Conducting Practical Skills

Equipment configuration

The equipment configuration according to SwedTech Diving standards should be explained thoroughly before diving during the Extended Basic Skills course. The student must, before each dive, be able to put his/her equipment together understanding the thinking behind SwedTech Diving equipment configuration.

On the courses above the Extended Basic Skills course, the student is expected to put his equipment together according to the SwedTech Diving equipment configuration and explain its function and the thinking behind it without any help from the instructor.

S-drill/Pre-dive safety check

On the surface the drill should be conducted as follows:

  • Check that the 210 cm long low-pressure hose to the primary second stage can be fully deployed, to ensure possibility for proper gas sharing. At least one other team member should verify the deployment. After the deployment, stow the longhose along the back or the front of the wing (depending on the model), under the lamp canister, up along the chest, around the neck and back in the mouth. Check that the longhose does not prevent you from being able to turn your head in both directions.
  • Check that all valves are fully open. This is done by team members on each other. The drysuit inflation tank should be controlled as well if used.
  • Bubble check should be conducted by team members on each other simultaneously with the valve check. Valves and first stages are immersed under the water surface so that it becomes easier to see if any bubbles originate from the valves or the first stages. If any gas leaks are discovered, they must be fixed before continuing the dive. A dive must never start with loss of gas that leaks out. If drysuit inflation bottle is used it should also be checked for leakage.
  • Check that all second stages are water-tight. Breath in all second stages under the water surface to be sure they do not deliver any water. During this check, the secondary second stage hanging in the necklace around the neck must also be verified. When extra tanks for bottom gas or decompression gas are used they should also be checked. This can be done in the boat/before the dive by inhaling hard through the second stages mounted on the tanks not pressurized with closed valves.
  • Turn your light on before the descent to make sure that light communication is possible.
  • S-drill/safety check in high sea can be conducted at the depth of 6-9 meters without adding to the bottom time. The procedures are the same as on the surface, but the checks are done in horizontal trim with clear reference (e.g. descent line or other). The team must have very good contact with the reference – a dive aborted because of the lost reference is not acceptable.

Swimming techniques

The basic swimming techniques that should be practised are:

Frog kick

Starting position is horizontal trim. The technique should be practised both with small and big movements. The diver’s knees must not drop more than 10 cm under the horizontal trim line. The kick must be symmetrical. The working angle of the knees should be between 45 and 90 degrees. The fin tips may not drop from the horizontal line. Frog kicks should result in a good glide in the water.

Flutter kick

Starting position is horizontal trim. The technique should be practised both with small and big movements. The diver’s knees must not drop more than 10 cm under the horizontal trim line. The students should practice how to direct the force backwards or upwards. The force from the kick must never be directed downwards.

Backward kick

Starting position is horizontal trim. The technique should be practised both with small and big movements. The diver’s knees must not drop more than 10 cm under the horizontal trim line. The kick must be symmetrical. The working angle of the knees should be between 45 and 90 degrees. The fin tips may not drop from the horizontal line. The working angle of the ankles is between 45 and 90 degrees. To pass the Technical Diver Basic Skills course, the student must be able to swim backwards at least 3 meters.

Helicopter turn

Starting position is horizontal trim. The technique should be practised both with small and big movements. The diver’s knees must not drop more than 10 cm under the horizontal trim line. The technique should be practised with the diver turning around a fixed point and spinning around their centre axis. The working angle of the knees should be between 45 and 90 degrees. The fin tips may not drop from the horizontal line. The working angle of the ankles is between 45 and 90 degrees. To pass the Extended Basic Skills course, the student must be able to turn 360 degrees in each direction.

Atcourse levels above the Extended Basic Skills course, the students should be able to using various swimming techniques depending on the circumstances during the dive. The students must be able to swim backwards at least 10 meters and use helicopter turn to turn 360 degrees in each direction without ascending or descending more than 0.5 meters.

