BansTec Blog

Even though body positioning in the water is a topic in all entry-level diving courses it is something that is either completely overlooked or at best briefly discussed.  This is my take on configuring recreational equipment to get the most out of diving.

Firstly we should look at the difference between buoyancy and trim. These two words are related and for many of us they are synonymous. When buoyancy is being discussed we refer to a divers ability to remain neutrally buoyant in the water column. Trim on the other hand refers to a divers “attitude” in the water in relation to the bottom or a ceiling overhead. Both skills are something that you can master only by proper training and hard work.

By maintaining proper trim you greatly reduce your effort underwater. By streamlining your body you create less drag and resistance while swimming. This in turn will reflect on your aquatic comfort level and gas consumption.  This will help you achieve longer and more enjoyable dives. This is the reason we started diving in the first place, to have fun exploring the underwater realm.

Were to start then? Well, not all equipment is ideal for diving in the most efficient way. The first piece of equipment that should be addressed is the BCD. The most common BCD is the jacket style BC. With this design most of the lift is distributed towards the upper part of the body. This together with the location of your lungs will most certainly make you swim in a feet down position. Since there is most of the time no crotch strap the BC will tend to move even higher up on the body making proper trim very hard to achieve. Jacket style BC´s are also not very streamlined. Big pockets on the side together with quick adjustable straps and several D-rings at unnecessary locations do not only increase drag but they also pose a serious entanglement risk.

Another thing that will effect your trim is how high up your tank is located. Many times I see divers with their cambands set to just below the cylinder neck. Not only is there a risk of loosing your tank upon entry but the weight distribution is also a concern. The heaviest part of the tank is the valve, if this is set to low all that weight is shifted down towards the lower part of the body, resulting in a feet down position. When I´m diving in a conventional jacket style BC I loosen my shoulder straps so that the dump valve and inflator hose is located on my back rather then over my shoulders. Not only will this allow me to dump gas while in proper trim but it will also allow me to move the tank up a lot higher. When I dive I will have my neck resting towards the first stage and valve. In my opinion, this is how high up the tank really should be placed. In the beginning it might be a wee bit uncomfortable but it is something you’ll get used to very quickly.

Most divers will have to wear some kind of weight system. The most common is the weightbelt. Often they slide down over your hips greatly shifting the attitude in the water. I prefer to have mine as high up as possible, just under my ribs. The belt it self will most likely be underneath the cumberband of the BC but as long as the loose strap is long enough to be visible and easy to release I think that the pros highly outweigh the cons. Some might say that the ability to quickly ditch weight is compromised. However, if you are properly weighted this should not be much of a concern.

I prefer diving with Halcyons infinity system. The backplate and wing combination will provide lift were you want it, nicely distributed around your back. Depending on what type of cylinder that you are diving with will determine whether to use a stainless steel or aluminum backplate. Diving in the tropics with a thin wetsuit and AL S80 cylinder most people would be just fine with stainless steel plate and no additional weights. If thicker exposure suits are used a V-weight, weighted single tank adaptor or active control ballast system would take care of this.  There are many benefits of diving with a backplate. The crotch strap for one will prevent the unit riding up as previously discussed. A single piece of  2” webbing will give less failure points and greatly reduce drag by keeping your chest clutter free. 2 D-rings should be placed on your chest and one on the left side of your hip. The crotch strap should have two, one on the back for clipping of reels and one in the front which is only meant to be used together with a “tow behind” scooter.

A lot of divers out there consider this to be tech specific concerns, I however like to look at it as just diving. You don’t need a certain number of dives to start improving your skill level. The sooner you start practicing and assessing your self the sooner you will be able to enjoy spending your days underwater a bit more. Your dive buddies and the aquatic environment will definitely appreciate it!

When utilizing back mounted doubles in technical diving, it is imperative to have a thorough understanding on how to handle a gas hemorrhage. If not acted upon immediately, a complete loss of back-gas is possible.

Diving with doubles is a great way of increasing your gas supply, and it gives you a redundancy in case of an equipment failure. However, if the diver does not know how to react in an emergency, the doubles only give you false security. Seeking proper training and staying current with your skill level is paramount in order to get the benefits of diving with doubles. Many times, I have met divers conducting “technical dives” that required staged decompression, who were not able to reach their own valves. If a failure were to occur during one of those dives, the diver would end up in an out of gas emergency.

The gas shutdown drill is a methodical way of closing and opening valves in a specific order to either shut down a leak, or at least isolate the leak to one side, which saves half your gas. We always dive with our valves fully open; no half turned back or quarter turned open isolation. The reason behind this, is that in an emergency you can only turn a valve in one direction: the right way.

