Sequence in S-drill

[jonnythan]

Here's an anagram I was taught:

Lucky Diver Can Have My Gas.

L - locate (the reg by carefully grabbing the hose with your right hand)
D - donate (the reg by shoving it towards the diver, letting him put it in his mouth)
C - clear (the long hose by running your hand down it, freeing it and deploying it fully, making sure by giving it a little tug)
H - housekeep (donee clips off his long hose, doner checks gas and shows buddy)
M - make (a decision. Decide what to do.)
G - Go. (get out of there!)

 

[darkpup]

FYI See post #3 - end.

From Soggy's post that Rick linked to, we see from JJ's comments on Quest there is the potential to trap the long hose by improperly routing the light under the long hose in a way that prevents you from getting gas to your OOA buddy. I have seen this happen in training events, and on a few dives with divers who are new to DIR. The problem I've seen however is not so much the inability to get gas to the OOA diver, but more the diver with the trapped long hose becoming fixated on hose routing issues rather than getting gas to the OOA diver. Thus they lose focus of the emergency, and focus their attention on procedures that have already broken down.

The old DIR way of routing the light cable was to route it under the long hose so not to trap it. The new DIR way is to route it over the long hose, trapping it in a manageable fashion, to prevent potential issues with the old way of doing it. The new DIR way makes the stowing of the light simpler, while adding steps to the OOA procedure. The old DIR way adds more steps to stowing the light properly, while leaving the long hose free from obstruction.

The key problem in both old and new procedures is lack of situational awareness. If you use either method of stowing the light, you run the risk of trapping the long hose if you lack situational awareness. I have seen divers lose situational awareness, and do all sorts of weird stuff when task loaded. Just take RecTriox or Tech 1, and you'll see problems you never thought could happen pop up in the simulator.

The key solution in preventing these problems from happening is also situational awareness. When I hear of people trapping their long hoses while using the old and new method, my first take is that someone wasn't paying attention (i.e. they forgot to do a mod s after stowing the light). This includes the diver that made the mistake, and every member of the team.

In the end, all of this is designed to make us "thinking divers". All of us run the risk of losing situational awareness when task loaded in an emergency. IMO, you should work to prevent such problems (i.e. never trap the long hose), and learn to deploy the long hose even when it's trapped.

My $0.02

~ Jason

 

[Reinoud]

Okay, Jeff, so the sequence is pretty much what I worked out tonight: Donate the primary, freeing up the loop around your neck. Reroute the light cord. Deploy the remaining hose.

Seems like when you get it back, the thing to do is get all the spaghetti sorted while still breathing off the secondary, and then switch back to the primary.

If I've got it wrong, I'm sure Bob will tell me . . .

Or somebody on the forum ";-)

I'm not an instructor, but I miss some important points:

• Donate the primary, freeing up the loop around your neck.
• put the backup in your own mouth
• look your buddy in the eyes. Take a few breaths. Calm down. give your buddy an 'OK' sign
• check the other team members.
• Reroute the light cord.
• Deploy the remaining hose.
• check depth/time/direction
• grasp you buddy by the arm and indicate the direction you are going to (or up)
• make sure that the other team member is still there and knows where the team is going to (a good team member will be on the other side of the receiving team member; the person with the biggest problem is always in the middle)

Remember one of the key elements in DIR philosophy is team awareness, even (or should I say "especially") in stressfull situations like this. It's the details like this that make all the difference. (But I'm sure your DIR-F instructor will point you to a lot more when you will see yourself back on video during the course ";-)

 

[Ben_ca]

Wait for your class...

 

[Soggy]

The old DIR way of routing the light cable was to route it under the long hose so not to trap it. The new DIR way is to route it over the long hose, trapping it in a manageable fashion, to prevent potential issues with the old way of doing it. The new DIR way makes the stowing of the light simpler, while adding steps to the OOA procedure. The old DIR way adds more steps to stowing the light properly, while leaving the long hose free from obstruction.

