Category: Blog

Stage Rigging

Posted on | by matt

Stage Rigging

 

We get asked a lot about stage rigging, both for open circuit decompression, for cave stages and for CCR bailout. There are three main schools

 

Traditional

 

Stage rigging kit, top boltsnap on the shoulder of the cylinder, lower boltsnap on jubilee band, all boltsnaps attached by cord. Cylinder is quick and easy to remove, hand off etc, but a PITA for positioning, hangs like a clanging bell, or floats, often at 90 degrees to body. Not our preferred way.

Image shows typical traditionally rigged position

 

 

Sidemount Style

 

So a traditionally valved cylinder, but rigged with the top boltsnap on a bungee choker, bottom boltsnap on bungee through a jubilee clip, no handle. This allows, if top to bottom boltsnap distances are correct, a tension that stabilises the cylinder and lets it sit much straighter.

 

Image shows typical traditionally rigged position on divers right, sidemount style on left

 

 

Fully Sidemounted

 

A modular valve with an extension post is used on the cylinder and a bungee looped rigged to the divers backplate/harness. The allows a proper sidemount style mounting and gives a very streamlined position along the side of the body.

Image shows full sidemount position

 

The various cylinders below show different rigging, all to be used on the same dive. It’s all practically fully interchangeable, especially if you use a safety loop on a full sidemount style so a double ender can be used as top clip in the event of a handoff to a non sidemount loop equipped diver.

 

 

 

We are very used to all styles as different environments and the availability of different kit when we travel doesn’t always allow for a purist approach. Good and well educated divers can make any of these work for them.

 

Get in touch to let us help you choose and configure your stage set-up to your preferred and most appropriate way.

 

Matt

Matt Jevon, M.Sc. F.IoD is a Full Expedition level Trimix and Cave instructor on OC and CCR with TDI and ANDI. He is the JJ-CCR and Divesoft Liberty Sidemount instructor and dealer for Ireland. Matt’s personal diving has included cave exploration in the Philippines, wreck projects in Croatia and Ireland as well as being one of the inaugural dirty dozen in Truk! Matt has held accreditations as an interdisciplinary sports scientist, sports psychologist with BASES and was a British Olympic Registered Strength and Conditioning Coach and invitee on the Olympic Psychology Advisory Group. Matt works in high performance business as a board advisor and non-exec, high performance sport and is a partner in South West Technical Diving in Ireland. www.swt.ie and writes the Facebook page Psychological Skills for Diving

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

#tdidivecentre #andifacility #Apekstechnicalcentre #caveinstructor #jjccrfactoryservicecentre #JJCCR  #ANDI #nolimitsexploration #cavediving #Apeks #divesoft #sidemountccr #southwestech #nautilus #othree90ninety  #divemorepostless #xdeep #TDI #technicaldiving #scaleolights #rebreathers #seacraft #kubidrygloves #sidemountessentialsinstructor #sidemountccr #libertyccr #jjccr_official #wedontsellwhatwedontdive #nobubbles #diving #deepdive #techdiving #technicaldiving #ccrdiver #underwater #trimix #wreckdiver #cavediver

 

 

Stage Rigging

 

We get asked a lot about stage rigging, both for open circuit decompression, for cave stages and for CCR bailout. There are three main schools

 

Traditional

 

Stage rigging kit, top boltsnap on the shoulder of the cylinder, lower boltsnap on jubilee band, all boltsnaps attached by cord. Cylinder is quick and easy to remove, hand off etc, but a PITA for positioning, hangs like a clanging bell, or floats, often at 90 degrees to body. Not our preferred way.

Image shows typical traditionally rigged position

 

 

Sidemount Style

 

So a traditionally valved cylinder, but rigged with the top boltsnap on a bungee choker, bottom boltsnap on bungee through a jubilee clip, no handle. This allows, if top to bottom boltsnap distances are correct, a tension that stabilises the cylinder and lets it sit much straighter.

 

Image shows typical traditionally rigged position on divers right, sidemount style on left

 

 

Fully Sidemounted

 

A modular valve with an extension post is used on the cylinder and a bungee looped rigged to the divers backplate/harness. The allows a proper sidemount style mounting and gives a very streamlined position along the side of the body.

Image shows full sidemount position

 

The various cylinders below show different rigging, all to be used on the same dive. It’s all practically fully interchangeable, especially if you use a safety loop on a full sidemount style so a double ender can be used as top clip in the event of a handoff to a non sidemount loop equipped diver.

 

 

 

We are very used to all styles as different environments and the availability of different kit when we travel doesn’t always allow for a purist approach. Good and well educated divers can make any of these work for them.

 

Get in touch to let us help you choose and configure your stage set-up to your preferred and most appropriate way.