Step one
Close down the right post and isolation. Breathe the primary 2nd stage dry to make sure that the valve is completely closed off. Change to the backup 2nd stage but do not clip the regulator off to your D-ring. (We close the right post first because this is the most common failure point. Since this regulator is used more heavily; we constantly kink the hose during S-drills putting more stress on this hose.) Try to match your breathing so that you breathe the regulator dry while maintaining neutral buoyancy. Keep this gas in your lungs until isolation is closed, then switch to the back up regulator and clear it.

If this does not stop the leak, continue to step two.

Step two
Reopen the right post and close the left post. Breathe the backup 2nd stage dry and change back to the primary 2nd stage.

If you are able to stop the leak, it is safe to open your isolation valve and gain access to all of your gas.

If the leak does not stop, you have now established that it is an uncontrollable leak from either the manifold itself; burst disk, or tank neck O-ring. Your isolation valve is already closed, so half of your gas is safe.

Step three
Reopen the left post and monitor your SPG.

By reading the SPG you can determine which side is affected. If the needle is dropping, the leak is on your left post. If the needle does not move, the right side is leaking. Keep the isolation closed, and breathe from the affected side first, and then switch over to the other post.

If this is done as a drill during practice, please remember to reopen the isolation valve when finished.

Discussing appropriate fins here at Ban’s Tec, the conversation is brief. We have two recommendations, OMS Slipsteams and Scubapro Jet Fins. When making equipment decisions it is important to consider the function.  When it comes to fins, I would like to look at the relationship between efficiency and power. In many ways efficiency, is power. The options then become based on the divers complete equipment configuration and environment.

The design of Jet Fins and Slipstreams are timeless, and for good reason.  Made from extremely durable rubber this will be the only pair of fins you’ll need to buy.   Boasting rigid, large sidewalls this style of fin supports a very large surface area. This greater displacement means more power; the power for the technical diver to propel through narrow passageways with only a tiny pop of the ankle. With effortless placement of each fin precisely in the water column you can exert maximum amount of power with the least amount of water movement.

When diving in cold water, equipment considerations regarding weight are very important.  Drysuits and thick semi-dry wetsuits are more positively buoyant than a tropical wetsuit. With Drysuits, the buoyancy depends on the thickness of th undergarments.  The dense rubber of the Scubapro Jet Fin is a perfect balance weight to keep a divers feet and knees in trim. This allows you achieve neutral buoyancy and horizontal trim while being completely relaxed.

These fins have proven to be the right tool for the job, the logical choice for displacement, power, efficiency, and durability.  Even when it comes to loading the truck, these fins beat out on everything else on the market for padding cylinders.

Benefits of proper dive planning

Making recreational diving more and more accessible to the public is something that always has been in the interest of the diving agencies. For most instances this is the right way forward but sometimes the quality of the course will suffer to accommodate the masses. One of the areas that I have seen changed over time is proper dive planning. Over the past decade recreational dive computers has made it easier to just dive in and enjoy the aquatic world. However this leaves the new diver with an inadequate understanding of the importance of actually having a plan to follow. The number of times on deeper dive sites you see people sharing air during the ascent is alarming. Diving is a relatively safe sport but only as long as it is being conducted in a safe manner. People are getting too reliant on their computer to tell them what to do in any given situation. One of the things a computer won’t help you with is gas management, and the only way to actually get a feeling for this is crunching numbers based upon the divers air consumption. How much air do I need for this dive? Do I carry enough to manage any foreseeable emergency? These are some of the questions that should be considered before every dive. The old “rule”, let’s go up when the first one of us reach 50 bar is a bit to optimistic and will not really get you out of much trouble.  Expressing this in bar does not make much sense because the students more then likely will dive with different sized bottles during their life.

In technical diving we use the expression “Minimum Gas”. This means how much gas do I need to get my teammate and me up to the surface in the case of a catastrophic gas loss. The calculation is based on an elevated SAC rate of 30 L/min. 1 minute at the bottom depth to sort out the situation such as deploying the long hose/ alternate air source and determining the point of exit. The emergency ascent rate is 10m/min all the way to the surface, with no minimum deco or safety stops.

