New GUE Rec/Triox Class

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tombiowami

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I saw this a while back and don't remember it ever being posted over here. I was not involved with the class in any way, have just heard it discussed a little. Looks pretty interesting, though seems like most would go ahead for the full Tech 1.




From: Sami Laine <sami@k...>
Date: Wed Dec 26, 2001 9:06 pm
Subject: GUE Recreational Triox class report -- LONG!




I'm sending this report on behalf of Gary Banta, he's out of town. It's
long, but you can just read the Summary and Bottom Line. Since this
course was the first of it's kind we included the details as they may be
of wider interest.

-----------

Class Report For GUE Recreational Triox, December 15-17 2001, Monterey,
CA -- Through Manta Ray Dive Center

Primary author: Gary Banta

Class Members: Gary Banta, Sami Laine, Nick Radov
Instructor: Andrew Georgitsis
Class coordination/Video: David Chamberlin


SUMMARY
--------------
We were honored being the first three students to take the GUE Rec Triox
course, taught by Andrew Georgitsis who is the Training Director of
Global Underwater Explorers.

The name of the class implies a focus on using Triox, defined as
helium-oxygen-nitrogen mixture with 21% or more oxygen. The use of the
gas (usually 30/30 O2/He) is indeed covered completely, but most class
time is focused on other extremely relevant topics to diving in the 80
to 120 fsw range. The rationale for use of 30/30 is
reduction/elimination of narcosis and CO2 retention in deep diving.
However, diving in these ranges safely requires skills and experience
not found in basic Open Water Courses nor in DIR Fundamentals. These
include gas planning, refined buddy skills, situational awareness,
applied deco and most important: handling emergencies . At the target
depths, immediate ascent to the surface is not possible or safe, so it's
imperative that divers have the skills and practice to prevent one
problem from cascading to a major emergency.

The three-day class had both lecture and diving each day. All dives were
captured on video. Because of the small class size, all but the very
last dive included the entire team. The dives were presented as missions
that the students must run and the instructor observes (and hassles!).
During the mission, the students are "in charge of the dive" and must
work to accomplish the objectives. At some point during the dive "the
fit hits shan": OOA, lost mask(s), regulator failure (simulated),
entanglements. The students must respond appropriately to the
emergencies. Mission skills included both running line and shooting a
lift bag. One student was diving singles and two were diving doubles.
Andrew prefers teams of three for instruction and it paid off well here
with the mix of equipment types. It was "more complete" training than if
we all had singles or doubles.

The experience level of the students was varied, from a bit over a year
to a very experienced diver/instructor. Nonetheless, the course was
accessible to the newbie and challenging to the most experienced. The
dive experiences themselves were quite .... humbling. The first two
dives were at breakwater. They were quite a mess -- line drills sound
easy but are definitely NOT -- but by the second dive, the mistakes of
the first were gone to be replaced by new mistakes. Post-dive memory is
very poor so the video showed all. The second day's dives were at
Monastery Beach for line drills with lots of emergencies sprinkled in.
The final day was a boat dive on the Great Pinnacle at Pt. Lobos with
one of the two dives being an uneventful "fun dive".

Classroom instruction was excellent in content but frustrating to the
new diver in that it was very hard to keep up with AG's rapid fire
delivery. The more experienced divers felt this was not as big of a
problem. Mental mathematics abounds. The topics covered seem to be
covered nowhere else (except in Tech 1 class – but even the Tech 1 book
doesn't): practical application and real-life meaning of rules of
thirds, rule of halves, "rock bottom" gas planning, computer-less deco
planning and dive management, "battlefield rules", driving Decoplanner.
Great stuff.

Nick adds: I've never used a dive computer so figuring deco in my head
wasn't too baffling. But the way I'd been doing it before was just based
on remembering a few pieces of the standard no-deco air tables and
figuring out a rough estimate for average depth. The way Andrew showed
us was more detailed and better suited to these deeper dives.

In reflection, the course doesn't seem "advanced" at all -- but rather
seems like the minimum training that one should have to SAFELY dive the
full recreational range of 0 to 120 fsw. We are NOT experts after the
course nor are we even proficient but we now know what to practice. We
know how to get rid of the dive computer and do deco "in our head" and
can correctly plan and execute dives knowing that adequate gas will be
there in an emergency.

