Side-Mounting, are you kidding?

Eric Keibler   Jul 26, 2009

When Pete Nawrocky and I were talking recently, he said “when I come down, we need to go over side-mounting and do some dives.”  What was he thinking, I don’t dive technically on open circuit anymore.  Pete even said once you try this you won’t want to put on a set of doubles again.  He is right, I don’t want to put on a set of twins again, I replaced them with a rebreather.  So had he really lost his mind or was he mistaking me for an open circuit diver?  Not really.
When Pete arrived we again talked about the side-mounting.  He has found a lot of interest in this style of diving from technical divers but increasingly from open water divers wanting a way to increase their time underwater without needing twin cylinders.   This increasing interest may be due in part the aging diving population.  By splitting the twin cylinders into two independent bottles, you can carry them separately to the water and done them there or have someone help you carry them to the water, even going so far as handing them to you while you are in the water.

      Mammoth
         Lake

I hear you die-hard doubles divers out there yelling, wait, what about the redundancy afforded by twin cylinders.  Well the answer is you are right and mistaken at the same time.  You are right, the redundancy prneuded by the manifold cannot be denied, so for a side-mount diver, there has to be a different gas management procedure employed.  That is one of the things you learn in the class.
Pete came in and we rigged up some bottles for diving, configured a Transpac with a Nomad wing and sidemount kit.  A pretty simple rig when you look at it but the truth was in the water.  During the weekend, Dive Rite Tech tour, at Mammoth Lake, we took the assembled harness and headed to the water.  Pete had already taken the bottles down to the water; they were equipped with Dive Rite ADS’ one with a 22” hose on a lanyard, and the other with a 40” hose.  Attaching the bottles to the harness was simple with the top snap put on the bungee and the bottom on the Nomad rail.  It was time to enter the water…easier than doing so with a similar set of twin cylinders.
Diving could not have been easier.  The trim was easy and I just seemed to fall into place – trimmed and ready for the dive.  The set-up was streamlined and easy to propel through the water, even if the water resembled a latte rather than water.  We found some “clearer water” in about 10 to 18 feet near the shore.  Being this shallow sometimes presents buoyancy problems but the rig made easy work of the buoyancy.
I can see why people are attracted to side-mount diving and why there is growing interest in it.  As we worked with people during the weekend I watched divers with various levels of experience slip into the rig and go diving.  It appeared they had fewer problems adjusting to the set-up than a similar experience in a set of twin cylinders.
So, what is the conclusion?  Well, I’m not trading in my rebreathers for a set of side-mount bottles but for those times I need to dive open circuit (yes every once in a while), I believe this a great way to do it.  I also believe it is an effective alternative to twins for Technical diving.  Pete you convinced me!  I think we will be adding this as an option in our training program.
This wasn’t the only thing happing while Pete and Ron Carlo were in town.  Pete came in and gave our Club Aquarious group a very interesting presentation covering diving on the East coast from New York to Florida.  It featured both technical and non-technical dives so there was something of interest for everyone.  Pete had photos of sea life common to these waters and the areas where they live, all synchronized to Pink Floyd.  He followed this up with a discussion of the areas and promoted the idea of diving locally, a very important fact.
The weekend found Pete, Ron, JoLynn as well as Oceanic Ventures staff members, Eric, Ashton, Jordan, and Wade down at Mammoth Lake diving and introducing some curious divers to Dive Rite equipment.  Pete was on-hand to introduce side-mount diving and to take divers on side-mount experiences and yes there were a number of takers.  Most of those who went with Pete were convinced this was a better way.
It was fun showing divers what things were available from Dive Rite including their new lights and computer.  Ron was having fun taking divers out for a rebreather experience, despite the limited visability.  They were even getting more dives for their DiveAroundTexas dives – marching towards San Marcos in September to collect on some way-cool prizes!
Thanks to Pete, Ron and Dive Rite for coming out and showing us the new and old toys as well as a new way to do things.  Diving is only getting better and better!  Thanks for helping keeping it fun!