The Magazine of Divers Alert Network Asia-Pacific
REMOTE RESTRICTIONS BUOYANCY MASTERCLASS THE VALUE OF EXPERIENCE PLASTIC’S IMPACT Quarter 4, 2015 danap.org
Contents
ON THE COVER A diver explores a canyon in the Solomon Islands Image © Stephen Frink Settings: f/15,1/80s, ISO320
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51 Perspectives WHAT IS REMOTE? by Scott Jamieson
52 Incident Insight REMOTE RESTRICTIONS
by DAN AP’s Scott Jamieson, John Lippmann and Mel Cefai
58 Skills & Safety BUOYANCY CONTROL
by John Lippmann, DAN AP Founder & Chairman and Stan Bugg, DAN AP Director
62 Expert Opinions
THE EFFECT OF EXPERIENCE ON RISK by Peter Buzzacott, PhD
68 Life Aquatic OCEANS OF PLASTIC by Melissa Gaskill
70 Gear 68
WEIGHT UP!
by Marty McCafferty, EMT-P, DMT, and Patty Seery, MHS, DMT
ALERT DIVER’S PHILOSOPHY Alert Diver is a forum for ideas and information relative to diving safety, education and practice. Any material relating to dive safety or dive medicine or accident management is considered for publication. Ideas, comments and support are encouraged and appreciated. The views expressed by contributors are not necessarily those advocated by DAN Asia-Pacific. DAN is a neutral public service organisation which attempts to interact with all diving-related organisations or persons with equal deference. Alert Diver is published for the use of the diving public and it is not a medical journal. The use and dosage of any medication by a diver should be under the supervision of his or her physician.
Alert Diver is published as a separate, independent magazine within Scuba Diver AUSTRALASIA (SDAA) magazine. DAN AsiaPacific is not responsible for the content provided elsewhere within SDAA, and therefore this content should not be assumed to represent the views, policies or practices of DAN Asia-Pacific or Alert Diver magazine. ©Alert Diver text, illustration or photographs may not be reproduced or reprinted without the expressed consent of Divers Alert Network and its authors, artists and photographers. Many articles are reprinted with the kind permission of DAN America.
Email: info@danap.org For more information on membership, insurances and training programmes, visit our website: www.danap.org
Content Coordinator Stephen Frink Editors Brian Harper and Diana Palmer Founder, Director of Research & Chairman of the Board John Lippmann General Manager Scott Jamieson Administration Manager Sim Huber Marketing & Communications Manager Melissa Cefai DAN AP Board of Directors John Lippmann, David Natoli, Malcolm Hill, Dr David Wilkinson, Mick Jackson, Stan Bugg, Tom Wodak, Nicholas Cheong Memberships & Certifications Heidi Powell, Julie Parsonson, Cynthia Van Zyl, Mina Chivotti, Adam Lippmann, Sophie Kayne, and Diane Boyle Training John Lippmann, David Natoli and Tim Vernon-Smith Marketing Assistants Haili Mu & Adam Lippmann Accounts Anny Limbek DAN AP does not necessarily endorse the products or services of any organization or company whose advisements appear in Alert Diver
Perspectives
From DAN Asia-Pacific
WHAT IS REMOTE? With more divers adventuring to far-flung locations, DAN is managing incidents that present increasing challenges By Scott Jamieson
Part of the DAN Asia Pacific team. From left, Mel, Cynthia, Julie, John, Heidi, Scott, Haili, Anny, Adam, Sim
AS DIVERS, the thrill of diving a virgin wreck or a reef or cave system that has seen few divers is enticing, so it isn’t surprising that increasing numbers of DAN Members are travelling to remote, untouched diving destinations. However, remoteness creates issues for DAN and our assistance providers, as we find ourselves helping increasing numbers of divers in remote regions with infrastructure that often isn’t ideal when managing a diving emergency. But what is considered a remote location? The dictionary defines remote as being: a place that is situated far from the main centres of population. However, in the event of a diving accident, we can modify this a little bit to include places that are distant from the services we would expect in a main centre of population.
During the past month I assisted a DAN Member who had travelled to an island in Fiji that was less than a one hour flight from Nadi International Airport. Whilst the island doesn’t sound remote it did present challenges, such as the fact the island had a landing strip but no lights in order for a plane to safely land in the evening. You can read more about this particular challenge, and others, in our “Incident Insight” section on page 52. This incident demonstrates that even if a location is not geographically distant from a major centre it can still be considered “remote” when an emergency evacuation is required. Diving always carries some risk and the more remote you are, the greater that risk becomes. As responsible divers you should be aware of the fact that remote doesn’t just mean a long air flight to get to your holiday destination but it can mean the facilities at your destination are more rustic than ideal in the event of an incident. It is up to you, the diver, to make sure you minimise the risks, especially as you go more remote. Dive conservatively, try to limit your number of daily dives, take longer surface intervals, drink lots of water, and stay well rested. And make sure that DAN coverage is part of your dive kit. Enjoy your travels, evaluate the risks and dive safely and conservatively. Scott Jamieson, DAN AP General Manager
Dive Tip Engage with DAN on Facebook for insights into various dive safety and medical issues. Scan here or search DAN Asia Pacific.
