And, have fun doing it! (Spoiler Alert: this post is long. But, if you have time, and a cup of coffee handy, or some favorite refreshing adult beverage, give it a try.)
Several recent threads have re-kindled my interest in a topic that I have long believed is under-served in dive instruction and recreational diving: the need for regular skill practice after initial training and certification.
One of the threads (Accidents and Incidents Forum) described a tragic outcome – a diver was found unresponsive on the bottom and could not be revived after finally being brought to the surface. As with most accidents, the factual information is incomplete, and it is not possible to assert, with complete certainty, what occurred. But, the observation was made that the diver’s low pressure inflator hose was found to be disconnected. Was it not properly connected to begin with, and detached when she first attempted to use the power inflator after entering the water? Was there a small but annoying leak around the point of hose attachment, and the diver elected to disconnect the inflator hose (or someone else disconnected it for her)? Without a functioning power inflator, was the (possibly stressed) diver unable to maintain proper buoyancy control (e.g. establish positive buoyancy at the surface), using oral inflation?
The other thread involved a discussion of ‘negative entries’, and whether they are a bad idea, or not safe, etc. One post in that thread provided a link to a summary of an accident, somewhat well known to many NC divers, that occurred over a decade ago, where a diver entered the water, wearing double cylinders and therefore negatively buoyant, but with both cylinder valves turned off and therefore no air supply to either his second stages or his power inflator. The diver was unable to remove his rig as he descended, and drowned.
In Open Water Diver training (PADI in my case, but I imagine the process is not altogether dissimilar in other agency programs) we specifically teach, and require students to perform, BCD Oral Inflation, and establishing positive buoyancy at the surface using oral inflation. But, it is performed under comfortable, even controlled conditions, for the most part. That, however, is not the issue. Rather, the problem is, most (dare I say many) students never practice that skill again! Why would they need to? They have a power inflator! It works! Besides, the other related skill – disconnecting a low pressure inflator hose, is tough, it hurts the fingers, so why do it once it has been ‘mastered’ it for the course? And, dive gear is, frankly, incredibly reliable, and the chance of ever needing to use oral inflation because it is the ONLY technique available, is pretty small.
We also teach, and emphasize, the use of a Pre-Dive safety Check – in PADI terms it is BWRAF (BCD function, Weights, Releases, Air, Final Check), although some divers come to add an additional step or two. But, if performed correctly – either as a buddy team, or as a solo diver – a diver WILL NOT enter the water with a cylinder valve turned off. A diver WILL NOT enter the water with a disconnected, or not fully connected, LPI hose. It just won’t happen.
But, it does happen. Because, skills do not seem to be regularly practiced or performed after initial training.
OK, I get it. It is human nature. We learn to dive to have fun, don’t we? Why bother with those pesky skills, beyond making sure we can breathe off our regulator? Heck, who practices changing a automobile tire, just so they know how when they have a flat (for that matter, how many people even know where their spare 'donut' is stored)? That is what AAA is for isn’t it? Yep. Except, maybe when it is 2 in the morning, and that flat occurs in the middle of a long, lonely stretch of interstate highway, in the middle of nowhere – or, worse, in the middle of somewhere that you really don’t want to be - and you realize that you forgot to renew your AAA membership, or the next available service truck will be there – in only 4 short hours? (And, you are right, changing a tire is not part of Driver’s Ed, nor required as part of testing to obtain your license. But, just go with the analogy for now.
)
The skills that are included in Open Water training – including the Pre-Dive Safety Check, and BCD oral inflation – are there for a reason – as a diver you just might need them to prevent an Accident, or Incident! So, why not maintain proficiency in performing them? It isn’t that hard to build skill practice into an enjoyable, recreational dive, if you want to. Maybe, find a way to make skill practice a game, with your dive buddy. Now, a glimpse of a darker side - personally, as a diver (not as an Instructor) I think every diver should be able to complete an entire dive, using only oral BCD inflation. If they can’t, they should head back to the pool for refresher work. (OK, some might go even further – every diver’s rig should be so well-tuned, so balanced, that they can complete a recreational dive without a BCD at all. That’s what Mike Nelson did in Sea Hunt, why shouldn’t we do it? But, I am just suggesting baby steps at this point.) That, however, is just my personal bias. The bigger issue is practicing the skill.
My wife and I practice air sharing on a regular basis, as an example of skill maintenance. Yes, we have made it easy – we both dive 7’ primary hoses as part of our recreational kit. But, at some point on every dive trip, frankly on most quarry outings, we will practice air sharing (donor and recipient), and we still can enjoy a relaxed dive. That proficiency and comfort came in handy on St. Kitts over the Christmas holiday. I started off one dive with a light cylinder (2700 psi instead of 3000), and I normally use more air than my wife anyway. So, about halfway through, I simply took her long hose, she moved to her bungeed back-up, and we swam around looking at cool reef critters for a while. We both ended up back on the boat with 500 psi, after a very enjoyable dive.
I had a chance last summer to perform my first ever real CESA, from 27 feet in our local quarry. The reason I found myself OOA was purely / entirely / completely user error, and I have to work to correct the flaw (insidious complacency) that created the need for a CESA. But, it was frankly a good experience. Training kicked in, I made a safe, comfortable, timely ascent. I appreciate the fact that, as an Instructor, I have a bit of an advantage – I review that skill regularly as part of teaching Open Water. But, I believe that the reason it worked so well is that I also practice it regularly, even though I have always said I should never need it.
The point of these comments: make every dive a training dive. You don’t have to practice every skill, every time. But, work to build some type skill practice into each dive, be it mask remove/replace/clear, or disconnecting and reconnecting that LPI, or hovering, or verbalizing you pre-dive safety check (list), or …. You’ll be glad you did.
