1. Spyros Kollas

2. Topics
 History
 Purpose of sidemount in caves & wrecks
 Cylinders removals
 Negotiating restrictions
 Getting stuck
 Advanced sidemount
 Small passages
 Extended penetrations
 No mount diving

3. History
 The first departure was in the early
1960s from a British cave diver Mike
Boon while he was trying to make an
attack on the sumps of Hardrawkin Pot
in Yorkshire in England.

4. History
 Sidemount came in the US after a much
darker episode that an untrained had
managed to fatality slide into an impossibly
narrow crevice in Royal Spring in North Florida
 Divers Sheck Exley & Wes Skies were tasked
to with the recovery of the wedged diver. After
several unsuccessful attempts at recovering
the diver using backmounted cylinders, Exley
concocted a single cylinder at his side, he slid
into the crevice beside the dead diver , braking
him loose from the cave grasp.

5. History
 In 1977 the cave diver Forest Wilson
learned about the technique from British
sump explorers who used it to efficiently
transit tanks through the cave and then
dive
 In between all the experienced and well-
known cave divers in the US were trying
several setups as they realized that this
is a real exploration tool.

6. Purpose of sidemount in caves
 It would be 20 years or more before
sidemount would gain recognition as a
safe and stable alternative to hauling
heavy manifolded double cylinders
known as the Benjamin Crossover Valve
that Mr. Dr. George Benjamin designed
to facilitate his exploration into the deep
blue holes of the Bahamas.

7. Purpose of sidemount in caves &
wrecks
 Catalyst that brought sidemount into the cave
diving mainstream
 Allows access to underwater passages that were
too small to enter with backmount.
 Indi pended redundant gas supply increasing
safety
 Brake down the doubles package into two separate
manageable packages
 Enables divers to physically see and manipulate
their scuba valve attachments
 Allows for gas sharing contingencies
 Offers stability and streamlining

8. Cylinder Removals
 Two Key Hazards
 Separation from ballast
 Separation from gas supply

9. Cylinder Removals
 Separation from ballast
 When you remove a cylinder you must be
prepared for loss of the ballast that is
keeping you from floating to the ceiling of
the cave or the wreck.
 Catastrophic in a large room or fissure crack
prior to a restriction

10. Cylinder Removals
 Separation from gas supply
 In the same scenario as above, the diver
stands to lose not only the ballast but the
entire gas supply if the cylinder is not
tethered in a secure method.

11. Negotiating Restrictions
 How small is small???
 Most of the manuals describe a minor
restriction as a place where two divers
cannot swim side by side.
 A major restriction is a section of a cave
or a wreck that causes a diver to come
into contact with the cave or the wreck

12. Negotiating Restrictions
 Each diver must decide weather
attempting a restricted area is within his
acceptable level of risk

13. Negotiating Restrictions
 Before passing any narrow restriction the
diver should asses the following
 Gas available – Is it worth the effort of passing
the restriction?
 Size up the restriction – Is it passable in your
current configuration?
 If in a team – Will all members be able to
traverse the restriction before they hit their turn
pressures?
 Will visibility allow for the entire team to
efficiently pass the restriction after the first diver
passes?

14. Getting Stuck
 What do you do if you get stuck???
 The answer may be different for each
person, though there are some important
common insights

15. Getting Stuck
 Don t panic
 Know your equipment
 Ask for help
 Wait assist

16. Advanced Sidemount
 Includes
 Stage diving
 Single and double cylinder removals at
major restrictions
 Use of a specially rigged cylinder for no
mount diving
 Mixed team concepts sharing emergencies
 Indi pended diving philosophy

17. Small passages
 Often times , the passage configuration
of the cave or the wreck will not be wide
enough to allow for the stage cylinder to
be worn on the diver s sides.
 In this case the cylinders are removed
and hand held.
 In very small passage the stages are
‘’ferried’’ one at time through the
restriction

18. Extended Penetrations
 INCREASED
 BOTTOM TIMES
 Penetration and/or distance from the surface
 Decompression obligation
 Number of small or long restrictions
 Change of equipment malfunction
 Depths (requiring multistage and various
mixes)

19. Extended Penetrations
 Gas planning should take into
consideration a delayed return to exit
 In some cases tanks will be passed
through a restriction from one diver to
another.
 Never set the cylinders down to the flour
of a cave or a wreck without first clipped
to the guideline

20. No Mount diving
 Pass through a restriction without
cylinders attached to the body
 No Mount cylinder to pass a body size
restriction
 Cylinder can be any size with a dual
outlet valve (also known as H-valve
and/or Y-valve)

21. No Mount diving
 Gas planning for no mount diving must
be extremely conservative
 Maximum penetration on no mount
cylinder must be no more than quarters
 No mount restrictions are not traversed
by teams
 In case of team, only one diver goes
through the restriction

22. No Mount diving
 Specialized hand and light signals
should be organized before
 All emergency scenarios must be
discussed and rehearsed prior to diving

23. We talked about…
 History
 Purpose of sidemount in caves & wrecks
 Cylinders removals
 Negotiating restrictions
 Getting stuck
 Advanced sidemount
 Small passages
 Extended penetrations
 No mount diving

24. Questions??