View from a different vantage point

The gentle slope that stands between our sugar bush and the raised beds we use to grow veggies, is covered in white trilliums. Fact is the whole wooded area behind our house and down into the small valley that forms the southern boundary of our property is full of trilliums and trout lilies in early spring.

This indicates that our little corner of Muskoka is waking up from winter, finally, and is taking on the postcard picture beauty it is famous for at this time of year. Fittingly, white trillium is the provincial emblem of Ontario – where I live – and, just for the record, is also the state wild flower of Ohio. So my guess is that a lot of folks agree that trilliums are neat little flowers.

Usually I am not home to see them bloom. Most years I am away someplace diving, but this year is different; I am “on sick leave.” In the simplest terms this is a bummer.

On the upside of this situation, I uncharacteristically have the time to sit on the sidelines as spring arrives here in full force. And in between watching eastern bluebirds and tree swallows battle it out for nesting boxes, celebrating the early appearance of Ruby-throated hummingbirds, avoiding the attendant black fly hatching, and taking notes on the ongoing procession of wild-flower bloomings, I have had some time to reflect on what I do for a living:  teach and write about technical diving.

My forced inactivity is the result of an unfortunate early April convergence of two seemingly unrelated issues.

One is a result of back pain mentioned in an earlier blog, and the other being an unfortunate run-in with Epstein-Barr virus. Epstein-Barr is a nasty illness that goes by the common, rather insipid and nondescript, name of Mono. It is a rotten punishment for anyone, but especially so for those of us with an A-type personality.

My strategy for dealing with the first is corrective posture, yoga and physiotherapy, and to kiss goodbye to doubles and the ubiquitous North Florida Cave Diver’s Rig.

No more diving doubles for Doppler. After about 20 years of abusing my body marching around with the equivalent weight of a corps de ballet dancer strapped to my back, the spokesperson for my thoracic vertebrae has told me directly and unequivocally that it is time to concentrate on CCR and Sidemount.

The second insult to my well-being is not as easy to fix.

In fact, it promises to be a juggling act. But time and patience will win out. In the meanwhile, now that sitting at my desk and typing does not hurt, it’s time to share what’s next on my, to do list. It no secret to anyone involved in technical diving, that in the past decade or so, the limits of our sport have shifted outwards a fair bit.

New technology, gear designed specifically for extreme diving, a freely available database of ascent profiles that worked, a growing network of instructors willing and able to mentor interested divers, discussion forums et al, have all contributed in some way, minor and major, to this movement.

For example, ten years ago, there were few recreational divers who had visited 100 metres; in 2011 non-military, non-commercial, non-scientific divers around the world pull off 100 metre dives weekly if not daily.

Ten years ago, only the most experienced attempted a cave dive to the end of the gold-line in one of the “tourist caves” in North Florida, or a weekend charter to a 350 foot-plus dive site. These dives earned a mix of admiration and admonition. In 2011, we read about relatively new tech divers doing these dives and hardly anybody notices… or so it seems.

The odd thing, at least to me, is that so few dive teams employ in-water support divers to help make these deep, long dives a little more managed. Perhaps we need to do something about that situation.

Over the course of the next couple of weeks, I want to lay out some ideas I have for a new book specifically aimed at teaching and discussing roles and techniques for expedition support; because I can’t do much in the way of diving!I would appreciate your input. As much as I like looking out at the new season arrive, it is driving me nuts!

By the way, would appreciate your input on a small survey… You will find it here>>>DIVER SURVEY

Is CCR diving right for me?

I think most rebreather divers and certainly all rebreather instructors have been asked that question at one time or another; and in many cases, more than just one time. Unfortunately, it is an impossible question to answer with anything approaching accuracy or truth, because the question is so ill-defined it is meaningless. One might just as easily ask: “How long is a piece of string?”

If there is a secret to getting a definitive answer, it lies in framing the question within a few well defined parameters.

Rebreather diving is dangerously close to taking on a sort of silver bullet status as the right solution for every type of diving. However, common sense, and a quick summary glance at accident statistics, tells us that it clearly is not.

Running a Closed-Circuit Rebreather is an order of magnitude more complex than throwing a regulator on a scuba cylinder and going for a dive. Dive for dive, operating a CCR safely requires divers to pay attention and develop a skillset way beyond anything required on all but the most complex open circuit dive.

For example, a sure sign that something is wrong with open-circuit life-support is that it stops delivering gas to the diver. This is a graphic indication that some immediate action is called for. A CCR system will continue to deliver gas to the diver but that gas may be totally unsuitable for his current situation and if he is not paying attention, he will continue to breathe until he passes out and dies.

Consequently, the risk-benefit analysis for CCR diving has a very different complexion to a similar analysis for open-circuit diving, tech or otherwise. Short version, there has to be a good reason to choose CCR over OC for any dive; better yet, there should be several good reasons to choose CCR over OC for every dive.