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Image © Jan Novak/123rf
Research, Education & Medicine
Incident Insight
REMOTE RESTRICTIONS Evacuations to the high-level medical care can be hampered by unexpected restrictions in remote places Text by DAN AP’s Scott Jamieson, John Lippmann and Mel Cefai
CASE REPORT Sam (not his real name) is a healthy 47-year-old man who was diving with his wife in Kadavu, Fiji. He had completed a total of 120 lifetime dives and is described as fit and healthy. Sam has had no previous history of decompression illness. The incident occurred on Sam’s fourth day on Kadavu. On both the Monday and Tuesday the diver completed two dives that were uneventful from a safety/incident perspective. He rested on the Wednesday. On the Thursday he dived to 27m for a total bottom time of 41 minutes. His computer displayed no warnings, however, he felt dizzy and disoriented on his way to the safety stop. He completed approximately two minutes at the 5m safety stop before he underwent a rapid ascent to the surface. 4
During the safety stop, Sam felt as though everything was spinning around him. He surfaced and swam to the boat, at which point he lost all feeling in his body. His wife described him as having his eyes open but not responding. The diver has full memory of these events but was unable to respond, as he had no movement in his limbs. The boat crew commenced oxygen (O2) first aid immediately. Sam breathed O2 via a non-rebreather mask with a flow rate of 10 litres per minute (lpm) and regained some feeling in his legs and arms. Upon reaching shore a call was immediately placed to the DAN/DES (Diving Emergency Service) Hotline. After being given the details of the dives undertaken and the description of symptoms, the diving doctor assessed the cause as possible CAGE (cerebral arterial gas embolism) with the need for further medical evaluation and recompression treatment. Symptoms commonly associated with a CAGE diagnosis include disorientation, as well as difficulty walking and talking; all symptoms exhibited by Sam.
There is no recompression chamber located on Kadavu so DAN Asia-Pacific connected with DAN TravelAssist to prepare an assistance plan. Two options were considered: 1 An air evacuation to Suva on the main island, Viti Levu, where a recompression chamber is located.
2 An air evacuation to Nadi (also on Viti Levu), where the international airport is located, approximately a 50-minute flight time from Kadavu, and then a further flight to Brisbane, Australia.
The preferred option was getting Sam straight to Australia for higher-level care. However, the evacuation company advised that a landing permit would be required for an international rescue plane and medical team to land in Fiji, which would take approximately 6–18 hours. As such, it was decided that getting Sam to Suva and into the chamber for treatment was the best option given his condition and the unknown time it would take to secure a landing permit. Another issue arose as night was approaching. Despite the island of Kadavu having a landing strip it doesn’t have lights, which meant that any plans to have a plane or helicopter land that evening were not viable. Consequently, Sam had to spend the night in Kadavu. There were concerns that the medical centre did not have a sufficient supply of oxygen to get him through the night. Fortunately, more
oxygen was located and he was able to continue breathing oxygen at 10lpm via a non-rebreather mask without any breaks. Whilst his condition did improve, in that he was able to move all extremities and his speech was no longer slurred, he remained unable to urinate. It is understandable that both Sam and his wife were anxious and restless. DAN continued to reassure them that many people were working on getting him to higher-level medical treatment. The next morning, Sam was evacuated by helicopter from Kadavu to the Colonial Memorial Hospital in Suva for evaluation and treatment. He received a treatment (approximately two hours in the chamber), and underwent the same treatment the following day. The DAN/DES doctors still recommended an air evacuation to Brisbane for further treatment and this was organised accordingly. While the air evacuation was co-ordinated, Sam underwent another treatment with some improvement. However, his wife reported that his walking was limited to a shuffle and he still could not urinate. Upon reaching the Royal Brisbane Hospital he was diagnosed with spinal decompression illness and underwent a T62/T6 treatment, spending approximately five hours in the chamber. In total, Sam received three short recompression treatments in Fiji before being transported to Australia. He then had 15 further treatments. At the time of writing, Sam was able to walk, and although he is still unsteady on his feet, he was becoming increasingly stable, with strength continuing to return to his legs, and with hope of a full recovery.
Some locations may not seem to be extremely remote geographically, but restricted infrastructure can create problems for evacuations
Image © haveseen/123rf
Despite the island of Kadavu having a landing strip, it doesn’t have lights, which meant that any plans to have a plane or helicopter land that evening were not viable
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DISCUSSION O2 Availability It was fortunate that the dive operator was well equipped with oxygen on-board, and the dive boat and staff trained in oxygen provision so that appropriate first aid could be commenced immediately. In addition, the operator had a nonrebreather mask available, which can provide a high level of oxygen to a breathing diver. The flow rate was also in the recommended range of 10–15 lpm, albeit at the lower end. It is likely that the outcome of this incident would have been very different without the immediate and prolonged oxygen first aid.
Immediate Call to DAN/DES Hotline Fast action in calling the DAN/DES Hotline is to be commended as it meant that emergency evacuation procedures were implemented immediately. It also meant the instructions of the DES doctors could be followed from the outset; such as the instruction for the diver to continue breathing O2 all night at the highest possible flow rate. The hospital, in an effort to conserve oxygen (and in the absence of diving medical knowledge), suggested lowering the flow rate to 4lpm, or less. However the DAN/ DES doctor and DAN on-call staff rejected this as high concentration oxygen was vital to help reduce the diver’s symptoms.
