FCD - Simon Campbell's Diary
A Personal Diary of preparing for First Class Diver - I'm sitting in front of a pool in Hurghada reading 'Diving and Sub-Aquatic Medicine' and studiously making notes. Why? Have I had too much sun? Perhaps last night's procession of Sakara beers has robbed me of all reason? The truth is that I have started to prepare for my BSAC First Class Diver qualification, and I'm here to tell you all about it.
When I crossed over from PADI four years ago I read the BSAC manuals. Being a something of an obsessive personality, I looked ahead to see what qualification was at the top of the recreational diving tree, and my gaze fell on First Class Diver (FCD). Now it may have been presumptuous of me to think that far ahead, but I don't believe in half measures. In true Spinal Tap style I decided to crank the volume up to 11 and work towards the big one!
So why am I writing this column? Well I want to demystify the whole 'first class' thing. Bringing you over the coming months the thrills and spills, warts and all account of the training process from a simple Ramsbottom lad's perspective.
So what's happened so far? Well I registered for the course on the BSAC website and downloaded the pack. Printed it, looked at it, then felt a sudden urge to visit the little boy¹s room! Immediate impression? It's a lot of work, a skim over past theory papers confirmed it is indeed the heavyweight of dive courses.
Undeterred, I ordered the books I didn't have and contacted Jim Donbavand, regional coach for the north west, who put me in touch with the local FCD coordinator, Sinclair McKay. Within an hour of sending the e-mail, I had a reply with talk of putting together a study group of candidates.
I also received an e-mail from Mark Wilson - First Class Chief Examiner - who had 'good naturedly' savaged me on my Advanced Instructor preparation (waffling, me?). Mark welcomed me to the program and set me up on a FCD Yahoo 'smartgroup', where all the FCD candidates can share experiences via e-mail.
So far, so good.
What have I learned up to date? First Class Diver is about truly understanding theory, honing & developing your personal skills, creating then working with your team of candidates and - bless my little thermal socks - actually going diving!
Next month the fun begins!
SAFE DIVING
You may recall that last edition I was sitting by a pool in Hurghada reading a mighty tome on Diving Medicine. This month I am writing this article on a snowy day in North Yorkshire where I live with Angela (my wife, who is also secretary of the Ribble Valley Sub Aqua Club), Jim and Joe - my two sons - and Bevis my hairy princess who somewhat resembles a black Labrador.
I am not normally worked up by exams. The Advanced Instructor experience changed that where I literally fell to pieces on the first day. I didn’t actually realise that the examiners would probing the extent of my theory knowledge during the practical exam. First Class is the same. Someone described it to me as being pushed along the bench of your knowledge until you eventually fall off! In the light of this AI experience, I am REALLY preparing for the weekend long exam.
So what have I been doing about it??
I was invited a meeting at Salford University where the First Class ‘wannabees’ congregated for a presentation by our regional First Class coach Sinclair McKay.
I met Sinclair at the Diving Officers Conference in December but was quite startled when I walked in the room. Had he aged rapidly, put on a little round the tummy and started wearing glasses? No, I was staring into the eyes of our regional coach Jim Donbavand.
After the initial shock (which naturally was treated immediately with O2 by my zealous colleagues), we were told that Sinclair couldn’t make it due his car breaking down in Morecombe. I couldn’t help thinking that I’d rather be set adrift in an open boat in a force 9 with nowt (that’s Yorkshire for nothing) but a broken paddle than break down in Morecombe.
Jim, a first class diver himself, quickly brought me back to reality by expertly delivering Sinclair’s presentation which had been e-mailed over to him outlining the elements of the First Class Diver accreditation process.
Tension grew as he explained the four element of the programme. These are: a theory test (which can also be used for the National Instructor grade); an expedition plan which is written around certain criteria then submitted for marking and two practical assessments completed over a weekend.
Next he gave us some ‘self analysis’ sheets used to asses your strengths and weaknesses. Reading through, I realised that the examiners are expecting is a fully rounded practical diver, proficient in seamanship and navigation able to plan and implement complex diving expeditions. Completing it I realised that I had a number of ‘areas of improvement’ - I looked around and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.
Towards the end of the session the candidates themselves were encouraged to arrange the next meeting and implement a self study programme. Most of us also needed to complete certain skill development course prerequisites such as Advanced Lifesaver. Arranging this one was very easy as it was quickly delegated to Robert Asquith who had gone to the loo.
