PADI scuba divers??

[lawrence567]

Jasandjules said:

lawrence567 said:

Ok, if i tell you the reason why i want it maybe you can help find a solution for me?

I like to spear fish, i go maybe 3/4 times a year, in the summer time only.
But i can't hold my breath for very long in the sea, i don't want to be able to go down very deep, as i said no more than 2-3m as the pressure gets too much on my ears.
I've tried training myself, but it all goes to pot when i get in the sea.
It will literally be used for maybe an extra 1 x breath so i can stay down for another 10 seconds or so...
OR is it still frowned upon?

If you can't even go to 10ft without sore ears, I think it might be an idea for your to go and see a specialist Scuba Dive doctor to check out your ears. That does not sound good to me, I don't think I even feel the pressure until about 20ft-30ft down when free diving.

Hang on, do you equalise as you descend?

I try to equalise & sometimes it works, but sometimes it does'nt.
I get the same problem when on a plane.
I also have asthma so my chest tends to go a bit tight when i've held my breath for a while.
It's not like i'm trying to get an unfair advantage on the fish, i'd just like to be able to stay under for more than 30 seconds!

[Jgtv]

Dupont666 said:

here is a question for you guys...

Im looking to do a the PADI OW at the local instructors in SW London.

They off the 2 types of PADI OW, referal and the full course:

Referal is:

they say said:

Our PADI Open Water Referral Course will provide you with a safe and thorough training background so you can confidently complete your dives overseas or in the UK. Upon signing up you will receive your PADI Open Water scuba diving manual, dive tables, logbook and DVD. The course consists of 5 theory modules taught in 1 session and 5 swimming pool modules taught in 1 session

Read and complete your PADI Open Water dive manual and knowledge reviews and watch the DVD.


You will receive a Referral form , valid for one year. You can take this Referral form to any PADI centre in the world and they will take you for the 4 dives needed for certification as a PADI Open Water diver. Alternatively you are most welcome to complete your dives with XXXXXXX at Wraysbury near Windsor

Now for this its £235 for a single weekend course which to me seems like a lot.

They offer the full course including 4 dives I need for £395 over 2 weekends.

Now the query I have is the fact my OH is going to Egypt I want to do the first one, but dont see the benefit of that outlay of money.

I can get the course material no probs, so what is there stopping me learning the material and then simply going overseas and doing the basic dives and the 4 OW dives?

For basic back ground, I have already done the swimming pool course in Bali and already dived to 14m off lombok with a dive master and was down for 45 mins (thats what got me interested) but since I have the excuse of the OH being in a country with nice diving, then I dont see why I shouldnt go for it.

Any thoughts.

Bearing in mind the inherent risks of diving do you really just want to read the book then jump in the water without any real training? Better off learning with people you are comfortable with in surroundings as familiar as possible, and also that way you don't waste your holiday going over things you need not.

Reading the book, once in a pool, and once on a pretty reef do not a diver make!

I have been diving for about 14 years and I believe that if you learn in bad conditions you will stand yourself in a better position for any possible outcome.

I would take the course, after all whats £400 in the grand scheme of things for something as potentially as dangerous as diving? anyway you will soon spend much more than that on all sorts of kit.

[aclivity]

mel said:

I'd assumed he meant mixed gas & rebreather diving. The biggest mistake ever, allowing any of that into the sports diving market.

I don't agree - well, not wholly. I think the introduction of certain capabilities should have been done with better, more exhaustive training. That said, in my personal experience those who have gone to RB have tended to be the safety conscious divers rather than the gung-ho "all the gear no idea" divers. I know there are the latter type, but I haven't seen much of them. I think the use of mixed gases, RB's, drop tanks, accelerated deco are just another example of the concerns raised on this thread - many of us on here were concerned about Craigs rushing through the PADI syllabus. Rushing onto technical diving is of just as much, if not more, concern. It is for this reason that I prefer the club environment for new divers over the retail model that is promoted by PADI. The club provides a steadying influence.

Where would you draw the line though? Decompression diving on air? Surely better to use a higher O2 content to add safety. If you are already carrying a deco gas, why not a bottom gas, and a travel gas?