And with this, we arrive at an important waypoint on the way to answering the “is it right for me?” question.

Anyone asking this question needs first to define for themselves what they believe are the advantages of a CCR; what sort of conditions they expect to dive in; and how often they expect to dive. I think as well, they need to look seriously at their dive budget.

Operating cost is one so-called advantage of CCR that gets mentioned time and time again. Specifically that helium costs for deep excursions on CCR are insignificant compared to doing a similar dive on open circuit. For a new CCR diver, this cost benefit can be ignored.

If cost is a person’s main reason for switching from OC to CCR, they are in for a shock and cost should not be a final tipping point in the argument to go with a CCR. Consider first that there is a compelling body of evidence pointing out that for many tens of hours following certification on their unit, regardless of model or type, a diver should revert to tyro-level dives and forego “technical” profiles altogether.

For someone diving as a weekend warrior, this will probably translate into a year or two without seeing a hint of helium in their diluent bottle. (And anyone thinking of taking up CCR diving, especially experienced “technical” divers, should ask themselves if they are honestly willing to accept that “limitation” to their diving? If their answer is no, there is a statistically compelling reason for them to either adjust their thinking or drop CCR diving from their wish list.)

Without doubt, there are dives for which the best tool is a rebreather, but often the pros and cons sort of wash each other out and the final arbiter is personal or team comfort with regards to one or two ‘gray’ issues. I dive a rebreather as a default in but am far from committing 100 percent to it because there are occasions when CCR simply does not make sense.

I guess you could say that my answer to the ubiquitous “is CCR right for me?” question is that it depends.

Douglas Adams, the English writer responsible for The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, wrote: “There is an art to flying. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.” I believe similar logic can be applied to rebreather diving. Sometimes flying is best but occasionally, the bus is a safer option.

Fitness and Flexibility for tech diving

This is an except from my newest book, The Six Skills and Other Discussions, due off-press in mid-February

The most sensible approach for someone considering a move into technical diving is to regard it as physically testing, and respect it as an activity that calls for above average fitness and flexibility. How much above average a technical diver has to be is a debatable point, and the rhetoric runs from the argument that technical divers should be capable of competing in triathlons to a completely hands-off approach that believes any diver is clear to go as long as he can stagger around the dive deck with sufficient control to stub out his cigarette and put down his beer before dropping into the water.

You may, like me, be looking for a set of fitness guidelines that fall somewhere in between those two extremes, and there are several suitable scales to measure personal fitness levels in a way that fits well with the general rigors of tech diving.

The first is the Cooper 12-minute run test. It is used to gauge aerobic endurance, and is perhaps the most straightforward to self-administer. I run a “diagnostic” on myself a couple of times a month and track the results on a spreadsheet. The test simply calls for the subject to warm up and then run as fast as possible for 12 minutes. Results are evaluated on distance covered within those 12 minutes.

A run of more than 2700 metres is excellent, 2300 – 2700 is good, 1900 – 2300 is average, 1500 – 1900 metres is below average and less than 1500 metres is poor. Over the years I have dropped a category but find it has been worth the effort to maintain a rating on the upper end of “good” for several reasons, including resting gas consumption rate.

(The approximate imperial conversions are respectively: more than 1.6 miles is excellent, 1.4 – 1.6 miles is good, 1.2 – 1.4 miles is average, 0.9 – 1.2 miles is below average, and less than 0.9 miles is poor.)

Running speed and endurance are good indicators for tech diving but so too is overall flexibility. There are two methods I use to test flexibility: modified sit and reach, and trunk rotation. Both are part of a whole raft of fitness tests published by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), and I would recommend a visit to their website for additional ideas. Flexibility in the hamstrings and lower back have been an issue with me since childhood and I always find the first of these tests a challenge.

Modified Sit and Reach Test
This gauges the flexibility of the lower back and hamstrings and requires a box about 30cm (12 inches) high and a metre rule:
1. Sit on the floor with your back and head against a wall. Legs should be out straight ahead and knees flat against the floor.
2. Have someone place the box flat against your feet (no shoes). Keeping your back and head against the wall stretch your arms out towards the box.
3. Have someone place the ruler on the box and move the zero end towards your fingertips. When the ruler touches you fingertips you have the zero point and the test can begin.
4. Lean forward slowly as far as possible keeping the fingertips level with each other and the legs flat. Your head and shoulders can come away from the wall now. Do NOT jerk or bounce to reach further.
5. Slowly reach along the length of the ruler three times. On the third attempt reach as far as possible and hold for 2 seconds. Have your training partner read the score. Repeat twice and compare your best score with the table below. (All measurements in cm.)

