BSA Sea Base 2008

[hardin]

OK.... Christmas is upon us but it is now time to get your 2008 yearly schedule lined out. Those that have in the coming months a trip to the Keys & Sea Base need to have planned a day or two of training to get the mind right for the trip to Sea Base. Remember that the Sea Base adventure is so very unique in the need to be thouroughly prepared for the adventure. Scuba requires a person to be in top notch condition - body & mind - to make it safe & enjoyable. So..... Get your local Divemasters & Instructors to assist you in refreshing all in the needs of SCUBA. Then find those that have first hand knowledge of the "extras" that makes this trip more easy to undertake for thier advice & suggestions. The Safe Scouting manual outlines the requirements for SCUBA you must demonstrate on your arrival to Sea Base and practicing these prior to your arrival makes demonstrating them that much easier.
So..... Get your mind right - get your body right - practice your skills multiple times - make sure you have the little "extras" to be better equipped & prepared and we will see you all soon at Sea Base in the Florida Keys...... Better known as Paradise!!!
Grady Hardin MSDT

 

[mmmeenehan]

The Safe Scouting manual outlines the requirements for SCUBA you must demonstrate on your arrival to Sea Base and practicing these prior to your arrival makes demonstrating them that much easier.

Grady,
The GSS just mentions the BSA swim test as a requirement. Are you referring to the 20 skills for evaluation that are part of a PADI scuba review? I can't find them in the GSS.

I just spent 4 days diving with Bert and the guys at FlaKeys. Things were pretty quiet when I dropped by FSB. The Divemaster Academy had just started.
Mike Meenehan

 

[hardin]

Hey Compadre' !!!
I thought it was in the GSS. I do think I have seen it on the internet on various sites that has to do with Scouting. OK.... Don't hold me to the fire in case Sea Base has made a change or I flat forgot something...
Mask R & R
Reg recovery
Reg clear
Share air stationary - provider & receiver
Snorkle - regulator exchange
R & R gear including weight belt
Proper ascent techniques
Proper descent techniques
Giant stride entry
Fin pivot
Bouancy demonstration - hover
CESA
Sea Base exits
As a plus.... I want, well I require, GREAT buddy contact & assistance between the crew.
I also check weight requirements. Usually there is a defeciency when it comes to weighting in salt water. Not the participants fault! As you are well aware, there is an overall lack of experience in salt water diving.
You know, I kinda feel like I am preaching to the choir when I get to talk tp folks like you, but maybe someone reading tis doesn't have a lot of experience with Sea Base & diving in the open ocean. Between me, you, & others with our LOVE of diving & the sea can assist others to make thier trip to Sea Base somewhat easier those first days they are there. I appreciate your taking such a interest in all this & it really is a feather in your cap for alll the support you offer to your guys before they get there. It makes an old dive instructor get a warm feeling down deep in his wet suit.
If you think of anything else, please share as there are more than me & you reading this stuff.
What ya think!
I am heading down for the Spring "fling"..... Man I hate water below 80 degrees! But it is the Keys, it is clear water, it is the Keys, I get to dive, it is the Keys....... here I go again..... Preaching to the choir!!!!
YIS
Grady

 

[mmmeenehan]

It makes an old dive instructor get a warm feeling down deep in his wet suit.

You aren't supposed to pee in wetsuits!

 

[GNX Guy]

Hi,

So your saying that even if someone is PADI open water certified, they must still demonstrate all the skills you have listed below (essentially reduing all the tasks that one must do on the 4 open water check out dives???


Thank you

Hey Compadre' !!!
I thought it was in the GSS. I do think I have seen it on the internet on various sites that has to do with Scouting. OK.... Don't hold me to the fire in case Sea Base has made a change or I flat forgot something...
Mask R & R
Reg recovery
Reg clear
Share air stationary - provider & receiver
Snorkle - regulator exchange
R & R gear including weight belt
Proper ascent techniques
Proper descent techniques
Giant stride entry
Fin pivot
Bouancy demonstration - hover
CESA
Sea Base exits

 

[hardin]