We established that there was only myself, Fearless Frank Lintott and Jamie (pretty boy) Heptonstall who were crazy enough to go for the practical, held at Cumbrae in September 2005. Tide tables were consulted and dates were arranged for the three of us to go diving in the Clyde during the summer.
The prospect of diving quickly revived our spirits but soon dashed as we realised the examiners won’t let you use GPS (Global Positioning System) to find anything in the practical AND the theory exam was in THREE WEEKS. More O2 dispensed and on the way home an extra-large donna kebab - with additional extra hot chilli sauce - was consumed.
So what’s my tip this month? Even though you don’t need to be an instructor to be a First Class Diver, delivering regional skill development courses really helps your skills and diving knowledge on the road to First Class.
Next time. The theory test and my trip to the South China Sea. Be afraid. very afraid.
SAFE DIVING
Greetings.
I have been struggling to find time write this month’s piece as surprisingly enough I have I have been doing a lot of diving!!!
At the moment I am sat on board the ‘Irish Mist’ in Loch Maddy, North Uist in the Outer Hebrides. This is day two of our Ribble Valley Sub Aqua clubs expedition to St Kilda.
First, let’s talk about the theory exam. There are only two exams per year, the first one of 2005 was held at the London International Dive Show. Although the exam was taking place at 2:00pm, I was there early and found myself wandering around the various stands in an attempt to lighten my mood by a bit of retail therapy. I succumbed and purchased a Poseidon Extreme for my twin-set. Haven’t told Angela yet!!
We congregated ready at the BSAC stand. Who did I see but my own mate Paul Rosendale who I met at an Open Water Instructor event in 2003 and his new pal Sharon Taylor (more about them next issue), both who were taking the exam along with myself, Pretty Boy Heptonstall and half a dozen other hopefuls.
Does anyone know what a snoopy loop is? This was one of the more esoteric questions on the paper reinforcing the fact that Mark Wilson (the First Class Chief Examiner) is looking wide diving knowledge. Its tough completing the thirty detailed question in the allocated 60 minutes as it is not multiple choice. The paper used to be three hours long but the reduction has been compensated for by more emphasis on intensive oral questioning during the practical exam - Oh joy. You can download the paper on the First Class section of the BSAC website so judge for yourself!
As its all longhand, the paper can take up to six weeks to mark and I was amazed to received the letter saying I had scraped a pass.. Think back to the film Zulu, “It’s a miracle".
Until three years ago I thought ERD was something that you rubbed cream into. Now of course, being educated in the ways of BSAC skill development courses, I realise this is Extended Range Diver, one of the prerequisites along with Chartwork and Position Fixing; Diver Cox’n; Diver Rescue Specialist and 100 dives following Advanced Diver.
Having not completed ERD, I called Jack Ingle, who I had met on the excellent Gozo based combined Advanced Instructor event last year. He sent me an e-mail about his South China Sea expedition where he said he’d happily do the course there along with gas blending. I couldn’t resist. Going all that way and with the depths involved I also decided to go the whole hog and do the TDI trimix course.
Decompressing for an hour MUST be boring. We’ll in 290C water its not bad at all, very relaxing, just focussing upon the blue, doing a few shutdown drills and generally fooling around on the line. On one dive I felt myself getting strangely lighter at the 6m stop. When I returned to the boat I found that my ‘friends’ had divested me of most of my kit, reels clips etc. That what becomes of chilling out too much!!
Extended Range Diving is about using richer (that’s more oxygen) mixes to increase safety and accelerate decompression. But the most important factor is buoyancy control and weight optimisation. How many divers in the UK carry too much lead? I see loads of them.
Jack really put me through my paces taking off and swapping stage cylinders (side-slung cylinders containing different gas mixes) and still maintaining your precise depth plus swapping regulators over eighty times in one dive!! This coupled with the piles of lectures didn’t give me time to become bored!
I unfortunately don’t have the time, or space to go into full details of the trip but needless to say the organisation was first class (pardon the pun), the diving spectacular; well worth the effort.
Tip for this month. If you are doing the First Class exam, really read around the subject. Secondly, revisit the amount of weight you carry on you belt. Do a proper weight check with your current kit configuration and see how much you can take off. Your buoyancy control will really improve!!
