Passing the PDA(diver selection) Part 2

finishing off talking about the dive selection process I thought I would start by mentioning the instructors what they're like & how they both help and hinder your chances of passing.

 To put it simply they are damn right unpredictable & very changeable, I don't really think there was structure to these days after the fitness tests it just seemed to go on the theme push us to breaking point and make us quit. I don't think they enjoyed it when someone quit... though they did seem quite proud... and joked about it, "only seven left, I hate odd numbers, we'll get another one of you" still, they are divers they know the standard, and will only accept those who show they can make it, they quite enjoyed random facts as well, some of the few people who will listen to me about geology facts. If you we're out ahead of others & doing well they would come up encourage & ask questions like "why do you want to be a diver" stuff of that nature but if you fell behind they would shout you down, ask "why are you even here" or if we want to go home and try get you to quit. I never really fell behind and I only got way ahead at one point(was nice, but unnecessary) I remained centered, average best way to slip by unnoticed. because if you got to the front you were expected to remain at the front indefinitely.

trying to remember by the hour is difficult as a lot was thrown in over a short time but the day started off normal after breakfast it was a walk back round to the jetty where our dive kit was all waiting from the previous day(after eating is the only time you were aloud to walk so enjoy these moments) then it was awkwards, circuits bit of running, classroom brief on dive equipment and what the job entails(archimedes principle, boyles law...) before back onto the jetty to make sure we could handle the basic physical elements of diving equipment such as clearing ears, buoyancy and not freaking out underwater mainly! The Dive tests were first in a large confined container, we had to swim there... there was a toy Great White at the bottom which everyone else ignored bar me as it was on its side and I just *had* to fix it, I love my sharks, I'd risk everything even to save the toy ones. after that we had a run round the outside of the lake back to the jetty for a lake dive(I'm making this sound very casual but bare in mind you are carrying dive equipment, dive weights and fins and all that so...) diving in the lake was nice there were a number of bivalves and a small fish swam along the floor so that was nice, it was only about a 7m depth dive for a few minutes but it felt like such a nice rest compared to everything else. After all this it was time for lunch, we ran back(the long way) but still wasn't that bad a morning... what followed was possibly the worst thing I've ever experienced, the mud.

We ran back to the jetty, circuits, awkwards because hey, why the hell not right, then we lined up on the main road behind(I was given some electricians tape for my foot... not going to lie, did fuck all) one of the group was called into the offices and we never saw him again so they do fail people just very rarely.We then started our run for the mud, we weren't told this but it was on everyone's mind, we knew it was coming I asked if we were off to the mud and the staff asked why I though that to which I responded "I'm a geologist, I can sense these things" ...that was, as I'd soon find out.. a mistake!

The mud run was horrible but there were a few likeable features to it like every so often an interesting rock would show up, or the shells of sea creatures, quite interesting. You started of running onto it and it was quite misleading as it sat above your ankles and you thought oh this isn't that bad then after around 10m out you drop significantly into it, went up to about knee height(for perspective my height is about 6"2 almost 3, & I'm mostly legs) we had to sprint round in this for an unknown amount of time in any direct the staff saw fit and if you stopped you would sink in, but firstly you had to run right out into the deepest part around a boat and come back. On my way to the boat was the moment I would regret my "geologist" comment as I was running and the staff shouted "Dunn if you enjoy the mud so much, push up position!" I only had to do ten before he asked me what I was doing on the floor, & "get running!". Then on digging my hands and legs out of thick mud and back to my feet and running again, as soon as I started moving "Dunn, push up position!" and once again I was back doing push ups, dipping my face in this think heavily saturated mud... sort of had a sulfur smell to it, reminded me of my trip to Iceland(the country) made me feel a bit better about it. In total we got out the mud and back into it three times, getting our hopes up each time he told us to get out then telling us to just back in, it started really taking its toll on everyone. One guy snapped and shouted at an instructor... everyone stopped silent expecting some sort of punishment but his only response was "I'm not your mate, you're not invited to my birthday party" in a strong scouse accent, never been so relived. The mud did claim one though sadly, oddly enough he was one of the strongest and fittest of us but the mud much like the rest of the PDA is purely mental, physical condition had only a small part to play. I myself contemplated quitting a number of times on the mud but I thought I would still have to run a long distance back to shore anyway so I kept at it, pretty sure at one point I just wanted to die just to spite the staff so they would have the hassle of dragging me out as well as the paper work, my own personal way to get back at them, I did opt against that though. I did however kick a lot of mud at one of them at one point "accidentally" I thought... it'll do.