The minimum diver entering the course should have OW, nitrox, DIR
fundamentals, ample experience in cold water and a thoroughly DIR
equipment setup. It is highly recommended that the basic skills of DIR
Fundamentals be second nature to get the most from the class. In
addition to gear required for DIR Fundamentals, you must have a drysuit,
argon, canister light, lift bag, spool, bottom timer/gauge mode computer
and a desire to become comfortable in handling challenging emergencies.


DAILY DETAIL
--------------------

Day 1

The classroom session began at Manta Ray at 9:30 AM. The first class was
just to give us orientation and preparation for the first dives. We had
discussion about whether or not to include running line or not. It was
agreed that we wanted to learn the basics and try it out.

AG explained that the course would have much in common with Tech 1. We
would learn about deco. What we wouldn't get into would be accelerated
decompression using one additional gas as they do in Tech 1. In Tech 2
you use two gases. Sami suggested RecTriox could be called Tech 0. One
of the key premises of this class is that every dive is a really a deco
dive, as every set of dive tables and all computers base their
calculations on slow controlled ascent rates (e.g. decompression), and
recommended "safety stops". In this class the basics of decompression
diving are touched on (although we strayed to more advanced discussion
due to having students more familiar with it), and dives with "mandatory
decompression" are planned. The Rec Triox class sets diving limits that
are not arbitrary rules, but come from very pragmatic analysis of the
types of dives done using the equipment and gas of topic. Essentially,
this class applies to diving at depths where reasonable bottom times
start to create some real decompression obligation, but not enough to
warrant carrying extra cylinder(s) for accelerated (O2 or 50/50) deco.

We then headed for Breakwater for our dives. Before suiting up, we
learned about running a line on land: primary and secondary tie offs,
wraps, end of line, etc. We each got a chance to try it in the shade of
a cypress tree. Easy, the first dives will be no sweat. We suited up
and AG sent us out first to do S-drills and valve drills. Didn't go as
smoothly as we hoped -- Nick and Gary had trouble reaching the valves,
whole team displayed poor team positioning leading to swimming in
circles, poor trim leading to stirred vis, poor buoyancy control during
drills, etc. Things are not as easy as they seem, especially when
there's performance anxiety added in form of videotape evidence.

Then AG shows up with the reel. Its showtime for the line. We descend
into the well silted-up water and Nick begins the line tie-off. Its not
going as well as it did on land. It took Nick a full 13 minutes to tie
off the reel and get moving. Shortly thereafter, Nick "runs out of gas",
take’s Sami’s long hose and the dive gets called. Sami hands off the
reel to Gary who immediately birdnests the reel. While working on it
(and delaying the team's return to surface) off goes Gary's mask. Then
as we were dealing with the problems on the way back we first forgot to
put Gary (no mask) in the middle, then both Sami and Nick were holding
him and giving conflicting signals. At various times each of us got
tangled in the line and needed help from the others to get free. The
team gets Gary back to the upline and performs ascent and stops somewhat
per plan. Nobody dies, but it’s not pretty. Time to pack up and go see
the tape.

AG carefully goes through each scene on the video and gives us a
critique. This was as valuable as the dive experience itself. Once the
problems begin during the dive, the memory seems to stop storing data so
the video is critical to instruction. Each student bought a tape so that
we could save the dives for re-review. Future students should come
prepared. After review and discussion we broke for dinner as a group
(about 8 PM).


Day 2

We all met at Monastery Beach at 8:30 to very nice conditions. "Ankle
biters" instead of the typical thunderous shore break. We decided to do
both dives in one swim out. Since we'd be in the water for about 2 1/2
hours either P-valves or Depends were in order. A run to Albertson's
took care of the latter. (Future students should come prepared). We
kicked out to the wash rock where a float and down line had been
prepared. The plan was to run a line from the downline at 43 fsw to
deeper water with a max depth of 100 fsw. Somehow it seemed unlikely
that we'd have an uneventful dive. Gary did a quick tie off and we
headed off in three-man formation with Gary at the center. With Gary on
a single tank and diving thirds, he hit the gas turn point at about 95
feet and called the dive. We turned around and headed back winding as we
went. Sami's on the left of Gary and Nick on the right. AG sneaks up and
declares Nick OOA. He spits his second. Gary is busy reeling and doesn't
notice. Sami sees Nicks OOA hand-signal so he signals Gary with his
light who then looks left at Sami, rather than right at Nick. Nick, not
to be denied, rips Gary's reg out from behind on the second tug and Gary
goes on his necklace. Seconds later, AG "borrows" Nick's mask. We
abandon the reel and after settling down we make it to the upline and do
our stops and surface. Surprisingly there are no comments from AG. AG
swaps Gary's tanks in the water. Quite a trick with high marks from
judges for the performance and difficulty.

