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For those of you who may not know, I’m a BSAC Club Instructor with Stortford Divers based in Bishop’s Stortford in Hertfordshire. We are quite a large club with over 100 members and 40 or 50 active divers, we regularly train people with Club Diver courses running virtually continuously. Within the club we mainly do weekend dives from chartered hard boats out of the south coast, our training is therefore geared to producing new club members to take part in these dives.
I have been assigned two trainees to take through to qualified Club Divers, they are a middle aged couple I will refer to for now as S (him) and J (her). Apart from the ‘try dive’ with the club they have never snorkelled or dived – masks, fins and snorkels are completely new to them! We have to turn them into divers.In our club the training consists of weekly one hour theory lessons followed by an hour in the pool. After the initial ‘catch up’ I will post weekly reports on what they are currently doing, both in the theory lessons (I am trying to attend all the lessons myself) and in the pool, then hopefully out into open water.
#1 The ‘Try Dive’
For our club anybody is welcome phone up and arrange to come along one evening to try out diving in the pool, for this we charge a small (a tenner or so) fee – there is absolutely no obligation to take things further if you don’t want to. This session starts with a short introduction –
+ About Scuba diving as a sport.
+ What the BSAC is.
+ Information about the branch.
+ A quick overview of what the training involves.
+ The cost of BSAC/Branch membership, medical and training costs, cost of equipment.They are then taken into the pool, 1:1 with an instructor, and given a guided tour of the hair balls and corn plasters that inhabit the depths (3m) of the average swimming pool, this lasts about twenty minutes. To take things further they then have to get a diving medical and join the club, once they have done that the training starts…
#2 The Training Starts
For this week we only do a theory lesson, some people are still deciding, some may not have medical certificates yet. As it is the first real training session our training officer (TO) has a chance to talk to people and to mentally assign instructors to pairs (we teach with a 1:2 ratio). In our branch one instructor takes the same pair through the entire Club Diver practical training process, with the exception of some of the formal assessments which are carried out by some of our advanced instructors.
Theory : The Physics Of Scuba Diving
This lesson covers a lot of basic ground that forms the core knowledge required to understand the rest of the course. Subjects covered are -
+ Units of measurement – how we measure depth, pressure, volume.
+ Air and atmospheric pressure – what air is made up of and how we measure the pressure.
+ Water – how depth of water relates to pressure.
+ Gasses under pressure – how gasses (air) behave when pressurised.
+ The effect of this pressure on the human body – pressure on ears etc., lung expansion problems associated with depth and pressure.
+ Buoyancy – what it is and how we adjust our buoyancy in the water.
+ Finally an introduction to the basic mask, snorkel and fins is given – features, what to look for when choosing and rough costs.(Now, I know that sounds a lot but it’s not that bad. The lessons are given by trained instructors with visual aids, props and examples. Anybody who is basically literate and numerate should have absolutely no problem in understanding it all, that goes for the rest of the theory lessons as well.)
#3 The Basics
Theory : Scuba Equipment
This is the one the instructors love, it normally leaves the trainee’s rather wide eyed. Into the classroom is dragged loads of dive gear which is then explained. All the basic equipment such as BCD’s, cylinders, regulators, instruments, computers, suits, lanterns, SMB’s, knives… basically everything the normal (?) UK divers would use. The classroom ends up looking like a small dive shop! All the equipment is explained and basic equipment care instructions given.
Practical : Swim Test and Basics
You have to be able to swim 200m, we don’t care what style(s) you use, we don’t care (within reason) how long it takes you – just show us that you can swim 200m without stopping. S & J (my trainee’s) did this without any problems. Here we alter the order very slightly from the BSAC manual, we start with basic equipment (mask, snorkel and fins) as they have already had a limited experience of actual Scuba equipment during the try dive, so we get them used to the water first.
S & J had never used a mask, snorkel and fins apart from the try dive! First problem – the vultures had been at the club kit, I rescued one semi-decent mask, the only fins left would either fit one of the seven dwarfs or King Kong, such is life – one set of fins (mine) between three of us – do without this week. After a briefing it was into the pool with masks and snorkel, luckily I had brought two masks of my own and a game of musical masks ensued until we found masks that fitted people – guess who ended up with the grotty club mask…
The purpose of the session was to get S & J used to swimming face down with a mask and breathing through a snorkel, this then progressed to snorkel clearing. Some practice swimming around (no fins…) and snorkel clearing ended the session. By the end both S & J were beginning to get the hang of things very well.
