good luck, its not for everyone but its not as bad as it could seem either. I enjoy it
Thinking of joining local SAR
- Thread starter The Mighty Thor
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OP
The Mighty Thor
Contributor
So far, so good. Had my first drill, working on the surface as the scribe and learning gear, protocol, etc. Went to my first call, which was cancelled as soon as we arrived, having been a false alarm. (Still pretty cool).
I had my "checkout" dive so I am cleared for further diving and training.
Got to dive with all the gear and AGA mask last week in a pool. It was a little strange at first, but I eventually got used to it. Not sure how I feel about the nose block yet.
Our SAR just got a humminbird unit, so that looks interesting..something else to learn.
Oh, and I'm signed up for DR1.
All in all, it's been very positive experience, so far. I'll keep you posted.
In recreational diving I have to descend slowly and clear all the way down. With the AGA I have problems. I can't get the nose piece to sit in comfortable position. It's either too low and I can't use it to clear, or it's too tight against my nose. Also, diving in blackwater in a river with current, there isn't always time to descend at a comfortable pace.
What BCDs are you using? We have the old model Lifeguard Systems set ups. I like the drysuit (RS series DUI suits) and in the water the BCD with the main & pony feels fine too. The AGA though is something I'm not sure will ever really work for me.
I've thought many times over the last year that I'd take to this much easier if I hadn't had all the recreational diving experience I have. Most of our divers got certified by our department (we have certified instructors in-house), did their check-out dives for cert in the river on tender and know nothing else of SCUBA.
How often does your team drill? Most of the teams I know of in the NY/NJ/CT area are monthly only, some 2x a month. We drill weekly and even then, for tenders and divers sometimes it doesn't seem like enough.
Best of luck. It is a whole different kind of diving. Wait til winter. The ice rescue stuff and ice dives are awesome. Ice training has been my favorite part so far.
What BCDs are you using? We have the old model Lifeguard Systems set ups. I like the drysuit (RS series DUI suits) and in the water the BCD with the main & pony feels fine too. The AGA though is something I'm not sure will ever really work for me.
I've thought many times over the last year that I'd take to this much easier if I hadn't had all the recreational diving experience I have. Most of our divers got certified by our department (we have certified instructors in-house), did their check-out dives for cert in the river on tender and know nothing else of SCUBA.
How often does your team drill? Most of the teams I know of in the NY/NJ/CT area are monthly only, some 2x a month. We drill weekly and even then, for tenders and divers sometimes it doesn't seem like enough.
Best of luck. It is a whole different kind of diving. Wait til winter. The ice rescue stuff and ice dives are awesome. Ice training has been my favorite part so far.
Interesting that you mention recreational experience making it harder to get acclimated to PSD.
Could you give specific examples of how recreational experience has made it harder to get acclimated to PSD?
Also as far as the nose block for the AGA... You can use heavier guage wire to make a custom mount for the nose piece and then tie wrapped it to the wire. I have actually broken a stock wire mount before, and built a heavier duty one to replace it. This may let you get a more custom height on the nose block and can be done easily with wire like that of a coat hanger..
Good Luck and Dive Safe,
JG
Could you give specific examples of how recreational experience has made it harder to get acclimated to PSD?
Also as far as the nose block for the AGA... You can use heavier guage wire to make a custom mount for the nose piece and then tie wrapped it to the wire. I have actually broken a stock wire mount before, and built a heavier duty one to replace it. This may let you get a more custom height on the nose block and can be done easily with wire like that of a coat hanger..
Good Luck and Dive Safe,
JG
We don't have our own set of gear. It's on the rescue and you take whatever kit if up next, so customizing anything is not really an option. Our individual gear is a dry suit, fins, weights, gloves. Everything else is shared.
We cover a river. It's black water and there is always a current. Depth in our coverage area ranges from 12 ft to 65 ft. The "diving" is jump in, sink to the bottom and do your search pattern often fighting the current and pulling yourself along with one hand dug into the muck bottom while doing your sweep with the other. If at the best conditions you can see 4-6 inches that is amazing and rare. (we drill weekly, in the evening year-round... doesn't really matter if it's day or night there's no difference once you're u/w) To me this is not "diving," it's doing a job while on SCUBA. I come from years of warm water diving where buoyancy skills and not being on the bottom were the objective. That just doesn't apply here and aside from 2-3 in the department, they have never dived off a tended line or in true open water, or in anything deeper then 60-65ft. To them this is what diving is all about.