So that’s where I am right now as we are now literally sailing off to St Kilda. Next month I will be talking about my training trip to Plymouth and what I have learned about organisation from this trip..
SAFE DIVING
Yes I know. There was an accurate description of a snoopy loop by Martyn Farr in last months Dive magazine. Unfortunately the question has been and gone in the First Class theory exam, probably never to return. Naturally, now I have piles of old inner tube all over my dive kit.
The single most important factor in the First Class Diver (FCD) programme is the ability to organise and ensure the divers on an expedition work as a team. This was really brought home to me on my first real FCD training weekend.
As I mentioned in last months column, I met up with Paul Rosendale and Sharon Taylor at the theory exam in London. When I returned, Paul called me up and asked me if I fancied going down to Plymouth with a small team of divers and National Instructor Colin Yule to go through some preparation. Of course the answer was yes!!
I have never dived out of Plymouth before as being from the North we tend to go up to Scotland or the East coast. We also tend to stick to the North as we are reliably informed that hoards of cannibals roam the lands South of Stockport. So I packed up my trusty LandRover with all my kit (not forgetting my North/South translation dictionary) and trying not to look appetising, made the six hour drive to the South coast.
After a good nights sleep in the Borringdon Arms, I arrived first thing on Saturday morning with Paul, Sharon and another of Paul’s buddies, Simon Ferrari (yes that’s his real name) for Colin to brief us on the day’s exercises.
It did take me a few attempts to translate – creating a plaaan, go and get the gear out of the vaaan. What’s wrong with PLAN and VAN, good job we didn’t have a diver called Stan.
The first dive we had to plan to measure the underwater visibility and take a water sample at multiple depths; the second we had to create a 3m x 3m search grid on the seabed using only line.
On the face of it these tasks seem very simple but as we all know when underwater things are different. My advanced instructor training had really prepared me for this. The key is to ensure that you do a dry run. If you can’t do it on land when you can talk to each other, you certainly can’t do it underwater.
So dry runs were completed and we loaded the piles of re-breathers and twin-sets onto the lovely ‘Clidive’ Rigid Inflatable.
The team exercises went pretty well and we even managed to deploy and extract the search grid using multiple reels and weights without making ‘spaghetti’. Unfortunately when we all returned to the boat, Paul found he had come up with three of his reels missing!! By the time we had discovered the loss we had drifted a quite a distance from the dive site. It was pretty clear what we were doing the day after, search & recovery.
Of course we thought we knew pretty much where we were the day before. So we deployed a shot and created a 120m jackstay (a line running from the shot along the seabed) to a further shot and performed the first search for the reels. The line was moved and a second search was performed in the afternoon.
I was nominated to swim along the jackstay to prevent the karabiner snagging having made a glib comment the day before about there not being much kelp down there. NOT MUCH; there was a forest of the blasted stuff!!! So I spent both dives wrestling with it ensuring my colleagues managed to perform their search without a hitch.
Much to Paul’s dismay, we were unsuccessful. So if anyone finds three reels clipped together on the south east bit of the breakwater you know whose they are.
Tips for this month. Ensure a dive marshal and deputy is appointed to make the dive happen. It can be awkward with an experienced group but it has to be done. Also precisely establish the position of the dive site every time, just in case you lose something overboard!
Finally referring back to our St Kilda trip in March, make sure you have a good selection of spares, and people who can fix things when on a diving expedition. On more than one occasion the trip was rescued by Ribble Valley Sub Aqua Club engineers Brian Cooper (the self styled ‘O’ ring king), Neil Walker and Pete Sidebotham. You need these sort of guys when you’re in the middle of nowhere!!
Next time, the surprise practical exam.
SAFE DIVING
The day I discovered I was the only candidate booked on the September ‘Cumbrae’ First Class practical, a place became free on the July event in Plymouth. So, three months before I was expecting to do the exam, in a place I have only dived once before, I decided to go for it. A fail is the worse thing that could happen!!
I set off to Plymouth on the Thursday before the exam started on the Friday evening to meet the other team members. The 12 candidates met together on Friday morning and discussed our preparation material. In the afternoon we went out to ‘get a feel’ of one of the two the Rigid Inflatable Boats (RIB’s) which we would be using on the exam.
Tension rose during the day and at 2000 we met with the examiners at the Deep Blue Dive Centre at Mount Batten. Mark Wilson, the First Class Chief Examiner, introduced his team. As you would expect at this level they are all big cheeses.
