Clare Gledhill(Offline)

DIVER asked for a DIR F Report - here's mine - it's old but still relevant

Friday

Insomnia found me up and about at the crack of dawn, so arrived at Horsea almost an hour early to meet Fraser. He is pleased to meet up until he sees the new shocking pink line on my spool - when I offer to retie his bolt snaps on with it, I swear he would have picked up his kit and run if he could have.

We ran through the basic 5 skills (reg. removal, reg exchange, mask clear, mask removal and s drill). Not too bad but moving my cylinders up has buggered my trim and I find it almost impossible to keep still without tipping forward. Shutdowns are easy though so I'll need to find a compromise. Fraser patiently helps me with my back kick - and for a moment ... Yay!

Two very long dives later we pack away the kit and head off for Portland. Helen (Porg) calls me to wish me luck and, told about my trim problems, says the problem is clearly that my bust isn't big enough to give me sufficient lift! Whilst contemplating how this could be fixed, I get a call from Daz who points out that the alternative view of this could be to say my bum's too big! So now I've got crap trim, insufficient bust and a fat a$$ - Friends - who needs 'em?!

Arrive in Portland to find that there are only five people on the course - for two instructors. More worryingly, two of these are two extremely experienced cave divers and Fraser has already shown himself to be sorted so I'm clearly in the running for class numpty again

Lecture one covers the basic skills we will cover during the weekend, and allows us to question some of the skills and techniques - I'm my usual quesyioning self but, on a lighter note, am told much to Fraser's horror that pink cave line is definitely DIR! He spots I'm not looking too happy and is really, really nice... glad he's here

Then for the ritual pi$$ - taking session - the lets lie on the table and wave our feet in the air. I have a camera but Fraser begs me not to take pictures, so I don't - only to find he does when it's my turn! Fraser's help with my back kick has clearly paid off - much to Rich's surprise who says 'You know, that might actually work!'

Off to the bar for a couple of drinks and the Frase and I chat until the early hours. Not too sensible really - especially as nerves then kept me awake most of the night - which is how I'm doing this. Oh well, lets find a positive, I'll be too knackered to keep moving so may achieve a hover!

It's time to get up now... At least we get to dive today.

More later.




Saturday started early... too early after Fraser and I had been talking until the early hours. Breakfast was typical british fare, and nerves meant mine went largely untouched.

First today was harness adjustment and kit fettling. The test for a correctly fitted backplate is that you can reach the top of it over your shoulders. I couldn't but, in jest, Andy Kerslake said "Go on, you can do better than that" and pushed my elbow up. Big mistake - Crunch - ouch. These instructors... I don't know... They break the students before they even get in the water.

Within an hour or so, my harness has been adjusted quite dramatically. D rings are far higher than I thought...but whilst they are no longer where I am used to, the new position does make sense and I can see it will be easier.

Popping over to the shop to buy a new, longer crotch strap (we have moved the backplate so far up my back that the old one mises by about a foot) I see Gizmo and some of his mates going for a dive. My shoulder is really starting to seize up now and wrenching it in and out of my new tighter harness isn't helping. Carrying my spare set from the car really really hurts.... Bugger - and I haven't even had a dive yet.

Dive 1.

Dive one starts as a complete CF. Fraser and I are teamed up with David, a DM from London. Entering the water we drop down to 2 meters and wait for David but he can't get down. He gets back on the boat and adds more weight, try again - no good. Try again and we start to move down - Fraser leading - but David can't stay down and I flash Frase to tell him theres a problem. No good, the water is too light to see the torch and I get the standard dilema - one buddy going up, one going down.... I stick with David, all the instructors are under the water and he's looking a bit wide eyed, desperate to get down. He briefly succeds but it's really not going to happen and we surface. Rich and Fraser join us and for David, regretfully, the dive is over.

Fraser and I buddy up and get going. First s drills, which take a little thinking about with the new over hose light routing, then valve drills. We don't pick the best place for this, ropes everywhere. Fraser is his usual sorted self and completes everything in a way which appears effortless. The painkillers I took before getting in have clearly helped a bit but it's a struggle. One that, thankfully, I win although shoulder getting tighter by the hour.

Fin kicks now - as demonstrated by Rich. No problem - we manage everything and keep together nicely. Moving the cylinders has helped my trim a bit. Then, before we know it, dive over - up to the surface to discuss dive two. On the boat, David is understandably fed up but will not be joining us.

Dive 2.

I am banned from doing a valve shutdown again today due to my shoulder. Rich asks whether we want him to demonstrate the basic 5 - I say yes only because if I have to take my mask off I think he should suffer as well I had been a bit worried about taking my mask off, only because in 6 meters of water one breath can get you on to the surface. When Rich demonstrates he gently settles on the the bottom and when he clears his mask can see me laughing. I KNOW I can do it like that so go ahead. Thanks for the demonstration Rich

The usefullness of frog kicking is made really really apparent to me when we are asked to swim within inches of a sandy bottom. Rich keeps gesturing that we should get closer and closer until we really are just skimming over it yet when we turn round the water is almost clear - until we are joined by students from a local school

Fraser and I have really got things together on this dive and surface quite contended that whilst there are things to improve we haven't disgraced ourselves in any way. Back to the hotel for more lectures on minimum gas calculations, and the video session - playback of the dives

Actually whilst I could criticise myself loads for what I saw - pointy toes, trim out, head down during a shutdown etc. etc. etc. it doesn't actually look too bad. At times I even looked like a real diver Watching the video of the other team was interesting too and hearing their review of their performance added to our own experience. Video is an incredibly useful tool in the water.
Off to the pub for something to eat and a most welcome beer.



