Diving  is a  potentially  hazardous  activity.  The materials  contained within  this  magazine  are for informational purposes only and are not intended as a substitute for proper and appropriate training.

Making diving safer and more enjoyable - Doing It Right and the recreational diver (Part 1)

Equipment Choices Three areas  in particular that, I believe, are given  far too little regard by equipment manufacturers and  divers alike are the  issues of drag, entanglement  and  reliability. Poor equipment choice is a real drag... In most  active sports  participants  strive to minimise  drag. Cyclists  wear  specially shaped helmets, slick suits and  adopt low drag body postures to  cut through the air quickly. Water  is far denser than  air. Swimmers wear  super slick  swim suits, shave their heads and put a lot of time into  getting their swimming strokes right in order to move through the water most efficiently. Most divers, on the other hand, wear bulky jacket style BC's with  baggy pockets (full of accessories), hang all  sorts of stuff off of themselves in the worst possible positions and adopt inefficient body postures and swimming  strokes. Resistance  increases  as  the  cube  of  velocity.   I  don't  really understand  the  physic s involved but  moving  through a dense  medium  like water, doubling your surface area  requires something like 8-16 times the energy to move at a given  speed.  Even a small increase in cross sectional  profile create s a significant increase in energy  consumption (and therefore air consumption and physical stress). The faster  that you try to move through  the water  the  harder it  becomes. If you don't believe  me, consider how  easy it is  to move  through the water  with  just  a mask,  snorkel  and  fins  compared to wearing  a  bulky SCUBA  unit.  Moving around slowly the  difference in drag (or air  consumption) is not always apparent, but try to speed up,  or swim  against  a current, and  drag becomes  a big issue. I  know  from experience that I notice the difference in  drag between a thin wetsuit and a drysuit. (And  a  bulky jacket  style  BC feels  like  I'm  dragging  another  person  behind  me compared to  my harness and wing.)  Diving doesn't  have to be like that.  Why make things  harder than they need  to be? It's  better (safer)  to have  plenty  in  reserve rather than wasting energy  on drag-inducing BC designs or  poor trim. What happens when you need  to tow another diver? Or swim back  to a line against a current? The more that you have in reserve the better.

by Simon Hartley

Unfortunately  you  don't hear a  lot about DIR in this country and  I have found it  difficult to find information and access  equipment  that  I consider  optimal, (the reason that I developed my   equipment  site).  There's   an   economic benefit  in getting  the  right  gear  first  up.  I know!  I've spent a  lot on gear over the years and made plenty of dubious choices. Because I  am asked a  lot of  questions about my  equipment  this  series  of  discussions  is, hopefully, intended  to go  some  wa y towards answering  them.  Remember  though,  I'm  still only learning about  this stuff myself. (I've only taken  the  most  basic  level  GUE   course  to date).  Don't take  my opinions as gospel, seek information  from a range of  sources  and  use your own common sense - or save yourself the angst, contact GUE and do a course!  (In some sections, I  have  also  included  links  to  web resources that I have found useful.).

It is inevitable that  the divers head and  shoulders and the  SCUBA tank will need to break  the water  as you swim forward (unless  using a scooter which  may break the water in  front of you). DIR divers endeavour to minimise  additional drag by reducing the bulk of  basic diving equipment (e.g. using a  harness and wing instead of a bulky jacket style BCD with a lot of padding, pockets and add ons; only carrying what they need; and by  putting  additional equipment  that is required for  a particular  dive on the side of the diver where it remains in the slip stream of the shoulders and creates minimal drag. The front of the diver is kept as clean and uncluttered as possible. This also  facilitates a rapid  response  to  problems as  the  diver's  primary  and  backup regulator, inflator  hose, knife, weight belt  and harness buckles, and other important equipment is uncluttered and immediately accessible. Dive smarter, rather  than buying into  some sort of  technical  solution  like  a bigger tank  or some  radical fin  design in  order to  try and compensate for a  problem that you've created  for yourself. Choose a  streamlined, low  drag harness  and wing and learn how  to maintain a horizontal  swimming  posture and  utilise  the most efficient swimming strokes.

