GUE F 'What a way to spend Easter'

[Frankie Price]

Club diving for me, although still very enjoyable and rewarding had reached a point where in order to get more variety and experience I was doing increasing numbers of dives with YD'ers than with my club divers. This culminated in my completing the TDI advanced nitrox and deco procedures last year with Mark Powell. This was a very tough, thorough and enjoyable course which taught me a lot about my own limits as well as all of the disciplines required for safe decompression diving.
It was after completing this course that I started asking myself if there was anything more I could add to my diving portfolio to both extend the enjoyment and increase my skills further.
Then while browsing the YD boards I spotted Mal Bridgeman's post about his discover DIR day.
So last November having been in touch with Mal about his DIR day, I turned up at Gildenburg and met the crowd. (Too numerous to mention but you all know who you are) There then followed a very enjoyable and informative day of diving and briefings encompassing many demonstrations of kit, drills and skill techniques both above and below water. The day finished on a high note in the cafe over hot drinks and the usual YD banter.
During the day I had the pleasure of diving with Clare Gledhill, having asked her about the skills required when using SMB and spool having only ever used a reel before. Clare then proceeded at the end of our dive (having loaned me one of her spares) to demonstrate the technique involved in deployment using a spool. She made it look that simple, I thought what a piece of cake, so Clare signald to me to get on with my deployment which prompted me to present her with a 'just watch me show you how it's done' smug look. I then proceeded to balls it up big style with all watching on as Clare tried to ease the situation and reduce the collateral string damage. A moment, I'm sure, that was engrained in her memory for some time.
After the dive a very humble Frankie handed Clare back her spool and aknowledged that there was room for improvement.(Loads of room)
At this point I indicated my interested in doing the GUE F course and asked Clare to send details of her 2008 programme. I then duly signed up for the course at Stoney Cove from 21st till 24th March.

Before attending the course ther are several registration details to be completed on line and worksheets and information sheets to download. Early March was taken up with study and reading prior to the course.

Day (1)
The day arrives and at 08:45 I turn up at Willowmead Guest House in Sapcote to meet Clare, Al and Fiona for a 09:00 start. Al is the safety diver plus video operator and Fiona is our surface cover. James, one of the other participants, is also there. We wait for Ben and Nevill to arrive to complete the student foursome.
The course kicks of promptly once the other two arrive and we are soon engrossed in lectures covering the underlying principles and philosophies of GUE safe diving and were we as recreational divers fit in. We break for lunch before the afternoon session which takes us into more detail about buoyancy, trim, dive planning and teams as well as covering topics that will be given more detail later in the course. The afternoon session is concluded with a trip to the local swimming pool to do our fitness tests comprising a
15m underwater swim and a surface swim of 12 lenghths in under 14 minutes. This is followed by finning techniques practice, much to the ammusement of the local kids in the swimming pool.
We all complete the swims satisfactorily and feel a sense of achievement. After the pool we grab a meal before returning to the guest house to do some evening studying prior to the next day's dives.

Day (2)
The plan is to get two cars at the water's edge so being Saturday and knowing Stoney I decide I will take my car down and join the queue at 05:00. Ben brings his car and follows me to the gates where we are in first and second position. We are alone till 05:50 when another car arrives. I've never seen Stoney so quiet on a Saturday before. Mind you it was -2 deg C. After parking up I have a quick word with our very own YD chocolate specialist warmwater diver who is there to try out a new toy.
So me and Ben then return to the guest house for breakfast and some more lectures after which it is back down to Stoney to start dive 1.
Dive 1 is more of a lets get wet and check basic skills but in my case it turns out to be time to get very wet. On getting into my dry suit I had zipped up then instead of pulling the collar while squeezing out the air I'd opened up my shoulder dump and forced it out that way which resulted in a very leaky shoulder during the dive. So dive 1 sees me flapping about like an open water novice while Clare is doing demos on finning technique, trim and buoyancy control. I got the distinct feeling I was not impressing her in the slightest. Well at least regs out and mask off went quite well. Al is filming and fortunately misses most of my faffing but I finish the dive feeling like an utter newby and have a dread that things could get worse on the second dive with a suit full of water. After a full debrief we get some hot food and a drink before the second dive brief. I also get chance to fix my shoulder dump.
Dive 2 starts by looking at all of the issues from dive 1 including those strange bits of equipment that seem to have grown on our kit over the years for no logical reason. Following some serious fettling we are ready to get wet again and we are introduced to the GUE EDGE drills in detail before entring the water. We start with a dscent and hover at 3m before descent to the bottom. This time I am more in control and am able to perform the finning and buoyancy while gaining some self respect. After what seems like no time the cold sets in and we complete the last of our finning before a controlled ascent and exit. On the surface after changing we go through the debrief and more reconfig of kit. After returning to the guest house we have chance to study our in water video footage which helps highlight some of the finning and trim issues we have. After a very constructive session and some possitive feedback from Clare I start to feel a little bit less like a muppet and more like a diver again. Then off to the Mill for a meal and some more reflections on the day's performance.