Buoyancy techniques

To pass the SwedTech Diving Extended Basic Skills course, the students must be able to hover in horizontal position without descending or ascending more than 1 meter and with only the bottom or the ascent line as a reference. The students must be able to position themselves with their heads approximately 20 cm lower than their knees and then get back into horizontal position without using their hands.

To pass levels above Extended Basic Skills course the students must be able to position themselves with their heads approximately 50 cm lower than their knees and then get back into horizontal position without using their hands.

Controlled descents and ascents

Students must be able to conduct descents and ascents in a controlled manner, staying together so that anybody in the team can give and get attention without a delay. The control of the buoyancy should be so good that students must be able to stop at any moment during the ascent and the descent in order to solve their own problems or assist solving the problems of the other team members. The students should practice descents and ascents with only a line as a visual reference. The students are not allowed to hold on to the descent/ascent line with the exception of diving in severe current.

Diving in a team

The students must learn, understand and be able to use the advantages of team diving. They should be able to spot and solve problems in a team before they escalate into more/bigger problems. When a problem appears, the team must always be notified as soon as possible with flickering light or physical contact.

When diving in team of two, the diver with the most serious problem should be placed first during swimming problem solving.

When diving in a team of three, the diver with the most serious problem should be placed first. Another diver from the team can be behind or at the side of the diver with the most serious problem. The third diver chooses his/her position so that he/she can fast assist the other two in the most effective way.

The team should always choose a team leader and a decompression leader, but anyone in the team must be able to assume one of those roles at any time during the dive.

Hand signals

The students should be trained in understanding and using the standardized hand signals in the right way at the right time.

  • Connected thumb and index finger for OK sign, both as a question and as an answer
  • Thumb up to abort the dive or to change depth during the ascent/decompression
  • Flickering palm of the hand to signal a problem
  • Vertical palm of the hand to signal the team to stop
  • Horizontal palm of the hand doing a circular movement to maintain current depth
  • Index finger pointed upwards and doing a circular movement to turn the dive according to the plan
  • Hand doing back-and-forth movement across the throat to indicate out-of-gas/share gas
  • To show time or amount 1-5, the palm of the hand should point outwards and finger point upwards
  • To show time or amount 6-10, the palm of the hand should point inwards and fingers to the side

Light signals

The students should be trained in understanding and using the standardized light signals in the right way at the right time.

  • A circular movement with the light beam means OK, both as a question and as an answer
  • A flickering movement of the light beams means that the person giving the signal wants to have attention
  • When a team member wants to show something to the others in the team, the light beam is locked onto the object until the others see it and follow it with their own light beams. Sometimes, to maintain attention a flickering movement of the light beam is shown first.

Touch signals

The students should be trained in understanding and using the standardized touch signals in the right way at the right time.

  • A pushing movement forward on an arm or a leg of a diver means “it’s OK to move forward”
  • A distinct squeeze of an arm or a leg means “stop”
  • A pull backwards means “move backward” or “I need help”

Valve drill

To pass the Extended Basic Skills course, students are required to perform a valve drill in less than three minutes and not ascending or descending more than one meter or changing direction in the water.

To pass the Technical Diver and Wreck Diver course, students are required to perform a valve drill in less than two minutes and not ascending or descending more than half a meter or changing direction in the water.

To pass the Extended Range Technical Diver course, students are required to perform a valve drill in less than one minute and not ascending or descending more than half a meter or changing direction in the water.

  • Shut the right primary tank valve
  • Breathe the primary second stage empty
  • Change to the secondary second stage
  • Clip the primary second stage to the right chest D-ring
  • Open the right primary tank valve
  • Shut the isolator valve with the right hand
  • Open the isolator valve with the left hand
  • Shut the secondary left tank valve while unclipping the primary second stage from the D-ring
  • Breathe the secondary second stage empty
  • Change from the secondary second stage to the primary second stage
  • Open the left secondary tank valve
  • Check that all valves are fully open

Procedures for handling a free flowing primary regulator

To pass the Extended Basic Skills course, students are required to perform a free flowing primary regulator drill in less than one minute and not ascending or descending more than one meter or changing direction in the water.