The second dive repeats the same dive plan. This time Sami is running
the line from where it was left on the first dive. We descend and follow
the line out uneventfully. We got to about 90 fsw when AG declared Gary
OOA. Sami did an air share and we turned the dive to head back up the
line. But in a dozen or so yards, off goes Sami's mask. The line is
handed off to Gary (still on Sami's long hose) who secures and leaves it
on the bottom. We then shift to put Gary left, Nick right, sandwiching
Sami. Suddenly, AG simulates a right post air leak on Sami, who stops to
get teams attention. Gary sees it and reaches across Sami to shut it
down but is positioned awkwardly. Nick turns and helps out by shutting
it down. Gary first realizes the implications when the second stage in
his mouth goes dry! OOA for real. DUH! We'd just shut down Gary's reg.
So a fast switch to Nick's longhose. Back to the upline and stops. We
manage to turn a 7-minute ascent into 12 min.

We get out of the water and prepare to head back. While we students can
"see a few problems" we privately discuss that we are rather pleased.
Finally AG shows up and says that we need to get back to the class for
debrief because "there's just a mountain of problems so there's no sense
to discuss it here". Hmmm. Instructor/Student dissonance.

We get back to the classroom and view the video. Well maybe AG is right,
there may be more problems than we know or remembered! Some of the big
lessons: You can be too helpful. Sami tried to help Nick's OOA but only
made things worse. Signaling turned Gary away from Nick. Clearly Nick
could get to Gary and signal his OOA. No need to help. Very important
advice in a team of three. AG chides Nick for ripping out the reg, but
Gary thanks Nick for the experience. Gary says that it’s been one of his
diving fears and the experience was valuable. The second lesson was the
impact of lack of situational awareness. People don't drown from one
problem but from cascades. When we faced a right post failure, Nick and
Gary failed to remember that Gary was breathing that post and shut it
down. Because of we all lived rather than just heard about the problem,
the lessons are burned into memory. Very valuable. In addition, were all
the little things: lack of squaring away unused hoses, lights, etc.
after emergency response was a sign of lack of global equipment
awareness.

So there were, indeed, a mountain of other problems, the most
significant was we didn't know how to time an ascent. We discussed all
the other problems seen on the video but our ascent timing brought out
and lead to the core of the lecture topics:

- How to calculate how much gas was "rock bottom"
- How to apply rule of thirds and when to apply
- How to time an ascent. Why longer is NOT always better. Why precision
is important.
- When to use rule of halves. How halves, thirds and rock bottom
integrate.
- What are the quick "battlefield rules" for applying the above.

The next topic was the "money shot of DIR": computer-less dive
planning/deco. All of the students had familiarity with DecoPlanner but
were still baffled why doing it in your head is better than a computer.
What we learned in this segment is how to produce tables and battlefield
rules that enable safe diving without a computer. This material is not
written anywhere and probably shouldn't be (take the class!). It
integrates with the training and is thus inseparable. But it does make
complete sense when you see it all together. It also became clear that
when diving tables, a good dive timer/gauge mode computer is really
necessary to not get task overload. The Suunto Stinger (NOT Mosquito --
it doesn't have the proper gauge mode features) is the best tool --
better than the Uwatec Bottom Timer and watch combination. With heads
full of the good stuff, we headed off for dinner together.


Day 3

For the last day we dove at Point Lobos and started at 8:30. Tech 1
student, Clinton Bauder, joined us. We dove aboard a custom Polaris RIB
piloted by Phil Sammet. Conditions were nice and flat in light rain.
After suiting up we headed to the Great Pinnacle, anchored and planned
the dive. We were going to dive two teams of two. Sami teamed with
Clinton to be followed (and of course hassled) by AG and Gary and Nick
would team together to be followed by David with the video camera (and
perhaps sneaking fingers – who knows). Dive plan was 20 minutes bottom
time, max depth of 120 fsw. (By the way, we are all diving 30/30 since
our second dive at Monastery. Note how little focus helium itself has in
the class.)

