Dave, I am curious. When you see one of your buddies with an outmoded Jerse=
y
reel, what do you do? As an IP what do you do when one of your student does
something really stupid which might kill him the next time he tries it? If
it is a dual-control aircraft, and your student almost kills you, what is
your reaction?

Just curious.

   Jim
 -------------------------------------------------------------------
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> From: "Dave Sutton" <pilots@na*.ne*>
> Reply-To: "Dave Sutton" <dsutton@re*.or*>
> Date: Fri, 22 Oct 1999 07:43:50 -0400
> To: <techdiver@aquanaut.com>
> Subject: Fw: Don't rule out the reel (an example of civil discourse).
>=20
> Howdy all=85.
>=20
> Now that we have (mostly) decided to be civil here, on to the business at
> hand, which is the =96polite- sharing of knowlage. In one of my posts, I po=
sed
> a
> hypothetical question regarding the =91Jersey Reel=92, which I am surprised w=
as
> not recognized as a simplistic example question, a =91troll=92 as it were.
> Responses
> that were returned range along the following lines:
>=20
>=20
>=20
>=20
>>> P.S. Come on Dave, you can do better than the old
>>> Jersey reel thing. How about posting some details
>>> about how you configure your gear and why you do it
>>> that way. How have you planned for contingencys etc.
>>> Why is your system fool proof?
>=20
>=20
> But, upon reflection, I see that even this obviously easy question to ans=
wer
> (Cave reel V/S Jersey Reel) has more to it than meets the eye. If I may:
> (and this may be an example of the doctrine that what is =91simplistic and
> obvious=92
> to one group may be an arguable point to a second one), it=92s alll the mor=
e
> reason why opinions that differ from your own should not be discarded
> without
> consideration. A simple change in environment may change the mission, thu=
s
> the selected technique. I=92ve converted to a cave reel some 15 years ago, =
so
> am not in the =91rope on a stick=92 school of reel use (at present). But the
> question is more complex than it seems, so read on:
>=20
> It would seem obvious that a cave reel is a more practical answer to seve=
ral
> of the reasons that a wreck diver carries some system of line storage. Fo=
r
> my
> analysis, the following reasons are those that I might use to decide that
> carrying a
> reel is a requirement on any given day. Note that a reel is =96not- conside=
red
> by me to
> be a general (IE =91always carried=92) piece of equipment in the NE wreck div=
ing
> environment, but is used when required.
>=20
> Reasons to carry a reel:
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> 1: Obviously, wreck penetration. This is not, however, the usual case in =
the
> NE, as wrecks are very often mere junk piles and the prospects for
> penetration are
> often not available.
>=20
> 2: To use to secure lift-bags from drifting when sending those valuable
> goodies to the surface. Nothing sucks worse than working for 5 or 6 trips=
 on
> a nice
> porthole, only to have it drift to England after you send it up on a bag.
> For the
> pessimist, it also makes it easier to find a lost goodie after your worn-=
out
> lift bag
> sinks halfway  through your deco, sending your precious brass back into t=
he
> briny deep. On
> your =96next- dive, just look for the long white line running across the wr=
eck
> and
> follow it to your brass (been there, done that=85).
>=20
> 3: Emergency deco line, This is the old =91send up a lift-bag=92 (preferably =
not
> the one that leaked before and caused you to lose yer brass=85) and hang on
> the
> string.  Works =91OK=92. Not great, but OK. Hard to hang onto in a current,
> although as
> my esteemed buddy Will pointed out if you wrap it around your hand it wor=
ks.
> In an emergency deco it=92s the ticket, and far better than drifting to
> England with that other porthole we were talking about.
>=20
> 4: Running a line from the anchor line to your work site for return. Not =
a
> popular use. Mainly because you rarely return via that same route, and al=
so
> because
> when you jump 10-20 divers on a wreck it soon turns into a circus if
> everyone does this. I=92ve done it once or twice, and only when the vis was
> shit and I
> was going to go did in one spot for a long dive and needed the anchor lin=
e
> for a
> hang. I do not use this technique anymore and generally do not recommend =
it.
>=20
> All of these missions are best met by use of a standard cave reel. No dou=
bt.
> Hard to find anyone who will disagree. =96But-, there is a place and time f=
or
