Second class professional diver course - part 5

And here we go again: papers, tables, charts and clocks…eh you have to go somewhere in Egypt on holiday. Here boredom fjiords, bendmasks, surface decompression…another boring day at the office.

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Today started with much better weather, only -10 on the thermometer and no wind. Actually the dive plan for today was similar to yesterday, but it’s not important what we did today, but in what style we did it. Quick preparation, then a tube to 48 metres, a small maths test there, passed 100% and back along the amazing rock wall.

Before the dive, all the equipment is checked by a checklist tender. He confirms the operation of all valves, fastens the harness and puts on the mask … then holds our umbilical, which is the umbilical cord giving air and connecting us to land. With his signature he certifies that our equipment was prepared for the dive and that he takes responsibility for it.

The way up is more like climbing in Scandinavian rocks than diving. Then a couple of minutes decompressing at 12 metres among the magnificent shells and training instruments. A slightly longer couple of minutes hanging in the basket.

Unfortunately, the ranking of the duels in “paper, stone, scissors” cannot be published. On the surface, efficient, composed tenderers undress the diver and you can jump into the decompression chamber for an over twenty minute nap under oxygen. The safety of the divers in the decompression chamber is supervised by instructor Jacek Serwa.

Professional diving is not only the work of divers under water, not only the efficient work of tenders but also the watchful eye of the supervisor. This is the person you see most rarely in photos, but he plays an extremely important role. He plans the underwater work, then watches over its course. The supervisor has constant control over the course of the dive, gives the times, watches the image on monitors from cameras placed on the masks, gives orders to divers and disciplines them when the sea water hits their heads too hard. He documents everything in an underwater work book.

The exact dive time and depth are counted using a very precise device called a pneumo. Often the divers cause stress to the dive leader because he is responsible and keeps an eye on their danger.

The other usually invisible person is the decompression chamber operator. He is the one who takes care of the last minutes of the dive and the divers healthy exit from the high pressure conditions. Since the beginning of the course this role has been performed by our instructor Jacek Serwa.

And of course everything is recorded in tables, charts and logbooks. Professional diving is primarily a team effort, there is no room for individualism, we must be like cogs in a clock … then everything will work out.

After all, it’s just another boring paperwork day at the office…

Magda and Matthew

Source: podwodna.net