I dive with nitrox rather than air ... is that technical, mixed gas diving? Arguably it is, as the air is blended with O2. I don't dive with nitrox to extend bottom times, or range (it actually limits my depth range); I dive nitrox on air tables to give an added safety buffer.

But in answer to Andy_s question, if you are considering technical diving, then you need to get more specific advice. I would suggest joining a diving forum - yorkshire divers would be my recommendation, there are of course other forums - and getting some advice and support there. There are a lot of technical divers (RB, mixed gas, >100m depths) on there. There are also some fairly senior members of GUE who post regularly on there; whilst I am personally not a fan of the GUE ethos, it's hard to argue against the quality of their training.

Andy

[mel]

lawrence567 said:

Ok, if i tell you the reason why i want it maybe you can help find a solution for me?

I like to spear fish, i go maybe 3/4 times a year, in the summer time only.
But i can't hold my breath for very long in the sea, i don't want to be able to go down very deep, as i said no more than 2-3m as the pressure gets too much on my ears.
I've tried training myself, but it all goes to pot when i get in the sea.
It will literally be used for maybe an extra 1 x breath so i can stay down for another 10 seconds or so...
OR is it still frowned upon?

Even at those depths you risk a serious lung injury if start breathing compressed gasses while underwater without the correct training, if you took a full lung full of breath at 3m and then held your breath to the surface the volume of air in your lungs would be roughly just under 150% of their capacity due to expansion, it's doubtful you would embolism at these levels and the lungs would probably take up the extra without damage (but everyones physiology if different so it's possible) but it would be quite possible to cause some long term stress on your alvioli that may not manifest itself until years later, and then it would be by giving asthma like symptoms. My advice is don't even think about it, either free dive or scuba there is no safe middle ground.

[rhinochopig]

lawrence567 said:

Jasandjules said:

lawrence567 said:

Ok, if i tell you the reason why i want it maybe you can help find a solution for me?

I like to spear fish, i go maybe 3/4 times a year, in the summer time only.
But i can't hold my breath for very long in the sea, i don't want to be able to go down very deep, as i said no more than 2-3m as the pressure gets too much on my ears.
I've tried training myself, but it all goes to pot when i get in the sea.
It will literally be used for maybe an extra 1 x breath so i can stay down for another 10 seconds or so...
OR is it still frowned upon?

If you can't even go to 10ft without sore ears, I think it might be an idea for your to go and see a specialist Scuba Dive doctor to check out your ears. That does not sound good to me, I don't think I even feel the pressure until about 20ft-30ft down when free diving.

Hang on, do you equalise as you descend?

I try to equalise & sometimes it works, but sometimes it does'nt.
I get the same problem when on a plane.
I also have asthma so my chest tends to go a bit tight when i've held my breath for a while.
It's not like i'm trying to get an unfair advantage on the fish, i'd just like to be able to stay under for more than 30 seconds!

If you're only under for 30 seconds and your ears don't clear easily, then you're going to have problems.

I have one ear that clears easily, the other can be a PITA. I can take me a good 10 seconds hovering at a depth slowely building the pressure for it to clear. Are your rushing trying to clear them?

[-DeaDLocK-]

lawrence567 said:

Ok, if i tell you the reason why i want it maybe you can help find a solution for me?

I like to spear fish, i go maybe 3/4 times a year, in the summer time only.
But i can't hold my breath for very long in the sea, i don't want to be able to go down very deep, as i said no more than 2-3m as the pressure gets too much on my ears.
I've tried training myself, but it all goes to pot when i get in the sea.
It will literally be used for maybe an extra 1 x breath so i can stay down for another 10 seconds or so...
OR is it still frowned upon?

1) You need to be absolutely comfortable in the water. Not just technically comfortable with your skills and gear, put more so psychologically. You need to be so comfortable with it that the act of swimming underwater without breathing apparatus feels like you are "one" with the water and that you are enjoying some kind of spiritual encounter. I am not kidding. It should feel like a second home.

2) You need to practice underwater breath-holding. All mammals (that includes us) have a submersion reflex that reduces our metabolism significantly the moment our heads are submerged. Learn to tap into this instinct and to maximise it, and with the total lack of anxiety that comes with the first step above, and with sufficient practice, you will be able to hold your breath for at least a minute and a half very quickly indeed. There are land-based exercises you can do to help, but you will be doing them without engaging the submersion reflex, so get wet as often as you can.

