Practicing CESA & ditch and don?

[scarefaceDM]

to answer orignal poster...

NO TO CESA...not required to practice it.
Don off on rig..yup.
Plus a bunch of others while hovering.
Hovering, turning, and..oh yeah..breathing...

Safe dives

 

[O2BBubbleFree]

I practice the skills that count.

Soggy, or anyone why cares to respond, can you please list the skills you practice, in order of importance or frequency?

I have my list, and the CESA and donNdoff fit on it. Just curious what your list is.

This is a serious question. As I mentioned, I have my list, and you are implying that by including these skills I am neglecting other skills that are more important. Also, I should have much more practice time in a couple of months, and am looking to expand my skill set.

Oh, and I have not been through DIR-Anything, or any tech training for that matter, so please avoid jargon unique to those areas. (It really annoys me when I read a post about a 'Rule X violation' or 'Z-Drill' in a basic scuba forum when the majority of SB members have no idea what the reference is).

Thanks,

O2

 

[MikeFerrara]

I think the ditch and don (the real one...leaving gear on the bottom and surfacing, then going back down for your stuff) and bail outs are good watermenship excersized. Too many diving students are afraid of the water. They hate having their masks off or being without a reg for a microsecond. Do they have much real diving application? I doubt it aside from what I said...comfort in the water.

Removing and replacing your equipment underwater (which is NOT a ditch and don) may have some real diving value although I've never had to take my gear off on a real dive. I use a one piece harness like Soggy though and I can still do it. With a single tank I can do it midwater without ever even getting out of horizontal trim...for what ever that's worth. In doubles I can still do it midwater wearing a dry suit without looking too bad on a good day. Yep, you are really buoyant but you can still do it without a weight belt. Again, just more comfort with equipment. When I was taking technical classes we had to do it in tech gear in OW water. I had to have students do it too.

I doubt I'll ever need to do it on a real dive but, if you can't do it, you're a sissy and should just take up knitting. LOL

 

[scarefaceDM]

List

Practice all you learned young one....

Get a hold of a compitent BUDDY someone whom has more experience than you. And better skills. Helps to sharpen skills.

Not even related to DIR..but alls kils master are related to any diving.

Brief list.
While hovering and or swiming:
Mask removal, mask clear.
Donate Air source AKA share air. reg removal, octo fetch thingy.
Frog kick
Reverse frog kick.

Hovering..or Bouyancy.
Turning clock wise, then counter clock wise.

Free controled acents without holding a line.

Free decents without holding a line AKA free fall.

Plus a few others like deploy an SMB( marker sausage )...air lift bag.

Valve drills with buddy. (Single tank )
Share air with buddy as you shut down your tank valve. Yes with a single tank this can be done.

Never do a cesa..no need.

Safe dives
Stephen

 

[O2BBubbleFree]

So on this entanglement thing. How many people carry a cutting device (and a backup) and can use it? Do people practice that as well, or are we talking about getting out of your rig and trying to untangle? This is an honest question, no joke

I carry a knife on the leg and a small one on the strap. I have done that since I first got certified because my instructor told an interesting story about getting caught in a drag net, and suggested having knives in two locations to increase the chances of being able to reach at least one of them.

However, I am looking to get a set of shears and a Benchmade Rescue Hook, especially for diving in areas that now ban knives (a really stupid rule in my opinion).

WRT the second part of your question if I get entangled to the point that my buddy can't get me loose (a slight step beyond my earlier illustration), I will first remove my gear and see if I can get it loose, then resort to cutting if necessary.

So far I have used my knife more for reef cleanup than for entanglements, but I will be prepared for either.

 

[Soggy]

Soggy, or anyone why cares to respond, can you please list the skills you practice, in order of importance or frequency?

