t is one of those perfect days. The sky is a deep, endless blue and
the sea is clear and tranquil. You are literally purring with contentment.
Suddenly, the boat's engine changes tempo and you are instantly aware that
you have reached your dive site.
In a flash, the sereneness changes to a frantic scramble as everyone vies
to get geared up and into the water first. Finally in the water, you and
your buddy are steadily descending to your chosen depth, when another
diver passes you. "Faster than a speeding bullet", you chuckle to yourself.
As you watch this diver hit the bottom, you notice a cloud of rubble where
a once intact coral lay, you grimace and think "and more destructive than a
crashing locomotive".
Is this diver purposefully destructive? Probably not! Chances are, they
are not even aware of the affect they are having on the marine environment
they are visiting. How many times have we heard divers familiar with an
area exclaim sadness at the deterioration of a site? How many times have
we discussed diving a site early in its diving history to get the best
out of it?
There are many contributors to the disintegration of a reef and some we
are powerless to stop. Others however, such as diver impact, are directly
in our control. It has been estimated that divers make contact with a
reef anywhere from 7 to 20 times in any given dive. The potential impact
of this is staggering.
Mastering our buoyancy is a way we can contribute to the maintenance of
our marine heritage as well as being relaxed and comfortable while diving.
Buoyancy control is a combination of skills that enable you to raise,
hover, or lower yourself, at your leisure. This includes being weighted
correctly, the positioning of your weights, the buoyancy of your tank
both full and empty, understanding the effect of water pressure on your
dive suit, and your breathing patterns.
In our travels through America, we came across a buoyancy control
training program called the Diamond Reef System designed by Pete
Wallingford, Buoyancy Training Systems, Inc. which offers some viable
solutions.
Pete understood that to effectively learn buoyancy control, divers
needed a tangible way of assessing and improving their skills. He
set about designing and constructing an underwater obstacle course
utilizing buoyant diamond shaped structures, called Hover Stations™.
The Hover Stations were meticulously tested over a three year period
by a branch of the United States Government National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), who needed a program by which they
could thoroughly and objectively evaluate underwater rescue personnel
and marine scientists. The testing was comprehensive and included
variables such as the use of drysuits or wetsuits, all sized personnel,
technical equipment, sizes of the hover stations, and water conditions
such as low visibility, cold water, night buoyancy etc. Following this
testing NOAA recommended this program as a pre-requisite for cave and
wreck dive training.
Seven diamond shaped Hover Stations™ are positioned to simulate
variations in depth that a diver may need to accomplish during a dive.
The last Hover Station™ is placed to simulate a safety stop. As
divers pass through each of the 7 Hover Stations™ they increase
their awareness and skill in executing proper ascent rates, horizontal
hovers and stops, breathing, and subtle body movement techniques.
The Diamond Reef System in its entirety is an innovative curriculum
that includes the 7 "Diamonds", an instructor guide, teaching aids
and promotion materials. It can be used in conjunction with the
buoyancy training program of any of the major scuba diving associations.
We recently completed a buoyancy control specialty course through PADI
and our instructor incorporated the Diamond Reef Training program
into his program. What this meant to us, was that we were able to get
instant feedback on whether we were mastering the techniques of
buoyancy control. In addition, we had fun on what could have been a
very dry course.
Pete reminded us that buoyancy skills, like other skills must be
practiced and honed long after our initial open-water course. Every
diver who participates in any Diamond Reef practice or training
session, earns the continuing series Diamond Reef Proficiency Stamp.
This beautiful logbook stamp is also known as a marine conservation
stamp, as proceeds are donated to support numerous environmental efforts
world wide, such as the installation and maintenance of mooring buoys.
The stamp is internationally recognized and printed for 17 countries.
For concerned and participating dive operators, the stamp identifies
responsible divers, often permitting them access to more sensitive
dive areas.
As divers we often assess our skill by the amount of air we have left
after a dive, the depth and difficulty of a dive, how quickly we can
gear up, how elegantly we enter the water or how relaxed we look on
the surface or while diving. It would be far more constructive to
assess our skill level by our buoyancy control and non-destructive
maneuvering skills, which after all, take in all of the above
elements and much more.
As Pete says: "Although we cannot purchase coral reefs like
wetlands, we can continue to develop marine parks and improve
diving curriculums to better educate the general public on the
fragility of reefs". It is estimated that there are now over five
million divers world wide and increasing at a rate of 500,000 per year.
When you invest in buoyancy control and non-destructive maneuvering
skills, you are contributing to the preservation of the coral reef
environment.
If you would like more information on the Diamond Reef
Buoyancy Control System or how to participate in a Diamond Reef
program please contact:
Peter Wallingford
Buoyancy Training Systems, Inc.
236 SW 171ST
Seattle, Washington, 98166, USA.
Telephone: (206) 241-2634
email Buoyancy Training Systems
Story by Sophia Symeou.
Sea Gifts