View Full Version : Adv Nitrox and Rec Trimix course (IANTD)
Canadadiver
07-04-09, 22:06
Just got back from the pool in Tranent after over an hour of skills practice. We had a go at:
1. shut-down drills
2. out-of-air and mask-off swim followed by buddy-breath and level swim
3. de-kit on the bottom, swim to the surface, duck dive and re-kit
4. stage hand-offs and pickups (stationary and swimming)
5. de-kit and re-kit on surface
6. simulated broken harness buckle swim
7. reviewed rescuing a twinset diver
Wow - I was wondering why I feel so tired! My performances on these skills varied from OK to hopeless and the constant swimming around the pool and kitting and de-kitting resulted half a pint of water trickling through my neck seal. Regardless, I'm definitely looking forward to the open water dives and getting some more practice in. Thanks Gary & Tom!
NorthernTechnical
07-04-09, 22:11
Practice makes perfect;) Tekkie skills are good fun, even more in the sea:)
Canadadiver
07-04-09, 22:24
Practice makes perfect;) Tekkie skills are good fun, even more in the sea:)
Definitely! It was good to get in the pool and try everything out though. I switched to a twinset months ago, so I've done shutdowns, but lately I've been having issues, so it was good to dive with a pro somewhere shallow, bright and comfortable. And with all the other skills we did, I can only imagine the amount of silt that would've been kicked up after an hour and a half at an open water site! First open water dives are next Friday and I'm stoked!
I keep missing out on the NT gang's outings, so we'll see if I can change that next week or the week after... Loch Fyne's a long way to go from Edinburgh though - even for a Canadian :rolleyes:!
NorthernTechnical
07-04-09, 23:15
Would be good to put a face to the name:)
Canadadiver
22-04-09, 18:52
In a much-belated contribution to this thread, I thought I'd share the results of last Saturday's training dives at the A-Frames.
Me and 3 other students met up with Gary and DM Tom on Saturday morning to do open water dives 1 and 2 of the Adv Nitrox/Trimix course. Sea condtions on the East coast were a bit too rough to guarantee a boat dive on the Friday night, so we went with the next best thing - Loch Long ;)!
Gary gave us a thorough briefing on the dives and the skills we were to demonstrate. We also covered gas-matching, cylinder labeling, dive-planning and gear set-up.
During the dives we were to demonstrate a level of proficiency at:
1. shutdown drills
2. mid-water DSMB deployment
3. stage/deco cylinder hand-offs/pick-ups
4. ascent timing (sticking to a deco plan/profile)
5. gas switching with proper timing and buddy-checks
I can't speak for everyone, but I would say that these skills all appeared to be quite straightforward to me, standing in the sunshine, listening to the briefing. Underwater was a completely different story. Four relatively experienced divers dealing with new skills (and in some cases, new equipment) while running into each other in the low viz (made worse by kicking up silt while trying to keep out of each others' way) might be seen as slightly hilarious, but for me it was a lesson in humility - nevermind tech diving. Granted, the cold murkiness of Loch Long is not the easiest environment to perform the skills in. And even though I'm used to diving in that particular location, I was under prepared - mentally - for the task. Next time I'll be taking the dives far more seriously. And I certainly have a much greater level of respect for technical diving and technical divers than I did before last weekend.
But what about the dives?
Dive 1.
10 m for 46 mins
First skill was shutdowns. I was really happy with having done them a few days before with Loudy and Alastair, but this time I managed to close the manifold, switch regs, shut down the right post and... couldn't reopen it. I got a brutal cramp in my arm (I heard all the jokes on Saturday, but feel free to post them here...b@$tards :rolleyes:!). The left post shutdown went better. A bit of miscommunication with handing off a stage cylinder, but otherwise, that skill was okay. I deployed an SMB on an ascent line and deployed a second SMB along the same line, and ascended at the end of the dive with no other issues.