My biggest issue is that I am a control freak. I am most comfortable u/w when I'm in total control of my dive. With PSD you aren't. You are the monkey on the end of the line carrying out the signals your tender gives you. It's hard for me to relinquish control and just do as I'm told. It's a mind thing. On the flip side, because I know what it's like u/w in the dive conditions our team is in, and I'm an experienced diver too, I make a great tender.
ScubaWife,
Fortunately our unit now has designated gear.. every diver is issued either an AGA or Guardian as per their preference and diving demands. If you are having problems with the noseblock adjustment it really should be adressed and some sort of compromise made even with shared gear... as the ability to equalize is a health and safety issue. Maybe you can have the team order an extra noseblock and you can glue a layer of rubber to the topside to make it the right length when it is in the next lower notch. Then just place your noseblock in the mask you pull to dive...
As far as your diving experience... be proud of it... I encourage my divers to pursue any additional dive training and experience they can safely get. It is true that in many cases we do have to get down into the muck and stir it up while staying overly negative, especially in tethered current diving where you need the extra weight. On the flip side you may have an underwater scene where visibility exists and along with powerful lights, pinpoint trim and buoyancy control may be what is needed to process the scene while maintaining that visibilty.
We have divers that range from Basic PSD certification to Tech and Cave Recovery(IUCRR)... the wide range of skills allow us to work an underwater scene the best we can and not limit ourselves to one type of diving. Use the tools and skills best suited for the environment and mission.
PSDs are working divers... I use the example that our equivalent on land be it a forensic tec or sar searcher uses their ability to walk to get to the scene.... it is a means of moving to the scene not a unique skill.... Diving is merely a means to get to our scenes underwater... it is a PSD's ability to respond to that scene safely and appropriately that sets them aside from "divers".... but... if you can't walk to a scene... how can you work it.. likewise in the water....
If your unit and it's members only intend to and will only ever have to respond to one type of environment then diving and training how you do is great because your training is specific and prepares you to your work environment...
Most of us in this line of work like be to be in control.... And you are in control of your dive... you have the ability to call a dive at any time for any reason. You prepare for that dive with training, planning and pre-dive checks... You plan and prepare for possible emergencies with contingency planning/procedures and safety equipment. Before you ever enter the water you know what the plan is and what your part is in the plan. The tender does direct you during the search but you are in control of yourself and your interaction with the underwater environment.. the tender is there as your guide, your liason with command and as a back up brain.
You are not a monkey.... you should know going into the dive what your role is in the search and what your mission and goal are. I have seen teams where the divers were like puppets because no real dive plan or search plan was prepared or discussed so the diver truly had no idea of what they were to accomplish other than to splash.. follow line signals and search...
Every person.. Diver, Tender Recorder or other is just as valuable as the next.
Never fault yourself for experience... even the bad ones leave us with lessons that often stay with us and prove more useful than many of the good ones....
Dive Safe,
JG
Fortunately our unit now has designated gear.. every diver is issued either an AGA or Guardian as per their preference and diving demands. If you are having problems with the noseblock adjustment it really should be adressed and some sort of compromise made even with shared gear... as the ability to equalize is a health and safety issue. Maybe you can have the team order an extra noseblock and you can glue a layer of rubber to the topside to make it the right length when it is in the next lower notch. Then just place your noseblock in the mask you pull to dive...
As far as your diving experience... be proud of it... I encourage my divers to pursue any additional dive training and experience they can safely get. It is true that in many cases we do have to get down into the muck and stir it up while staying overly negative, especially in tethered current diving where you need the extra weight. On the flip side you may have an underwater scene where visibility exists and along with powerful lights, pinpoint trim and buoyancy control may be what is needed to process the scene while maintaining that visibilty.
We have divers that range from Basic PSD certification to Tech and Cave Recovery(IUCRR)... the wide range of skills allow us to work an underwater scene the best we can and not limit ourselves to one type of diving. Use the tools and skills best suited for the environment and mission.
