Category — Equipment

Just before I went on vacation I taught a cave course with Mark from England who had recently moved to Playa del Carmen in his armoured car and Meril a French pilot extraordinaire. In the last days we also had the pleasure to be joined by Anneleen who had done her training a couple of months earlier and now came in to practice a little.

The first days we had Etienne with us who is assisting towards becoming a Cavern Instructor and Mauro who did his last assistance before his Intro to Cave Instructor evaluation which he passed later with flying colours…Congratulations again.

As always we started of with a bunch of training in the open water to get used to the equipment, the configuration and the local environment. Once they felt comfortable it was time to start with the cave related training which meant a bunch of zero visibility exercises first on land and then underwater to prepare them as good as possible for running through those exercises later in the cave.

Both of them did great and it was amazing to see their progress from day to day. It really always impresses me how steep the learning curve is in the first couple of days. I think the key to success is to introduce new skills and new information always step by step and let the student master the one before moving on to the next. I compare cave diving to a juggling act while riding a mono cycle. The main idea is first to learn how to juggle lets say two balls, then three, then more. After that learn how to drive a mono bicycle and then combine the two. Some people maybe will need first to learn how to juggle on a normal bike as a step in between and so forth.

In any case we had great fun and always a good spirit even if the days were long and the weather horrible.

At the end we did some really great dives and even as a team of three they rocked through multiple out of gas scenarios combined with zero visibility, restrictions and anything else a cave dive could possibly through at you!

After that I took some time off first to go exploring down in Tulum with Kim and after that was off to Austria to meet my baby nephew Lorenz for the first time. I spent three wonderful weeks with my family far away from the jungle and dark water filled holes. Of course being a true cave diving addict I had to at least spent an hour a day on you tube checking out some cave diving videos =)

Back in Mexico I started right off with Ivan who did his technical cave diver training with me some time back and this time came down for some multi staging and a basic DPV course. Since my schedule is still not that busy he decided also to always take some time off in between which worked great for me as it gives me the time to go down to Tulum and explore some more.

Since some time now I really have the great pleasure to be in a project with Kim a cave diving Instructor who lives down in Tulum. 

 Kim found what he first thought was a virgin cenote in an area he was long interested in. Being super happy about the discovery he decided to call the cenote Lycka which is Swedish and means happiness. While freediving  it he found that there was already a guide line in the entrance from a previous exploration team. He enquired with Jim Coke at the QRSS and no data was reported from any team about any cave in that area.

 We then decided to make a joint effort of resurveying and retrieving the data and also while doing that, to look for further possible exploration. Now after we connected other Cenotes (one of them named Lorenz after my nephew) it already turned into Sistema Lycka =)
So far we make great progress and I am enjoying the time a lot. The cave is really very different with unique characteristics and colours. So I am sure not to get bored on my days off, thanks to Kim!!!

I make sure to keep you posted on the progress.

Happy diving

…The very next day I was back in the water with Yamil and this time we couldn’t finish again as I had another course already booked but we could get another two days done.

Then Ritch came in who I had taught previously during his cave diver course to do some training in deep diving and expand his horizon in cave diving with a basic Sidemount class. As Ritch was already a cave diver his basic skills just needed a little brush up but we were ready to go and introduce new information and skills such as SMB deployment, gas switches, team formation in open water, ascent protocols, and so forth. We did a deep diver and advanced Nitrox combination and so the theory was focused on gear selection, dive planning in regards to decompression, gas volumes, oxygen exposure, emergency procedures and plenty of real life examples. During our dives we saw different environments as we used a Cenote for confined water, a sinkhole for our first dives and then moved over to dives in the ocean. During our dives in the ocean we went down to Xpu-Ha and then drove down a bit south to the deep reefs. After arriving on the bottom I have to admit I was surprised how cool the reef was. Anybody that knows me, knows I am not super keen on ocean diving, but I have to say that I really enjoyed the dives there as it was full of life and colour.

Right after that we were back in the caves (juhu) and our first objective was to built a rig that Ritch would feel comfortable in. Being that Ritch is a bit larger then life it wasn’t quiet that easy but not that hard either, and I think at the end we came to a total price on his rig of like 100usd or smth =) The next two days we were training first in open water to get familiar with the equipment and to understand 3 dimensional diving, fine tuning here and there and working on gas management and emergency procedures the basic game. After that we started with cave diving in passages that he could have passed in backmount but only with serious effort but now in sidemount were manageable with ease. It was cool to see Ritches smile after the dives because he felt so comfortable and free under water as never before with a set of doubles especially since the normal backplate simply doesn’t fit on his back. We even had a day to spare and go for a fun cave dive down in Chan Hol which we both really enjoyed!!!

Ritch in a basic harness with a modified BCD

The days after that we could finally finish Yamils cave training with two last spectacular days in Taj Maha and Xunnan Ha. It was kind of funny since I went from the biggest person I have ever trained (Ritch) right to the smallest one (Yamil). The same way I like to challenge my students during training I like to be challenged myself, and so it was really cool to look for ways to make the two comfortable in the water although they had slight disadvantages due to their seize. At the end of the day the two of them really came around during the course and I was more then happy to sign their certification!!!

Right after that it was my time to be student again, Yipi!!! I had enrolled in a GUE fundamentals class with Fred who I know and respect for some years now. I am constantly trying to evolve as a diver and as a diving instructor and part of that is to take classes myself not only to see again how it feels to be watched and critiqued but also to see how the instructor teaches and relates information. All in all it was a great experience and lots of fun and I am looking forward to do further courses with Fred an hopefully also with Danny and Chris!

At the same time my dear friend and dive partner Hans (with family) was is town and so of course we had to seize the opportunity to go cave diving. He had spent the last couple of days exploring with Mauro while I was teaching and now that I was free the three of us went to Cenote 307 adding some 600ft of line in small unstable but awesome cave!!! The day after that we went down to Dos Pisos for a three hour swim around since neither of the two had been there before. There is really hardly anything better for me then going cave diving with a couple of friends and just enjoy a day out in the nature!

Little Hans

The day after that I was back teaching, finishing Anneleens course that she had started with Nando. We had only the last three days left to go from intro to full cave. Anneleen is a local diving instructor who finally after living here for more than a year gave in and started cave diving. It was fun to watch because she instantly was so fascinated and stunned by the caves that she was still smiling hours after ascending =)))))

Finally the last couple of days I had the great pleasure to dive with Dr. Mel Clark and show her around a little bit which was great. Of course it is always cool to dive with another CCR cave diver especially one that is in the hall of fame!!! We did some really amazing dives and finished with an insane trip from Cenote Dos Palmas to The Pit and back. Some 4h of non stop scootering…I don’t know what was better the dive or finally getting out of the water releasing the pressure in certain areas =)

Mel with a 42 ... without batteries in it though =)

After that I got another two former cave students in, Jojo and Chris from the french part of Swiss. We started of doing a stage, multistage course which was really super fun, since I had to teach in french which always kind of makes me look like a stand up comedian. In the evenings my brain was so much in knots that I started to mix all sorts of languages and simply was not able to communicate anymore. Moments like this always make me think of my polish chemistry teacher in high school, being that chemistry isn’t the easiest subject in the first place, only being able to understand every third word of the teacher doesn’t really help either But they both assured me that I was doing great and that they really understand what I am talking about (yeah right…)! Thanks god hand signals are international!!!

