Video: Advanced Rec-Wreck Training, Subic Bay 2012
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"Forget all the labels and pile of cards one might have. Get in the water and it becomes clear who put the time in and who did not. Let's dive." (JC) James Clark
He's doing amazingly well for having so little experience. But I do have issues with the video and with the whole concept -- for one thing, he doesn't ever look comfortable in the gear. He's got the wobblies I remember very well from learning doubles. And can he handle valve failures? He goes to his knees when putting ties in, which doesn't bode well for dealing with complex task loading while retaining buoyancy control and trim.
I guess I applaud the young man for taking on so much, so early, but wonder if it's truly safe to turn someone like this loose with a blessing to do wreck penetration without the presence of an instructor.
That's true... but he's already got a PADI Wreck Diver cert...that ended just before. The workshop doesn't decrease the limitations applied at that level - it just educates and provides a safer end-product compared to the 4-dive 'Wreck Diver' card holder. The diver is still 'recommended' (as much as any course can enforce/apply limitations) to remain in the light zone, no restrictions and no more than 40m linear from the surface. The dives featured in the video fit into that bracket - and, theoretically, could be attempted by any card-toting PADI wreck diver. In reality, 20 minutes of line-laying and a single (optional) penetration dive on the typical Wreck Diver course would be a fart in a hurricane to prepare them for those dives.
In the video, he was putting the ties in on his third ever dive in doubles - his 16th dive ever - in a blacked-out mask (zero-viz lost line drill). To be fair, I'd grant him his decision to stay stable on the bottom in that instance.. it was effective (if not worthy of a pre-rehearsed GUE demo video). It is also an edited clip - a few seconds from a very long, very skill intensive, dive. It added to his 'tool kit' in that he now has a contingency for deploying a safety reel under adverse circumstances and conducting a search (for line or exit or buddy). A worst case scenario shot at 'getting the heck outta there..'. It also developed (tested?) his ability to remain calm and methodical under zero-viz, confusing conditions. How many PADI wreck divers have those tools available when they receive their c-card?
His first doubles dive was shallow skills, with an arm-aching session of shut-downs. Hovers, non-silting fin kicks, helicopter turn, inverted one-handed mask remove-replace, kit remove/replace underwater and at the surface... There was some considerable task loading - that's the point of it. Each dive was in excess of 60 minutes. Total training time (in-water) exceeded 480 minutes. The doubles training replicates that given at entry-level tech courses, with the exception of using stages, deco procedures or rich nitrox etc. Again.. he's not ready to pass fundies/tech... but he's ready to start working efficiently towards that level of competence.
It isn't a 'qualification' to dive in doubles (as no such thing exists) - it presents a configuration/equipment option, with an emphasis on ample gas supply and redundancy (coupled with gas management/dive planning theory). Neither is it pretending to be a 'tech' course. Given the recommended wreck diving (and open water diving) limitations, shut-downs aren't critical anyway - these are dives that the majority would do unthinkingly in single AL80s. I teach shut-downs at this stage for the sake of completeness and to give wider options.
Neither is it a 'technical' wreck course. There's no debate that a diver should be doing complex penetration without a high degree of familiarity and ingrained skill with the equipment and core dive fundamentals before reaching that level. However, it does provide a far more competent, confident, calm and capable recreational wreck diver. That's the product I am trying to achieve... a comparison between the 'average' 2-day/4-dive wreck diving course graduate and an extra couple of days on the workshop starts to look very favourable.
Transition back to single cylinder typically shows a big step-forward in comfort and skill. Over subsequent dives, comfort in the kit increases very quickly. Now, it isn't 'fundies', but it's pretty good at raising the skill level in a short time. The main goal, especially with a diver of his tender experience, is to set about some basic foundations for effective future development. I'd rate him against any <20 dive experienced diver out there. When he's got double - triple his current amount of experience, he'll be knocking on someone's dive shop door to enquire about entry-level tech. Between now and then, he's got a good road-map to follow for his development.
Given his experience conducting some of the simulations, drills and penetrations - I'd also hope that there's ample education... real education... about the risks and requirements of wreck diving penetration. The emphasis of the workshop in that respect is to discourage over-confidence, machismo and all the other traits or failings that lead under-prepared, under-equipped divers into potentially dangerous wreck dives. Any illusions created when the 'Wreck Diver' card arrives in the post are swiftly dispelled.
If I felt I was 'turning someone loose', then I wouldn't do this workshop.... or I'd set a tech-equivalent prerequisite for experience. I make it very clear that it's not a certification, there is no shiny card.... and all else remains the same in respect of the dives undertaken afterwards. The benefits being accelerated progression in the foundations, some more options with kit, some increased confidence, greater experience immersion and core competency... and a healthy dose of respect for wreck diving.
