Is it time to sink the CESA?

[The Chairman]

A couple of decades before, when we were allowed to turn off our student's air, the first introduction to the CESA was in the pool. I asked their permission to turn off their air when we submerge. I then make a scissor cut sign meaning that I'm about to turn off their air. They give me the OK and I slowly shut the air. As soon as they 'pucker', they go into the superman position, left hand with inflator over their head and they kick. When they get to the end, their air is still not on, so oral inflation is a must. I never leave their side during this process.

As an "aha" moment, I never tell them to turn on their air back on after the exercise. When we go to swim back, they figure it out and then get to turn their own air on.

Most laryngospasms can be avoided by placing the tip of your tongue to the back of your upper teeth before you inhale on a reg or snorkel. Any inspired water will hit the back of your tongue and not the larynx.

 

[Angelo Farina]

BSAC used to include snorkel training as part of the old 3rd Class, it got dropped in the learly 1980s.

BSAC still teach snorkelling and have a whole raft of courses, including instructor - see here.

Very interesting... So BSAC teaches snorkelling, and instead does not teach free diving (apnoea)?

<<EDIT>>: I see that BSAC is planning to introduce free diving courses just now:
Dive with Sophie: BSAC Freediving and other Diver Training Group (DTG) updates
That is incredibly for me. Here in Italy, FIPSAS (the Italian branch of CMAS) teaches free diving (apnoea) since the seventies...

 

[TMHeimer]

When it comes to beginner divers, it is easy to assume that a wanna-be diver grew-up on the coastline and had frequent regular access to the ocean and beaches to attain some basic proficiency in watermanship that cannot normally by an adult dipping in the ocean for the first time only in adult life. No attempt is made by training agencies to actually acclimatize or gauge a new divers proficiency in the water and it is assumed the student is not just an over-enthusiastic "kid" out of touch with reality about his actual competence to manage himself (or herself) in the water.

I have been living in a landlocked place for the last 15 years or so and I am sure many people are in the same situation. As a person with intermittent and limited access to the Seas, my next training plan to boost my general proficiency is to do a basic Freediving course. Last time I checked out the beginner videos I was left wondering why this is not a prerequisite or integrated into a beginner diving course? The biology and physics about differences regarding holding breath when breathing compressed air in Scuba vs Freediving can be specially hilighted and CESA like maneuvers can be practiced a dozen times in a Freediving course without the Instructors risking barotrauma or other complications. The instructors can even be different and dedicated Freediving teachers leaving the scuba teachers for what they do best. Swimming regularly in a pool all your life is one thing and exposure to the elements in the Ocean with waves and currents is another. Even practicing treading the water will up the confidence level of non-coastal people as they prepare to undertake their first Scuba lessons. For a beginner Freediver who finds he cannot do breath-holds like a champion, even limited 10m dives executed and practiced multiple times over a couple of days for 30 seconds or whatever can be a big confidence booster.

We got away from the CESA subject for a while, but this is one of the best posts I've read in a long time (as are some by Angelo & others that followed). Won't belabor the point on my old pet peeve, but when I was assisting on OW courses every so often I would come across a student where I'd think "What the heck is he/she DOING HERE?!"

 

[The Chairman]

"What the heck is he/she DOING HERE?!"

I've taught three people who were afraid of the water. Two finished their training.

The aim of teaching people to scuba dive shouldn't be how to simply breathe underwater, but how to be in control. Even people with lots of time in the water will panic if they are not in control. Teach the physics, teach the skills and don't let them out of the pool until they have this down. It's my personal philosophy that peak performance buoyancy is a remedial class for those whose instructor failed them. Having them master this foundational skill will prevent most out of air scenarios.

 

[boulderjohn]

Quite a few years ago, the assistant who was supposed to assist a large confined water class was suddenly ill, and I was asked to fill in. The instructor was quite clear before the class--he knew I did things differently, but this was his class, and I needed to just bite my lip and follow his lead. This was before PADI changed its OW class to put more emphasis on neutral buoyancy, so pretty much every minute of the class was spent with students kneeling on the bottom. The one time he had them circle the pool while "neutrally buoyant" (all that was required back then) would have been laughable if it weren't so sad. The instructor did actually laugh as he watched them struggle. Pretty much every student breached the surface at one point or another; pretty much every student hit the floor at one point or another.

I later learned that those students went on to do the OW dives with someone who did all the skill demonstrations on the knees.

If those students were to go on and do the Peak Performance Buoyancy class, they just might--maybe--finish that class with the same level of diving skill as students who take a beginning OW course where they do all everything neutrally buoyant from the start.

 

[TMHeimer]

I've taught three people who were afraid of the water. Two finished their training.