Jojo and Chris still suited up to avoid the bloodsuckers

After that Jojo continued with a Normoxic Trimix class which brought me back again to dive in the ocean. After the confined water session in a cenote we dove out of Xpu-Ha, mostly hanging out at the drop off =) Jojo really enjoyed the training especially the ratio deco which was a new concept to him and as he told me changed completely the way he looks at dive planning now! I am always happy and glad to get such a reaction from a student!

So I hope this little report shows why I didn’t post too much in the last 2 months but I was simply too busy living the dream and going diving every day, hahahah! I hope you enjoyed the post nearly as much as I enjoyed the dives!!!

cheers Patrick

I just come out of a pretty busy run full of teaching and exploring, tiring but fun and now as things slow down a little bit I can take the time to write about it.

When I had finished the basic sidemount course with Wayne I was off on three weeks vacation. First I had planed to travel to Dominican Republic and everything was set until my travel partner had to cancel due to work obligations. I was pretty bummed out about the whole situation but when Mauro asked me to join a project he and Alex where pursuing I forgot about the situation and was looking forward to go and explore with the two.
In the same period of time I also got the second draft version of a sidemount rig I help to design which instantly outdid all my expectations and gave me great motivation to go out and dive again daily. So besides exploring I also dedicated a good amount of time to testing the rig in various different diving environments as well as techniques ranging from wet to dry suit, stages and scooters in backmount and sidemount seized passages.

With Mauro I was exploring in Cenote Balan Ak where Alex had established the relationship with the landowner and out of Cenote Palomita to resurvey and push some lines. A great pleasure to hang out and dive with the two guys who are both so passionate about the exploration there.

After that it was back to work and I started my first course right away with Mark who came in to do a deep/advanced nitrox combo course. A cool start that gave me also the rare possibility to dive in the ocean. After one day in a Cenote for confined water training and another day in the sinkhole Angelita we lost a day to sickness. Having only one day of diving in the ocean left, we couldn’t finish the training but Mark has already booked his return in September where we will not only finish but also integrate the advanced recreational trimix course.

Before the next course I had the great opportunity to help Nadia a cave explorer that lives down in Tulum with her mapping project of Cenote Dos Pisos. It was a super experience, first of all since I had never attempted to produce a large scale cave map (besides stick maps of course) and second it was cool to hang out with her and talk about different projects she is pursuing with her husband Dave in the area as well as some of the history of  the Cenote and the Cave System.

After that I almost instantly went into a CCR cave course with two Germans, Dirk and Thomas who came equipped with an Inspiration and a Megalodon CCR. Dirk had already done his course in Thailand some time ago and already visited Florida and Mexico for cave diving but wanted to sit in and train with his buddy. Dirk was one of my really first advanced nitrox students back when I lived in Egypt and to see him now as a very skilled trimix/cave ccr diver puts a big smile on my face. Thomas being a very experienced trimix ccr instructor himself made for a great team and hard for me to challenge the two.

Thomas and Dirk back from a dive in B Tunnel

The first two days we spent in the open water working on buoyancy, trim and fining techniques as well as looking at the units and trimming them down to minimal seize. We also went through all of the ccr related exercises followed by zero visibility training and touch contact and touch and go procedures.
Third day had us in the cave ready to go and trying the first time all ccr skills while staying horizontal within arms reach of the guideline. We realized quickly that doing those skills in a dark place with limited space while staying perfectly trimed with neutral buoyancy is not a quiet easy thing to do =)
The next five days we were working on many different scenarios including hyper and hypoxia drills, boom scenarios, hypercapnia, long hose gas sharing of bail out, passing restrictions in zero viz, complex navigation, surfacing in zero visibility, solenoid stuck close and open during a cave dive, lost line and lost diver and many combinations of the above.
During the entire course we had lots of fun and a general relaxed atmosphere and shared many stories of diving the cold lakes in europe =)
Both of them came very open minded in the course and with a lot of experience which gave us many interesting topics and point of views to discuss, all in all a great time!

Dirk and Thomas tired but happy!!!

After that Dirk who had brought his own scooter enrolled in a three day basic cave dpv course. We were using Bonex(dirks), Silent Submerge as well as a Divex Cuda during the training to see different performances and characteristics of the models.
First day we were doing theory all morning discussing pros and cons, gas management, emergency procedures, conservation and other topics before driving to Cenote Ponderosa to do our initial training. We were practicing different towing techniques, how to keep neutral bouyancy while driving, touch contact, touch and go and runaway dpv failure which especially on the bonex is an easy scenario due to his master switch.
The next day we were in the cave all day long going through lots of complex exercises involving lost line and lost diver during a dpv dive, computing different RMVs and times which are essential to dive planing, zero visibility drills including picking up gear, dpv failures, time awareness and so forth. Dirk realized very fast that there is more to scootering in a cave then pulling a trigger =)
Last day we implemented all of the previous learned in complex dives in cenote Mayan Blue which turned out to be just amazing! The previous long days payed of and we could use our rebreathers and scooters effectively. We did long dives covering an amazing distance while relaxed sight seeing knowing that at all times even with two catastrophic failures we would still be able to safely exit the cave. Now Dirk must get some more experience using his new favourite tool so that next time we can bring out the long range dpvs and take it to the next level. =)

The next day I went straight over to a OC cave course with Yamil a local diving instructor who had started some time ago but couldn’t finish due to work obligations. Again we were not able to finish his training due to a bad cold that knocked him out after the first two days.
At least that gave me the opportunity to squeeze some days of exploring in and even a fun dive with friends from Utila (Frank and Andy). We were a big group consisting of Dirk, Thomas, Mauro, Frank, Andy and myself and were diving in separate teams in Cenote Muchachos. Dirk and Thomas on CCRs, Mauro sidemount and stage, the Utila gang after finishing their basic sidemount training with Nando in their new rigs and me CCR also and dpv. A great day with 3h+ dive time =)

The following day I welcomed Nick who came in to “upgrade”  from GUE Cave 1 to Technical Cave Diver. We had met before to discuss exactly the expectations that he had in the course and that I had from him as a student. Nick came in as a highly trained, skilled and experienced diver which made my job both very easy and difficult. Easy in a way that he learned extremely fast difficult in a way of bringing him close to the edge of his comfort zone to establish some limits. The main new information and skills we had to cover were navigation, restrictions, deco bottel and stage tank use in the overhead environment and reviewing the stuff he had already learned and all of that on a tight schedule which ment early mornings and late evenings, especially for me as Nick stayed in Puerto Aventuras…
Nick is an avid deep and wreck diver from Australia which made the lunch brakes very entertaining as he shared some insights on the local wreck and cave diving in the land down under. I really hope I will get the chance one day to visit him there and check it out!!!