Recreational diving is limited to a depth of 40 meters, however many divers will exceed this depth on a single tank and without formal training or the equipment necessary. If the divers are using a AL80 (11.1 L) which is standard in most places of the world. Then the Minimum gas pressure is 93 Bar or 1020 liters of gas. This means that if you are at 40 meters and one of you where to lose all breathing gas this is how much pressure you need in your tank to safely exiting. In other words, staying any longer translates into not making it up to the surface without seriously risking decompression sickness from exceeding a safe ascent rate.

Ascent rates is another topic that many divers know very little of.  During the PADI Open Water course  “dive planning” is done with the DSAT RDP/eRDPML. The ascent rate for dives planned with those tables is set to a maximum of 18 meters/min. If the diver is using a computer to extend the bottom time by eliminating unnecessary rounding the ascent rate must be reduced to what ever that specific computer stipulates. And keep in mind that we are talking maximum ascent rates here. Ascending at the maximum rate will always translate into a higher risk of DCS and that is something we in every way possible should try to avoid.

Sometimes it does not matter how cautious you are or how pristine your trim and propulsion techniques are. Fishing nets, cables, wiring, fish traps and monofilament line are a very real threat to us as divers. Wrecks tend to become littered with them after a few years at the bottom of the sea.

Carrying a cutting tool is required for all technical diving courses and highly recommended for recreational diving. Even during a shallow reef dive you might find yourself in a situation requiring the use of a cutting tool.

The reason we use the term “cutting tool” instead of “dive knife” is the fact that there are several different designs out there.

Obviously, the first thing coming to mind is the traditional dive knife. It is simple yet effective in many situations. Preferably the blade should be made out of marine grade stainless steel or titanium. Titanium costs a fair bit more but is maintenance free. Stainless steel will suffer from corrosion if left without a rinse in fresh water. Additionally,there is no practical point in having a blade in excess of 8cm, so the old Rambo knives are not suitable for diving in any way shape or form. Preferably, the handle should be made from ABS plastic or similar material, and have a non-slip surface. Having either the back or some part of the blade serrated is a good idea because it can help you cut through material using less force. Some knifes comes in two versions, sharp tip or blunt. One of the reasons behind this is minimizing the risk of injury. If you ever have to deploy your cutting tool in a potentially dangerous situation chances are that you will be a bit worked up and in a rush, the last thing you need now is a self inflicted stab wound anywhere on your body. A blunt tip prevents that in most cases. A good sheath is low profile and streamlined, many times made out of webbing, same kind used for weight belts or harnesses. There is no need for an advanced locking mechanism on a sheath, a simple Velcro fastener will do the trick. The placement of the knife is also very important. You should at all costs, avoid placing the knife on your leg like traditionally recommended. All this will do is potentially cause the very problem you bought your knife the get out of, entanglement. A knife is a very versatile tool because it can be used for more the just cutting. Prying, bending, banging or for measurement is some of the different things it could be used for.

In the last couple of years zip knifes, or Z-knifes have increased in popularity. They have some major advantages over a knife but as always some drawbacks. For cutting through net, monofilament, webbing or any other kind of line there is nothing better then the Z-knife. Generally it slices line up to 8mm with minimal effort. Another major advantage is the minimal risk of injury while using the cutting tool. Since the blade is enclosed in the housing you either need to be very reckless or very unlucky to hurt yourself. After prolonged use, the blades often get a bit dull but they are usually replaceable.

EMT style shears are also popular due to the low cost and basic design. They are easy to operate even with thick gloves and they can cut trough pretty thick line. One thing to look out for is corrosion on the bolt connecting the two blades. Once that one fails your shears are obviously useless.

When deciding on where to place your cutting tools accessibility is number one. Preferably reachable with either hand, placed in a location where the risk of entanglement is minimal. On the harness your primary cutting tool could be placed on the left side behind the buckle, that way it won’t slide off and is easy to reach with both hands. If using a Z-knife I find that placing it over the right chest D-ring works quite well. The leg pockets might also be a good alternate location for your secondary cutting tool. Having a knife as one of your two cutting tools is usually a good idea, since it could be used for more purposes than just cutting.

What ever you decide on make sure that you are familiar with it and that you actually bring it on every dive, no exceptions.

To us divers one of the most important thing is being seen at the surface. It might be from our surface cover or other dive charters in the area. During open water decompression away from a mooring line this becomes even more important. There are two stages during this that you are the most vulnerable at. The first situation is at your shallowest stop, usually 3-meters or when you actually are on the surface.

