Comment by phrotoma
I met a cave diver recently. Dude is retired now but ran a consultancy for decades through which he and his team would go in and map previously unexplored caves (or someone had died trying).
He was a chill guy but like ... he was just steely af. Can't imagine the nerve it takes to crawl around in those places. Gives me the willies!
My first cavern dive was with a VERY experienced cave cartographer (Yucatan Cenotes, https://www.filoariannadive.com/alex.html ). Cavern is where technically "you can see the light", but if you turn a corner and can't see the surface then it converts into "cave" diving.
For the rank amateur that I was, being able to turn around, orient myself and see a sliver of light ~100ft behind me... yeah, "technically a cavern dive".
I tried to do a "buddy check" w/ him before beginning the dive and he almost pushed me away... the stories of him diving with side-by-side tanks, then pushing each of them through a gap in front of him, one by one, and then wriggling his body through. :insert-shocked-emoji:
Always remember: "Are you a diver, or a dummy?" ...what would a DIVER do? [don't panic, fall back to your training] Good to have that sense of self an security in lots of cases!