PSDs are working divers... I use the example that our equivalent on land be it a forensic tec or sar searcher uses their ability to walk to get to the scene.... it is a means of moving to the scene not a unique skill.... Diving is merely a means to get to our scenes underwater... it is a PSD's ability to respond to that scene safely and appropriately that sets them aside from "divers".... but... if you can't walk to a scene... how can you work it.. likewise in the water....
If your unit and it's members only intend to and will only ever have to respond to one type of environment then diving and training how you do is great because your training is specific and prepares you to your work environment...
Most of us in this line of work like be to be in control.... And you are in control of your dive... you have the ability to call a dive at any time for any reason. You prepare for that dive with training, planning and pre-dive checks... You plan and prepare for possible emergencies with contingency planning/procedures and safety equipment. Before you ever enter the water you know what the plan is and what your part is in the plan. The tender does direct you during the search but you are in control of yourself and your interaction with the underwater environment.. the tender is there as your guide, your liason with command and as a back up brain.
You are not a monkey.... you should know going into the dive what your role is in the search and what your mission and goal are. I have seen teams where the divers were like puppets because no real dive plan or search plan was prepared or discussed so the diver truly had no idea of what they were to accomplish other than to splash.. follow line signals and search...
Every person.. Diver, Tender Recorder or other is just as valuable as the next.
Never fault yourself for experience... even the bad ones leave us with lessons that often stay with us and prove more useful than many of the good ones....
Dive Safe,
JG
OP
The Mighty Thor
Contributor
This weekend, I dived for the first time tethered to a line and I have to say it's not as easy as it looks or sounds. Trying to keep tension on the line was not so bad, but I felt like I was swimming against a strong current. Much different than using a reel. I also had some buoyancy issues, and fet like I couldn't stay off of the bottom, even when I wanted to. A lot to think about, plus actually searching for something in low or no vis. All in all it was a positive experience and I am still enjoying the work.
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Keep at it Thor.., there is a learning curve but pretty soon being teathered in will be second nature.
Just remember that with the extra work effort with the line comes higher air consumption so keep an eye on that tank PSI!!
Just remember that with the extra work effort with the line comes higher air consumption so keep an eye on that tank PSI!!
OP
The Mighty Thor
Contributor
So I did my first ow dive using the full gear set including Aga mask. Up until now I had dived with my own gear or the team gear in pool only. This was also the first time with communications. It took me a while to remember to breathe naturally, but once I relaxed and got used to the equipment, everything fell into place. I even managed to find the item we were searching for, which totally amazed me. I have never successfully found anything I was looking for underwater (except fish and very large wrecks). Being able to hear and speak underwater to the shore support was very reassuring, and definitely lets you know that you are no longer a recreational diver. I have to get used to coordinating the breathing with the listening to instructions, as there were times when my own breathing prevented me from hearing further instructions. Diving tethered did not seem as difficult this time as it did the last. Still a lot to learn. All in all, another very positive experience. I enjoy the diving and my team members, who are dedicated and professional.
pantheraba
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MightyT...I want to thank you for posting about your evolution into a PSD...it parallels mine in many ways. I joined our local Dive Team a year ago and have been going through much the same process as you. We initially had quite a few pool sessions to do swimming qualifications and learn basic search patterns, line pulls, practice trouble drills and a brief intro to AGA masks.
We are in the process of acquiring some pretty extensive kits of equipment from a nearby municipality that disbanded their DT and just had good gear sitting around in a warehouse. Several of our guys have been to the AGA maintenance school and will be resurrecting/refurbishing the masks. We also will be acquiring comms with this gear...one set is already in our possession and is up and working so we will start training with it soon, too.
I have had several lake/OW training sessions where we searched for evidence (firearms, hammers, etc.) and bodies (a weighted firefighter practice dummy I think) using tethered search patterns from both boats and shore.
I have been part of 3 real call-outs...one for a possible suicide bridge jumper (no one was ever found or reported missing...she was witnessed jumping from the center of a 200 foot long bridge into 20-30 foot water but when the witness - a truck driver - returned to see if she was OK she was gone. It was decided she must have swum out to one side and exited the area).
Second was an evidence search for a ditched laptop some bad guys said they had tossed into a state park lake by a culvert.
Third was at the same bridge where the lady suicide jumper did her thing...we searched the drop zone beside the bridge for whatever might turn up. About a year ago the DT (before I joined) did the same thing at a different bridge and found 2 safes and 2 ATMs that had been ditched....all found in the same day.