The candidates were divided into two. I was in the same group as Paul & Sharon and we were given the hard-boat day to organise. This involved planning the diving of two adventurous sites and finding, via the chart / Global Positioning System (GPS), four further sites suitable for First Class Divers.
Sounds simple, but you are faced with organising everyone to dive with a different examiner, demonstrating seamanship, position fixing, coxing, dive marshalling, showcasing your underwater skills, providing a risk assessment, a full navigational plan and a timed plan for the day, it’s pretty hectic.
We started planning at 2030. For the first hour, the examiners are with us in the room assessing each candidate’s contribution. We finished at 0150.
In the morning, bright and early, we loaded the hard boat following a boat safety brief and the master dive marshals brief for the day. We left ahead of schedule and started to execute the plan.
The hard boat, owned and skippered by ex National Diving Officer Tony Hoile, was very ‘compact’ - especially when packed with multiple re-breathers and twin-sets. The lead examiner for our group was Jeff Reed who brought his highly modified ‘Inspiration’ which looked like a DARLEK. Trying to manage the change of marshals with the briefs and debriefs whilst being constantly interrogated by the examiners on the weather, charts, boats was exciting to say the least.
After an hour, the wheelhouse seemed very inviting as it was out of the way of most of the examiners. I slipped up, went outside and was instantly pinned against the gunwale by examiner Ian Cheetham for a good 20 minutes being interrogated on all things nautical.
In the afternoon we were confronted with an ‘emergency’ scenario where I ended up as rescue manager. Its adrenalin charged and fast moving stuff. I made the mistake of not delegating the ‘communications’ with the ‘coastguard’ until half way though the exercise. Marks deducted methinks.
I actually had a good time. The best being under the water with examiner Pete Church having a lovely dive looking for, counting and categorising various sea life. At least down there they can’t talk to you!!
We finished day one returning half an hour late (more deductions) but then rushing to fill our cylinders, presenting the results of the day and being briefed for the next day. The task.
We were asked to find a suitable ‘wall’ and then perform a vertical topographical survey and sea life survey upon it. Tired and emotional we set about creating a solution. Of course all the same criteria apply on this day also so we split into teams, some creating the dive plan and organisation, some selecting the site and some deciding how we were going to do it. Again for the first hour the examiners were watching. 0130 finish.
Not so bright and breezy on the Sunday morning. We set up a dry run of how we planned to perform this task and ran through it. We had calculated slack water and we were quite confident as we briefed the examiners and the team.
This day is carried out from two RIB’s. We were about to load the boat when we found that all Sharon’s gear and Paul’s drysuit were missing!! We hunted for it to no avail and I was getting very twitchy about leaving so we could hit slack water. Sharon & Paul remained very calm, went off and hired the missing kit and following the boat briefings we left 30 minutes late.
We arrived at our selected ‘wall’ only to find there wasn’t one there!! We needed a minimum depth of 20m to carry out the task correctly so we were hunting around for something suitable. Time was marching on with slack water quickly evaporating. Eventually we decided to pick any suitable drop off regardless of depth. During all this confusion and tension the examiners were still asking questions, specifically about who was in charge and when they were diving - nightmare.
We eventually managed to get into the water and each buddy pair set up the equipment we had prepared. The task was a disaster, no wall to measure!! The best thing about this day is that we didn’t fall out and remained jointly responsible for the cockup!!
We returned back to the harbour tired and with heavy hearts to present the ‘results’ of our survey. BUT, good news, Sharon & Paul’s kit had not been nicked but mistakenly loaded onto another boat!
At the end of the exam, in true BSAC style we debriefed and then had a joint ‘boat washing’ session. Mark pointed out that the examiners really want to give you a detailed account of your strengths and weaknesses and so it takes three four weeks to find out the results.
Points to take away from this month are that the examiners assess a range of criteria: Personal diving skills; your ability to work effectively underwater; the ability to lead a dive above and below water (including briefings etc); contribution in leadership; support of the team; contribution to planning; flexibility and adaptability; safe effective dive marshalling; boat handling; position fixing; navigation and seamanship skills.
In the next and final edition I will be reviewing what I have learnt from the experience, give you result of my practical, the date of the re-sit and talking a little bit about the expedition plan. Phew..