So that was part one…part two will be up in some days…I hope you enjoy =)

cheers

Un an après avoir terminer mon cours de Full Cave Diver chez Protec, je décide d’approfondir mes connaissances de plongée en grotte. Après de nombreuses discussions avec Patrick nous arrivons à la conclusion que la prochaine étape pour moi est le cour Basic Sidemount. Ce seront donc trois jours intensifs de plongée, une  nouvelle configuration de mon équipement et je l’espère, de nombreuses nouvelles sensations. 
Lors de mon inscription à Protect, Patrick me fait comprendre  que la première phase est tout d’abord l’élaboration  de mon harnais pour plonger Sidemount. La solution la plus facile est d’acheter un harnais type Transpac, ou similaire. Nous optons pour une seconde option, celle de le fabriquer nous même. La veille du cours je me procure donc du webbing que l’on découpe à mes dimensions, et bien sûr ma vieille stab.

Premier jour, il est 9 heures de matin et je suis à Protec. On commence par un peu de théorie. Patrick m’explique les différents aspects de la plongée en Sidemount avec ses avantages et ses inconvénients, ainsi que la différente configuration du détendeur. La plongée en Sidemount consiste à avoir ses bouteilles sur les côtés. Le but est de me permettre dans le futur de plonger dans des grottes plus étroites, ce qui m’est pour le moment impossible avec mes doubles bouteilles sur le dos….

Je passe donc toute la matinée  à la fabrication de mon harnais. Après deux heures de travail le résultat n’est pas trop mal ; il y a encore quelques réglages à faire, mais ils se feront après les essais en piscine. Pendant ce temps Patrick s’est occupé de ma stab. Toutes les poches et tous les clips ont été retirés. Petite pose déjeuner, et me voilà dans ma combinaison, mon harnais avec ma stab sur le dos.

Mise à l’eau dans la piscine de l’hôtel Mom’s ; j’attache mes bouteilles de chaque côté et je descends, le temps de faire différents tests de flottabilité. En sortant de l’eau on discute des changements et ajustements que je dois effectuer sur mon nouvel équipement. On va dire que ce sont mes devoirs pour le lendemain.

Deuxième jour, on se donne rendez-vous au magasin pour un dernier ajustement de l’équipement, avant de partir plonger dans les cénotes  Chikinha et Xtabay. Sur place avant de se mettre à l’eau nous revoyons les basics de la plongée en grotte Backmount (signes, position et touch contact), puis les nouveautés du Sidemount (touch and go). Une fois dans l’eau je réalise différents exercices de flottabilité (nager sur le côté et sur le dos), ainsi que retirer les tanks sous l’eau et de les replacer (position du superman). Avant notre première plongée en grotte nous avons effectué plusieurs exercices de touch and go dans la zone de caverne.

Bulble check et gear matching réalisé, nous sommes prêts à plonger. Je suis le guide, lorsque je déploie ma ligne d’ariane, je m’aperçois qu’il y en a déjà une en place, je reste donc à sa droite et la suis jusqu’au moment ou l’on rejoint la ligne principale de la grotte. La plongée dure une heure, et la vers la fin nous faisons quelques exercices en zéro visibilité. Ce fut une très belle plongée. En sortant de l’eau, debriefing de rigueur afin de voir quelles sont les modifications à faire pour améliorer ma flottabilité. Au même moment  sortent d’autres plongeurs, l’un deux est Bill Philips ; petite discussion avant de repartir vers Protec et de terminer cette belle journée.

Troisième et dernier jour ….L, on se dirige vers Chack Mol, pour faire deux plongées. Comme la veille, petit réajustement de l’équipement. Le but  aujourd’hui est de faire deux plongées dans des espaces beaucoup plus réduits ou je pourrais voir l’efficacité de ma nouvelle configuration.

Tous s’est bien passé durant ces trois jours, mais je me rends compte qu’il me faudra  de nombreuses plongées afin de pouvoir véritablement maitriser cette nouvelle configuration  et pousser son utilité au maximum.

Je suis vraiment impatient  de retourner dans l’eau lors de mon prochain temps libre pour améliorer ma technique en Sidemount et surtout de continuer ma formation technique en grotte.

I just finished up a great week with Wayne who came down for his third time in an effort to satisfy his cave diving addiction…

The entire week was dedicated to sidemount diving. The first three days we spent setting up Wayne’s rig ensuring that he felt comfortable and that it works for the environment he will dive.   He had done a bunch of research before the course which really gave us a great head start and brought us into the cave quickly.

We started the morning with theory and an equipment workshop.  After having lunch, we jumped in the water to see how everything looks.  A lot of great ideas on the surface turn out to be total failures below the surface, therefore I believe this is a critical part of any course and devote ample time focused on getting the student comfortable with his equipment.  I pay special attention to head to toe trim, lateral trim and proper weighting. My goal is to make the equipment an extension of the body, thereby removing a major distraction allowing for more awareness of the cave, the line and the team.

We spent quite some time fine tuning and adjusting.  After that we ran through various drills and exercises.  By the time we left the cenote we had a great foundation.

The dives lengthened over the next two days as we refreshed line laying skills, marking protocols, and touch and go exit drills in zero visibility. We dived a lot in low bedding plains which would have been difficult for backmount divers to pass, especially if performing touch contact exit.  The conditions were ideal for illustrating the advantages of sidemount.

After that we had four super great days of guided cave diving in Tulum. We started with Dream Gate just south of Chemuyil. Dream Gate is a really awesome cave with shallow depths which make for long dives through the intensely decorated passages. I was stoked to dive the downstream section to show Wayne all of the recently explored lines bearing line arrows marked with 09 for last year. I find it very exciting to dive in places that are still being explored or have been recently explored.  It gives me a feeling of being one of the first to see them.

Unfortunately, to my frustration, we discovered the explorer’s line arrows had been replaced by generic orange arrows with the name of a dive center which had nothing to do with the exploration of these lines.   I felt a range of emotions starting with anger and frustration, then sadness and finally pity for the person who feels the urge to go through the trouble of replacing all these arrows out of envy. Even here in paradise we have some sad stories.

Never the less the dive was awesome!  I was super excited to see the Mayan pottery for the first time.  It is just sitting there next to the line after the T in front of a debris cone which is under a tiny cenote. Our second dive was upstream checking out the many T intersections.

The next day we went to Dos Pisos south of Tulum. It is one of the most amazing caves I know. It has an average depth of less than 20ft, so we decided to do one loooong dive and really swim some distance and enjoy this marvelous cave. The bright white color and the density and variety of the decorations makes this a cave diver’s Mecca. I especially love the beginning as you pass a shallow bedding plain and then a small winding tunnel with crystal white calcite on the floor looking like powder snow. Then the cave opens up in ever larger rooms with breathtaking formations all around. Wayne clearly found his favorite spot and was still smiling hours after we had surfaced.