To pass the course levels higher than the Extended Basic Skills course, students are required to perform a free flowing primary regulator drill in less than thirty seconds and not ascending or descending more than half a meter or changing direction in the water.

  • Shut the primary right tank valve while signalling about the problem to the team
  • Breathe the primary second stage empty
  • Change to the secondary second stage
  • Clip the primary second stage onto the right chest D-ring

After approximately one minute an attempt should be made to open the primary right tank valve to see if the free flow stopped. If that is the case, the diver should change back to the primary second stage and make the team aware of that.

Procedures for handling a free flowing wing inflator

To pass the Extended Basic Skills course, students are required to perform a free flowing wing inflator drill in less than one minute and not ascending or descending more than one meter or changing direction in the water.

To pass the course levels higher than the Extended Basic Skills course, students are required to perform a free flowing wing inflator drill in less than thirty seconds and not ascending or descending more than half a meter or changing direction in the water.

  • Take hold of the wing inflator and press the deflating button holding the inflator in such a way that the gas can escape
  • Signal about the problem to the team
  • Shut the primary right valve
  • Breathe the regulator empty
  • Keep the primary second stage in the mouth
  • Unattach the low-pressure hose from the wing inflator
  • Open the primary right valve

If diving with single cylinder, free flowing equipment is handled together with a team member by sharing gas

Procedures for handling out-of-gas situations

  • Signal about the problem to the team
  • Swim to the closest team member signalling “out-of-gas”
  • The gas donor grips the hose to his/her primary second stage in the mouth right next to the second stage with the palm of the hand pointed towards the face
  • The gas donor must lift the long hose over his/her head and stretch it to the out-of-gas diver
  • The out-of-gas diver accepts the second stage, empties it of water and starts to breath
  • The divers should now be facing each other
  • Check that the team did not lose references such as the line or the depth
  • If the team consists of three divers, the third diver should assist the others if needed
  • The donor’s 210 cm long low pressure hose should now be deployed fully
  • The out-of-gas diver clips his primary second stage onto the right chest D-ring
  • Since the dive now should be aborted, the diver who already is facing in the right direction keeps his position and the other diver positions him/herself so that the out-of-gas diver is in front or to the right of the gas donor
  • The deployed longhose should run straight without any coiling. If coils are detected, they should be fixed by the out-of-gas diver before continuing
  • Check that the team is gathered together and is ready to move
  • Abort the dive and move to the point where the ascent can start

Decompression procedures

On the Extended Basic Skills course a simulated decompression with one switch of gas should be practised.

On the Technical Diver course a simulated decompression with three switches of breathing gas should be practised. On the final dives the decompression required by the circumstances of the dives but with at least two switch of gas during the ascent should be conducted.

On the Extended Range Technical Diver course the decompression procedures are done to suit the demand of the dive

Handling of the decompression gas and bottom gas stage tanks

The students must learn and understand the principles of handling extra cylinders containing air, nitrox, oxygen or trimix according to the SwedTech Diving standards.

  • Extended Basic Skills: handling one extra cylinder
  • Technical Diver: handling Three extra cylinders
  • Extended Range Technical Diver: As many as the dive requires
  • Wreck Diver: handling one to three extra cylinders

All extra cylinders are carried on the left side. Cylinder markings follow the SwedTech Diving equipment standards.

Gas switches must be conducted according to the following procedures:

The switch of breathing gas should be prepared during the stop prior to the stop where the gas switch will be conducted. If no stops are planned prior to the stop where the breathing gas will be switched, a short stop three meters deeper than the depth for the switch of gas should be included in the dive plan.

  • Check that the tank intended for the switch of breathing gas is easy to reach by inspecting the tank markings
  • Open the tank valve 1⁄4 of a turn to check the pressure and integrity
  • Shut the valve
  • Follow the regulator hose and check if there is anything that can interfere with its deployment

When the team is gathered together and stabilized at the depth of the breathing gas switch, the decompression leader starts to switch his breathing gas.