I just posted another student video (workshops are proving v.popular) in the Advanced forum. That student was a MSD with 60+ dives. Still had the wobbles... Better description of the workshop goals etc in that thread.
I certainly agree that one of the best lessons you can take away from a wreck workshop (and definitely the biggest lesson I took away from mine!) is how unprepared you are to do complex wreck penetrations without a LOT of experience in less challenging conditions.
Andy, I wasn't criticizing your student. If you had put me in doubles at 16 dives and asked me to run line in a blacked out mask, I probably would have killed myself and possibly you, too. He did very well. I was just a little taken aback at the idea that he was finishing a class that would theoretically allow him to do wreck penetration in double tanks with what I see as very shaky skills yet.
I certainly agree that one of the best lessons you can take away from a wreck workshop (and definitely the biggest lesson I took away from mine!) is how unprepared you are to do complex wreck penetrations without a LOT of experience in less challenging conditions.
Yep, that's definitely one of the end products. Understanding what is involved with wreck penetration, what can go wrong and what level of skill is needed to resolve those situations is a great starting point for an aspiring wreck diver.
Based on the wreck diver course alone, it'd be easy (IMHO) to make assumptions that you were prepared for wreck diving. In reality, the course falls far short of preparing a diver for wreck penetration. Comparison against a 'decent' cavern diver course makes that very apparent - especially as both courses theoretically fulfil very similar goals in preparing divers to operate within the light zone of an overhead environment, with similar risks (silt, disorientation, loss of exit etc).
Originally Posted by TSandM
Andy, I wasn't criticizing your student.
Understood My response wasn't intended as a 'defence'. I just hadn't posted much initial explanation of the workshop (I did in the other thread) and wanted to include that in retrospect.
Originally Posted by TSandM
If you had put me in doubles at 16 dives and asked me to run line in a blacked out mask, I probably would have killed myself and possibly you, too. He did very well. I was just a little taken aback at the idea that he was finishing a class that would theoretically allow him to do wreck penetration in double tanks with what I see as very shaky skills yet.
Yes, I do understand that concern... which is why I provide this as a workshop, not a qualification course. The workshop is flexible, booked on a day-by-day basis... student tells me how many days they have available for diving and I fit what I can into that time. Each workshop is tailored specifically to identify and address the issues/needs of the participants. Doubles are optional - but have been extremely popular as an add-on to the core training. If they weren't in doubles, then they'd be carrying a pony. I (and PADI etc) educate about redundant gas options in the basic wreck/deep courses - so it seems fitting to provide a practical introduction to those on the workshop. Likewise, I don't over-stress/burden students on these - the pace of progress is entirely dictated by the student's comfort level. I hadn't expected this student to adapt so quickly to those demands, but he did a great job and showed relish in the challenges.
Also, most of my customers are vacation divers. I'd love to have repetitive contact with those students to enable a slower progression in line with experience and comfort. That doesn't work in my location - so I equip them with a tool-set, which they then understand needs personal refinement and ingraining before they can utilise it properly. That's the same as any scuba course really... as opposed to an on-going mentorship.
Fundies provides students with a benchmark towards tech/cave progression... or simply towards core skill perfection. Many participants on fundies walk away without a 'pass'. That's nothing bad, as it helps shape their development in a great way.
I don't issue 'passes' or 'failures' in the workshop, but nonetheless, my participants finish the training with a clear understanding of their relative capabilities and limitations - along with understanding the relationship between those issues and the dives they may seek to undertake.
Neither does the workshop empower a student to do anything beyond what they would have done before... in all likelihood, their diving will be more conservative, more critically self-assessed and more progression-orientated as a result. Until they progress to tech-techwreck/cave level, they shouldn't be exceeding the 'basic wreck' limits anyway - from the workshop they learn to understand why that is a prudent approach. The same with double tanks,.. they see how they should perform - and they learn how they (probably) can't achieve that level of comfort, familiarity and fluidity in a few days.
Last edited by DevonDiver; February 2nd, 2012 at 01:15 AM.
I would not want to be climbing all over that wreck in zero visibility with no protection of my arms, legs and head..Don't you have people getting stung, abraded and cut when diving like that?
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It added to his 'tool kit' in that he now has a contingency for deploying a safety reel under adverse circumstances and conducting a search (for line or exit or buddy). A worst case scenario shot at 'getting the heck outta there..'. It also developed (tested?) his ability to remain calm and methodical under zero-viz, confusing conditions. How many PADI wreck divers have those tools available when they receive their c-card?
Originally Posted by TSandM
