Do you REALLY know how to scuba dive?

[Edward3c]

Someone once told me that BSAC requires their divers to dive in a broad range of conditions, from warm to cold to murky to... so as to become well-rounded divers. This may or may not be true. Regardless, I like the idea. To me a diver who has 50 dives in waters that are warm, cold, in strong current, and in limited visibility is a better and more well-rounded diver than one who has 200 dives in crystal-clear warm water with little or no current.

From the BSAC instructor manual for each grade I've listed the range of conditions and experience required (Note: not everything is required, but a high proportion):

Ocean Diver:

● shore dive – dive commencing and ending on either a gently shelving shore or a deep water entry/exit
● dive using a breathing gas mix – 32% or 36% O2
● low visibility dive – dive in visibility in the range between 2 and 4 metres
● drift dive – dive in moving water in the speed range between 0.25 and 0.5kn
● small boat dive – dive from a boat of less than 8m overall length, where water entry is via a backward roll, and egress from the water requires removal of equipment in the water
● large boat dive – dive from a boat of greater than 8m overall length, where the water entered is via a stride entry, and egress from the water is accomplished via ladder without removal of any equipment
except, possibly, fins
● wall dive – dive along a vertical or near vertical wall with no solid bottom closer than 4m below the divers
● dive in protective clothing – dive wearing either a wet suit or dry suit

Sports Diver:

● shore dive - dive either commencing and/or ending at a gently shelving shore requiring a wading entry/exit
● nitrox dive - using a breathing gas > 21% Oxygen up to a maximum of 36% (Nitrox)
● dive using shot line - dive commencing with a deep water entry, using a shot line as the only visual reference for the descent and ascent, and ending with a deep water exit
● low visibility dive - dive in visibility in the range between 2 and 4 metres
● drift dive - dive in moving water in the speed range between 0.25 and 0.5kn
● small boat dive - dive from a boat of less than 8m overall length, where water entry is via a backward roll, and egress from the water requires removal of equipment in the water
● large boat dive - dive from a boat of greater than 8m overall length, (where the water entered) is via a stride entry, and egress from the water is accomplished via ladder without removal of any equipment except, possibly, fins
● wall dive - dive along a vertical or near vertical wall with no solid bottom closer than 4m below the divers
● dive in protective clothing - dive wearing either a wet suit or dry suit

Dive Leader:

● planned decompression dive – dive involving at least 5mins. Planned decompression, using an appropriate equipment configuration and decompression technique
● navigation dive - dive requiring navigation around a site, involving multiple changes of direction throughout, and returning to the entry point. Compass and/or pilotage techniques used as appropriate. Minimum duration 30mins..
● low visibility dive - dive in visibility in the range between 1.5 and 3 metres
● night dive - dive during the hours of darkness, using artificial light as the sole source of illumination.
● wreck dive - dive in tidal waters, involving a direct descent to the wreck following a shot line, to dive on the wreck in a slack water window. Ascent either via shot line or under DSMB as appropriate to tidal conditions at end of dive.
● drift dive - dive in moving water in the speed range between 1.0 and 1.5kn
● wall dive - dive along a vertical or near vertical wall, with deep water below the divers

Advanced Diver:

