Totnes BSAC


 

Ocean Diver sheltered water lessons

Pool lesson

Being the initial training that divers receive, the Ocean Diver lessons are structured very much on the 'less haste more speed' principle. Instructors should take care to view all aspects from the student's point of view, as their perceptions will be very different to those of divers who are more comfortable under water.The lessons concentrate on the students acquiring basic skills, such as buoyancy control, finning etc, to a level where they become second nature, and students become relaxed underwater and develop confidence in their own abilities. This builds a firm foundation on which other skills, such as navigation or the use of Surface Marker Buoys, can be overlaid in future Sports Diver training. Failing to achieve this firm foundation at this stage will only make the acquisition of these later skills more difficult and protracted.
A further important aspect of this foundation is developing the 'buddy' concept from the outset. Instructors should underline this role by teaching the benefits of buddy assistance while kitting up/de-kitting, the importance of the buddy check prior to every dive, and regular monitoring of air status (both own and buddy's) while underwater. This emphasis should take place right from the earliest Sheltered Water lesson.
The structure of the lessons is based on the demo/ mimic/assess principle. Given the very inexperienced nature of the students at this stage, instructors should not rely on the students remembering what every exercise is that they are going to do from the briefing. Demonstrating every exercise will ensure that the students understand what is expected of them at each point in the lesson. A number of repeat exercises are included for consolidation of certain skills. It is important that these are carried out so that the skills become second nature to the students and require less mental effort.
Where Sheltered Water lessons are conducted in a swimming pool, the transition to Open Water conditions can be eased by including an additional lesson where protective clothing is worn in order to give students some familiarity with it, and to enable an initial assessment of the weight required to be made. In warm pool water however, students should be carefully monitored to avoid them overheating.
The encumbrance of hoods and gloves on skills such as mask clearing, mouthpiece clearing, and buoyancy control can also be introduced. For these thermal considerations are less of an issue as they can be experienced in isolation from the rest of the suit.

OS1 – Being Underwater

1 Briefing

2 Entry into shallow water without equipment by ladder or wading

3 Fit and practice with mask fins and snorkel – Standing depth.

  • Mask demisting/fitting
  • Method of securing snorkel
  • Breathing through snorkel, face submerged, static
  • Flood snorkel/clear by blowing (static, standing)
  • Fit fins, finning action on back and front
  • Flood/clear snorkel while finning, face submerged
  • Remove fins, mask & snorkel

4 Kit up with SCUBA unit and carry out buddy checks

5 Breathing from demand value, standing depth

6 Buoyancy control - standing depth

  • Inflate and deflate the BC on the surface, using the direct feed

7 Swimming on the surface on the back, BC inflated – Standing depth

  • Finning action
  • Attitude in the water

8 Buoyancy check and swimming underwater – Standing depth

  • Buoyancy check – Fin pivot
  • Swim underwater

9 Swimming underwater – to/in/from deeper water

  • Buoyancy adjustment with changing depth
  • Finning action and attitude control

10 Remove equipment

11 Exit from shallow water by ladder or wadding

12 Debriefing

13 Equipment care

 

OS2 – Basic Skills

1 Briefing

2 Prepare SCUBA unit

  • Assembly and functional check

3 Kit up and buddy check

4 Entry into shallow water by ladder or wading

5 Buoyancy check, standing depth

6 Swimming on surface, BC inflated

  • On back, BC inflated
  • On front, breathing from DV, BC partial inflated
  • Swimming on the surface changing from demand value to snorkel

7 Breathing without mask, nose submerged, standing depth

8 Retrieve and clearing demand value – Standing depth

  • Demand valve clear – exhale, perform twice
  • Demand valve clear – purge button, perform twice
  • Retrieve demand valve and clear, perform twice

(Competence/confidence performance standard)

9 Mask clearing, standing depth

  • Initial clear
  • Progressive flood
  • Remove and replace

10 Use alternative air source – Standing depth

  • As donor and recipient

11 Swimming underwater to deeper water

12 Controlled ascent and descending using BC – Deeper water

  • Mini ascent/decent
  • Ascent/descent

13 Swimming underwater to shallower water

14 Exit water by wading or via steps

15 Remove SCUBA unit

16 Debriefing

17 Equipment care

 

OS3 – Developing Skills

1 Briefing

2 Preparing SCUBA unit

  • Assembly
  • Functional check

3 Kit up and buddy check

4 Entry into deeper water using a stride entry

5 Controlled descent into deeper water

6 Swim underwater to standing depth

  • Finning action
  • Buoyancy control

7 Mask clearing – recap in standing depth

  • Partial flood
  • Full flood
  • Remove & replace

8 Breathing from a free flowing demand valve – standing depth

9 Swim to deeper water

10 Mask clearing in deeper water

  • Partial flood
  • Full flood
  • Remove & replace

(Competence/confidence performance standard)

11 Use of alternative air source – deeper water

  • Static, as donor and recipient
  • AAS ascent, as donor and recipient

12 Buoyancy control

  • BC Inflate stuck open
  • Mid water hover

(Competence/confidence performance standard)

12 Normal ascent from deeper water

13 Deep water exit via ladder

14 Debriefing

15 Equipment care

 

OS4 – Beyond the basics

1 Briefing

2 Prepare SCUBA unit

  • Assembly
  • Functional check

3 Kit up and buddy check

4 Entry into deep water using backward roll

5 Make a controlled descent in deep water

6 Mask clearing in deeper water

  • Remove and replace

7 Finning without mask

8 Forward rolls – deeper water

9 Ascent in buddy pairs

10 Remove SCUBA unit (and weights/belts) at surface and exit from deeper water

11 Kit up in snorkelling equipment

12 Enter deep water by forward roll

13 Surface dives in deeper water

  • Surface dives/surfacing drill, repeat several times
  • Snorkel clearing – displacement method
  • Consolidation

(Competence/confidence performance standard)

14 Exit as for a small boat

15 Debriefing

16 Equipment care

(Competence/confidence performance standard)

 

OS 5 – Safety skills

1 Briefing

2 Prepare SCUBA unit

  • Assembly
  • Functional check

(Competence/confidence performance standard)

3 Kit up and buddy check

(Competence/confidence performance standard)

4 Enter deep water using a forward roll

5 Use of alternative air source – Deeper water

  • AAS Ascent, as both donor and recipient

(Competence/confidence performance standard)

6 Towing a casualty – Standing depth

  • Towing hold – Static
  • Tow

7 Controlled Buoyant lift (CBL) – Deeper water

  • Self Lift
  • Mini CBL
  • CLB
  • Rescue CBL
  • CBL and TOW

(Competence/confidence performance standard)

8 Deep water exit, via ladder

9 Debriefing

10 Equipment care

 

 

 
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