So I took your advice on overhead diving...

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RayJayJr

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Location
Alberta
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And dove right in!! And I'm glad I did. I decided to take my Ice and my Wreck certification. I have to say that for both courses, my instructors were top notch, and made a big effort to challenge us and teach us above and beyond the requirements of the PADI standards, for which I am grateful.

Thoughts on Ice Diving:

The ice diving was a massive amount of work, carrying equipment (between the tent and the 8 divers, well over several thousand pounds of stuff), setting up the tent and clearing the snow (which took a whole afternoon), cutting the ice, securing the cut ice correctly underneath the hole (rather than removing it, which would have been a nightmare), the logistics of managing multiple divers under the ice was a 180 degree switch from recreational diving. I learned a great deal about how regulators actually function as well, as we did a breakdown during our class instruction time - and learned first hand, that free-flows are easily manageable with proper training, and are also a great excuse to get hot water poured on your regs, hood, and gloves. :D

Everything was covered in the course, from the science of the ice and ice formation, to handling emergencies, logistics and surface support. We even did some "lost divers" rescue scenarios which involved a solo ice dive, which was fantastic. I'll be back next winter to hit the ice, most definitely.

Thoughts on Wreck Diving:

Practice, Practice, Practice.

The wreck course ended up being a week-long trip to the west coast, which involved a total of 6 dives - on the HMCS Cape Breton, and the Riv-Tow Lion (tugboat) I've discovered that finger spools take practice and are to be respected - and that it's easy to cover the entire helicopter deck of a military supply ship with white string with very minimal effort, and only a few divers. :D :shakehead

We ended up penetrating the HMCS Cape Breton through a pair of large skylight windows on the aft of the ship that led into the aft cargo hold - In retrospect, I have to say that top-down penetrations require your absolute attention (dealing with 3 dimensions rather than 2), and I plan on practicing them for that reason. We ended up going down one hallway at about 105 feet before we turned back an exited, but it was a blast.

I'm definitely going to be looking at learning to dive doubles in the future, it seems like the way to go for the deeper wrecks, or just maintaining a decent bottom time, for that matter.



Next on my list is to get some more dives in (probably another 30 or 40) and then, when summer rolls around, I'm thinking about taking "Advanced Nitro" and "Introduction to Decompression Procedures" with one my local tech instructors.


Thanks for all the advice you guys provided in my last thread!
 
Interesting read...and congratulations on your efforts. In comparison, I finished off advanced nitrox and TDI deco procedures a year ago...which only means that the door is open to more practice and experience. I do dive doubles and I dive the wrecks off of NC mostly. I know that every dive is a new experience and an opportunity to practice. With overhead environments...I completed my Intro to Cave back in 2003, and I completed my advanced wreck diving in Bikini Atoll last year.

I am not the only one to say this...diving doubles and getting one's equipment set up and configuration to work well with trim and balance DOES take fine tuning and practice. Like many, I like diving in the local quarries to practice and evaluate equipment set up etc. Moving around underwater with a single is easy compared to a set of pst104s on your back...and as the GUE manual says...diving with a wet suit offers potentials for problematic bouyancy and trim.

Alas...I am finally going to order my dry suit.

Jusy my 02.
 
I just did my wreck course last week in Bonaire. We penetrated the Hilma Hooker and I had some issue w/ my reel as well :). Those things get out of control quickly if you don't keep enough tension on the line. You are a braver man than I with the ice diving. I still get a little spooked going overhead but I guess thats why we keep practicing. I'm looking forward to getting some deco training and a set of doubles for the NC wrecks myself. This should be a fun summer :)
 
Reel work with an actual reel vs. a spool...both can be tricky and both need lots of practice. When the task loading gets more complicated diving doubles with deco and stage bottles...deploying a bag or smb...these kinds of tasks take time to master.

For myself...I know I will have many quarry trips this summer just to practice skills etc.

Overhead environments are a great motivator in terms of tightening up skills and working on weaknesses...in the long run...I do not see myself becoming an expert cave diver. In my opinion, you really really have to have things down...and you really have to be picky about your buddies.

Just more O2.
 
rbolander:
We ended up penetrating the HMCS Cape Breton through a pair of large skylight windows on the aft of the ship that led into the aft cargo hold -
Just FYI the skylights are actually on top of the engine room and with the engine removed prior to sinking it does look like a big cargo hold. The boiler are still in there though and if you look on the aft bulkhead you will see three giant spare piston rings hanging there.
 
wedivebc:
Just FYI the skylights are actually on top of the engine room and with the engine removed prior to sinking it does look like a big cargo hold. The boiler are still in there though and if you look on the aft bulkhead you will see three giant spare piston rings hanging there.

I do remember it being mentioned the ship had been shortened prior to the sinking - I thought the bulkhead was the same thing as a cargo hold - I know diddly squat about ships.

Thanks for the correction!
 
rbolander:
- I thought the bulkhead was the same thing as a cargo hold -
bulkhead = sailorspeak for wall
 
So you did your ice diving and wreck penetration classes on a single tank? Did you have to use an H-Valve or anything? I know that you have to do that for cave diving, but I don't know anything about wreck or ice classes.
 
PerroneFord:
So you did your ice diving and wreck penetration classes on a single tank? Did you have to use an H-Valve or anything? I know that you have to do that for cave diving, but I don't know anything about wreck or ice classes.

For Ice Diving, it was recommended that all students have at least 13cf pony bottle, about half of the students ended up either borrowing or purchasing one (so about 4/8 divers). Two students had an H-Valve setup.

I personally chose not to make a last minute purchase, but since I've completed the course, and experienced a couple free flows, I'll definitely have one for next year. It just makes sense, it's a very minimal cost (buy a set of used regs) compared to the safety factor it gives you.

For wreck diving, all of the instructors (3) sported steel doubles, including the lead instructor who also dove with an AL40 of 50% oxygen which he used for his deco plan. (as he accompanied each pair of students who penetrated) It was discussed in class, again, that pony bottles should be thought of as mandatory for anyone seriously considering limited penetration wreck diving as frequent activity - But we were asked to not bring doubles unless we had at least a dozen or so dives previous to the trip simply because of the fact that learning to penetrate and learning to dive doubles at the same time isn't ideal.

I'd have liked to have had learned to dive, and been able to bring doubles on the wreck trip - Diving to 80-100 ft and penetrating on a single tank really limits your stay - You're basically in the wreck for only 4-5 minutes before you have to exit and turn back. I hit my turn-around pressure much quicker than I hit my NDLs.
 

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