• Pre Dive
• During the dive
• Post dive

Pre Dive

• We encourage diving to table that have been pre-cut on software
  • We use V-Planner or Decoplanner
  • Conservatism settings vary but usually: V-Planner level 2 or 3, Decoplanner 20:65-80
• Equipment requirements
  • 2 depth / timing devices are required
  • 1 SMB is required, 2 are recommended
  • dive light is recommended
• Planning
  • PO2 of 1.4 as a maximum for bottom gas
  • PO2 of 1.6 for decompression
  • We encourage the use of standard mixes: Eg 50% and 100%
  • Max END for trimix dives of 40m. Though we will dive air to 55m-60m with experienced divers, and we teach TDI Extended Range on air to 55m
  • Contingency planning for all dives, covering the following: Too long / too deep or ranges, Bail out options, No conservatism for emergencies, Lost deco gas scenarios
  • Gas analysis and labelling: Analysis of all gases taken on the dive! Logging of analysis results and Labelling of all tanks. Name and MOD as a minimum. Our deco bottles are pre labelled
  • Gas management as appropriate for the dive. We dive using ‘conservatism’ as the rule for gas management. TP agreed for all dives (Embarrassing to have to say it!). TP for open ocean drift diving is based on minimum gas requirements, which is the greater of
    • Gas required to get two people to the deco switch with elevated breathing rate
    • Gas required to cover loss of a deco bottle, decompressing on back gas
    Deco gas quantities are determined as follows:
    • Enough deco gas within the team to cover loss of deco gas by one member of the team
    • If this is not possible, the guide takes an extra bottle for the team
    • This is ‘belt and braces’ but no-one ever died of taking too much gas
    Use of the TDI pre dive checklist START before all dives
    • It works and there aren’t too many Ds in it

During The Dive

• All dives are conducted from speed boats
  • Simplified entry and exit
  • Prompt response if required
  • The local outrigger boats, used by most dive centres, are slow and cumbersome and generally a pain in doubles
• A spare tank of every deco gas that is being taken on the dive is kept on the boat. This is in addition to any extra gas carried by the guide.
• All dives are guided. The currents can be pretty funky.
• Emergency protocols
  • Our boatmen are trained to drop the spare deco gases down the line if a yellow balloon is sent up
  • Each boatman carries an ‘Emergency Action Plan’
  • The dive centre has a detailed emergency action plan covering lost diver, injured diver etc
• DATA checks are performed every 5 mins on every tech dive whether simulated or real decompression
• We encourage the practicing of emergency drills on every dive
  • Air sharing
  • Valve management
• Positive confirmation by other team members on all critical tasks
  • Gas switches
  • Balloon deployment

Post Dive

• After all deco dives equipment is carried off the boat by the boatmen
• There is a debrief after every dive of any safety or diver development issues