DAN membership means that you will have the best support possible, even if you have an incident in a remote environment
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In remote environments it is even more important that the dive operator staff are trained in oxygen provision and the operator has adequate oxygen first aid equipment
Issues Associated with Remoteness
Whilst Suva has a recompression chamber, no technician was available to run the chamber until the following day. Even if DAN had been able to evacuate the diver to that chamber on the first evening he would not have been treated 8
This diver chose Fiji as a destination because it was “not too remote”. Unfortunately, even being close to a major city and international airport can still be considered remote depending on the associated circumstances. Whilst Suva has a recompression chamber (which is something many places don’t), no technician was available to run the chamber until the following day. As such, even if DAN had been able to evacuate the diver to that chamber on the first evening, he would not have been treated, and this is another reason why an evacuation to Australia was considered.
Coverage for Diving Incidents In this case, the air evacuations alone cost in excess of US$110,000 and that doesn’t include the cost of the chamber treatments! As a DAN Member, these evacuation costs were fully covered. And, in this highly stressful situation, it meant neither Sam nor his wife had to worry about arranging, or paying for, the two evacuations.
Arranging an Emergency Medical Evacuation Even though DAN are the experts in diving accident management with more than 30 years of experience in helping sick and injured divers, the unique set of circumstances that present for each case can and do create challenges. In this case, whilst the island of Kadavu has a landing strip, it doesn’t have the lights needed to guide planes in for a safe night landing. Sam was fortunate that the island had a medical centre with oxygen, although the supply was limited and would have run out if further supplies had not been found.
Dive Tip Planning a Dive Trip? Check out DAN AP’s list of safety aspects to consider when deciding which operator to dive with. Visit danap.org/planning.php Engage with DAN on Facebook for insights into various dive safety and medical issues. Scan here or search DAN Asia Pacific.
Planning Your Next Diving Adventure? Make Sure DAN Coverage Is Part Of Your Dive Kit
I was diving in the Maldives and had pain and tingling in one arm, an itching sensation on my back plus pins and needles in both feet. I called a DAN Hotline for help and was sent to the local chamber where I underwent two treatments that cost more than US$6,000. Fortunately, these expenses were fully covered by DAN. - S. Lee, Taiwan
www.danap.org
Skills & Safety
Techniques in Depth
BUOYANCY CONTROL Learn it, practise it, master it, and never take it for granted Text by John Lippmann, DAN AP Founder & Chairman and Stan Bugg, DAN AP Director Images by Stephen Frink
Good buoyancy control is the cornerstone of safe and enjoyable diving. Despite this fact, too many divers lack real skill in this vital area. Anecdotes abound of divers who, due to lack of buoyancy control, have a miserable and stressful time underwater. Diving fatality statistics highlight the role poor buoyancy plays in dive accidents: 1 In a DAN America analysis of over 900 diving fatalities, buoyancy trouble was reported in 31 percent of cases.1 2 A DAN Asia-Pacific study of over 350 Australian deaths found that buoyancy problems were highlighted in at least 17 percent of these incidents. As many earlier reports are incomplete, we suspect the actual figure is higher.2
BUOYANCY 101 To appreciate what is going on, it can be helpful for less experienced divers to refresh the basics of buoyancy control. We encourage you to visit www.danap.org/buoyancy.php for a summary of “Buoyancy 101” from basic diver training. GETTING BUOYANCY RIGHT Buoyancy control begins with correct weighting. You should generally aim to be neutral while on the surface with all air drained from your BCD. When you exhale, you should begin to sink. Incorrect weighting is all too common, and it invariably means OVERWEIGHTED. This process usually begins during basic training when new divers should be taught the importance of being correctly weighted, and should be guided through the steps needed to achieve it. But this is often not the case. It is not uncommon for instructors to overweight their students for pool and shallow ocean classes so they are not floating all over the place during instruction. This overweighting can make it extremely difficult for a panicking diver (student or otherwise) to reach or remain on the 10
surface if required, and has led to fatalities. In addition, this practice, unless corrected once the skills are covered, potentially turns “trained” divers loose with an inaccurate notion of how much weight they should use for subsequent dives. Flip to the Gear section on page 70 for a thorough rundown on proper weighting.
Add and dump air slowly to adjust your buoyancy
Getting your weighting right can mean taking the time to experiment and make some adjustments in controlled environments and under supervision
BUOYANCY COMPENSATOR PROBLEMS BCD inflator-deflator mechanisms are common causes of buoyancy control problems because poorly maintained mechanisms often jam. Poor design, where the inflator and deflator buttons are close together and/or easily confused, have also caused errors and subsequent buoyancy-related accidents. Careful choice of, and familiarity with, such a device will help to minimise problems: 1 Your BCD is a mechanical device that needs regular inspection, and professional maintenance. 2 Know your BCD. Know where the inflate/ deflate buttons are located, and how much pressure is required to activate them. 3 Add and dump air slowly. Sudden adjustments equate to dramatic and dangerous changes in your buoyancy. 4 Practise in a controlled environment if you are not familiar with the BCD, or if you have not dived for a while. 5 Check your BCD function before every dive, to ensure the mechanism is working smoothly.
