A configuration idea to set up a finger spool for safety use in wreck and cave diving
Here’s my approach to configuring a very secure, yet easy-to-deploy safety spool for overhead environment diving.
It works well for conducting emergency protocols in cave and wreck diving. Unlike some methods of setting up a spool, this method is quick and intuitive to deploy, even in zero visibility.
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Tested and Evaluated Configuration
I have trialed this configuration with my technical wreck students, and they perform better during lost line and lost buddy drills as a result. I created this solution to specifically address the need for a quicker, more intuitive spool deployment when under pressure and with impeded visibility.
Safety Spool: Speed of Deployment
Speed is important during those protocols and pulling off the bungee retainer takes a second. That’s much faster than configurations that poke the line through a side hole and wrap it repeatedly around the double-end bolt snap.
Making these protocols faster can be important when divers are consuming gas and not proceeding to an exit. Stress levels tend to rise the longer than a protocol lasts; and the more frustrated that the diver becomes trying to get it done.
This method is also a lot less confusing when you cannot see anything. It requires much less tactile feeling in the fingers or coordination with the hands. Rather than unwrapping the line from a boltsnap and then trying to feed it back through the spool’s side hole, the diver merely pulls off the bungee and is ready to proceed.
Currently residing in Subic Bay, Philippines; he has amassed more than 10,000 open-circuit and CCR dives over three decades of challenging diving across the globe.
Andy has published numerous diving magazine articles and designed advanced certification courses for several dive training agencies, He regularly tests and reviews new dive gear for scuba equipment manufacturers. Andy is currently writing a series of advanced diving books and creating a range of tech diving clothing and accessories.
Prior to becoming a professional technical diving educator in 2006, Andy was a commissioned officer in the Royal Air Force and has served in Iraq, Afghanistan, Belize, and Cyprus.
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