Breath hold skills

[Major Clanger]

Some more advanced CCR courses include breath holding skills such as an 18m swim to gas source. What's the point, is it something someone properly kitted out is ever likely to need? What's it prove, nothing IMO other than a skill tick. Might show a certain level of fitness but how often does anyone practise it after training...

[BTS]

A lot of advanced ccr 'skills' are just course padding IMO, the price and kudos needs justifying so add skills to add a perception of value. Otherwise it would really just be maths and done in half a day.

[Graham Smith]

I think a lot of these breath hold / mask off skills are not so much "Skills" per se, but more capacity tests.

Many seemingly competent divers have major problems when outside their comfort zone, and breath hold swims can identify this.

Having said that, I am sure there are instructors out there who do lie to "beast" divers for the sake of it or pad the courses out. I don't think the better ones do or need to...

G

[Soggy]

I found it a good way of demonstrating not to fuck up cos there's no way I'd have probably made it in a real event. So it makes me take extra care with my diving to avoid that situation.

[Major Clanger]

I found it a good way of demonstrating not to fuck up cos there's no way I'd have probably made it in a real event. So it makes me take extra care with my diving to avoid that situation.

It does indeed show that so, if anything, it's something that should be part of recreational entry level courses if anywhere such as AOW. By the time you're at advanced ccr diver training you (generic) really should know that already. Many a buddy diver dives in a state of ignorant bliss not realizing they're in effect solo if there's an OOA.

[Mark Rowe]

It does indeed show that so, if anything, it's something that should be part of recreational entry level courses if anywhere such as AOW. By the time you're at advanced ccr diver training you (generic) really should know that already. Many a buddy diver dives in a state of ignorant bliss not realizing they're in effect solo if there's an OOA.

Perhaps that's the point - the skill is quite hard and after doing it the realisation that correct planning of bailout and if you bail the bailout deco gases too, when considering the depths of advanced CCR, (I presume 60m - 100m) CCR divers do. Also perhaps it's also a wake up call to all of this for CCR divers that have done quite a lot of CCR but become lax in their drills, planning and what bailout they carried when doing deco CCR dives.

Safe diving
Mark

[Hot Totty]

I think it's mainly a stress test, allows you relax when the shits hit the fan and think. I had my own little stress test on mod 3 as my bail out that I'd just deployed decided to immerse me in a jacuzzi of bubbles - loop out, I new I had time to shut off cyl tighten 1st stage turn back on purge n breathe off it before I was going to be in a problem. The exercise increased my comfort zone that's all