Overhead Protocols

Description

The UTD Overhead Protocols course is a mandatory prerequisite for entry to UTD Wreck Penetration and Cave Diving courses and is the necessary first step to any obstructed environment course.

This three-day course takes place in unobstructed environments generally at a depth of 10 meters or less, and introduces the student to line placement and removal, following the line in the dark, contact communications, skills critiques carried out in zero visibility, loss of line, separation from companions and loss of beacon. Once these skills have been learned, the course introduces a series of simulated failures related to contact with the guideline: sudden lack of air (OOA), failure of the faucets, etc. These skills are tested at a level equivalent to that of the Technical 1 course, but are complicated by the fact that one must remain on the guideline simulating the need to follow a navigation to return to open water.

Successful completion of this course qualifies students to progress within one year to either the UTD Wreck Penetration 1 or UTD Cave 1 programs, each of which is conducted over three to five days in an actual obstructed environment.

Prerequisites

• Minimum age 18 years
• Minimum 75 dives
• UTD Recreational Certification 2
• Advanced Recreational with Nitrox and experience with twin tank configuration
• Know how to swim at least 275 meters in less than 14 minutes without stopping
• Know how to swim 15 meters in apnea
• Course Limitations
• Maximum depth 18 meters
• Dives in an obstructed environment are excluded
• Decompression dives are excluded

Course contents

The UTD Overhead Protocols course is typically taught over three days, and requires a minimum of 24 hours of instruction (theory and practice). The course is designed to introduce students to the general skills required to dive in obstructed environments, including, but not limited to, cave penetration and wreck exploration.

The course includes 10 hours of theory and 9 dives