Mask, snorkel and fins are basic personal equipment that everyone should have, even if you don’t dive they will be used on holiday. S & J were packed off to the local dive shop in preparation for next week…
#4 Buddy upTheory : Buddy Diving
For the UK based training agencies (BSAC/SAA/SSAC) the emphasis is on diving as a self contained buddy pair rather than in a group with a guide or instructor, this lesson is about the type of diving we do in the UK. It starts with a review of the diving signals and then goes on to describe all aspects of buddy diving including –
+ Dive planing.
+ Dive preparation.
+ Briefing.
+ Buddy check.And then all aspects of the actual dive –
+ Entry method.
+ Surface swims.
+ Descent.
+ Monitoring.
+ Ascent.
+ Exit
+ Debrief.It finishes off with a description of the common diving ‘incidents’ (e.g. buddy separation), how to avoid them and how to avoid things escalating into a major crisis.
Practical : Concluding the basics
Resplendent in their new masks, snorkels and fins S & J arrive at the pool side. S has decided that the ‘scrub your new mask with toothpaste’ advice from the dive shop is not needed and his ‘home brew’ de-mister will do the trick – he spends most of the session with a fogged mask. Last week I had two individuals to teach, after their theory lesson earlier I emphasise the need for buddy diving and begin to get them working as a pair, this will become increasingly important as the practical sessions progress.
There follows a quite leisurely paced session where we start with basic finning techniques, up and down the pool with some practice snorkel clearing thrown in for good measure. The usual trainee problems of using your hands (they should be tucked out of the way) and ‘cycling’ with the legs (you should fin with a straight leg, from the hips) are very evident but easily rectified at this early stage.
Then on to surface dives. You may have seen holiday snorkellers off the beach and their vain attempts to get under water, much effort, splashing, jumping up and down – to get about 1m under. The correct technique (and its technique, not effort) involves using your body weight to push you under, I’m quite a keen snorkeller and effortlessly free dive to 10m or so. The technique is broken down into a series of easy steps, each of which is practiced, then combined into the final result(*). Ascent techniques are also demonstrated and practiced, by the end of the session both S & J are quite happy with their new masks, fins and snorkels and are doing quite acceptable surface dives in the deep end of the pool.
So that’s the basics out of the way, they will get more practice as the sessions roll on. S & J have been directed to our equipment officer (EO) to be issued with BCD, regulator, cylinder and weight belt. These are theirs to keep for the duration of the training, they are responsible for the kit (washing it down etc.) and getting their own air fills. Next week I’ll show them how to use it…
(* All training is done by breaking tasks down into simple, easy to do steps which are then combined to achieve the required skill – there is nothing difficult about learning to dive!)
#5 Building up the ‘pressure’Theory : Human Life Support Systems
This did not start well! The scheduled instructor was unavailable, our TO and DO were on a dive trip, me and an OWI turned up to ‘sit in’ on the lesson and ended up giving it. Such are the joys of club instruction…
This lesson goes into a bit more detail of exactly what makes the human body ‘tick’ and how, as divers, we are taking it into an environment it was not designed for. The theory lessons for diver training are a bit more than ‘do this, don’t do that’, they are designed to give an understanding as to WHY, this knowledge is then built upon in other more advanced training lessons.
The lesson covers –
+ Metabolism (how the body fuels and drives itself).
+ A review of what air is.
+ Human respiration and circulation.
+ The Lungs (how they work)
+ Breath hold (snorkelling) dangers.
+ Exhaustion and heat lossThe lesson is designed to give an understanding of how and why Scuba diving is a little bit more involved than just shoving something in your gob and breathing from it.
Practical : "What’s this bit for???"
S & J have been to see our EO (Equipment Officer) and have been issues with a full Scuba set for their personal use during training (note – some clubs issue the equipment each week). I tell them to dump this tangle of metal, tubes, plastic and nylon by the side of the pool, I’ll then show them how to set it up and use it. [Authors note : It never ceases to amaze me when on blue water holiday boats how many ‘qualified’ divers couldn’t go diving unless their Scuba set was fully assembled and just handed to them…].
S & J are shown how to assemble, test, fit and check their Scuba set, hoses and gauges are to be neatly stowed and all the controls are explained. For this week only I run through the buddy check first and then get them to buddy check back to me – next week onwards they will be checking each other.
Into the pool for some familiarisation. All I am interested in this week is just getting them used to the feel and operation of the equipment, we stay in the standing depth shallows, experiment with the equipment controls and just getting used to the feeling of being under water. I show and then they practice adjusting things until they are floating just above the bottom of the pool, off we then go on a few short circuits of the shallows to practice finning and swimming with a Scuba set. All to soon we are beaten by time and have to exit, I show them how to clean and dismantle the Scuba set.
