Wreck Diver Certification (Blindfolded reel-in)

[lizardland]

That and a rebreather providing ‘unlimited’ gas to keep the lizard brain at bay.

A rebreather brings its own issues. If you're in a situation where you can't see the way out then what do you do when you can't see your ppo2? SCR your way out? Just pray that whatever O2 addition system you're using will keep up while you're blind? (A level of faith most of us aren't willing to accept in normal circumstances)

Not so much an issue in wrecks but clay in a cave will turn the water to soup. I've been in many a sump where a misplaced fin will make you think someone has just poured brown paint over your mask.

 

[boulderjohn]

Line laying is a skill and not an easy one.

Assuming the course has not changed since I retired, the lack of true skill building in laying and retrieving line is a glaring weakness in the course. If you plan on running line in a future wreck penetration, I suggest you either work hard independently or you take a cavern course, where the line work is more extensive.

 

[lermontov]

first of all dont beat your self up- try to to look at difficulties/errors on your course as a way of exposing any weakness in you're skill set - then you know what to work on more

reeling in through a silt out is not unusual - its rare to get absolute zero vis, maybe in oily water, one mans terrifying silt out is another mans normal, its just a matter of stress threshold, which will increase in time.

Dont sweat it, using a reel, working in silt out, keeping bouyancy, all skills in themselves and trying to master all three in one go is unrealistic. Take time out to practice.

My only concern is who was watching you SPG? hope the instructor was !

 

[NauticalNick]

first of all dont beat your self up- try to to look at difficulties/errors on your course as a way of exposing any weakness in you're skill set - then you know what to work on more

reeling in through a silt out is not unusual - its rare to get absolute zero vis, maybe in oily water, one mans terrifying silt out is another mans normal, its just a matter of stress threshold, which will increase in time.

Dont sweat it, using a reel, working in silt out, keeping bouyancy, all skills in themselves and trying to master all three in one go is unrealistic. Take time out to practice.

My only concern is who was watching you SPG? hope the instructor was !

Yes they were. Ended up surfacing with < 30 bar (dive was <8m). The terminal tie-off on the line gave me hell (small end loop on the line so did some sort of tie-off that I don't know the name of) so I completed it in the last minute before they were going to stop the test.

 

[J-Vo]

Cavern, Intro to Cave, Full Cave, Stage Cave, CCR Cave, CCR Cave TRIMIX, and Cave DPV in my card collection and I was never once asked to pull the reel/spool blind. Leave it behind and come back later if it's important.

The line is your buoyancy reference in blackout. When your reeling it in you lose that reference making the situation even worse. Additional, following the line is faster than pulling it in and a blackout situation is time synsative for gas management.

 

[tursiops]

May

Yes they were. Ended up surfacing with < 30 bar (dive was <8m). The terminal tie-off on the line gave me hell (small end loop on the line so did some sort of tie-off that I don't know the name of) so I completed it in the last minute before they were going to stop the test.

Maybe you missed the post that explained your "test" is NOT part of the PADI Wreck class and can't be used as a basis for pass or fail in the class. You could have refused to do it and still gotten your cert.

 

[johndiver999]

I have no experience in any of this, but I am curious as to how a diver who is blindfolded is going to be expected to maintain good buoyancy control without relying upon tactile information - like touching the bottom, sides or top?

Do you just put a lot of tension on the line and try to keep it in front of you while you reel? I would think that if you are in a total silt out, you could sorta crawl on the bottom, its not like you are going to mess up the vis?

 

[tursiops]

Yeah ok. Just like the guy who tells the cop he doesn't have to show ID because he did nothing wrong and the traffic stop was unlawful. The cop will acknowledge his error and happily wave the motorist on his way, possibly thanking him for pointing out his transgression so he won't do it again.

@tursiops Suggesting a student disobey his instructor and refuse to do a skills test will most likely not result in a desirable outcome. If you'd like a more complete explanation of how people tend to think and act and why a student taking your advice and refusing to follow the direction of the instructor would likely fail the course then we can discuss it in private but but not here.

You are wrong.

 

[tursiops]

I offered to explain to you in private messaging why your reasoning is incorrect as it pertains to human behavior and what "should" happen versus what "will probably happen" if a student refuses to follow the directions of an instructor during a training course.

You can proclaim that anyone who disagrees with you is wrong but that changes nothing and worse yet it deprives you of much needed learning opportunity.

A blindfolded reel-in on Dive 2 of the PADI wreck course breaks two standards. The instructor was wrong too.

 

[tursiops]

Perhaps but irrelevant. If the student made the mistake of pointing that out to the instructor and refused to participate in the drill, he wouldn't be getting his card. At least not from that instructor.

If that were to happen, the instructor could lose his credentials. Even instructors have to play by the rules.