3) If your ears hurt as you go down, you will need to manually equalise the pressure between the surrounding water and the air cavitations in your sinuses. The easiest and most reliable way of doing this is to do the Valsava manoeuvre (Google it) often as you descend, well before you feel any pain (known in diving circles as "the squeeze").

[rhinochopig]

Jgtv said:

Dupont666 said:

here is a question for you guys...

Im looking to do a the PADI OW at the local instructors in SW London.

They off the 2 types of PADI OW, referal and the full course:

Referal is:

they say said:

Our PADI Open Water Referral Course will provide you with a safe and thorough training background so you can confidently complete your dives overseas or in the UK. Upon signing up you will receive your PADI Open Water scuba diving manual, dive tables, logbook and DVD. The course consists of 5 theory modules taught in 1 session and 5 swimming pool modules taught in 1 session

Read and complete your PADI Open Water dive manual and knowledge reviews and watch the DVD.


You will receive a Referral form , valid for one year. You can take this Referral form to any PADI centre in the world and they will take you for the 4 dives needed for certification as a PADI Open Water diver. Alternatively you are most welcome to complete your dives with XXXXXXX at Wraysbury near Windsor

Now for this its £235 for a single weekend course which to me seems like a lot.

They offer the full course including 4 dives I need for £395 over 2 weekends.

Now the query I have is the fact my OH is going to Egypt I want to do the first one, but dont see the benefit of that outlay of money.

I can get the course material no probs, so what is there stopping me learning the material and then simply going overseas and doing the basic dives and the 4 OW dives?

For basic back ground, I have already done the swimming pool course in Bali and already dived to 14m off lombok with a dive master and was down for 45 mins (thats what got me interested) but since I have the excuse of the OH being in a country with nice diving, then I dont see why I shouldnt go for it.

Any thoughts.

Bearing in mind the inherent risks of diving do you really just want to read the book then jump in the water without any real training? Better off learning with people you are comfortable with in surroundings as familiar as possible, and also that way you don't waste your holiday going over things you need not.

Reading the book, once in a pool, and once on a pretty reef do not a diver make!

I have been diving for about 14 years and I believe that if you learn in bad conditions you will stand yourself in a better position for any possible outcome.

I would take the course, after all whats £400 in the grand scheme of things for something as potentially as dangerous as diving? anyway you will soon spend much more than that on all sorts of kit.

Couldn't agree more. Having had a reg fail at 12 meters during my BSAC training dive, I cannot recommend enough the necessity of spending time in the water getting comfortable and relaxed with the kit. The number of novice divers that kick for the surface if they get their mask knocked off or flooded is frightening.

The only thing that stopped me going for the surface was that I'd spent so much time underwater during pool sessions (and years snorkelling and free diving before that) that I was comfortable breathing normally. It gave me the confidence to stop breathing, pick up my spare reg and start breathing again. I've seen many novices who think you need to hold your breath until you need air and then completely fill and then empty their lungs. Had a reg fail happened to them, they'd have been straight to the surface.

You only get that confidence from time spent doing, not reading. SCUBA training is not a hobby to skimp on when it comes to training - kit yes, as most of it is snake oil, but not training.

[mel]

aclivity said:

mel said:

I'd assumed he meant mixed gas & rebreather diving. The biggest mistake ever, allowing any of that into the sports diving market.

I don't agree - well, not wholly. I think the introduction of certain capabilities should have been done with better, more exhaustive training. That said, in my personal experience those who have gone to RB have tended to be the safety conscious divers rather than the gung-ho "all the gear no idea" divers. I know there are the latter type, but I haven't seen much of them. I think the use of mixed gases, RB's, drop tanks, accelerated deco are just another example of the concerns raised on this thread - many of us on here were concerned about Craigs rushing through the PADI syllabus. Rushing onto technical diving is of just as much, if not more, concern. It is for this reason that I prefer the club environment for new divers over the retail model that is promoted by PADI. The club provides a steadying influence.

Where would you draw the line though? Decompression diving on air? Surely better to use a higher O2 content to add safety. If you are already carrying a deco gas, why not a bottom gas, and a travel gas?