  • Grip the second stage and deploy the regulator hose fully
  • Hold the second stage with your right hand and with your left hand angle the tank so that the MOD marking is clearly visible to the team. Stretch out the regulator hose so that the team can easily see that the second stage, the hose, the first stage and the cylinder with correct MOD marking are connected
  • When the team confirms with an “OK” sign, the valve may be opened. At the same time, depth reading on the instrument on the right arm should be verified
  • Put the hose around your neck
  • Exchange the primary second stage in your mouth with the decompression tank second stage, hold the primary second stage in your hand until the function of the decompression tank second stage is verified
  • Clip the primary second stage to the right chest D-ring
  • Confirm the gas switch with an “OK” sign
  • Decompression leader points out the next team member to switch gas and the procedure is repeated

When everybody in the team has switched gas, the decompression time count starts again. It is recommended that everybody in the team should breathe the new gas for at least three minutes before proceeding to the new stop depth.

If a tank containing extra bottom gas is carried, the dive starts breathing it. In that case, the gas switch is conducted on the surface or at 6-9 meters.

Handling the surface marker buoy

To pass the SwedTech Diving Extended Basic Skills course, students must be able to deploy a surface marker buoy in less than three minutes without deviating from their target depth with more than one meter.

To pass the course levels above the Extended Basic Skills course, students must conduct the exercise in less than two minutes without deviating from their target depth with more than half a meter and without changing direction in the water.

Handling the back-up mask

To pass, students must be able to signal their team, retrieve the back-up mask from their right pocket and switch to it. The other team members should assist the team member who has problem. It is important that the references, for example the ascent line, are not lost during the exercise. This is a team exercise where team members should not deviate from their target depth with more than one meter.

Handling the back-up light

The student should signal to the team that he has a problem with primary light and deploy the back-up light. The primary light is clipped onto the right chest D-ring and the light cord is tucked under the belt. The team member with malfunctioning primary light is placed in front in a team of two divers and in the middle in a team of three divers.

Handling the guideline

To pass the SwedTech Diving Extended Basic Skills course, students must be able to handle basic guide line procedures with a reel or a spool. This includes:

  • Line attachment points
  • How the line is kept under tension
  • How the line should follow the profile of the environment
  • Avoiding line traps
  • How to take in the line
  • How the team should follow the line

To pass the course levels above the Extended Basic Skills course, students must be able to decide themselves on how and when the guide line should be used.

On the wreck diver courses, the students should practice guide line procedures on every dive where the instructor is not deploying the line.

To follow the line without any reference together with the team

This exercise should be practised on all SwedTech Diving courses.

Students should in a team follow a guideline with blindfolds, using touch contact for communication. To pass, the whole team must together follow a line for at least 25 meters. Everybody in the team should try to be first, in the middle and last.

On the wreck courses, this exercise is first practised on the outside of a wreck. When the students show sufficient level of skill it is also practised inside the wreck.

Unconscious diver rescue

To pass the SwedTech Diving Extended Basic Skills course, students must bring up an unconscious diver (simulated) from at least 12 meters of depth and together conduct a 0.5-1 minutes long stop at the depth of 3-6 meters. After that, the unconscious diver should be towed for at least 50 meters.

To pass the course levels above the Extended Basic Skills course, students must bring up an unconscious diver (simulated) from at least 15 meters of depth and together conduct a 1 minute long stop at the depth of six meters. After that, the unconscious diver should be towed for at least 50 meters.

The team must also conduct a decompression with gas switches where one of the team members is completely dependent on the others.

Gas analysis

The student must during all courses analyse his/her breathing gases prior to diving and also calculate the maximum depth for the gases. All tanks should be marked after the analysis, according to SwedTech Diving standards for marking tank contents.

Tanks containing gas that has not been analysed must not be used!

The instructor is encouraged to exceed, when possible, the recommendations of SwedTech Diving concerning the time students spend practising skills in the water.