The aim of teaching people to scuba dive shouldn't be how to simply breathe underwater, but how to be in control. Even people with lots of time in the water will panic if they are not in control. Teach the physics, teach the skills and don't let them out of the pool until they have this down. It's my personal philosophy that peak performance buoyancy is a remedial class for those whose instructor failed them. Having them master this foundational skill will prevent most out of air scenarios.

I agree with you, especially not letting them out of the pool until in control. I read on SB way back an instructor saying a woman took OW specifically to overcome her fear of the water.
I'm not saying taking an OW scuba course can't be a way to overcome fear of the water, and you have been successful doing this with students.
If I had any fear of the water or wasn't comfortable in it, I personally would not enroll in a scuba course. But that's just me. I also had no interest in scuba when living inland during my career life and being a "vacation diver" once or twice a year, maybe doing a refresher course (if I had known anything about that back then). Seemed risky to me, but again, that's just me.

I wonder if those who weren't comfortable to begin with taking OW may revert back to that during something like a CESA and be one of those CESA diver accidents you mentioned a while back.
I have no idea if that may happen.

 

[The Chairman]

If those students were to go on and do the Peak Performance Buoyancy class, they just might--maybe--finish that class with the same level of diving skill as students who take a beginning OW course where they do all everything neutrally buoyant from the start.

And it wouldn't have taken any longer to do it right.

I wonder if those who weren't comfortable to begin with taking OW may revert back to that during something like a CESA and be one of those CESA diver accidents you mentioned a while back.
I have no idea if that may happen.

Divers who are out of control are distracted and often distracted to the point of near panic. Distracted diving can be just as tragic as distracted driving. They are too busy to check air or to find their buddy. Put a diver in control of their trim and buoyancy, and they have time to stick to basics like checking not only their air, but their buddy's air as well. They don't run out of air to have an OOA experience.

 

[boulderjohn]

The thing to do with CESA instruction is pretend it has never been done and start from scratch. Curriculum design used to be my job, so here is how I would do it.

1. Identify what students most critically need to know and be able to do.
   1. The MUST exhale all the way to the surface.
   2. After exhaling, the lungs still have loads of air.
   3. That air will expand significantly as the diver expands.
   4. Once the lungs reach capacity and air starts to exit, it will exit very quickly; all they need to do is keep their airway open and let it out.
   5. They do not need to have a full breath at the start to execute it safely; in fact, that could be counterproductive.
   6. Their regulators will be able to provide air as pressure decreases, so it is important to keep the regulator in the mouth.
   7. Inhaling water can start a gag reflex and begin a drowning process, so it is important to keep the regulator in the mouth.
   8. If they are doing a CONTROLLED ESA (CESA), they will need to vent air from the BCD to prevent an ascent that is too rapid.
   9. Getting to the surface is the primary goal, so an ascent that is too rapid is better than one that does not get you there.
2. Identify what needs to be included in the academic portion of the instruction.
   1. I will leave folks to figure that out.
3. Identify what should be part of the active instruction.
   1. Swimming while exhaling at a reasonable rate.
   2. Inhaling after full exhalation to demonstrate knowledge that the regulator will deliver air.
   3. Dumping air to slow ascent. (Note: This does not have to be taught at the same time as the other skills.)
4. Identify potential instructional strategies that should be avoided because they are not needed or are counterproductive.
   1. Long swims with unrealistic exhale pattern (barely exchaling)
   2. Making sure students have a really full breath before ascending.
   3. Failing students on the activity if they inhale after a long, slow exhale.

 

[HBVetera n2312]

Agreed with all the above! I fully believe that one should display water confidence/ drownproofing prior to any SCUBA training. Training would be able to be geared more toward performing emergency procedures, like the CESA, which could be lifesaving in a quickly unfolding event. Panic is a killer.

 

[Ken Fischer]

I permanently damaged the hearing in my right ear due to the CESA skill in my Open Water certification.

I did the CESA ascent successfully, but then my instructor and I _immediately_ (less then 30 sec on the surface) descended to resume the dive. On the descent, I slipped into a dreamlike subconscious “split mind” state - which caused me to not equalize properly. (I recall having one part of my mind screaming to swim up, and the other part of my dream-like state telling me to get down to depth.) When I did start to “come to” I tried to equalize with a forced Valsalva maneuver. Goodbye hearing in my right ear.

I’ve had the feedback that better practice would have prevented this accident - but I’m not sure how I could have trained myself to handle a situation where my brain literally got spiked by the “bounce dive.” It’s hard to deploy training correctly when your mind isn’t working properly.

So, yes - I really wish my instructor and I had rested on the surface for a few minutes.