Entanglement... Entanglement  is another issue  I consider  important  when  examining  the pro's and con's of a piece of gear. When I learnt  to dive, I was told to thread my fin straps to the inside and tape them up so they didn't snag lines. I was told to wear my knife on the inside of my leg for  the same reason, and to clip all my gauges and regulators up out  of  the  way  so  they didn't  dangle and  catch  on  the bottom.  It  seems that manufacturers of dive gear have forgotten  these lessons, promoting products with a host of  entanglement points  and an  unnecessary level of complexity. Divers too often come up with a startling range of  schemes to prevent the  loss of  a prized piece of kit or to hold some other bit of gear in place. By choosing  the right attachment  method and  placement for a piece of equipment, and by employing good technique (like turning  a backup torch on  before deploying it) divers can  greatly reduce  the chances  of loosing  bits  of  gear while still maintaining a simple, uncluttered profile. Avoiding overly complicated and  unnecessarily expensive equipment purchases can also reduce the cost  associated with losing some  items, (such  as dive knives,  which  can  be  easily/ cheaply made by the diver).

Reliability... In  general  the open  water  diving  environment  is  very  forgiving.  However,  small problems  can often conspire to  create much  larger problems, and  problems  usually present  themselves  at  the  worst  possible  time, (eg. quick  release  clips  on  fins breaking or  failing to close on  rough surf  entries  from,  say, rocks). Some products sold in dive shops are entirely unsuitable to the rigors of the underwater environment. Over the years, I have found many  products that, through poor design, unnecessary complexity or  just cheap construction, last no more  than a few dives before  failing. There is just no excuse for this in a  sport where the proper  functioning of a piece of kit can be a matter of  life and death. Equipment used in extreme environments needs to be of simple solid design with as  few potential failure modes as possible. I have no qualms  pointing out poor design  features or poor  products  when I  see  them  (not always a popular approach, but one that I'd encourage!)

"You get what you pay for"... The old adage "you get what you pay for" is particularly relevant in diving.  Although paying more  for something isn't always a guarantee of quality. The economic reality of the modern consumer  society is that a manufacturer will  always try to maximise profits while  minimising outlay.  In my  opinion, many  products  sold  in  dive shops today  are of  cheap  construction  and not  really appropriate for the  rigors  of the marine environment. Unfortunately  customers often unwittingly  promote a cycle of diminishing  standards by seeking bargains  or failing to recognise where  savings are appropriate  and  where  the  critical   nature  of  a  piece  of  kit  demands  quality workmanship. A good case  in point is the prevalence of  cheaply constructed weight  belt buckles available  on the market and commonly  used and sold  in shops. The accidental loss of a weight belt could have serious consequences for a diver. A good quality buckle, such as  the Scubapro stainless buckle  pictured here, is much  more secure and far less likely  to fail  in general use. The flange style buckle  also  pictured would be far more  likely to fail if  subjected to impact  or as a  result of ongoing  wear or stress.

My view  is  that  not one  single  manufacturer  produces  the "best"  gear.  Rather, different  manufacturers produce pieces  of equipment that  are optimal in that they employ simple  functional design and do not  compromise this functionality  with a lot of  gimmicks  or  unnecessary  "features", (that  also add  to the  cost!)  Maybe  it's because my diving  career overlaps a  period of  development  in the diving industry, (when many  people still made or  heavily modified  items  of equipment) that I don't see any  problem with making  minor changes  to gear, (or building  some less critical items from scratch) if no one product is just right. This is not essential, however, as good quality dive gear is available if you know  where to look for  it and are prepared to put in the time to get what you want. (Some items  needed for a basic single  tank DIR set up are difficult to get hold of in Australia, and becoming  harder to find.  As I had to go  to a bit of  trouble  to track down distributors, I have listed them on my gear site. )

Mask A mask is  often the first piece of equipment a  new diver will  buy.  Masks provide a window  onto the underwater  world. A good,  reliable mask is  essential  to maximise safety and  enjoyment. As with most  pieces of equipment  a good mask may end up costing more, but the extra investment pays dividends in the long term. By far the  most important criteria  for choosing a mask  is that  of fit. Silicone skirts are preferable to rubber and  silitex (often found on cheaper masks). Silicone fits the face  and  seals  better than  cheaper  materials.  For diving  and  snorkelling  a  low volume  mask is preferable.  Lower volume means  less effort to  clear and less drag. Complicated designs (multiple  lenses, purge valves, and so on) should be avoided as they have more potential for failure. More  lenses equals more potential leaks. Fancy purge valves  offer  no  advantage to a  properly skilled  diver and  simply  introduce unnecessary failure points, (high potential to leak, particularly in silty environments). Simple attachments for mask straps are preferable to complicated attachments.

After-market neoprene  straps are a good  addition to  a mask. These are unlikely to break and  offer a comfortable  secure fit. Once  set to the  correct  size, neoprene straps never  need adjustment. I put the velcro on the inside to avoid entanglement and prevent  the strap accidentally being loosened. The  mask strap  is worn on the outside  of  the  hood  to  prevent  heat  loss and  to  allow  for easy,  one-handed adjustment.