 

Matt

Matt Jevon, M.Sc. F.IoD is a Full Expedition level Trimix and Cave instructor on OC and CCR with TDI and ANDI. He is the JJ-CCR and Divesoft Liberty Sidemount instructor and dealer for Ireland. Matt’s personal diving has included cave exploration in the Philippines, wreck projects in Croatia and Ireland as well as being one of the inaugural dirty dozen in Truk! Matt has held accreditations as an interdisciplinary sports scientist, sports psychologist with BASES and was a British Olympic Registered Strength and Conditioning Coach and invitee on the Olympic Psychology Advisory Group. Matt works in high performance business as a board advisor and non-exec, high performance sport and is a partner in South West Technical Diving in Ireland. www.swt.ie and writes the Facebook page Psychological Skills for Diving

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

#tdidivecentre #andifacility #Apekstechnicalcentre #caveinstructor #jjccrfactoryservicecentre #JJCCR  #ANDI #nolimitsexploration #cavediving #Apeks #divesoft #sidemountccr #southwestech #nautilus #othree90ninety  #divemorepostless #xdeep #TDI #technicaldiving #scaleolights #rebreathers #seacraft #kubidrygloves #sidemountessentialsinstructor #sidemountccr #libertyccr #jjccr_official #wedontsellwhatwedontdive #nobubbles #diving #deepdive #techdiving #technicaldiving #ccrdiver #underwater #trimix #wreckdiver #cavediver

 

 

Stage Rigging

 

We get asked a lot about stage rigging, both for open circuit decompression, for cave stages and for CCR bailout. There are three main schools

 

Traditional

 

Stage rigging kit, top boltsnap on the shoulder of the cylinder, lower boltsnap on jubilee band, all boltsnaps attached by cord. Cylinder is quick and easy to remove, hand off etc, but a PITA for positioning, hangs like a clanging bell, or floats, often at 90 degrees to body. Not our preferred way.

Image shows typical traditionally rigged position

 

 

Sidemount Style

 

So a traditionally valved cylinder, but rigged with the top boltsnap on a bungee choker, bottom boltsnap on bungee through a jubilee clip, no handle. This allows, if top to bottom boltsnap distances are correct, a tension that stabilises the cylinder and lets it sit much straighter.

 

Image shows typical traditionally rigged position on divers right, sidemount style on left

 

 

Fully Sidemounted

 

A modular valve with an extension post is used on the cylinder and a bungee looped rigged to the divers backplate/harness. The allows a proper sidemount style mounting and gives a very streamlined position along the side of the body.

Image shows full sidemount position

 

The various cylinders below show different rigging, all to be used on the same dive. It’s all practically fully interchangeable, especially if you use a safety loop on a full sidemount style so a double ender can be used as top clip in the event of a handoff to a non sidemount loop equipped diver.

 

 

 

We are very used to all styles as different environments and the availability of different kit when we travel doesn’t always allow for a purist approach. Good and well educated divers can make any of these work for them.

 

Get in touch to let us help you choose and configure your stage set-up to your preferred and most appropriate way.

 

Matt

Matt Jevon, M.Sc. F.IoD is a Full Expedition level Trimix and Cave instructor on OC and CCR with TDI and ANDI. He is the JJ-CCR and Divesoft Liberty Sidemount instructor and dealer for Ireland. Matt’s personal diving has included cave exploration in the Philippines, wreck projects in Croatia and Ireland as well as being one of the inaugural dirty dozen in Truk! Matt has held accreditations as an interdisciplinary sports scientist, sports psychologist with BASES and was a British Olympic Registered Strength and Conditioning Coach and invitee on the Olympic Psychology Advisory Group. Matt works in high performance business as a board advisor and non-exec, high performance sport and is a partner in South West Technical Diving in Ireland. www.swt.ie and writes the Facebook page Psychological Skills for Diving

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

#tdidivecentre #andifacility #Apekstechnicalcentre #caveinstructor #jjccrfactoryservicecentre #JJCCR  #ANDI #nolimitsexploration #cavediving #Apeks #divesoft #sidemountccr #southwestech #nautilus #othree90ninety  #divemorepostless #xdeep #TDI #technicaldiving #scaleolights #rebreathers #seacraft #kubidrygloves #sidemountessentialsinstructor #sidemountccr #libertyccr #jjccr_official #wedontsellwhatwedontdive #nobubbles #diving #deepdive #techdiving #technicaldiving #ccrdiver #underwater #trimix #wreckdiver #cavediver

 

Rental Gear Sale

Posted on | by matt

TECH CENTRE EX RENTAL EQUIPMENT FOR SALE

 

As a specialist technical centre we are obsessive about our gear. It’s properly looked after, serviced by us as an Apeks Technical Centre, JJ-CCR Factory Service Centre, Seacraft DPV Service Centre and more. We replace our rental stock regularly. Here is this year’s list. These are not ebay or consumer second hand goods prices. Everything we sell is serviced, inspected and fit for use on 100m+ diving.

All of this kit will be replaced by new in our rental stock so if you miss out – PM next year.

#tdidivecentre #andifacility #Apekstechnicalcentre #caveinstructor #jjccrfactoryservicecentre #JJCCR  #ANDI #nolimitsexploration #cavediving #Apeks #divesoft #sidemountccr #southwestech #nautilus #othree90ninety  #divemorepostless #xdeep #TDI #technicaldiving #scaleolights #rebreathers #seacraft #kubidrygloves #sidemountessentialsinstructor #sidemountccr #libertyccr #jjccr_official #wedontsellwhatwedontdive #nobubbles #diving #deepdive #techdiving #technicaldiving #ccrdiver #underwater #trimix #wreckdiver #cavediver

Step Up or Step Across – from Rec to Tech

Posted on | by matt

Step up or Step Across? The leap from recreational to technical diving

 

Most dive agencies lay out a ladder type pathway for dive development, showing each course as a step up, building on the last. Then you reach the top of the ladder, Master Scuba this or Leading that… At this point continuation of your dive training appears to be further upwards, into professional qualifications (Dive Master / Leading diver) or perhaps into technical qualifications, cave, open circuit or rebreather. Both are presented as upward steps. Looks better on the marketing and appeals to people’s sense of status. I really wish we could stop doing that.

