Low viz Diving
What is Low viz diving :
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Low viz diving is an environment that can be stressful to most new divers .png)
So what makes it so stressful is that you can not see more than 10' or less. You can get disoriented because you have nothing to orient your self to (right , left. up , down and distance ) You can loss your dive buddy so easy.Stress will set in ,you are alone ,where is your buddy ?what do I do know? Are some things that are stressers. So to answer what is low viz diving . It is any diving in environments that has or can limit your line of sight to below 10'. What are some of the stressers :
1. can't see
2 Can't see buddy / lost buddy
3. Disoriented , you don't now up from down .Things can start to spin
4. Cold
5. Multitasking Doing multiple tasks and then add limited viz
6. Fatigue /Over exertion
Here is a short sample of a VIDEO of a Low Visibility dive
Minimizing Stressers
Now we know what some of the big stressers are. What can we do to minimize them?
1. Stay close to your buddy .Close enough to reach out and touch them , I have gone as fare as to actually keep a hand in contact with my buddy through the dive this will help eliminate the first 2 or at least minimize them .
2, Disorientation: Keeping the hand in contact with your buddy can help or like in your OW class hold on to your self or Like I stated making contact with dive buddy. this will help your mind stop spinning and get you oriented .
3. Choose correct thermal protection. Know the temps the waters is going to be all the way to your max dept. This way you can make sure you have the correct Thermal protection to keep you warm. Plus if you know a head of time that you will hit the thermal Cline at say 35', it will not be a shock when you hit it . You add the low viz and now you are stressing your heart rate increases ,you start breathing faster and harder now more stress . So If you know in advance you can divert or control the stress before it gets out of hand.
4. Minimize your task loading. As you start diving in low viability waters , keep your task loads to a minimum. Start by just dive you basic kit (gear). Do this for a number of dives . then start adding one task at a time till you feel more comfort.
Some of the Task loads you can add are:
Remove and replace your SPG and or your Alternate air source . do this multiple times though out the dive.
this will do two things . 1 it helps with muscle memory , so you can do it with out looking and not stress because you are fumbling around with them and may loos sight of your buddy while fumbling around with them .Less task load ,less stress.You can add a light . this is a main piece of gear you will need and use. It can be used to let your buddy know you are still close . Just by shinning the light beam out ahead of him / her . and if he /she glances back the bright spot will stand out more than a dark shadow. But this will not work as well in real pore viz. staying close in that situation is best.. You can then add towing a dive flag and maybe your dive light all at the same time (task load) . Do not do to much at any one time .
5. Fatigue and over exertion are thing to pay close attention to all the time . But in a low viz dive they can add stress and inflate existing stress. When diving in low viz take it slow don't be in a hurry ,especially If you are leading the dive . Going slow will give you time to see the little things, and so you don't run in to big rocks ,submerged trees. mono-filament line .(In salt water rocks , corral , mono-filament line ,fishing nets ect..)
Going slow will help keep the buddy team together . You can be swimming along glance at gauges or some thing that cot your eye , your buddy swimming a little quicker a head of you and in the few seconds you where distracted he /she is gone( out of sight ) and he is not far from you ,But just out of sight .Now stress starts setting in. where did he go ?Witch way? What do I do?Can't see, you loos sight of the bottom . you get disoriented you get dizzy more stress . These situations can creep up on you so quick . Just remember to stop think ,breath and work through your situation remember your training .
Skills for Low viz Diving :
1. Buoyancy Control2.Multiple Fining Techniques
3. Compass Navigation
4, Air Control / Air Management
5. Buddy skills
Explanation of Skill for Low Viz Diving
1. Buoyancy Control:
A diver needs to maintain close control of his / her buoyancy . They need to descend at a controlled rate . You don 't want to descend faster or slower than your dive buddy . This could lead to a buddy separation / lost buddy. A diver descending with out control could hit the bottom stir up silt and turn what little viz they may have to zero viz . (can't read your own gauges )By adding Small bursts of air to the BCD as you are descending to slow your descent. By slowing down you can see any thing that your are approaching. as you descend .Like Trees, Rocks ,Ledges . other divers /dive buddy any object you can;t see. Buoyancy control all so helps keep you off the bottom while swimming through out the dive .
2. Multiple Fining Techniques:
Diving in Low viz it is best to have multiple fining techniques. The typical fining technique with most new divers is the flutter kick . (kicking the legs strait out behind you and kick by alternating right leg then the left) . this style will force the water off the end of the fin down towards the bottom , this will stir up silt on each kick.