No mask scenario's... When I learnt to dive, in addition to removing  and replacing the  mask  we  were required to  remove our masks and follow the  instructor  on a  circuit of the dive site. While uncomfortable at  first, coping without  a mask soon  becomes second nature. On  occasions  I remove my  mask and perform skills or  complete a dive without the  mask. In my view  being able to  cope with  the loss  of a mask is an essential skill for divers. Why then, in  conversations with Openwater Instructors, have I  been told that divers  can become certified  without  dealing  with even a total  mask flood? A bit  of discomfort  during a  training  or  skill  review  session seems a  small price to pay  to be comfortable  dealing with this sort of problem. Masks can  and do  get kicked off  by other  divers. Skirts  can get  damaged and leak. Lenses can  fall out. Straps  can break. Failure  to master  this skill  has the potential to lead  to stress, panic and  a possible  life-threatening  emergency. In my view  divers should practice no-mask  scenarios regularly, be able to maintain their  position in the  water and  perform  key skills  like air  sharing  without  the mask.

Fins Fins  are  an  important  piece of  equipment for  divers. Without  fins  it's extremely difficult to  get around underwater. Without  fins the diver  is often  at the mercy of the elements, (ever tried swimming in full SCUBA gear without fins?) There is a range of fin designs  around at the moment, all touted  to be the fastest, most efficient or the easiest to use. Personally, I don't have much interest in all of the rhetoric about different  blade designs. Generally I  feel most fin  designs are  poorly conceived and ignore the  fact that fins are used to  perform a range  of fin strokes  and a range of tasks other  than propelling the diver as  fast as possible in  one direction.  (Fins are also used  for stopping, maintaining  position, turning  on the  spot,  reversing  and a whole  lot of things). A rigid, utilitarian  design is by  far the  best in my  view. What interests me most though, is how effectively the fin is secured to my feet. I want to be able to get  the fins on and off my feet  with a minimal amount of fuss. I want to be confident  that the fin straps will not break and that  the fins will stay on my feet throughout the  dive without the need for any adjustment  or messing around. I also want to minimise the chance of my straps catching lines or other entanglements.

Oceanic stainless steel  spring straps are the only type of  fin straps that fit the bill, (these are  about as rare as hens  teeth now, unfortunately, but Halcyon and a few other companies make a similar strap and it's possible to make your own. There  are designs  and instructions  on  the web, (for  detailed  instructions  go  to http://www.deeperstuff.com/spring-strap.htm or http://www.cisatlantic.com/trimix/ fins/sprstrps.htm).

Unfortunately, (or fortunately, depending on your point of view) most  fin designs on the market  today lack the  suitably robust  attachments necessary  to  take  these straps, (although Dive Rite has a spring strap design to fit the plastic lugs used with quick  release straps.  But  this seems to  defeat  the  purpose, in my opinion).  The only ones that do - that I'm  aware of - are the Scubapro Jet fins, (which I own and love), several  clones from other  brands, (Turtle, US divers) and the Scubapro Twin Jets (which, like  other split fin  designs, I think  are nonsense.) Jet fins and the like offer  a  simple,  utilitarian  blade design  that  can  deliver  plenty  of  thrust  when needed.  But most  importantly their  rigid blade  offers effective control of direction and thrust. This style of fin can be used for all types of fin strokes and they work in all  situations. I have been  told, (by people who  use them) that some  radical fin designs  are less effective for some strokes, or all but useless on the surface. To me this makes them unsafe  as you should be able  to exercise effective  propulsion  at all stages  of the dive and  in all  conditions. A piece  of  equipment  that works  for  all  conditions  is always  preferable. In addition, correct  finning  technique  utilises  the tip of the fin predominantly.  By effectively  removing the  fin tip, or  making  the fins too flexible, some  manufacturers  have  rendered their  fins  useless  for  effectively  controlling position  and direction  in the  water. This is  an example of how a narrow focus has thrown up products that fail to meet the broader demands of diving.

Finally, regardless of whether you share my  views on other fin designs, the jet fin is generally cheaper than other designs and works beautifully.  Why buy anything else?