Rather let’s look on each of those pathways as separate roads, all a bit windy and in places, touching or connecting. For example, open water Sidemount. Doesn’t need to be technical, or another example. SAC rates and gas planning, should be the same across all pro/rec/tech pathways. Even buoyancy trim and propulsion should touch more closely.

 

Now before we start I’m not a trim nazi who insists that all of you have to be flat and frog kicking. As long as you are safe in the recreational diving ranges and HAVING FUN, no problem. Yes, you will enjoy your dive more if you can hold good trim, use non silting, non-environment disturbing and efficient propulsion techniques and be like a fish for buoyancy. But you don’t have to. Not if your diving is safe and fun. Not if your ‘style’ does not impact negatively on others. Please enjoy.

The challenge occurs when you want to explore a different pathway. How close you are and how big a leap it will be onto the alternate will depend on your jumping off point. For most recreational divers, the leap across into technical is, at the first level, quite a big jump. If you do it correctly (I’m avoiding ‘Doing it right’ for a reason) and instil a solid foundation at that point for your future technical development then moving from what you’ve been taught recreationally to technical will be challenging. A good tech instructor will be honest about this and should not box tick you through an intro to tech or entry level tech course just to sell you on the next levels.

 

Changes

Let look at the main changes from recreational to technical

 

  1. Buoyancy: There are a number of issues here but primarily the standard of buoyancy control needs to be much higher for tech than rec. 30cm up or down and stable and unmoving in a hover is a good starting standard. Later for trimix and cave you can raise the bar. What affects it
    1. Existing buoyancy management.
      1. Over reliance on lungs, common in recreational divers who compensate for not having a feel for using the bcd and / or wing to give a solid platform.
      2. Using a drysuit for buoyancy. I know this is common in recreational diving, mainly so it’s easier to manage the buoyancy, although the effect on balance and trim is poor. Using a drysuit for buoyancy is easier if you are feet down all the time, not something used in tech. Just enough air in the suit to stay warm and not be squeezed.
  • Use the BCD/wing. Correctly weighted the use of the wing/bladder is minimal anyway, at least till 10m plus. In a good bcd or wing you hang under a balanced aircell, so much nicer and easier once used to it.
  1. Tech approaches to buoyancy management
    1. Much less use of lungs
    2. Much more use of wing/bcd
  • No use of suit for buoyancy, maybe a bit of air (feet area or upper back) to help with trim

 

  1. Trim
    1. Recreational 45 degree standard. Look, it works. It’s a bit sea horse in nature and not ideal, but why learn to drive like a racing driver if you are only going for a stroll.
      1. It will use more gas (bigger cross sectional resistance through the water)
      2. It will make you swim upwards meaning you have to compensate with lungs to keep a constant depth – so up and down
  • It’s not a good position for efficient circulation so offgassing is compromised, but in shallow no stop diving, not a big deal.
  1. Technical, Flat trim, skydiver position, feet high is normal. This is often one of the hardest transitions to make for recreational divers. 20-25 degrees up from their habituated 45 degrees feels flat, actual flat trim feels like they are head down. Its beneficial though
    1. All kicks are made clear of the bottom, meaning minimal disturbance
    2. You have a small cross sectional area so less resistance, easier movement through water with less effort, better gas consumption
  • Off gassing and circulation does not have to fight gravity
  1. It is more balanced and kicks drive you forward only, not upwards making precise buoyancy control easier.
  1. Propulsion
    1. Classic flutter kick (with or without split fins!). Lets be honest, it works. It does disturb the ground under you – and above you but you will get where you want to go. Its hard work though, especially if not flat. Now imagine carrying 2 or 3 times the number of cylinders, two or three reels/torches and wetnotes, extra cutters, extra computer/timer and efficient propulsion becomes suddenly critical
    2. Frog kick, easy enough and most get this quickly, keeps feet high and does not disturb fragile or silty environments if used carefully
    3. Modified Frog, Shuffle, Modified flutter – useful but does take extra time to learn, not really adding value to recreational divers.
    4. Back kick – this is one I do think everyone should learn but it does mean the split fin market will die….. However to back off a reef or delicate object without touching it, to hold position on a student or team mate or simply to have full control, it is worth the time to develop. Not hard once you know how.
    5. Helicopter turn. Very useful for bubble checks which should I feel be added to a recreational divers toolkit / standard procedures.

 

  1. Equipment Load
    1. This is one of the big differences, even just putting on a twinset and stage are a massive added weight in and out of the water and can feel quite unsettling for the first dive or two. The trick here is go slowly and feel your way along. Bearing in mind the diver is probably also simultaneously trying to get into flat trim and change their propulsion and buoyancy approaches, the degree of task loading is massive. This is where an experienced instructor can really help. Adjusting the gear to make it a more balanced rig, making the students life easier. Mainly though reassuring the student that this is normal and helping them with appropriate cues keep up their knees, head and back posture that will accelerate any adaptations.
    2. Two of everything, three of some things. (well almost)… This is part of the mindset change as much as the equipment load. In recreational diving, completely correctly, the answer to almost any problem is go up to the surface. In tech the option to surface is probably not there due to a soft overhead or decompression ceiling, so you have to solve the issue underwater. Hence carrying extras of everything, including gas. This allows you to enter the water with an attitude of ‘go to back-up’ diagnose and solve problem, exit safely and calmly.

