Sett training: What's it all about?

[sharkbait]

Just back from club curry evening:
We were all wondering just what you actually do at Gosport and how much it costs?
Is it just a 30m ascent with scuba gear or a free ascent?
Could anyone clarify.
Stuart

[Lindsey Doyle]

Did this a year or two ago: as far as I can remember, you get a 15 min dive in 28 deg, 28m deep tube (with "windows"! which is quite fun. We dived in pairs, next pair started descent only when previous pair had left bottom. There's a Navy dive marshal.Cost about ?50? Good for something different for a club outing. Combine with the submarine museum!
HTH, Lindsey

[TerryH]

Ok, you sitting comfortably?

Right, the SETT is the Submarine Escape Training Tank and is the
deepest swimming pool in Europe (I believe NASA has the
biggest in the world).

Based at Gosport right next to Haslar Hospital and the Hypo
chamber (no dont laugh they have had customers from the SETT).
It is basicly a ten story round swimming pool a smidgon over
28m deep.

It's primary funcion is as the name suggests to train sub-
mariners in escape techniques. To do this there are a number
of bubbles or blisters and a major escape hatch at the bottom.

So what's it like and why do it? Well its VERY HOT! The
Instructors and safety divers are in the water an awful lot so
it's kept at warmer than body temperature. In fact if you take
your soap ....... No not really!

You go in and get a safety talk then up a lift to the top. As
you walk over to what looks like one of those try-dive type
pools that they have at the dive shows, you peer over and get a
major vertigo rush. You can now see down a very clear (and
deep) tunnel going all the way down to 28m.

So in buddy pairs its very carefully down the ladder (do not
jump in, lots of very expensive eletronic equipment around)
and you signal Ok to the officer in charge and off you go.
You get 15m on the bottom and 15m to ascend and do your safety. On the way up you will meet the next pair coming down
and so on.

But you say what do you do down there? Ever wanted to find out
how narked you get? Well nows your chance. We take games, rope,
an AP valves pony band (cant rethread them on the surface let
alone at 28m), anything to test our reaction. Others take
photos as the water is so clear and its very well lit. The
really good bit is the apprciation of depth. Every 5m is marked
on the wall, so you can really get how deep it really is at 15,
20, 25m etc.

Cost for all this lot is ?30 each and you will need at least
12 of you for it to run, however you can book it as an
individual although you may have to pay a little more. You do
of course have to bring your own air.

We do this dive twice a year in January as a very good way of
trying out kit and divers at 30m. It might be a swimming pool
but its still 30m and you can get just as bent and just as
narked. It's about the only time that your computer actually
shows a textbook square profile.

And yes it does go in your log book as a full on dive (doesnt
count towards depth progression though).

Minimum grade for this (it is 28m after all) is Sport Diver or
PADI AOW and you will need experience of doing this sort of
depth. If you have only managed say 20-25m then you can
still do it, but you will need to be buddied with an
Instructor.

It can gets very booked up on weekends, but you can almost
name your night midweek.

So if your still awake or interested its run by Marc Botrill of
Horsea Island Dive center 02392 385642.

One last thing. When you've finished and walk outside to your
car. Take a look up at the tower. While your neck is straining
to see the top, say to yourself: "I've just dived that".

This really brings home what 30m deep really is!

Rgds
TerryH

[Dave]

"
it's kept at warmer than body temperature. In fact if you take

not quite, it is at 33c which is still less than 37c body temperature, but it is lovely and toasty. What amazed me when I was there a couple of weeks ago was that some people were still wearing wetsuits for it.

It is a very pleasant activity, though would have been far better if it hadn't been scheduled when I went, for 07:45 on the day British Summer Time commenced

Dave