PADI Homepage (disable speakers first)
Back to Vance's Scuba Page | Return to Vance's Logbook contents
Next visit, start at http://www.netword.com and GO to netword "Vance Stevens"


Dive logs for Vance Stevens, P.A.D.I. Open Water SCUBA Instructor #64181

Abu Dhabi, February 17, 2000
Dives 330 and 331
previous page | next page

Diving with: AB Divers
Dive site: Ras Al Gharab

Dive buddies: Jamal and Dave Propst, Certified for Open Water
Others in dive party: Ed Chaffin certified for Advanced Open Water buddied with Caroline
Others at site: Ayleen, Ibrahim, Sanjay, some girls doing a rescue course

 

Sea condition: mild

Water temp: 21

Visibility: not too bad, 5 meters

Wetsuit combo: farmer john and 3 mm longsleeve top

Weight: needed 12 kg

 

Profile tracking chart

Planned time

Depth

PG

Actual time

Depth

PG

Pressure group in

1st dive of day

 

 

Air in: 200

 

 

Time at bottom (NDL)

()

 

 

 33 min

 8

 

Safety stop if necessary

Ed should have done a short practice stop

5 m

 

Air out: 100

 

 

Surface Interval

 

 

 

30 min

 

 

Pressure group in

Didn't check

 

 

Air in: 200

 

 

Time at bottom (NDL)

()

 

 

45 min

 8

 

 

 

 

 

Air out: 100

 

 

Training:

First dive, Advanced student Ed Chaffin did his UW Navigation for Advanced Certification. We had originally planned to have a buddy join him but Ed was the only diver to turn up on the day, so we planned to have him lead the open water divers.

The plan for one navigation diver leading was:

Run line out 30 meters, leave a marker, swim back, taking in line. Have the advanced candidate lead us back to marker and then return us to base (buoy line). Then the a/c would lead us out and back and finally in a square pattern. Only problem was if an o/w diver ran out of air.

Enter Caroline, an unbuddied lady who Ayleen asked if she could join us. I agreed and Ed had a buddy. Since he could then be independent, new plan was run line out 30 meters and take it in so Ed could count kicks and take time. I had Dave and Jamal doing exercises at base while Ed and Caroline went to the marker where I'd left two bags. They reappeared with one bag, perfect, the second was in case we got separated before we completed the square, so Ed could bring it back and I'd know he'd completed the exercise (this was the out-of-air contingency). Ed then led us on out and back north, and on return on the square pattern. Unfortunately, we never recovered the 2nd marker, so another piece of trash left at the bottom of the ocean. To atone for this crime, I at least returned from the second dive with a plastic cup, a masafi bottle, and another plastic bottle we found floating in the ocean.

OW training:

Dave and Jamal both did mask flood and oral bcd inflation first dive. Jamal did emergency swimming ascent (ESA) at end of first dive. On surface both divers did cramp removals, then compass swim out to bottle 50 meters out on surface, switched with other buddy leading swim. In both cases, trailing diver did snorkel reg exchange. Dave did 25 meter tired diver tow of Jamal back to boat. Both divers removed and replaced weight belts, then bcds.

Second dive, Dave and I descended first and dave did a 20 kick cycle compass heading underwater and returned perfectly to bouy. We then ascended on ESA, descended again, and repeated feat for perfection. Jamal joined us in the water at that point and we descended down anchor line to buoy and removed and replaced face masks. Jamal then led us south 30 cycles and back again perfectly. We swam over the reef and hovered on the other side. Dave was perfect, Jamal less so, but well in control of his bouyancy, so I signalled a dive and we did that till we got cold and Jamal was at 50 bar (Dave too, staggering entries was a good idea). We then ascended and Jamal towed Dave 25 meters, handshakes all around.

Comments:

These dives were in no way remarkable. I don't even recall the fish except for a few grunts and gobies. As training exercises they went very well. AB Divers are a personable lot, fun diving with them. I just wish I could use my GPS, since I never know where I am in relation to where I've been before.

 

Visits since January 22, 2000:

Use your browser's BACK button to return to a previous page

For comments, suggestions, or further information on this page, contact Vance Stevens, page author and webmaster.

Last updated: February 17, 2000