Scuba Diving Skills - Reel and Guideline Use

One of the most important scuba diving skills to refine, particularly for those who want to transition into technical diving in wrecks and caves, is reel and guideline use.
This video explains and demonstrates some of the basic points about how to use a reel and guideline. In addition to use in overhead environments, reel skills can be also be useful to any diver as a tool in navigation, mapping and deploying various buoyant devices. A good place to start is learning how to do various wrap's and tie off's, many of which are demonstrated and broken down in this video. With a bit of practice they will quickly become second nature.

[@charlesg7926]

Now THIS is a quality scuba video! Not pompous, not arrogant, just smart, informative, very well explained, and provides good detail without getting unnecessarily complicated. 5 stars

[@EnduranceSwimmer]

Charles Graves Many thanks for the kind words.

[@LukasNiebel]

Excellent demonstration and very well explained, thank you for the video.

[@x994910]

9 years ago you made this video and here I am today, taking advance wreck diving and in need of this. Ridiculously useful! If you're still around, don't mind if I ask a few questions if I have them (after watching your videos)?

[@EnduranceSwimmer]

Certainly. I'm still around. I upload to 2 other channels these days and have focused more on other activities in recent years but I'm more than happy to answer your questions as best I can.

[@CaseyKlaus]

I echo other commentators: Thank you for this video. You put it together with great quality and that helps it be the GO TO video on KZbin for reel use.

[@EnduranceSwimmer]

Thank you so much for the kind words. When I made it was because I struggled to find many videos on this subject when I went through my training so I basically made the video I was looking for at the time. As an aside we (me and my partner) have actually been uploading to a different channel for the last year called 'Oz in Pictures' which we started because there is usually strength in collaboration. Feel free to check it out and subscribe if you like what we are doing now. I'll be uploading this one there too in due course (albeit with a different intro because there are a few anecdotes associated with some of the things that came out of making this video). Most of our older content is getting a second life on our new channel. I've been focusing on some different activities recently (most notably sailing) and haven't had the opportunity to cave dive for a while however I would love to again and I had always intended to do further instructional videos.

[@JashTheLandlord]

very nice place to learn skills

[@orlandoochoamendez6508]

Still watching this in 2020. Best video on the subject matter on KZbin.

[@EnduranceSwimmer]

Many thanks for the kind comments. I'm glad it was helpful.

[@ubuntuscorpious]

You have put a lot of work into this and made a really top quality video. Thank you very much!

[@EnduranceSwimmer]

Tom Many thanks for the positive feedback. As I recall this one took a couple of weeks to put together. It's probably received the most positive feedback of all my videos. Given the time I'd like to do a number of training videos.

[@ivoryjohnson4662]

Thank for for producing this I am slowly learning cave diving

[@tmichura]

Really well filmed, explained and demonstrated! Congratulations! And thank you very much!

[@EnduranceSwimmer]

Many thanks for the positive feedback. I'm hoping to do a few more videos like this soon.

[@tmichura]

***** It is the way to go! My chair is already resting on its side:)

[@EnduranceSwimmer]

Tomasz Michura nice one. My backyard often has guideline all through it! Lol.

[@aubreybaker8228]

This is an incredible demonstration video. Thank you for creating it. It's clear that you put a lot of planning, time and effort into this. :)

[@EnduranceSwimmer]

Many thanks.

[@ChaosTheory666]

10/10 for the spooky music in part 3.

[@chiimchim7987]

Great video mate, thanks

[@travelswithMTcharlie]

Great job thanks

[@demisfarrugia2824]

Excellent explanation and footage! 👌🌟

[@EnduranceSwimmer]

For quite some time I've been planning on doing a demonstration and explanation video on using a guideline and reel. These skills are common in cave diving and wreck diving but are also useful to practice even if you have no intention of getting into technical diving.

[@niallmacleod1024]

Excellent - thank you!

[@wongke]

Great work.

[@xbpbat21x]

Great video! All the different camera angles under water must of been a huge editing chore. I'm glad your hard work has paid off.

[@EnduranceSwimmer]

Many thanks. It took about a week to edit. The footage took a few sessions to get.

[@kevingumfory]

This can only be improved upon by using some markers ! Thnx for your time.

[@jjohn8989]

Well done!

[@MdSteel7]

Very useful and great explanations. Thank you very much!

[@EnduranceSwimmer]

My pleasure😊

[@JurNL80]

Really nice footage!!!

