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Football players wear them. So do people competing in hockey, baseball, cycling and a myriad of other sports.
But divers wearing helmets? And being supplied with compressed air via a hose at the water surface that connects to their helmets? Who would have thought it?
During a recent Caribbean cruise I experienced this interesting twist on underwater exploration during a stop at Coral World Ocean Park in St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands. It is called “helmet diving.”
We boarded a bus in St. Thomas and were taken on a 40-minute drive on the wrong side of the road – at least what North Americans consider the wrong side — to our destination, which they called “the cove.” Among the other attractions at this facility are snorkelling, scuba diving and encounters with sea lions, sharks or turtles, to name a few. Equipment can be rented or purchased there.
The helmet diving base is a large round covered area. After a brief introduction that included instructions and the usual signing of a waiver absolving the facility of liability, gloves and water shoes were provided. We descended a ladder three steps into the water, where a white helmet was placed over our heads, resting on the shoulders. It was the receptacle for the compressed air that was pumped down from the surface.
The helmet, which featured a clear mask, was large enough to enable us to wear our glasses. That was a bonus in clear water where the visibility ranged from 30 to 40 feet. We were told to stay upright to prevent water from entering the helmet. Breathing was normal, but we had to purge our ears. The helmet weighed 70 pounds, but with the buoyancy created by the water we experienced a weight of just 15 pounds when we were below the surface.
Descending the final steps of the ladder to the ocean floor 20 feet beneath the surface in 81-degree Fahrenheit (27.2 Celsius) water, we began our helmet dive walk. Two scuba divers guided us on the 30-minute trip. An added safety measure was a chain along the route; we were told to hang on to because the water was fast moving.Unfortunately, one of our helmet divers had to leave the water after experiencing breathing difficulty. While it should not be a problem for most people, those who have breathing difficulties or who suffer from claustrophobia might not want to try it.
Of the five of us taking part in the helmet dive, I was the only one who scuba dives. It struck me that helmet diving is an excellent opportunity for those who do not wish to go the scuba route to see some of the underwater world that thrills divers. But in exposing helmet divers to that same visual experience – especially in the clear waters of the Caribbean – it is also a vehicle to attract new people to scuba.
I would highly recommend helmet diving to anyone thinking of getting into scuba diving, or to those who just want a glimpse into a diver`s world.
The SMB is for marking the location of something or someone. This could be marking the location of an object on the sea floor or marking the position of divers in the water. Lift bags are just that, they are made to lift objects. Many people use lift bags as marking devices, but as we will discuss, this is not the most optimal use for them.
Many SMBs will have different features. The biggest feature that a SMB can have is an over-pressure relief valve (OPV). The primary difference between a SMB and safety sausage is that a SMB will be deployed from depth. Whereas the safety sausage is deployed at the surface for signaling. As the SMB rises from depth, the gas trapped inside will expand. As the gas expands it will stress the stitching that holds the SMB together. If there isn’t some sort of mechanism to release this gas, then the expanding gas will rip apart the stitching of the SMB and releasing all of the gas. Thus rendering the SMB useless.
A device called HELP (Handheld Emergency Location Pinpointer)
The H.E.L.P. is the revolutionary dive flag that will give you that advantage and will be with you for all your dive seasons to come, providing an edge and peace of mind.
It’s easy to use, lightweight and strong and can be stored safely and easy accessed in your BCD or lifejacket and is extended to over 1500mm in a matter of seconds. No more fumbling on the tank to look for the dive flag that needs assembling (providing it hasn’t fallen off in the ascent).
Weighing less than 150 grams, the help can be waived for long period of times, seen from afar and rugged enough to take the pounding that dive equipment can be subjected to, the H.E.L.P. is the perfect addition to your safety equipment.