A DSMB would make this diver more visible to the boat

One of the tools available is a DSMB, a delayed surface marker buoy. This is the kind that you would deploy during your ascent to make sure that people on the surface are aware of the fact that you are about to surface. If there is a current the surface cover will have a much easier job following your marker then just your exhaled bubbles. A DSMB is usually red or orange. Typical length is one meter but for dives in rough sea, a two-meter marker might be a better investment. The tall cylindrical shape of the marker is favorable over the lift bag since not only does it stand out of the water taller but it also creates less drag due to it’s decreased surface area.
All DSMB´s should be attached to a finger spool. A 30-meter spool is more then enough. I usually shorten the line by a few meters to make the holes in the spool more accessible. At the end of the line a loop big enough for the spool to fit through with a much smaller loop at the end will make it easier to deploy. Some prefer to have the marker attached to the spool during the dive whilst some prefer to keep them separate and connect them when it’s time to deploy the marker.
There are some different options to inflate a DSMB depending on what type is being used. The cheaper ones will be open at the bottom end and the way to deploy them is by tilting your head to the right and letting your exhaled bubbles enter the marker. Some divers use their alternate air source to inflate the bag but this is something I would avoid due to the increased possibility of entanglement. These markers can spill out some air upon their ascent, to prevent this some tension must be kept on the line at all time.
Some markers have a self-sealing deign at the bottom which present air to escape, to prevent rupture from over filling, this design is used in conjunction with a overpressure valve.
The last one is the sealed marker. This is the one that I currently use and it is in my opinion the best design. To inflate these markers a slightly different method

DSMB with the divers initials

is used. They have an inflator with a one way valve which you would seal your lips around and exhale. No gas is spilled and it is very easy to get the marker fully inflated every time. Some inflators have the option to use together with your LPI hose. Detach your LPI hose from your wing or drysuit and connect it to the marker, since the male end of the connection does not have the “groove” typically found on the inflator head of a wing the hose wont get stuck on the marker so there is no risk of getting dragged to the surface with it. For CCR divers this is the preferred method of use but this also applies for coldwater diving. Your lips are usually the first to go numb and it is nearly impossible to seal them around the inflator after a long dive.

Here at Bans Tec we are excited to share a recent trip to Khao Sok National Park.  This was a great experience for our students Rajat, Miki and Nicole.  Who earned respectively their PADI Tec 40, 45 and 50 certification combined with TDI Cavern Diver certifications.  Prior to the trip we had completed dives 1 and 2 for all PADI Technical programs.  This worked out to give Nicole our Tec 50 diver some fun 40 meter dives before completing her training. The benefits of combining Tec programs like PADI and TDI are quite clear.  We are very excited at Bans Technical Diving to be offering the full range of PADI Tec/Rec and TDI programs. This excites us simply because we get to teach what we love, and do what we teach.  Today in Khao Sok National Park, this means Deep dives before breakfast and Cavern diving in the afternoon.

Getting up early in Khao Sok is beautiful and you quickly realize why you had to load a compressor out to the middle of the rainforest. Looking out your window at the jagged limestone cliffs in the distance with the song of gibbons in the jungle.  We all begin to wander out of our floating bungalows around 6am to check equipment and analyze our gas.  By 7am we’re on the long tail with wetsuits and electrolytes.  As the boat pulls out you are greeted by the majestic views of tree-lined cliffs disappearing straight into the water.  The afternoon we arrived we start on our favorite training tree dive.  Marked on our GPS, this 27-meter tall tree sticks out of the lake with the low water level this time of year.  Conveniently enough, touching down on the bottom of the flooded valley at 26.5 meters depth.  Perfect for our PADI Tec training dives #3 of 40 and 45.

The next day we head to “Black Streak” for our training dives #4, a 40 and 45 meter decompression dive.  This dive site works well for two teams, providing a visual reference down to a sloping tree lined bottom.  We had great dives cruising through the silty dark forest.  Through careful dive site analysis we were able to give our students pre-dive briefings covering environment specific data like wall topography, depth and reasonable hazards.  Back on the Long tail for some breakfast and TDI Cavern theory and land based skills working with guidelines and touch contact procedures.  We finish the day with Cavern Dives 1 and 2.  After a wonderful dinner and some gas planning, the team retires, to do it all over again tomorrow.  Sleeping at Putawan in Khao Sok in those floating bungalows have been some of the most peaceful nights I’ve had.  Great for waking up early to the picturesque cliffs and unique diving that Khao Sok has to offer.

Teaching a large spectrum of technical diving programs in Thailand gives our divers a solid foundation for their continued training and technical diving adventures.  With a variety of training environments like Khao Sok and our other favorite, Song Hong as well as plenty of deep wreck diving in the gulf of Thailand you can apply your knowledge and skills in many environments making you a better diver.  Here at Ban’s Tec we are looking forward to more Cave Exploration and getting those new drysuits out for some long dives.