First came more lectures on gases, more calculations (which I was banned from doing 'cos I enjoyed them too much) and other classroom work. Cylinder capacity comparisons lead to Andy calling me a pixie. Now come on... to Zak I'm a smurf, to Frank an Ewok and now a bloody pixie - make your mind up guys!

Then off to dive from Chesil beach. Now, I've never done a shore dive and the waves looked totally huge to me and frankly I didn't want to go in - because I couldn't see how I would be able to get out. It is bad enough feeling you are letting people down by refusing to dive if you are out with mates, but on a course there is an added thing to worry about. Whilst Andy and Rich chatted to decide whether to go ahead, I decided that if they agreed to dive, I would have to sit it out.

Luckily for me they didn't - for safety reasons, although I know that my discomfort added to their decision, so we went back to the hotel to discuss other options. I was feeling that I had let people down at this point and was relieved to say the least when Andy came back to say that Jay would take us out on Maverick. Quick gear shift and out to the Countess of Erne.

Dive 1.

First shutdowns and s drills - no problems apart from my Kerslake memento of a sore shoulder. Rich had asked me to position my weights further up my back to help my trim. It clearly did help my trim looking at the video but I felt really uncomfortable throughout the dive. I couldn't place what was wrong but every time I turned in the water it took me ages to balance out again (from side to side). No sign of Rich, Fraser indicated that we should try back kicking on our own and I tried to do it - balance was again an issue. Rich then came over with David and I thought gestured that the three of us should watch him demonstrate. What he actually said was the three of you buddy up - but I missed this. Back kicking made me increasingly unhappy about my balance and when we ran in to the other team in the water and I was having to turn a lot to keep out of their way I felt even worse. I could feel that I was kicking someone, but time and time again I turned to find no-one there - only to have to try to balance out again. - Fraser noticed something was wrong and asked me if was OK - problem was I didn't know and couldn't return his signal positively. In the end I thumbed the dive to Fraser and Rich and we ascended.

On the surface Fraser gets concerned that David has not come with us - despite his signaling to him that we were going up. I wasn't aware that he should have done so but it is immediately apparent that we should descend to find him. When we meet up, Fraser runs an ascent descent drill and, whilst we do it more slowly than we are supposed to, we all hold station well and the classic triangle stays intact (albeit a little spread out depth wise) for both the ascent and descent.

Dive 2.

I'm low on air and agree to thumb the dive if I hit 30 bar - never come close but best to agree things like this in advance. We descend as a three this time - David is still getting used to his weighting but is keeping station nicely at times. We do three s drills. David has a shorter hose but manages nicely until he puts his regulator back in his mouth and fails to purge it. He goes up to the surface quickly to sort himself out and when we realise that he has gone, we start to ascend to join him. He comes back down when we get to about 4 meters and retakes his staion in eth team. Fraser does a valve drill - I have again been banned and David is diving a single which he can't reach so no drill for him. Fraser's suit squeeze means he just can't reach his left post to open it back up so asks me to open it for him.

When swimming round the wreck it becomes apparent just how important lights are. David doesn't have one and as he assumes the usual PADI DM position of just behind me means I can't see him. I gesture him to move up and not used to the signal he is a bit baffled but gets it eventually and we swim three abreast. His trim is remarkably good given that he has not dived a wing before and his decision to stick with the course on day two is fully justified there and then.

We have been told to bag up and David goes first. Whilst he is putting the bag together I see Rich who tells me to go OOA. Fraser is spot on with his reaction adn David gets a bit of a shock when he looks up for his work on the bag to find that his buddies are sharing air. It is only when we get to the surface that we discover that he thought it was for real!

We ascend - right into the bottom of a boat Nasty, nasty, nasty - the worse thing that happens all weekend and an unforgivable error. lesson learned the hard way (with my head) but thankfully no harm done.

Back to land, swiftly departing for the swim test - ug. Knackered already but no-one has any real problems (despite my concerns before hand). Then back to the hotel for more lectures, another video nasty session where I discover that the weights have sorted my trim slightly and are probably worth persevering with, and more importantly I find that nothing looks as bad as it feels - a lot of this diving is a head game.

We are all knackered. Totally. And I have depleted Andy's supply of painkillers for my shoulder. It's now very late and time to wrap up and debrief so off to the pub for our one to one sessions and goodbyes.

I'll let Fraser say what he wants to about his. For my own part, I passed the course It's a weekend I will never forget and I am sure will have a great impact on my diving but I am very very pleased with this result.

To everyone on YD who called, texted, PMd emailed best wishes - thank you. Particularly to Dave and Al, but also all the boys on the Poole trip and Frank, thanks for your help and advice - preparation really did pay off for me.

To Zak who suggested that I tie everyone up in pink cave line and sod off to the pub - thanks for the laugh at a most welcome time

The end ...... apart from one thing which needs to be said.


Fraser, mate.

You are a star I would never have got through this without you - you are generous, kind and patient and give a new meaning to the word teamplayer. I count myself really really lucky having your advice, help and support over the weekend and my success is so much yours it is not true. Anyone who knows what it is like to owe someone so much - send Fraser a green blob from me.




The team from left to right - RichW, Andy Kerslake, Fraser, Roberto, me, David and Hugh.

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