Using lift bags for marking have many different problems. I will discuss the three of the biggest problems. First, lift bags do not stand out of the water as SMBs do (on the surface). This limits how boats/surface support can see the bag. Second, most lift bags are open at the bottom. As SMBs and bags rise to the surface, they do not go straight up. Instead the twist and turn as the gas moves/expands inside them. With the open end on lift bags, this can cause the bag to lose gas as it twists and turns on the way up. If it loses enough gas, it will sink back down or it will not provide enough lift stay at the surface. The third big problem of using lift bags for marking is that once the bag gets to the surface, a large amount of gas will cause it to ride high in the water. As it does this, if not enough tension is put on the line, then the bag can fall on it’s side. This will cause the gas trapped inside the bag to escape out the open bottom. This can cause the bag to sink back down or not provide enough lift to properly mark the diver’s location. SMBs are closed, that is they do not have an open bottom. Therefore, it is not possible to lose gas out of the marker.
Other features of SMBs that are important are oral/power inflate and radar reflective tape. The inflation mechanism for SMBs should be orally inflated or inflated with a drysuit/wing inflation hose. If the SMB does allow for LP hose inflation, there should not be a locking mechanism (like on BCD or dry suit inflation nipples) on the SMB inflation nipple. This way if the SMB quickly starts to ascend, it will not be locked to the diver causing a runaway ascent for the diver and the hose will just pull away from the inflation nipple.
Radar reflective tape is also important. When the Coast Guard looks for lost divers in the water (both by boat and helicopter) they will have their radar going. Radar reflective tape is a piece of tape on the top of the SMB that will reflect a radar signal back to the source. Thus showing up on the Coast Guard’s radar screens. This will help the Coast Guard find the lost diver more quickly. Lastly, SMBs should provide enough lift such that divers cannot easily pull it back down to depth. Generally 25 lbs or more of lift is plenty.
As with many diving activities, deploying a SMB is a team effort. At a minimum, there should be at least one SMB per dive team. It is a good rule of thumb for every diver to carry a SMB. The steps to deploy a SMB as a team are below.
1) The dive leader will signal who should deploy the SMB.
2) The diver will signal to the team to watch them deploy the SMB
3) The diver shooting the SMB will pull the SMB and finger spool from their storage locations, generally in a diver’s dry suit pocket.
4) If the spool isn’t already attached to the SMB, the diver must attach it. Generally, most SMBs will have a small d-ring located on the bottom of them. Using the double ender of the finger spool as a weight, the diver will feed the double ender snap (with line attached) through the d-ring. Once through, the diver can pass the entire spool through loop of line at the end of the spool. Remove the double ender from the line and keep it on the right chest d-ring.
5) The diver should signal to a member of the team to look up to make sure that the SMB will not come into contact with another diver, boat, or other obstruction.
6) Once cleared to deploy, the diver should wrap up the spool, line and any access SMB material into one hand. Making sure that no materials, line, etc. are wrapped around fingers, dive gear, etc.
7) The diver should move into a slightly head down position. This makes recovering from a runaway SMB much easier as the diver will need to swim down to control the SMB.
8.) Holding the SMB and spool with the left hand, inflate the SMB till about half full. If you are orally inflating the SMB, take a normal breath, remove the regulator from your mouth with the right hand, blow a half breath into the SMB, repeat until the SMB is half full. You will want to avoid taking to deep of a breath or exhaling to much as it will change your buoyancy. If you are using a LP inflator, use the right hand to hold the LP hose and connect the SMB to the inflator hose. Pay careful attention to how fast the SMB is filling up so that you can remove the inflation hose to prevent the SMB from getting too full. I tend to avoid holding anything with the right had just in case I need to deploy the long hose in an emergency.
9) Once gas is in the SMB, hold the SMB in the left hand and the finger spool in the right hand. Verify that the knot/line attachment to the SMB (from the spool) is in place.
10) Let go of the SMB. As it rises, be careful as to not squeeze the finger spool to tightly. This could lead to a possible runaway ascent. The finger spool should gently unwind between the grasp of your fingers.
11) Once the SMB reaches the surface, extra tension should be put on the line in order to make the SMB stand straight up. To do this, wrap up the line on the finger spool 3 or 4 times.