POSITIVE BUOYANCY IN AN EMERGENCY It is very important that a diver who is at risk of becoming unconscious underwater gains positive buoyancy. The need to locate a diver, especially underwater, delays the opportunity for relatively early resuscitation efforts so it is far better for an unconscious diver to be at the surface, rather than to have to be searched for, and recovered from, underwater. When positive buoyancy is needed in a hurry, your BCD can be inflated, or you can jettison your weights. The latter is the only alternative if the gas supply is exhausted. All divers are told this in their training, but it seems that few actually act upon it when an emergency arises. Of the 350 compressed gas divers who died in Australia between 1972 and 2006, three quarters of them were found with their weights still in place. Many were also found with their BCDs deflated. Emergency drills such as ditching weights need to be practised REPEATEDLY in order to embed the skill. Certified divers need to continue to practise these skills periodically (as well as additional skills such as air-sharing and mask-clearing) so that these important selfpreservation skills are sufficiently honed and ready if required.
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Good buoyancy control is an essential part of safe diving and care for the underwater environment
WHY DON’T DIVERS DITCH THEIR WEIGHTS? 1 Many weighting systems are unduly complicated, and the ditching procedure is not well learned. 2 At times, other equipment hinders access to the weights. 3 Some see throwing equipment away as economically unsound. Increasingly expensive integrated systems must increase this mindset. 4 We suspect that ditching weights either did not occur to some divers during the crisis, or they were too incapacitated to do it.
So how often did you actually practise ditching your weights during your training? It is likely that, for most of you, the answer is NEVER. If you are not prepared to actually drop your weight systems (after all, repositioning integrated pockets is not easy, and they do cost a fortune!), get into the habit of actually going through the physical motions of ditching, both topside and underwater. Find the release mechanism by FEEL alone, and grasp the release as if you were going to dump it.
References
Further training can help you fine-tune your buoyancy for even safer, more enjoyable diving
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1. Denoble PJ, Caruso JL, Dear G de L, Vann RD. Common causes of opencircuit recreational diving fatalities. Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine 2008; 35:393–406.
2. Lippmann J, Baddeley A, Vann R, Walker D. An analysis of the causes of compressed gas diving fatalities in Australia from 1972–2005. Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine 2013; 40:49–61.
TAKE-HOME MESSAGES Good buoyancy control is an essential part of safe diving and care for the underwater environment. Divers need to use the minimum amount of weight to attain neutral buoyancy from the outset and should be taught, and regularly practise, good buoyancy control. It is important to revisit this when changing relevant equipment (e.g., converting to a drysuit) or when using ancillary equipment (e.g., an SMB) that can impact on buoyancy. As with other dive equipment, BCD inflator mechanisms need to be regularly inspected, tested and serviced to ensure functionality. It is also important for a diver to be very familiar with his/her weighting system, specifically how to dump weight readily in the event that this is required.
Diving locally locally with with your your club club or or buddy? buddy? Diving
Make Sure You Are Oxygen Prepared.
To determine the right DAN Oxygen Unit for your diving, consider: • If Shore Diving: Time to appropriate medical care (Chamber or Hospital). • If Boat Diving: Time to shore plus the time to appropriate medical care.
To be fully prepared, make sure: • Your DAN Coverage is current. • You are Trained in Oxygen First Aid. • You have an Emergency Plan.
www.danap.org or email oxygen@danap.org for advice
Image Š Becky Kagan Schott/Liquid Productions
Research, Education & Medicine
Expert Opinions
THE EFFECT OF EXPERIENCE ON RISK Can safety be determined by a combination of time underwater and training? Text by Peter Buzzacott, PhD
INEXPERIENCE is often listed as a factor during analyses of deaths on roads, falls in climbing and fatalities in diving. But what is experience, and how does it affect divers’ risk of injury? Experience involves some exposure to diving, but more than that it implies learning from that exposure, developing judgment about what to do when faced with similar situations in the future. The implication is that with time divers should be better equipped to make wiser choices. A single measure of experience for recreational divers does not exist, but some approximate measures may include the lifetime number of dives, years diving, highest certification level, number of dives made in the past year, number of hours diving and other logged diving variables. No 14
individual measure has been identified as clearly providing the most protection against diving injuries. Each measure may be relevant to some hazards and less so to others. A study of more than 1,000 recreational scuba dives in Western Australia found that 38 of the dives exceeded commonly accepted nodecompression limits and also that those divers were unlikely to have dived as deeply previously.1 Though they had been diving for twice as long as the other divers (10 years vs. five years), they were reaching new depths and then incurring decompression obligations. This increased their risk of decompression sickness (DCS), though none reported symptoms of DCS following these dives. A 2004 survey of 305 trained recreational divers found that within two years of certification 20 percent had not dived for at least a year,2 but that does not mean they had given up diving. Research shows that divers often return to the water after a year or more of inactivity; for example, a survey of 528 recreational divers aboard dive charter boats in Texas headed for an offshore dive found that 13 percent had not dived during the previous year.3
