Planning a days diving

Purpose  To give Ocean Divers and up the knowledge, resources, and information to plan a day diving.

Aims  Why plan a dive trip?  Who is coming?  Where are we going?  How do we get there?  What kit do we need?  What are we going to do all day?  What are we going to eat/drink?  On the day.  After diving.  Overview of steps.  Practical

Why should OD+ organise a day diving?  It’s way more fun to go diving than to talk about it.  EUSAC is a diving club and it’s members like to go diving.  It isn’t too hard to do, but can take a little time.  It will give you greater knowledge of diving and organising a group of people (CV building)  Shows you are keen and eager to get involved.  To go diving of course.

Who is coming?  Possibly the best way to get information out to the club is via  Your initial should be brief and detail;  When the trip is.  Who the trip is suitable for.  What information you require if someone is interested in coming.  Follow up s should be sent out to the group with more detailed plans once you have them.

Where are we going?  If you don’t already have a site in mind, the DO & a kind DL can advise you.  Look online at some forums & site guides  is a great resource.  Or even dive guide books.  Must be appropriate for the group & forecast weather  Work out how far it is & how long it will take to get there.

Where are we going?  Weather is just about the only thin that can stop you diving.  Lots of websites you can check  has wind, wave and pressure (rain) forecasts.  Wind direction and speed will affect your choice of site.  Force 6 wind or greater means pub time  BUT there may be sheltered sites somewhere

How do we get there?  Cars or vans?  Cars  no hire charge, used in advance for fills  Only so much space, may not be available, may not be able to tow.  Vans  Plenty of room for kit & hiding from rain, can have towbar.  Hire charge, need to be collected/returned, drivers needed.  It may be more economical to use a van & car for a long trip than 3 cars due to the saving in fuel.

How do we get there?  One car at best can cope with 3 divers & kit with 2 tanks each.  Realistically 2 divers & kit with 2 tanks is safer and more practical.  If hiring a van the club has accounts with Arnold Clark (AC) based in Leith & Shorts based in Bonnyrigg.  There can be two drivers per vehicle but must be over 23 for AC unless you have sat and passed the University’s defensive driving course. Shorts are more relaxed.  Contact the Treasurer for booking codes & references.

What kit do we need?  Basic kit  Mask, fins, boots, gloves, weight belt, semi/drysuit  Scuba kit  BCD, Regulators & Cylinders  Cylinders need filling in advance!  Any site specific kit  DSMB  Boats  Shot line  Check everything in advance!

What are we going to do all day?  Dive of course!  Create a timetable for the day.  Make sure you can realistically fit everything into the day.  Loading  Travelling  Brief/Debrief  Lunch  Oh yeah, and Diving!  Remember to take it with you!

What are we going to do all day?  An example timetable  07:00 – Meet at lockup, sort kit, load vehicles  08:00 – Depart lockup  10:00 – Arrive at A-frames, Loch Long. Brief divers on buddy pairs, site & plan for the day.  11:00 – First Wave dives  12:00 – Second Wave dives, First wave has lunch  13:00 – Second wave has lunch  13:30 – First Wave has second dives  14:30 – Second Wave has second dive, first wave begins packing up  15:30 – Second wave begins packing up, first wave assists  16:00 – Depart A-frames, Loch Long  18:00 – Arrive in Edinburgh, Wash kit, debrief & collect monies  19:00 – Leave lockup for home, pub, curry

What are we going to do all day?  Planning Buddy Pairs  If possible buddy similar divers together.  Keep in mind qualification & previous experience. The two go together.  Make sure there is suitable shore cover at all times.  Remember it’s fun diving so give the instructors & experienced divers a break from training.

What are we going to eat/drink  The simplest thing to do is to tell everyone to bring their own lunches. Saves time and effort.  However, buying food for the group can make lunch time more social.  The summer months especially benefit if you sort out a BBQ.  It can be more complicated though.  Check dietary requirements.  Factor in food cost and tell divers.  Food everyone likes?

On the day  Check the weather & have all your plans with you.  Buddy pairs & contact info  Timetable  Directions/Dive site notes  Tell the DO you have gone diving!  If you are managing the day, follow your timetable  If you are not, watch the Manager and see what they do so you can do it next time  More about running the dive side of things on site is covered in SD & DL lectures

After Diving  Tell the DO you got back safely!  Make sure all kit is rinsed, stored & the lockup left tidy.  Hold a food auction if necessary  Collect in receipts/money  Thank everyone for coming & helping.  Tell the treasurer what kit was used by everyone  Head to bed/pub/curry  Start all over again for next week.

Overview of steps.  Decide you want to go diving and when.  Have a look at long range weather  the EUSAC list to get people interested  Collected info from interested people and work out what resources you have  Work out transport, kit, fills, and food.  Finalise the site and check tides/weather (with DL/DO assistance)  Check people are up to date with kit balance  Send out a reminder  Create a timetable/plan for the day  GO DIVING!  Debrief and pub/curry  Sort out money and log dives.

Summary  Why plan a dive trip?  Who is coming?  Where are we going?  How do we get there?  What kit do we need?  What are we going to do all day?  What are we going to eat/drink?  On the day.  After diving.  Overview of steps.  Practical

Practicals In groups of 3-4 practise planning the various aspects of a days diving.  Task 1 – the list  Task 2 – from the information provided, assign roles to your trip participants, organise vehicle, estimate costs, create buddy pairs & plan a timetable  Task 3 – Plan an evening dive