Day (3)
The plan is to get the cars down to the water early again so Ben and I set off at 06:00 expecting to be in the usual Sunday morning mayhem that is Stoney. We get down the drive to find there's only 8 cars waiting to get in, possibly due to the fact it is now snowing quite hard and the Stoney driveway is becoming a ski slope. We just manage to get moving at 06:30 as a large van slides sideways down the drive. What a way to start a day!
We park up an head back to the B&B for breakfast and lectures which are now including S drill as well as GUE EDGE. We practice S drills with our backplates and regs on but I am concerned that once under water my mind will go blank and I'll end up in muppet land again. However, after about a dozen times the drills really do sink in (fortunately). By the time we get back to Stoney we discover that they had to close it at 07:00 due to the snow so as we arrive there are only about a dozen cars there.
Dive 3 starts with kit config check then S drill practice valve drill briefing and GUE EDGE. We assemble at the slipway and can feel that this is now more into proper diving following the previous day's shake down. We do the GUE EDGE and enter the water doing a controlled descent to the platform where Clare demo's a shut down before we are invited to do the same. Al is busy filming it all for us. (no pressure I assure you) I think I manage a reasonable shut down and Ben my buddy seems ok but we seem to have lost the platform which is why Clare and Al are doing their best to hurd us back to where we started. The next shut down is better as I am now starting to focus on my finning technique to hold position. then follows the S drill which to my surprise has fixed in my memory and it goes quite well. We do a bit more fin practice then are forced to thumb the dive and do a controlled ascent due to the cold. All in all not as bad a dive as dive 1 but still room for improvement. Lunch and debrief follows which highlights a few more areas of concern.
Dive 4 is to be more of the same with deco stops at the end. I feel a bit less stressed and more relaxed at the start which helps with all of the drills, skills and shut downs. We all seem to have relaxed to the point that there is a semblance of control about what we are doing. However I manage to tuck mu umbilical over my primary hose during switch to back up torch just as Clare goes out of gas. By the time I got gas to Clare she had moved on and was ready to start the next bit of the dive. I get the impression though that this is the calm before the storm of day 4. The day is completed with more lectures and video analysis before a trip to the Mill for food. The evening then concludes with four students trying to complete the exam papers started on Friday evening.

Day (4)
Plan is for 2 dives which will bring together all of what we have learned on the previous dives and lectures. We all arrive in convoy at Stoney having vacated the B&B and prepare for the dives. Meet a few more YD'ers who had been blown out on their Soth Coast dives.
Dive 5. There will be no demo's or hand holding today. We kit up like a team and assemble at the slipway ready for the off but one of the divers, Nevill seems a little bit out of it. On this dive we will be getting everything as smooth as possible and looking like we know what we are doing. However, during my S drill I receive a freeflowing regulator from my buddy which sticks a spanner in the works and means that having clipped off my first stage I go onto my back up reg instead of my primary. And at this point Clare is again out of gas, I try to donate my back up and then try to yank my first stage off its clip to donate during which Clare is beside me with no reg in her mouth. A typical cluster f*ck caused by one little freeflow. I somehow manage to perform my switch to back up torch OK and then things settle down a bit. The dive is completed to plan and we ascend for debrief. At this point it is obvious that Nevill will not take part in dive 6 but will only help out with the dive plan. The dive plan is completed, gas calculated running order agreed.
Dive 6. The brief is to buddy up as a team of three comprising Ben, James and me, do a full GUE EDGE then enter the water, descend in a three while under full control and carry out our drills and shut downs. I am leading the dive and once we have completed drills the plan is to head down to 15m send up the SMB then ascend to plan. Following drills I signal to the rest or the team that we are going to proceed with the dive to 15m, get the OK and then I shoot off like a thing possesed leaving the other two behind. I can't see their torches so turn round just to be able to make out two silhouettes in the gloom both with primary light failure. Back ups are deployed and we then proceed at a better pace down to 15m but only get to 13.5m due to a gang of divers doing some sort of 'lets see how much crap we can kick up' routine. Our team settled at 13.5 and experienced an out of air so priorities changed and I sent up the SMB and Ben led the ascent. We managed to hit our ascent times within 45 seconds so I think all came good in the end despite my taking more interest in my reel and string than my out of air buddies for the staret of the ascent. Once at the surface I get a strange feeling of 'well that was my final shot at it and I could have done better' and we all proceed to the side where Fiona greets us with her warm and positive presence.
We do a quick change and load then head over to the Mill for our final debrief. Following some hot food we each are invited individually to find out the result of our course.
I am third in line to receive the results from Clare of my four days of hard graft and am being overly critical of my performance by dwelling on my shortfalls. Clare gives me her evaluation and then tells me I've achieved a recreational pass. I am absolutely delighted. A great end to a superb course.
So what have I learned from the course?
Firstly there is no substitute for good practice and training.
Secondly when pushed to the limit during stressful underwater situations the less thinking time needed improves reaction times.
Thirdly there is always something new to learn about diving.
I enjoyed the GUE F course and learned more about my abilities as a diver but most of all it has given me something else to focus on regarding my overall skills development.
Many thanks to Clare, Al and Fiona for making it such an enjoyable though tough course and also thanks to my three buddies.
What a way to spend Easter? Better than sitting on my fat arse at home eating chocolate eggs.

[warmwaterdiver]

edited!

[Frankie Price]

Originally Posted by warmwaterdiver

errrr, its still March Frankie

Thanks Gary, the course has pickled my brain.

[wilbo]

Well done Frankie..

[sailorbuoy]

Well Done !

A very useful read as i have been investigating this for September... thanks

[yazzyfooty]

Thanks Frankie for your indepth break down of your Fundies. It certainly takes the mystery out of DIR practical skills.

Congratulations on your recreational pass!

[weazelz]

congratulations Frank!

are the new fins on order yet?

[Prometheus]

Originally Posted by Frankie Price

Thanks Gary, the course has pickled my brain.

I thought it might be the wack round the ear from a fin?.

[Ding Dang Doo]

Thanks for sharing this with us, Mr. P!

Great read, very interesting.

Pete

[thehappychappy]

Well done, now I am even more worried, I'm due up in less than four weeks now....