An alternate technique to the scissor kick would be the modified flutter. This kick is done by bending your legs at the knees to an angle of 90*, The kick will be a short kick (don't straiten the leg out ) as you kick keep the movement smooth ,Not to quick. This style will not propel you vary fast . Just a slow easy kick.Can be used in some currant conditions that require
The next kick is a frog kick . . This kick is done by bending your legs at the knees to an angle of 90*to135*, and your fins close ,push your legs out to the side and back .And as you get close to the end of the fin stroke bring your fins together heel to heel . Like you are clapping your feet . This kick is the most preferred for diving in low viz and high silt environments
The next kick is a modified frog kick. This kick is done by bending your legs at the knees to an angle of 90*to135*,Keep about leg apart at shoulder width apart . Bring your feet together in a clapping motion,
Keep your thighs level with your torso . This kick is good in close confines . and when you only want to move in small increments / slow
3. Compass Navigation:
A compass is one piece of gear you will need .Don't dive with out it . It could mean the difference between getting back to where you started or getting lost. You need to have a real good understanding of how to use
a compass. In low viz the use of using natural land scape to navigate can be very difficult. To totally impossible. If you can't see anything to navigate on ,you need to use the compass to get you to your destination and back . This is all so a skill you should practices on all your dives good viz and pore viz . The more you use it the more natural it will feel when you are in a low viz situation 5' or less. This all so will limit stress If you are not comfortable with your Navigation skills you may want to take a Navigation course with you certification agency or a dive club . You may have a experienced dive buddy that will mentor you .Do not take this skill lightly
4. Air Control / Air Management:
Air control and air management is always a big part of a divers dive plan and a skill to work on and have a good understanding of. Knowing where you stand in relation to how much air you use and how it affects air supply and how it affects the dive plan .With air control you can regulate your breathing rate . Low visibility can heighten your breathing rate .(breath faster, shorter breaths ) You go through air quicker ,Stress can cause a diver to neglect looking at their gauges frequent enough to keep track of there air levels in their tanks . So control can help control stress from escalating. Being in control of stress and breathing is a big plus.Air management helps in planing how much air you need how long a dive you can plan on at (x depth)
Buddy skills:
.Before the dive communicate with your dive buddy about : what you want to do (accomplish ) during the dive ,what your max depth will be .Make sure you both are in agreement on what you want to do and how deep you will go.Let your buddy know what size tank you will be diving and if you use air at a high rate (this is subjective) this is were air control / air management skills come in , Knowing what your SAC rate is .Is important . In communicating this to your buddy, just lets them know what your air consumption is.This tells you who may run lower on air through the dive , So you will turn the dive when the diver with the higher air consumption reaches the agreed upon air pressure.CHECK YOUR GAUGES FREQUENTLY .
Talk about lost buddy protocol .(how you plan on handling if you get separated) Understand your buddy's gear configuration.
The Dive : Once you get in the water (on surface) stay close to buddy . make sure you both are set and got thing sorted out , do bubble checks. Signal to each other that you are ready to submerge . Once you submerge stay close ,With in visual sight . Once you reach the bottom or your starting depth. stop get your self neutral get comfortable. Get your breathing under control .Turn on your light. Signal to each other OK ,Start the dive .Make sure you keep with in visual sight of each other . make sure if you are the leader check for your buddy frequently . Don't swim to fast . When in low viz, swimming slow helps buddy's stay together and all so gives you time to see any obstacle that you could run into, get tangled in . If you are the buddy fallowing make sure you stay in the same location ,in relation to your buddy.(to his/ her right side or the left) That way he / she only has to look to one position to see you . Not having to look all over to try and find you. Try and avoid fallowing single file and above . This makes it vary difficult to be seen. One other little thing you can do is to shine your light beam just out in front of your buddy off and on .This lets him / her know you are still there .
When visibility is below 5' you can make physical contact with your dive buddy. You can hold on to a D ring or can hold on to a wrist . There is a tool that is called a buddy line,It is a length (5'-6') webbing and 2 brass swivel snap clips . It can be clipped to a D-ring of one or both divers . It can be clipped off on a D- ring to one diver and held by the hand of the other diver.There is one down side that I can see with using a buddy line ,Is it can be a entanglement hazard . Having good Dive buddy skills (IMHO) is probably one of the most critical skills of all skills in low visibility .Separation in low vis can happen very easily . You can look down at your gauges and then look up and your buddy is gone, can't see him/her , And the thing is he /she has not gone far. They could only be 5' away .
I feel Low Visibility dives can be rewording and challenging. they can be rewording as in You can see thing close to the bottom or on thing that you would normally just swim past or just look past it. When you can only see a couple feet in front or around you and you are swimming slow ,you look closer ant the smaller thing . And all so rewording because you are working on mastering some important skill that can make you a better diver in the great viz dives . It makes you a more rounded Dive buddy . And if you ever get in to a point in a dive and viz gets all messed up you will just take it in stride (you've been there done that ) You know what to expect and what needs to happen, And most of all you are LESS LIKELY TO PANIC.
The challenge you have to work on all those skill and master them the best you can. I feel if you can dive with confidence and reasonable proficiency in low visibility you can , conquer most challenges that may present them selves during a dive . All ways practice at least one emergency skill per dive or more if able to . This will help keep them fresh in your mind , In case you ever have to use them in an emergency.
I have written this Article In the hopes it may help some one with Low visibility diving . Or give them some thing to think about . I am not an Instructor or a dive master , dive con or hold any professional dive position.
All that I have written: are my opinions and out look on the subject of diving in Low Visibility. I have derived these opinions and out look from my 160+ dives that have been in low viz conditions ranging from 0 to 20' on average. By no means doe's this make me a master at it . I am constantly learning and finding new challenges
Date of Article 8/08/14
Written by Kenneth Rawlings