Gender	Excellent	Above Average	Average	Below Average	Poor
Male	>40 cm	29 – 40 cm	23 – 28 cm	15 – 22 cm	<15 cm
Female	>43 cm	34 – 43 cm	23 – 33 cm	17 – 22 cm	<17 cm

Trunk Rotation Test
This flexibility test measures trunk and shoulder flexibility. The only equipment required is a wall and a piece of chalk or pencil.

1. Mark a vertical line on the wall. Stand with your back to the wall directly in front of the line. You should be about arms length away from the wall with your feet shoulder width apart.

2. Extend your arms out directly in front of you so they are parallel to the floor. Twist your trunk to your right and the touch the wall behind you with your fingertips. Your arms should stay extended and parallel to the floor. You can turn your shoulders, hips and knees as long as your feet don’t move.

3. Mark the position where your fingertips touched the wall. Measure the distance from the line. A point before the line is a negative score and a point after the line is a positive score.

4. Repeat for the left side and take the average of the two scores.

Rating	Positive Reach (cm)	Positive Reach (inches)
Excellent	20	8
Very Good	15	6
Good	10	4
Fair	5	2
Poor	0	0

Because of the nature of water and the effects of buoyancy, above average strength does not seem to be as critically important for tech divers as it may be for other sportsmen and women. However, some strength building and testing is in order since divers with arms and legs like noodles will be at a distinct disadvantage moving gear from one side of a parking lot to the other, and may find it close to impossible to get themselves and their equipment back onto the boat in a big sea.

The US Marshal Service has a well-respected and openly published set of fitness and flexibility guidelines for the men and women on its staff. These guidelines have been used by some of the tech diving community for years. Some time ago while researching another book, I modified those tables and developed a set of values that seemed to work for most able-bodied course candidates. These values are based on the figures from the US Marshal tables for above average males in each age category.

My personal goal is to stay aged 30 – 39 for the next 15 years.  Some females find regular “military” push-ups difficult and I see no reason why the modified version cannot be used.

Age	% body fat	Sit and Reach	Push-ups	Sit-ups	2.4 km run
20-29	5.3 – 9.4	>50 cm	>50	>45	< 10 mins
30-39	14 – 17.5	>45 cm	>38	>40	<12 mins
40-49	16 – 20	>42 cm	>35	>37	<14 mins
50-59	18 – 22	>40 cm	>33	>35	<15 mins
60 plus	19 – 23	>38 cm	>31	>33	<17 mins

Pre-Order your copy of my new book…

The Six Skills and Other Discussions is scheduled to start shipping February 16, and if you are interested in getting a copy as soon as it comes off press, now’s the time.

You can pre-order from the link below. You do not have to pay anything until your copy is ready to ship and then you will get an electronic invoice. I use paypal and have done for years. If that does not suit, we can work out something I’m sure.

Order Your Copy of Steve’s New Book NOW!

Pre-orders get free shipping in the US and Canada, and to make things fair, UK and European addresses will get a discount on postage. Will know more in a week or so but it looks like postage to the UK will be reduced to about 5 pounds per copy.

Many have asked what the book is about and I tell them it’s full of creative solutions for the puzzles that face tech divers on every dive. But I figured the table of contents would also help. So here it is:

SIX SKILLS AND OTHER DISCUSSIONS

Table of Contents

Foreword
By Jill Hienerth……………

Introduction
About this book ……………

Chapter One: Technical Diving and How to Get There From Here
Definition of technical diving and what to expect from a tech diving course……………

Chapter Two: Buoyancy, the force that opposes Gravity
The first of the Six Skills including a novel use for a digital fish scale……………

Chapter Three: Trim, the streamlined approach to diving
A prescription to swim like a fish and get rid of clutter……………

Chapter Four: The Skill of Movement and Position
The last of the physical skills and the guidebook for a four-dimensional game of follow the leader……………

Chapter Five: Breathing, beyond the standard advice not to hold your breath
The first mental skill and elements of gas planning……………

Chapter Six: Situational Awareness, the Chess Master’s skill
Focus, observation, understanding and a touch of clairvoyancy ……………

Chapter Seven: Emotional Control
The sixth and final skill, which is really about a developing a cool outlook and how to maintain it ……………

Chapter Eight: Dive Execution, Equipment Configuration, Doing What Works
Plan your dive, dive your plan and Hogarth ……………

Chapter Nine: The Deco Curve
Contingency decompression made easy. Well, easier ……………

Chapter Ten: Accident Analysis, and chalking the Foul Lines
What goes wrong when people get hurt and how we can learn from those incidents ……………

Chapter Eleven: Parting Shots
Suggested reading, diet, exercise and lateral thinking ……………

Appendices
Imperial tables and examples for the metrically challenged ……………

Thanks for your attention, folks.