Hi!
Yes Sir...... That is exactly what is being said by BSA REQUIRMENTS. This reg is not a Sea Base regulation but one that is required by BSA. Now as an instructor of many years I will give you my opinion. Yes I agree with BSA. Now an explanation. There are some who show up at Sea Base ready for anything that awaits them in a SCUBA adventure. I have had the great priviledge of guiding troops that show up absolutely ready in every way including the bringing of thier own SCUBA gear except for tanks & weight. They have spent time in a pool & open water just prior to going to Sea Base. Some of these troops have the advantage of having certified instructors & divemasters as part of thier leadership. They arrange to have exercise programs tailored to SCUBA. They put them in a pool for practice & demonstrating the required skills for SCUBA. They then go as far as arranging an open water dive or two for the participants as a shakedown for Sea Base.
Then to go to the other end of this, there are folks showing up with certifications that haven't been on SCUBA for over 20 years. Now that is an extreme, but I would venture to say that the normal time is between 1 to 3 years. I am not going to into the amount of divers that get there that have absolutely NO experience diving in salt water. Now for a shocker..... I find a few folks that get buffaloed at diving in clear water. The experience they have is in a dark water quarry using an ascent / descent line. They focus on the line until they get to the bottom or platform then focus on the bottom or platform. Thier experience is diving where thier attention is always focused at an exteme distance of 1 to 3 feet. Now they are introduced to water that is warm & clear & the visability is 60 feet meaning they now can see 120 feet. This in itself has freaked folks out. I have seen folks get freaked just laying on the surface looking at the bottom. They relate they feel a fear of falling. Crazy.... I think not.... Just a new diving experience they have never been introduced to. An extreme of this is in advanced diving when the dive is a wreck dive in clear water where the wreck sits in 130 feet of water & is visible from the surface stem to stern. I have seen more that a few that have confessed to being nervous at the sight.
A suggestion...... I have heard of many instructors & dive shops will assist in doing "refresher" type things in a pool using BSA guides for little or no charge. A little effort in preperation for SCUBA can go a long way. Troops will hike all over the town with a pack filled with rocks in preperation for Philmont....... a very dandy idea. They will canoe a city lake to death in prep for Boundary Waters..... another very good idea. But they do nothing for prep to go to SEa Base..... not so good an idea. I remember an interesting fact that came out many, many years ago that said a person lying on the bottom of a pool at 85 degrees breathing SCUBA doing absolutely no exercise burns 600 calories an hour. This energy is consumed just keeping the body at 98.6 degrees, normal operating temo for a human. Now lets throw chasing fish, dive buddies, divemasters, dive boats, etc. around in 75 degree water plus not being in the best condition for diving into the mix. Can anyone not imagine the amount of energy being expended?
Please take all this as the learned experiences of an old diving instructor and realize we are all not the same.... some better - some not and think a second...... a little prep is a GOOD thing. Hopefully this will give some more info to those planning any dive trip to get themselves ready for the adventure. Plus, when was the last time your regs were overhauled & you checked the rest of your gear for potential problems. I carry extra fin straps with me for those broken straps..... by the way my fins don't use straps, I have springs on mine. The straps are to repair others fins. Are the zips OK on booties & wet suits. Does the old wet suit even fit...... Remember old guys they "shrink" with time! Is your gear blantantly marked with your ID? Everyone dives the same looking masks & fins.
Hopefully this will help a few get their mind right before the big dive trips coming up this year.
BTW..... I have NEVER had a person that went thru the BSA Sea Base check out say it was a waste of time!
My 2 cents!!!!
YIS
Grady MSDT

 

[GNX Guy]

Thank you,

I however was not implying it was a waste of time. I think its a great idea. If these are indeed BSA rules and not Sea Base rules, I think we need to know about them and they should be listed in the Guide to safe scouting. If this is a BSA rule, then these skill tests should be given everytime a unit dives in open water. I could not find them in the guide to safe scouting. Could it be they are indeed seabase requirements? If not, we need to find the BSA publication that states these requirements. Could you direct me to the publication that spells this out.

Also, could you direct me to these and other requirements that must be met on the seabase website.

Our Venture Crew (we are lucky to have an instructor as part of the Crew) is certifying Scouts who will be attending seabase this summer. I'd like to be able to have these boys and leaders completely prepared on what to expect.

Thank you,

 

[mmmeenehan]

Below are the 19 skills from the PADI scuba review that are checked upon your arrival at FSB. Just like ALL crews are given a BSA swim test upon arrival at FSB (even if you did it at home previously), all the Scuba Adventure and Scuba Liveaboard crews go through the scuba review.

Another reason for the review is to give your FSB Divemaster an idea of your scuba competency. Although it has neve been stated, I believe it may affect where you will be allowed to dive during the week. If your group demonstrates that you are competent divers, you will be considered for the more "advanced" sites. If your crew has problems with the review, your DM will know to keep a closer eye on the group during the week.