[@EnduranceSwimmer]

Many thanks JurNL80. The open water demonstration was conducted at a local site called Rapid Bay. The old industrial jetty (which sits parallel to the one you see me enter from) is one of the best jetty dives in the country. In this video I don't really show the diversity and abundance of marine life that you find around the end of it (although I have a couple of other videos on my channel where I'm also at this site and it's more apparent). This demonstration was taken more around the picket trail that leads to the old jetty and then some other objects as I proceed out and the focus was more on the the use of the reel and guideline but it's a great place to go for a pleasure dive and do photography and videography. The vis on this day was actually only about 8 metres at best but when it gets up to 15 - 20 metres it's a pretty magic place to dive.

[@inbetwheens]

Thank you soooo much for this video demo !!! very useful !!! i start my Wreck Speciality + Divemaster internship this 2017 !!! sooo excited 🙌🙌🙌

[@EnduranceSwimmer]

inBetwheens My pleasure. Glad it was of help. I'm hoping to put some more training videos together at some stage

[@Jeru22]

Super helpful. I start my cave training in a few days this was really helpful. Nerves are getting to me. That normal?

[@EnduranceSwimmer]

A little bit. I think it's good to respect the environment of where you are diving and knowing that it can bite you if one is too complacent. To quote a movie that I remember watching, "fear is good, it teaches limits." That being said, with proper training and attention to risk management most cave divers actually find it relaxing most of the time and I suspect you will too when you are trained and used to the environment.

[@LarsDennert]

How many chairs would you recommend taking with to tie off to?

[@iVo092]

Such a great video! Really well explained and demonstrated! Just to add something, you could show as well to put tension by pulling the layed line before locking the wraps, this way we make sure the layed line won't get loose. :)

[@EnduranceSwimmer]

Yeah i try and do that by paying out under tension using my finger on the reel as demonstrated in the dry drills. It's kind of a fine line between adequate tightness and too tight. It's a fair point you raise though and i think i spoke to it a bit more in an article i wrote at the same time. It can be found on our website www.EnduranceSwimmerAustralia.com Many thanks for the kind feedback.

[@iVo092]

Yeah, no problem, I was adding some constructive criticism. Was just thinking that would be good to remind divers to put tension on the line before locking, just in case the pressure put by the thumb doesn't make the line tight enough. I'll check your article! Thanks for the kind response. Keep up the videos ;)

[@EnduranceSwimmer]

+Ivo Chiarino Thanks Ivo. i always appreciate constructive feedback. I'm hoping to make some more of these kinds of videos. Recently I've been busy with our website and several written articles which can be found on www.EnduranceSwimmerAustralia.com But hoping to get some more videos out soon too😊.

[@pkisdar]

A very good video! ...and the fun thing is: After I shared it on Facebook from here in Hungary, a Hungarian friend of mine that lives in Australia called me on the phone and said "I know this guy! WTF!? I was diving there when he was filming this thing! Even, I swam into the picture a few times, so he had to retake some parts. How can the world be this small!?" Greetings from Hungary

[@EnduranceSwimmer]

Many thanks for your feedback Peter and yes the world is indeed small!!! I got told about that rather amazing coincidence and thought it was rather funny. Seven degrees of separation or something like that. Lol. Afterwards 3 of us (incuding your friend) had a BBQ at the dive site and a good chat. Was a good day out all round. Thanks again for the positive feedback:).

[@willymi9071]

Thanks very much all the details I am new to cave diving I am studying all techniques and skills. question : how could I find which direction out the cave to surface or deep into the cave ? is the line with arrow printed ??? I found in one video with a label attached with an arrow but just ancious the arrow is out or in if i face panic situation Thanks

[@EnduranceSwimmer]

