Dive Training Blogs
Is a pre-dive checklist overkill for recreational divers?
In his first blog for Scubaverse, Steve Lewis talks about the importance of pre-dive checklists for ALL divers…
Pre-dive checklists are a brilliant idea. Using them properly can save embarrassment, and things that are much worse; for example, sinking like a rock and having nothing to breathe when you hit the bottom.
Every scuba training agency with a plastic card printer at head office seems to agree because each has its own acronym for what to check before we jump into the water. These are a sort of verbal reminder about weights, and hoses, connections, air (or gas) pressure, and all the other bits and pieces that help to keep us safe and happy underwater. It’s highly likely — I’d bet a beer and pretzel against a poke in the eye — that you were taught one of those mnemonics in your open-water class.
The only drawback is that it is also highly likely the folks kitting up beside you at your favourite dive site, don’t bother to use a checklist at all; or can’t remember how the ABCDEF, or whatever alphabet soup they were taught, relates to all the things that need to be checked before launching themselves into the deep blue. Their checklist is incomplete.
And so, it’s probable you have witnessed people jumping off dive boats with no fins on, their mask around their neck, their low-pressure inflator unconnected, weight belt someplace other than around their middle, and so on.
A checklist can help keep surprises to a minimum; especially nice when the surface is long swim away. Photo of the author in a Mexican cave by Tom St. George.
We can certainly do better. But the answer is NOT another acronym. Fact is, the stats seem to tell us that for the average diver (recreational or technical), a verbal checklist is as useful as a chocolate poker.
One reason for this is with almost everything we learn, retention is difficult. If teaching is about making a permanent change in behaviour — and that is arguably a fine definition — it follows that it takes work from both the instructor and the instructed to make change happen. It appears we are not doing a stellar job at it.
I think the answer is either a written checklist — the one you were originally taught may be fine — or at least something visual to trigger memory.
Okay, it’s time to declare a conflict of interest: I’m a cave diver. Worse, I am a cave diving instructor evaluator. I also teach rebreathers. In both those situations, checklists save lives. “My name is Steve. I am ADD, I love checklists.”
The benefit of using a physical checklist, far outweigh the “inconvenience” of carrying one!
Being a realist, it is obvious that getting every diver on the face of the earth to conform to the type of pre-dive routines taught to cave and CCR divers is a pipe-dream. A group of dive-shop operators recently told me en-masse that “advanced cave diving skills” — trim, buoyancy, gas management and most specifically using a physical checklist — are total overkill for “ordinary” divers.
I bit my tongue because I was outnumbered; but I was able to say “bullshit” before they all walked away. Surely a bimble at five or six metres on a nice tropical reef someplace warm and sunny deserves as much respect in its way to a swim a kilometre and a half back into a cave. At least until we learn to breathe water.
Last Christmas, I did something really unusual: I taught an open water diver course. It was for a special student: my girlfriend, and it was unusual because for the past 20-odd years, I’ve focused on teaching exclusively technical diving: trimix, decompression, sidemount, rebreather, and cave diving. I’ve run open water instructor programs over the years, but my poor girlfriend was in my first beginner’s class since sometime in the last century.
Consequently, it was a terrible course. First-off, she was asked to dive sidemount. Also, she had to demonstrate a bunch of “extra” skills and drills, and she was encouraged to use a pre-dive checklist to begin every dive. Her course was not a happy pat-on-the-back pencil-stroking exercise. She was pushed hard and it took ten days to certify her.
The miracle is that she did not disown me and we are still dating. In fact, she told every one of her friends how much she enjoyed herself and what fun it was. She particularly enjoyed the emphasis on “learning properly, and being made to use a checklist,” her words. “I’m forgetful, a written checklist thingy really makes me feel comfortable,” she admitted.
Invest in a waterproof notebook. It’s great for your checklist, but really a boon for underwater communication.
Now, hers is in a waterproof notebook that’s part of her dive kit (and by using it she automatically checks she has it on her dives). But that method may not work for everyone. It’s based on the “head-to-toe” buddy check used by cave divers (well, some cave divers) as they get ready to swim into a hole in solid rock to look at wet rocks.
It’s this simple. Reading from an actual physical checklist (at least until it becomes embedded in memory) one of the team leads and begins at the head, and works down the body to her feet. As she calls out, her buddy(ies) confirm with a spoken “Check” (provided they have the corresponding piece of kit of course).
There’s a simplified version below. You can use it, create your own based on the way you and your buddy dress and dive, or write down the acronym you were taught to use.
The important thing is to use something. Have Fun. Play Safe!
Example Checklist: They only work when we use ‘em!
Write down your checklist, print a couple of copies, have them laminated, give one copy to your buddy, keep a copy in your wetnotes, use it prior to every dive.