Next week they will turn up with their ready assembled Scuba sets and we can get straight into the pool, then we can start going through some of the ‘drills’ they have to learn…
#6 Putting Things TogetherTheory : Gasses Under Pressure
Having already covered basic diving physics and basic human life-support systems, this lesson brings everything together and goes into how diving effect us poor land based mammals.
The lesson covers –
+ Nitrogen Absorption and Decompression Illness (the ‘bends’)
+ Adverse Effects of Gasses (air can be dangerous if breathed under pressure)
+ Planning your air requirements for a dive
+ Basic advice on planning your own dives
+ More on diving incidents and how to avoid themBeing most of the way through the theory part of the course (only two more to go) this lesson shows how diver training is a series of building blocks with the required knowledge built up over a period of time and expanded a little further every time. There is nothing difficult in it, we had a class full of people (who six weeks ago didn’t have a clue about diving) discussing the partial pressure of nitrogen and relating surface air consumption to breathing underwater to calculate how much air they would use!
Practical : Settling down a bit now
As we started a few weeks after the theory lessons and had a short session last week, the practical side is now lagging behind the theory a bit. There are six formal ‘sessions’ to the pool training, we’ve done about one and a half. It didn’t help that the theory overran so we were late getting into the pool. The aim this week is to finish off last weeks session and start on the next bit. I’m now ‘backing off’ a little with helping S & J with their kit, they should be helping each other and sorting it out for themselves, we kit up, buddy check and in!
For the entry I teach them the ‘giant stride’ off the pool side into deeper water, that’s a technique they will be using off of dive boats. We do a few of circuits practising buoyancy control, some ascents/descents in water deeper than standing depth (the pool is 3m), surface swimming with scuba gear…
J is complaining about water in the bottom of her mask getting up her nose, so I show them displacement clearing of a mask – by the end of the session they were both getting the hang of mask clearing. Just enough time for regulator clearing underwater, when I introduce the subject I get one of those looks that says "I’m only just getting used to breathing from this, this idiot wants me to take it OUT of my mouth!!". A successful regulator removal, replace and clear is then practiced in our remaining minutes.
For the exit we practice a ‘RIB’ exit, removing weight belt, then scuba set, passing it up and then finning upwards to scramble onto the pool side – the way you actually get into a small diving RIB.
That finished the ‘introduction’ session to the scuba gear, plus a few bits from the next basic skill session. Next week we’ll practice some more and I’ll start some of the emergency drills like helping a diver who has run out of air.
#8 Honing the SkillsTheory : ‘Adventurous’ Diving
Previous lessons have covered the theory of diving, this one goes into a bit more detail about the actual type of diving that people can expect as an active club member.
The lesson covers –
+ Diving from Boats – of various types (small RIB’s, hard boats. Live aboard).
+ Deeper diving – why, how, equipment.
+ Night diving – why, how, equipment.
+ Wreck diving – why, how, equipment.
+ Drift diving – why, how, equipment.
+ Underwater navigation.
+ Surface Marker BuoysHaving covered all the basics the theory lessons are now talking about real diving, what our new divers will actually be doing when they have completed their training.
Practical : Building the skills
Last weeks ‘practice’ session has helped J quite a bit, both S + J are now beginning to settle down quite nicely to their new environment. I can see they are relaxing and beginning to use the scuba sets with some degree of competence, all it takes is time – people just need to practice to become familiar with the equipment and techniques. We only have a total of one hour per week of pool time, I have to make the most of it! This week they are kited checked and in the record time. My aim is to spend most of the hour underwater – this is achieved.
As a new instructor I’m trying out different techniques to see which work best, I need S + J to practice basic buoyancy control and finning etc. So I’m using a kind of ‘circuit’ training, to keep the circulation going (it gets quite cold just kneeling in one spot) we do circuits – one leg of a triangle or square, stop at a corner, practice a skill or learn a new one. Each ‘leg’ of the circuit practices buoyancy, then we’ll do a mask clear, regulator replacement… all the time building familiarity through practice.
The mask clears are getting more realistic, they are now clearing a fully flooded mask with no problems. Despite initially being extremely reluctant to remove their ‘life giving’ regulators (this is normal) they are now quite happy to take them out of their mouths and replace them, I’ve even managed to get them to let go! They are also beginning to work together as a buddy pair, keeping an eye on each other and helping each other out.