● planned decompression dive – dive involving at least two planned decompression stops, of a total of at least 6 mins., using an appropriate equipment configuration and decompression technique
● dive in tidal waters - dive involving a direct descent following a shot line, to dive on a specific site in a slack water window. Ascent either via shot line or under DSMB as appropriate to tidal conditions at end of dive
● drift dive - dive to a minimum depth of 15m in water moving at a speed which precludes a return to the point of entry
● navigation dive - dive requiring navigation around a site, involving multiple changes of direction throughout and returning to the entry point. Compass and/or pilotage/and/ or distance line techniques used as appropriate. Minimum duration 30mins.
● search dive - A dive involving the utilisation of underwater search techniques.
● no clear surface dive - A dive involving no clear surface, either cavern, wreck penetration or ice diving.
● mixed gas dive - A dive involving use of mixed gas, (Nitrox alone does not qualify) either closed circuit rebreather or open circuit.
● advanced decompression dive - A dive involving extended decompression at different depths and emergency gas deployment using either a decompression trapeze or a lazy shot.
● surface location dive - A dive involving the surface location of an unknown site using surface searching techniques, followed by suitable precautions when diving an unknown site.
● at least ten dives should be carried out from boats. Of these, at least three should be carried out from boats of at least 9m in length, and at sites in exposed locations with surface water conditions producing significant boat motion
● on at least ten dives the student should act as dive leader
● at least six dives should show depth experience greater than 30m
● on at least five occasions the student should act as Dive Manager (including taking responsibility for carrying out all planning activities):
• Dive Manager - at least two should be full day diving activities, to sites which are unknown to the student Dive Manager (Note; Practical lesson AP2 may qualify as one of these)
• Dive Manager - at least one should be for a duration of at least two days, involving the need for organising logistics and suitable accommodation, as well as planning and management of the diving activities, including site location. (Note: this should follow after completion of practical lesson AP1)
• Dive Manager - the remaining two may be to either known or unknown sites
• At least 6 should show experience of dives to greater depths than those suggested for skills training, and to be adventurous.

Regards

 

[rakpix]

To your understanding, what is the ability to scuba?

i always enjoy explaining this to students with a metaphor:

"the goal in diving is standing underwater."

... wait, what?!

let me explain ... if you've ever watched an infant learn to walk, you intuatively understand this argument. watching my eighteen month old nephew wobble and sway on his toes illustrates how complicated standing upright really is. to keep his five pound bowling-ball-of-a-head two feet off the ground takes hundreds of muscles contracting & relaxing in a tight feedback loop with his inner ear. for my nephew, managing this equilibrium on a hard, flat surface is a full-time job, one he can only barely approach after THOUSANDS of attempts. if he were to try and stand on an incline, he would fall. if he were to cock his head to the side, he would fall. if he were to get distracted for a second, he would fall. he can stand, but he is not "standing."

when was the last time YOU had to think about standing? look at yourself in the mirror, standing upright. though you appear motionless, your nerves and muscles are firing in just as rapid succession as my nephews', only after TENS OF THOUSANDS of hours on your feet, your cerebellum has taken over this task. subconciously, it feels every tug and pull as gravity acts on your bones and joints, anticipates the resultant movement, and fires signals off to your muslces to balance those forces. "standing" on the hard flat ground is an illusion; you are in a constant state of falling, catching yourself, and righting again. what is truely amazing, however, is how your equilibrium is maintained everywhere: on an incline, on an elevator, on the subway; with your head cocked, with your eyes closed, with your arms outstreched! "standing" upright, motionless, with your hands by your sides has become your "delta" on the land. it has become your comfort zone, your default. though you can leave this equilibrium at any time, it takes a CONCIOUS DECISION to do so ...

the same applies to divers. when we don our kit, we give ourselves an entire new axis to explore. but those first fifty-or-so dives are nothing more than a crawl. it takes that long to even get on our "feet" underwater. put us on an incline [in a current] cock our head to the side [go out of trim] or distract us [task loading] and we will fall back down to the floor. we can "stand" in this analogy - we can maintain neutral buoyancy - but it is a full time job. our muscles, our diaphragm, our BC's are in constant and deliberate motion. "standing" underwater is something else. just as an adult can be perceived as motionless on his feet, concealing a storm of subconcious twitches, catches, and corrections; the true diver appears to hover - fixed in the water column - without so much as a wince, but that too is an illusion. after THOUSANDS of hours underwater, the diver's subconsious feels the pressure on the sinuses, the volume of the lungs, watches the particulate in the water; the subconcious anticipates changes in buoyancy before they happen, and fires signals to the muscles (the diaphragm, the left arm, the ankles, the neck), to balance those forces. however, once again, the amazing part is that they can retain that equilibrium even in adverse conditions: take away visual reference, take away visiblity, add a drysuit, add current, and they won't budge. neutral buoyancy has become their "delta" underwater. it has become their comfort zone, their default. though they can leave that equilibrium at any time, it takes a CONCIOUS DECISION to do so ....