 

  1. Equipment Use
    1. Long hose/Primary Donate. This is pretty much accepted now as the default method in tech, yet it holds massive advantages in recreational as well. The arguments about having things around your neck just don’t hold any weight if you are properly trained. The only valid argument these days against primary donate is covid19. Let’s just picture a real life out of gas. They will not swim up to you calmly and signal, nor will they carefully search your triangle (please don’t read that wrongly) for something to breathe. They will grab the most obvious thing that will give them a breath – unless you are holding a second stage reg between you and the out of gas diver, that means they will grab the reg from your mouth. They are drowning, not thinking!
    2. Isolation and preservation of gas via valves or manifold. For recreational divers the idea of solving a freeflow by closing a valve, or preserving gas by shutting a manifold is alien. For a tech diver, its difficult to understand why you would not have this ability.

 

  1. Attitude and Decision Making
    1. This is probably the biggest difference in tech v recreational. Surprisingly and in contrast to the very small minority of people who think or espouse tech diving as an adrenaline junkie, testosterone fuelled activity, it is quite the opposite. Attention to detail. Thoroughness, intense risk management and in depth planning (including contingencies and what ifs) all contribute to tech divers being a lot more conservative than many recreational divers. The idea of turning on an arbitrary pressure and surfacing with 50 bar as an arbitrary safety reserve, do not fit a tech mentality. Gas consumption and safety limits will be calculated to the litre.
    2. Decisions are made on the basis of pre-planned responses to known potential contingencies for which equipment and training is carried and applied. In rec the answer to almost all problems is surface. This can cause all sorts of issues, especially as it reinforces the ‘escape’ mentality as a viable answer. In tech we know what our reserves, backups and options are. For sure we will exit when safe and appropriate, but calmly and without fuss.

 

  1. Team Mindset
    1. Despite a reputation as sad introverted loners (sorry, of course that’s cave divers – inc me!) most tech divers prefer to dive as part of a team, not only is the equipment load shared, but also the task load and decision making. Mutiple brains, ideally with different ways of thinking about problems and solutions should create a cohesive and synergistic team that’s greater than the sum of it’s parts. Some tech and cave guys dive solo, which has its own risk profile – but done correctly is a valid way to dive, as long as your backup plans and equipment load is appropriate.

 

  1. In Water Positioning
    1. In recreational buddy pairs should swim together, but invariably we see them swimming one behind the other. It’s easier to follow someone this way but your dive memories will be dominated by the sight of a pair of fins. In tech we position so not even a head turn is required to check with your team member, so that the tasks each team member has are able to be performed and communicated and assisted in a team manner. Ascents and descents, where problems are most likely to occur are done with the team facing each other, literally one kick away from being able to assist. Teamwork in tech is essential, not a loose arrangement.

 

  1. Planning
    1. There is a significantly greater level of planning in tech diving, which of course for the deeper decompression dives makes sense. We are now seeing this coming into recreational diving though. Sac rates and gas consumption, best gas for depth, pre planned max bottom times all are used to a greater or lesser extent by recreational divers. Even doing an entry level tech course will really open you up to the benefits for all dives, not just big hairy tech dives.

 

  1. Failure and Redundancy approaches (two is one and one is none)
    1. As mentioned before in attitude, recreational diving’s default answer to a problem is surface. In tech we usually carry and more importantly, train to utilise
      1. A complete independent breathing source (tank, regulator, buoyancy feed), the independence may be created by isolating a twinset manifold or via independent cylinders as in Sidemount
      2. At least two cutting devices reachable with either hand
  • 2 (3 in cave) lights, a main and a backup
  1. Spare mask
  2. 2 reels / spools
  3. Two smb’s, inc one designated as an emergency smb
  1. Tech divers also plan contingency reserves based on known ‘what if’s’. Mostly this is reserve gas – known as minimum gas, but can be reserves related to time based on physical, mental and thermal tolerances. Eg if you are good for three hours then dive for two…

 

  1. Cylinder marking and analysis
    1. Everything, including air gets analysed and marked. Honestly if this was one habit I could instill in all divers it would be proper gas analysis and labelling. Check out here how and why.

 

How can you prepare for and cope with these pathway changes?

 

There are many areas above that could be applied equally well to all diving, whether on a recreational, technical or professional pathway. However look for the commonalities between pathway. What has proven to be good examples that can enhance safety, enjoyment and skill in all pathways. Try to integrate these into your current diving and development plan. For example, propulsion techniques. Seek out an instructor not for courses but for a day or two’s coaching. Work on specifics that develop you on your current pathway.

The choice is not to step up onto some imaginary higher status ladder, it’s to step across and develop yourself down the pathway that best meets your diving ambitions.

Matt

Matt Jevon, M.Sc. F. IoD is a Full Expedition level Trimix and Cave instructor on OC and CCR with TDI and ANDI. He is the JJ-CCR and Divesoft Liberty Sidemount instructor and dealer for Ireland. Matt’s personal diving has included cave exploration in the Philippines, wreck projects in Croatia and Ireland as well as being one of the inaugural dirty dozen in Truk! Matt has held accreditations as an interdisciplinary sports scientist, sports psychologist with BASES and was a British Olympic Registered Strength and Conditioning Coach and invitee on the Olympic Psychology Advisory Group. Matt works in high performance business as a board advisor and non-exec, high performance sport and is a partner in South West Technical Diving in Ireland. www.swt.ie and writes the Facebook page Psychological Skills for Diving

#tdidivecentre #andifacility #Apekstechnicalcentre #caveinstructor #jjccrfactoryservicecentre #JJCCR  #ANDI #nolimitsexploration #cavediving #Apeks #divesoft #sidemountccr #southwestech #nautilus #othree90ninety  #divemorepostless #xdeep #TDI #technicaldiving #scaleolights #rebreathers #seacraft #kubidrygloves #sidemountessentialsinstructor #sidemountccr #libertyccr #jjccr_official #wedontsellwhatwedontdive #nobubbles #diving #deepdive #techdiving #technicaldiving #ccrdiver #underwater #trimix #wreckdiver #cavediver

 

 

Cylinder Markings – A suggestion for Standardisation

Posted on | by matt

As a tech and cave instructor as well as someone who often guides tech and cave dives I have seen a massive variety in the way people mark stage and deco cylinders. By and large the community has come to a consensus on the markings for the side of the cylinder but there is a massive variance for the markings on the top. So where and what is marked and why. Answering the why raises questions about should it be!