On the 4th September 2012 I embarked on a ten day, zero to hero cave diving course, taught by TDI Stage Cave Diving Instructor, Craig Werger of Ban’s Technical Diving, Sairee Village, Koh Tao, Thailand. The course comprised 21 training dives and 2 fun dives, which took place at three sites in southern Thailand: Khao Sok National Park, Song Hong, a sinkhole near Thung Yai and Sra Keao, a cave system near Krabi. The entire experience was, simultaneously, one of (if not the) most challenging, yet rewarding, diving experiences of my life and has left me with a wholly new appreciation for diving as a sport as well as my own personal limits.

All dive courses start with a text book and this course was no exception. What was exceptional, however, was the quality of TDI’s manual, Diving in Overhead Environments: Your Complete Guide to Cavern and Cave Diving, by Richard Dreher. The 160 page volume is clear, concise and introduces all relevant topics, from the history of cave diving and the types of cave, through to proper equipment selection configuration, dive planning and a detailed breakdown of the skills required to become a safe cave diver. Key concepts are obviously highlighted and there are frequent diagrams and photographs, although these are only in black and white. Nonetheless, the content  more than adequately prepares you for the individual course exams and develops the vital knowledge base which underpins the practical part of the course. As manuals go, this one is a good one. People do not take diving courses to read, however, so after a few days absorbing the literature I was keen to get down to some practical work.

The trip began with a team session of checking our gear and packing the truck. Ban’s Technical Diving provide all specific equipment, however bringing as much of your personal gear as possible is recommended as long as it is suitable for cave diving. This pre-trip session was a good opportunity to discuss equipment suitability with Craig and ensure everything was in good working order. After a few hours the truck was packed and later that night we boarded the night boat to Surathani with 4 twinsets, 10 deco cylinders, a compressor with spare engine, fuel, emergency oxygen, all our personal gear and four cheery divers. Half a days driving and we arrived at the Khao Sok National Park ready to begin cavern training.

One of the fundamental tenets of overhead environment diving is the maintenance of a continuous guideline to open water. As such, the Cavern course began with an introduction to the use of reels, the tie-offs used and the protocols for running and following a guideline, in the form of an informal practical workshop in the restaurant of our resort. After an instructor demonstration, each of the participants took turns at primary, secondary, standard and final tie-offs, along with how to follow a guideline in zero visibility, through the use of touch contact. This early introduction of performing skills blindfold was to set a precedent for the entire course. The afternoon brought my first experience of the overhead environment diving in a cavern called Red Cave. The two dives were the realisation of the pre-dive guideline workshop and a chance to deploy our newly learned line skills in the real world. The choice of site was ideal. Red Cave is comparatively shallow, allowing for a safe training environment, yet yields a true cavern experience, with its impressive stalactite formations. These were no fun dives, however, and the deployment, installation and blindfolded following of the guideline, along with some basic safety skills, challenged the abilities of the group considerably. Any ideas about an individual’s diving prowess were quickly shelved as each student realised the challenge that lay ahead. After each dive Craig gave a relaxed, yet comprehensive and highly informed debrief. Day two of the Cavern course, provided a similar experience, this time at The Elephant’s Belly, but developing the skills of the previous day further. We were introduced to zero-visibility out-of-gas drills and the necessary techniques for maintaining team and guideline contact at all times, thus ensuring a safe exit from the cavern even under the most undesirable of circumstances. The Ban’s Technical maxim of “Train hard, dive easy” was put into full practice.

As we moved onto the Intro to Cave course, we were introduced to line markers, permanent cave guidelines, lost diver and lost line drills and further touch contact communication. This took the increasingly familiar format of a pre-dive workshop in the resort restaurant, in front of an audience of bemused Thai locals. The Intro to Cave dives were spread out over two days and took place at two locations: Peter Cave and Red Cave (this time beyond the natural light zone). Many of the skills were development and practice of the key skills learned in the Cavern course. The two notable exceptions were the lost diver and lost line skills. The former turned out to be a reasonably simple affair of deploying one of your two mandatory safety spools, attaching it to the primary line along and conducting a search pattern. The latter proved to be one of the most psychologically significant challenges I have ever faced underwater.

