Adv Nitrox/Deco Procedures

[TSandM]

As we have been talking about this on another thread, I got curious. The only tech classes I'm really familiar with, in terms of what's included in them and how they are taught, are the GUE Tech classes. I know pretty much what it's like to go through one of them -- how the dives go and what kind of stuff gets thrown at you, and what the standards for satisfactory performance are.

But I'm kind of unclear on other training sequences.

For those of you who have taken an Adv Nitrox/Deco Procedures class, what was the diving like? Lots of failures? Missing masks? Stolen deco bottles? Or is this really an introductory class to get you used to the procedures involved in diving with staged decompression?

Everybody writes class reports of Tech 1, but I can't ever remember seeing an Adv Nitrox/Deco procedures report!

 

[pir8]

Sorry but I am not a fan of causing problems for yourself during a dive just to see if you can handle it, especially when you are already in an overhead type environment whether physical or virtual from deco obligation. That being said my Deco proceedures class was all about proceedures and less about makeing trouble.

 

[Kim]

Everybody writes class reports of Tech 1, but I can't ever remember seeing an Adv Nitrox/Deco procedures report!

I think Mania did one. Off the top of my head she did a TDI course (or was it IANTD?)

It's really late here so I'm not going looking for it....

 

[Rick Inman]

Mine was kind of all blended in with Advanced Rec Trimix (IANTD). But there was a lot of dive planning and execution. It wasn't about depth so much as it was about correct planning and correct execution of said plans and backup plans. And we did have lots of simulated failures - first in pretend virtual overheads, and then during real ones. It never felt like harassment for harassment's sake. It was training in the real world environment (slow and progressive). My instructor's philosophy was that if you don't know the difference between a drill and the real thing during the training dives, then after the class you will end up knowing actually how you will respond during the real deal. The first time to find out how you'll handle when it hits the fan isn't when it really does.

 

[jimdiverman]

Like Rick said, when I did IANTD Advanced Nitrox, it was a lot of class instruction first, followed by execution of the plans we developed in our two days of diving (3 dives per day). Like most courses, we did a couple of nights in the pool also to go through all of the skills that we would perform in the open water per the course requirements. They were long days. We did skills like no mask swims, blind swims, blind identification of deco bottle, don and doff of all gear including deco bottle, and timed don and doff and timed swims. There were others. It was an intense course, and of the four of us that started it, one dropped out at the open water. It was the first time that I used a primary and backup regulator configuration with an H valve. But for the money and the time invested, it was probably the most informative and most educational and enlightening scuba course I have ever taken. Shortly thereafter, I did the course study for the PSAI Advanced Nitrox course. It uses a little different form of planning. And it gives you 150 feet and up to 100% O2 on deco. (IANTD gives you a ppO2 of 1.5.)

Of course my instructor is also a very good diver and instructor, and he made the course interesting by making it challenging, and I very much appreciate that. In the real world, stuff happens. Actually, I had a roll off of my primary regulator in the cave during my full cave training. I had not opened my valves all the way at the start of the dive. When it happened, I actually thought that my instructor had done it. I went to breathe, and nothing. Without even thinking, I switched to my backup reg, and opened my primary valve, then switched back to my primary reg. I looked back as my instructor was trailing behind me watching my form, and I thought to myself, you know what, there is no way he turned off those valves. I did it. It was in the lips at Ginnie. But he had done it twice before at Manatee while I was already task loaded, and I knew what to do without any hesitation when it actually happened. So while some might balk at all the BS that we seemingly have to go through in these classes, this stuff really helps when you have it happen to you for real.

I am 100% in favor of training for everything I do in this sport. There is just too much margin for error, and too many unknowns to go it alone the first time. I'll take all the knowledge I can get.

 

[Meng_Tze]

Mine was kind of all blended in with Advanced Rec Trimix (IANTD). But there was a lot of dive planning and execution. It wasn't about depth so much as it was about correct planning and correct execution of said plans and backup plans. And we did have lots of simulated failures - first in pretend virtual overheads, and then during real ones. It never felt like harassment for harassment's sake. It was training in the real world environment (slow and progressive). My instructor's philosophy was that if you don't know the difference between a drill and the real thing during the training dives, then after the class you will end up knowing actually how you will respond during the real deal. The first time to find out how you'll handle when it hits the fan isn't when it really does.

My courses were similar in that we did do some exercises. The focus was on planning, contingencies and performing the dives according to plan. My courses were done in caves where blindly identifying your deco bottles in high flow while trying to stay neutral was a challenge. But the course was definitely not in the GUE style of 'issues happening'.

 

[Ontwreckdiver]

When I did my TDI Advanced Nitrox (alone without deco proceedures).
After all the class work and stuff.

We had to do the following skills on every open water dive

We had to go to the mooring block and set your stage bottle down while staying neutral, put the stage bottle back on while staying neutral, we did this 2 or 3 times.
Attach your line to the wreck and run the reel out 20 or 30 feet and back while staying neutral, also did this 2 or 3 times
Do an OOA share air and buddy breathe while staying neutral (without a warning!)
Had to keep track of our sac rate
We had to keep the dive "on schedule" to simulate a deco dive
At the end of the dive we had to blow a lift bag and use the reel to do our ascent while staying horizontal. We had to switch from our back gas to the stage bottle at 15 ft. and do a safety stop, all while staying neutral and horizontal.
It really showed how dependant on the ascent line you can become.

 

[jimdiverman]

At the end of the dive we had to blow a lift bag and use the reel to do our ascent while staying horizontal. We had to switch from our back gas to the stage bottle at 15 ft. and do a safety stop, all while staying neutral and horizontal.
It really showed how dependant on the ascent line you can become.

One of the best things I learned in Advanced Nitrox was how to shoot a lift bag. We did our open water dives in 5 foot visibility above 30 feet, so being able to shoot a lift bag and do your stops gave me a lot of confidence in low vis.

 

[Meng_Tze]

Fundies is a very good course that really teaches the fundamentals (trim, buoyancy, shoot the bag, OOG, ascends, descends, comms, team etc, etc. I have benefited greatly from that course as a basis for additional courses.

 

[amascuba]

Mine was similar to a fundamentals class (except with a deco bottle). It was mostly dive planning, gear configuration, theory, and contingency. It was far from the constant failures and reacting to the failures that you read about from the GUE/NAUI course reports. My instructor had a similar point of view that pir8 has.