I can't be sure this is universal but I can give you some idea of what we do in Australia. Generally we use 3 types of markers that fall into 2 catagories, arrows and personal markers (which can be cookies and/or pegs). If we are just reeling in on a primary reel we know that the end of the line is outside the exit so most of us don't use markers at all unless we tie off to a fixed line (you can but it doesn't really serve a purpose). The moment you tie off onto a fixed line or if you run out of line and need to run a second reel then the game changes and we start using markers. You place a cookie or peg which has something like initials on it (and preferably something that you can identify with touch alone by doing something with it unique (a series of notches for example). You place it on the line you have jumped from (ie the exit side of the junction). There may be arrows on fixed lines or you may put them on a line you're fixing. Arrows (if used because they aren't always) should point in the direction of the exit. It does pay to be familiar with the site. If the site is on private property and only qualified cave divers have access you can probably be more confident as to the quality of the fixed lines and that random people haven't gone in and changed anything. Never take something for granted. If it is a site with fixed lines then you're probably going to have to take in a series of jump reels to move between the fixed lines. Best to check with the local cave diving community wherever you dive though in the event that they do something different. It goes without saying that they can literally be life lines so you want to be confident what the system is there bearing in mind that if you're deep you also may have a certain level of narcosis to contend with so it's good to be so familiar with the system that it's second nature. Gradually extending your penetrations in proportion to your experience and/or training and perhaps diving with someone familiar with the site are good practices.

[@anemos24210]

I am currently attending the cavern course,your video is such a great help for a newbie in the use of a reel.Really well filmed,simple and easy to understand each move. You have put a lot of effort on this and I feel the need to thank you for this ! Really good job ! Thumps up all the way!!

[@EnduranceSwimmer]

Anemos Many thanks for the kind words. It was actually early on during my CDAA (cave diving) training that I decided down the track to make it as I too was looking for a video on breaking down reel and guideline training and didn't find many. Good luck with your training.

[@thomasg.7898]

Great Video! Which Reelm do you use in this demonstation?

[@EnduranceSwimmer]

Thomas Geiss This is a Light Monkey reel. There are some similar ones available from other manufacturers but Light Monkey have become fairly popular over here within our local technical diving community.

[@MrNotebookguy]

Loved it Of course experienced hands make it seem easy :)

[@Hotspur37]

practice is everything. My first few times with reels and smbs were a tangled mess but now I can shoot them like at list a competent amateur LOL.

[@EnduranceSwimmer]

It comes with a bit of practice. Along with the laying of line, working on buoyancy, trim and some of the fine tuning of your movement will help. Most cave divers practice skills whenever they have time they aren't doing anything. Sitting on a deco stop for example is a place a lot of us do some buoyancy and mask swap practice.

[@lewislawson5461]

is that the basic reel from divesoft ?

[@kasperk679]

I want to see this demonstrations with thick dry gloves with under gloves on. Some knots are almost impossible.

[@EnduranceSwimmer]

There are actually very few cave divers I know in Australia who dive with thick gloves that cover the fingers. In Mount Gambier it gets down to about 10 degrees centagrade and I still dive with gloves that have the fingers cut off for greater dexterity. I find that for dives up to about 2 hours it's fine. Yes you do loose a bit of dexterity by the end but you are pretty much ready to come out by then. Some of our members do occasionally do longer decompression dives in these sites or dive in places like New Zealand and there is a line in the sand where you're probably going to need thicker gloves or even dry ones. I've never used dry gloves but my take on this is simply to try and find the ones that work best and try and find the tie offs that are easiest to do with these kinds of gloves on. If they are so bulky that you can't do any tie offs with them then you can probably find a better option. This question is best directed towards some of our divers who dive in The Pearce Researgence in New Zealand.

[@WadeAbout]

Hey. What's on your computer strap band. The red thing

[@EnduranceSwimmer]

Wade Smith it's a line cutter.

[@WadeAbout]

Endurance Swimmer Australia awesome. I was looking for something small to carry for self reliant. Any link or name I can look up - thanks for the fast reply too. I know it’s an older video.

[@EnduranceSwimmer]

Wade Smith You should be able to get them from most dive shops. Just ask for a line cutter that overhead environment divers use. When I'm in a cave I carry two but no knives as there aren't too many purposes that I can think of for knives in caves. However in the ocean I carry a line cutter and a knife. This link shows one of similar design to mine although I'm not sure if it's the same manufacturer. kzbin.info/www/bejne/i5WQgqWZfM6CgKs

[@Skunkiboi]

I wonder how this tie-off is supposed to work when you wear thick gloves.

[@EnduranceSwimmer]

Skunkiboi This is one of the reasons most cave divers I know don't wear full gloves. I cut the fingers of mine and it's still adequate in quite cold water. Some don't wear them at all. You can still do a lot of wraps with gloves on, you just need to practice to see which are require less dexterity.

[@ramm1775]

Im just here for the free food..

[@Yggdrasil42]

That’s a different kind of wrap! 😉