> a Jersey Reel, and for that reason its use should not be overlooked by th=
e
> thinking diver. This is the scenario:
>=20
> Divers DS and WS want to dive the wreck of the SD off of the dive-boat W.
> D&W want to dive an area of the bow and do some looking around up
> there, but the Captain, a certain JB, likes to tie into the stern. (Those=
 of
> you who know where we are will recognize the initials, the rest can guess=
).
> W is of the school that D=92s =93Jersey Jerk=92 reel is of little value, but D
> says =91watch this=92and carries it anyhow, realizing that he can always teac=
h
> as
> well as learn=85 ;-)
>=20
> D&W make the several hundred yard swim to the bow and select their
> entry point for the penetration. The standard protocol applies, in that t=
he
> team will tie in a cave reel at the entrance and use it for a traverse li=
ne
> into the area where all sorts of unique goodies are to be found. Since
> this hypothetical day was long before D&W got their shiny mixed gas
> rebreathers, we are going to be skosh gas when we poke our pointy-heads
> back out of the hole. We want to be able to begin deco ascent immediately
> upon exit, without swimming all the way back to the anchor. Note that thi=
s
> is a =96planned- off anchor deco, not an emergency one. Our plan is to tie
> in a 50 pound lift bag and send it aloft =96before- we enter, knowing that =
we
> will not be able to predict perfectly the time required to perform this
> task, thus it is best to get it out of the way to begin with rather than =
at
> the
> end of the dive. The two divers kneel facing each other and one holds the
> reel
> with both hands while the other inflates the (non leaking) bag. Now here
> is where the system changes from the cave-reel system: A lift-bag
> =96without ballast- will soon capsize and sink, however we expect to need
> this to float for over an hour while we penetrate the wreck. We want to b=
e
> able to securely tension the line, and actually we want to =96submerge- the
> lift bag to a depth of maybe 2-3 feet at wave crests. To do this we can
> either:
>=20
> A: Weight ourselves so we can pull 50 pounds negative buoyancy on the
> bottom (not likely),
>=20
> or we can
>=20
> B: run the line =96under- some convenient
> protrusion on the wreck and while pulling down with one hand on the
> ascending line, also pull upward with the other on the bitter end, thus
> allowing us (meaning =96me- in this case) to exert 50 pounds of tension
> on the line no sweat. Here is where the diameter of the =BC line works to
> our advantage: Since we are wearing thick 3 finger dry mitts, we can
> hold and pull the thicker line with far greater ease. Try doing this with
> cave-cord and tell me how it works. Plus, since this is a =96planned- deco,
> not an emergency one, we can look forward to a comfortable hang on a
> decent diameter line at the end of our dive. Actually, we might even have
> a second team follow at a half-hour interval and share the line with us i=
f
> we are so inclined. Important step: Hang your lift bag from your backyard
> swing or whatever the day before doing this and fill it with water to tes=
t
> the rigging webs for rot and the bag for leaks. If you shoot a bag for de=
co,
> it=92s now life-support equipment and needs to be treated as such. But of
> course I also have my cave reel and another lift bag, so I=92m redundant
> there as well. And I only carry my =91string on a stick=92 when I plan a dive
> along >these lines. I=92ve also used it in North Carolina when drift-diving
> down-wreck >and then setting up a hang, with the boat picking us up
> down-current post
> deco. Try hanging onto a cave-string in a 3 knot current and tell me your
> hand does not =96HURT- after a few minutes.
>=20
> This is just one example of different techniques being used to solve
> unique problems. Now I=92m just waiting to see where the WKPP guys
> carry their sledge hammers, crow-bars, chisels, goodie bags,
> crescent and pipe wrenches, etc., etc=85=85.. (see, it=92s =96not- all the
same=85)
>=20
> But whattheheckdoIknowanyhow. Just been doing this for 25-ish years.
> Like Monty Python said =93I=92m not dead yet!=94
>=20
> Now, here is the good part: Anybody got a better way? Rude comments
> cheerfully deleted. Thinking answers contemplated. If you have a better
> system, I=92ll adopt it.
>=20
>=20
> Regards to all, apologies to none.
>=20
>=20
> Dave Sutton
>=20
>=20
>=20
> --
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> Send subscribe/unsubscribe requests to `techdiver-request@aquanaut.com'.
>=20


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