In these examples we see both longtime divers going beyond their previous experience and relatively new divers returning to diving after more than a year out of the water. Both groups might be considered at risk when compared with divers who have recently dived to similar depths. This assumption forms the basis for requiring minimum levels of experience for participation in certain training such as dive leader, instructor, cave diver and closed-circuit rebreather courses. During these courses divers learn new skills, and this highlights the difference between experience and skill set: Experience is earned over time through exposure to diving, while skills may be learned. Experience enhances a diver’s level of comfort and self-awareness in the water, while skills concern a diver’s mechanical ability to perform certain tasks. Indeed, it is even possible for an inexperienced diver to be highly skilled, especially if the diver is eager to reach the “top” of the sport as soon as possible. An analysis of insurance claims for DCS among DAN America members found that claims peaked for divers between the ages
of 30–39, and thereafter claim rates fell in every 10-year period that followed.4 This may suggest that divers make safer choices with increasing age. We asked two experts in diving and diver training for their opinions on the interplay between dive experience and the risk of suffering a dive injury. How do we measure experience? Keith Cardwell: Experience in the context of recreational diving could be measured by number of dives, hours accumulated underwater, frequency and currency of diving experiences, locations dived and/or types of diving. Measurement of experience by many dive operations takes into account all of these indicators and often relies on reviewing log books and/or the presentation of a certification card both to confirm experience and to indicate level of certification (and assumed skill level). Bill Oigarden: Experience is multifaceted. For scuba diving we usually think of experience as the classes we’ve taken, certifications we’ve earned and our time in the water. But I contend that experience also includes your lifestyle
Meet the Experts
Image © Stephen Frink
Keith Cardwell, PhD, has trained more than 2,000 instructors and established highly regarded training centres in Australia, New Zealand, the Maldives and the USA. Cardwell holds a master’s degree in education, postgraduate diplomas in business administration and sport and recreation, and a doctorate in the study of workplace competence for recreational dive instructors. He has been operating on the Great Barrier Reef out of Cairns, Australia, for the past 16 years. Bill Oigarden, PhD, began diving in 1967 and was certified in 1974. His expertise now spans four decades of cave diving, technical mixed-gas deep diving and operating a charter boat in South Florida and the Bahamas. Oigarden, who has degrees in underwater technology, business management and counselling, is trained in all facets of open-circuit sport and commercial diving, recompression chamber operation and as a life support technician. He earned a doctorate in 2013 while researching personality traits among cave divers.
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and how you view the world. A diver with an aggressive personality style might say he or she is experienced after a short period, while a more laid-back or reflective personality may tend to seek more knowledge because there’s always something new to learn.
what I do. Buddy checks, ascent and descent checks, and regular communication with buddies are still necessary even after thousands of dives. Ignoring basic rules such as these is a precursor to trouble.
Image © Stephen Frink
A diver with an aggressive personality style might say he or she is experienced after a short period, while a more laid- back or reflective personality may tend to seek more knowledge
How does inexperience relate to risk of injury among new divers? Cardwell: Considerably. Many new divers, particularly those in training, often have equalisation injuries due to lack of familiarity with the available techniques. The worstoutcome diving events with which I am familiar occurred predominantly with relatively inexperienced divers. Oigarden: I suspect most divers who continue to dive in open water after their initial certification continue to dive for the beauty of an environment that non-divers never see. Inexperienced divers might get into trouble and panic, resulting in a dive injury. Driven divers may be more likely to get into trouble by exceeding their training and limitations. How might having considerable diving experience relate to risk of injury among experienced divers? Cardwell: One concern witnessed frequently is the effect of aging on abilities that require strength and/or stamina. I’m no spring chicken anymore, and I have to be more deliberate about 16
Oigarden: Humble divers realise that they’re only as experienced as their last dive. Divers who consider themselves experienced can fall into several categories. One category includes divers who have been diving for 30 years or more and have made thousands of dives. These divers are now in their 50s, 60s, 70s and, in some cases, 80s. We are living and diving much longer than anyone expected. I think it’s safe to say that some of these thousands of older divers have some degree of cognitive decline. This decline might interfere with preparation of dive equipment, dive planning, willingness to admit to poor decisions and/or inability to solve a problem that 20 years earlier might have been solved instinctively. As experienced middle-aged divers, we may no longer be able to get away with a diving style we embraced decades earlier. Could an extended break from diving increase the risk of injury even in experienced divers? Cardwell: Yes, risk can be increased by presumptions about one’s capabilities after a long period of not diving. Short refresher
Respond Smarter
Take a DAN First Aid Course
An educated diver is a safer diver. That’s why education is a key component of DAN’s mission. DAN training programs prepare you to safely and properly manage an injury and are available for divers of all levels. DAN members also have access to free online educational resources via our Members-Only portal (located within the Membership & Insurance section of the DAN AP website).
www.danap.org/DAN_training.php
Image © Stephen Frink
courses are available through all training agencies. Risk can also be exacerbated by the use of unfamiliar equipment. Oigarden: I took a break from diving while I was raising my children. So about 15 years ago I sought out an instructor I had known since the 1970s and signed up for an open-water course and a nitrox course. I took my time and learned the rationales underlying new techniques and procedures. I also spent a great deal of time learning about the new technology and its underpinnings.