What we found this time is that in the huge floods we had here in Sept. 2009 some very large and gnarled up trees washed up against the abutments. The divers that dropped down from the boat to do their search wound up in some very tangled, gnarly messes of tree trunks and limbs, a very mixed up and challenging underwater scene. The first diver down, Chris, a policeman who started the team when I did, came up within a couple minutes with eyes big as saucers...he had dropped into a bizarre world. He took a couple of minutes to wrap his brain around what was down there (no visibility and a very 3-D world of limbs and tree parts) and then went back to complete his search. It was about 20-30 feet deep, trees started at about 15 feet).
When it was time to leave I was at the shore station and they were pulling up anchor to leave and come get us. Uh-oh...anchor was stuck. They asked me to swim over and try to release the last anchor since I was still suited up and had 1500 pounds of air left. I made the 40 yard swim over and followed the anchor line down and encountered the first limbs at about 15 feet...the anchor line kept going deeper into some trees. Now I started understanding what Chris went through. I went back up and got a tether, got a knowing look from Chris and went back down. I eased down amongst a few of the limbs, got braced on them (this particular tree seemed to be sideways in the water so it was like standing on horizontal pipes) and was able to fiddle around with the anchor and eventually free it. This whole 4-5 minute process was a very intense mental exercise in thinking out the blacked out 3D puzzle I was in and being hyper aware of how I fit into the mess.
I do not look forward to the day we really do have a victim to recover at that bridge and they are in those trees.
Thanks again for your updates.
We are in the process of acquiring some pretty extensive kits of equipment from a nearby municipality that disbanded their DT and just had good gear sitting around in a warehouse. Several of our guys have been to the AGA maintenance school and will be resurrecting/refurbishing the masks. We also will be acquiring comms with this gear...one set is already in our possession and is up and working so we will start training with it soon, too.
I have had several lake/OW training sessions where we searched for evidence (firearms, hammers, etc.) and bodies (a weighted firefighter practice dummy I think) using tethered search patterns from both boats and shore.
I have been part of 3 real call-outs...one for a possible suicide bridge jumper (no one was ever found or reported missing...she was witnessed jumping from the center of a 200 foot long bridge into 20-30 foot water but when the witness - a truck driver - returned to see if she was OK she was gone. It was decided she must have swum out to one side and exited the area).
Second was an evidence search for a ditched laptop some bad guys said they had tossed into a state park lake by a culvert.
Third was at the same bridge where the lady suicide jumper did her thing...we searched the drop zone beside the bridge for whatever might turn up. About a year ago the DT (before I joined) did the same thing at a different bridge and found 2 safes and 2 ATMs that had been ditched....all found in the same day.
What we found this time is that in the huge floods we had here in Sept. 2009 some very large and gnarled up trees washed up against the abutments. The divers that dropped down from the boat to do their search wound up in some very tangled, gnarly messes of tree trunks and limbs, a very mixed up and challenging underwater scene. The first diver down, Chris, a policeman who started the team when I did, came up within a couple minutes with eyes big as saucers...he had dropped into a bizarre world. He took a couple of minutes to wrap his brain around what was down there (no visibility and a very 3-D world of limbs and tree parts) and then went back to complete his search. It was about 20-30 feet deep, trees started at about 15 feet).
When it was time to leave I was at the shore station and they were pulling up anchor to leave and come get us. Uh-oh...anchor was stuck. They asked me to swim over and try to release the last anchor since I was still suited up and had 1500 pounds of air left. I made the 40 yard swim over and followed the anchor line down and encountered the first limbs at about 15 feet...the anchor line kept going deeper into some trees. Now I started understanding what Chris went through. I went back up and got a tether, got a knowing look from Chris and went back down. I eased down amongst a few of the limbs, got braced on them (this particular tree seemed to be sideways in the water so it was like standing on horizontal pipes) and was able to fiddle around with the anchor and eventually free it. This whole 4-5 minute process was a very intense mental exercise in thinking out the blacked out 3D puzzle I was in and being hyper aware of how I fit into the mess.
I do not look forward to the day we really do have a victim to recover at that bridge and they are in those trees.
Thanks again for your updates.
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