The lost line drill is a skill on the Intro to Cave and Full Cave courses and, as the name suggests, is designed to teach you how to locate the main guideline in the event you lose contact or sight of it. The skill began with Craig signalling for me to turn my mask around and use the neoprene strap to blindfold myself, a now familiar occurrence. He then takes you away from the main guideline and spins you in all orientations. He then leads you to a hard surface and you are then responsible for finding your way back to the guideline and identifying the correct exit direction. Step one is to deploy a safety spools to establish “a point of lostness”, from which you then conduct a loop shaped search pattern, first swimming down, then across and finally up, in an attempt to catch the main line in your loop, all without any visual reference. The initial step of finding a tie-off, seemed very simple in the pre-dive workshop. In the water was a different matter. I cannot tell you how unsettlingly disorientating it is to lose all your visual sense underwater. Even without a mask, you can see an astonishing amount. In the total darkness of the cave, with only your fingers and ears to guide you, you situation becomes lonely quickly. The wall I had been placed on felt as smooth as a mirror and as wide as an ocean. I groped around, for seemingly a very long time, until I came across a minute, hook shaped formation, which felt wholly unsuitable for a tie-off but was better than nothing. I tied off and conducted my three searches into the darkness, along what I felt were correct patterns, only to return each time to my initial tenuous point. The disorientation is impossible to underestimate and I quickly became frustrated. Perseverance paid off however and on the fourth attempt I found the guideline and correctly identified the exit direction. Mask replaced and big knucks from Craig and my elation was formidable. As a single skill performed, the lost line drill has showed me what can be achieved when one truly focuses their mind on a task. Cave training has shown me that sight, whilst a marvellous luxury, is by no means a necessity for survival and this, I am certain is down to the tutelage of Craig and Ban’s Technical.

The remainder of my fives days at Khao Sok were spent, starting Full Cave, which further builds upon the first two courses, but adds complex navigation, circuits, traverses and jumps and gaps, with regular dive planning discussions and pre-dive skills workshops. The culmination of this being a traverse at Temple cave, taking time, after much zero-vis skills practice, to enjoy the hugely impressive, bright white flowstone, often called draperies that can be enjoyed in this cave. The final dive at Khao Sok introduced restrictions and how to deal with, you’ve guessed it, loss of visibility and out of gas scenarios. The image of a diver crawling through a narrow, silted out passage with the sound of cylinders grinding against the ceiling, is the classical interpretation of cave diving and I was relieved to find that I found it an exhilarating test, but one that by this stage of the course I felt adequately prepared to undertake. As always each dive was succinctly debriefed, highlighting both positive points and areas for improvement, cultivating an analytical and progressive approach to diving practice. I left Khao Sok in high spirits.

Our next destination was Song Hong, an innocuous looking pool, located near the unglamorous village of Thung Yai. The calm, green surface of the water, set in a small wooded area gives no indication of what lies beneath it. Song Hong is in fact a sinkhole that descends to almost 200m and has 20m, 30m, 40m and 50m survey lines, a traverse to a smaller, adjacent pond with a maximum depth of 43m and numerous lines which direct a diver to some seriously deep water. Most of the dives are spent underneath an vast ceiling hovering over a tremendous expanse of black water below. Song Hong is truly epic and it was here that I was to finish Full Cave and Stage Cave.

These were to be big dives: a circuit on the 30m line and cleanup to complete Full Cave and then on to Stage Cave. Stage diving involves the use of an additional cylinder of bottom gas to increase the range of penetration into the cave. As such the first dive in the course was a skills dive to review the handling of the three S80 cylinders I would be carrying, in addition to by backmount set and a range of skills regarding the staging and retrieval of cylinders on a guideline. These skills were done with and without both visibility and gas and a hairy combination of the two: a breath hold swim to a staged cylinder, which had to be utilised as a gas source and retrieved, all without being able to see. In addition to these skills, we also practised out of gas drills with stages and buddy breathing exits. This went far beyond the minimum standards of the TDI Stage Cave course and one really felt that value for money was certainly attained. The following dives were two dives of a complex circuit on the 40m line, with planned bottom times of 40 minutes. As a further extra curricular activity, the team would be deploying a new line measuring tool, in order to collect survey information for the production of a map. Yet again an indication that this course was about educating cave divers as opposed to ticking boxes on a list of key standards. The ultimate dive at Song Hong was the traverse from little pond to big pond, which leads to the 40m line, allowing us to use information from our previous circuit dives to ensure sufficient gas for a safe exit. With a single file descent down a narrow cave passage, complex navigation and a 90 minute run time, all brought together with coherent and efficient team communication, this really was the crowning glory on a spectacular course.

