A small but select group of divers made their way to Vivian Quarry for their last dive of the year. Given that the instructors Lee, David and Hugh were allocated the numbers 10, 11 & 12 by the dive centre, one could also use the word dedicated. Anja and Carl were doing SO5 with David which consisted of removing masks in freezing water and doing an AS ascent. Anja found during their ascent that Carl octopus had a twisted hose however he was still able to produce a freeflow. Ben did SO4 with Lee. Using a compass he successfully navigated the car park during the dry run without getting lost and was subsequently able to do the same in the water. Richard who was very slightly stressed, just took part in the dry run. Diving was not going to be an option.
Peter did DO4 with Hugh which consisted of using a lifting bag to move and recover a shot, and then do a mid water deployment of a DSMB. Peter was well up to the challenge of the session even more so when Hugh got a free flow at the end of the DSMB deployment demonstration. Peter immediately and with great enthusiasm turned off Hugh’s only supply of air, ostensibly to give Hugh’s first stage a chance to warm up. In this he succeeded, but not before Hugh had taken several breaths from Peter’s octopus. The practical then carried on without further ado, with Peter doing a pretty good job of inflating his DSMB mid water.
With quarry water temperature so low make sure that all SEEDS briefings include the action to take in the event of a free flow. Who does what and when. Also remember to keep breathing from the regulator to a minimum while on the surface. Underwater, the first stage is less likely to ice up and free flow because it can take warmth from the cold water.
Congratulations to Anja and Richard for passing their Sports Diver Theory Exam and to Irfon for passing his Dive Leader Exam. Again we were indebted to Carl and Anja for the use of their breakfast room and for those lecker tree cakes.
An excellent evening was had by all. The food, the drink and even the company was great. The do was organised by Lee our Social Secretary who also delivered a powerpoint presentation on the activities of our members (club members) during the year. Unfortunately the wine was very strong and this reporter omitted to make notes at the time. What went on cannot therefore be reported; you just had to be there.
Despite all evidence to the contrary Wyn, Dewi and Robin all passed the Dive Leader theory assessment. Memories of previous problems were firmly put behind them and David (Club examiner on this occasion, and Training Officer) emerged unscathed. Contratulations to all three. There are just three Dive Leader trainees left to sit the assessment; Irfon, Tim and Peter.
on the birth of their baby boy. Robin emailed me to tell me that they are calling the him Guto 8lbs 7onz. You see size is important.
A Sunday morning when the wind was howling at close to 40 mph late on Saturday evening might not have seemed the ideal time to take the boat out for Dewi & Tim to do the Rescue Scenarios lesson of their Dive Leader training. But the pressure was on. Dewi & Tim were both available on the same day!! Robin wants to winterize the rib, and there was a metcheck predicted short window of calm weather for the morning. So with Robin to handle the boat and Mickey and Wyn to put their bodies on the line we met up at the harbourmaster’s, expecting to find that we were the only boat in the bay.
In fact, the place was busier than many summer weekends, with 50 – 60 small optimist and topper sailing boats in Glandon bay and a fleet of proper yachts a bit further out. So we had to head across towards Pen y Chain, with Robin searching for the tiniest pocket of water that wasn’t brown. He didn’t find one, so the two pairs of divers were issued with buddy lines. You could tell it was out of season, bits of kit were left at home and three of the four were underweighted!. ” I’ve left my pony off was the most common excuse!! ” Dewi acted as Rescue Manager for the boat exercise and did a good job of recovering and treating a non-breathing Wyn while simultaneously ensuring that rescuer Mickey was not allowed to drift away from the scene. Viz. was reported at 3-4 inches with a light Mickey somehow manageing a head down descent while tethered to an upright Wyn. He then complained that Wyn had given him a good feel! Fortunately, each pair only had to stay down for a few minutes.
Tim effectively handled the shore based rescue, which was back on the slipway as the shore was just a bit too rough, although Robin’s imitation of a half-soaked member of the public – he contacted the wrong emergency service – was the star turn of the day. Casualty Mickey complained that he was so roughly handled that he felt like he’d been in a rugby scrum when he got up on Monday morning. Now there’s a thought. Many thanks to all those who helped out.
David
David, Hugh, Irfon, Wyn and Simon met at 2pm. The weather was showery just at the wrong time. There were two training sessions. Irfon to do the first part of his DO7 with Wyn as ‘The body’ for the CBL and 50m tow. Irfon left instructions that if there was news of the birth of his baby while he was under water, John the owner was to hammer on the dive ladder 7 times. Irfon asked that if this signal was heard, could the practical lesson end as soon as possible so that he could get home quickly! That is the first time I have briefed for a baby born signal. There was no signal and Irfon completed the session very competently.
The second practical session was for Simon doing the Dive Navigation practical with David. The session went well with the usual dry run in the car park followed by navigation on the surface and then underwater. It was dusk as we set off for home.
Starting at 12noon. The same group of trainee sports divers met to receive the next two theory lessons. Things started very well with Robin doing ST3 Diving Equipment in exactly 1 hour. Time then stood still as Hugh tackled SO4 Deep Diving. Deep diving was a bit of a misnomer. Not only did trainees get Dalton’s law and partial pressure along with decompression stops and the use of tables the 88 tables. They also got the sports diver nitrox course and the use of the Nitrox tables. Congratulations to all for surviving, keeping awake and doing so well with the tables.