Dive 2
28 m for 40 mins
The dive that could have been better... or a lot worse. This time we were to stick to a particular decompression profile: a 4 min descent to 28 m for 26 mins, then ascend with stops at 21, 12 and 6 m. In my wisdom, I volunteered to deploy the SMB and ascent line for the group... (I know - "task loading" comes to mind :D!) Surfacing at exactly 40 mins. Rather than descend straight to 28 m and sit there for half an hour, we worked our way down slowly. I attempted to redeem myself with another shutdown demo, but failed again (same problem). Once at 28 m I had a few seconds to deploy the SMB and had it unrolled and waiting for the big moment. It's one of those blobbies that need to be inflated with your mouth (rather than a dry suit hose, a trickle of exhaust from a reg or a dedicated bottle). I took out my reg, gave a big huff and nothing happened after exhausting an entire lung-full of air. No big deal, if it weren't for the involuntary inhalation of sea water and ensuing gasping and coughing. Time was still ticking and we were now late leaving the bottom. Gary helped out by attaching his SMB to my reel and I finally recovered and started reeling in for the 21 m mark. Passing through 21 after a pause (a 1 min "stop"), at 20 m I looked around, caught Gary's eye and after a mutual gas check, we switched to 50% O2 right at 12 m as planned (yes, this was the one thing I may have done right...). The rest of the class had drifted out of sight and as Gary went to check on each of them, I drifted away on my ascent line. I continued to stick with the plan taped to my hand and surfaced at exactly 40 mins! Woohoo - well done! Except... wait... where was everyone else? Oh yeah, they switched to the "Deeper/Longer" plan because we were 3 mins late leaving the bottom and needed extra deco time. If this had been the real thing and not a super-conservative-fake-deco-plan, I might have had a trip to the chamber... or least a doctor :o. And that thought, I suppose, was much more humiliating than not being able to demonstrate a shutdown or deploy an SMB (that I'd deployed a dozen times, including twice already that day!).
As one wise-ass commented, "the positives of that dive were... we went down and we came back up..." Regardless, there was some learnin' goin on. After a few minutes to nurse our shattered egos, we did have a very enlightening de-briefing and I for one am really looking forward to eventually mastering all the skills. Next chance to prove ourselves: Friday night!
Stay tuned...
Good write up :)
Incedentaly. What was the problem with the SMB? Would it not orally inflate at depth? I've got one of these as well (Frog 1m DSMB, nice and compact) and I've not actually tried using from depth. I think it will take a drysuit hose as well but to be honest I don't fancy that option much.
I usually carry a bigger self sealing jobby (AP valves) for deeper deployment and the small one for shallower dives or as a backup to the biggie.
Good write up :)
Incedentaly. What was the problem with the SMB? Would it not orally inflate at depth? I've got one of these as well (Frog 1m DSMB, nice and compact) and I've not actually tried using from depth. I think it will take a drysuit hose as well but to be honest I don't fancy that option much.
I usually carry a bigger self sealing jobby (AP valves) for deeper deployment and the small one for shallower dives or as a backup to the biggie.
I've never fancied hooking my drysuit hose to one either, I use an airgun on my suit hose for blowing bags up. Bit less chance of getting anything caught in it.
I've always used open ended bags and SMB's but I just treated myself to a closed SMB, I also find it very hard to inflate compared to my old ones. I think it might be headed Ebay's direction.
ATB,
Drambeg
Great write up and some valuable lessons learned, probably more learned that if it had all gone correct!
I presume the "Gary" is Gary Lawson of DiveSafari?
Canadadiver
23-04-09, 18:50
Good write up :)
Incedentaly. What was the problem with the SMB? Would it not orally inflate at depth?
Thanks Scott. I don't think the problem was the depth, but instead because the cold water makes my lips numb. So I just end up blowing raspberries in the general direction of the inflation valve!
I've never fancied hooking my drysuit hose to one either, I use an airgun on my suit hose for blowing bags up. Bit less chance of getting anything caught in it.
Since I only have the one SMB, I don't mind picking up another - may try E-bay myself. I think that the suit inflation hose method might be a bit trickier, but more reliable that oral inflation in cold water. Not sure yet, the SMBs with a dedicated inflation cylinder seem a bit bulky...
Great write up and some valuable lessons learned, probably more learned that if it had all gone correct!
I presume the "Gary" is Gary Lawson of DiveSafari?
Thanks Chris, I'll certainly remember the dives better because of what went wrong and the lessons that went with the mistakes. And yes, the very same Gary of Dive Safari. Interested in taking the course? Don't worry, my post after the weekend's dive(s) will make it sound like a lark (I hope :cool:).
Since I only have the one SMB, I don't mind picking up another - may try E-bay myself.