Wayne on the back of the truck

Next we dove another cenote south of Tulum, Regina.  Regina couldn’t be any more different from Dos Pisos. It is darker and deeper.  With its ever changing shape and depth I can use only one word to describe it, intriguing.  Lots of tannin in the water makes for interesting colors and a generally spooky feeling.  With the numerous transitions from salt water to fresh water and back and an average depth of 50ft it is a great place to accumulate experience for a newly certified sidemount diver. It definitely takes more awareness of tank alignment and gas management.

On the last day we went to Cenote Muchachos and Cenote Mud. These dives were a great finish to the week. Wayne really enjoyed both cenotes and the adventure of getting into Cenote Mud.   Cenote Muchachos and Cenote Mud, although close in proximity have completely different personalities.  In Cenote Muchachos we went up the Black Forrest line and enjoyed the huge passages and incredible ceiling.

In Cenote Mud we swam a white passage with massive decoration that leads you to another cenote with bright green and cold tannic water. There we took the T down which leads you what looks like a dungeon, a really bizarre place where one can see the forces of water shaping our planet.

This was a really cool week with some of my favorite dives here in the Riviera Maya and all of that back to back. I really love it when I come home from diving already looking forward to the next day and the dives I am going to do…

Now I am on vacation and am going cave diving of course =)

Cheers
P

The continuing exploration of particular Cenotes, cave systems and sinkholes within the Yucatan Peninsula takes time in terms of divers committing to exploration with training and experience, the financial as well as the time burden that such explorations are coming with.  Another large aspect of cave exploration is finding the right dive team that is equally experienced to dive the cave or sinkhole at hand, to train continuously and work up to the planned dive pluis the logistical support needed for such projects.

decompressing deep diver

In January of 2010 all came together when a polish deep diving team around Jurek and Cezary were ready to continue the deep exploration of the Sabak Ha (Turbid Water) Cenote in the central Yucatan some 60 kilometers / 40 miles south of Merida. I was diving deep in Sabak Ha around 1997 – 2000 to a depth of 150 meters / 500 feet with a large room clearly continuing horizontally as well as vertically down. No walls where to be seen, no ceiling and no bottom with a visibility of around 30 meters / 100 feet. When Jurek heard about this site we went for a recon dive earlier this year ,and he was all for a project to push the boundaries.

lowering gear to the water

The 2010 exploration team consisted of Jurek and Cezary as deep push divers, Robert and Dariusz as support divers, Conrad filming underwater, Jacek and Piotr filming on the surface. me from the ProTec Dive Center in Playa del Carmen was responsible for local support, logistics, gas mixing, photography underwater and on the surface, liaison with local authorities and press as well as translation. All participating divers where technical cave divers as well as Trimix divers experienced in deep cave diving as well as Mexican cave diving. Dive team preparations prior arriving in Mexico included multiple deep cave diving in the Red Sea in the 100 – 120 meter / 330 – 400 feet range to get the team procedures in sync. When the dive team arrived in Q. Roo during the beginning of January 2010 three days of horizontal cave diving in large doubles where conducted to acclimatize to Mexican caves and the tanks to be used during the deep diving project.

For the first deep diving day in Sabak Ha all breathing gases such as a number of Trimix mixtures, Nitrox and oxygen were mixed by me in Playa del Carmen’s ProTec Dive Center. A total of 25 80 cft alm stage tanks, 2 sets of 80 cft alm double tanks, 2 sets of 104 cft steel double tanks and 2 sets of 125 cft steel doubles tanks got filled, rigged and came along for the trip. This was going to be an all open circuit assault as all divers where experienced in open circuit deep diving. The project was scheduled in a way to dive one day then mix gases / rest the next day, dive one day then mix gases / rest the next day, and so on.

mixing it up

After arriving on site at the first diving day all came together as we met our porter team around Dionicio and Chepo from the Ecology Department of Yucatan who introduced us to the helping hands they had organized. The 2010 Sabak Ha exploration project was in the planning for over 6 month with continuous support from the Ecology Department of Yucatan who contributed with a rescue team and vehicle on site. As all gases where mixed in Playa del Carmen the team went to the dive site for a recon dive that led the whole team to a depth of 65 meters / 215 feet. During that time one camera man was diving with the team documenting the environment, two camera men stayed on the surface documenting the surface activity and I me remaining on the surface organizing the surface support as well as taking still images for later articles that where to be published in Poland.

gear assembly

underwater camera man

The next day after the recon dive was a mixing day with a 6 hour long mixing session at Dutton’s Machine Shop in Merida, the only filling station in Merida. During that mixing session a number of breathing mixes did not turn out the way they should have been. The affected breathing mixtures were analyzed and identified the same evening but could not be changed due to fill station time restraints and gas supply company hiccups, the gas company not being able to deliver the gases I had reserved and they had confirmed. The blending issue was identified to as helium tanks containing less than 100% helium. The average helium purity was established and analyzed around 93-94% helium, with one tank 70% helium and another 80% helium. This mix up of breathing gases could have been easily avoided if I would have analyzed all helium tanks for helium content before starting the mixing process. In order to fix the breathing mixtures the next planned diving day fell into the water as the remixing of a number of Trimix mixtures took some 3 1/2 hours as soon as the filling station opened, and at this time the dive team did not feel it wanted to be rushed into deep cave diving, and canceled the dive of this day.

fill station in Merida

The second diving day lead the deep diving team to the 100 – 110 meter / 330 – 360 feet horizontal passage from where the line leads into the large room where no walls, bottom or ceiling can be seen. When continuing into this passage exploration starts at 120 meters / 400 feet horizontally and when following the line down at 150 meters / 500 feet depth at the end of the line with no bottom in sight. The deep team was continuously documenting the whole dive with a helmet mounted video camera. The shallow diving team went into the shallower 65 meter / 215 feet cave passage to investigate the potential for further exploration. During that dive the underwater camera man was filming the deep team to a depth of 100 meters / 330 feet while this author was taking underwater still images to a depth of 30 meters / 100 feet as well as surface photography.

Due to delays with the gas company providing the helium and oxygen, and the weekend becoming a major factor of not being able to blend breathing gases in the fill station the day was used to shoot surface footage at the Uxmal ruins. Nice day, nice footage, not much diving through. At this time the project schedule started to slide but the day in the ruins was a great way to not think about diving too much.

