Totnes BSAC


 

Ocean Diver open water lessons

Ready to dive

The emphasis on the Open Water dives is to take the skills already taught during the Sheltered Water lessons into the Open Water environment. At the same time instructors should remember that this needs to be an enjoyable experience by spending as much time as possible underwater, teaching students to enjoy just being there, as well as developing their skills. Whilst drills and exercises will form a very important part of the divers training, instructors should remember their feelings when they first ventured into Open Water.
As dives progress, students should not just be briefed on the lesson content, but should also have the dive planning considerations (depths, time, route, air consumption etc.) explained to them. The buddy system should continue to receive emphasis and instructors should also remain conscious that they are seen as a role model at all times and ensure that their personal diving skills reflect this.
Some Open Water lessons involve multiple ascents. Where these occur, decompression considerations dictate that they be performed at the start of diving activities and before diving to any greater depth. Instructors should ensure that the impact on decompression considerations for the remainder of the particular lesson, and on any subsequent diving activities, are taken into account.
To ensure that students receive experience in a range of conditions, the Open Water dives must include 4 conditions from the following, appropriate to the local conditions in which they will subsequently be diving:
• shelving shore dive - dive commencing and ending at a gently shelving shore requiring a wading entry/exit
• steep shore dive - dive commencing with a deep water entry and ending with a deep water exit
• low visibility dive - dive in visibility in the range between 2 and 4 metres
• drift dive - dive in moving water in the speed range between 0.25 and 0.5kn
• small boat dive - dive from a boat of less than 8m overall length, where water entry is via a backward roll, and egress from the water requires removal of equipment in the water
• Large boat dive - dive from a boat of greater than 8m overall length, where the water entered is via a stride entry, and egress from the water is accomplished via ladder without removal of any equipment except, possibly, fins
• wall dive - dive along a vertical or near vertical wall with no solid bottom closer than 4m below the divers
• dive in protective clothing - dive wearing either a wet suit or dry suit
Only one of the above conditions may be logged per dive.
The Ocean Diver syllabus includes 5 Open Water lessons which should total a minimum of 120 mins underwater time. Where conditions are suitable, the lessons may be condensed into four dives provided that no training elements are omitted and the total underwater time of 120 minutes is not reduced .
The maximum depth to be attained during the above dives will be in the range 15 - 20m.
001 – The First Open Water dive

1 Briefing

2 Fit protective clothing

  • Put on suit
  • Fit additional weight to belt/pouches

3 Prepare SCUBA unit

4 Kit up and buddy check

  • Fit weight belt/weights, then SCUBA unit
  • Locating and operating critical items wearing gloves

5 Enter water

  • Steps or wading into standing depth

6 Equipment fit and buoyancy check – Standing depth

  • Mask fit
  • Check mask seals
  • Buoyancy checks – fin pivot

7 Dive to a maximum of 6 metres

  • Enjoyment
  • Buoyancy control with changing depth
  • Finning action and swimming attitude
  • Impact on the underwater environment

8 Mouthpiece and mask clearing – standing depth

  • Mouth piece retrieval and clearing
  • Partial mask clear

9 Weight and jettison check – standing depth

  • Weight check with low air contents
  • Weight belt/weight jettison

10 Exit

  • Exit water by wading or steps

11 Dekit

12 Debrief

13 Equipment care

 

OO2 – Second open Water dive

1 Briefing

2 Prepare SCUBA unit and put on protective clothing

3 Kit up and buddy check

  • Dry run in the AAS exercise
  • Dry run of the stuck inflate drill

4 Entry – Standing depth

  • Steps or wading

5 Skills practice – 2m

(All competence/confidence performance standard except buoyancy control & AAS use)

  • Buoyancy control – mid water hover
  • Inversion recovery
  • Dry suit inflate stuck open
  • Mouth piece retrieval and clear
  • Mask flood
  • Partial
  • Full flood
  • Remove & replace
  • Breathe from an alternative air source – static

6 Carry out exploratory dive to approx. 10 m

  • Buoyancy control with changing depth – Decent
  • Finning action and swimming attitude
  • Aware of and impact on the underwater environment
  • Pilotage demonstration
  • Buoyancy control with change depth – ascent

7 Exit

Exit water by wading or steps

8 Debrief

9 Equipment care

 

OO3 – The Third Open Water Dive

1 Briefing

2 Prepare SCUBA unit

3 Kit up and buddy check

  • Recap AAS as dry run

4 Deep water entry – stride or backwards roll

5 Vertical/near vertical descent

  • Buoyancy control with changing depth
  • Descent arrested just clear of the bottom

6 Personal and rescue skills at 6 m

  • Mask clearing
  • Partial
  • Full flood
  • Remove and replace
  • AAS Ascent from 6m as both donor and receiver

7 Exploratory dive to between 12 and 15 metres

  • Buoyancy control
  • Finning action and swimming attitude
  • Awareness of and impact on the under water environment
  • Dive leading demonstration
  • Buddy monitoring
  • Depth/air/time management
  • Pilotage
  • Interest

8 Vertical/near vertical ascent

  • Buoyancy control with changing depth
  • Ascent check

9 Deep water exit – as for boat or on to jetty

10 De- kit

11 Debrief

12 Equipment care

 

OO4 – The fourth Open water dive

1 Briefing

2 Prepare SCUBA unit

3 Kit up and Buddy check

  • CBL dry run

4 Deep water entry

  • As from boat or jetty

5 Descent

  • Vertical/near vertical descent, arrested just clear of bottom

6 Rescue skills from 6m

  • Mini CBL
  • CBL to surface
  • To surface 25m

7 Exploratory dive between 15 and 20 metres

  • Buddy monitoring
  • Dive leading
  • Depth/time/air management
  • Pilotage
  • Interest

8 Ascent

  • Vertical/near vertical ascent – ascent check

9 Weights/weight belt jettison – Shallow water

  • Jettison weights/weight belts from casualty

10 Exit

  • Appropriate to local conditions

10 De Kit

11 De brief

12 Equipment care

 

005 – The Fifth Open Water dive

1 Briefing

2 Dive leading planning

3 Prepare SCUBA unit

4 Kit up and buddy check

5 Entry

  • Suitable for local conditions

6 Student dive leading practice to between 12 and 20 metres

  • Buddy monitoring
  • Depth/time/air management
  • Pilotage

7 Weight check with low contents – 2m

  • Mid water hover

8 Weights/weight belt jettison – standing depth

  • Jettison own weights/weight belts

9 Exit

  • Suitable for local conditions

10 De kit

11 De brief

 
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