Line skills

[InTheDrink]

For some of us, getting just that little leg up on what's required makes the whole class less stressful .... and find out how much tunnel vision the person with the reel is likely to develop!

Precisely.

J

 

[Sas]

It sounds like you are coming into this with way more than is typical.

Yea definitely. I know a few people keep saying to work on buoyancy and trim but the OP definitely meets the level required for Cavern/Basic (unless you've regressed terribly since I saw you last dude ) so I can see why he is looking to learn the extra skills.

It's kinda hard to explain line work via a post though, at least, I find it that way. It was something I had to be shown.

 

[InTheDrink]

Generally when divers first have a reel put in their hands underwater they're going to create a rats nest. IMO, its good to get some practice in before class to get over that hump, but its going to most useful with someone that has already been through cave to show you how to do the tie-offs, etc. If you don't have someone more experienced to help you out, however, then learning off the internet may be problematic.

Hi Lamont,

Quick note of adulation: I love your posts

I don't know anyone apart from the internet for the vast majority of my learning. It's something I'm trying to rectify but the people I've met so far aren't really my kind of people. So I learn from the Internet. SB in particular.

It's proved pretty effective for me so far. I'd love someone to be able to critique me (cos I know there's lots I must be doing wrong) but in the absence of this, advice from sages such as yourself and the other posters on this thread are extremely helpful.

As it happens, I am, for the first time, sniffing out some kind of tech instructor in the area. I've been slow in this area (but a recent pay rise has helped me up my search rate).

My plan for Cavern is, naturally, to go to the other side of the planet (Melbourne, Australia) as I have such tenuous links to this kind of diving here.

Best regards,
J

 

[InTheDrink]

Yea definitely. I know a few people keep saying to work on buoyancy and trim but the OP definitely meets the level required for Cavern/Basic (unless you've regressed terribly since I saw you last dude ) so I can see why he is looking to learn the extra skills.

It's kinda hard to explain line work via a post though, at least, I find it that way. It was something I had to be shown.

Blackwood kindly indicated it would be ok to share the links he sent me. I haven't implemented what I've seen yet but they seem a really good description to me of how and why to lay line. Of course he may be secretly in league with idocsteve and planning yet another way to kill me. I'll let you decide

SCUBA: Guide Line Technique (1 of 2) on Vimeo

SCUBA: Guide Line Technique (2 of 2) on Vimeo

Cheers,
J

 

[BabyDuck]

if you'd consider north florida, consider martin robson. he's a uk dude but spends an awful lot of time at the dive outpost teaching.

 

[hudson]

Great videos Blackwood. Wish I'd seen those before my class, it would have gone faster.

I think you'll find that the "skill" part is not so much in the tie-offs but rather how to route the line. While entering a high-flow and perhaps crowded cave, the tendency is to just to put the line down anywhere and get out of the flow. The results are often not very desirable.

 

[lamont]

Hi Lamont,

Quick note of adulation: I love your posts

well... you just earned a little bit more internet help then.... =)

one thing i noticed from watching a reel-newbie try to do tie-offs recently is that you probably need to slow down. you're probably going to want to do tie offs and reel work at about the speed of an instructor or experienced cave diver. for tie offs you almost want to shoot for exaggerated slowness, and to focus primarily on keeping tension on the line until it becomes second nature.

slack line kills.

there's also probably a million tieoffs that you aren't seeing -- typically because they're the small tieoffs and not the big ones. i know that when my buddies first started line practice we'd be doing tie-offs around *huge* pilings that were a two-person job to pass the reel around the piling to make the tie off (teamwork!). they were at least closed tie offs and they damn well weren't going to slip off... there's probably a better tie off staring you right in the face, but its smaller than what you're looking for...

 

[InTheDrink]

if you'd consider north florida, consider martin robson. he's a uk dude but spends an awful lot of time at the dive outpost teaching.

cheers for that. I'd certainly consider north florida - it's pretty handy for me to get to (certainly in comparison to Oz) and I'm over that side of the pond not infrequently anyway.

edit: is there an internet site that has an annual typical range for the water temperatures in Florida caves?

Thx,
J

 

[InTheDrink]

well... you just earned a little bit more internet help then.... =)

one thing i noticed from watching a reel-newbie try to do tie-offs recently is that you probably need to slow down. you're probably going to want to do tie offs and reel work at about the speed of an instructor or experienced cave diver. for tie offs you almost want to shoot for exaggerated slowness, and to focus primarily on keeping tension on the line until it becomes second nature.

slack line kills.

there's also probably a million tieoffs that you aren't seeing -- typically because they're the small tieoffs and not the big ones. i know that when my buddies first started line practice we'd be doing tie-offs around *huge* pilings that were a two-person job to pass the reel around the piling to make the tie off (teamwork!). they were at least closed tie offs and they damn well weren't going to slip off... there's probably a better tie off staring you right in the face, but its smaller than what you're looking for...

Man, I'm really digging on this internet gig

3 good points,
- taking your time tying off
- keeping line taut
- discrete tie-offs.

You explained #1 and #3 and I can hazard guesses to #2 but if you could elaborate at all on why slack line kills that would be appreciated.t

Cheers,

J

 

[BabyDuck]

temps in nfl caves - 68-72deg f pretty much always.