The following day started with fully restocked helium and oxygen supplies and the next 6 1/2 hour mixing marathon session began to blend breathing gases for the upcoming push dive. This time we had no bad helium tanks but all tanks were analyzed to be around 93 – 94% helium. While being at the fill station all day long I really appreciate the help from Elias who helped me so much pumping all that air that was needed to drive the so important booster pump as well as to top of all them tanks.

tanks come up the line in darkness

The next diving day came with us leaving Merida around 8:00 am from the Tecnotel Motel right in Merida and close to the fill station with about an hour’s drive to the village of Mucuyche where we met at the house of Dionicio and Adelaida to gather the rest of our porters. Today old trusted Pedro came along to help out, bringing the porter crew up to four porters. Arriving shortly after 9:00 am at the dive site it took about 1 1/2 hours to get all the tanks set up, down the rope and towards the water’s edge. The rescue teams daily arrival was around 11:00 am, just before the divers went into the water.  The hang line was installed daily to hang travel gases, deco gases and extra tanks onto the line prior the divers went into the water. Support divers verified the tank depth. During the deep part of the dive one of the deep support divers got entangled into the guideline at around 100 meters / 330 feet depth and the guideline had to be cut to free the support diver. At this moment the dive was called and the divers came back to the surface well before the 6 hour long planned dive that would have been the push dive. Better safe than sorry.

tanks come up the line in darkness

As the project time was running out slowly with the project duration coming to an end it was decided to do one more dive to fix and repair the guide line at 110 meters / 360 feet in order to leave an continuous guideline for following dive teams. Breathing gases where filled and remixed early in the morning the same day with a late start arriving at the dive site at 11:00 am putting the divers into the water around 13:00 pm. The deep diving team was able to repair the line on this last dive and to push on into the deep part of the cave to a depth of 130 meters / 430 feet. As we had a late start into the dive darkness came up fast. The generator was started up around 17:00 pm providing light with two 500 watt working lights, thus enabling the surface crew to safely bring all the tanks back up the line and stored into the vehicles.

During our stay we gave a number of interviews for local news papers and local TV stations that demonstrated that the local populations interest in how the sinkhole of Sabak Ha, the deepest geological feature of the Yucatan may continue and what new passages might be found. During the diving days we had quite a large number of up to 40 visitors that came from the surrounding villages to see what we do, have a chat and lend a hand. 

As the project came to an end the team did no reached the goal they came here to Sabak Ha to fulfill, the exploration to maximum depth, however, the team established the potential of exploration at the 120 meter / 400 feet plateau. When the guideline broke it became a priority to repair the guide line and they spend a dive on repair instead of a deep push dive. During the four conducted deep dives no one was hurt, no one was bent, not even a strained ankle, shoulder or scratch on the arm. As it turns out at times deep cave exploration is not an easy feat but if you can walk away from it and talk about it, it was a great successful project. The dive profiles where for dive 1) to 60 meters / 200 feet, 20 minutes bottom time, 1,5 hrs total time, dive 2) to 60 meters / 200 feet dive, 30 minutes bottom time, 2,5 hrs total time, dive 3) to 113 meters / 370 feet, 17 minutes bottom, 2 hrs 15 minutes total time, dive 4) to 100 meters / 330 feet, 11 minutes bottom, 1,5 hrs total, dive 5) to 130 meters / 430 feet, 30 minutes bottom, 4,5 hrs total time.

decompressing deep diving team

I would like to thank the Ecology Department of Yucatan for their support, the Bomberos rescue team to be there for us, the porter crew to make it happen, Adelaida for the great Yucatecan food, Pedro to not give up teaching me some Maya and Dionicio to have the great skill to move a mountain of equipment without a scratch.  

I would like to thank the Polish deep team Jurek and Cezary, the support team Robert and Dariusz, the underwater camera man Conrad, the surface film crew Jacek and Piotr to come here to Mexico and trying to push the known boundaries of these deep caves. I would like to mention as well that part of making the project happen was the generous project support of the main sponsor Infovide-Matrix a Polish IT consulting company which also sponsored Jurek’s 231 meter / 757 feet depth record in 2007, the main media patron National Geographic Poland and the equipment sponsored by Liquivision – X1 Trimix computers and Ammonite Polish underwater lights.

family matters

The last weeks have been awesome, it started of with a basic Sidemount course, followed by a CCR experience, a multistage course, then Basic Cave DPV, an Intro to Cave course, taking some pictures with Matt and some guided CCR cave diving…I really like to do different things, so a schedule like this is just perfect for me.

First on the list was Tristan who lives and works here in Playa and felt it was time to expand his horizon and move into sidemount diving. First step was to work on a rig and after listing up his different options he decided to go with a basic webbing harness and a modified recreational bcd on top as buoyancy device. We used to first day for theory, talking about equipment, gas management, some history, benefits and dangers of sidemount diving among other things. The afternoon was spend with configuration and some time in the pool to fine tune the rig.

On the next day we went to Cenote Xtabay, to work on buoyancy, trim, fining techniques, equipment familiarity and zero visibility procedures. A very long day with hours in the water but leaving with a streamlined rig that started to be more and more an extension of Tristan’s body.
On the last day we went to Cenote Chac Mool to dive in low ceiling cave to show how easy and fast you can move in a sidemount configuration in passages that would really slow you down diving in backmount.

The very next day, I spent with Arthur who had just finished his cave course with Nando but wanted to try out CCR diving before going back to Poland. For his try out he chose the Classic Kiss . We met in the morning and I started with some basics on ccrs, different types and units, potential hazards and advantages over OC diving. Later we went to Ponderosa where he had the chance after some basic exercises to swim the unit in the open water and make his first bubble free experience underwater.

Right after that the finish invasion started with Lauri who came in from cold Helsinki to further his knowledge and experience in cave diving with a stage multistage course followed by a basic cave dpv course. A really perfect combination since it follows the principal of progressive penetration.
There are many different schools of thought coming from different point of views, environments, agencies and other ideas and so the first step always has to be to analyze and review them and see which one fits best ones believes. These also may change with time and from one environment to the next and so to be open minded and willing to try different things is the key in my opinion.
The main  topics for the two courses definitely should be different rules of gas management, streamlining of gear, team protocols, zero visibility training including pick up and switching, different failures and the response to these failures and then just train, train, train.
We definitely had a cool time and did some super nice long dives where one drill followed the next keeping us busy and alert. Lauri handled everything I was throwing at him from out of gas drills to zero viz having to pick up and switch to stages with his eyes closed while staying in contact with the team retrieving his scooter while lights out then towing and pushing fellow divers with dpv malfunctions and  all of that several thousand feet back in a cave. He mastered the techniques  necessary for long penetrations understanding the risk of these dives and accepting to start slow and never making too big steps. Now it is up to him to stay sharp and to adapt the skills learned in the Mexican caves to  the cold mine diving he is doing back home.

A couple of days later the finish invasion continued with Veli, Mia, Saara and Miksu that all came to do their intro to cave training with Matt and I. Although we had to fight with sickness and cancel sightseeing trips we fought our way through and at the end all four left as certified intro to cave divers.   I also had the chance to take Miksu and Saara on some guided dives afterward where they finally had the chance to try the learned outside the course environment. We went to places like Nohoch and Dos Ojos which are famous for their beautiful decorations.

Having some days off in between Matt and me took the opportunity to go and take some pictures  in Grand Cenote…here a little taste:

Finally I had the great pleasure to take Dr. Mel Clark on some guided ccr cave diving. Having been sick before I wasn´t quiet 100%  but to be around an energetic and fun person like her immediately made me feel better. She was packing her revo ccr and a camera and so we went for some longer dives taking what felt to me like 1000s of pictures. First day we were out at Cenote Pet Cemetery to dive both lines towards the blue abyss and a bit beyond. On the second dive we where joined by Michael another ccr diver with a Megalodon that made our team complete.
The day after we went to Mayan Blue to dive from B tunnel to E and F and finally back over towards A after the T. One of my absolute favorite dives!!!!
Definitely cool  to hang out with her and share experiences and discuss some different ideas, great time!

