New Member from Connecticut

[Diver5856]

Hello

I'd like to introduce myself as a new member. My goal of coming is to increase my breat holding time underwater.

I work as a safety dive for a company that trains pilots and aircrew in the art of escaping from a helicopter or plane that has ditched and submerged under the water at various angles.

As a safety diver, I also have to serve as a student for new instructors and give demo rolls in our METS (Modular Egress Trainer) at a moments notice when a potential client comes in.

It's a little hairy being upside down, with lights off and having to unbuckle the harness and cross to the other side of the cabin walking on the ceiling and pop an exit and egress out.

My goal is to be able to increase my breath holding so I have more confidence as I perform these duties. We just have a new contract with a base in Alabama and are hiring new instructors who will be trained in the next few months and will need students (me and my fellow safety divers) to practice on.

The instructor ratio in the METS is 1 to 2 students. And if a problem arises, the instructor grabs the student and shovels him or her out the exit that is hopefully popped open by the safety diver. If all stuff hits the fan, an emergency raise is called.

Don't mean to be too long winded, but I'll assume it is good to give an explanation of what I do so I can get some guidance on what regimes may be best for me when I ask questions later on.

I'm almost 50 and need all the edge I can get.

Thank and glad to meet all of you.

 

[Salehthefish]

Hello and welcome on DB

All best

 

[patbrassil]

Welcome. Where in CT are you? I'm from southern RI, it's always nice to meet someone from these parts. Just curious from reading your post, have you done any formal freediving? Or have you just done it through the escape scenarios?

 

[Apneaddict]

I think that doing basic / simple "tables" (both CO and O2) would be the most beneficial to learning to hold your breath longer... And learning to relax / slow the heart rate down.

That should build a solid foundation for a good breath hold in a perfect / relaxed / calm environment.

I would then try playing / learning / excelling at underwater hockey, where you are exerting yourself under breathhold.

Could be a decent simulation of what you are training for.

 

[Diver5856]

Thanks for those tips. I live up here near Old Saybrook and work in the Groton area. I would feel comfortable with a 2:00 to 2:30 breathhold while tasking (moving) underwater.

I'm trying to see if we can play the Coast Guard game brickball at work but its a bit rough to expect anyone not to get hurt.

I'll keep with the basic beginner tables for now. One scenario is that I am now being trained to use a SWET chair or shallow water egress trainer (a chair with floats that we invert); we must keep our head under until the student can get unbuckled and out of the frame or we must invert the chair with the student in it if difficulty arises.

I enjoy RI diving and find myself from Ft Wetherill, to Beavertail to Westelry enjoying the waters. I may take up free diving as a sport as its not as gear intensive as diving is and most neat marine life is seen at the to 30 ft of the water column anyways.

 

[patbrassil]

Great to hear that about an interest in freediving. If your ever looking for someone to train with let me know (send me a pm and i'll send you my cell phone) Not to be intrusive, but from your posts it seems as you may have quite an extensive training area? I've been looking locally for quite some time now, but none of the local pools allow any form of breathhold activities (and i've even offered to sign wavers ) Also could you expand on this 'brickball'. Sounds awesome

 

[Diver5856]

Hey Pat

Our area is quite secure and OSHA regulated due to the dangers of the equipment we have. So its hard to get any private people in the pool. We are looking for new instructors though as we are sending a bunch of manpower down to the army aviation school in April as part of our new contract. This is why I'm now suddenly going from a safety diver to other tasks. This was quite a surprise for me but the hints were there when we sent manpower down south to install a huge beam for the hoist that operates our METS..

We do allow outsiders (people off the street) to come in by appointment to view our operation after 1pm when we start the pool training for the aviators. I can PM you some more info.

Here is a link to the episode of Coast Guard Alaska where they were playing brickball. I'm sure the link will disappear some time in the future.

Coast Guard Alaska: What is brick ball?

Take care