Here are some things that need to be covered:
SURFACE
- Feeling good/positive to the dive
- Diveplan — depth, time, gas(es) MOD and marked, deco
- Route — waypoints, bailout strategy
- Vision — mask, backup mask, lights
- Info. — PDC on, battery good, correct bottom gas set, (deco gases set), conservatism appropriate for dive
- Cutting — knife, line-cutter, shears
- Breadcrumbs — Reels, spools, JON line
- Signal — DSMB/Emergency DSMB
- Comfort — exposure suit zipped
- Hoses/Orings — inspected
- BCD/Drysuit connected (inflate / deflate)
- Breathing — pressures, regulators purge watch SPG
- Surface support
IN WATER (SURFACE)
- Verify tank pressure, gas match, verify thirds
- Breathe wet ALL regs, Deco pressurized and off
- BCD/drysuit inflate/deflate
- Check lights, reels, spools, line markers
IN WATER (SUBMERGED)
- Bubble Check / S-Drill / Valve Drill
- OK to Dive… CONFIRM
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By Marissa Eckert
What are the requirements to start cave diving? What do I need to do to be prepared for cave training? These are all questions I get asked by so many potential students. There are many options when coming up with an answer. The first option, and the easiest, would be to go the training agency website and look up the requirements to take the class. However, this leaves a lot open for interpretation and doesn’t mean you will necessarily be ready. Like anything, there always needs to be minimum requirements. But is that enough? Maybe for some people it is, but for most people it’s not.
So, what are the requirements?
TDI breaks cave training down into three different levels. Those levels are cavern, intro to cave, and full cave. To start cavern the requirements state that you must be 18 years old or 15 years old with parental consent, have an Open Water Certification, and a minimum of 25 logged dives. This doesn’t sound like much. So, what do I tell my students when they ask me? First, I find out if they are only interested in cavern or if they are interested in potentially progressing into cave diving. If they are interested in progressing into cave diving, I always strongly suggest they get comfortable with a dual configuration first. This configuration can be side mount, back-mounted doubles, or even a rebreather. The main things I tell everyone they need to have down are buoyancy, good trim position, the ability to hover in place motionless without moving their hands or feet, and good overall awareness. This means awareness of oneself and what your body and equipment are doing, but also total awareness of what is going on around you.
So, what does all this mean?
Many times I’ve had students show up thinking they had all these things mastered only to quickly realize they have a long way to go. Which by the way, is okay! After all, we all start somewhere and progress at different paces. The most important thing is to be open to feedback. But there are also ways to prepare yourself better. First and foremost, when starting down this route it is critical to find a good instructor. Take time to look up instructors, ask questions, interview them, look at their past students, look at what type of diving they are doing, and most importantly ask questions! Find out what techniques they use during class.
I have found that video recording students when they are struggling with something gives them a great perspective to see what they are doing wrong and helps them visualize and correct it. Does the instructor look good as a diver? Whether you like social media or not, the internet can be a great place for research. When looking at a diver they should look in trim, almost like they are laying flat on a table. In videos are they finning with their hands? Are their feet constantly moving? Are there things dangling below their body? All equipment and hoses should be extremely clean and contoured to the body.
The most important question to always ask during training is WHY? There should always be a why behind everything we do. And it should never just be because I said so. Make sure the instructor knows why they are telling you to do something a particular way. Everyone can always learn new ways of doing things, instructors included.
How can you truly prepare yourself?
A good idea is to record video of yourself or have a friend record you while diving. Send it to your instructor ahead of time, so they can give you feedback and let you know if there are things you need to work on. There is no certain number of years to be diving, or a certain number of dives to have, that says yes you will be ready. Every individual learns at a different pace. If a class is only offered in a minimum number of days with a maximum number of students allowed, be aware that this means less time practicing each skill. For this reason, you might be better suited doing one-on-one training or having a regular buddy take the class with you. This ensures you are comfortable with each other and familiar with each other’s habits in and out of the water, and that you get along!
The most important thing of all is to come to class with an open mind, a readiness to learn, and no concern with whether you will receive a card, but with a concern that you will learn to be a better, safer, more competent diver. I always tell my students safety is the number one most important thing in cave diving, but fun is a close second! Sometimes, it may not feel fun. Stop and ask yourself does this instructor have your best interests at heart? I know I certainly do. I want to go to sleep each night knowing that I gave my students as much knowledge as possible to make them safe and thoughtful cave divers.
With proper training, proper equipment, proper experience, and a proper attitude I think cave diving can be done very safely. I often joke that the most dangerous thing about cave diving is driving to the dive site!
To find out more about International Training, visit www.tdisdi.com.
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