So that’s it, a short report on what I did the last weeks and maybe it also explains why I didn’t sit down in the evening to write about it, I was a bit exhausted =)

Thank you very much to all the divers that gave me the opportunity to show them a little bit of my world, it was a great to meet and dive with you. Hope to see you all back here soon!!!

Cheers
Patrick

Stage cylinders are generally used in addition to “back mount” cylinders or in addition to “side mount” cylinders while cave diving.  The reasons that cave divers, wreck divers and technical divers use stage cylinders include but is not limited to increase the total volume of gas during a dive so that penetration distances or dive times can be greater, to hold different gas mixes (for example a decompression mix, a travel gas, or a bottom mix), to hold a volume of gas needed for team planning or as a safety bottle, and to provide an open circuit bailout source during Rebreather diving applications, to provide safety air volumes needed when planning dives using DPV’s and calculating for failures requiring a swim out.  The diver throughout the entire dive may carry these cylinders, depending on the objective and dive plan, or they may as well be placed along a cave or anchor/ascent line to be retrieved during the exit from the dive depending on the environment and conditions they are diving. 

Diving with single and multiple stages in the overhead environment (cave, wreck, or decompression) should only be attempted by divers who have perfected diving skills in their back mount or side mount gear.  These advanced techniques are to be used only once a diver has achieved perfection in the environment they are diving and have a real need and desire to progress greater into the dive.  The reasons divers use stage diving techniques may be enticing but as well with these practices comes a greater responsibility and greater risks for divers to be aware of.  Divers are now entering further into the overhead environment, they may be leaving tanks in water filled caves which may impact the cave, and they are increasing task loading during the dive while making a more complex dive plans.  Divers using the techniques and information in this manual must as well understand and completely accept the risks involved in planning extended penetration dives.  

Stage bottles need to be secured to the divers harness via clips to the d-rings. The preferred clip is a bolt clip made out of stainless steel due to a longer life span and ease of use while brass clips become more difficult to operate with time. The size of the clips is depending of the environment, where cold water divers need larger clips due to the gloves or mittens worn. A carry strap can be attached to the stage bottle with the two clips firmly attached to the strap. The strap is used below water to handle the tank and less for the surface. A stainless steel clamp covered in a tubular webbing makes a perfect tank band to hold the strap in place. The connection from tank to clip should be of a cutable kind, a metal to metal connection is not desirable since it can not be cut in case of a clip failure or entanglement scenario when it becomes important to drop or remove the stage tank to solve the problem.

All stage tanks should be labeled clearly in regards to what breathing media is inside the tanks, the marking of maximum operational depth on the side of the tank in large number does have the advantage of the team members being able to see and verify that the correct breathing mixture is being used ant the correct depth.

Each stage regulator does need its own pressure gauge with a preferable short high pressure hose of about 15 cm length. The gauge is bend upward during use and attached to the first stage via a bungee cord or surgical tubing. During periods of non use the gauge can be released to ease the stress on the hose. During the dive when the stage bottle is not in use the valve is to be maintained close, during descent and at maximum depth the valve should be opened shortly to pressurize the first stage, a prevention of water entering the first stage due to pressure differences.

Safety and Deco

Decompression diving and accelerated decompression schedules are in need of a variety of breathing gases ranging from bottom gases to travel gases and a variety of decompression gases. All these breathing media have to be planned, blended, labeled, analyzed and then used at the appropriate time and depth during and according to the dive plan. Depending on the environment dived and the planned bottom times stage tank size and material are of consideration to the diver, while most divers prefer aluminum stages because of their lesser weight and lift requirements.

In ocean drift diving and wreck diving scenarios the decompression stage bottles are usually carried by and with the diver throughout the whole dive, even if that means that the breathing mixture is carried below safe breathing depth. In cave diving scenarios the decompression stage bottles are clipped to the line in a way that not to much stress is exerted onto the line and left at a depth where the breathing gas can be safely breathed, eliminating the potential danger of breathing the wrong mix at the wrong depth.

Extended Penetration

Stage diving must be well thought out. Staging allows the diver to extend the distance of safe exploration. Due to being further into the system it may also produce additional time pressure stress. Training and gradual build up in penetration distances will help offset this stress. In addition stage diving is similar to flying a airplane in that the diver must think well ahead of their position. By thinking ahead and being familiar with stage techniques the diver avoids delays during stage drops and retrievals and the diver will also avoid sudden changes in buoyancy.

Stage and multi-stage diving are other techniques used to further penetration into the caves or wrecks but allows as well longer bottom times during technical dives. When a diver reaches his turnaround pressure but wishes to further penetrate the cave or wreck then a stage or extra tank becomes a necessity. A stage tank can be worn on either side or all on the left hand side depending on configuration preferences. The dive is generally started on the stage tank and when the pre-established turn pressure is reached the diver switches over to another stage or the primary tanks either back mounted or sidemounted. When turn pressure on the primary tanks is reached the diver will turn around and will find his or her stage that was clipped to the line, then change over to the stage tank and exiting the cave or wreck breathing of the stage tank or tanks. Stage diving has a potential high impact on the cave and wreck environment and damage can be extended far into the cave or wreck. Care should be taken not to harm the cave or wreck. Special training is needed to use stage tanks safely in the cave or wreck environment.

Gas and Stage Switching Procedures

How you and your team will switch between your cylinders during the dive needs to be preplanned and practiced in open water situations prior to attempting them in the overhead environment or in real decompression situations.  There are a few common and ¨accepted¨ ways that this can be accomplished.  However your team decides to accomplish gas switches it needs to be remembered that there are many things that can go wrong when switching gases and going to and from regulators.  The end result of an improper switch can end in loss of gas, loss of a way to deliver gas, hypoxic and hyperoxic situations.  Gas switches no matter how done need to have the entire teams attention at 100%.  This is true if you are doing a switch to a bottom gas, travel gas, or a decompression gas.  In addition to verifying your own gas supply and system you must also verify that the other members of your team have made a proper switch as well.

