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Getting Decompression Sickness

Dive 4 PADI Deep Diver Course Max Depth 104ft

Here it is almost a week later, and I am still shaking my head.  Sunday morning, I was running dive three of the PADI Deep Diver Specialty course, and as always very much looking forward to the next set of dives.  Deep is what I do, what I love, but things will not be so routine over the next couple of hours.

As we were headed out to the decent point, I was reviewing the procedures for the dive with my two students. What the rock bottom pressure was, when we had to be off the bottom, where our first deep stops would begin, so on and so on.  The decent was picture perfect, checks at 10, more checks at 20, and then the last set of checks at 30 as we decided the dive was a go.  The depths were ticking off on my computer, 80, 90, 100 I could see the beautiful cloud sponges come into view, one at first then more and more and bigger and bigger, 115, 120, 130 we reach the target depth by minute 3.  Beautiful, dark breath taking is the best way to describe it.  The only sound I can here is my breathing.  The wall to my right is gorgeous teaming with life.

We continued on with the dive and at approximately minute 9  one of the students signals me, he is approaching rock bottom so I slowly begin the ascent back to the surface, reluctant but ascending never the less.  We reach 80 feet an begin our deep stops, 30 second holds every 10 feet until we reach the safety stop area and for todays dive the 20 foot mark is our agreed upon deep stop depth.  Once there we execute a min 8 minute simulated emergency decompression stop, where we hang at that depth for 8 minutes and then slowly ascend to the surface from there. The dive was picture perfect, text book if you will.

After a 1 hour 18 minute surface interval we descend down on the graduation dive of the PADI Deep Diver course, and do a total repeat of the the first dive though the maximum depth has been shallowed to 130 feet, and once again things were picture perfect.  Some 35 minutes later we are on the surface rinsing our gear, chatting and reviewing everything that had happened, as we loaded the gear and departed.  Routine it was, the same thing I do time and time again, though the day would not end as routinely as it had begun.

Comex 30

We departed Whytecliff Park in West Vancouver, and headed back to the dive centre.  Just as I had exited the highway, I had a severe case of virtigo happen and I could barely keep the vehicle on the road, so I pulled off, and had Greg V drive so we could make it back to the shop. The symptoms seemed to pass within 5 – 6 minutes and life got back to normal for a few minutes, until the severe abdominal pain started with skin itchiness, shoulder pain and numbness radiating over the left side on my back to the shoulder and into the jaw.  I knew then something was not right, so I went on oxygen and called the Vancouver General Hospital Hyperbaric  Chamber where I was told to report to emergency right away.

Once I arrived at VGH, I was ushered in through the Emergency Department, Xrayed, CT Scanned, IV’d O2′d and into the chamber where I did an 8 hour long Comex 30 Re-compression profile.  Things are doing much better, though it appears I will be out of the water for 6 weeks,  I think that is the longest I have been out of the water in the past 6 years, but a little R&R never killed anyone…maybe some travel is in order?  Mmmmm could be fun!

PADI Deep Diver Specialty Course

Mark and Greg PADI Deep Specialty Course

UWE and Ocean Quest are excited to announce we have two new graduates from the PADI Diver Specialty Course.  Mark and Greg started the PADI Deep Diver Specialty course on the 2oth of Jan where we working on some of the academics.  We worked on the concepts of gas management, Surface Air Consumption Rates,gas matching, rock bottom.  It was a steep learning curve as we went further and more in depth then what is expected for the PADI Deep Diver Specialty Course.

On the first ocean day, we work on finning and buoyancy skills, SAC rate calculations through a SAC swim, out of air drills and holding of on safety stops.  The second dive was had us heading down to 100 feet, and practiced and deep stop scheduling, and once again the safety stops.  One can not be to careful SAFETY STOPS!

The second ocean day we headed down to 130 feet, where we did some pressure related demonstrations, and then on our ascent we did deep stops every 10 feet starting at 70 feet.  Overall it was a great dive!  Both students were very surprised how my gas was needed for the rock bottom, we had to be off the bottom with 1800 psi.  The final dive we a fairly simple 100 ft dive which went off once again without a hitch.

Well done to both Mark and Greg for the great work they did on the PADI Deep Diver Specialty Course.

Three New PADI Open Water Divers

Barbara B New PADI Open Water Diver

UWE and Ocean Quest Dive Centre are very excited to announce that we have Three New PADI Open Water Divers!  Jeremy, Ryan and Barbara decided to brave the cold January temperatures and get their PADI Open Water Diver certification.  We started in the pool and classroom on the 7 – 8 of January and everyone did a fantastic job.  All three worked hard in the pool and were very quick to master the skills that needed to get them to the ocean.

On the second weekend we were out to Whytecliff park to work on the Open Water skills and all three students held their own.  As always, there was some rough buoyancy skills but over the four dives all three students were able to work things our and showed that they had what it takes to be a diver!!

Well done to the Three New PADI Open Water Divers!!

Diver lost off Whytecliff Park presumed dead

A Lower Mainland man went missing Saturday while diving with a partner in the waters off Whytecliff Park.

The diver is believed to have drowned after searches by the Canadian Coast Guard and Vancouver Police Department Marine Squad failed to produce a trace of the man.

“We just want to reiterate how important it is to dive in pairs,” said West Vancouver police spokeswoman Const. Lisa Schmidtke.

The missing man, who is in his 60s and an experienced diver, became separated from his diving partner shortly before 5 p.m. on Saturday. The first diver waited for the missing man to surface before swimming to shore and contacting the coast guard.

A nearly four-hour search conducted that evening by the coast guard and police boats yielded no sign of the diver.

The comprehensive search was possible because the man followed all the proper safety steps, according to Schmidtke.

After another search on Sunday, which included diving colleagues of the missing man, the coroner was informed that the diver probably drowned, according to Schmidtke.

The search concluded at midday on Sunday.

Read more:  Missing Diver

PADI Emergency Oxygen Provider

Richard and Tex PADI Emergency Oxygen Providers

UWE and Ocean Quest and excited to announce we have two new PADI Emergency Oxygen Provider course.  Tex and Richard joined me tonight at the Ocean Quest and we got hard at the course.  Richard is an HSE 2 Commercial diver from the UK, and Tex is one of our experienced divers from the shop, both students did a bang up job on the course.

We started off with a Power Point Presentation which covered all the theory one needs to be a PADO Emergency Oxygen Provider, we cover O2, Diving related injuries, drownings, near drownings, DCS and DCI, and how a PADI Emergency Oxygen Provider can help with these kind of injuries.  Even though the course is only about 4 hours in length we can in depth into Oxygen and how to provide it safely and properly.

Well done guys, great work on completing the PADI Emergency Oxygen Provider course!!

First Open Water of 2012

Jan 2012 PADI Open Water Course

UWE and Ocean Quest are back at it, and we have just started our first open water of 2012.  Today was day one of the course and we had all six students in the pool first thing this morning so we could work on Confined Water 1 – 3.   The 6 students were divided into two groups with 3 for me and 3 for Mike T.

Everyone did an amazing job, they quickly got use to the equipment and started showing how comfortable they were in the water.  On completion of the the pool sessions, we headed back to the class, and started to complete the knowledge reviews for chapters 1 – 3.  So far everyone is doing a fabulous job, keep up the great work!!!