Visual reference on anchor line

[Wibble]

It's pretty easy to do ... reg stows with one hand. Just might need a little practice.

How do you do that one handed?

Typically swing the stage forwards by unclipping the bottom clip, then you have to fold the hose with two hands; then hold the hose with one hand and hold the cylinder with the other, then need a third hand to lift the elastic strap/bungee to shove in the folded hose. Tidying needs two hands. Then clip it back. All whilst checking your depth reference.




The clips are called "long line fishing clips" on Amazon. Big is best.
CLIP THEM ON THE RIGHT WAY otherwise they fall off! Learned that by loosing my strobe so Neptune had another trinket for his locker

 

[RyanT]

There's no need to unclip and swing the bottle forward. Just leave them clipped in place. With one hand reach down and pull the bungee out on the deco bottle out. Push the hose under the bungee with your thumb. With that small loop of hose under the bungee, just pull the bottom of the hose and pull the hose all the way under the bungee until the second stage is snugged up against the bungee. You can do this with the bottom bungee as well, if you really want everything tidied up nicely. I usually don't bother with the bottom bungee though at the end of the dive.

 

[flymolo]

There's no need to unclip and swing the bottle forward. Just leave them clipped in place. With one hand reach down and pull the bungee out on the deco bottle out. Push the hose under the bungee with your thumb. With that small loop of hose under the bungee, just pull the bottom of the hose and pull the hose all the way under the bungee until the second stage is snugged up against the bungee. You can do this with the bottom bungee as well, if you really want everything tidied up nicely. I usually don't bother with the bottom bungee though at the end of the dive.

yeah, you can quick stow a reg hose without unclipping the bottle but if you're permanently stowing the reg you might as well clean up the hose.

that being said, I don’t think it’s a good strategy to do your gas switches one handed while hanging onto the anchor line for buoyancy, and/or not clean up or stow hoses properly afterwards

 

[RyanT]

@flymolo, sure if conditions allow, then use two hands and stow everything nice and neat. When you're hanging on an anchor line doing your deco in a 2 knot current, however, sometimes one-handed it is.

 

[flymolo]

@flymolo, sure if conditions allow, then use two hands and stow everything nice and neat. When you're hanging on an anchor line doing your deco in a 2 knot current, however, sometimes one-handed it is.

Yeah fair enough

 

[Nick_Radov]

Jon line. Works well on ascent line in ripping current when crowded as well as other uses. Kind of like using a reef hook on the reef in ripping current.

Yikes. Jon lines are not safe or even remotely a good idea. If there is any significant current running then even with a Jon line (or tying in with a spool or anything similar) there is a risk of getting blown off the anchor line and unable to return. Then your buddies have to decide whether to follow you, or let you drift away solo. Plus you end up with multiple divers all tied in at the same depth and bumping into each other at the 20 ft deco stop. Not fun or comfortable. And what happens if you have an emergency on the bottom and need to start an immediate ascent without returning to the anchor?

I am aware that tech diving in currents from anchored boats has been common practice in some areas such as the Northeast USA. That doesn't mean anyone should continue doing it.

The correct way to dive in currents is with a live boat and drifting ascents under an SMB. We have been doing this for years and it works much better. Just say no to Jon lines.

 

[ginti]

To the OP, in my view, if a diver wants to do tech diving, they must be able to manage uncomfortable situations. You have cave experiences, so I bet you agree with me.

So imagine that, for whatever reason, you need to ascend far from the anchor line in the blue. This can be a planned situation (which you wouldn't do if you don't feel comfortable with it) - or an unplanned one (which you must manage if it happens!). Besides ensuring safety for your teammates, if any, the first things you want to do are:
(1) Reach your first deco stop and hold the position for the required time, but remember, you have no reference.
(2) Do the gas switch(es), if necessary, for which you need to hold your position again - without any reference.
(3) Take your SMB and shoot it; again, you have no reference.
Depending on the depth and time on the bottom, the order of the three actions mentioned above may change. Still, scenarios where the SMB is the last thing you do are quite possible, especially if you are diving deep and you need to reach an alternative gas source quickly.

