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| The Dive Team with Alan (middle) & Hafiz (extreme left) |
On the 18th October an email went out from Alan H our Diving Specialist at KBA Training Centre. The email communicated that Alan was going to conduct a
“Commercial Diving Experience for Staff” in the KBAT Dive Training Tank using Surface Supplied Diving Equipment wearing a Kirby Morgan Hard Helmet. His email stated that no previous diving experience was needed & that the dive was going to be for about 20-30 minute duration, two divers at a time. He also informed us that we would be given a simple construction task to complete during our Dive.
As soon as I saw that email, I knew I had to do the Dive. I remember Darren & Brendan, our Directors telling me a year ago that we will be doing this sometime down the lane. And true to their word it was to happen. Days passed by however I still hadn't confirmed that I was doing the dive. I needed to make sure that I was not neglecting work before I signed up, so I asked my superior Colin, the Director of Operations if I could go to which he most graciously approved. With that sorted out, I informed Alan that I would be participating in the dive.
On the 30th October Alan R, the Head of Diving from KBAT Training Centre informed us that we need to pass a health check as required in Commercial Diving. Five of us were taking part in the program, so we met up with Dr. Chan (who works with KBA in certifying Diver Fitness) for the health check. We were certified 'fit' to take part in the Dive.
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| Induction from Alan |
On D-Day, 31st October we reached the training centre on time. We met up with Alan who gave us a short introduction on what to expect from the dive. Alan is an easy going guy & always has something witty to say & pull our legs. However, this time the situation was different - Alan was very professional. His demeanour almost immediately had a positive effect on us. I could sense that we are in capable hands. Alan stated that we would be wearing the Kirby Morgan Helmets; he also informed us that a camera was installed on our helmet & that he would be able to view what we see underwater. He said that we can talk with each other while submerged & also communicate with him on land. Alan showed us the stock of air tanks that we were to receive supply from & assured us that the tanks had a enough capacity to keep us going until the next evening. That was definitely reassuring
:-) To add to that, he reminded us that there was also an emergency supply tank on our back.
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| Alan at the Dive Panel |
Alan revealed that he would be able to listen to our breathing, pick up any irregularities & will get us out of the water immediately. He assured us that he would be at the Dive Control Panel overseeing our dive every step of the way. I knew it would be important to retain as much information as we could so that we would be able to think clearly underwater. It occurred to me that commercial diving is a high risk job & not to be taken lightly. It is no wonder that
commercial diving is one of the best paid jobs in the world.
With our induction on the back burner, we set about preparing for the dive. Fazila Abidin (Diver 1) was my Dive Buddy. Alan was setting up Diver 1 while Hafiz, our Dive Technician along with the help of the other divers started preparing me. Fazila was ready & before I knew it she was in the water. I must admit she is brave & strong willed. I was secured with an air tank that weighed about 35 lbs & a helmet of approximately 15 lbs. Once all strapped in it was my turn to take the plunge.
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About to descend
into the water |
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| To the point of no return |
As I was walking toward the dive tank my mind went reeling,
"What am I doing, what was I thinking?", "Should I still be going in?” A part of me wanted to back off, another part of me kept pushing me forward & kept telling me I could do it. Before I stepped into the water, Alan ran a test to confirm that we are able to communicate. I was still in doubt as to whether I should do this & I remember asking,
“I’ll be OK right?” I was a little nervous & could feel my legs trembling. I said
“Give me some time, I need to get used to it”, I was taking my time & mustering the courage to descend into the Abyss while allowing my body adjust to the water temperature. While I was getting deeper into the water, a lot of air bubbles surfaced. I asked Alan why are there were so many air bubbles. Very supportively & calmly he assured me that those were all the air bubbles I was breathing out. After a few seconds, I let out a lame
“Ohh”. And then I heard Alan say "
Every time you breathe out, bubbles come out”. Before I realised it
I was engulfed in an Abyss.
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| Walking toward Fazila |
Once I reached the bottom of the tank, I greeted Fazila. Guess what? There was no response. I continued talking, still nothing. I started to walk toward her & realised that I was beginning to float. I knew I had to try & hold myself down. Fazila pointed me to the glass panel as some team members were on the other side capturing these precious moments. I stood nervously posing for them when Fazila joined me. I realised that I could not hear her neither could she hear me so as she came forward I stretched out my hand to indicate that we should be taking a photo together. I tried speaking to Alan, no reply. I spoke to Fazila, still nothing. I thought, what now? How were we going to communicate under water without the use of the transmitter? We kept calm as we realised we needed to work this out & get the task done. We used hand signals to communicate with each other & we continued talking while going about the activity as we were certain Alan was surely working on restoring communications. As we were going about our work, communication was restored. This brought home the importance of communicate in such a high risk environment.
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| Fazila & I working on the Flange |
Our task was to fix the nuts, bolts & washers onto the flange. The first thing I noticed was that while looking through the visor, the object appeared to be closer than it was which meant in actuality we needed to reach further to get to the object. I also noticed that my fingers where trembling while I was trying to fix the bolts to the flange. I needed to relax, focus on the job at hand. Since I was enjoying what I was doing, it didn't take too long. In between all this I was also floating at times toward the surface, so I tried squatting at the bottom of the tank. Then I held onto the flange as I recalled Alan telling us that they were heavy. We kept working together talking, tapping & signalling when there was a need to. We put the flange together within a few minutes & were delighted!
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Buckling under
the weight of
the equipment |
Since we had to send up the flange via a pulley system it was vital that the screws were riveted in place as I was afraid that the flange may dismantle midway & fall on us. We sent up the flange to Alan. I asked,
“Are we going up or what?” & Alan said "
No you can stay. Is everybody happy?” I informed Alan that we were done with the construction & he asked me if we want to remain underwater. Without hesitating I replied,
“Ok”. After remaining down awhile Fazila went up & I followed her. I realised that it was a lot easier to go up than come down; however once I reached the top I buckled under the weight of the equipment & fell to my knees. Alan let out a chuckle & I a SMILE. I was Exhausted yet Exhilarated. I felt Fantastic & on Top of the World –
YES, WE DID IT!!
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| Pebbles |
When we were back in office, we couldn't help but share our experience with our colleagues. I shared my experience with Darren & thanked him for the wonderful opportunity Brendan & he gave us. I would once again like to thank Darren & Brendan for giving us this chance to gain practical knowledge on Commercial Diving. I thank Colin for granting me the time off & I thank Alan Rhodes for ensuring we were certified "Physically Fit" to go ahead with the dive. Most importantly I thank Alan Hardy for taking us through this process & giving us this knowledge of a life time!
Fazila later asked me if given the opportunity would I go diving again? Without hesitation I replied "Yes, of course!".
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| The Dive Team |
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| The Dive Team |
#diving #commercialdiving #underwater #adventure #travel
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