Would like to ask about the "unified" and "team" aspect of UTD...
Firstly the "unified". Is conformity to equipment standards considered to be more important than utilising the correct equipment configuration for the 'mission'? Thinking back to the old bigoted days of DIR, insisting that you have to all have exactly the same config regardless. A good example is not allowing a D-ring on the RH waist, mandating backmount where sidemount would be appropriate (for many reasons). Insisting that computers are in gauge mode, etc. There's many places where hybrid solutions would be appropriate, such as sidemounting bailout cylinders to keep them properly streamlined and in control, especially when penetrating wrecks or tighter caves. What about gasses? Standard gasses are fine but horrendously expensive -- 25/25 for a 25m/80' dive?
Secondly the "team" element which results in less independent thought or development. A lot of places one dives requires solo mentalities, such as penetrations within shipwrecks and restrictions within caves. Could the team mentality encourage 'group think' and suppress independent thought?
Have to question using ratio deco. Why? We now have Shearwater computers which give a far better calculation of the deco curve for the specifics of the profile. Diving with two of them means redundancy. Three is even better. ZHL16 works and is widely adopted for planning, etc.
I’ll give this a shot.....
Equipment standard vs mission specific.
There is a base of equipment standards (backplate, wing, single piece harness etc). But generally if there is a mod or placement of gear, as long as it’s well thought out and makes sense, no problem. The “thinking” diver is a core aspect.
This leads to the second part, “team” aspect.
Each diver has to have individual and team skills. Simple things like situational awareness, detailed gas planning, line use etc, are stressed. Then the team member abilities are required, rock bottom calculations, gas matching, team formation, reactions and duties during the dive.
One rigid requirement is standard gases.......helium, although costly in some areas, is to be used at the correct depths. It’s viewed as a safety aspect, you’ll find many progressive agencies adopting this view.
Ratio Deco....and min Deco
RD is definitely a topic of much debate.....it’s utilized for tech level courses but available to any level that wish to increase their knowledge base.
The exclusion of dive computers is, in my opinion, a bit of a hold out from some time ago when it was stressed that the diver should, with ease, be able to plan and control the dive no matter the circumstances. This covered the possibility of computer availability and failures. It’s more common than not to see a Shearwater on the wrist of a UTD diver now days......
I see it now as a fantastic training tool to solidify decompression theory and comprehensive knowledge of planning a dive and being able to safely change the plan on the fly if required.
The newest version of RD 3.0 is now rolling out, there’s a great podcast with Dr Mitchell and Ratio Deco, well worth a listen. I’m not deeply knowledgeable in 3.0 but will in time tackle it.
There are many UTD oriented communities around the world as well as cave and wreck explorations going on but not as abundant as some of the 400+ agencies out there. Fortunately, most UTD trained divers can easily fit in with GUE divers due to very similar skill sets. Locally, I dive with mostly GUE divers as they were established before UTD came on board. A very fun, friendly and inclusive group of active divers.
I hope this answers a few of the questions......
Jay