Several recent threads have re-kindled my interest in a topic that I have long believed is under-served in dive instruction and recreational diving: the need for regular skill practice after initial training and certification.
One of the threads (Accidents and Incidents Forum) described a tragic outcome – a diver was found unresponsive on the bottom and could not be revived after finally being brought to the surface. As with most accidents, the factual information is incomplete, and it is not possible to assert, with complete certainty, what occurred. But, the observation was made that the diver’s low pressure inflator hose was found to be disconnected. Was it not properly connected to begin with, and detached when she first attempted to use the power inflator after entering the water? Was there a small but annoying leak around the point of hose attachment, and the diver elected to disconnect the inflator hose (or someone else disconnected it for her)? Without a functioning power inflator, was the (possibly stressed) diver unable to maintain proper buoyancy control (e.g. establish positive buoyancy at the surface), using oral inflation?
The other thread involved a discussion of ‘negative entries’, and whether they are a bad idea, or not safe, etc. One post in that thread provided a link to a summary of an accident, somewhat well known to many NC divers, that occurred over a decade ago, where a diver entered the water, wearing double cylinders and therefore negatively buoyant, but with both cylinder valves turned off and therefore no air supply to either his second stages or his power inflator. The diver was unable to remove his rig as he descended, and drowned.
In Open Water Diver training (PADI in my case, but I imagine the process is not altogether dissimilar in other agency programs) we specifically teach, and require students to perform, BCD Oral Inflation, and establishing positive buoyancy at the surface using oral inflation. But, it is performed under comfortable, even controlled conditions, for the most part. That, however, is not the issue. Rather, the problem is, most (dare I say many) students never practice that skill again! Why would they need to? They have a power inflator! It works! Besides, the other related skill – disconnecting a low pressure inflator hose, is tough, it hurts the fingers, so why do it once it has been ‘mastered’ it for the course? And, dive gear is, frankly, incredibly reliable, and the chance of ever needing to use oral inflation because it is the ONLY technique available, is pretty small.
We also teach, and emphasize, the use of a Pre-Dive safety Check – in PADI terms it is BWRAF (BCD function, Weights, Releases, Air, Final Check), although some divers come to add an additional step or two. But, if performed correctly – either as a buddy team, or as a solo diver – a diver WILL NOT enter the water with a cylinder valve turned off. A diver WILL NOT enter the water with a disconnected, or not fully connected, LPI hose. It just won’t happen.
But, it does happen. Because, skills do not seem to be regularly practiced or performed after initial training.
OK, I get it. It is human nature. We learn to dive to have fun, don’t we? Why bother with those pesky skills, beyond making sure we can breathe off our regulator? Heck, who practices changing a automobile tire, just so they know how when they have a flat (for that matter, how many people even know where their spare 'donut' is stored)? That is what AAA is for isn’t it? Yep. Except, maybe when it is 2 in the morning, and that flat occurs in the middle of a long, lonely stretch of interstate highway, in the middle of nowhere – or, worse, in the middle of somewhere that you really don’t want to be - and you realize that you forgot to renew your AAA membership, or the next available service truck will be there – in only 4 short hours? (And, you are right, changing a tire is not part of Driver’s Ed, nor required as part of testing to obtain your license. But, just go with the analogy for now.
)The skills that are included in Open Water training – including the Pre-Dive Safety Check, and BCD oral inflation – are there for a reason – as a diver you just might need them to prevent an Accident, or Incident! So, why not maintain proficiency in performing them? It isn’t that hard to build skill practice into an enjoyable, recreational dive, if you want to. Maybe, find a way to make skill practice a game, with your dive buddy. Now, a glimpse of a darker side - personally, as a diver (not as an Instructor) I think every diver should be able to complete an entire dive, using only oral BCD inflation. If they can’t, they should head back to the pool for refresher work. (OK, some might go even further – every diver’s rig should be so well-tuned, so balanced, that they can complete a recreational dive without a BCD at all. That’s what Mike Nelson did in Sea Hunt, why shouldn’t we do it? But, I am just suggesting baby steps at this point.) That, however, is just my personal bias. The bigger issue is practicing the skill.
My wife and I practice air sharing on a regular basis, as an example of skill maintenance. Yes, we have made it easy – we both dive 7’ primary hoses as part of our recreational kit. But, at some point on every dive trip, frankly on most quarry outings, we will practice air sharing (donor and recipient), and we still can enjoy a relaxed dive. That proficiency and comfort came in handy on St. Kitts over the Christmas holiday. I started off one dive with a light cylinder (2700 psi instead of 3000), and I normally use more air than my wife anyway. So, about halfway through, I simply took her long hose, she moved to her bungeed back-up, and we swam around looking at cool reef critters for a while. We both ended up back on the boat with 500 psi, after a very enjoyable dive.
I had a chance last summer to perform my first ever real CESA, from 27 feet in our local quarry. The reason I found myself OOA was purely / entirely / completely user error, and I have to work to correct the flaw (insidious complacency) that created the need for a CESA. But, it was frankly a good experience. Training kicked in, I made a safe, comfortable, timely ascent. I appreciate the fact that, as an Instructor, I have a bit of an advantage – I review that skill regularly as part of teaching Open Water. But, I believe that the reason it worked so well is that I also practice it regularly, even though I have always said I should never need it.
The point of these comments: make every dive a training dive. You don’t have to practice every skill, every time. But, work to build some type skill practice into each dive, be it mask remove/replace/clear, or disconnecting and reconnecting that LPI, or hovering, or verbalizing you pre-dive safety check (list), or …. You’ll be glad you did.