I don't know about ordering them by importance, but here are skills that I devote specific time to outside of regular dives...

basic air share
air sharing ascent simulating decompression stops
gas switches
mask removal and replacement
mask removal and ascent simulating decompression stops
mask removal and ascent with gas switch
lift bag deployment
lift bag deployment with air sharing ascent and simulated stops
toxing diver rescue with stops as necessary for convulsions
valve shutdowns
running line
following line maskless in touch contact
following line maskless in touch contact while sharing air

When possible, we try to do these skills mid-water with no visible reference.

Skills that get practiced all the time are mental games involving situational awareness (constantly switching attention between, equipment, team, & the environment), all the kicks, team communication (passive and active), buoyancy, etc, etc.

That's all I can think of in 5 minutes off the top of my head.

Now I'm going to go home and practice the "fiancee's birthday" skill.

Oh, and I have not been through DIR-Anything, or any tech training for that matter, so please avoid jargon unique to those areas. (It really annoys me when I read a post about a 'Rule X violation' or 'Z-Drill' in a basic scuba forum when the majority of SB members have no idea what the reference is).

FYI, S-drill is just a fancy name for safety drill, which just means fully deploying your long hose, switching to backup, restowing everything, then switching back to the long hose. Also include a valve drill in there or a modified valve drill (check that each valve is on). These drills are done at the beginning of every dive. In the ocean, I do them on my way to the bottom.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

I would not want to dive a rig in open water that was so negative that taking it off would cause me significant problems underwater. (When I need lead I wear most of it on a belt).

I would not want a rig that was so difficult (or slow) to remove that I would seriously contemplate having to cut off straps underwater.

I would not want to rely soley upon situational awareness to avoid entanglement issues and I would not want to rely heavily on a buddy to get me out of an entanglement situation.

Using scooters in a low visibility environment around wrecks is a recipe for getting caught in line.

There are steel cables (and monel fishing wire) in the ocean that are very difficult to cut (I have been entangled in it before). The new spider wire fishing line is extremely strong, doesn't rot, is very thin and very difficult to cut and almost impossible for a diver to break. If someone is entangled in these types of materials, it may be far easier to untangle yourself rather than trying to cut it away from behind your neck.

If diving with a buddy, I will ask for assistance if I get tangled, but I certainly don't depend on it.

I learned to dive on New Jersey shipwrecks a while ago. The people that taught me often dove solo without a BC, often with just a j-valve (and no spg), but most of them carried two knives. This "old school" mentality of entanglement being a big deal was taught to me by experience. My old buddies told me about their friends that died from entanglement in fishing nets.

Being able to remove the scuba unit underwater to deal with entanglement is an integral part of my personal diving abilities and comfort in the water. Maybe this is no longer consistent with what is being taught now?

 

[O2BBubbleFree]

Scareface and Soggy, thanks for the lists. I've reviewed them, compared them to mine, related to the kind of diving I do, and still have time to practice an occasional CESA and ditchNdon.

Never do a cesa..no need IMHO.

Emphasis mine

Practice all you learned young one....

Scareface, I betting I'm older than you, and according to your profile I've been diving longer. But I'm sure you didn't mean to be condescending.

 

[Crazy Fingers]

So on this entanglement thing. How many people carry a cutting device (and a backup) and can use it? Do people practice that as well, or are we talking about getting out of your rig and trying to untangle? This is an honest question, no joke

I ALWAYS carry a knife now. I was in a spring which allows no knives and got tangled up in a damn old line in a high current area. Fortunately I got it off me but it could have been worse. I don't care what the "NO KNIVES OR SHARP OBJECTS" sign says, that knife could very easily save your life. Just don't flaunt it.

 

[Ben_ca]

I ALWAYS carry a knife now. I was in a spring which allows no knives and got tangled up in a damn old line in a high current area. Fortunately I got it off me but it could have been worse. I don't care what the "NO KNIVES OR SHARP OBJECTS" sign says, that knife could very easily save your life. Just don't flaunt it.

Did you report it to the "No Knife" rule maker? Tell them that you would have drowned because you wouldn't let me have a knife....