France Tour March 2013


Participants: Benjamin, Anke, Manuel, Tobias, Wilke, Ike, Florian

 

And again France is calling...

France remains for Germany's cave divers simply the closest and best address to pursue this extraordinary hobby. Also this year, a mixture of Starnberg diving partners and Cavebase members set out to dive this very beautiful area extensively.

As always, at the beginning the challenging journey is on the program, 1300km with a 100 trailer is already a tough number. After 15h "official travel time" we arrived at our vacation home. Before that, however, we quickly paid a visit to the Ressel and the Landenouse, the last few days it had rained again and again and we absolutely wanted to check the conditions on the day of arrival. The flow in the Ressel was almost borderline from the outside, but we felt it would be worth a try. The Landenouse had a fairly high water level and would be a good alternative. The plan was in place: Ressel, dive the deep loop twice.

 

On the first day of diving we started at 6:30 a.m.; get up, have breakfast, pack the car and already at 8:00 a.m. Tobias and I were standing at the Ressel, completely unexpected - completely alone. After another hour, our equipment was already placed at the entrance. Each of us had the following with us:

  • Double 20 Frame mit RB80, 12/60
  • Bottom Stage 80cuft, 17/55
  • Deko 80cuft Stage, 35/35
  • Deko 80cuft Stage, 50/25
  • Deko 7L und 2x 40cuft Stages, 100%
  • Heating tank, 14 Ah
  • ADV42 Magnum Scooter
  • Bonex Discovery RS

Diving into the cave was a really hard number, at the exit the cave was blowing with a strong current unknown to me until then. It was impossible to dive into the cave with our equipment, our ADV42 scooters were not strong enough and so we decided to drive each part individually with the Discovery RS into the cave. Only after 60min. we arrived at the shaft and could put our 17/55.

Even in the shaft the current was clearly noticeable, honestly it was annoying, at every stop, at every stage change the current pulled scooter and stages with it and as a result again and again the equipment parts got wedged into each other in such a way that several minutes were necessary to re-sort.

Stupidly I had mounted on my bottom stage an Apeks regulator, which by its overcompensation on 70m water depth, with a penetration depth of approx. 1200m, brought the Rebreather to the uncontrolled blowing off, before I noticed it the stage was nearly empty, Tobias controlled the situation, but could not prevent the blowing off also further - at this time the reason for the blowing off was simply not clear to us, thus Rebreather taken out of operation, OC gone, thumbs up!

After about 5min OC breathing, the rebreather could be put back into service. On the D20 frame, which was now used as a bailout in rebreather operation, fortunately MK25 regulators are mounted, which keep their mean pressure constant. Thus, the rebreather was fully operational again and we could dive out as planned.

 

Unfortunately we could not dive the second deep loop after this problem, so we went with the current and "full throttle" again on the way home. After about 4h diving time we surfaced relieved but also a little annoyed.

 

Landenouse - until the "bitter" end

The second day was all about the Landenouse, in front of us was already a cave diving group from Frankfurt in the water, we watched their doings very excited and when the group descended we watered our equipment.

Tobi and I had planned to dive the Landenouse to the end on approx. 90m, with approx. 800m penetration depth. As equipment we had with us:

  • Double 20 Frame mit RB80, 12/60
  • Bottom Stage 80cuft, 12/60
  • Deko 80cuft Stage, 35/35
  • Deko 80cuft Stage, 50/25
  • Deko 7L und 2x 40cuft Stages, 100%
  • Heating tank, 14 Ah
  • Bonex Discovery RS

So in total a little less than the day before in the Ressel, the ride through the Landenouse was a dream, the visibility was not so good in the front area, but became better and better in the rear part. In places we could look safely over 6m far. The Landenouse is from the profile a very nice cave, not deep, nice curves, up and down's and all this with quite comfortable gear dimensions. So Tobi and I happily scootered to the end. In the rear part we were both forced to put our 12/60, the cave increases very rapidly in depth on the last meters, 88m were the maximum, except for a pebble fall, but there is not much to see.