First dive: Sami and Clinton are first in the water with AG. They
descend along the anchor line, then to MOD at 110', and head off
following the wall. The team communication works very smoothly this
time, probably aided by the fact that they’ve done dozens of dives
together as a team! As they’re getting close to the planned time turning
point, AG materializes just for Sami declaring him to go OOA. Clinton's
long hose is on Sami's hand in less than 4 seconds from his last breath,
so far so good. Before Sami has the reg in his mouth, Clinton's mask is
gone. Turn the dive, square away dangling long hose, Clinton deploys the
backup mask (only to disappear in 1 second afterwards, oh well), turn
off and stow now unneeded primary lights. Sami leads maskless Clinton
along the reef and compass heading back to anchor, and then up through
the planned deco for a 20-minute dive to 110' on 30/30. Back on the
surface they’re feeling great about the performance, until the debrief.
AG points out that they had forgotten to do a bubble check on descent,
never noticed a small leak in Sami's argon bottle O-ring, created
several minutes of unnecessary deco obligation by staying at 110' for
minutes after we aborting the dive, could have modified the ascent as
actual bottom time was still shorter than planned, mistimed the stops on
ascent, etc.. Doh! Nothing really serious, but this time focusing hard
on proper procedure on each individual task stopped the team from
thinking things through in the Big Picture.

Gary and Nick with David as shadow entered the water a few minutes after
the first team. We descended through Salp City (they were thick near the
surface) down the anchor line to the top of the pinnacle. One the way,
we passed the first team coming back with Clinton maskless and Sami
breathing off the long hose. So it doesn't look like we should expect a
fun dive. We began a clockwise trip through great viz and lots to see,
including big fish and harbor seals. We expected Dave to pounce at any
moment so Nick and Gary snuggled shoulder-to-shoulder ready for the shoe
to drop. It didn't so we created our own crisis once we got back to the
top of the pinnacle. Our task was to shoot a bag. We found that, like
the line drill, it’s much (much!) harder than it looks. By the time we
got it out and deployed we looked like a sight gag. Something to
practice. Our biggest problem with the lift bag was that both Gary and
Nick got fixated on getting it filled and didn't watch their depth at
all and ended up bouncing around in a 40ft range. Both wished we had
more time to practice that skill (AG please note). Once back on the boat
Sami and Clinton were "complimenting" us that at least the bag hit the
surface a few seconds before the first diver.

Out of the water, surface interval of an hour plus listening to Capt.
Phil's jokes and peeing off the stern.

Second dive: Nick and Gary enter the water this time with Andrew.
Clearly not a benign presence. Expect trouble. We descend and go counter
clockwise, uneventfully hitting 120 fsw and a gas turn point dictated by
Gary's single. Moments after turning, a Great-White-Andrew appears and
declares Gary OOA. Seconds later Nick's mask is gone. All at 118 fsw. No
sweat. We trundle back around the pinnacle to the vicinity of the line,
ascend to the upline, do our stops and out. Cool. Get out of the water.
AG debrief: Did Gary check Nick's gas at OOA? (No). Why did Gary stay
below 100 fsw all the way back around the pinnacle before ascending to
the line? (OOPs) Andrew explains this is EXACTLY how many manageable
situations turn CF. Lack of situational awareness. Gary should have
ascended to the top of the pinnacle saving a ton of gas rather than a
slow ascent profile that burned a ton of gas; same problem that Sami and
Clinton had on first dive. If Nick had been low on gas as well (we never
checked), this is how two people drown by not taking into account the
whole situation. A lesson Gary and Nick now have seared into memory.

Meanwhile, team Sami & Clinton were planning to "be a video", since
David would be taping us! And so it ends up being for the most parts: a
clean, short dive, with good awareness and communications, great
scenery, sealions buzzing around everywhere, and even our planned
shooting of a bag from 40’ goes clean and neat. We end up feeling good
and, most importantly, almost fully compliant with DIR Rule #6: "Always
look good." ;-) In honesty Sami still had some trim issues when
concentrating on other things, and Clinton's buoyancy shifted around by
a couple of feet on the deco stops, but at least this video won't get
Bob Sagget's commentary track added on America's Funniest Home Videos.

Back to Lobos on Capt. Phil’s great boat, doff gear, and head for lunch,
final video review and debrief. The class is a wrap at 4 pm on the third
day.


BOTTOM LINE FOR GARY:
---------------------------------

The class was excellent. I think the lessons learned by making mistakes
in a training situation are much more powerful than any second hand
experience. The result is a good balance of confidence and paranoia -- I
know I now have basic skills that I didn't have before and I have
exercised them in VERY stressful situations. My skills need a lot of
practice but they should be adequate to keep my buddy and me alive. The
paranoia come from the knowledge that I need to develop situational
awareness especially connecting information in time-space, not just
focusing on task space. "What important data am I not considering right
now that I should"? This is particularly after the first problem hits.
When you have a problem and you successfully handle it, expect more and
seek them out. They're obscured by your own focus on doing.

