MDG Dive Leader Training Schedule

Aim

To equip a diver with the extra knowledge and skills to lead a group of divers to dive safely underwater

Basic qualifications required

Desirable qualifications

Time limit

There is no formal minimum or maximum time to complete the tasks

Details of qualification

  1. Lifeguard poolside training on 5 occasions
  2. Give two lectures on 3rd class certificate course (basic kit, scuba kit, navigation, dive planning, resuscitation, gas laws and pressure effects). Preview lectures with D.O. or the 'normal lecturer' first. (It is useful to have that lecturer sit in to provide support and background in at least one lecture.)
  3. Provide dive logs to Dive Officer to detail the above dives
  4. Attend lectures on the following:
    • Navigation at sea, winds and tides.
    • Boat handling.
    • Emergency use of ship to shore radio
    • Technical diving, kit configuration, principles of rebreathers and nitrox diving (to understand differences, benefits, and dangers from air diving).
    • Diving first aid and medicine (narcosis, barotraumas, hypothermia, decompression sickness).
    • Dive planning, decompression tables and algorithms, air usage and consumption
    • Assessment of fitness to dive h. Risk assessment of dive planning
    • Wreck diving, the receiver of wrecks
    • Underwater navigation, salvage and search methods
  5. Plan and lead 3 dives, under supervision, writing a dive plan and risk assessment and log for each (covering points of safety)
  6. Rescue a kitted diver from 15m, demonstrating non buoyant ascent control, use of octopus and buddy breathing, towing, E. A. R. on the way in, assessment of casualty on landing and disposal.

 

Lecture plans

The following major points should be presented in the lectures. Each talk should last approximately 40 min, and no longer than 1hour because of attention span.

A handout should be provided. Sources include the SAA teaching file, held by D.O. and Boat Handling Instructor, the diving manuals and magazines. The handout should be kept on the MDG server for future use.

Some are like the 3rd class diver others more detailed.

Basic Kit

  1. Mask, different types, silicone/black rubber, correct fit, volume, lens, tempered glass, optical correcting
  2. Fins, slipper/open shoe, types, split/traditional, fining techniques (no cycling, different kicks for use in silty environments
  3. Snorkel, simple, length, role of valves, use especially vital in open water and the sea
  4. Weight belts, types, block/shot, belt/harness/integrated, ankle, discuss method of achieving correct buoyancy (fully kitted, 50 bar, should float at nose level with half breath, sink on exhalation and float on inhalation)
  5. Suits, wet/semi-dry/dry, membrane/neoprene/compressed neoprene, pros/cons of each. Environmental protection, heat loss, buoyancy change, roles of each type of suit
  6. Knives

Scuba kit

  1. Regulators, sealed/unsealed, mechanism (piston/diaphragm), role of 1st and 2nd stages, warm/cold water, heat exchangers, guide to buying
  2. Alternative regulator, octopus, must perform at least as well as primary
  3. Cylinders, single or twin sets, volumes and working pressures, what the stamping means round the collar, rules for testing, O2 annually and air every 2.5 years
  4. Cylinder valves, single or H type, twin-set manifolds, open or closed
  5. Stab jackets/wings, fit, buoyancy, durability, Buddy system or not
  6. Alternative air sources, twin sets/pony
  7. Redundancy/bail out
  8. Dive tables/computers
  9. Compressors and how they work
  10. Others, EPIRBS, flares, reels, SMB's, torches, spare mask, lifting bags, cameras etc

Navigation

  1. Use of compass, taking of bearings, swimming using compass
  2. Cheating or common sense? Use of the environment, rock formations, the change in sea bed depth, marks in the sand from tidal action, ambient light, orientation of ship wrecks
  3. Knowledge of tidal flow in the area of dive, whether in or out, expected speed of flow, time of tide changes
  4. Use of charts
  5. Affect of winds
  6. Knowledge of what may lead to false compass readings, magnetic fields
  7. If at sea times of diving, departures and returns, routes. Knowledge of means to contact Coastguard by radio or mobile telephone
  8. Search patterns using spirals, grids, towed lines

