Open Water Side Mount Scuba Diving
Eric Keibler Feb 07, 2012
Photograph by Pete Nawrocky
If you look through the various diving publications or look at current diving trends on the internet, you will find references to side mount diving. Have you ever wondered why? In order to help answer that question we should first talk about what side mount diving is.
Like the name implies, in side mount diving, you mount the cylinders on your side instead of on your back. This is accomplished using some clips on the bottles and the d-rings on your buoyancy control device, BCD. You can see a diver in side mount gear in the photo above.
So now that you have a basic understanding of what it is, you may still be wondering why? Side mount divers have a variety of resons fro switching to this method of diving. Of course technical divers have been doing this style of diviing for a long time in order to squeeze into tighter spaces; but recreational divers are discovering new reasons to try it.
One reason given by these divers is the fact that you can carry the bottles to the water or better yet to the boat’s dive platform one at a time and then enter the water with no cylinder. This allows you to reduce the strain on your back especially when you get to hand the bottles back up to the crew
and climb out of the water with no cylinders on at all.
Another reason is simply a gas supply issue. This is especially desirable if you are a heavy breather. By carrying two bottles, you have a larger gas supply and can remain underwater longer. Yes, guys, this means you can stay down as long as your wife. An additional benefit is that by changing the placement of the cylinders, side mount divers trim out better or obtain a better, horizontal posture underwater.
You may be asking that if it is simply a matter of mneung the bottles, why should I take a course to learn how to do it? That is a good question to ask. One of the things you will learn in class is how to configure your equipment to best carry the bottles. Another thing is the scheme of changing second stages as you swim underwater. In another lesson, you will learn how to deal with the bottles and the beginning and end of your dive so you don’t drop them to the bottom (a really bad thing especially when you are over a wall).
So, to put it simply, there is a lot of interest in lightinig the equipment load exiting or entering the boats for all of us. Side Mount divers also love the extra gas available! If you have not tried it, you should take a course and get started…it is a lot of fun.
To find out more about Open Water Side Mount diving, send Eric an email or leave a comment.
The next Open Water Side Mount Course is scheduled to begin 28 February 2012. Other classes are available. Email us for more information.