How do we recognise a diver going too far too soon — beyond their training and experience? Cardwell: One good indicator is a diver who holds certifications that appear to have been gained with the minimum required experience. This is often reflected in the speed at which certifications were acquired and in the number of dives logged (assuming the dives logged are genuine). In my experience, those who wish to fast-track their qualifications are usually those who are more concerned with having the certification than having the skills. Oigarden: A controversial answer would be a diver who completely relies on his dive partners’ experience. When divers can accurately explain the who, what, why, when and where of a dive from preparation to debriefing, then they are probably pacing themselves appropriately. Is there a particular type of diver who is at higher risk of injury because of inexperience or because of considerable diving experience? Cardwell: I can’t answer regarding someone with a lot of experience other than leaning on knowledge of the very few I have known who had accidents because of not accepting the limitations that aging imposes. Oigarden: I speculate that divers such as Hal Watts, Tom Mount, Sheck Exley, Jarrod Jablonski and Casey McKinlay have a combination of physiology, psychology and drive that allows them to make extreme dives that most of us, no matter how much experience we gain, would not be able to duplicate. So in relation to these divers and others like them, the rest of us – if pushed to the extremes – have a much greater risk of a dive injury.
References 1. Buzzacott P, Pikora T, Heyworth J, Rosenberg M. Exceeding the limits-estimated tissue pressures among Western Australian recreational divers. Diving Hyperb Med. 2010; 40(4):201–205. 2. Buzzacott P, Pikora T, Rosenberg M. Posttraining dive inactivity in Western Australia. Diving Hyperb Med. 2008; 38(4):197–199. 3. Ditton RB, Osburn HR, Baker TL, Thailing CE. Demographics, attitudes, and reef management preferences of sport divers in offshore Texas waters. J. Mar. Sci. 2002; 59:S186–S191. 4. Denoble PJ, Ranapurwala SI, Vaithiyanathan P, Clarke RE, Vann RD. Per-capita claims rates for decompression sickness among insured Divers Alert Network members. Undersea Hyperb Med. 2012; 39(3):709–715.
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Is it possible to gain experience quickly? Cardwell: Yes, but gaining experience takes time. Divers who devote a lot of time to their sport can arguably become better at it by meeting challenges and overcoming them through good training and other preparation; plenty of varied diving that sees a diver consistently following basic rules may prevent a host of potential problems from occurring. Similarly, more formal training can also speed learning. For example, being trained as a rescue diver could make dealing with a distressed diver underwater somewhat easier than it would be without the knowledge and skills learned in the course. Oigarden: Yes and no. Some divers seem to have a natural disposition for being in a technically complex situation underwater in strenuous or stressful conditions. I would speculate that every buddy, instructor, dive leader, dive site and dive plan could influence how quickly a diver might become what could be considered experienced.
Is it possible that certain levels of experience relate to certain types of dive injuries? Cardwell: Accidents can happen at any experience level but are more common among less experienced divers. Certainly, as mentioned earlier, equalisation problems occur during training or early in divers’ experiences. This is due to either unfamiliarity with the available techniques and/or high anxiety levels. Accidents with the worst outcomes have been the result of neglecting basic safety precautions, presuming that all environments are similar and arrogantly and thoughtlessly ignoring the hazards involved. Oigarden: I look forward to reading and maybe even being a part of a longitudinal look at divers’ experience, physiology, psychology and outlook on life to draw a set of new conclusions that continue to advance the safety of the sport we love so much.
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Water Planet
Life Aquatic
OCEANS OF PLASTIC The shocking impact of our addiction to plastic Text by Melissa Gaskill
275 MILLION TONS A YEAR A recent study by a group at the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis at the University of California, Santa Barbara, found that 20 of the world’s nearly 200 countries with coastlines account for 83 percent of the total volume of plastic that washes into the sea – an amount that researchers estimate to be between 4.8 and 12.7 million metric tons each year. That’s at least 10 billion pounds of plastic. To put this in perspective, Jenna Jambeck, the principal author of the study, explained that the volume of plastic entering the oceans each year is equivalent to five grocery bags filled with plastic for each foot of coastline in the world – and that includes only municipal waste. When we consider other types of waste as well, we discard a total of some 275 million metric tons (606 billion pounds) of plastic each year. “Until now, what we knew about plastic in the ocean was from observations at sea,” says Kara Lavender Law of the Sea Education Association, one of the study’s authors. “That only accounts for a fraction, though, since only certain plastics float. The difference with this work is that we were looking at the flow coming from land.” PLASTIC’S DEADLY IMPACT Plastic debris is unsightly for divers and others who enjoy the oceans, but more important, it threatens marine life. Scientists at Plymouth University in England documented encounters between 693 marine species and manmade debris; 92 percent of these involved plastic. The encounters included entanglement, ingestion, direct damage to the ecosystem (such as coral or seagrass destruction) and rafting, in 20
Image © C Facker/NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries
On a dive over reefs near Ambergris Caye, Belize, a few years ago, I snagged a napkin-sized piece of drifting plastic and tucked it into my BC pocket. A few minutes later I noticed a smaller piece and plucked it up, too. Before the dive ended, I had collected half a dozen bits of plastic. This prevalence of plastic was disappointing, but I was soon dismayed to learn that Belize is far from the worst offender.