The final dive of the trip was a fun dive in the Sra Keao cave system, near Krabi. This is a very narrow cave passage, accessed from a murky looking pool, which can be dived, single file, to a depth of 250m. Our plan was to do a bounce dive to 55m with a conservative ascent. Krabi had been on the receiving end of a lot of rain, so, when we arrived at Sra Keao, the water was very high and the visibility in the pool was practically nil. Regardless, we geared up in the hope that the vis would clear up as we progressed deeper. As we entered the water the vis was worse than we’d imagined and it took us a good ten minutes to located the main guideline and start our descent. As we descended, we angled ourselves forward to match the steep angle of the cave passage and to avoid disturbing the sediment. This proved to be a moot point as the visibility remained consistently abysmal. Contact with the guideline was required at all times and if you were luck you might catch of glimpse of the diver’s fins in front of you. At 40m, with no improvement in visibility, the decision was made to turn the dive and we began our ascent. All gas switches and decompression stops were managed in the reduced visibility and in a strange way I actually found myself enjoying the dive. Being at 30m, in decompression, in a tight flooded cave, with no visibility might be some divers’ idea of a nightmare, but as a result of the training I had just undergone I felt quite at home. It was by no mean ideal conditions, but was certainly no cause for alarm. Such is the value of proper cave training.

The learning curve from open water technical diver to cave diver is biblically steep, but thanks to the professional, yet still very approachable instructional style of Craig Werger and Ban’s Technical Diving this proved a more than manageable and enjoyable journey. The variety of sites and additional skills and discussions provided an extremely broad introduction to the new world of cave diving. At every step, safety and an adherence to standards was practiced as was an continually analytical approach to diving, which I hope will make me a more thoughtful and progressive diver and has absolutely provided me with the skills and knowledge to be a safe cave diver. Cave diver training with Ban’s Technical has proved to be one of the best decisions of my life and I would recommend it to any diver with an interest in accessing the overhead environment in the safest manner possible. It’s a no brainer: Sign up now!

PADI IDC Staff Instructor, Ian Gardner recently completed the PADI Sidemount Diver course with Bans Technical Diving in Koh Tao, Thailand.  His positive and interesting review follows… 

Tropical Sidemount Diving, Koh Tao, Thailand

When I first heard of sidemount I can honestly say now, that I had some misconceptions. I thought the entire philosophy was purely for the serious cave enthusiast. Turns out I was wrong.  

On the sunny tropical island of Koh Tao, I met with Craig Werger, PADI Sidemount Instructor from Ban’s Technical Diving, to undertake my

PADI Recreational Sidemount Diver

course.  In literally the first sentence Craig dispelled my fears and took me on the first step of learning a great new way to dive. 

I undertook the PADI Recreational Sidemount Diver course.  This course is aimed at people who want to have a longer dive, without the hassle of a twin set and of course with that all- important aspect of improved trim. Under Craig’s careful instruction I learnt initially the theoretical aspects and was, very soon after, adjusting and setting up my own razor side mount system to ensure correct fitting and the knowledge of how to don and doff, what can be a weird looking bit of gear.  And then into the water… 

Underwater all I could think was – Wow! The cylinder placement, the trim and overall comfort of the sidemount system was unlike anything I have ever experienced.  Craig quickly had us undertaking our skills for our confined water session to ensure we had mastered all that he demonstrated. At times this can be a frustrating experience with such a different configuration, especially when your instructor can break down such skills so that it looks simple and effortless.  Of course I managed to look like a complete Gumby, but with Craig’s guidance and patience, I could feel myself improve with every move and my confidence grew. 

Such a dynamic diving system, well balanced putting the lift where you want it...

The following days saw the completion of four training dives. With each dive I fell that little bit more in love with the sidemount system.  One of the things that really impressed me was that for all our training dives we ensured that we took our team diving ethos into the water. This was a fantastic experience for me, as I learnt the importance of working together to achieve our objective.  The result is a significant shift in the way I see myself diving with my buddy in the future.  

As part of the sidemount diver course, Craig put a lot of emphasis on improving our buoyancy control. We were taught various different kicks such as the back kick, side kick and helicopter. This was used to control our buoyancy to “almost” perfection.  What I previously thought I knew about control, trim and buoyancy has been completely changed thanks to the PADI Sidemount Diver course. I cannot recommend this course more highly, or for that matter my instructor. 

Thanks to Craig Werger and the team at Ban’s for making it happen. 