The new skill this week was supplying an out-of-air diver with your alternative air source (AAS), this is the start of the basic rescue skills developed during the course. The regulator you are donating has to be presented to the distressed diver correctly, you have to be correctly positioned and the two divers need to be locked together. They practice this with me as the distressed diver first, then I supply them air, then finally I get them practising on each other, we do this several times.
We are now well into the normal routine of diver training, around half way through the practical lessons. New skill are taught, practiced and then built upon to form more complex skills and sequences. The lessons continue…
#9 Keep Practising…Theory : ‘Ocean’ Diving (Part 1)
Rather a grand title for the final section of the course, we split it into two parts with the first week covering dive tables.
The lesson covers –
+ What dive tables are.
+ Definitions of the terms used.
+ Limitations of dive tables.
+ How to use dive tables.
+ Lots of practical examples!Practical : More practice
S & J turned up this week resplendent in their brand new 3mm pool/tropical suits, they had decided that our pool was a little chilly when you’re sitting around doing drills for an hour! So into the pool where we’re well into the usual routine of practice what they already know, add a bit more, practice that.
By this process of progression their buoyancy skills are improving all the time, they are confident doing a complete regulator throw away and retrieve, and although not yet ‘happy’ with it they can completely remove and replace their masks. New skills this week were a bit of buddy breathing (two divers sharing one regulator) and breathing from a free flowing (air gushing out) regulator.
They’re enjoying it all and I’m finding it very rewarding. A few weeks back I escorted two very nervous beginners into the shallows for their first scuba lessons, now I’ve got the makings of a good buddy pair who are relaxed in the underwater environment and eager to learn new skills. They are becoming divers.
#10 Nearly there…Theory : ‘Ocean’ Diving (Part 2) & Exams
The final lesson of the Club Diver course. Building on the knowledge of previous lessons this lesson goes into details about actual diving.
The lesson covers –
+ Dive Computers.
+ Diving Conditions (when to dive).
+ Marine Life.
+ Further Training Available.Theory : The Test
I haven’t actually seen a Club Diver paper yet, but the BSAC exams all follow the same format –
It is a multiple choice test – a question followed by possible answers. Of those, some will be ‘no way’ answers, but others two will be close enough to make you think. Unless you’ve studied the books you will not be able to reach the required 80% pass mark. Both S & J passed their Club Diver test.
Practical : Rescue Me
Having mastered the basics, which I insist that they practice every week, it’s on to mainly rescue and assistance skills. Simple assistance skills such as Alternative Air Source (AAS) sharing are practiced along with some ‘confidence building’ skills like buddy breathing and ditching/refitting your complete scuba set underwater.
Controlled Buoyant Lift (CBL) is taught and practiced, this is where the ‘casualty’ plays dead and their buddy has to get them to the surface. There are two basic problems with a CBL that need practice to resolve –
+ The key word is ‘Controlled’ : it takes practice to control two divers ascent rates.
+ The last word is ‘Lift’ – it is *NOT* ‘Launch’! (See above)Once the ‘casualty’ is on the surface they have to be made buoyant, floated the right way up (!) and towed around the pool.
#11 Sheltered Water Completed!Practical : Finishing off
Due to heavy colds S&J missed a couple of weeks pool training, then I missed a week due to w**k so they had a snorkel practice on their own, now I am ‘off sick’ for a couple of weeks (I can’t go into the water due to a minor op).
So - one of our Assistant Club Instructors is taking them in, most people find that a different instructor gives them a different perspective so that’s no bad thing. Last week Steve (our ACI) took them through the basic drills and a few bits of the overall training I hadn’t got around to (like the snorkel/regulator exchange). As this was their first time on scuba for three weeks it was a good revision session.
The end of the pool training is an assessment by one of our senior instructors where they show him/her all the skills they have learnt. In preparation for this S will be doing a complete ‘mock’ assessment next week...
...which went very well, both S & J passed their final pool assessment shortly after.
#12 Qualified Divers Practical : Open Water in the Red SeaNo, I didn't get to go on this one - I can only report what happened.
It was S & J's original intention to do the theory and sheltered water training here and then go out to the Red Sea to complete their training and do some diving. That is exactly what they did, a week in the Red Sea and enjoyed it immensely. They are now qualified PADI Open Water divers.
WHAT!!! PADI Divers? Well, it's a very long story which I will not relay, but what is does go to show is that the basic training from any of the major organisations is very similar. S & J started off by doing the basic BSAC training and finished off doing PADI OW, what they learnt during the BSAC part was perfectly valid as part of their PADI training.