phase two weeks 8 & 9 ( all finnished )

[spongebobb]

here we go wks 8 ,9 at long last , better late then never ...
week 8 deep diving phase .
day 1 , started by having to move our beloved dive vessel " the sleat " out of the holy loch onto the clyde at kirn . today was just a descent down a shot line to the cage set at 40 mtrs , with a little bottom time .
day 2 , was a 50 mtrs dive with a task to do at the bottom , this was a box assembly .... sounds easy enough , the box consisted of 6 steel plates , lengths of threaded bar with nuts on to assemble the said box !!! jees there was some wierd boxes !!!
day 3 , another 50 mtrs , but this one was just doing nothing but being there . today was also the usual end of course exam , which happily we all passed .
day 4 , back to the holy loch and for a go on the hot water suits , and wet bell ( the wet bell is next wk on top up )
the suits OH MY GOD , WOW , these suits have hot water running through them , its like diving in a hot water bottle , they are marvelous !!! these suits have a valve on the hip , this valve has pipes running down both legs , both arms , and one running up to your hood.
hot water is pumped from the boat to the wet bell via the main umbilical , then through to the divers umbilical to the suit , TOASTIE WARM ... MARVELOUS ... that is until your buddy turns your valve off , OH HOW WE LAUGHED !!!
day 5 , day off for good behaviour , no only kidding , but as we had done all our dives and passed the exam we got a deserved day off ( drinks all round then )
week 9
this week is surface supplied top up ( the old part 1 )
the wk involved a combination of operating and running the wet bell , tending divers from the wet bell , and lots and lots and lots of diver rescue,s from the wet bell and the surface . all scenarios were done under pressure , with us not knowing what was going to be thrown at us next . obviously without any of us getting confused or flustered !!!
my first rescue of my first day involved me ( after all hell breaking loose) having to inform the instructor that diver 1 was a cock !!! thinking that i had payed out enough umbilical to reach the casualty , found out i was 4 mtrs short !!! .... may i add a mistake never to be repeated !!! anyway after a very intense week and lots of practise , and guidance , we all became very proficient in all the aspects of wet bell use and rescue,s .
along with this we also had to run topside operations , all to standard . we did the obligatory exam and ... HEY HO part 1 / ss top up divers .
so to the end of a greatv 9 weeks ...
week 1 first aid at work
week 2 3 4 pro scuba / part 4
week 5 6 7 8 surface supplied / part 3
week 9 surface supplied top up / part 1

at this point i would like to thank all the instructors and staff at the p.d.a for a great 9 wks , their patience , guidance , advice , and their encouragement , thankyou .
also i would like to congratulate all the students of what was c.d.c 21 , the memories , the laughs , the highs and the lows ,i hope we may meet again in our and look back , WELL DONE FOLKS .
and now to work , my 1st week as a baby diver , black water in a pumping station nr scunthorpe , with a first dive of 150 mins ... I LOVED IT ...
stay tuned

[Kogeko]

Spongey,

Well done mate and thanx for the diary over the past few weeks, it's been interesting and handy to know how the training is run.

One thing i've been meaning to ask is. Is there anything you wished you'd done prior to going on your course.. As in rope/knot work, maths work, gas laws... etc?

Now that your qualified, how is work looking, are there many jobs out there for rookie divers? It's great to hear that you've landed your first job nr scunthorpe, as thats where i'm from....

Regards

Phil

[spongebobb]

hi phil ,
glad the diary has been of some use , its obviously just a brief overview of what goes on , on the course .
the stuff to learn before i went , well the diving theories and gas laws are the same , the knot thing is a yes !!! the more you can do the better . the biggest thing i can say is be prepared to treat the nine wks as a job ... be ready to learn and get stuck in , there is more to learn than just being underwater , the area i probably learnt most was topside operations , and to be fair this is where most of the work is done , the experience you get regarding working under the water is very small as you can imagine . the academy teaches you how to get in and be competent at rescues as well as being comfortable in / underwater . they do give you some experience of underwater tools , we did a week using lift bags , airlifts , chainsaws , brushcarts , and cygnus readers ( measures the metal thickness ) all great fun , the time in water varies from day to day , ranging from 20 mins to an hour , you will dive just about every day .
it is a good 9 weeks , but like i,ve been told over and over the best way to probably put it is , like doing your driving lessons and then your test , then having the licience to go and become a good driver !!!
diving is the same it gives you a licience to go and get the vital experience !!!
hope this helps some
if you want any more info just let me know ...

[Dangerous Dan]

Glad it went well SpongeBob.

Im up in Dunoon from mid August to mid september to do my surface supply course.

Really looking forward to it.

What accomodation did you stay in spongebob? And how was it?

Cheers,

Dan

[BigHairyAl]

Originally Posted by Kogeko

As in rope/knot work, maths work, gas laws... etc?

Buy a knot book and get good at it now. Nothing worse than turning up on a job filled with pride at being a commercial diver, then practically melting away into the ground when you spend 5 minutes trying to tie a simple knot with the supervisor watching you.

Seen it happen more than once.

[spongebobb]

dan we stayed in one of the log cabins at hunters quay holiday park ... this was after trying a week in one of the caravans !!! the less said about the caravan the better !!! nuff said ...
they may be better in the summer ???
the cabins wasnt cheap uless like we did and got 4 sharing , they worked out to be £60 p/wk each + electric , but they where bloody good value !!!

[stew]

well done spongey...
now the real learning begins...
good luck.

[Dr T]

yep anther nice addition to the diary.

keep us posted on how work goes and where you end up in the world

ash

[Kogeko]

Righty ho.. I've bought a knot book from smiths and 10m of rope. Since takin up the knot tieing i've had an unusual ammount of visits from my friends, asking if i'm ok? God only know why... Lol!!

Anyways, moving swiftly on, how is the job front looking? Is there much work out there?

Question for Al: I'm quite seriously considering doing my IMCA DMT, but as a rookie inshore diver is it gonna be a waste of cash? I can see why an offshore contractor would need med staff, but inshore the ambulance service rarely more than 10 mins away.. What's your thoughts??

3 months and counting until my course at PDA starts and i'm climbing the walls with anticipation....

Regards

Phil

[spongebobb]

hey up phil ,
the work front i cant really comment at the moment . i have been very lucky to have fallen into work with northern divers in hull . i was talking to them long before going to dunoon , and i also have a friend who works for them , a case of not what you know but who !!!
the general feeling is that there is work out there but i think you have to look for it ... it wont come to you ...
the dmt thing ... here you will be better speaking to some one who has done it , i thought it would be a good extra for the offshore gigs , not the civils ???
p.s hope your not squimish !!!