The University of
Texas Underwater Science
and Scuba Diving Program
PED 102G.2 Intermediate Scuba
Spring 2010
General Information
Instructor: Peter Oliver
Office: Texas Swimming Center (TSC)
2.202
Phone: 512-476-6639 (mobile)
Office hours: M & W noon – 1 pm and by
appointment
email: p.oliver@mail.utexas.edu
Class website: www.longhornscuba.com
Co- Instructors: Randy Beckmann, Brendan Hamilton
This course continues a certified diver's training with intermediate and advanced diving topics and techniques. A special component of the course is training in diving safety, scuba lifesaving, and accident management techniques. Other topics include diving equipment design, function, and care; the aquatic environment with emphasis on the marine environment; diving physics; physiology, medical aspects of diving, and decompression theory; natural and compass navigation; search techniques and light salvage; night and limited visibility diving; deeper diving; and diving with oxygen-enriched air (nitrox).
Course Prerequisites
This course presumes that you have basic scuba knowledge and skills. Entry level certification by any nationally recognized agency (NAUI, PADI, SSI, etc.) is the prerequisite to taking this course. You will be required to complete a medical history questionnaire at the first class. For your own safety, it is very important that you complete the form honestly. If there are any questions about your fitness for diving, we will require you to obtain approval to scuba dive from a physician.
At
the beginning of the semester, we will review your basic diving skills in the pool.
This also is an opportunity for you to re-familiarize yourself with the
equipment if you have been away from diving for a while. While underwater, you
must comfortably:
1. Remove,
replace, and clear your mask.
2. Discard, recover, and clear
your regulator.
3. Perform an independent
exhaling ascent (simulated out-of-air ESA).
4. Respond appropriately to
another diver simulating an out-of-air situation and ascend to the surface
while sharing air using an alternate air source.
5. Simulate a
safety/decompression stop by hovering neutrally buoyant for three minutes in
mid-water with minimal movement.
We meet every Tuesday, 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon, either in the Texas Swim Center classroom (TSC 1.106) or at Lake Travis for our open water dives. For several meetings at the Swim Center we will also be diving in the pool, and you will need to bring your swimsuits. See the schedule below.
Classroom sessions will include discussions of the material and will assume that you are familiar with the relevant portions of the textbooks. Read the required assignments before coming to class.
* NAUI Scuba Rescue Diver
* NAUI Master Scuba Diver
and if you are planning to obtain nitrox certification (see certification
options below)
* NAUI Enriched Air Nitrox Diver
Texts are available from
Royal
Scuba, 4403 Guadalupe
Tom’s Dive & Swim, 5509 Burnet Road
(NE corner at Koenig Ln.)
Oak Hill Scuba, 6156 Hwy. 290 W (at
end of Ben White Blvd. expressway).
In addition to classroom meetings, six sessions of open water diving are scheduled. Most of these will be on Tuesday mornings during normal class time. There will be one weekend afternoon and evening open water session that will include a night dive.
Most of the six days of open water sessions will have two dives, but one cylinder will usually be sufficient. Specific equipment requirements will be announced or e-mailed prior to each session.
If you miss a scheduled day of diving, up to two dives may be made up at the end of the semester on the last scheduled day of diving. Any make-up dives beyond this will have to be arranged outside of class time, and you will have to pay your instructor for the special arrangement. It is your responsibility to make all scheduled open water sessions as they are scheduled.
Please note that the dive schedule is subject to adjustment due to weather. We will dive in rain, but thunderstorms or tornadoes may force schedule changes.
The University does not allow its scuba equipment to be used in open water diving. Therefore you will be responsible for providing your equipment for the open water dives. Equipment may be rented from any of the several local dive shops. Special rates are available to students of the course at some dive shops, including Royal Scuba, Tom's Dive & Swim, and Oak Hill Scuba. Call or visit beforehand to determine rental charges so you will not get stuck with full rental rates.
NOTE: Part of becoming an advanced diver is being prepared. It is your responsibility to remember to bring any specific equipment required for each type of dive conducted. You will be expected to monitor your own dive profiles (depth and time). If you do not have a timer, you will need to buy one. (An inexpensive digital watch will do admirably.) Specific dive-related needs, such as a dive light, will be announced a week in advance of each dive.
Your grade in this course will be determined by your performance in the following two areas:
A. Knowledge (50% of final grade)
This portion of the grade will be determined by two exams (NAUI Rescue and NAUI Master Diver) scheduled during the semester that will test your understanding of assigned topics. Each counts as 25% of your final grade. There is no final exam for this course.
B. Classroom & diving participation (50% of final grade)
To earn the various certifications, you must attend (or arrange to make up) all open water dives scheduled during the semester. Please do not miss any classes or scheduled activities.
Diving Certifications Offered
Several scuba certification options are offered
to those who successfully complete the requirements (including the required
dives):
1) NAUI Scuba Rescue Diver.
To achieve this certification you must:
Score 75% or higher on the Rescue Exam.
Perform well on the three open water rescue training
sessions.
Be certified in both First Aid and CPR. We will build the
First Aid module into our regular class meetings (Classroom 3 and/or 4, as time
permits). If you lack CPR training, you can complete the CPR requirement by
attending one of the CPR labs that are offered in the entry-level Basic Scuba
class near the end of the semester. The schedule for these will be announced.
2) NAUI Advanced Scuba Diver or NAUI Master Scuba Diver.
In order to qualify for the Advanced Scuba Diver rating, you must:
Meet all the requirements of the class and objectives for
the dives.
In order to qualify for the Master Scuba Diver rating, you must:
Meet all the requirements of the class and objectives for
the dives.