I dive with nitrox rather than air ... is that technical, mixed gas diving? Arguably it is, as the air is blended with O2. I don't dive with nitrox to extend bottom times, or range (it actually limits my depth range); I dive nitrox on air tables to give an added safety buffer.

But in answer to Andy_s question, if you are considering technical diving, then you need to get more specific advice. I would suggest joining a diving forum - yorkshire divers would be my recommendation, there are of course other forums - and getting some advice and support there. There are a lot of technical divers (RB, mixed gas, >100m depths) on there. There are also some fairly senior members of GUE who post regularly on there; whilst I am personally not a fan of the GUE ethos, it's hard to argue against the quality of their training.

Andy

I'm biased, 15 years ago I was on the military research team working with a major manufacturer of equipment and a world leading university writing the algorithms, software and developing the equipment (I was a mule in the water as opposed to a boffin) for what became the worlds first rebreather avaliable to the sports market. We fought tooth and nail to prevent it happening but the commercial world won and the MoD refused to foot the whole bill hence the cost had to be recouped somehow. Personally I think it was a step too far for the recreational market, military divers who use this type of equipment have a level of training (and aptitude) that is far far beyond the reaches of the sports diving world.

[Dupont666]

Jgtv said:

Dupont666 said:

here is a question for you guys...

Im looking to do a the PADI OW at the local instructors in SW London.

They off the 2 types of PADI OW, referal and the full course:

Referal is:

they say said:

Our PADI Open Water Referral Course will provide you with a safe and thorough training background so you can confidently complete your dives overseas or in the UK. Upon signing up you will receive your PADI Open Water scuba diving manual, dive tables, logbook and DVD. The course consists of 5 theory modules taught in 1 session and 5 swimming pool modules taught in 1 session

Read and complete your PADI Open Water dive manual and knowledge reviews and watch the DVD.


You will receive a Referral form , valid for one year. You can take this Referral form to any PADI centre in the world and they will take you for the 4 dives needed for certification as a PADI Open Water diver. Alternatively you are most welcome to complete your dives with XXXXXXX at Wraysbury near Windsor

Now for this its £235 for a single weekend course which to me seems like a lot.

They offer the full course including 4 dives I need for £395 over 2 weekends.

Now the query I have is the fact my OH is going to Egypt I want to do the first one, but dont see the benefit of that outlay of money.

I can get the course material no probs, so what is there stopping me learning the material and then simply going overseas and doing the basic dives and the 4 OW dives?

For basic back ground, I have already done the swimming pool course in Bali and already dived to 14m off lombok with a dive master and was down for 45 mins (thats what got me interested) but since I have the excuse of the OH being in a country with nice diving, then I dont see why I shouldnt go for it.

Any thoughts.

Bearing in mind the inherent risks of diving do you really just want to read the book then jump in the water without any real training? Better off learning with people you are comfortable with in surroundings as familiar as possible, and also that way you don't waste your holiday going over things you need not.

Reading the book, once in a pool, and once on a pretty reef do not a diver make!

I have been diving for about 14 years and I believe that if you learn in bad conditions you will stand yourself in a better position for any possible outcome.

I would take the course, after all whats £400 in the grand scheme of things for something as potentially as dangerous as diving? anyway you will soon spend much more than that on all sorts of kit.

Im not wanting to just jump in the water... I was asking what its like to do the training in Egypt with the additional help of resding all the course notes as the above course go through the theory in one lesson and the pool work in one lesson which seems quick...

How much is it to learn overseas rather than London? I would rather learn from somoene doing it everyday in a location that means they rack up the dives a lot faster than someone who is taking only a few people to a quarry to teach them and so does maybe a couple of dives a week... or does it not work like that over in Egypt, etc?

[rhinochopig]

-DeaDLocK- said:

lawrence567 said:

Ok, if i tell you the reason why i want it maybe you can help find a solution for me?

I like to spear fish, i go maybe 3/4 times a year, in the summer time only.
But i can't hold my breath for very long in the sea, i don't want to be able to go down very deep, as i said no more than 2-3m as the pressure gets too much on my ears.
I've tried training myself, but it all goes to pot when i get in the sea.
It will literally be used for maybe an extra 1 x breath so i can stay down for another 10 seconds or so...
OR is it still frowned upon?