Click here marking cylinders to read more and get a pdf that illustrates how it can be done

 

http://swt.ie/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/marking-cylinders.pdf

Matt

Matt Jevon, M.Sc. F. IoD is a Full Expedition level Trimix and Cave instructor on OC and CCR with TDI and ANDI. He is the JJ-CCR and Divesoft Liberty Sidemount instructor and dealer for Ireland. Matt’s personal diving has included cave exploration in the Philippines, wreck projects in Croatia and Ireland as well as being one of the inaugural dirty dozen in Truk! Matt has held accreditations as an interdisciplinary sports scientist, sports psychologist with BASES and was a British Olympic Registered Strength and Conditioning Coach and invitee on the Olympic Psychology Advisory Group. Matt works in high performance business as a board advisor and non-exec, high performance sport and is a partner in South West Technical Diving in Ireland. www.swt.ie and writes the Facebook page Psychological Skills for Diving

#tdidivecentre #andifacility #Apekstechnicalcentre #caveinstructor #jjccrfactoryservicecentre #JJCCR  #ANDI #nolimitsexploration #cavediving #Apeks #divesoft #sidemountccr #southwestech #nautilus #othree90ninety  #divemorepostless #xdeep #TDI #technicaldiving #scaleolights #rebreathers #seacraft #kubidrygloves #sidemountessentialsinstructor #sidemountccr #libertyccr #jjccr_official #wedontsellwhatwedontdive #nobubbles #diving #deepdive #techdiving #technicaldiving #ccrdiver #underwater #trimix #wreckdiver #cavediver

 

 

Learning Skills from some instructors might be a waste of time

Posted on | by matt

Skills are the foundation of safe and enjoyable diving and the building blocks of all diving certifications. The comment here is not that learning skills is a waste of time, but, learn them from the wrong instructor, and you will have to re-do them completely for them to be of any use.

 

Until you get into deep trimix or cave diving training, there is little emphasis in diving qualifications on anything other than meeting performance based skill standards. That is you can do a shutdown in 40 seconds whilst keeping perfect buoyancy. You can deploy a long hose without it looking like an advanced knitting technique. Very pretty for the video feedback and easily and calmly done in response to an instructors signal. Frankly however not much use in the real world. Neither by the way is the pseudo wanna be military types with camouflage trousers and a ‘my agency is tougher than yours’ attitude. The ripping masks and fins off at random and messing with kit is just dangerous, and not a learning experience that benefits any student. I did my Mod1 a few years ago with an ex military instructor and he was clearly against that type of BS and states in his course materials that he has no time for it. In cave or trimix, lessons have been hard learnt by the instructor and are passed on to the student who will also have gained considerable experience (if wise) before embarking on this route.

 

It’s little wonder then that we hear so often, its not the agency or the course, its the instructor. Why? Well if all you do is get someone over a fairly subjectively set line on a skill performance, you can sign them off as passing, frankly that sucks. What does the student get? Well, they might have learnt a new skill that they can trot out in response to the appropriate signal from an instructor, but that’s it. What is the students capability to recognise the how, the when, the where but most importantly the why of the skill. Realistic prompts and cues the student will recognise that should kick them into executing the skills should also be included.

 

Why then are some instructors more valued, have great reputations and their courses felt to ‘graduate’ better divers. Of course, these great instructors are not happy getting students ‘over the line’ they will demonstrate demand and insist that the student executes much higher standards of skill performance. They will be great teachers. That is they will have an empathy and connection to the student and be able to make things understandable in a way that suits the students preferred learning style. I’d have been up for expanding on this point, but to be fair, Mark Powell’s presentation at Dive 2015 on why training doesn’t work, knocked that one out of the park. Worth reiterating his point on how, without practice skill performance drops dramatically in only a few weeks. This is common in motor learning theory. There are a couple of influencing factors. First how well was the skill mastered at the time? If only just over the line the chances of being able to repeat that skill even one week later is slim. The second is how many different ways and scenarios was the skill practiced. Even if you can execute the movements well, learning skills though is wasted in the first place if you don’t know the context and the triggers for using them. Every CCR diver knows how to bail out, its the when, the why and the ‘on to what’ that’s really important. Not leaving it too long, but also not abandoning a piece of life support equipment in an ill thought out rush.

 

So what do great instructors do? They get you to learn not just the mechanics of the skill, but also the context and scenarios in which that skill is to be applied. This is far more prevalent in technical training than recreational, probably because it’s harder to become a tech instructor with most agencies, tech instructors have a solid basis from teaching recreational and they have probably been in the contexts or situations for which they are teaching. They carefully control the stress levels to which they expose the student, building the students autonomous responses or reasoned responses to the real life everyday scenarios they might face in their diving. 