The way I see it, I prefer never to use references, just to avoid becoming dependent on them, in case I need to manage a situation where I cannot have them... but that is just me

 

[flymolo]

Yikes. Jon lines are not safe or even remotely a good idea. If there is any significant current running then even with a Jon line (or tying in with a spool or anything similar) there is a risk of getting blown off the anchor line and unable to return. Then your buddies have to decide whether to follow you, or let you drift away solo. Plus you end up with multiple divers all tied in at the same depth and bumping into each other at the 20 ft deco stop. Not fun or comfortable. And what happens if you have an emergency on the bottom and need to start an immediate ascent without returning to the anchor?

I am aware that tech diving in currents from anchored boats has been common practice in some areas such as the Northeast USA. That doesn't mean anyone should continue doing it.

The correct way to dive in currents is with a live boat and drifting ascents under an SMB. We have been doing this for years and it works much better. Just say no to Jon lines.

to add to this, jon lines work best when there is nobody else or not many others at your stop. if there are multiple divers all hanging from the anchor line at/around the same depth, it's not unlikely the jon line will get wrapped around someone at some point. not to mention they take some practice stowing and deploying in an orderly fashion. i wouldn't go as far as to say never use jon lines or never dive a wreck from a boat that's tied to it, but i will say that jon lines aren't perfect solutions (though they are far preferable to getting a shoulder bend from hanging onto a line that's bouncing a few feet up and down due to surface swell)

 

[Nick_Radov]

All of my technical training has been in Florida caves, so deco in open water is pretty new for me. It seems like attaching a temporary reference to the line would be easier than constantly keeping one eye on my computer, but if this is a bad idea, I'm happy to hear why.

If you haven't done deco in open water then I strongly recommend practicing ascents and gas switches on shallow dives first before doing any real tech dives. You need to be comfortable doing everything without a fixed reference such as an anchor line because it might not be there during an emergency. The GUE Tech 1 course is a great way to learn those skills.

Technical Diver Level 1

The GUE Tech 1 course prepares ambitious divers to begin their path to technical diving safely, with confidence, and with a base of solid skills and knowledge. This course also paves the way to GUE rebreather courses, to advanced technical GUE training, and to GUE project and exploration diving.

www.gue.com

You don't need to constantly keep an eye on your computer, but there's nothing wrong with taking frequent glances; don't get fixated on it. You should be able to feel minor depth changes in your ears. Your buddy should provide a stable visual depth reference for you while you switch gasses or deal with other issues. You can launch an SMB and lightly hold the spool.

 

[Wibble]

Yikes. Jon lines are not safe or even remotely a good idea. If there is any significant current running then even with a Jon line (or tying in with a spool or anything similar) there is a risk of getting blown off the anchor line and unable to return. Then your buddies have to decide whether to follow you, or let you drift away solo. Plus you end up with multiple divers all tied in at the same depth and bumping into each other at the 20 ft deco stop. Not fun or comfortable. And what happens if you have an emergency on the bottom and need to start an immediate ascent without returning to the anchor?

I am aware that tech diving in currents from anchored boats has been common practice in some areas such as the Northeast USA. That doesn't mean anyone should continue doing it.

The correct way to dive in currents is with a live boat and drifting ascents under an SMB. We have been doing this for years and it works much better. Just say no to Jon lines.

Better still use a lazy shot line. When all divers are on the lazy shot, the last one disconnects it and peace prevails as everyone drifts together downstream, leaving the shot line on the wreck.

Nicer still is the 6m/20ft trapeze. Even nicer to have a 9m/30ft trapeze too.

You've all divers together doing their deco. Loads of hands to help out if there's any trouble and virtually unlimited supplies of gas using all those bailouts. When divers have finished their deco, they ascend and the boat picks them up. Last one on the lazy shot disconnects the trapezes before they ascend.

The boat just follows the lazy shot buoys picking up divers as they appear.