1) You need to be absolutely comfortable in the water. Not just technically comfortable with your skills and gear, put more so psychologically. You need to be so comfortable with it that the act of swimming underwater without breathing apparatus feels like you are "one" with the water and that you are enjoying some kind of spiritual encounter. I am not kidding. It should feel like a second home.

2) You need to practice underwater breath-holding. All mammals (that includes us) have a submersion reflex that reduces our metabolism significantly the moment our heads are submerged. Learn to tap into this instinct and to maximise it, and with the total lack of anxiety that comes with the first step above, and with sufficient practice, you will be able to hold your breath for at least a minute and a half very quickly indeed. There are land-based exercises you can do to help, but you will be doing them without engaging the submersion reflex, so get wet as often as you can.

3) If your ears hurt as you go down, you will need to manually equalise the pressure between the surrounding water and the air cavitations in your sinuses. The easiest and most reliable way of doing this is to do the Valsava manoeuvre (Google it) often as you descend, well before you feel any pain (known in diving circles as "the squeeze").

Nice vid from SEAL BUDS training - one of their reqs is a 50m pool swim.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b614bld3V78

[Jgtv]

Dupont666 said:

Im not wanting to just jump in the water... I was asking what its like to do the training in Egypt with the additional help of resding all the course notes as the above course go through the theory in one lesson and the pool work in one lesson which seems quick...

How much is it to learn overseas rather than London? I would rather learn from somoene doing it everyday in a location that means they rack up the dives a lot faster than someone who is taking only a few people to a quarry to teach them and so does maybe a couple of dives a week... or does it not work like that over in Egypt, etc?

They should have all done there time before becoming instructors, plenty of knowledge and all the rest before it, they don't learn on the job.

Its not all about the number of dives, its about experience daft as that sounds, 100 dives on diffrent sites in diffrent conditions all over the world are a lot better for you than 100 on the same site, time, duration.

Personally I think if you can love it in England the Red Sea is able to blow your mind. If I were to do it again I would do the same way, Learn in England, do my dives here and then dive where I want, I then leant more with the same school and did all my qualifying dives with them around the world on diving holiday, That way I was always sure about the standard of teaching.

I have seen some terrible DM's and some amazing ones, but you never know until you dive with them.

[Jasandjules]

lawrence567 said:

I try to equalise & sometimes it works, but sometimes it does'nt.
I get the same problem when on a plane.
I also have asthma so my chest tends to go a bit tight when i've held my breath for a while.
It's not like i'm trying to get an unfair advantage on the fish, i'd just like to be able to stay under for more than 30 seconds!

I honestly think you might want to get yourself checked out by a specialist dive doctor then - your local dive school will be able to give you the contact details.

[Smashed]

Speaking of diving schools in Egypt. I was talking to a friend the other day who went on a try dive style thing with a school there and the trainer actually swam down holding my friends tank, my friend could not equalize at one point and got a nose bleed. I was pretty shocked when he told me this. I'm by no means an experienced diver (doing my BSAC ocean Diver right now) so I don't know if this is a learning technique but I thought it was pretty appalling.

[Starfighter]

Dupont666 said:

Im not wanting to just jump in the water... I was asking what its like to do the training in Egypt with the additional help of resding all the course notes as the above course go through the theory in one lesson and the pool work in one lesson which seems quick...

How much is it to learn overseas rather than London? I would rather learn from somoene doing it everyday in a location that means they rack up the dives a lot faster than someone who is taking only a few people to a quarry to teach them and so does maybe a couple of dives a week... or does it not work like that over in Egypt, etc?

Train in the UK, holiday in Egypt.

Doing it this way around will give you more time to do the core skills and get used to things underwater rather than being rusted through on the production line ata school in Egypt. You will tend to getter better contact time with the instructor to work on anything you're not happy with.

Th referal will do the class room and pool dives here and then drop you in the sea for the open water part of the course (4 dives with skills over 2 days). With doing this in the UK you also get to arrive "qualified" and get to spend 2 dive days playing with the fish rather than sitting on the bottom with you mask off!