Resuscitation

  1. Review of basic physiology, how gases are carried around the body, why they are transported, the function of blood, haemoglobin, lungs, heart and one- way flow in circulatory system.
  2. Basic anatomy of airways from mouth to alveolus, heart, arteries, veins and capillaries, valves, oesophagus and stomach (as pertains to airway protection)
  3. ABC of resuscitation, why it helps
  4. Basic scenarios with one two or multiple rescuers, including near drowning, diver rescue, collapse in the street, management of the scene, calling for help, disposal of casualty, coping with the aftermath
  5. Practical experience of resuscitation on manikins to be performed by each candidate for a minimum of 3min along with role-play in the scenarios.

Diving physics and pressure effects

  1. Gas laws: Boyles, Charles, Pressure Temperature, Henry's
  2. Pressure effects on gas consumption
  3. Effects of temperature on the diver, increase in gas consumption, anxiety, narcosis etc with cold
  4. Effects pressure on the diver in gas filled body cavities (ears, sinuses, lungs, stomach and bowel), gas solubility in tissues and blood
  5. Dive tables and computer use for multiple dive profiles including square, stepped, and multiple daily dives. Show worked examples

Diving and Medical Emergencies

  1. Barotrauma to ears and sinuses, nausea, vertigo, pain
  2. Burst lung (pneumothorax), breathlessness, fear, chest pain
  3. Arterial gas embolism, stroke type picture
  4. Decompression sickness, when to suspect it and what to do about it, signs and symptoms, oxygen use and rehydration
  5. Gas poisoning, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, oxygen and nitrogen
  6. Dehydration
  7. Drowning
  8. Unconscious casualty
  9. Traumatic injury
  10. Injury from environment, stings, cuts, bites
  11. How to use diving kit as supports and dressings

Dive planning

  1. Know local environment and water conditions
  2. Know how to obtain emergency assistance if required
  3. Know depths and currents and underwater hazards
  4. Plan dive using tables with a deeper and a longer back up, show worked examples
  5. Show how to work out gas consumption eg, swimming at 10m for 10min in a straight line, measuring average gas consumption
  6. Assess gas consumption and compare to volume in cylinders
  7. Ensure all divers are well and sufficiently experienced
  8. Ensure surface cover is in place
  9. Make plans for dive duration and what to do if separated
  10. Plan the dive and dive the plan

 

The following lecture plans are for the more advanced Dive Leader qualification but there is much overlap and revision that may occur In doing talks one's confidence can be improved, as is one's leadership ability, the core of this qualification, along with a greater knowledge base

 

Navigation at Sea

This is to give the diver an understanding not a licence, such that in an emergency the diver is able to help

  1. Principles of latitude and longitude
  2. Effect of winds, currents and tides
  3. Plotting a course
  4. Estimating position
  5. Chart work
  6. Navigating in and out of ports including restrictions
  7. Symbols on charts and restrictions, rights of way
  8. Use of ship to shore radio, GPS etc
  9. Weather, forecasting, sea states

 

Boat Handling

  1. Launching and recovery of a rib
  2. Basics of engine, fuel and oil requirements
  3. Inflation of pods to correct pressure
  4. Emergency equipment, water, food, radio, flares, EPIRB, oxygen, oars, clothing
  5. Knowledge of anchors, ropes and knots
  6. Use of depth sounder, radio to call for emergency assistance
  7. Navigation in in-shore setting including ports
  8. Practical experience in boats, ideally boat-handling course
  9. The hard boat:
    • Entry technique, often a high step in, keep kit tight to body, no loose objects to snag on the boat or hit the diver, e.g. a torch striking a face, holding mask and regulator in place
    • Note the risk of free flow of regulator
    • Note shot buoy and secondary (smaller) buoy. This indicates current flow, one should enter upstream of the main buoy take care not to get tangled in the secondary buoy line
    • Large boats have limited manoeuvrability; on surfacing use the shot line or SMB. Allow oneself to drift away from the main shot prior to being picked up to avoid the propeller becoming entangled, noting the whereabouts of other divers
    • Do not wait to be picked up by undersea obstructions (wrecks, reefs etc.)