Andrew is a fine instructor. He's patient with any question honestly
asked. He'll repeat and explain and never invokes "just because". This
is the finest recreational diving instruction you can get.

The biggest problem with the class is lack of notes or presentation
material. Andrew says he knows and will remedy the situation but think
it’s critical that he do so. Despite repetition and explanation,
knowledge fell on the floor. While the other more experienced students
didn’t feel the same, I think I am closer to the RecTriox student
profile than Sami who has a ton of experience. When the notes come,
they need to be handled responsibly by the recipients. It should be a
rule that the class notes are NOT to be copied or shared with those not
already in the class or higher level GUE training.

*** Gary Banta is 51 and has been diving for 15 months. He's logged
about 75 dives with about 40% dry and 60% tropical wet. He has PADI OW/
AOW / Nitrox and GUE DIR Fundamentals training.


BOTTOM LINE FOR NICK:
---------------------------------

Overall, it was a definitely a worthwhile class. My main goal was to be
able to deal with a serious problem at 120ft and still make it back to
the boat unhurt. I'm a lot more confident about that now; we still make
a lot of mistakes but usually not the fatal kind. Like Gary, I need to
be more aware of my environment in terms of what equipment has failed,
how much gas everyone has, where we are, etc. Detailed class notes would
be nice, I guess, but I'm not so concerned about them as Gary. There are
really only a few basic rules to remember and as long as you grasp the
underlying principles you can work everything else out from those. If we
practice the dive planning stuff on our own a few times I think it will
quickly become second nature.

*** Nick Radov is in his 20s and has been diving since 1998. He has done
about 135 dives, mostly local. In March he took one of the first GUE DIR
Fundamentals classes that Andrew taught. Since that time he started
using double tanks and blending trimix on his own.


BOTTOM LINE FOR SAMI:
-----------------------------------

For me, this class was very close to what I expected. I thoroughly
enjoyed the practical application part, where multiple failures
compounded. I think it says something about the qualities of the staff
(Andrew Georgitsis and David Chamberlin) and my fellow students that I
felt safe and comfortable at 100 feet with failed post, no mask and
getting tangled in line; I felt pressured and at times frustrated, but
not concerned for my safety. Law of primacy is true: what you learn
through your own failures are much more likely to drive your future
behaviour. I also second Gary in asking for classroom materials as
handouts.

There must be something wrong with me, since I had a GREAT time while
PAYING to hump heavy gear across sand dunes, have my gear being ripped
off my face in 47 degree water, and in general being thoroughly
embarrassed and humiliated in front of others.

I would highly recommend this class to experienced divers who are
interested in extending their comfort zone and skill level, but aren't
ready to commit to the discipline, practice and expense that working
with longer deco obligations, big doubles, and separate deco gases
associated with GUE Tech 1 training requires.

*** Sami Laine is in his 30s and has been diving since 1996. He has
about 750 dives, mostly California waters and other cold places (BC,
Alaska). He’s been diving in various levels of DIR configuration (or as
he says: Doing It Close Enough) since 1997, but only recently moved to
doubles. He’s a NAUI Instructor, NAUI Nitrox Instructor, and has TDI
Advanced Nitrox and GUE DIR Fundamentals training.





Replies Author Date
1536 Re: GUE Recreational Triox class report -- LONG! Chuck Tribolet Thu 12/27/2001
1548 Re: GUE Recreational Triox class report -- LONG! Sami Laine Thu 12/27/2001
1549 Re: GUE Recreational Triox class report -- LONG! Michael Maibaum Thu 12/27/2001
1537 Re: GUE Recreational Triox class report -- LONG! Metcalfe Kevin J NOCA Thu 12/27/2001
1538 eye balls floating in yellow water... Leonard Tsai Thu 12/27/2001
1546 20oz Mountain Dew @ MantaRE: [SFbay_DIR] GUE Recr Jim Thompson Thu 12/27/2001
1544 Re: GUE Recreational Triox class report -- LONG! David Chamberlin Thu 12/27/2001
1547 Re: [BA_TechDiver] Re: [SFbay_DIR] GUE Recreation Josh Massie Thu 12/27/2001
1552 Re: GUE Recreational Triox class report -- LONG! Chuck Tribolet Fri 12/28/2001


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Tommy,

Thanks for posting that. Excellent review of a class that I'd like to take someday.
 
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