Ian Gardner 

IDC Staff Instructor 

Tec Rec Deep Instructor 

PADI Recreational Sidemount Diver 

Earlier this year we made a trip up to Loei Province, Northern Thailand after hearing of a resurgence cave in the area.  A friend and

colleague of mine named Pong was born and raised in this area.  After several months of planning, our group assembled and we made our way up North.  Several of my good friends were able to join us for this trip so we had a full vehicle; Chris Davey – UK, Jack Wylie – UK, John Cafaro – USA, Kru Pong – Thailand and I (Craig Werger – Canada) left Koh Tao on the night boat and made the 14 hour drive up north.

Loei province is way up by the Laos border and is one of the least populated regions in Thailand.  Vast mountain ranges, rain forest and caves make Loei one of the most scenic locations we have visited in Thailand.  Dry cavers have been exploring Loei for years with literally hundreds of dry caves being discovered in the mountainous limestone region.  When we arrived to the area we were blow away with the scenery.  The mountains of Loei have recently become more and more popular for Thai tourists as a tranquil getaway.  We found some comfortable bungalows to rent at the only restaurant in the area, the owners were spectacular hosts and made our stay quite pleasant.

Before leaving Koh Tao we had to look into our Emergency Assistance Plan for remote locations.  With help of Matt Rolph and Koh Tao Emergency Medical Services we rounded up contact names, numbers and evacuation procedures.  With the help of Matt we actually had contacts for the Thai Navy which has the only Recompression Chamber in the area.  If we had any serious emergency we would be able to organize an airlift evacuation.  Although everything went as planned on this trip it is important to be fully prepared and equipped with first aid and emergency oxygen when planning any remote exploration.

Our friend Pong introduced us to a local explorer to act as our guide for the 7 days we

had to explore the area.  We were the first cave diving team to come to this area so we attracted a lot of attention wherever we went.  The more people who heard of us the more caves we heard about.  With the help of our guide and the locals we explored 10 dry caves in the area, several of which had not been fully explored.  We explored several caves with water however most of them didn’t have any significant depth or key characteristics desired for cave diving.  One of the caves we explored named “Tham Nam Pu” however turned out to be quite decent with lots of penetration and relatively shallow depth giving us lots of time for laying guideline and recording survey information.

“Tham Nam Pu” is a resurgence cave with a gentle flowing outward current feeding a
small pond where local children enjoy the cool mountain water during their summer break from school.  After initial investigation of the area we located what was suspected to be a second entrance several hundred meters away on the opposite side of a narrow mountainside.  We decided to start from the main entrance as the approach was much easier than the second entrance.  Our group of 4 decided to dive in teams of 2 so we would always have surface support in this remote location.  The

first team to dive entered from the

main entrance and carefully progressed single file.  With visibility limited to less than 5M the team was able to carefully penetrate while laying the initial exploration line.  Working side to side every potential passage was checked before encountering quite shallow water filled passage at the 110M mark.  With visibility dropping to zero the back mount team turned back and exited.

A short drive and hike through the brush brings you to the dry secondary entrance.  Due to the distance necessary to transport gear inside the dry cave we chose a sidemount configuration for this opportunity.  Equipment was also transported to this secondary entrance for the surface support team who waited at the water’s edge inside the dry cave far past the light zone.  The sidemount team was able to penetrate in the direction of the main entrance and after 90m of shallow zero visibility passage they joined up with the initial exploration line allowing the two entrances to be traversed.

Due to the difficult entry at the secondary entrance all further exploration dives were made from the main entrance.  Although it was fairly tight between the 100 and 150M marks divers can still pass in backmount configuration with little difficulty.  Just before the 250M mark a chamber of large boulders shows evidence of a ceiling break down long ago.  Our team quickly located the best route through and after the minor restriction the chamber opened back up where the floor also started to get deeper to the North.  After pushing to a maximum penetration distance of 300M another ceiling break down put an end to the push, you can surface inside this area and dry passage was seen by both dive teams before heading back.  The next mission for us was to explore the sloping floor and a jump was installed at aprox the 275M mark.  The divers were able to lay another 50M of exploration line before emptying their reel and turning back.

After using up all the time we had available for this mission we headed back towards Koh Tao after laying a total of 350M of line.  We believe this cave has more passage to explore and we are excited to head back next year after rain season for further exploration and survey.

Thanks to everyone who helped us throughout this  trip especially Kru Pong for showing us this amazing area.

Date: April 2012

Expedition Leader: Craig Werger – Ban’s Technical Diving

Backmount Team: Craig Werger and Chris Davey

Sidemount Team: John Cafaro and Jack Wylie