We followed the mud with the pass or fail km swim straight after, This was on our backs without the use of hands and this was that one thing that I actually excelled at I found it really nice and relaxing, probably because I couldn't feet my foot anymore. It was heart breaking though, kicking your feet rapidly and feeling like you've made great progress then looking around and realizing you've made very little distance. This was the one and only time I got way ahead of the group which helped massively as the staff were circling on a boat creating waves for the rest of them, I did get a few as they came up to talk to me but they spun back and just left me be, after circling round me twice in an attempt to drawn me of course. But I finished first before anyone was even on the jetty to record my time so unsure what it was... whatever, I presume it was good.                   

rest of the day was just cleaning the mud off running maybe more exercises, we had to do pushups on an inverted platform, frog push ups as well. there was running while carrying someone and then doing squats, plank position all that type shit but as I say this was a lot to remember and it was all thrown in at any part of the day you didn't really get time to rest till about 7pm.

The last day was alright, I woke up in agony though... I think may have died as I had seriously stiff limbs, Rigor mortis was setting in I think. but we had circuits, awkwards all morning. briefed by the course supervisor and eventually provided with our recommendations into dive school. our numbers had dropped from the 12 at the start down to 5 by the end, glad I was one of them. 

Dive school recommendation.

  also train journey from Portsmouth through the London tube system then back up to Newcastle in the state I was in, without a seat or a drink and the fresh taste of lake water in my mouth all the way was unpleasant.    

Passing the PDA. (Diver selection)

I'm back, thought I would deliver an insight into the PDA(Pre-Entry Diving Acquaint) for anybody interested. well as much as I can remember been trying to repress them.

dive school, date unknown

This is a three day course carried out at the dive school on Horsea Island, if you wish to be trained as a diver in any branch of the military either army or like myself clearance diver for the Navy you must first pass the PDA. Not many know much about the divers... history, training or entry besides the divers them self but one thing is well known is that it is *painful* and if you mention it people respond in the same way not quite with words but a clear expression, with a squint in the eyes pouting of the lips as if they ate a sour grape accompanied by a sharp inhale(you doing it know?) & after experiencing it I can say I agree. You do receive a list of what is to come beforehand but is does not really prepare you for the actual intensity of it. If you are thinking of applying to be a diver you need to be committed & stubborn... really stubborn, it needs to be something that you *really* want and something that you will not allow anything to stop you or get in your way. This is because most(who prepare) can pass the PDA physically but those who fail are usually not asked to leave but voluntarily walk away as I witnessed time after time, even by those who swore they would keep going. The thought definitely crossed my mind a number of times at one point in particular, but I'll talk more on that further in.

I arrived a day before like most others coming down from the North East, some sort of mix up with train tickets but I took it as an opportunity to get settled and in the evening talk to the other group that came down before us. There was a constant fear of what was to come lingering over but I was there and as ready as I could be.

Waking from what was possibly the worst nights sleep in my life, I'm not saying they were uncomfortable but it was bunk beds with an old mattress and nothing but a sleeping bag/no pillow with other people snoring and a humming wall for some reason so... yeah I guess I am. We had a few hours before the start as they first had to dismiss the other group, we were told starting time would be between 10-12am... both nervous and excited to start the slightest footsteps or knock on the door everyone would just go silent.

my pain. 

Upon starting we got straight into it, first up was the DPFT(Divers Personal Fitness Test) in order to progress onto the rest of the course you must pass this, a number of exercises which I'll talk you though. The first thing was the 2.5km run to warm up for the timed personal best time 2.5km, there was a nice 3 maybe 4 second break between which was pleasant. My foot actually went in the warm up but I pushed on and finished, was my personal worst time I think but still a minute faster than the pass time of 10 minutes 30. after this run it was straight into the gym to complete dead man heaves(chin-ups) from a relaxed position(arms fully extended) lift your body weight with your chin above top of the bar and repeat, failure was less than 8. Then drop of the bar for the sit ups, 40 in the space of a minute anything less was failure, moved straight onto the dips, 16 to pass. The final part that we had to complete was the strength test, not my strongest area as I've always preferred cardio type workouts but it had to be done, this involved lifting two 30kg weights(heavy!, at least to me) and walking the length of the car park and back it was about 30m. We had some water after, lined up and one man further down the line just projectile vomited and then fell back in, he pushed on at least. our numbers had dropped from 12 to 8 at this point but no time to rest, next stage was to come.