 

This is the same when teaching recreational. A recent facebook post showed students still kneeling for skills. Comments were made ‘this might have been their first dive, bit early to expect neutral buoyancy’. I disagree, of course I’m not going to expect perfect buoyancy, but I am going to demonstrate to the student what good looks like and what they will aspire towards. I’ll then work harder on helping them master this early ahead of out of airs etc because once the foundation is in place (buoyancy / trim / propulsion) all other skills can be learnt and mastered “in context”. No-one is going to come to you out of air while both you and they are kneeling in a pool.

 

Learning is a psychological process and as such, because we are all individuals, we all learn differently. Teaching styles and learning environments must account for these individual differences. In diving we embed motor skills into the learning process but we also would be well advised to develop stress management, thinking skills / decision making, and appropriate autonomous responses. There are some very gifted instructors out there who manage this naturally. For most, they have to think and plan their way to help students get the best out of themselves.

 

In sports coaching research, there are a couple of interesting concepts that are gaining great buy-in from some of the leading practitioners. These are Authentic Coaching and Holistic Coaching. Firstly authentic coaching, theres a good article by Barnson, (2014), but essentially the coach is true to themselves and to the coachee. Obvious you say, but not in reality I fear. There are many coaches and instructors who behave how they think the student or the agency or worse, behave in ways they think makes them look cool or saleable. Our previous gung ho militaristic type is one of these. Similarly I fear anyone whom actually likes wearing a shirt with Instructor and loads of badges. Sometimes you have to for marketing and/or to represent a centre. Personally I’d rather be recognised for what I do. If you are not being true to yourself and ‘playing a part’ that falseness will come through in your teaching effectiveness.

 

Holistic coaching, a term brought to the fore by Tanya Cassidy is looking far more at the person as a whole as opposed to just what skills they need to learn. For example, if a person needs to learn a bailout drill, it doesn’t take long to teach the mechanics of the drill. Holistically though we should address that persons abilities around emotional control, decision making, concentration, physical attributes etc. In holistic coaching its thought by taking and developing the whole person, using the coaching situation or context as a tool, you enrich the person inside and outside that coaching interaction. I tend to agree. Im certain that the learning experience is richer, that skills are more deeply embedded, and that context and cues for when and where to apply those skills have been thoroughly covered.

 

Coaching effectiveness is an often abused term and I’d apply the same to instructor effectiveness. True effectiveness (look up Coté and Gilbert) relies on the coach or instructor having expertise in three critical knowledge types.

 

Professional knowledge – detailed and applied knowledge about the art, science, skills and tactics of what they are coaching

Interpersonal knowledge – an ability to build and foment relationships

Intrapersonal knowledge – an ability to understand oneself and capacity for self reflection

 

I don’t think it would be hard for most of us to identify those instructors we believe to be effective and see immediately the correlation between those instructors and the required knowledge above.

 

It also needs to be measured. To be effective you have to know where your start and finish points are and whether the process of coaching or instructing is what is making the difference in getting people there. For sure there are the very talented who need minimal coaching and conversely those for whom no amount of coaching will ever make a difference. Quite a complicated interaction then, well yes, but so it should be.

 

How do we get instructors over the line. Well, in developing performance sports coaches we have identified the vital importance of good mentors. They help the instructor reflect, develop and really build the inter and intra personal knowledge. Traditional coaching courses and instructor courses are pretty good at developing the professional knowledge, although again the mentors are invaluable. In my own instructor development I’ve been very privileged to have an outstanding mentor who I still see a couple of times a year, to great value.

 

Ask yourself before you book on training if its going to give you what you want. Ask the instructor you’re considering how much of your training is scenario based, how much work do they put in setting up decision making opportunities, how do they mimic realities for when you will have to implement the skills. Ask about, good instructors will be delighted to engage with you on this.

 

Matt

Matt Jevon, M.Sc. F. IoD is a Full Expedition level Trimix and Cave instructor on OC and CCR with TDI and ANDI. He is the JJ-CCR and Divesoft Liberty Sidemount instructor and dealer for Ireland. Matt’s personal diving has included cave exploration in the Philippines, wreck projects in Croatia and Ireland as well as being one of the inaugural dirty dozen in Truk! Matt has held accreditations as an interdisciplinary sports scientist, sports psychologist with BASES and was a British Olympic Registered Strength and Conditioning Coach and invitee on the Olympic Psychology Advisory Group. Matt works in high performance business as a board advisor and non-exec, high performance sport and is a partner in South West Technical Diving in Ireland. www.swt.ie and writes the Facebook page Psychological Skills for Diving

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To BOV(er) or not to BOV(er)

Posted on | by matt

BOV or no BOV

 

This is usually a polarised argument. People are either all for or all against.  So, let us examine the arguments from both sides. I’m going to put in some assumptions though. To me they are not assumptions, mainly because I have tested these in dry chamber dives or if safe to do so in the water.

 

Assumption 1 – You only bailout from an unbreathable loop. In the case of hyperoxia (too much O2) Hypoxia (too little O2) this bailout is temporary till you shutdown, on board/offboard gas, manually correct, exclude cells etc. In the case of hypercapnia (CO2) bailout is permanent. In the case of flood (unrecoverable) bailout is permanent.

 

Assumption 2 – You are well enough trained and mentally tough enough to only need to bailout fast from a CO2 situation with the resultant massive ventilation increase, all others give you anything from a few seconds to a couple of minutes to bailout without any more than a minor stress increase in ventilations.