Here's the critical difference. When running the cord over the hose, there is no way to *trap* the long hose. You can *always* deploy the hose, at least partially. After it is partially deployed, you have a minor situation where the light cord is wrapped around the hose, which with a simple hand switch is resolved (obviously, you need to *train* for this).

On the other hand, with the cord under the long hose, you can completely prevent the long hose from being deployed if, through absentmindedness or "I'll only have it clipped for a minute"-syndrome, you clip it off in this position.

Which situation is worse? (I know, Pug, you disagree )

 

[peter_steinhoff]

Actually I think you guys are are making it too complicated while missing the important points

1. Donate gas, take control of the situation.
2. Calm down your buddy, make sure everything is under control.
3. Take your time. Check what the problem is? Maybe he just swallowed some water and don't really need your longhose.
4. Deploy the full length of the longhose for travel.
5. Clean up your mess (light cords, hoses etc).
6. Thumb the dive and rearrange teamorder if convenient.

There has never really been an "old" DIR way how to route the lightcord, it has always been over the longhose. Under the longhose was an adaptation to make it easier for students and was practised by some of the GUE instructors, not all.

While scootering in a cave you need to change light hands often and you clip off the light everytime you switch a bottle or a scooter. Passing the light head under the longhose each time would be a major PITA especially if you wanted to do it without having your buddy stop and try to check on you each time your turn your light away. DIR methods needs to be consistant across all levels of diving.

Good luck with your dry runs!

Best,
Peter

 

[TSandM]

Thank you all for the input. Jason and Reinoud, thank you especially for pointing out to me what I was missing . . . what I was missing in my writing is EXACTLY what I miss in reality -- task loading leading to perceptual narrowing. A good call to attention.

Peter, your point about passing the light back and forth if you are repeatedly having to clip it off is well taken. In the dives I do, the light gets clipped off before diving, deployed on descent, and clipped off on ascent. I have really wondered about light cord routing and which hand the light head should be in, given that I will probably never use a scooter and will CERTAINLY never use stages or deco gas. Something to think about while absorbing the new information.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Careful with practiceing too much.. I would just concentrate on SPG and other clip offs.. maybe the simple stuff like basic drills ect.

Just to clarify something ... that's all she's asking about is simple stuff.

She's trying to sort the sequence out in her head ... pretty much a "parking lot" S drill to get the feel for the gear and where everything goes.

The only in-water skill we're working on is buoyancy control ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[kalvyn]

Here's the critical difference. When running the cord over the hose, there is no way to *trap* the long hose. You can *always* deploy the hose, at least partially. After it is partially deployed, you have a minor situation where the light cord is wrapped around the hose, which with a simple hand switch is resolved (obviously, you need to *train* for this).

On the other hand, with the cord under the long hose, you can completely prevent the long hose from being deployed if, through absentmindedness or "I'll only have it clipped for a minute"-syndrome, you clip it off in this position.

Which situation is worse? (I know, Pug, you disagree )

I personally think that the most important step has been left out: pick one and practice it that way always. I route my light under the long hose. If I'm going to clip off my light head for any reason (eg to shoot a bag), it always comes back from under my long hose first, thus the second scenario would never happen to me. When the light head is clipped, the excess light cord is tucked into my harness waist belt so it doesn't get in the way of other stuff.

One of the big tennets of DIR is the 'law of primacy". Since I learned the way I stow and deploy my light one way in the beginning and have always done it that one way, it's just second nature to me now. I don't even think about it, it just happens.

So the bottom line from my point of view... pick the way you're comfortable with, and stick to it. That way when the poo does hit the fan, you'll have already learned and practiced muscle memory that kicks in and prevents the light from becoming an enanglement hazard for the long hose.

I presonally prefer routing the cord behind the long hose because the hose keeps the light cord against my body and out of the way. YMMV, of course.

Jimmie

 

[darkpup]

that I will probably never use a scooter and will CERTAINLY never use stages or deco gas.

Famous last words. Janeane, my wife, said the same thing about Cave and Tech diving the first time she sat through lecture 1 of a DIR-F course (October 2003). Now she says she'll kill me if I do Cave 1 before her.

I'm glad our overly anal attention to detail was helpful.

~ Jason