which debris literally picks up and moves an animal. Plastic rope and netting cause most entanglements, which particularly affect northern right whales and green, loggerhead and hawksbill sea turtles. The Project Aware Foundation reports that an estimated 50,000 to 90,000 northern fur seals die each year entangled in marine debris. Nearly 80 percent of the entanglements observed in the Plymouth study harmed or killed the animal. Green sea turtles, California sea lions and Atlantic puffins are some of the species known to ingest plastic fragments. According to one study cited by Project Aware, 95 percent of dead, beached northern fulmar birds had plastic in
A SOLVABLE PROBLEM Theoretically, plastic debris is a solvable problem. “If we increase waste management to 100 percent coverage in the top 10 countries and cap our waste generation and the percentage of it that is plastic,” Jambeck says, “we could stop 77 percent of the input by 2025.” Halving the amount from the top 20 countries would reduce the total amount of plastic reaching the sea by almost 40 percent. Law said the authors were initially hesitant to publish a ranking of countries. “But I’ve heard people say they are happy someone is noticing this problem and are optimistic about the prospect of people being motivated to act,” she explains. “We’re hopeful this will result in a first step toward international-scale solutions.” In developed countries, improving waste management offers less of a benefit: “The U.S. does a pretty good job and yet is still number 20,” Law says. Capturing more plastic in the recycling stream also offers limited benefit, as only a few types have real market value. Ultimately, she said, we must reduce the amount of plastic produced. “We use a valuable resource – oil – to produce a material designed to be strong and durable but then use it to make many things that we need for only a few minutes,” she said. And virtually every piece of plastic ever made still exists today. Both Jambeck and Law emphasise that individual choices make a difference, and the
more people are willing to make changes, the bigger the difference. “Carry your own reusable water bottles and bags, buy less packaging, and pick up what you see when diving or on the beach,” Law suggests. “Talk to dive operators. Point out that the industry depends on the ocean environment and say, ‘What about not using disposable water bottles?’” Even something as simple as a proper trash receptacle on a dive boat to keep trash out of the water is a fine start. “Everyone can play a role in mitigating the ocean plastic problem,” says Nicholas Mallos of Ocean Conservancy. “Be aware of your own plastic use, and ensure that your trash, on land and water, is disposed of properly.” Divers can also take part in several initiatives to remove plastic already in the ocean. Project AWARE encourages divers to collect debris through its Dive Against Debris programme and recently launched a specialty certification to help train divers to be debris-fighting citizen scientists. The Ocean Conservancy sponsors an annual International Coastal Cleanup (ICC), a worldwide volunteer effort to clean waterways and the ocean. While many volunteers work on beaches and shorelines, some work underwater. “Divers play an integral role in the ICC and Dive Against Debris, collecting debris that’s already made its way into the marine ecosystem,” Mallos explains. Dive groups can also organise underwater cleanups with guidance from the Ocean Conservancy’s Do-It-Yourself Cleanup Tool Kit site. Defining a problem is the first step toward solving it. Now that we see the astonishing quantity of litter and poorly managed waste ending up in the ocean, perhaps we’ll be inspired to make changes. Meanwhile, I’ll continue nabbing those bits of plastic on my dives.
The more people are willing to make changes, the bigger the difference. Everyone can make a difference in mitigating the ocean plastic problem. Be aware of your own plastic use
References
Image © Kip Evans
their stomachs, and a North Pacific Central Gyre study found that 35 percent of plankton-eating fish had ingested plastic. Australian researchers found that Great Barrier Reef corals will eat microplastic (the bits of plastic left when larger pieces break down), consuming almost as much plastic as they do marine plankton.
Jambeck JR, et al. Plastic waste inputs from land into the ocean. Science 2015; 347(6223):768–771; doi:10.1126/ science.1260352.
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Gear
Know Your Kit
WEIGHT UP! Mastering the art of getting your buoyancy spot on Text by Marty McCafferty, EMT-P, DMT, and Patty Seery, MHS, DMT Images by Stephen frink
Early in dive training, students learn that there are three elements involved in buoyancy control: the buoyancy compensator (BC), weights and lung volume. Although most divers are familiar with the need to be properly weighted, many do not understand all that it entails. Students and experienced divers alike make two common errors when it comes to weighting: diving while overweighted, and failing to adjust the amount of weight used in response to changes in equipment and environment.
