Expedition Organisation

What is an Expedition Organiser and why do we need one?

Any dive trip will require an expedition organiser, whether it is a Sunday jaunt to your local dive site or a major expedition abroad.
Some clubs are large enough to have one person who is the EO for that branches more adventurous expeditions and the more usual one day trips will be organised by anyone else of suitable experience.
Whereas the smaller branches have to rely on the experience and more importantly the goodwill of the branch membership.
The organisation of a major expedition is not an easy one and is often underrated by those who only have to pay their money to go on such trips.

To make the job of organising a trip easier it is important to spread the responsibility around those who are participating. After all like the other divers on the trip you are on the trip to enjoy yourself as well.

The secret to successful organisation is DELEGATION.

It is important to remember that all the effort that you put into the organisation of the day can be thwarted by aspects which you have no control over, mainly the weather. So a possible second dive site will be required to keep the pack happy.
Firstly you will need to decide on which exotic location you want to visit (generally Loch Long or Loch Fyne) and what type of diving you wish to do, i.e. Wreck, Cave or deep diving and what level of experience your divers will require. You may need to carry out some research into your preferred location.

You should also notify your Branch Diving Officer of your intentions and how many are going on the trip, and at the end of the days diving, notify the BDO that all is ok, so that should anyone break down or suffer from any illness on the way home, the BDO has a rough idea where you will be.

If there is a large number diving, then contact the nearest Coastguard Station and give them details of your intentions.
Remember that when giving your dive site location, that the Coastguard or other emergency services may not know the site, therefore if possible give any co-ordinates that may help in the event of an emergency.

Next step will be to find out the nearest telephone, Doctor (in case of non-diving emergency), Recompression Facility and have a note of the nearest Coastguard Station phone number. Mobile phones may not work at your dive site.

Once you know what the weather, Sea and Tide conditions are to be, you can the plan your meeting place, time and transport arrangements. It also pays to make sure that those present have not forgotten any of their equipment.
On route to the dive site you can plan dive partners, Dive Leaders, shore or boat cover and delegate the various jobs.

Equipment Officer
If there is a lot of branch equipment on site you may want to have an equipment officer to check that all the equipment is handed back at the end of the day. This normally does not apply to individual divers personal equipment.

Dive Marshall (Beachmaster)
The main purpose of this person is to log the following details onto the log sheet (see attached sheet).

Dive Leaders

Trainees

Air In

Air Out

Time In

Time Out

Duration

Bottom Time

Maximum Depth

Decompression Stops

Tests Completed

The DM does not have to be a diving member of the group but a certain level of knowledge is required, and if the DM is a diving member of the group then a replacement will be required while the first DM is on their dive.
In the event of an incident the log sheet may be taken away by the emergency services for examination. There is also the advantage that the log sheet is worth its weight in gold when filling in the logbooks.

Safety Officer (First Aid Officer)
The SO should ideally be the most experienced member of the group, and in the event of an emergency should be the one who organises the emergency procedure.
Again delegation is required, as the SO may send one member of the group to call the emergency services with instructions of where and what the problem is, they may be also instructed to wait and lead the services to the area. Some members may be asked to help with a rescue tow, with others waiting to take over with possible CPR if necessary

Other members may be used as back up to take over when they themselves become tired.

The remaining members may be instructed to secure all the equipment and put that equipment away (except the casualty’s equipment, which should be left alone ).
These members may prefer to help in a more constructive way, however by keeping out of the way, they will enable the services to carry out their job unhindered.

Obviously the SO’s job is a lot easier if they are part of a large group.

The SO should also make sure that any first aid kits, Oxygen Administration kits and VHF Radios are easily available.
Normally a role with very little to do unless things go wrong!

Boat Handlers (Dive Coxswains)
Ideally an experienced boat handler who is adept at operating around divers in the water. If the boat belongs to the club then appoint 2 boat handlers so that they do not become to bored or cold and can have a dive themselves. If the boat is owned by a branch member then they may not be happy about others driving their boat. When the boat is at sea with the divers on board the BH word is final. If they are not happy about certain aspects of the day’s dives, for example worsening weather conditions then they have the final say about aborting or recalling the divers. Their responsibility is the safety of the divers in their charge.

They should also insure that the Coastguard is informed of their intentions and when they return to base.

Dive Leaders
A self-explanatory part of any expedition. A suitably qualified diver who has experience of the site. As they are responsible for the safety of their group of divers. They are responsible for the dive briefs, Buddy checks and debriefs for their group. They should also inform the Dive Marshal of their intended plan and duration. If the Dive Leaders’s are Branch Instructors they should also include any tests to be carried out.

One of the most unpopular jobs for the Expedition Organiser is to select emergency cover for those that are diving. Namely STAND BY DIVERS or SNORKEL COVER.

Stand-by Divers
This is a role that nobody wants to do especially if it is a warm, sunny day. Up to 2 divers will be required to wait fully kitted until the divers are finished and accounted for. Ideally the SD’s should not have dived prior to becoming SD’s but this is not always practical. Few problems are encountered on a boat dive, but having SD’s on a shore dive present different problems.

Snorkel Cover
Slightly easier if you have trainees in your party, however these trainees will also have to be watched. Two advantages of having snorkel cover is that should an incident occur, the snorkel cover can help with the towing of the casualty and as the SC follows the divers, the shore party knows where the divers are, a kind of human surface marker boy (or girl).

At the end of the days diving, each of the Officers should make sure that all divers and equipment are accounted for.

Everybody should check that all rubbish that has been generated by your party has been tidied up. Please don’t leave the likes of polythene diesel gloves or empty drinks cans littering the dive site!

Once the EO has received all the relevant information, They should contact the coastguard and let them know that all diving by your party has finished, then you can retire to the pub or wherever to debrief and fill in logbooks.