The down side of going out qualified is that most schools will push more course at you (Advanced and Nitrox generally) but you can just say no. They will also try and push your limits but, again, you control this not the school.

[andy_s]

rhinochopig said:

-DeaDLocK- said:

lawrence567 said:

Ok,

Nice vid from SEAL BUDS training - one of their reqs is a 50m pool swim.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b614bld3V78

I was a 'Plongeur d'Abord' (ships diver) and freshwater army diver/leader in the French army, we rounded off our course with a 50m, a 'decaplage/recaplage' (unequip/equip) to 15m and various other tortures - you get used to it after 6 months spent in water every day...(by the way, the arms-pause-legs-pause method is the way to go).

Some very interesting reading, mel, I was looking at taking it all back up again a few years ago but with an intention to try to learn more technical diving (mix/rebreathers). Unfortunately a man can only have two or three expensive hobbies according to SWMBO...

(The underwater tips above are spot on - try to graze the bottom as well, but mind your nose...!)

Edited by andy_s on Monday 21st June 13:39

[rhinochopig]

andy_s said:

rhinochopig said:

-DeaDLocK- said:

lawrence567 said:

Ok,

Nice vid from SEAL BUDS training - one of their reqs is a 50m pool swim.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b614bld3V78

I was a 'Plongeur d'Abord' (ships diver) and freshwater army diver/leader in the French army, we rounded off our course with a 50m, a 'decaplage/recaplage' (unequip/equip) to 15m and various other tortures - you get used to it after 6 months spent in water every day...

Some very interesting reading, mel, I was looking at taking it all back up again a few years ago but with an intention to try to learn more technical diving (mix/rebreathers). Unfortunately a man can only have two or three expensive hobbies according to SWMBO...

(The underwater tips above are spot on - try to graze the bottom as well, but mind your nose...!)

Where you in the legion?

Does hugging the bottom help - how, I've never heard that tip before?

Edited by rhinochopig on Monday 21st June 13:43

[Dupont666]

Starfighter said:

Dupont666 said:

Im not wanting to just jump in the water... I was asking what its like to do the training in Egypt with the additional help of resding all the course notes as the above course go through the theory in one lesson and the pool work in one lesson which seems quick...

How much is it to learn overseas rather than London? I would rather learn from somoene doing it everyday in a location that means they rack up the dives a lot faster than someone who is taking only a few people to a quarry to teach them and so does maybe a couple of dives a week... or does it not work like that over in Egypt, etc?

Train in the UK, holiday in Egypt.

Doing it this way around will give you more time to do the core skills and get used to things underwater rather than being rusted through on the production line ata school in Egypt. You will tend to getter better contact time with the instructor to work on anything you're not happy with.

Th referal will do the class room and pool dives here and then drop you in the sea for the open water part of the course (4 dives with skills over 2 days). With doing this in the UK you also get to arrive "qualified" and get to spend 2 dive days playing with the fish rather than sitting on the bottom with you mask off!

The down side of going out qualified is that most schools will push more course at you (Advanced and Nitrox generally) but you can just say no. They will also try and push your limits but, again, you control this not the school.

Ok I will give my local place a call... does anyone have any experience of bigSquid.co.uk in Clapham? They look quite good, but if anyone knows or has had experience that would be good.

[andy_s]

mel said:

aclivity said:

mel said:

I'd assumed he meant mixed gas & rebreather diving. The biggest mistake ever, allowing any of that into the sports diving market.

I don't agree - well, not wholly. I think the introduction of certain capabilities should have been done with better, more exhaustive training. That said, in my personal experience those who have gone to RB have tended to be the safety conscious divers rather than the gung-ho "all the gear no idea" divers. I know there are the latter type, but I haven't seen much of them. I think the use of mixed gases, RB's, drop tanks, accelerated deco are just another example of the concerns raised on this thread - many of us on here were concerned about Craigs rushing through the PADI syllabus. Rushing onto technical diving is of just as much, if not more, concern. It is for this reason that I prefer the club environment for new divers over the retail model that is promoted by PADI. The club provides a steadying influence.

Where would you draw the line though? Decompression diving on air? Surely better to use a higher O2 content to add safety. If you are already carrying a deco gas, why not a bottom gas, and a travel gas?