 

Assumption 3 – You need at least 30 minutes of OC gas at 45 lmin to 70 lmin as an absolute minimum to bail on to. This is because a CO2 hit takes at least 30 mins to recover from to the point where ventilations return to relatively normal.

 

Argument 1.  

 

A BOV is the only thing that will save your life if you have a CO2 hit. This is because in a CO2 hit your ventilations rise to the level where switching to an open circuit regulator would be impossible. 

 

For…                      This has some truth, depending on the function of your BOV as it switches CCR to OC.  Some divers report it’s the only way they could have switched when getting into or having a CO2 hit. A hit happens fast and easily if your scrubber, bypass seals or mushroom valves have failed so a quick easy switch is good, of course. 

 

Against…             Every BOV has a point as you turn the valve from closed to open circuit where there is no gas flow (OC or CCR) at all. If you are deep in a CO2 hit as you pass this point and hyperventilating, you could easily spit the mouthpiece.

 

Against…             Pack your scrubber correctly, check your seals, pre-breathe, check mushroom valves, do not exceed scrubber durations and the chances of a CO2 hit are minimal. 

 

Against...             Whatever you use, BOV, necklaced OC reg, stage bottle, if you get into a CO2 hit switching to OC in any method is a problem, bailout early; stay off loop, don’t go back and ‘test it’ if there is any chance it was CO2.  

 

Against…             There is a technique I teach on my CCR rescue course where an OC reg can create a breathable bubble under the DSV by being free flowed allowing a switch in a hyperventilating situation to an OC reg. It uses a lot of gas, so allow for it in planning, (so does having a CO2 hit) but this negates the ‘you’ll never switch to OC mid hit argument’ in most circumstances

 

Argument 2.  

 

A BOV is always connected to a breathable gas so no issues over gas switch protocols in an emergency.  

 

For…                      True, if you never dive hypoxic mixes. 

 

Against…             A well trained CCR diver will always rotate the ‘ideal’ bailout stage bottle to be the one they can grab a reg off without having to check. Usually top left. A MODS/NOTOXIC routine is not appropriate for bailouts. Moving unsuitable bottles behind them on a leash or to the right side if preferred makes this easy.  A CCR diver can connect and disconnect their BOV to suitable gas sources this way, but it is an extra step over the bottle rotation. 

 

 

 

 

Argument 3. 

 

A BOV is better to use all the time against the rare chance of a CO2 hit. 

 

Against…             A BOV can never because of design compromises breathe as well as a DSV only (dive surface valve) so you then tolerate compromised work of breathing on every dive against the 1 in 10,000 chance of a CO2 hit.  Assuming you don’t take shortcuts with scrubbers, fresh lime, equipment prep and maintenance those are fair odds. 

 

Against…            Time and switches. What is the BOV connected to? If it’s a 3-litre diluent then you just gave yourself 60 seconds to sort the issue at any technical depth. Your ‘recovery’ from a CO2 hit will take 30-45 minutes or more at a sac rate well over 45 l min and could be 80-100 plus.  Even if connected to an 11-litre off board, you still need to make switches in the ascent and you may be making, or trying to make the first switch much sooner than you have recovered enough to go full open circuit. Even if you have enough gas in the deep bailout, you will still be on gassing and messing up your deco schedule and gas calculations. 

 

Against…             BOV’s are heavy in the mouth leading to jaw fatigue on longer dives

Where is a BOV useful?

 

  1. Shallow water diving where you carry the bailout entirely on the CCR. A BOV connected to onboard twin 7’s gives you 14 litres of useable gas. As you are shallow and should have no or very limited deco this will get you to the surface. This rig is simple, and self-contained for rib and boat diving albeit heavy. You still need a necklaced OC reg for redundancy or possible donation.

 

  1. In a cave. I may not in a cave always have an ability to reach or rotate stages. Lots of caves have squeezes or restrictions that can clog second stages with sediment or gravel. I like a BOV in a cave. As I mostly scooter or swim a lot slower in a cave, the compromised work of breathing is ‘just’ acceptable.   My rule though is the BOV must be connected to at least 30 minutes of gas. 

 

 

Conclusion.

Don’t believe you can be having a full on CO2 hit while managing an ascent in open water – no shot line, deploying an smb, finding teammates with team gas and making stops. If you think this is amount of task loading is possible to manage in a situation where CO2 and N2 narcosis, stress, O2 depletion and physical challenge all come at once and where the consequence is severe to fatal, please sell your gear and take up knitting.

 

Use a DSV for open water, deep and hypoxic diving. Use stage rotations to keep the best bailout on top and the reg necklaced or to hand. Bailout at the very first and smallest hint that anything CO2 related is occurring. 

 

A BOV is only essential in one case where you cannot reach an OC reg quickly, then bear in mind the ‘no breath’ part of turning the valve. Otherwise dependent on circumstances, it is convenient rather than advantageous and carries several downsides, WOB and weight in the mouth on every dive being the most significant. I’ve used a range of OEM and aftermarket BOV’s and so far the only one I really like is the Divesoft. Neutral in water and probably best in class wob.

