Spyros Kollas

Topics

History

Purpose of sidemount in caves & wrecks

Cylinders removals

Negotiating restrictions

Getting stuck

Advanced sidemount

Small passages

Extended penetrations

No mount diving

History

The first departure was in the early

1960s from a British cave diver Mike

Boon while he was trying to make an

attack on the sumps of Hardrawkin Pot

in Yorkshire in England.

History

Sidemount came in the US after a much darker episode that an untrained had managed to fatality slide into an impossibly narrow crevice in Royal Spring in North Florida

Divers Sheck Exley & Wes Skies were tasked to with the recovery of the wedged diver. After several unsuccessful attempts at recovering the diver using backmounted cylinders, Exleyconcocted a single cylinder at his side, he slid into the crevice beside the dead diver , braking him loose from the cave grasp.

History

In 1977 the cave diver Forest Wilson

learned about the technique from British

sump explorers who used it to efficiently

transit tanks through the cave and then

dive

In between all the experienced and well-

known cave divers in the US were trying

several setups as they realized that this

is a real exploration tool.

Purpose of sidemount in caves

It would be 20 years or more before

sidemount would gain recognition as a

safe and stable alternative to hauling

heavy manifolded double cylinders

known as the Benjamin Crossover Valve

that Mr. Dr. George Benjamin designed

to facilitate his exploration into the deep

blue holes of the Bahamas.

Purpose of sidemount in caves &

wrecks Catalyst that brought sidemount into the cave

diving mainstream

Allows access to underwater passages that were too small to enter with backmount.

Indi pended redundant gas supply increasing safety

Brake down the doubles package into two separate manageable packages

Enables divers to physically see and manipulate their scuba valve attachments

Allows for gas sharing contingencies

Offers stability and streamlining

Cylinder Removals

Two Key Hazards

Separation from ballast

Separation from gas supply

Cylinder Removals

Separation from ballast

When you remove a cylinder you must be

prepared for loss of the ballast that is

keeping you from floating to the ceiling of

the cave or the wreck.

Catastrophic in a large room or fissure crack

prior to a restriction

Cylinder Removals

Separation from gas supply

In the same scenario as above, the diver

stands to lose not only the ballast but the

entire gas supply if the cylinder is not

tethered in a secure method.

Negotiating Restrictions

How small is small???

Most of the manuals describe a minor

restriction as a place where two divers

cannot swim side by side.

A major restriction is a section of a cave

or a wreck that causes a diver to come

into contact with the cave or the wreck

Negotiating Restrictions

Each diver must decide weather

attempting a restricted area is within his

acceptable level of risk

Negotiating Restrictions

Before passing any narrow restriction the diver should asses the following

Gas available – Is it worth the effort of passing the restriction?

Size up the restriction – Is it passable in your current configuration?

If in a team – Will all members be able to traverse the restriction before they hit their turn pressures?

Will visibility allow for the entire team to efficiently pass the restriction after the first diver passes?

Getting Stuck

What do you do if you get stuck???

The answer may be different for each

person, though there are some important

common insights

Getting Stuck

Don t panic

Know your equipment

Ask for help

Wait assist

Advanced Sidemount

Includes

Stage diving

Single and double cylinder removals at

major restrictions

Use of a specially rigged cylinder for no

mount diving

Mixed team concepts sharing emergencies

Indi pended diving philosophy

Small passages

Often times , the passage configuration

of the cave or the wreck will not be wide

enough to allow for the stage cylinder to

be worn on the diver s sides.

In this case the cylinders are removed

and hand held.

In very small passage the stages are

‘’ferried’’ one at time through the

restriction

Extended Penetrations

INCREASED

BOTTOM TIMES

Penetration and/or distance from the surface

Decompression obligation

Number of small or long restrictions

Change of equipment malfunction

Depths (requiring multistage and various

mixes)

Extended Penetrations

Gas planning should take into

consideration a delayed return to exit

In some cases tanks will be passed

through a restriction from one diver to

another.

Never set the cylinders down to the flour

of a cave or a wreck without first clipped

to the guideline

No Mount diving

Pass through a restriction without cylinders attached to the body

No Mount cylinder to pass a body size restriction

Cylinder can be any size with a dual outlet valve (also known as H-valve and/or Y-valve)

No Mount diving

Gas planning for no mount diving must

be extremely conservative

Maximum penetration on no mount

cylinder must be no more than quarters

No mount restrictions are not traversed

by teams

In case of team, only one diver goes

through the restriction

No Mount diving

Specialized hand and light signals

should be organized before

All emergency scenarios must be

discussed and rehearsed prior to diving

We talked about…

History

Purpose of sidemount in caves & wrecks

Cylinders removals

Negotiating restrictions

Getting stuck

Advanced sidemount

Small passages

Extended penetrations

No mount diving

Questions??