Entire team switching gas and stages

One way that teams prefer to switch gases is the entire team switching at once.  This means that at one point, after the signal has been given and confirmed by the entire team, every member of the team will initiate and switch gases at the same time.  The sequence for this is:

a.     One team member gives signal to switch gases upon arrival at the correct depth or point of dive

b.     Team confirms the need and place to switch

c.      Every diver locates proper cylinder

d.     Divers read labels and check depth vs. MOD

e.     Everyone turns on the correct stage cylinder

f.       Divers deploy regulator of stage and get it into position to breathe

g.     Purge regulator you are planning to breathe from, confirm it will supply gas

h.     Switch to new regulator and breathe prior to storing previous gas (you may need to go back to it)

i.        Store hose that is no longer needed

j.       Trace regulator back from your mouth to the stage bottle and check mix and MOD vs. your actual depth

k.     Check other team members to verify they are doing switches and to proper tank and breathing gas

l.        Once all team members have switched and confirm okay, continue dive or decompression

This type of switch is best accomplished with all the team members facing each other.  While you are completing each of your steps you are as well going to be keeping up to date with what the rest of the team is doing.  How is their buoyancy, are they at the correct depth, are they switching to the correct tank, is the tank on, is somebody out of gas?  The ability for every member of the team to be able to see each other and the cylinder that each member switches to is critical.  A wrong switch to a wrong tank and breathing gas is a life-threatening event for every member of the team.  Every team member must stay in complete control of the procedures during this time of task loading. 

Individual Gas Switches

The second style of gas switching is very similar to the first in the stops but has a different team strategy.  Some teams prefer to switch with one person always acting as observer.  This means that one person will delay their switch and act as an observer until the rest of the team has confirmed their switch.  Upon confirmation of the gas switch of the rest of the team this diver will then switch gases with the rest of the team observing them.  This second way will take a longer time to get the entire team switched but gives you the added benefit of always having one diver less task loaded and paying attention to confirm the switch of the other team members and can respond in case of any failures.

a.     Team member gives signal to switch gases upon arrival at the correct depth or point of dive

b.     Rest of team confirms the need and place to switch

c.      Rest of team locates proper cylinder (leader does not switch)

d.     Team read labels and check depth vs. mod (leader observes)

e.     Team turns on the correct stage cylinder (leader observes)

f.       Team deploy regulator of stage and get it into position to breath (leader observes)

g.     Team purges planned next regulator, confirming it will supply gas (leader observes)

h.     Switch to new regulator and breath prior to storing previous gas (leader observes)

i.        Store hose that is no longer needed (leader observes)

j.       Team traces regulators back to the stage bottle and check mix and mod vs. actual depth (leader observes)

k.     Team members verify they are done with switch and to proper tank (leader confirms or makes any adjustments needed)

l.        Upon completion and confirmation of the entire teams successful switch the team leader will then start at the top of the list and complete theirs with the rest of the team acting as observers.

Once the team leader has switched and now the entire team is on the new breathing gas and or stage tank the dive will continue or the decompression will start.

Either way that you decide to switch gases team members must be responsible for their own switch while ensuring the safety of the other team members.  Regulators will be coming out of mouths making potential out of air situations more likely.  In situations of reduced and zero visibility extreme caution must be used, especially when you are carrying mixes that have maximum operating depths shallower than any parts of the dive.  A wrong switch has been the end of divers lives on more than one occasion, usually involving switches to high oxygen content tanks at depths over maximum operating depths.

Valves

North American valves have a safety feature called a burst disk. That disk, located behind the outlet is designed to release overpressure inside the tank in case of an fire of the tank being left in intense heat. That safety feature can be a potential problem with failing burst disk releasing all the breathing gas at once, specially if no isolator is used. Some diver plug the burst disk completely or use a higher burst pressure disk in order to avoid that potential problem. Other divers use valves made in Europe, where burst disks are unknown.

Knobs

Valves are the gateway from the high pressure gas inside the tank to the first stage and should be treated as a piece of life support equipment. While most valves come with soft rubber valve knobs some other materials are used such as hard plastic or even metal knobs. The advantage of the softer rubber knobs is that hey do not have the potential of shattering upon impact to a wreck wall or cave ceiling but absorb some of the shock and stay in place. Rubber knobs have a much better grip on almost any surface and with that the potential roll shut of a valve is much higher when diving in overhead environments such as caves or wrecks, and after each contact it is imperative to check the valve and make sure it remains in the fully open position. Metal knobs upon impact can bent and make it impossible to turn the valve and or break off the stem due to the inability to absorb some of the shock. Metal knobs and hard plastic knobs do not have as much grip and somewhat reduce the roll shut scenario but have the other above mentioned potential disadvantages.

K – Valve

The regular K-valve is the simple on – off valve with a single outlet to attach a single first stage to it. While these valves are simple and common around the world they do not offer the option of attaching a second first stage to it, and with it do not have the redundancy of dual outlet valves such as the Y or H-valve. K-valves are no suitable for cold water diving, cavern, cave or wreck diving applications.

H and Y – Valve

The H or Y-valve has two outlets to accommodate two first stages. On either first stage is a second stage attached and both valves are open at all times. If a free flow or complete regulator failure occurs the diver is in the position to self rescue him or herself in order to return safely to the surface. Cold water or ice diving with its potential for regulator freeze up, cavern or cave diving including wreck diving with overhead environments can not be dived without the use of a dual outlet valve for redundancy.

Manifold

The manifold was designed to access two tanks with one regulator two avoid the necessity of changing regulator regularly and the potential of a diver forgetting the change of regulator with the result of the diver having one tank empty and the other full, loosing all his or her redundancy in the breathing gas supply. The first manifold had only one outlet, allowing only one first stage to be attached, not allowing any redundancy in regulators and air supply.

In most double tank dual valve manifold systems, the left valve turns off in the direction of travel (counterclockwise) and in case the valve handle is bumped during the dive against the cave or wreck ceiling it is possible that the forward momentum could shut the gas supply off, leaving the regulator without gas supply. Every contact between any object and the tank valves must be investigated and the fully opened valve position must be assured.

The breathing gas delivery system features a dual outlet valve with two first stages and two second stages. One first stage has to have a 7 foot / 2 meter hose, attached to the right post. One SPG on the left post and one inflator hose on the right post are needed and are divided between the two first stages minimizing a situation both ( SPG and inflator ) are lost at the same time if that regulator had to be shut down. Common sense tells us in event of a emergency requiring a regulator shutdown the dive should be terminated. If the divers are adhering to the rule of thirds, there will be enough gas to return to the surface and an extra pressure gauge is not needed.

200 Bar and 300 Bar threads are in common use the 300 Bar thread is coming from a development in Europe where the trend and tendency is to smaller tanks with a higher pressure while in North America the trend and tendency is to larger, high volume and low pressure tanks which are often over filled. Many diver feel that the longer 300 Bar connection and thread is giving a better seat and connection, which is not necessary until the tanks are filled to 300 Bars.

Isolator or not

The isolator valve, located in the middle of the manifold enables the diver to isolate the two tanks in case of an catastrophic failure such as a burst disk failure or a tank neck / valve o-ring. In case of such an event the isolator valve is to be closed, the dive to be terminated and the diver is to breathe as long as possible form the leaking and depleting air supply, then change over to the isolated remaining tank and if the breathing gas supply is not sufficient ultimately starts sharing breathing gas via the long hose with one of his dive partners. If no isolator manifold is used the complete breathing gas supply will be lost and gas sharing has to be commenced at once, denying the diver self rescue capabilities.