SAFE DIVING
So this is it, the final edition.
I have really enjoyed writing this column although sometimes it has been hard to fit it all it. If you want to see my full unabridged ramblings go to my website and take a look. Last month I missed the publishing deadline and was very touched by all the emails I received wondering what had happened to me. Simple answer - I was doing too much diving!
Before you ask, I passed my practical and was truly shocked. I was quite amazed by the report on my individual performance over the two day event. Its’ very comprehensive and gives you a great insight into your weaknesses and strengths. I think this is where the First Class examination really ‘rocks’ as it gives you the opportunity to have your personal diving and leadership skills assessed by some of the most knowledgeable divers in BSAC.
Out of the twelve candidates taking the Plymouth practical nine passed, one failed one of the days and two failed both days; it’s not easy.
The rest of this column, in true BSAC style, summarises the programme and hopefully will encourage more of you out there to test how good you really are. I am pretty sure there are many of you who could quickly get up to speed and would enjoy the challenge.
OK, before registration you must have 100 dives following Advanced Diver; be an Extended Range Diver; have Chartwork & Position fixing; Diver Cox’n and be a Diver Rescue Specialist - that is Lifesaver / Advanced Lifesaver, Rescue First Aid, First Aid for Divers, Practical Rescue Management and Oxygen Administration. Blimey.
Once you register there are four sections to the examination. The theory: 30 handwritten answers to be completed in 60 minutes in all the areas of seamanship, medical, decompression, equipment, weather and diving techniques.
Two practical days: First day where you arrange a hard-boat expedition suitable for First Class Divers; second day where you perform a group task (specified by the examiners) underwater. These practical days are assessed on twelve criteria: personal diving skills; your ability to work effectively underwater; the ability to lead a dive above and below water (including briefings etc); contribution in leadership; support of the team; contribution to planning; flexibility and adaptability; safe effective dive marshalling; boat handling; position fixing; navigation and seamanship skills.
Finally the expedition plan: This should detail an expedition for 10/12 First Class Divers giving up to three challenging dives per day over a four day period in a variety diving environments. Naturally you have to take into account everything such as tides, cost, accommodation, passage planning, decompression techniques as well as potential requirements for mixed gas and rebreather divers.
I based mine upon a trip to my favourite diving spot in the world St Kilda, where I led a trip earlier this year.
The whole programme is based on self / group study, so don’t expect to have your hand held. There are mentors and National Instructors in the regions who will help you, but you have to get on the phone and ask!! It’s all about self motivation and drive to achieve something quite exceptional.
Has it all been worth it? A resounding yes which is echoed by all the Divers I know who have gone for it.
I personally have had a great laugh; learnt a great deal more about diving realised how much I still have to learn (FCD is not the end, its just a check half way through); met some interesting people that have enriched my diving experience; made a load of new friends; learnt a great deal about myself making me a better diver and also positively influencing my work.
More dramatically, last week, I helped manage a DCI incident and helicopter evacuation from a hardboat on a deep diving expedition. There were two other FCD aboard and the rescue and casualty management went like clockwork. The guy was fine and when returned from the chamber came and thanked us, what a great feeling. When something like this happens it really proves that all the training and hard slog really pays off.
Who should go for FCD? If you are an advanced diver who really wants to really test your mettle and see how good you REALLY are, the FCD is for you.
As this is the last edition and the plan is the expedition plan is the final section I have to complete, I won’t be able to tell you the final outcome. But, if you come along to the Diving Officers Conference (DOC) where all the First Class Awards are presented, you hopefully will see me (sporting my new head shaved look) going up on stage to receive my award.
Finally I must thank the key individuals that have influenced me over the years. There are literally hundreds, but turning points were brought about by: Rennie Alcock (who motivated me to start diving in the first place), ‘Big Al’ Grey (who convinced me to join BSAC and ‘do’ British diving), Neil Walker (who taught me how to dive properly), Jack Ingle (who took my diving to another level), Mark Wilson / Pete Church (who inspired me to go for FCD); the rest of Ribble Valley Sub Aqua Club and of course my wife Angela who has to put up with my obsession...
My final words. Just DO IT (that could be a strap line for something). Take it slow and see you at the DOC.
Simon recieving his award at DOC from National Diving Officer, Clare Peddie
Page last modified: 6th Apr 2008 - 11:04:51