Not that there is anything "wrong" with any of the dive sites in the Keys (just like there are no "bad" treks at Philmont).

I know that a crew of new divers, based on their scuba review performance, never was allowed to dive on sites deeper than 25' during their Liveaboard Adventure last year.

1. Demonstrate proper assembly, adjustment, preparation, donning
and disassembly of scuba equipment.
2. Perform the PADI predive safety check (BWRAF).
3. Demonstrate a deep-water entry.
4. Adjust the amount of weight worn to achieve neutral buoyancy at
the surface of the water with BCD deflated.
5. Exchange snorkel for regulator and regulator for snorkel while at
the surface without lifting the face from the water.
6. Demonstrate a descent using the appropriate five-step method:
• Signal buddy
• Orient yourself
• Snorkel/regulator exchange
• Note time
• Deflate BCD/equalize
7. Recover and clear a regulator while underwater.
8. Completely remove, replace and clear the mask of water while
underwater.
9. Respond to air depletion by signaling out of air, then securing and
breathing from an alternate air source supplied by another diver
for at least 30 seconds in a stationary position while underwater.
10. Breathe effectively from a free-flowing regulator for not less than
30 seconds.
11. Independently establish neutral buoyancy underwater by pivoting
on the fin tips or, when appropriate, another point of contact,
using both low-pressure and oral inflation.
12. Demonstrate a proper ascent using the five-step method:
• Signal buddy
• Note time
• One hand over head, other on BCD deflator
• Look up, rotate
• Swim up slowly
13. Remove and replace weight system on the surface.
14. Simulate a controlled emergency swimming ascent by swimming
horizontally underwater for at least 9 metres/30 feet while continuously
exhaling by emitting a continuous aaahhh sound.
15. Using buoyancy control only, hover in midwater without kicking
or sculling for at least 30 seconds.
16. Swim underwater without a mask for a distance of not less than
15 metres/50 feet.
17. Remove and replace weight system underwater.
18. Remove and replace scuba unit on the surface.
19. Remove and replace scuba unit underwater.

 

[hardin]

Hey folks...
Me again....
Ok, Go to:
http://www.sfcbsa.org/PDF/GuideToSafeScouting.pdf
Then in the index to : Aquatics Safety
Then to:
Scuba (Ventureres and Older Scouts only)
The guidelines as stated by corporate BSA policy will line out the whole deal for you. These guides are not Sea Base policy, but Sea Base following BSA policy.
All this is also in the BSA publication:
Guide to
Safe Scouting
A Unit Leader's Guide for Current Policies and Procedures for Safe Activities
This is an orange soft covered book
ISBN 0-8395-4416-2
The info starts on page 14 SCUBA POLICY and ends on page 15.
I hope this will help you. I am happy to give assistance if needed. Contact me by e-mail with a telephone number & I will be glad to call. I have been assisting Capt. Steve for now 6 years & this will be my 7th season there. I am not the final word on any of this but give my assistance as an old instructor haivng had the pleasure to serve the Scouts at Sea Base. This place to me is Heaven on Earth. The opprotunity given by Sea Base to Scouts is beyond compare. But do understand that I am an old instructor that LOVES diving and is a FIRM believer in the old divers addage that DIVING IS A LAZY MAN'S SPORT! Cause I tend to resemble that remark. In all seriousness.... Diving is a sport that can be done for YEARS as long as the individual maintains thier health & physical attributes. The other older(?) diver that responds here often well knows that & I do believe can attest to that statement.
My interest here is to pass along my experience that preperation for a trip to Sea Base is absolutely neede to make the trip enjoyable & saafe to the greatest degree. But also know there are many other instructors & divemasters in Scouting that have much experience at Sea Base & would be glad to assist in any way! Boy did I put you Ladies & men in a spot!!!!!
I stand ready to assist in anyway I can. I look forward to another stellar spring & summer in paradise!!!!
YIS
Grady

 

[mmmeenehan]

Grady,
Now you've opened another can 'o worms. The Guide to Safe Scouting link that you pointed out goes to the South Florida Council website. It does indeed mention that scuba skills should be reviewed before diving if scouts haven't dived in a while (of course that makes sense to me).
Here's the can 'o worms - the SFC version of GSS doesn't match the version posted on the National BSA website! That's why I was confused. The additional guidence doesn't appear in the National BSA version (which is also the one my council, NCAC, links to from its website).
Mike Meenehan