What's wrong with so called "quick release" straps? What's  wrong  with  the  so-called  "quick  release"  straps  sold  with  most  fins nowadays? Where  do I begin?  First let  me  say that  from  what  I've been told, (and I have no reason to doubt its accuracy) sales of fin straps outstrip the sales of  fins  by  ten  to  one!  Why?  Because  rubber  fin  straps  break!  The  plastic components of "quick release" straps break. Breakage can also result in the loss of a fin. Stainless steel springs don't break. The second  thing to consider is that, "quick release" straps aren't!  They are just another item to  mess with before, after  and during, (when  they  come  loose) a dive. I can don and doff my fins as fast or faster than someone with quick release straps.  I never adjust  or mess with  my stainless  straps,  (there  are  simply NO adjustments to make - simple). The third thing to consider is that the ocean is full of sand! On beach entries sand can enter  the mechanism  of "quick release"  straps and  prevent  them closing or opening. I  have seen  folks  get  into trouble in  the surf zone, (where  you can't afford to muck around) because their clips have jammed and won't close.

The fourth thing to consider is  that a number of folks  lose their fins because the plastic straps, with flimsy  attachments, have  failed during the dive.  (On at least one  occasion, I have seen  this result in  an uncontrolled ascent to the surface - admittedly poor techniques played a part too). Finally: "Quick release"  straps are a  major  entanglement  risk. The design makes this  unavoidable. Like  many  "innovations" in  the dive  industry,  "quick  release" buckles  represent "surface logic" that  is suboptimal  when  applied in  the marine environment, (something  that looks  good in  the show  room, but  doesn't  really make  sense in  real  life  diving). They create  more  problems  than  they  solve. Actually I'm not even sure what  problem they're  trying to  solve, or where these things  came from.  I've never  had any difficulty donning  or doffing my  fins even when I had the old style rubber straps. (Tip - from DIR  Fundamentals: If  you  need to remove  your fins to  climb  up a boat  ladder, or exit from the  surf or ont o rocks, slip  the fin  straps  over your wrists. Whatever you do don't throw your fins onto the boat ahead of you. If you keep your  fins on your  wrists, then, should  you accidentally  fall  back  into the water, it's  a  simple  matter  to  quickly don  the  fins again  and  swim  back to safety.  You have  control instead of  being at the  mercy of  the  elements. The fins are also harder to lose if they're on your wrists.)

Find out more … In Part 2, of this  series, (in the  September/October  issue of  Nekton) Simon  talks about backplate, harnesses and wings, but to find out more about DIR diving and its underlying philosophy, he  recommends the following  web pages  as a good starting point: What is Doing It Right Diving? by Jarrod Jablonski Beyond Hogarthian...Doing it Right by Dan Volker Doing It Right Gear Configuration by George Irvine Halcyon FAQ page Transcript of George Irvine's lecture to BAUE Online video streaming of DIR 1 and 3 video's by George Irvine (note you may need to install Windows Media Player on your computer and use Internet Explorer (DIR 3 is aimed at recreational divers)) NEW DIR books (Fundamentals of Better Diving, Tech 1 and Cave 1 manuals) by Jarrod Jablonski (available for online purchase)

Simon Hartley is an Associate Lecturer in the School of Environmental Science and  Management; teaching computing, statistics, geographic information  systems  (GIS)   and  remote  sensing  and   undertaking undergraduate    and   postgraduate   supervision.   He   is   currently undertaking  a Masters  by  research  examining  the  marine  benthic communities  of  Julian  Rocks  (Byron  Bay).  His  research  interests include  marine science  and GIS. Simon  is an  experienced scientific diver with over 13 years diving experience.  He has  been involved as a research  diver or team leader  on many  staff,  undergraduate and postgraduate    projects   in   the   School   including;   several   coral community studies  from the Solitary  Islands to  the southern Barrier

Reef, work  on shallow  water Rhodoliths  in Moreton  Bay, underwater  heritage  studies  in Byron Bay, work as a team leader for a Marine Archaeology field school in South Australia, turtle tagging and monitoring studies, surveys  of wobbegong and grey nurse sharks off Byron Bay and ongoing work on  the effects of trawling in  Moreton Bay.  Simon has  a diverse range  of  diving  skills and interests including; underwater  photography (still and video), general marine survey  techniques, use of  light tools and lift  devices and maritime archaeology. As the  President of  the North Coast Chapter  of   the  Australian  Marine   Sciences  Association,  Simon   is  involved   with  promoting postgraduate and undergraduate marine  research on the North Coast of New South Wales. Simon has worked  part time in the recreational dive  industry for six or  seven years and  has also been active in  a  number  university  and private  dive  clubs  over  the years,  including  being  on the executive of  the Southern Cross University  dive club for five or six  years. He has taken part in a number of  community based  projects, including  population studies of  the grey  nurse shark and the  development  of the  code of  conduct  for  recreational  diving with  sharks, and  fosters links between  the  dive  industry  and  university.   He  can  be  contacted  at:  shartley@scu.edu.au or visit his website at: http://www.scu.edu.au/schools/esm/staff/pages/shartley/projects/gear/