Score 75% or higher on the Master Scuba
Diver Exam.
Meet all the requirements for Rescue Diver certification.
Have at least nine (9) logged dives outside of this course
and beyond your initial certification dives.
3) NAUI Enriched Air Nitrox.
We offer a certification in nitrox diving and recommend that you achieve it.
We present the nitrox course during the semester, but the testing and
certification are optional. Because nitrox certification is not integral to the
course, it will neither contribute to nor influence your course grade. In order
to earn this certification you must:
Possess the NAUI
Nitrox Diver textbook.
Score 75% or higher on the NAUI nitrox
exam.
Pay the NAUI registration fee for this certification
(currently $15).
The Small Print
Honor Code: The
core values of the University of Texas at Austin are learning, discovery,
freedom, leadership, individual opportunity, and responsibility. Each member of
the University is expected to uphold these values through integrity, honesty,
trust, fairness, and respect toward peers and community. (http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/events/sjs_honorcode.php)
Special Accommodations for Students with a Disability: The University of Texas at Austin provides upon request
appropriate academic accommodations for qualified students with
disabilities. For more information, contact the Office of the Dean of
Students at (512) 471-6259, VP: (512) 232-2937 or via email at ssd@uts.cc.utexas.edu. Please
notify the professor of any special accommodations that you may need prior to
the end of the second week of class. (http://www.utexas.edu/diversity/ddce/ssd/)
Policy
on Scholastic Dishonesty: Students who violate University rules on
scholastic dishonesty are subject to disciplinary penalties, including the
possibility of failure in the course and/or dismissal from the
University. Since such dishonesty harms the individual, all students, and
the integrity of the University, policies on scholastic dishonesty will be
strictly enforced. For further information, the student may refer to the
Web Site of the Student Judicial Services, Office of the Dean of Students (http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/sjs/).
Class Schedule
Week 1
January 19
Classroom 1 Topics:
Orientation, risk awareness presentation, and paperwork
Safe diving
Stress in diving
Preventing and responding to stressful situations
Problem recognition and assessment
Master – Chapter 6
Rescue – Chapters 1-7
Week 2
January 26
Classroom 2 Topics:
Rescue Techniques (self rescue, diver assists, diver
rescues)
Accident Management
Reading:
Master– Chapter 6
Rescue– Chapters 8, 11, 14 & 15
BRING YOUR SWIMSUITS and any of your own diving equipment: We will be diving in the pool to review and evaluate your basic scuba skills and to introduce rescue techniques.
Week 3
February 2
Classroom 3
Topics:
Diving physiology
Diving First aid
Introduction to oxygen administration
Reading:
Master – Chapter 4
Rescue – Chapter 9, 10, 12 & 13
BRING YOUR SWIMSUITS and any of your own diving equipment: We will be diving in the pool to practice rescue techniques.
Week 4
February 9
Classroom 4:
Rescue Exam
Topics:
Navigation Techniques
Night/Limited Visibility Diving
First Aid (time permitting)
Reading:
Rescue–Review entire Rescue Diver book
Master – Chapters 7 & 8
Navigation handout
Week 5
February 16
Classroom 5 Topics
Deeper diving
Decompression theory
Boat Diving
Reading:
Master – Chapters 5, 10, & 12
Decompression theory handouts
BRING YOUR SWIMSUITS and any of your own diving equipment: We will be diving in the pool to practice navigation techniques.
Week 6
February 23
Classroom 6 Topics:
Physics for Divers
Light Salvage
Reading:
Master – Chapters 3 & 9
BRING YOUR SWIMSUITS and any of your own diving equipment: We will be diving in the pool to practice salvage techniques.
Week 7
March 2
Classroom 7 Topics:
Nitrox
Reading:
NAUI Nitrox Diver –
entire text
Week 8
March 9
Classroom 8 Topics:
Environment
Nitrox Exam (Optional Certification)
Reading:
Master – Chapter 2
Nitrox Diver – review entire text
NOTE: We begin diving when you return from Spring Break
March 16
Spring Break –
No Class
Week 9
March 23
Open water dives
1 and 2: Orientation Dive, Rescue Skills Dive 1
Meet at Lake Travis
Mansfield Recreational Area (Scuba Park on Dam Side)
No later than 9:00 am
Week 10
March 30
Open water dives 3 and 4: Navigation Dive 1, Rescue
Skills Dive 2
Meet at Lake Travis Mansfield Recreational Area (Day Use Area on Cove Side)
No later
than 9:00 am
Week 11
April 6
Open water dives 5 and
6: Navigation Dive 2, Rescue Skills Dive 3
Meet
at Barstow’s Windy Point Park
No later than 9:00 am
Sunday afternoon/evening – Extra Required Session
April 11
Open water dives 7 and
8: Navigation Challenge Dive, Night Dive
Meet
at Lake Travis Mansfield Recreational Area (Scuba Park on Dam Side)
No later than 4:00 pm
Cook
out between dives. Bring whatever you want to grill, etc.
Week 12
April 13
Open water dive 9:
Deeper dive
Meet
at Lake Travis Mansfield Dam Recreational Area (location to be determined)
No later than 9:00 am
Week 13
April 20
Open water dives 10 and
11: Light Salvage Techniques, Nitrox Dives
(Make-up dives
as required)
Meet
at Lake Travis Mansfield Dam Recreational Area (Cove Side)
No later than 9:00 am
Week 14
April 27
Classroom 9 Topics:
Equipment
Review for Master Diver Exam
Master – Chapter 1
Week 15
May 4
Classroom 10:
Course Evaluations
Master Diver Exam
Reading:
Master – Review entire text