I dive with nitrox rather than air ... is that technical, mixed gas diving? Arguably it is, as the air is blended with O2. I don't dive with nitrox to extend bottom times, or range (it actually limits my depth range); I dive nitrox on air tables to give an added safety buffer.

But in answer to Andy_s question, if you are considering technical diving, then you need to get more specific advice. I would suggest joining a diving forum - yorkshire divers would be my recommendation, there are of course other forums - and getting some advice and support there. There are a lot of technical divers (RB, mixed gas, >100m depths) on there. There are also some fairly senior members of GUE who post regularly on there; whilst I am personally not a fan of the GUE ethos, it's hard to argue against the quality of their training.

Andy

I'm biased, 15 years ago I was on the military research team working with a major manufacturer of equipment and a world leading university writing the algorithms, software and developing the equipment (I was a mule in the water as opposed to a boffin) for what became the worlds first rebreather avaliable to the sports market. We fought tooth and nail to prevent it happening but the commercial world won and the MoD refused to foot the whole bill hence the cost had to be recouped somehow. Personally I think it was a step too far for the recreational market, military divers who use this type of equipment have a level of training (and aptitude) that is far far beyond the reaches of the sports diving world.

Some very interesting reading, mel/aclivity, I was looking at taking it all back up again a few years ago but with an intention to try to learn more technical diving (mix/rebreathers). Unfortunately a man can only have two or three expensive hobbies according to SWMBO... I was just interested to see what others were up to.

(Mucked up threads/quotes - woops)

Edited by andy_s on Monday 21st June 13:53

[andy_s]

rhinochopig said:

andy_s said:

rhinochopig said:

-DeaDLocK- said:

lawrence567 said:

Ok,

Nice vid from SEAL BUDS training - one of their reqs is a 50m pool swim.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b614bld3V78

I was a 'Plongeur d'Abord' (ships diver) and freshwater army diver/leader in the French army, we rounded off our course with a 50m, a 'decaplage/recaplage' (unequip/equip) to 15m and various other tortures - you get used to it after 6 months spent in water every day...

Some very interesting reading, mel, I was looking at taking it all back up again a few years ago but with an intention to try to learn more technical diving (mix/rebreathers). Unfortunately a man can only have two or three expensive hobbies according to SWMBO...

(The underwater tips above are spot on - try to graze the bottom as well, but mind your nose...!)

Where you in the legion?

Does hugging the bottom help - how, I've never heard that tip before?

Yes - 2REP
As for grazing the bottom, I was taught this way under the presumption if you were a few metres down you'd have less buoyancy and so could concentrate effort on going ahead rather than going ahead and staying down - this may be completely bogus of course but it seemed to work OK.

[rhinochopig]

andy_s said:

rhinochopig said:

andy_s said:

rhinochopig said:

-DeaDLocK- said:

lawrence567 said:

Ok,

Nice vid from SEAL BUDS training - one of their reqs is a 50m pool swim.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b614bld3V78

I was a 'Plongeur d'Abord' (ships diver) and freshwater army diver/leader in the French army, we rounded off our course with a 50m, a 'decaplage/recaplage' (unequip/equip) to 15m and various other tortures - you get used to it after 6 months spent in water every day...

Some very interesting reading, mel, I was looking at taking it all back up again a few years ago but with an intention to try to learn more technical diving (mix/rebreathers). Unfortunately a man can only have two or three expensive hobbies according to SWMBO...

(The underwater tips above are spot on - try to graze the bottom as well, but mind your nose...!)

Where you in the legion?

Does hugging the bottom help - how, I've never heard that tip before?

Yes - 2REP
As for grazing the bottom, I was taught this way under the presumption if you were a few metres down you'd have less buoyancy and so could concentrate effort on going ahead rather than going ahead and staying down - this may be completely bogus of course but it seemed to work OK.

A chap I know (marine) did the infamous assault course many many years ago on an exchange visit - The expletives he used to describe how hard it was are still ringing in my ears and fitness was his obsession

It does seem to attract an eclectic bunch of very tough individuals - my local fish&chip shop owner is ex-legion.

I bet it was an interesting experience. What made you pick the legion?