THAT is "standing" underwater .... THAT is the ability to scuba dive .... and my greatest aspiration!

 

[Kern]

I commend my soul to the loving embrace of GI3...

Wearing matching speedo's?

I'v just noticed this colloquy. How am I supposed to get to sleep with this sort of imagery bouncing around my skull.

 

[ThomasScherrer]

>Do you REALLY know how to scuba dive?

if you drowned, you did not know how to scuba.
if you enjoy it, have fun, and feel safe, you know how to scuba.

 

[TSandM]

rakpix, that is a far more eloquent metaphor for what I was trying to say, and indeed, it takes time and "miles" to achieve it.

 

[CT Sean]

THAT is "standing" underwater .... THAT is the ability to scuba dive .... and my greatest aspiration!

So what you are saying is a child who has recently learned to walk, who can stand up and travel to a chosen location without falling over - in control of that walk, yet clearly not a master yet - does not have the ability to walk?

 

[fjpatrum]

Interesting spin. Can I SCUBA dive? Yes. Am I good at it? Not yet, but I'm trying to improve. (I might suggest that's the same situation for your son but that's another discussion entirely.)

For me, the issue is can I get myself out of the foreseeable (and perhaps some unforseeable) issues that might arise while diving and to that I say yes. Buoyancy control and trim are just style points, in my opinion. I'm more concerned with being able to keep myself alive, and that I can do. I don't panic in "emergency" situations and that is the biggest key in my inexperienced opinion. O-ring pops are noisy and scary but not that hard to deal with if you don't panic. Same with free-flows. Losing a mask is momentarily disorienting but not hard to deal with if you don't panic. Getting a reg kicked out of your mouth is annoying but hardly an emergency as long as you don't panic. What else is there, other than unexpected "encounters" or health issues?

Buoyancy, trim, task loading; that's all a matter of degree and arguably means a lot more than just being able to SCUBA dive. Like you said, your current definition has evolved as you've logged more dives. Perhaps mine will as well, but I doubt it. I will liken it to my other hobbies. When someone says "are you a surfer" or "are you a climber" I generally answer "No, I'm just someone who surfs/climbs." That doesn't mean I'm not capable of those things, just that I'm not necessarily doing them really well to the point where I consider myself worthy of the title. That said, I've taught lots of people how to do those things. Maybe if I ever feel confident enough to teach SCUBA I will consider myself a diver, but probably not. I'll likely still just say "I'm a person who dives, not a diver."

The ability to not panic in the "hostile" environment of water and get back to the boat/shore alive after breathing compressed gasses under water is SCUBA diving, in my opinion. The rest is simply a matter of experience, technique, and style in the execution of that ability. After not panicking, the rest is cake.

 

[fjpatrum]

If scuba still retained the same "extreme sport" cache it had years ago you would not see the endless and tiresome posts regarding motorcycles, flying, the military, firearms and law enforcement.

Those are subjects pointlessly added to the discussion to supplement the posters need for recognition as "hard-core".

It would make things easier if posters stuck to diving rather than jamming those topics into every thread they come across.

But of course that itself is "off topic".

I'm going to sound like a dick, perhaps, but I'm okay with that. Posts regarding those things are often a comparison of some aspect or another of diving to something similar in those activities. The point that you have a moniker of "Dr Wu" could also be said to supplement your need for recognition, but I really doubt that's the case. Like other people's comments of other activities, it's more likely just a statement of one aspect of your infinite self and your hobbies/occupations/desires. People relate to things in different ways. Some people like comparisons, some people like more direct communication of ideas. Some people are visual others are more auditory (is that the right word???) but we all want to communicate otherwise we wouldn't be here typing away in this virtual world.

If you don't like something, why not just let it go? (Yes, I recognize the irony of saying that in this post.)

 

[Muisit]

I agree with Tom! If you didn't know how to scuba, and you tried, you are either dead or have one heck of a story!

 

[rakpix]

rakpix, that is a far more eloquent metaphor for what I was trying to say, and indeed, it takes time and "miles" to achieve it.

wow, my first "thanks" on the new board and they include the borg queen .... =^_^=!