 

 

 

Matt

Matt Jevon, M.Sc. F. IoD is a Full Expedition level Trimix and Cave instructor on OC and CCR with TDI and ANDI. He is the JJ-CCR and Divesoft Liberty Sidemount instructor and dealer for Ireland. Matt’s personal diving has included cave exploration in the Philippines, wreck projects in Croatia and Ireland as well as being one of the inaugural dirty dozen in Truk! Matt has held accreditations as an interdisciplinary sports scientist, sports psychologist with BASES and was a British Olympic Registered Strength and Conditioning Coach and invitee on the Olympic Psychology Advisory Group. Matt works in high performance business as a board advisor and non-exec, high performance sport and is a partner in South West Technical Diving in Ireland. www.swt.ie and writes the Facebook page Psychological Skills for Diving

#tdidivecentre #andifacility #Apekstechnicalcentre #caveinstructor #jjccrfactoryservicecentre #JJCCR  #ANDI #nolimitsexploration #cavediving #Apeks #divesoft #sidemountccr #southwestech #nautilus #othree90ninety  #divemorepostless #xdeep #TDI #technicaldiving #scaleolights #rebreathers #seacraft #kubidrygloves #sidemountessentialsinstructor #sidemountccr #libertyccr #jjccr_official #wedontsellwhatwedontdive #nobubbles #diving #deepdive #techdiving #technicaldiving #ccrdiver #underwater #trimix #wreckdiver #cavediver

Twinset Valve Drill

Posted on | by matt

Twinset Valve Drill

 

The valve drill should be and in fact is easier to carry out in flat trim, with your head up and not moving!

Before jumping in make sure you haven’t got folds of drysuit or undersuit restricting movement, this should be obvious when doing a flow check!

Keep your elbow high and facing forward, arm brushing ear.

Do not drop your head in the movement

 

Order of Events

 

  1. Tell your teammates you are doing a drill – otherwise they may come and ‘help’ you
  2. Signal with light – emergency
  3. Quick purge left reg so you know working
  4. Close Right Post and Breathe reg down
  5. Switch to left post
  6. Clip off long hose Reg
  7. Close manifold
  8. Re-open right post and purge long hose reg so you know its working
  9. Switch light to right hand
  10. Close left post and breathe down – unclip right reg before you fully close
  11. Switch to long hose
  12. Open left post
  13. Return Light to left hand
  14. Open manifold
  15. Flow check (you and/or teammate/instructor)
  16. Check Gas pressure / gauge movement

 The mechanics of the drill are well demonstrated here by Style Diving https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHsKF1VYdL4 although the order is a little different.

 

 

 

THINK

 

Is the gauge dropping when left side isolated? If so leak is left.

Breathe the bad side dead.

If you isolate a leaking cylinder with the manifold, breathe that one first, get as much from it as you can and save the non leaky cylinder for last.

If you suddenly seem to be using no gas you have left the manifold shut!

 

KISS

 

Matt

Matt Jevon, M.Sc. F.IoD is a Full Expedition level Trimix and Cave instructor on OC and CCR with TDI and ANDI. He is the JJ-CCR and Divesoft Liberty Sidemount instructor and dealer for Ireland. Matt’s personal diving has included cave exploration in the Philippines, wreck projects in Croatia and Ireland as well as being one of the inaugural dirty dozen in Truk! Matt has held accreditations as an interdisciplinary sports scientist, sports psychologist with BASES and was a British Olympic Registered Strength and Conditioning Coach and invitee on the Olympic Psychology Advisory Group. Matt works in high performance business as a board advisor and non-exec, high performance sport and is a partner in South West Technical Diving in Ireland. www.swt.ie and writes the Facebook page Psychological Skills for Diving

 

#tdidivecentre #andifacility #Apekstechnicalcentre #caveinstructor #jjccrfactoryservicecentre #JJCCR  #ANDI #nolimitsexploration #cavediving #Apeks #divesoft #sidemountccr #southwestech #nautilus #othree90ninety  #divemorepostless #xdeep #TDI #technicaldiving #scaleolights #rebreathers #seacraft #kubidrygloves #sidemountessentialsinstructor #sidemountccr #libertyccr #jjccr_official #wedontsellwhatwedontdive #nobubbles #diving #deepdive #techdiving #technicaldiving #ccrdiver #underwater #trimix #wreckdiver #cavediver

Insurance

Posted on | by matt
Now with Covid 19 cover

 

Insurance is a massive issue for us all as divers and something we need for peace of mind for ourselves and is usually required by dive centres or local country legislation. We have through TDI recently moved to DiveAssure, an excellent level of cover and really good customer service. Check out the info in the attached pdf or click here https://diveassure.com/eu-en/coverage-and-rates/?pid=16394 to get a personal quote and sign up. Hands up we do get a small intro fee if you use the link above so thank you. Anything that offsets our costs helps us continue to deliver value to our customers.

Dive&Travel membership plans currently include different kinds of Covid19-related coverage such as

  • Medical expenses for treatment of Covid19 during a covered travel, as described in the schedule of benefits.
  • Cancellation and curtailment of travel due to Covid19, as described in the description of coverage.
  • Quarantine expenses during a covered travel, as described in the schedule of benefits.

 It should be emphasized that the membership plan must be completed within 14 days after the first payment of a deposit for the trip and at least 14 days before an infection occurs for the Covid19-related coverage to take effect.

#tdidivecentre #andifacility #Apekstechnicalcentre #caveinstructor #jjccrfactoryservicecentre #JJCCR  #ANDI #nolimitsexploration #cavediving #Apeks #divesoft #sidemountccr #southwestech #nautilus #othree90ninety  #divemorepostless #xdeep #TDI #technicaldiving #scaleolights #rebreathers #seacraft #kubidrygloves #sidemountessentialsinstructor #sidemountccr #libertyccr #jjccr_official #wedontsellwhatwedontdive #nobubbles #diving #deepdive #techdiving #technicaldiving #ccrdiver #underwater #trimix #wreckdiver #cavediver