If you're getting more into deco diving then a yellow bag is nice to have as most people take that as a sign that there's some sort of problem. Generally it means dropping a spare bottle down the line.
I think that the suit inflation hose method might be a bit trickier, but more reliable that oral inflation in cold water. Not sure yet, the SMBs with a dedicated inflation cylinder seem a bit bulky...
I really don't like the idea of attaching my suit hose to the bag despite how many times I'm told it can't lock on to it. Sh1t happens as the saying goes. I like simple, open ended bags, I wouldn't buy another self-sealer. I agree the ones with inflation bottles do look bulky.
Hey Canadadiver, been thinking about taking the course for some time now with Gary, just cannot justify it at the moment as I am not diving enough. I am merely an underwater bimbler at the moment. But I reckon Gary would be my first shout.
I would like to do this course at some point, not because I'm likely to use the skills in my day to day diving, but just to broaden my skills,knowledge and confidence.
Mr Flibble
24-04-09, 19:33
Yeah. what Scott says.
I'd recommend doing the course also. Just playing with a side slung stage is good fun. Best of all longer bottom times for comparable dive times or less time hanging on deco lines. Which for me means a jimmy riddle and a hot coffee 20 minutes before everyone else. :D
Yeah as the above 2 have said, doing the same course myself and it's worth doing, would also recommend Ian too.
Canadadiver
24-04-09, 23:47
Just got in from diving at Bass Rock tonight. There was no wind, but a bit of a swell. Overcast, but dry. We dropped in on the north side of the Rock and descended down to 38 or 39 m at a fairly leisurely pace.
Those of us taking the trimix course were on 28/25 back gas (28% oxygen and 25% helium) with 50% oxygen in our deco cylinders. Our profile had us descending to 40 m (the maximum depth for a 28% O2 mix) and ascending 14 mins into the dive through stops at 30, 21, 15, 12, 9 and 6 m. We switched to our deco mix at 12 m.
The viz was awful - I could just barely make out the fin tips of the diver in front of me - yet we managed to stay together until the ascent. Gary launched an SMB and we ascended beside him until my buddy and I lost contact with the rest of the group 30 seconds later. This honestly didn't worry me, as now my buddy and I only had to continue to dive the plan and concentrate on staying in contact. And we didn't have 3 other sets of torches flashing in our faces...
All went very smoothly - Jeff and I gas-checked and switched to deco gas right on schedule and we arrived for the 6 min-stop at 6 m relatively relaxed. Burning off a minute or two settling in, we located another of the group who had lost everyone in the murk. I deployed my SMB (succesfully this time) and we sat out the rest of our deco before surfacing right on time.
Depth: 38.6 m
Time: 30 mins
Viz: <1 m (2 m above 10 m deep)
I noticed after the dive that I had felt really clear-headed and calm, despite the absolute crap visibility, and for that I guess I've gotta thank the voodoo gas! Although I've been to those depths several times before, I'm beginning to appreciate a 40 m dive that feels like a 20 m dive... can't wait for more!
Next dive, and the final dive for the course (but only the beginning of dozens of dives to practice the skills), is on Sunday - hopefully, the U74!
Canadadiver
24-04-09, 23:58
Yeah as the above 2 have said, doing the same course myself and it's worth doing, would also recommend Ian too.
I'd recommend doing the course also. Just playing with a side slung stage is good fun. Best of all longer bottom times for comparable dive times or less time hanging on deco lines. :D
Absolutely - and it's a different kind of diving. I think a lot of people start diving to challenge themselves and this a great way of continuing to do that. The IANTD course definitely emphasizes regular skills practice and each diver's responsibility to master the skills after the course is done. A lot of the skills are fun (yep, like playing around with the side slung cylinder).
Excellent and well done Ewan :D,when you can do it in zero viz and be calm and focused you can do it anytime :)
Canadadiver
25-04-09, 22:10
Cheers lads - and here's to more like it! (Am I the only one with a drink in my hand?)
Cheers lads - and here's to more like it! (Am I the only one with a drink in my hand?)
