cave diving Mexico - cenote Chan Hol 2020 03 07

One of the most beautiful cenote in Tulum Area.
Situated at private garden, small entrance give an access to an amazing maze of tunnels with brilliant decoration and crystal clear water.

[@PH_INFO_101]

Thanks Daniel. To me, the structure looks kinda unique. A middle ground of "Temple of Doom" and "Nohoch". Not sure, but I think they changed the name of the "Temple of Doom". As you know, it has been many years since I have been in the Yucatan and haven't a clue to current events & conditions regarding cave diving.
Watching your videos sparks some great memories for me and brings a couple questions & thoughts for your consideration.
1) Have you had the experience of diving "Temple of Doom"
2) I liked the ending of the video when you named each extraordinary explorer by name
3) Four people is the largest group I have been a part of for a cave dive, and that was challenging. I can't imagine the intricacy & teamwork for an 8 person team.
4) I got my official Cave Diving certification in 1987 through the NACD. I adopted the standard dive setup of back mounted doubles utilizing a twin tank manifold that connected the air capacity of both tanks for convenience. At that time, no one was using side-mount setups and I am assuming the side-mount setup was born out of the double back-mount with two stage bottle setup.
5) I share the following experience specifically for Gabka & Honza (assuming they are using a double manifold with the center valve open) but everyone should take note. By 1989 I had logged 120 cave dives and considered myself well trained & prepared to deal with the worst of incidents (my mindset, regarding tank setup, would be changed after a 5 minute incident). Compared to the real pioneers of the Yucatan Cave Diving Explorers, I was a nobody but for some reason I had the incredible privilege of doing several cave dives with Jim Coke, "pioneer extraordinaire".
Back in the day, it was common practice to install double burst discs allowing over-filling 80CF Alum cylinders to 3,500-4,000 psi without issue.
The breathing equipment I swore by was USD first stages with Oceanic Omega Second stages
The day in question, we started our dive excursion as any normal day. We were planning a long dive at Naharon to the recently discovered connection point to Mayan Blue. I had been experiencing a second stage free flow issue for some time prior to entering the Naharon Cenote. Shortly after entering the main portion of the cave I noticed that my 2nd stage low pressure hose was about 6" in diameter just before it exploded. I experiencing a catastrophic 1st stage failure, which I had never considered, let alone heard of. As I was shutting off the center valve of my tank manifold, I could see Jim patiently waiting to render aid, so I never reached the panic point. Within 5 seconds I realized the issue and shut off the manifold valve that connected my two 80 CF tanks. The entire incident took less than 80 seconds to resolve and when all was done I had 800psi remaining in one tank, 0psi in the other. Needless to say, I looked at Jim, gave him the thumbs up and we exited the cave. In hindsight, I should have recognized the problem long before it happened but I was chalking it up to the over-filling issue rather than a first stage failure.
All this said, I adjusted my setup to independent doubles, along with the difficult decision to dump the USD regulators I trusted my life to since 1978 and upgrading first stage regs to Oceanic.
Thanks for letting me share and relive the old days. Blessings and safe adventures to all.

[@jasperjenkins7729]

Looks fun UNTIL it turns into a narrow tunnel. That's when I would panic. And we know how deadly panic is....
BIG BALLS.
Not for beginners that's for sure. 🎯

[@DanielKafkaCZ]

yup, only for cave-trained divers indeed. But so beautiful. :)