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DON’T WORK TOO HARD Improper weighting makes it harder to achieve neutral buoyancy. Many divers who wear too much weight do not even realise they are overweighted. The excess weight means that to achieve neutral buoyancy the diver has to put more air into the BC bladders, which can create a more upright profile in the water. The upright position increases drag when swimming, causing the diver to expend more effort and consume more air. Underweighted divers can also become significantly fatigued while trying to stay down. In addition to increasing breathinggas consumption, extra exertion can elevate decompression stress. GET IT RIGHT You may have heard a diver say, “This is how much weight I always use.” While field testing and prior experience can be useful, this statement shouldn’t be the endpoint of a dialogue about weighting. Proper weighting requires thought and practice, and the amount
of weight worn is not fixed. Over the course of our lives, we experience change in muscle mass, body fat and physical fitness. Equipment, including wetsuits, wears out and gets replaced. Dive environments differ. All these factors affect buoyancy and require adjustments to the amount of weight used. To determine how much weight you need, consider your body weight, the exposure protection you will be wearing, the weight of your equipment and the environment in which you will be diving. Start with weight equivalent to 10 percent of your body weight, which is a good baseline for a 6mm full wetsuit. For a 3mm suit, use 5 percent of your body weight. Remember that these percentages are simply starting points. Drysuits and thick neoprene necessitate more weight to counter the suits’ buoyancy than do thin neoprene or dive skins. Body composition (muscle density, for example) will influence whether more or less weight is needed. Diving with an aluminium tank requires more weight than diving with a steel tank. Salt water is denser than fresh water, thus increasing the buoyancy of immersed objects and requiring more weight to descend. Dive training typically begins in freshwater environments such as pools, quarries or lakes, so new divers should consider that even if they are wearing the same exposure protection they will need to add weight for ocean diving. The exact amount of additional weight needed will vary from person to person. Performing a buoyancy check in each situation will help determine the correct amount of weight to add. SECURE IT There are several options available for how and where to secure your weights. A weight belt is the most common method of wearing weights; there are belts that accept slide-on weights as well as pocket belts that can accommodate either solid weights or soft weights (bags filled with lead shot). Weight belts are easy to ditch in an emergency as long as you keep other gear clear of the belt. A shoulder harness is sometimes used when the buoyancy of a thermal protective suit requires more weight than can comfortably be worn around the waist. Integrated weight pockets and harness systems offer a couple of advantages over belts: They can be considerably more comfortable, and they offer improved ability to adjust trim. But unlike belts, which have a single point of release, harnesses and integrated systems may have more than one release point. This is crucial information for the diver and dive buddy to discuss prior to diving – and to remember in the event of an emergency. A downside to using weight pockets is that it may be more difficult to add or remove weights if adjustments need to be made.
How to Perform a Buoyancy Check Start in water too deep to stand in, and release all the air from your BC. Inhale a normal breath, and the water should be at eye level. When you exhale, you should sink so that the water is just over your head and then rise to eye level as you inhale normally again. Adjust your weights in small increments (e.g., one kilo at a time). Consider adding a little extra
weight to offset the potentially positive buoyancy of a partially emptied aluminium cylinder at the end of the dive. If you are properly weighted, you should be able to hover effortlessly at five metres at the end of your dive with 50 bar in your aluminium tank and no air in your BC.
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In addition to wearing the right amount of weight, make sure it’s positioned to optimise underwater trim
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STAY TRIM In addition to wearing the right amount of weight, make sure it’s positioned to optimise underwater trim. Creating a level profile in the water makes you more hydrodynamic. Distribute the weights as equally as possible from side to side; you should never feel as though you are listing to one side while diving. You should also consider the weight of your scuba tank and the style of your BC when placing your weights. The tank can be moved up or down in the tank band to facilitate optimal body positioning in the water. Back-inflation BCs have a tendency to push the diver forward (face down) in the water, so placing weights toward the back can help to counter some of this forward pitch, especially at the surface. While weight pockets on the back of your BC can help with trim, they also present a hazard in an emergency because buddy assistance is required to remove them if ditching weight becomes necessary.
Fins can be positively, neutrally or negatively buoyant, and each type may require compensation. Ankle weights can help offset a more buoyant lower body half, but they may be a challenge to ditch, because you have to reach to release them. If your fins are negative and create a downward pull on the lower half of your body, moving weights higher on your body or shifting your tank higher in the band can move up your centre of gravity to promote a more level profile. Reviewing where and how your buddy’s dive weights are placed is an essential component of every pre-dive check. Each buddy needs to know how to jettison the other buddy’s weights in an emergency. Learning to determine proper weighting will enhance your enjoyment of dives and your safety. Having a good understanding of your baseline weighting needs and the factors influencing your buoyancy will aid you in adjusting to a variety of environments and conditions.
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HERE’S WHAT YOU’RE MISSING IN THIS ISSUE OF SCUBA DIVER AUSTRALASIA Scuba Diver AUSTRALASIA is the official media partner of DAN Asia-Pacific.
Scuba Diver AUSTRALASIA is one of the most well respected dive magazines, full of mind-blowing images from the world’s best photojournalists, the low-down on the newest dive equipment, the most exciting destinations, stories from the world of science and conservation, and much, much more!
FROM THE EDITOR Check this out! We are super excited to present you with this new and improved Scuba Diver AUSTRALASIA! It’s also absolutely fitting that this happens to be the “World Records” edition – with this new look and all-new content, we reckon we are now way ahead of the curve, and bringing you the world’s best from the big blue. We’ll now be covering the whole gamut of the world of diving in every issue, with unbelievable firsthand experiences, bucket-list destinations, the inside track on dive education, the newest equipment, incredible photography, and so much more! This issue is a mind-blowing roundup of the planet’s record-breaking creatures, people and places, with everything from immortal animals (seriously, check out the feature on page 38), to people spending days underwater or diving to more than 250 metres on a single breath (page 30)! Home to everything from the world’s fastest and deepest to its smartest and most deadly, this region’s waters easily take the title of the world’s most impressive and exciting. Are you ready to dive in to them in a whole new way?
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UNORTHODOX WHALE Text by Steve De Neef Images by Franco Banfi
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World record holder, freediver William Trubridge descending to the deep Image © Lia Barrett
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