we ran round to the little peer type platform on the other side of the lake to get kitted up with our dry suits, knives, fins, under suits & other things of that nature only another 400-500m run, you do not walk in dive school, must run, *always* run. After we acquired our kit we were introduced to "circuits" and the worlds most demoralizing things in the world known as "awkwards" and "unawkwards" these were not difficult but soul destroying. The awkwards and unawkwards consisted of stripping out of your "uniform" type clothing and into your dive kit in the space of under 2 minutes, and the unawkwards were simply the opposite, I hope you're not shy. you may think this not that bad and at first, & no its not but over and over its gets so annoying and once you're soaking wet from the lake water it becomes just about impossible and draining. The circuits were not to bad... well it came and went really you hated and loved them, It involved climbing to the top of an elevated diving platform suited up fins in hand diving off, hit the water throw your fins on(don't drown) swim the lake climb out run back round to the platform, was quite a long run and the suits were so compromised they took on water so diving off hitting the water and feeling gravity just slip away was a nice feeling, this was repeated three times and that was one circuit. there were also "shortie" circuits which involved standing on the edge of the platform peer jumping in spinning pulling yourself out and repeating over & over, to pull yourself up out the water there was about a meter difference from land surface to the water surface. we did a number of these on the first day, running as well as a brief classroom introduction a bit of front crawl swimming in a dry suit without use of legs as well, not enjoyable. we finished day 1 at about 7pm which gave us a bit of time to rest have a cup of tea & me a bit of time to read. normality even if my foot was dying.

picture above my bunk, there is nothing penguins can't fix.

following days either later or tomorrow.

     

Irrational fears 1. Spiders & Opilionids

My first attempt at blogging, have read a few others found them interesting and thought I would try my hand and see how it goes, I enjoy a good rant.

So I was stood with a peer, tea in hand and noticed what is commonly known as a "Daddy Long-legs" peacefully perched on a wall in the joints between the brickwork. before long my associate spouted the most common, overused and incorrect fact aimed at them that is "The Daddy long-legs is the most venomous spider in the world but can't break the human skin with its tiny fangs" that sentence is both wrong and misleading seeing as the common Daddy long-legs isn't even technically a spider... at least no more so than a scorpion.

while it does belong the the phylum Arachnida making it an Arachnid this simply means it has eight legs which lets face it isn't that big a deal, in actuality it belongs to a lesser order Opiliones (Havestmen).
-Seems as it is summer I was able to find a few nice examples with ease for a simple comparison.- 

Opilionid(Harvestmen)

Araneid(spider)

The main and most obvious difference of the two is the body structure. The spider has a larger build separated into two sections the Cephalethorax for basic features such as eyes, fangs so on and the second the Abdomen for the production of the silk. as seen in the image the opilionid does not posses an abdomen meaning it can't spin a web also as a result makes itself susceptible to them and much prefers to live under rocks and logs. This can be linked with the change in diet as the opilionids feed on decomposing vegetation and is not required to catch its prey. As far as venom goes it would seem somewhat pointless in a harvestmen as dead leaves and such don't require much to be rendered incapacitated... so where did the myth come from?

Well its simply a mix up as the Harvestmen "daddy long-legs" shares its name with a type of spider the "Daddy longlegs" with the common name the "Cellar spiders" though there has never been a confirmed case in which a human has received a bite and reacted to it. also tests have never been carried out on testing potency of its toxin suggesting that the myth is little more than a false tale based on fear of these magnificent creatures and not actual fact. So there is little to fear, I'm not saying go out fondle and harass them just if you come across one in the home think before squishing him into the void... such an undignified way to go. Just pick it up gently and place it outside.   

remember there are very few spider species out there that would be able to deliver a deadly bite as although spiders do contain an amount of toxin to kill X amount of people, it only releases so much with a single bite & reaction all purely depends on the age and physical condition of the recipient (though it will hurt... BAD!!)