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John > >I like the idea of all divers being on a blob, but you have to take > >great care not to get tangled in each others line while hanging, > >otherwise you end up with an u/w May Pole (translated - a strange > >English dance of chasing each other around a pole holding a bit of rope > >attached at the top - normally involves lots of bells & strange > >clothing, but I digress!!!) > As the guy says, "Do it right" with the right system and there is no > problem. Hmmm - so what IS the right system? We use a trapeze that remains on the shot till all the markers have been removed or after a preset time, when it is then cast adrift and all float with the trapeze. Spare gas is at 9m & another tank is rigged & ready to go on the boat in case a signal buoy is sent up! The DSMB is now very much the reserve system - yes we used to use it exclusively with the rec diving and to start with when doing these dives & found their disadvantages through experience. If you need to resort to the DSMB on a long hang then I prefer all to deploy DSMB but keeping in close proximity with your buddy does increase the risk of the lines tangling up - especially on the deep stops when the viz brings the pair closer together. Sometimes the lines do get tangled - then it becomes a pain as you find the pair are continually swinging together. Worth pointing out as it can & does happen - not a catastropy but the more people are aware the better IMO! If you need to resort to a DSMB then much better for 'one diver, one DSMB on the surface' as a rule. > I have the odd combination of being a gas diver instructor and a > Skipper. what is often not realised by the diver is that any system > involving a boat should do exactly that. Too many ideas are hatched by > divers for divers and do not take into consideration the boat and how it > handles etc etc. I agree with you here - the team consists of the divers the skipper & the boat - all rely on each other for a safe trip. > Just one example is how a skipper is often expected to > administer o2 when his responsibility is to inform emergency services > etc and collect other divers and get the boat ashore or too a rendezvous > point etc. Yep I know that's the case & I think its stupid for the divers to make this assumption. I feel all boats 'should' carry O2 & hence the skipper be familiar with it's opperation, but that's not his 'primary' responsibility. For this 'tech' diving the team of divers should supply their own & in the first instance rely on their 'own' O2 and every member of the team be able to administrate if called upon. If you make the investment to this diving then there's a whole lot more that goes with it for a diver than just stepping on a boat! > It is a simple matter of diver/boat/skipper education. I agree - but we're in early days. You have the advantage of being knowledgeable to the requirments of the tech community - this is a major bonus - alot of the other skippers are still learning. Inexperience is the main worry. It takes time to learn & remember all the protocols. For the 'new' skipper to this game to be told a list of instructions for the first time, they can't be expected to remember everything they've been told until it becomes second nature. Maybe a idea is to hand them a breif aid memoire with the key points written down! > Any mutterings soon dissappear when the diver finds he likes the extra > security in the numbers and hanging gas. It's having the right attitude for this style of diving. As the tech community grows here, many have come from the rec diving - 2 dives a day/DSMB - mentality. This is not what works best for tech diving and slowly they change there ideas and realise the merits! Unfortunately people normally like to learn the hard way! > I would suggest speaking to the skipper about deployment of stations, it > is a pain in the arse when the divers launch their system and it ends up > in the screw.he should understand the system clearly or you shouldn`t go > with him. This is where diver/skipper comms are needed. We have our idea of whats best & skippers have there own. Most of the time a compromise can be found which is mutually benifical to both parties. I had one skipper that insisted the first pair of divers lept in dragging the trapeze - worked okay first time - second time was a complete disaster as it got caught round a fender & all got dragged through the water at a rate of knotts! We prefer to drop shot & have a little bit of line from the main buoy to a small buoy trailing as a pick up line. Rig trapeze on deck & have a long line from bottom station that will reach the surface. Come alongside shot & hook pick up line. While boat stands station, quickly clip lead from trapeze to pick up line & lower trapeze overboard. First pair in unclips lead from pick up line & connects & takes down shot, to act as the jump line between shot & trapeze. This way while the boat is manouvering there are no divers in the water that the prop can snag on! That seems to be quite straight forward in my mind - everthing is reasonably calm & collected! The only problem could be holding stations while the trapeze is clipped & lowered, but this takes a matter of 10/20 sec. Not being a skipper I have no feel for the crafts ability to achieve this, but I'd imagine if done wrongly the main risk is dragging the shot out of the wreck. Boats normally successful recover shots without too much problems so I imagine the above deployment is definately possible! Comments would be appreciated. How do you deploy yours? > Maybe the day is coming for techie skippers to be exactly > that, i certainly think that any boat on tech diving should have crew. Can't agree with you more. We're trying to persuade peeps to come onboard with us to help out, as a crew member is a rare occurance. As we all continue to learn, hopefully both parties will benefit and it becomes more common place for the skipper to assume his important position within the team! Role on more diver/boat/skipper education. Cheers Alex -- Send mail for the `techdiver' mailing list to `techdiver@aquanaut.com'. Send subscribe/unsubscribe requests to `techdiver-request@aquanaut.com'.
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