Drills that should be taught in the OW class

[LeadTurn_SD]

....And yes speaking from a purely practical mechanical point of view you may not have to do this. But from the practical side of comfort and familiarity with ones gear, the knowledge and confidence that comes from completing these tasks, which adds to the safety of the diver and those around him/her, and the ability to think through a problem under some degree of stress in an alien environment the value is priceless.....

Well said.

Best wishes.

 

[TSandM]

I would like to see a drill where an object is placed in the pool, and the diver has to swim up to it and remain in position to look at it for 30 seconds or a minute. I think this would be far more meaningful than the 60 second "hover" requirement, since people end up "hovering" in all kinds of weird positions (usually due to unbalanced equipment) that wouldn't allow them to remain in place and look at anything during an actual dive.

I'd also like to see some work on swimming positions, where students are positioned in different ways with respect to one another, so everybody gets a chance to learn that diving above and behind your buddy means you're invisible.

 

[captndale]

I have found by years of observation of divers on my charter boat that divers will not utilize emergency equipment that they are carrying unless they have actually practiced using it beforehand. Here are some of the exercises that I include in my entry level classes:

Using the alternate (back-up) regulator. In the first pool session with scuba, I have my students go to their alternate as the first step in the regulator recovery exercise.

Monitoring gas supply and bottom time. Using hand signals during pool sessions, I randomly ask students for their gas supply pressure and/or bottom time. I stress that they should be able to answer without having to refer to their gauges again because they should be monitoring them regularly.

Use of audible and visual emergency signals. I have my students do an attention getting exercise in the pool. I have them yell, blow their whistles and wave their safety sausages.

Entanglement. I have my students practice a line management exercise in the pool. I have them cross a floating line by raising it up in one hand and rotating under and passed it. I then tie the line around their tank valve / regulator and have them use their shears to cut free.

 

[Blackwood]

Entanglement. I have my students practice a line management exercise in the pool. I have them cross a floating line by raising it up in one hand and rotating under and passed it. I then tie the line around their tank valve / regulator and have them use their shears to cut free.

Why do you have them invert and go under the line rather than simply go over?

 

[Sas]

I'm not an instructor, but I did go through the harrasment training and it was, well, actually fun.

Yea I got my mask pulled off and so on in OW class as I was so uncomfortable with it. I think this training is good. It has been stepped up a notch in more classes I have done too with stress tests and similar and I don't know why instructors shy away from putting their students in stressful unexpected situations. Perhaps it's not super appropriate at OW level to do too much along these lines but mask off and reg out unexpectedly should be able to be dealt with before certification. And buddy breathing.

 

[idocsteve]

OW Drill # 69: Maintaining task focusing while narc'd and task overloaded.

Hire two big breasted strippers and get them certified to Scuba Dive. Rig them with fake tails and ornamental sea shells in such a way that the tank is hidden in the tails and the regulators are carefully routed so the hoses are covered by carefully placed seashells. Perhaps use a rebreather so there won't be any telltale bubbles.

Have the two strippers set up and ready to go at the bottom and bring the students down to a depth of about 100 feet and plan the dive so that the group of students comes across the two "mermaids" when they get to about 1000 psi. Monitor the students closely to be sure that they pay careful attention to their gauges and remaining gas supply as they observe the two mermaids "going at it" on the bottom.

Be certain the mermaids are certified in buddy breathing should there be an OOA emergency.

 

[Kevrumbo]

All of that makes sense except the idea of multiple CESA's. This is likely to result in some too rapid ascents with potential for injury. And CESA is fairly well down the list of preferred solutions to OOA anyway. The focus should be on not getting into a situation that requires CESA, although obviously we should at least know the skill in case it is the best available option.

I agree that more emphasis should be placed on how not to get into certain situations in the first place. The only reasonable way to get into OOA is mechanical failure like a blown hose for instance, not simply neglect at watching your air. I mentioned CESA not so much as the best way out of an OOA situation, but more as a way to gain some experience underwater not just breathing off a functioning reg. I think the CESA drill is useful to help instill the idea that just because your air is cut off you don't need to panic and assume you will die, there are alternatives as long as you stay calm.

But you are correct, emphasizing slow ascents and developing the technique to do so is an important skill, fast ascents are also a problem with many dive accidents.

A modified CESA drill with tank valve manipulation. . .

The motivation in any uncontrollable free-flow [or blown hose] scenario is not to waste any more precious breathing gas that can still be used for yourself or your team : shut that tank valve down! If you're on doubles, then go to your back-up regulator and abort the dive, ascend according to your deco plan as necessary. If on single tank, signal out-of-gas and look for your buddy's long hose or octopus donation.

If on single tank and you cannot locate your buddy (or if solo diving), go to your back-up reg if necessary, reach back with your right hand and feather/modulate your tank valve open & closed; inhaling on the open/exhaling on the closed valve --breath as normally as you can under the circumstances and manipulate the tank valve accordingly; control your wing/BCD exhaust dump or deflator hose with your left hand as you make your modified CESA (a skill IMO which all divers should be familiar with and practice regularly . . .)

 

[captndale]

Why do you have them invert and go under the line rather than simply go over?

I did not say that I have them invert. To cross a floating line on the surface you simply grab it with your hand, hold it up and pivot under it. Trying to go over it is just about guaranteed to get you hung up.

 

[Blackwood]

I did not say that I have them invert. To cross a floating line on the surface you simply grab it with your hand, hold it up and pivot under it. Trying to go over it is just about guaranteed to get you hung up.

Sorry, I misinterpreted "rotating under it." I also assumed the line/divers were submerged (i.e. floating in midwater, not on the surface).

My bad.

 

[Amphiprion]

Back on topic, what about shooting a bag from depth? I was only taught this in my intro to tech class, but it seems that this would be a good one to know along the Atlantic Florida coast and Cozumel where drift diving is common.

I fully admit that I am not an instructor and have other technical classes in mind before I ever decide to teach, I just remember my early training (pre-certification training) involved a lot of harassment tests, stem breathing, doing the whole dive without a mask etc. I was 10 at the time so perhaps I didn't have a healthy understanding of panic that adults have when they decide to get certified for their honeymoon in fiji or wherever.

However, what I remember most about those panic inducing classes were the following questions:
Can you breathe, if not fix the problem. If you can breathe, relax and figure out what is going wrong with your dive come to a solution and fix it. I live by this even today.

I'm not sure this is taught enough from the aspect of alleviating panic and extra task loading.