The way an isolator valve can safe our life it can be a potential risk when closed in moment it should be open. During tank filling or breathing gas blending operations the isolator has to be open not to only half fill the double tanks but to avoid the creation of toxic breathing gases when filling oxygen and or helium into only one tank and the air for the blending process into the other. When the pressure is checked a full tank could be the result but breathing could be commenced of the wrong tank with the hypoxic or hyperoxic breathing mixture.

During or before a dive the isolator could be closed involuntarily or just be forgotten to be opened again during the pre-dive valve shut down drill. Such a closed isolator can lead, and had led to deadly accidents. If a diver closed his isolator he will breathe only from his or her right tank. The SPG is not connected to the right post tank but the left post regulator, and will not change its pressure during the dive. This is a very serious situation and the diver should realize that he has not an excellent day on air consumption, but has forgotten to open the isolator and is not using any gas from the left tank. On occasions where divers select to have the SPG connected to the same tank as the breathing regulator the tank pressure may fall to fast, not because the breathing rate is extremely bad this day but because the isolator is closed. Needless to say one must check his SPG often and take the right conclusions and actions from the information collected, and a confirmation of an completely open isolator before entering the water can avoid potential problems.

Regulators

While divers spend a great deal of money, time and commitment to get the best training possible it is amazing to see that there are a lot of dives out there who use inferior regulators and do not see the point of the regulator being life support equipment in a otherwise hostile environment. It is the regulators that deliver our breathing gas to us from our tanks and as we progress from recreational to advanced forms of diving with limited or no access to the surface, or changing diving environments from moderate to cold water diving we must reconsider our choice of regulators.

Regulators fall into a variety of categories ranging from a primary regulator that is our main regulator we are breathing from, to the secondary regulator or backup regulator that is hanging on a bungee around the divers neck, to the stage regulator used on stage tanks to extend cave penetration or extending bottom time to the decompression tank regulator who is used for nitrox mixtures or pure oxygen up to argon regulators used to feed argon from small tanks into our dry suits to enhance thermal comfort.

Each one of these regulators has his own specific requirements regarding balanced or unbalanced first stage or second stage, oxygen clean or not and second stages that can be adjusted or not. Downstream type regulators are preferred over upstream type regulators and all hoses should be interchangeable without any special hose or connector diameter. The use of 90 degree turn pieces is discouraged to prevent restriction in gas flow along with any type of adapter that is going in-between a hose connector and first or second stage.

In an extreme emergency one can breathe from the BCD while inflating the BCD with the power inflator and breathe the gas coming from the right post tank valve. A rare case of closing the left control knob while being in contact with a cave or wreck ceiling and then breaking the valve control know off would still enable us to have access to this last resort while accessing the right post valve and low pressure inflator hose including the ability to inflate the BCD while sharing gas with the long hose.

Balanced versus Non Balanced

First or second stages are either balanced or unbalanced. A balanced regulator is compensated for the environmental pressure and it takes the same effort to take a breath if the tank is either full or empty. Balanced first stages are a must for advanced forms of diving such as wreck, technical or cave diving with a choice of adding the breathing comfort of a balanced second stage. The extra performance and comfort comes with a price and more complexity in the design of balanced first or second stages. The balanced regulators provide ease of breathing with maximum performance while unbalanced regulators are less performing but of a more durable design.

Piston versus Diaphragm

Named after their internal design and working principle the first stages do either have a piston or a diaphragm that is in contact with the ambient pressure and water in order to regulate the intermediate pressure and gas flow to the second stage. Cold water divers prefer diaphragm first stages due to a higher resistance of regulator freeze up while other divers prefer the diaphragm first stage for the ease of gas delivery. While piston regulators have a tendency to freeze up easier in cold water conditions the manufacturers offer anti freeze kits to prevent that problem successfully.

Hoses

Hoses should be of the exact custom length for the individual diver with high quality materials used and providing maximum gas flow. The hoses must be checked regularly and replaced as soon as any wear or tear manifest itself.

The second stage hose of recreational divers is usually 32 ‘’ while many diver find that it is easier to share gas when the donating diver is using a 5-7 foot / 1.5-2 Meter hose instead of the 40‘’ regular octopus hose when using the Hogarthian configuration based on the long hose looping under the waist band or under the primary light if one is used.

If participating in more advanced forms of diving such as wreck, technical or cave diving a 7 foot / 2 Meter long hose is a must when the divers either have to swim or scooter any horizontal distance, are engaged in decompression diving or have to pass through small passages and being forced into single file. Any shorter hose then 7 feet / 2 meters will not allow the divers to facilitate an effective and proficient gas sharing, and exit while passing through restrictions.

The primary regulator has a clip attached with a break away connection, close to the end of the long hose right next to the second stage. If the long hose is not in use during decompression when using another regulator and breathing gas or during an out of gas situation and gas sharing operation the long hose is clipped of to the right chest d-ring to prevent entanglement, regulator and environmental damage.

When diving in double tanks the primary long hose regulator is coming of the right hand post enabling the user to get the full length of the hose out for singe file exits. Of that same right hand post is coming the inflator hose, crossing behind our head to the left and feeding the BCD inflator. The left hand post is accommodating the short hose backup regulator, crossing behind our head to the right and coming over our arm below our chin to be attached to a bungee cord necklace hanging around our neck. The same left hand post is accommodating the pressure gauge hose leading down to  our waist band d-ring.

The advantage of having the long hose on the right post beyond getting the full length out of it is the fact that the right post control knob is rolling open and if breaking off in the open position it will stay open with the long hose enabled. If the left post rolls shut and possibly breaks off when diving close to a ice, wreck or cave ceiling with the long hose is attached to it, the left post will stay close and the long hose will be lost to the team. Gas sharing scenarios where the out of air diver will most likely leading out, passing a restriction there is no way for the out of air diver to signal the donor behind him that he is out of air, and drowning will result.

DIN versus Yoke

There are two ways to connect a first stage the tank valve, one is the DIN ( Deutsche Industrie Norm ) and the second one is the Yoke or A clamp. The Yoke connector is used mainly by recreational divers due to ease of use but has the disadvantage that this connection often leaks gas and is not as streamlined as the DIN connector due to its large clamp surrounding the valve. The o-ring of the Yoke connection is located on the tank valve being subject to much more abuse then the DIN o-ring. The DIN connector is a very streamlined design and construction with the o-ring located inside the first stage stem connector and when assembled is embedded inside the valve for maximum o-ring sealing and protection.

Pressure Gauge

Following the concept of streamlining, keeping it clean, gear and environmental protection the best place for the pressure gauge is for the hose to come down from the left post, having the exact length to connect and be clipped into the left waist d-ring. This configuration provides the cleanest and most protective approach. Some divers prefer to have the pressure gauge coming under the arm and clipping it into the left or right shoulder d-ring to facilitate the reading of the gauge specially with a lot of additional gear and stage tanks. The use of two pressure gauges is over-redundancy and not needed since we will abort the dive inside turn around pressures including reserve volumes. All a second pressure gauge does is creating more failure points in our life support system. Any boot or console increases drag and a greater chance of environmental impact or entanglement.