Nope i have 3 beer bottles in mine from the wallachia today :D
and a vodka chaser :0)
Canadadiver
25-04-09, 22:31
Nope i have 3 beer bottles in mine from the wallachia today :D
and a vodka chaser :0)
Aye, but they're 114 years old... that ain't beer anymore, dude. I don't even think it's alcohol. But you'll let us know after you try 'em, right? :D
Aye, but they're 114 years old... that ain't beer anymore, dude. I don't even think it's alcohol. But you'll let us know after you try 'em, right? :D
One of them is seeping out the cork a wee bit and it's definatly beer but i aint trying it :rolleyes:
Mr Flibble
26-04-09, 18:45
Don't. I just got back from the Royal Infirmary after I got drunk and opened up one last night for a try. Not the worst beer I've tasted, Red Cuillin is worse :D. Red Cuillin however doesn't make you crap out your small intestine. :eek: Crackin day yesterday, 2 good dives (the Wallachia was a belter of a dive), good stage deco diving and a nice cider in the pub afterwards. Good to meet John and Ryan from Atlantic Divers and as ever the Clutha was great.
Oh I was only jokin about drinking the beer. ;)
I'll post the pics up in another thread.
Canadadiver
30-04-09, 20:59
...where was I? Right Dive #4 - the last trimix dive for the course.
On Sunday I had signed up to dive with Plug during the morning and early afternoon and then do the final IANTD course dive at high-slack in the afternoon (4pm-ish) on the U74. Well, we missed the boat in the morning :o as I got the ropes-off time wrong (gimme a break - I've been too busy to check my e-mails - but all the other divers remembered, so Jess and I expect to hear about it for a while...). Brian kindly returned to the harbour before the second dive and then we headed out to the Finger Gullies, just outside the harbour.
I took the opportunity to determine my SAC/RMV rates. Jess and I descended to 10.5 m, swam leisurely for 10 mins and I recorded how much gas I'd used. After the dive I crunched the numbers and got a Respiratory Minute Volume (RMV) of 14.4 L/min. I expect that I'll have to retest this to double check, but it's useful for technical dives or dives with long bottom times to make sure I actually have enough gas. We ended up having a great 45-min dive, in good viz (7-8 m) with a little current. Jess tried out a long-hose arrangement on her single 12L... and liked it (it's only a matter of time before she's breathing helium too! :D)
After that, we unloaded the scoobie-doos and took on more tekkie-wannabe's, and headed out to find the U74. The weather looked like it was taking a turn for the worse: dark grey clouds, increasing wind and swells; but we headed out anyways. Wind and waves made shotting the wreck a little difficult, not helped by the fact that the first heavy shot went over with a tangle in the line and the buoy disappeared. The second line had a light shot and a big buoy, which, as we saw later, dragged the shot across the bottom. However, because we were just there to do the last course dive, the execution of the dive plan (rather than the enjoyment of the wreck) was paramount - it didn't really matter whether the wreck was at the end of the line or not. We descended to the seabed (44m) and had a look around, but alas, no U74! Gary rescued the first shot line (the heavy anchor was disposable ;)) and we swam back to the 2nd shot, which was dancing across the bottom, and ascended. Our stops, gas-switching, and surfacing were bang-on! The dive was very straightforward. Getting back on the pitching boat, however, was a leeeeetle trickier - but all made it!
http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs010.snc1/2884_101517630534_594300534_2967660_7036196_n.jpg
http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs010.snc1/2884_101517635534_594300534_2967661_2446221_n.jpg
Finally, yesterday afternoon, me and another student took the exam after a bit of classroom work. And after dropping off the certification application at the Post, Gary and I had a couple of celebratory pints at the Golfer's (sorry you had to work, Steve! :p).
Now I'm definitely ready to put it all into practice and start honing my skills - can't wait!
Nice write up and well done Ewan :D,hope we find the U74 on Saturday mind you :o
Incidentally what was the viz like at the site?
Canadadiver
30-04-09, 21:12
Nice write up and well done Ewan :D,hope we find the U74 on Saturday mind you :o
Incidentally what was the viz like at the site?
Thanks again. And no worries, as I mentioned, we were on a course dive, so I assume it would have been properly re-shotted had the priority been getting divers on the wreck itself.:). Nice - I just PM'd you about the viz - 6 m at the bottom with a surprising amount of ambient light.
Well done and a nice write up.
But I think that frist pic is crying out for a caption :D :D
http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs010.snc1/2884_101517630534_594300534_2967660_7036196_n.jpg
Man in gimp mask crimps one off in the mask rinsing bucket whilst the rest aren't looking! :o