 

Technical Diving

Perhaps over 2 lectures or one longer one To understand issues associated with technical diving as an introduction and in the case that the buddy is using technical diving equipment or techniques

  1. Nitrox, its use in reducing narcosis, depth limitation, oxygen toxicity risks, equivalent air depths, its role in accelerated decompression
  2. The requirement for oxygen clean equipment
  3. Twin-sets, side slung decompression and travel gases. When these gases may be used for bailout or gas changes should take place.
  4. Kit configuration to simplify and streamline
  5. The theory of redundancy in diving, how much is enough?
  6. A description of saturation diving
  7. Re-breathers, fully closed like the Buddy Inspiration or partially closed like the Draeger and now Ndiver systems, the principle of optimising oxygen and nitrogen partial pressures to reduce decompression times or limit oxygen toxicity at depth, the dependency on multiple oxygen sensors, twin computers, and careful technique as a lethal gas mix is often not detected until too late. The need to change the carbon dioxide scrubbing compound regularly and that changes in inspiration do not lead to changes in buoyancy because of the counter lung design. The risk of salt water + soda lime reaction which leads to toxic chemicals being inhaled and the need to prevent water entering the system.
  8. The concerns with longer dives associated with dehydration, fatigue and cold.
  9. Basic rope signals (found in older BSAC training manual)

 

Wreck or Penetration Diving

Basic principles only, the club is not a cave diving club but realises that occasionally enclosed spaces may be entered.

  1. Know anticipated duration of penetration and depths to calculate gas consumption before starting. Work on rule of thirds.
  2. Lay line carefully
  3. Avoid disturbing silt, use correct fining technique
  4. Configure kit appropriately as it may not be possible to twist or turn to reach equipment as normal
  5. Torches of sufficient power and duration plus reserve
  6. Be aware of the risk of cave ins
  7. Never exceed your experience or comfort zone
  8. Know that wrecks steadily deteriorate and that current may be different on different sides of the wreck preventing escape
  9. Wrecks have sharp surfaces which can injure, damage equipment or cut lines
  10. Work in pairs, have contingency plans
  11. Do not remove artefacts unless permission is obtained and report as required to the Receiver of Wrecks
  12. Use of lifting bags and tools underwater should this be required in the emergency situation

 

First Aid

This is a review of the earlier lecture on diving and medicine

  1. Barotrauma to ears and sinuses, nausea, vertigo, pain
  2. Burst lung (pneumothorax), breathlessness, fear, chest pain
  3. Arterial gas embolism, stroke type picture
  4. Decompression sickness, when to suspect it and what to do about it, signs and symptoms, oxygen use and rehydration
  5. Gas poisoning, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, oxygen and nitrogen
  6. Dehydration
  7. Drowning
  8. Unconscious casualty
  9. Traumatic injury
  10. Injury from environment, stings, cuts, bites
  11. How to use diving kit as supports and dressings

 

Dive Planning

In principle this includes all the information from the previous lecture, reprinted below, however there are some important other factors and responsibilities

  1. Know local environment and water conditions
  2. Know how to obtain emergency assistance if required
  3. Know depths and currents and underwater hazards
  4. Plan dive using tables with a deeper and a longer back up
  5. Assess gas consumption and compare to volume in cylinders
  6. Ensure all divers are well and sufficiently experienced
  7. Ensure surface cover is in place
  8. Make plans for dive duration and what to do if separated
  9. Plan the dive and dive the plan
    • When in charge of a group, especially if relatively in-experienced, the plan must be re-inforced.
    • No individual should be diving without a buddy and the dive should be appropriate for both divers
    • Times in and out should be logged
    • Briefing and de-briefing should take place
    • All divers should be fit and well, all should have self-certified and in doubt a medical referee should be involved
    • Oxygen should be available and the means to call for emergency support

Shore cover should be maintained If in any doubt about the dive or the divers' ability it is the dive leader's responsibility to abort. If this is ignored on a club dive the diver who does so will face an enquiry. This is to protect all involved.