The way back was just as relaxing as the way there, at 21m still quickly plugged in the heater and enjoyed the plump, external heat in 13 ° C "warm" water. After a little over 3 hours we arrived back at the surface. A nice dive.

 

Trou Madame

Always worth a trip, difficult to reach, but very easy and also very nice to dive. The water level was quite high, and so the otherwise dry passages could be easily dived over. The visibility was very, very good with 20m. The whole team had planned to dive here today. To reduce the number of equipment to be presented, we decided to present only 4 OC devices, 7 stages and a sidemount rebreather. Diving was done in two teams, team one with 4 people and team two with 3 people.

The following equipment we used:

  • Double 12, OC
  • Bottom Stage 80cuft, EAN30
  • Side Mount pSCR (Wilke)

Compared to the two previous days so a very pleasant dive, despite the slight current we reached after 40min. the 500m mark and decided to start the way back, after another 26min. we were already back at the entrance, a small indication of how strongly the current here influenced our fin propulsion.

Team two dived a little longer and after everything went according to plan, we put the equipment back in our vehicles and drove to the barbecue in our apartment.

 

Ressel the 2.

The current in the Ressel had subsided in the meantime, so Tobias and I were faced with the choice of either diving the bivouac hall or the deep loop again. We decided for the deep loop - but this time with two circumnavigations. Equipment-wise we had the same as on our first, failed attempt. This time everything went according to plan. All Apeks regulators were banned from the deeper gases and so the rebreather worked as usual. After 5h the dive was over and the impressions of the back corridors still had a long lasting effect, a very nice dive with really interesting rock formations.

Ressel the 3.

Tobias decided to take a day off, his ears threatened to get infected and we don't want to endanger our last dive. I took the opportunity to shoot UW photos of Ike, Benjamin and Anke. Manuel and Florian decided to dive the deep loop, so everyone pitched in and helped them with the hauling. In the evening there was extensive discussion of what we had experienced - a relaxed, if at times slightly rainy day.

 

St. Saveur

Bivouac Hall or St. Saveur? Tobias and I decided to dive the St. Saveur. Tobias didn't know everything behind the obstruction and so it was a new, unknown cave for both of us - and a bit more exciting than the bivouac hall. The plan was to pass the obstruction, scout the back part and if possible reach the 100 mark. Our equipment for this dive consisted of:

  • Double 20 Frame mit RB80, 12/60
  • Bottom Stage 80cuft, 12/60
  • Deko 80cuft Stage, 35/35
  • Deko 80cuft Stage, 50/25
  • Deko 7L und 2x 40cuft Stages, 100%
  • Heating tank, 14 Ah
  • Bonex Discovery RS
  • Suex XK1 (Backup on Tobias)

The entrance area became a challenge again due to the strong current, as with the Ressel we were forced to transport each part individually into the cave and that with a really impressive current. In addition, the entrance area with a D20 frame becomes a restrcition and only after several attempts we could leave this part of the cave behind us.

The dive was really impressive. The cave drops quickly to over 70m, then rises again, offers a small but unproblematic restrcition with a collapse and then drops again rapidly to 80m.

The line situation is very tidy until shortly after the fall. From 80m on, however, a small chaos begins, crossing lines upwards, downwards, sideways, lying on the ground. Almost everywhere lie old and orphaned line remnants. So it was not surprising that we did not discover the deep crevice at first, only after the second attempt we followed the right lines to a really impressive crevice down to more than 100m water depth.

Our plan to dive to 100m consequently worked out, to be honest we were both annoyed that we only had a 12/60 with us, but with this gas we had already exhausted the range at 100m. So without further ado we turned around at 100.0m water depth and dived the same way back.

After a little over 5 hours of diving, this impression was already over, satisfied and exhausted, we put our equipment in the trailer together with Benjamin and Anke and went on our way home. In the vacation apartment the food was already prepared and the week of diving came to an end with a wonderful barbecue feast.


In this sense,

Your Cavebase

 

Gallery