Any Technical/Rescue Divers Out There?
 

I recently joined our local FD and begin EMS training in a week (I still hang out with Cramer occasionally -- so if I remain conscious after whatever my latest "incident" is I can at least instruct him how to keep me alive until the Paramedics arrive...)

I'm also joining the dive rescue team and it's time for a new BC. I've got mask/fins/snorkel/regulator and the dept. provides a dry suit.

I'm looking at the Oceanic Probe BCD, but I'm curious if any of my Pelican brethren have gear that they so love that they'd recommend. Remember, this isn't "just" for looking at coral in the Keys, but for technical diving. I've been impressed whenever I've used ScubaPro gear, but there is a $ubstantial premium to be paid for it.

Information about any other gear you've used in similar circumstances would be more than welcome.

Ron -- your two cents would be worth at least a quarter.

TIA.

JP

PJ:

I have a very good technical rig that I have used for the last seven years. From the Carribean to diving off Long Island (most recently, the wreck of the "Pinta," with her cargo of wood in 90 feet of water, 50 degree water temperature and five meters visibility) it's served me very well.

My rig is a Halcyon similar to their "Eclipse" model.
http://www.halcyon.net/
It is basically a steel backplate with a SINGLE piece of 2.5" web that runs through the entire plate. Sandwiched between the plate and the extruded aluminum tank carrier there's a flotation bladder that is basically a truck inner tube mounted inside a nylon sheath. Two nylon straps hold the rig to your shoulders, a belt goes around your waist, and there's a crotch strap to keep the rig from riding up your back. Using the steel backplate allows you to eliminate some lead. This rig is also easily configured for doubles, although I have been using the old Aluminum 80 lately.

There is no "jacket" per se-- you can either use a weight belt (more easily ditchable and low-drag) or their "integrated" system which consists of a pair of pockets attached to the rig's waist strap. I put a pair of 4# shot bags inside these, they can be ditched very easily by removing a single nylon clamp per side.

There's a whole school of thought out there for tech diving called "DIR" or "Doing it Right"-- which emphasizes pure functionality and redundancy over style. There's a good FAQ on the Halcyon web site, and there's also some good information at WKPP.ORG (the Woodville Karst Plains Project- which is a group of DIR enthusiasts who venture very deep into the Florida Aquifer system, and have a number of world records.) The guru of DIR is Jared Jablonski, more information at ww.gue.com- and there are some good articles by George Irvine, who is "intense" but an expert with the log book to prove it.

http://www.wkpp.org/articles/Gear/newgeorge.html

Now, for regulators, the DIR concept is very specific. Your "primary" is typically on a long hose, mine is like five feet, I have seen some as long as seven. This comes out of your second stage, over your right shoulder, loops around your neck counterclockwise and presents to your mouth from the right. This way, all you have to do is drop your head, and the entire 5' hose is available for your buddy to breathe off of. Your secondary reg is on a shorter hose, and is held around the neck with a piece of surgical tubing looped through the reg's exhaust ports. When you give the primary away (or more likely, the out-of-air diver grabs it from your mouth) you merely lower your head and the reg should always be right there, in the triangle between your shoulders and sternum.

Obviously, the reason for a long hose is that when penetrating an overhead environment in narrow, cramped spaces, you can't get close enough to your buddy to share air, so you use a long hose instead. I don't know the requirements for penetrating, for example, a Ford Explorer that went off a bridge, but the local FD probably has a procedure.

I use Atomic regs exclusively. Titanium second stage, brass first stage. They also make a Ti first stage, it's more money. The advantage is, excellent flow, and very high reliability due to the Ti. The service interval is double that of a conventional reg. They also are smaller in size which gives a little less drag, every bit helps.

Anyway, check out the Halcyon site and DIR pages, and then we can talk about ancillary equipment, lighting, etc. I absolutely swear by this gear and wouldn't use anything else, it might work for you, too.

That's EXACTLY what I would have recommended.

I would have stayed out of the Explorer, tho.

Anyone in an Explorer is already as good as dead, but getting in one underwater makes you part of the Darwin theory (Nature weeding out the stupid).

My .02

Sounds good to me. The long hoses are a good idea as well, especially for getting into tight spaces.

We just lost a rescue diver here in Phoenix last year. Was looking in the CAP water canal and was sucked into a grate that separates sections while looking for a body in murky water. No parter near him and do not believe he had a connection to the surface. Not good proceedure and they are revamping the dept after this situation.

Just saw where someone just scuttled a destroyer somewhere to provide another reef for us to dive on. Need to get my stuff out and get it ready to get wet again!

JoeA

good info

re: destroyer, in Australia

you need 50 dives after certification to break in.

you need 200 dives to have an idea of what's happening.

get a pony bottle.

test your brass inside Charleston down under the Cooper R. It's low vis, extremely high current, and full of 'gators. It's also loaded with Civil War relics and fossils.