall, slender columns.

Ever so gently, Todd and
I follow Brian through.

[dramatic music]

If I ever broke one of these
ancient beautiful formations,

I would never forgive myself.

We move gently and carefully
with absolute buoyancy control.

[dramatic music]

Brian has me navigate us into another room

where he shows me magnificent
drapery formations.

Made of stone deposited by dripping water,

this formation is so thin

that Brian can easily
shine his light through it.

It's as fragile as glass.

[dramatic music]

We head deeper into the cave.

[dramatic music]

We squeeze through a low section

that would not appeal to
anyone with claustrophobia,

but Brian wants to show
me something magnificent.

Under a crystal crust, a layer of red dust

tinted by iron ore,

something not found
naturally in The Bahamas.

Experts think this is Sahara desert dust

brought here on the wind
thousands of years ago

and washed into the caves by rain.

[dramatic music]

Even though we aren't
doing drills on this dive,

part of cave diving is just
learning to be comfortable

in a confined and fragile environment

while managing a lot of gear

and maintaining proper buoyancy.

In short, sightseeing is good practice.

Exploring Dan's Cave has been amazing,

but soon we reach our thirds.

One third of our air supply is gone.

It's time to turn around and head back.

On the way out, Brian spots a remipede,

a type of rare blind crustacean
that only lives in caves.

With its two large antennae,

this little guy is called
the hammerhead remipede.

We also find a blind Bahamian cave fish,

the super predator in the
cave, only a few inches long.

We pass the stop sign
back into the cavern zone,

and I can see the light
above from the opening.

We do a safety stop at 15
feet for three minutes,

just as we would in open water

to be sure nobody has any
decompression sickness issues.

And then it's back to the light of day.

- [Brian] We had to do
more lights out drill

where he has to follow the line by feel.

And then we kind of
stepped up the difficulty

by having an out of air
situation at the same time.

And then we stepped that up

to having to go through a tiny little hole

single file with zero lights,

and also sharing air too.

- [Jonathan] Honestly, it was fun,

but you know, I know that I'm with the guy

who knows the way out.

You know what I mean?

So I'm not too worried.

- [Brian] And you did
all the navigation coming

out on your own right?

- [Jonathan] We made it back to the sun.

- [Brian] You didn't make any wrong turns.

- [Jonathan] On the
last day of my training,

I have to take the final.

It's not just a multiple choice exam,

but in fact has mostly essay questions.

It's been a while since
I've taken an exam,

and this one takes three hours.

[dramatic music]

Just to make it even more nerve wracking,

Brian reads and grades it while I watch,

but fortunately he likes it, and.

- Congratulations.

- Yes, I'm a cave diver!

- [Jonathan] I pass.

I get my cave diving certification card.

Cave diving isn't for everyone.

It requires a lot of training to be safe

and a tolerance for claustrophobia.

But for the people

who choose to venture into
these remote underground worlds,

the rewards are immense.

My new cave training has opened my eyes

to new diving techniques

and paved the way for many
more future adventures.

You might just be seeing a
few more cave stories here

in the "Blue World."

[dramatic music]