12) You can lock the spool in place by removing the double ender snap from your right d-ring and clipping the line inside the double ender snap and through a hole in the spool. This will stop the line from unwinding from the spool.
As you move up the water column, you will need to wrap up the line on the spool till you get to the surface. Making sure you are keeping enough tension on the line to keep the SMB standing up out of the water, but not to much tension such that you pull the SMB back down. Due to the presence of line in the water. Diver awareness must be heightened to prevent any entanglements with the line. Also keep in mind that the diver who is managing the line now has only one hand free to respond to problems. So team awareness and communication is critical.
Knowing how to deploy a SMB is a critical skill for open water diving as this is a primary way to communicate with the boat/surface support. You should learn this as part of an Open Water class or Advanced Open water class. If you plan to do a lot of open water diving, such as in the Great Lakes or oceans, your proficiency with this skill must be excellent.
Thanks much for reading this far, feel free to post any questions or comments. Dang it, sign up for the newsletter or RSS fee, show us some love. . .
Life is pure, beautiful, genuine, and authentic. A blade of grass has no angst while it is growing. We live in an artificial construct called "society" that beats us, corrals us, imprisons us, and some of us, the very worst of us, transmogrify from fellow prisoners, to sadistic jailers.
As we are lulled into sleep by the “just fit in” crowd. And any of us outliers holding the keys to the prison are snuffed, pushed aside, or culled.
Welp, you cannot keep joy down.
Take a look:
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Want to know how you can control your own world and reality? Be genuine and authentic to others, but verbalize it and let the world know what you think of them it’s easier thank you imagine. . . .
As your dreamskeeper, and the arbiter of your inventory of desires. . . it was my hope that all your heartfelt wishes for 2009 all come true.
That you find yourself surrounded by friends, laughter, and good times.. . .
That your cup runneth over financially, romantically, spiritually, and creatively. . . .
That good health be your faithful companion, that peace be your guarded ally, and love your perpetual guide. . . .
When suddenly, it dawned on me that you my master. . . as an infinite, powerful, fun-loving gladiator of the Universe, with eternity before you and the power of your thoughts to help shape it. . . it is you. . . .
. . . you are the dreamskeeper who will wield the power to grant your heartfelt wishes this year!
Master, your wish is my command. . . . What is your ask?
This was so wonderful, that I am seeding it from Only Positive News Blog, go take a look. . .
Holidays are often a trying time, though it’s a hidden pain. No one wants to be seen as the Scrooge, shunning joy and gratitude. Yet the truth of the matter is many of do have a tough time during this time of the year. How can you add some positive news to your life during the heart of the winter when you may want to crawl inside of a hole?
First, let go of expectations. Expectations run high around the holidays. We want our holidays season to be just like the ones in the movies or magazines. Or maybe you think your neighbor seems to have it all together when your family seems like a dysfunctional mess! Whatever the case, let go this year. Ask yourself, “What can I do to make this holiday good for me?” Maybe its nothing. Maybe its a quiet meal and a good movie. Maybe you could do without the hoopla one year.
Give. Nothing brings you out of the seasonal doldrums more than focusing on others. If you can’t seem to get your act together to do some serious volunteer work, then keep it simple. Maybe you can go to a local park and do some trash pick-up. Maybe there’s an elderly woman you could sit with for an hour. Maybe you haven’t been giving to yourself in a true and sincere manner. Remember, the act of love starts with you and expands, like a ripple in a pond.
Be sad. We live in a culture that just can’t stand negative emotions. In turn, we often feel guilty when we just feel badly. Sadness is a good emotion. It means your human. It means you’ve experienced loss and disappointment and loneliness. It means you’re alive. Allow yourself this holiday to feel sad without the guilt of feeling sad.
Get outside. There’s something about nature that naturally lifts the spirits. Turn off the radio and television for a bit and celebrate the holidays by celebrating the great outdoors. Breathe, be thankful for the cold, blue sky. If you believe in a higher power, be thankful for being alive today. Maybe the holidays can simplified to that: being grateful for life on this earth, in all of its forms.
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